Corporate Travel e-Newsletter - April 2008

We are delighted to announce the completion this month of our first Fifteen Years of operation!

Medway Travel opened its doors as a new start-up Travel Management Company exactly 15 years ago, as a franchisee of a North American company. Some three years later we became completely independent and have continued as such ever since.

Our membership of two consortia has been a major help in enabling us, as a modest sized TMC, to remain in the forefront of the industry’s use of the best technology, as well as having access to one of the country’s two largest programmes of contracted airfares. We have therefore been able to remain competitive in spite of the significant changes that have taken place in the travel market place during the last decade. These have included the scrapping of airline commission payments to TMCs and the advent of the internet, with the airlines and others encouraging bookers to by-pass companies such as ourselves.

Fortunately, many companies continue to value the contribution which experienced travel consultants, with the best technology at their finger tips, can make to their overall travel costs and management control. Our client base now includes companies placing travel in excess of £800K pa with us, and located in all regions of the UK.

During the last five years we have added to the company a Groups and Events division and a tailored select Leisure Travel department, each with their own specialist consultants, and find that many of our corporate clients use all three functions.

We plan to continue to pursue our policy of providing a friendly and attentive service with professional excellence, for many years to come, in the belief that there will always be enlightened clients who accept that such providers give valuable support to their own staff and businesses.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our clients for their past business and say how much we look forward to continuing to assist you in the years to come.

 

  

Medway Leisure Travel and the Marriott Tudor Park Hotel, Bearsted (Nr Maidstone)

invite you to attend their Luxury Travel Fair
on Thursday 15th May 2008 at 6.30pm.

Come and meet some of our exclusive specialist travel partners to learn more about the wonderful and exciting areas of the world for which we can tailor-make your ideal holiday.

A complimentary glass of wine and buffet is included and there will be a prize draw with some very special prizes.

Entry will be by complimentary ticket only. There will be limited availability so please

contact us on 01622 608265 or email astra@medwaytravel.co.uk to claim your free tickets now.

  

  

  

  

 

Congratulations to Robert Gould of Portsmouth who won our eNews subscribers' prize in our 2008 1st Quarter draw. Every quarter we draw a winning name. The odds are much better than winning the lottery, so anyone who has not subscribed to our free eNews, now is the time to be in with a chance of winning the subscribers' prize draw for the 2nd Quarter 2008

The voucher certificate will have a value of £100, redeemable against any form of holiday (combination of travel and accommodation) booking made through us to the value of £500 or more, and will be valid for a period of 18 months from the date of issue. It will be transferable, providing the winner advises Medway Travel of the name of the eventual recipient.

From a City break to a Cruise, from an all-inclusive package to a tailored holiday, the choice is yours. We have a massive range of outstanding holidays to offer and a team of consultants highly qualified to research and advise on all aspects of your trip. The chances of your being the lucky winner in the next 12 months are better than 1 in 500, so the very best of luck!

Passengers travelling through London Gatwick are now allowed to carry more than one bag through security

Bag restrictions were lifted at all other BAA airports on January 7, and in the Gatwick transfer security areas,  from midnight on March 31. Gatwick had been given extra time to install new x-ray and archway technology in central search areas.

BAA Gatwick will continue to apply the Department for Transport’s cabin baggage restrictions relating to the size of each item (maximum 56cm tall, 45cm wide and 25cm deep). But please note that some airlines operating at Gatwick, including EasyJet, Monarch and Ryanair, will continue with their own restriction of only one item of hand baggage. This is understood to be to improve flight take off punctuality by avoid longer than necessary passenger loading.

Passengers are advised to check with their consultant or their airline before travelling to the airport.

Many of our readers will have experienced an external audit needed to support the renewal of their company’s ISO 9001/2000 Quality Assurance certification, so they will know how pleased our team here at Medway Travel was when – yet again - our external auditor passed us and our systems, A1.

In his report this time, the auditor noted :

· No potential non-compliances found

· No opportunities for improvement identified.

