HILLGATE MEET AND GREET
HILLGATE TRAVEL has signed Business Travel Extras to provide its clients with on- and off-site airport parking and 'meet and greet' services.
Hillgate has a wide range of blue-chip accounts, handling travel for some of the City of London's top financial institutions. The loss - through no fault of Hillgate's - of the Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns accounts has been countered by a string of recent new business wins.
Leanne Flack, business development manager at Business Travel Extras, says: "To work with Hillgate Travel and supply their range of clients with our services gives us the opportunity to work with a host of leading corporates."
HRG (Hogg Robinson Group) has regained the De La Rue account following a competitive tender. HRG lost the banknote printer's business three years ago, having previously handled the account for 32 years.
Low-cost carrier Wizz Air has set a July 11 start date for new services between Liverpool John Lennon and Prague. Wizz, which already flies from Luton to the Czech capital, will operate three times a week using Airbus A320s.
South African Airways has launched direct flights between Johannesburg and Botswana's capital, Gaborone. The service operates twice daily, except on Saturday, when there is a single departure.
Singapore Airlines is now offering passengers in all classes on its latest Airbus A330-300s iPod and iPhone connectivity via its KrisWorld in-flight entertainment system.
Diners Club lounges added to UK airports
DINERS CLUB INTERNATIONAL has added 18 cardholder club lounges at 14 UK airports, increasing its worldwide total to 123. Operated by Servisair, there are 10 in England - Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham East Midlands, London Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted, Humberside, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle - with a further four in Scotland - Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.
CONTINENTAL SWITCH FROM SKYTEAM TO STAR ALLIANCE
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES will leave the SkyTeam alliance led by Delta and Air France on October 24 and hopes to assume Star Alliance membership the following day. The switch will be the first time an airline has defected from one major alliance to another.
Continental's president Jeff Smisek said Delta's dominance of the SkyTeam grouping had caused difficulties. "We found ourselves with growing tensions within SkyTeam," he said.
Having rejected overtures from Oneworld, led by American Airlines and British Airways, Continental will now become an alliance partner with United Airlines, with which it already has a commercial agreement, and Lufthansa, with which it has a co-marketing deal.
PRIORITY PASS JOINS MARRIOTT REWARDS
Priority Pass, which offers access to more than 600 airport lounges worldwide - regardless of class of travel - has become part of the Marriott Rewards loyalty scheme. During the past year, the lounge programme operator has added more than 100 worldwide, with locations now at 325 airports.
EL AL ABANDONS STANSTED FOR LUTON
El Al has pulled out of Stansted and launched a third Tel Aviv service from Luton instead. Flights operate daily, except Saturdays, using Boeing 767s. El Al is also operating 11 flights a week out of Heathrow's Terminal 1. Tel Aviv is served twice a day from Sunday to Thursday, with a single departure on Saturdays.
AMERICAN GOES THE EXTRAA MILE
AMERICAN AIRLINES has extended its Business ExtrAA company loyalty scheme to the UK. Aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Business ExtrAA rewards both the company and the traveller. Points are valid for two years, and can be used to 'buy' flights, upgrades, or Admirals Club membership. "Business ExtrAA is a useful tool given the tough economic climate and will be invaluable in helping companies minimise their travel costs without compromising on the quality of service they receive," said Maria Sebastian, American's EMEA vice-president, sales and marketing.
DUBAI SNAPS UP OLYMPIC AIRLINES
DUBAI-BACKED MARFIN INVESTMENT GROUP has paid €177 million for Greece's failing flag-carrier Olympic Airlines. Rival carrier Aegean Airlines had offered €170 million. The deal, which still has to be rubber-stamped by the European Commission, will come as welcome relief for Greek taxpayers, who have had to fork out more than €2 billion over the past 10 years to keep Olympic flying.
Founded in 1957 by shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, Olympic was taken into public ownership in the 1970s but, burdened with lifeline routes to scores of Greek islands, and with a questionable service and safety record, it has struggled ever since.
HOTEL booking agency Expotel has moved its head office to Manchester. The subject of a July 2008 management buy-out backed by Phoenix Equity Partners, Expotel handles more than £220 millions' worth of business annually, from offices in Manchester, Stockport, Leeds and Glasgow.
Manchester move
The European Commission's updated 'blacklist' of airlines banned from operating within European air space still includes Indonesian flag carrier Garuda. The full list can be viewed online at www.ec.europa.eu/transport/air-ban
Icelandair starts a Heathrow- Reykjavik-Seattle service on July 22. Flights will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays with 183-seat Boeing 757s in a threeclass configuration.
Rotterdam-based Maritime Travel Service (MTS) has joined the International Travel Partnership (ITP) travel management company consortium.
Brazil's TAM Airlines, South America's largest airline, has become an associate member of the Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC).
TICKETY-BOO ...
ATOC, the Association of Train Operating Companies has changed the pricing rules governing the "anytime" return ticket to allow outbound as well as inbound travel changes. When the "anytime" system was introduced a year ago, outbound travel had to be on the exact date specified; return travel simply had to be completed within one month. Now, thanks in part to lobbying from Hogg Robinson Group (HRG), the outward journey can be made within five days of the ticket date.
The UK's second Staybridge Suites property has opened in Newcastle. The extended-stay property from InterContinental offers 128 suites.
