Archive for the ‘Glasgow airport’ Category
The war of words over border control strike action continues in the press and it is unknown how badly affected airport passengers are going to be by the action – reports vary from minor disruption to significant. Border control will be affected from the evening of Tuesday 29 November until midnight on Wednesday 30 November – strike action start times will depend on shift patterns. Any delays will affect passengers arriving into the UK that need to pass through passport control – outgoing flights should not be affected. Tips to help avoid delays:
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has said that it has robust arrangements in place to maintain the security of the border and that it has
Rob Whiteman, chief executive of the UK Border Agency, said: ‘Securing the border is our priority and over the last weeks and months we have considered all options to ensure we are prepared for union action. ‘We always aim to minimise any disruption caused by the decision of unions to strike, but travellers could see longer waiting times at some ports and airports.’ For up-to-date UKBA information visit http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/
easyJet is set to trial allocated seating on selected routes. The trial, which will be introduced in the spring of 2012, will mean each passenger will be allocated a specific seat, however, if they wish to sit in a specific seat, such as in the front row they can pay to reserve them. Carolyn McCall, easyJet CEO, said, “This is another example of easyJet trying to do all it can to make travel easy and affordable for our passengers. We look forward to seeing how our passengers respond and how the trial works. We will roll it out further only if it works operationally, from a revenue perspective and increases passenger satisfaction. If it doesn’t, we won’t.”
Jet2.com and sister company Jet2holidays are celebrating with a trio of wins at two of the top award ceremonies in the travel industry calendar. Jet2holidays led the awards haul after being voted Best Tour Operator to the Iberian Peninsula and Islands at the prestigious British Travel Awards – the largest survey of public opinion on UK travel industry performance and the most anticipated awards in the travel industry calendar. The accolade recognises the package holiday specialists’ position as the leading British tour operator to that region. Jet2holidays was also named Best Mainstream Short Haul Operator at the 19th Annual Travel Awards of the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association, where Jet2.com was declared Best Low Cost Airline and runner up in the Best European Airline category. Voted for by Scottish travel agents, the airline and package holiday specialist beat off tough competition from rival travel companies to win the coveted accolades at the biggest event in the Scottish travel calendar. Jet2 received further national praise from readers of The Telegraph newspaper in its annual travel awards. The airline was unveiled as runner up in the Favourite Short-Haul Airline category, second only to British Airways. Steve Heapy, Managing Director of Jet2holidays and Chief Commercial Officer of Jet2.com, said: “This latest flurry of awards is a reflection of our continued dedication to providing the best possible service to our customers who clearly enjoy our growing list of city, sun and ski destinations. The recognition from both customers and agents is hugely important to us and is a clear indication that we are getting it right across the board.” “Our friendly flight times from eight regional bases and generous 22kg baggage allowance as well as our ATOL protected holiday packages to suit all tastes and budgets are what set us apart from our competitors and help to keep us the airline and tour operator of choice for our loyal customers.”
Here’s a chance to see a sneak preview of the Kevin Spacey, American Airlines television ad due to be screened in the UK this weekend. Due to demand, British Airways has increased its capacity on Glasgow to Heathrow flights. The airline has added an extra 4,000 seats per week for its 2011/2012 winter season compared with 2010/2011 winter season. BA will increase the number of weekly return flights operating between the two airports to 67 in January, and more capacity will be added by the introduction of a 252-seat Boeing 767 aircraft which will operate four return services a week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday). British Airways also operates up to five return services a day between Glasgow Airport and London City Airport and up to four a day between Glasgow and Gatwick. It’s official, BAA is to sell Edinburgh Airport. The announcement was made yesterday ending months of speculation. The airport, which is Scotland’s largest airport, handles more than 100,000 flights and around 9.2 million passengers a year and was named Best European Airport (5-10m Passengers) in 2011. BAA, which was ordered to sell either Glasgow or Edinburgh Airports by the Competition Commission, is preparing for the sale with the airport going to market in early 2012 with a view to agreeing a sale by the summer of 2012. Jim O’Sullivan, Managing Director of Edinburgh Airport, said: “Today’s announcement brings the clarification that many have been calling for and although we will be sorry to leave BAA, we do so in the knowledge that we’re in an extremely strong and healthy position. “Not only has Edinburgh Airport benefited from considerable investment in recent years but we have an excellent team in place which has been the driving force behind our success to date. “We will now begin preparing for the sale process, but irrespective of who may own it, the team at Edinburgh Airport will undoubtedly continue to deliver for its passengers, the city and Scotland as a whole.”
BAA is expected to announce shortly which of it Scottish airports it will sell. The airport operator is required by the Competition Commission (CC) to sell Stansted Airport and either Edinburgh or Glasgow airport. Stansted was to be the first of the airports to be sold, followed by a Scottish airport, however, the Competition Commission has accepted a proposal from BAA to reverse the order of sale. The reversal of sale will enable BAA to continue its judicial review of the CC’s July 2011 decision requiring BAA to sell Stansted. BAA Chief Executive Colin Matthews said:“We are pleased that the Competition Commission has accepted BAA’s proposal to reverse the order of airport sales in its 2009 decision and 2011 decision. “BAA has already sold Gatwick and will now sell either Edinburgh or Glasgow airport. “We will continue with our judicial review proceedings against the Competition Commission’s decision requiring BAA to sell Stansted. “We believe the South East airports market has changed and BAA has changed since the Competition Commission’s 2009 decision. It is also clearer now than it has ever been that Heathrow and Stansted serve different markets.”
BAA is to seek a judicial review of the Competition Commission’s decision to force the sale of two of its airports. At present, BAA is required to sell Stansted Airport and either Glasgow or Edinburgh airport, however, BAA is challenging the decision based on changes in circumstances since the original decision in 2009 was made, making the sale of Stansted Airport unnecessary.
Figures recently released by BAA show that August was a busy month for its Scottish airports, with all three seeing strong growth in passenger traffic. Aberdeen Airport saw the largest increase – passenger numbers were up by 6.7% when compared to August 2010. Glasgow Airport witnessed a 5.5% increase compared to August 2010 and passenger numbers at Edinburgh Airport were up by 3% compared to 2010. In a rolling 12-month period, September 2010 to August 2011, all BAA’s Scottish Airports saw an increase in passenger numbers when compared with the previous 12 months – Aberdeen up 5.4%, Edinburgh up 6% and Glasgow up 1.5%. As part of the Best of Scotland celebrations being hosted at Glasgow Airport, additional lines have been added to the Discover Glasgow store. Textiles and food products have been added, including a range of gifts, clothing and kitchen textiles all made locally and ethically. Renowned Scottish designer, Gillian Kyle, also has a range of textiles included in the collection. |