In his further comments he added:

· Internal audits and management reviews are well documented and effective to client needs and objectives

· A very well presented, controlled and documented Quality System.

It was really good to know that the effort and attention we give to maintaining and always trying to improve our quality standards and consistency, was again recognised by a trained outsider - and we hope that our readers continue to find our service matches their high expectations!

Plans to make airport workers the first in the country to be compelled to carry compulsory National ID Cards have been condemned as “wasteful and costly”.

Airline representation body BAR UK said the scheme would not produce any significant return as thousands of staff working airside at UK airports – the area beyond passenger security barriers and on aircraft aprons - are already required to have airport ID cards.

Meanwhile, it is reported that the government has delayed until 2011 a requirement for people having to give biometric details when renewing their passports.

Under Home Office proposals, airport staff such as baggage handlers and cabin crew would be the first to have National ID Cards.

That would mean an ID Card would be required to get an ID Card, according to BAR UK, which represents more than 90 scheduled airlines.

Chief executive Mike Carrivick said:  “Today, aviation security checks are at an all-time high, and staff with airside access are already subject to very thorough identity checks.

“Any compulsion for them to have an National ID Card, in order to obtain an airport ID Card, will add complexity and cost to the process without apparently any strong benefits in return.

“Criminal record checks will still be necessary, as will security clearances, so there are no savings of time or process there.

“However, as there are likely to be significant costs to obtain a National ID Card, this will be seen as yet another financial burden being placed on the industry without savings being made elsewhere.”

Passengers should be concerned that in the end these extra costs will add – unnecessarily it seems – to the cost of the fares we all pay.

 

The growing tourism business in India is entering the domain of luxury leisure travel and the Golden Chariot - a train with conference halls and wireless Internet connectivity - is just the beginning.

Introduced in the heritage circuit of Karnataka, the Golden Chariot, modelled on the Palace on Wheels of Rajasthan and the Deccan Odyssey of Maharashtra, will generate nearly 60 percent of its annual business in the MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) tourism sector, according to projections by the travel industry.

This is the first time that a luxury tourist train is opening its door to the business travel segment in India and the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation is energetically selling the train across the country.
Golden Chariot is suited for business travellers and company incentive holiday groups because it was the first luxury train with wifi (wireless Internet) connectivity, it has two conference rooms and people can operate their laptops throughout the journey.

The development seems set for success, as Mysore alone draws nearly 2.5 million tourists annually, which is only 20,000 less than the Taj Mahal and 200,000 less than Madame Tussaud’s, a company director claimed recently.

The heritage ride, at a cost of some £1750 per person, will be a six-day seven-night package.
The train has 18 thematically designed coaches, 11 passenger coaches, two restaurants and conference halls.
The Golden Chariot is a joint initiative of the Karnataka government, Indian Railways and Mapple Group of Hotels.

Please contact our Groups & Events department for further details of this or any other Conference and Events plans. We have a huge range of innovative ideas and venues, in addition to the more usual ones.

Rail is fast overtaking air as the preferred method of travel for business travellers in the UK and Europe, according to new research. For example, rail bookings lead by as much as 74% versus air sales for travel between London and Leeds.

Other popular routes show a similar growth in popularity for rail travel, with sales between London and Newcastle leading by 22%, and London and Paris by 30%, according to the research conducted by Carlson Wagonlit Travel

Potential cost savings for customers can be considerable. If booked on the day of travel, a first class ticket between London and Manchester can cost up to £360, but when booked a day in advance the cost is £175.50 – a saving of £184.50.

On the other hand, rail can be an expensive form of travel based on existing traveller buying behaviour, and current buying patterns do not lend themselves to travellers being able quickly to assimilate the wide range of fare and travel information available. They often don't have the time to weigh-up cost implications as long as the "expenses" safety net is in place.

However, by contacting us, even with only 24 hours notice in advance of travel in many cases, travellers and their employers could make huge savings.