Chester's former Hoole Hall Country Club and Spa is re-opening as a Doubletree by Hilton after a £27.5 million re-fit.
The first InterContinental hotel in Scotland is scheduled to open in Edinburgh in 2013.
Flybe and franchise partner Loganair have launched a raft of new domestic services with the advent of the summer schedules. With around 430 flights a week, Flybe will be operating 187 routes including 12 new ones.
Irish hotel management group, Hotel Partners, has opened the 130-room Fitzwilliam Hotel in Belfast.
Bmi Regional has launched a new three-a-day service between Aberdeen and Birmingham.
Serviced-apartment specialist SilverDoor says demand for upscale accommodation in Edinburgh is booming. It now has 28 units, with the Garden Royal apartments and the Leith Waterside development being the latest Scottish additions.
TRAINS DRAW DOMESTIC AIR PASSENGERS
UK TRAVELLERS took 1.2 million fewer domestic flights last year, down 4.8 per cent on 2007, according to the latest figures from Britain's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). In all, the nation's airports handled 235 million passengers last year, but only 25 million were flying within the UK. The CAA says it is a continuation of a trend which "is driven, in part, by greater competition [from] domestic rail services".
The Hard Rock Hotel, opening in the spring of next year in Singapore, will have one of Asia's largest column-free ballrooms, seating up to 7,300 people. The US$223 million property will have 360 rooms and suites, plus 26 meeting rooms.
What first opened in 1819 as Edinburgh's first purpose-built, large-scale hotel, has reopened as the Apex Waterloo Place. The 187-room, fourstar property is within one minute of the city's Waverley station.
Launched by the Great Hotels Organisation, Metro Hotels, is aimed at the corporate market as a "new niche brand for mid-range, corporate hotels".
LIBYAN DEBUT FOR MARRIOTT MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL is to open its first hotel in Libya with the 370-room JW Marriott Tripoli making its debut in 2011. Sited in the capital's new business quarter, close to the government and diplomatic districts, the 36-storey property will include an 80-room executive level, more than 1,115 sqm of meeting and function space, a business centre, three restaurants and a spa.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the JW brand, named after the hotel group's founder. The first JW Marriott hotel opened in Washington in February 1984. There are now 43 JW Marriotts in 20 countries, including London's Grosvenor House, with two more - in Hangzhou, China and India's Bangalore - opening this year.
TZELL ADDS EVENT MANAGEMENT
TZELL UK has added conference and event management to its services through a tie-up with Conference- Health, which has clients in the pharmaceutical, media, technology, government and recruitment sectors. Established last year, Tzell UK, headed by Barry Whittaker, operates a similar business model as the Tzell Travel Group in the US, which exists through a network of independent agencies and individual agents. Conference-Health was set up by managing director Veena Lidbetter, who has more than 25 years' experience in the hospitality industry.
Marriott bookers' incentive to jump-start meetings market
IN A DRIVE to jump-start the meetings market, Marriott has a promotion running until the end of March next year at more than 1,200 of its hotels around the world. Any organisation booking 50 cumulative paid room nights at selected Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance and Courtyard properties qualify for the following benefits:
- One free room for every 35 rooms booked
- A 25 per cent allowable attrition rate
- Double Marriot Rewards points for the meeting planner
- Two per cent rebate off the master bill for meetings with at least 100 paid cumulative room nights
Stephanie Linnartz, senior vice-president of global sales at Marriott International, says: "Now more than ever it is important for people to get out and meet face-to-face with their customers, team members and organisations. Meetings are one of the best ways to share new ideas, network, and to develop, train and motivate people," adding that "this special offer helps jump-start meetings." Up to 50,000 bonus points can be earned by meeting planners who are Marriott Rewards members and register for the promotion.
ON THE EVE of Crossroads Paris (May 14-15 at Le Palais des Congrés de Paris), a two-day event to discuss the managed travel and meetings skills needed for surviving the recession, Kevin Maguire, president and CEO of the National Business Travel Association (NBTA), has been talking to Catherine Chetwynd. He said: "Most people don't really understand the benefits of business travel but one out of seven jobs is tied to the travel industry. If you say people have to stop travelling, it is like saying their job is not important. That is ridiculous. It is not simply cutting your nose off to spite your face - it's cutting your head off. "We need to realise this is a global situation and businesses around the world should look at how their travel is being handled. In my travels for the NBTA, I see some get the concept of smarter travel and are promoting it, while others are still trying to figure out who to blame and are not looking for solutions."
The NBTA and Paragon Partnership conference Crossroads Paris is the association's second consecutive event to be held in Europe. Maguire said: "We made the decision a year ago - we would try to rebuild partners in Europe as a way of bringing travel managers and suppliers from all over Europe together with their American counterparts. "We will put ideas to attendees to help people understand what is going on and how better to understand the future. Business travel professionals need to demonstrate that preserving and improving business travel plays a vital role in reaching recovery. Crossroads Paris 2009 will, I believe, play an important part in helping the industry achieve this goal."
BREAKFAST MEETINGS ON THE MENU
LONDON'S ISLAND RESTAURANT AND BAR, which overlooks Hyde Park at Lancaster Gate, has launched an à la carte breakfast menu aimed at the corporate meetings market. Diners are offered a two or three-course plated breakfast (£23 for two-courses and £27 for three-courses) from 07.00 to 10.30, seven days a week. Visit islandrestaurant.co.uk