The opening of St Pancras in November means that business travellers in the UK now have a direct link to Europe’s high speed rail network, and for European travellers a quicker connection into central London.

Whilst it seems obvious that this alone will positively impact on rail versus air bookings between the UK and the rest of Europe, (Medway Travel is able to book through tickets to many continental destinations - including Eurostar sectors), it appears that there is also a growing preference for domestic rail travel.

Issues of emissions, security and baggage versus airlines, improved rail services and reliability, and even price where business travellers have wised up to the savings that can be made with a bit of advance planning, seem to be influencing such decisions.

Medway Travel has the most advanced system available for quickly researching alternative fares on UK rail routes and has shown time and again, that it pays clients to seek our advice on optimum fares, so do contact us when you are planning a rail trip.

Hong Kong budget airline Oasis stopped flying on 9th April and announced it had gone into liquidation, just 18 months after it first took to the skies with eye-poppingly low fares.

At a brief news conference, its chief executive gave no explanation for the shut-down, which came amid soaring fuel costs that have recently forced the closure of other carriers, worldwide.
The move left an unknown number of passengers stranded in Hong Kong and the airline's two destinations, London and Vancouver.

'It is with great regret that Oasis Hong Kong Airlines has today voluntarily applied to the Hong Kong court to appoint a provisional liquidator,' he said.

The financial services group KPMG has been appointed as liquidator, and that they are now seeking partners.
All flights on Oasis departing from Hong Kong were immediately cancelled, and travellers holding tickets were given a hotline number to contact.

Earlier, the Hong Kong Economic Times had reported what it called a 'rumour' that the company was struggling under debts of up to 1 bln hkd.

Oasis launched in October 2006, offering one-way Hong Kong to London pre-tax fares of 1,000 hkd. It later added a link to the western Canadian city of Vancouver.

The company, which employed just under 700 staff, had been operating daily between Hong Kong and London, and six times a week between Hong Kong and Vancouver, with plans to open additional routes to Europe and North America.

All Medway Travel clients caught up in the failure of Oasis, were covered by the airline failure insurance that is associated with all our air ticket sales. For more information on this policy, please click here.

Europcar and National Car Rental are to combine their fleets to provide more than 60,000 vehicles in the UK.

The move will create what the group claims as the biggest fleet in the UK daily rental market, including an extended fleet of over 6,000 vans.

By making services for both brands available from a number of locations that previously had been sole branded, Europcar and National users have access to daily rental from over 250 locations throughout the UK. 

Europcar users will have access to sub-contracted vehicles through National’s Specialist Vehicle Management Centre as well as nationwide access to luxury and performance vehicles from Guy Salmon Prestige Rental. 

By combining the fleets of both brands, customers will be able to access the particular group of vehicle they require, and by putting both brands into a selection of locations where previously only one brand was accessible, customers can be more certain that their daily rental needs will be met every time.

The opportunity to consolidate delivery and collection services will also be developed during 2008, further to support operational efficiencies and cut journey times, according to the group.

Our consultants have access to a large number of different rental companies and will recommend the company and location that best fits your requirements, so please ask us to check which offers the best solution for your next trip, whether in the UK or abroad.

 

Medway Travel has access to one of the largest portfolios of specially negotiated contract fares open to any travel agent in the country. This means we can - subject to availability at the time of booking - offer unusually low prices for many long-haul and certain European routes.

This month's examples are:

Continental prepares for Heathrow debut

Continental Airlines has now started flights from Heathrow Airport to both New York and Houston, as a result of the new Open Skies agreement between the US and the European Union.

The carrier is running four daily departures from Heathrow – two to New York and two to Houston – the largest operation of any of the new-entrant airlines at Heathrow. 

Continental’s Heathrow flights operate from Terminal 4, which is to become the base for all SkyTeam carriers operating at the airport. 

The airline continues to offer flights from Gatwick to New York (twice daily), Houston (daily) and Cleveland (daily, seasonal). 

BA unveils summer schedule

British Airways is launching flights this summer from Gatwick to Alicante, Antalya, Faro, Genoa, Gibraltar, Ibiza, Malaga, Malta, Palma, Paphos, Poznan and Tunis.

All new routes start from March 30, except for:

Antalya (April 10), Genoa (April 4), Ibiza (June 1), and Paphos (July 1).

In addition, BA will start flights from London City to Amsterdam, Barcelona and Warsaw on May 6.

Flights to Dallas and Houston move from Gatwick to Heathrow following the implementation of phase one of the EU US Open Skies agreement

Services to Algiers will move from Gatwick to Heathrow and Warsaw flights will move from Heathrow to Gatwick.

BA will also launch a new route from Heathrow to Malaga.

But this summer, services from Heathrow to Detroit, Gatwick to Aberdeen, Nice, Prague and Reykjavik and from London City to Milan Malpensa will be suspended.

Alitalia on the brink as talks break down

At the time of writing, Air France-KLM's takeover of Alitalia has been abandoned and the Italian airline's chairman has resigned, after warning the unions that Alitalia risked going bankrupt if they did not accept the deal.

The Italian government has been trying for more than a year to sell its 49.9% stake in the national airline and says there are no other bidders.

The government's sale of Alitalia has been opposed by Milan's airport operator and prime ministerial candidate Silvio Berlusconi.

Air France-KLM wanted to restructure the Italian carrier but faced stiff opposition from unions.

A statement said that in its final offer made last month, Air France-KLM "clearly indicated" that the offer was contingent on prior agreement with trade unions representative of the majority of the various categories of Alitalia employees (ground staff, flight crews); this agreement concerned the implementation of the Alitalia restructuring plan and its related severance measures.

"Air France-KLM know from experience that in the airline industry no restructuring plan has ever succeeded if it was not first agreed by employees. In the absence of any such agreement, Air France-KLM said it was "regretfully forced" to accept that there was no longer any basis for further negotiations.

Air France route launch special offer

From Wednesday 02 April 2008 Air France has offered a complimentary chauffeur service to customers purchasing a first or business class ticket on its new direct services to Los Angeles LAX and New York JFK airports. This is provided to customers with a pick-up and drop-off radius of 50 miles to and from LHR, LGW and JFK (but not in LA)- first class passengers range is 70 miles.

The offer is subject to certain conditions and specific classes, for travel up to the end of May 2008.

New bmi Company Rewards scheme

bmi has recently launched their company rewards scheme which it claims is unique to any other airline loyalty scheme because the rewards are more flexible and generous. Company rewards will award your company points each time one of your travellers flies with bmi.

Why chose company rewards?

· to save travel expenses by earning points, which can then be redeemed for rewards
· immediate access to your account with up-to-date statement of points
· points can be redeemed online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week as e-vouchers (to spend towards the cost of your next flight), cash rewards or donations to charity
· companies spending over £50,000 per year with bmi will receive a 4% annual cash bonus

Our consultants will be pleased to help you to sign up for the scheme and to manage it, with a view to maximizing the benefit to your company.

 

If you or your colleagues have plans to visit any overseas trade fair in the future, please contact us as soon as possible about your arrangements for travel and accommodation, as the earlier we can make the bookings for you, the lower will be the cost of the airfares, and the greater the selection of hotel accommodation.
We would also suggest you take a look at our  website Trade Fairs page from time to time, to help with your forward planning.

An irate woman was caught in a long queue at Perth airport during a pilots’ strike in Australia.

Flights were cancelled, passengers were being bussed to destinations – there was chaos all around. Finally after a long, long wait she arrived at the counter in a foul mood and said “I've simply got to get to Brisbane. How do I get to Brisbane? – you’ve got to get me there”. She went on and on, not listening to what she was being told, sorely trying the patience and good manners of the airline staff.

Finally after the umpteenth question “How are you going to get me to Brisbane? ” the check-in agent looked at her and said. “Madam, may I suggest you buy a broomstick”.

She left, never to be seen again.