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July News Roundup... With a potential increase to all airfares a very real possibility in the near future, the new UK coalition government has postponed any decision on the controversial Airport Passenger Duty (APD). George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said in his emergency budget last month that he would report back in the autumn on whether to scrap the tax and replace it with a per plane duty. Much of the UK travel industry has called for the tax to be scrapped, including airlines and TMCs (Travel Management Companies) alike. Earlier this month the travel agents' association ABTA, called on the industry to "barrage" MPs over their concerns about the tax. The Conservative-Lib Dem coalition government had also not yet made clear whether the planned increase in APD, due on November, will go ahead. APD, which was also increased last November, is due to rise by £1 per passenger on short haul flights, £12 on medium haul and between £25 and £30 on long haul journeys. The per plane duty taxes the plane rather than the passengers which critics said is both fairer and more environmentally friendly. However it is likely that any per plane tax will be passed on by airlines to travellers.Giles Travel’s Hotel Team has benefited from enhancements to our hotel booking tool, thanks to expense management technology firm, Conferma. The improvements to the system will increase speed and booking functionality. Hotel Booker, which displays GDS (Global Distribution System), non-GDS, low-cost and direct connect wholesale internet rates, now offers us the ability to create bookings based on past selections. These will include last booked traveller, contact or hotel details enabling us to choose, book and confirm a room booking in just three clicks. Other new aspects include the ability to amend bookings online and to add bookings made through Hotel Booker to previously created GDS bookings. With in excess of 150,000 hotels worldwide, our travel consultants can now integrate all traveller details into a single booking record and produce a single confirmation for clients. 70,000 photographs have also been added to enhance the user experience. Sue Robinson, Giles Travel’s Hotel Booking Manager, commented: “We really like the fact that we can now manage multi-travellers in a single booking and can conduct searches either by hotel, traveller name or contact details. The new hotel images, details of facilities and locations are also very useful in enhancing the service we provide to our clients." BAA’s two remaining London airports, Heathrow and Stansted, have formally abandoned plans for new runways. In the face of unwavering opposition from the coalition government, Stansted has officially withdrawn its application for a second runway while Heathrow bosses have announced they will stop work on their application for a third. There are new visa criteria for travellers to Saudi Arabia. Applicants must state their full job title on the application form (as an answer to question “Profession”) otherwise the application will be rejected. To help you, please note that these job descriptions are insufficient: “Manager”, “Director”, “Consultant”. Instead, full titles must be provided, for example “Marketing Manager”, “Sales Director”, “IT Consultant”. Finnair has been named as Best Airline in Northern Europe in 2010 Skytrax World Airline Awards. More than 40 airlines from around the world assembled at the World Airline Awards in Hamburg to receive their accolades. The award winners are selected by the airline industry’s most important audience – it’s customers. Skytrax is widely regarded as an accurate and reliable independent monitor of public travelling preferences, and that makes this an especially notable award for Finnair. Meanwhile, Flybe launches services from Gatwick to the Breton commercial hub of Nantes in mid July. The airline will operate six flights a week with 78-seat Q400 aircraft. And finally, some news slightly closer to home. Last month saw the launch of our totally refreshed website; retaining the strong and distinguishable Giles Travel brand style, the whole site has been completely re-written, both in terms of content and functionality. The result is a dynamic online tool not only for sales and marketing, but also for client account management, new business development and business travel industry news; all created, built, edited and managed by Giles Travel’s own in-house marketing communications department. Clients now have their own unique login areas, where they can access a wide range of securely published documentation - anything from reports to policies, individual newsletters to intranet resource documents. A direct link to their individual MI suite is also provided; fed directly from the Giles Travel GDS, this powerful tool delivers accurate and intelligent management information in real-time, all at the click of a button. The user login area also encompasses a client enquiry form tracker – a function built to satisfy customer requests gleaned from development sessions Giles Travel conducted with their clients during the development of the new site. Prospective clients can discover so much more about Giles Travel’s range of products and services from the new website and by downloading Factsheets, online Flipbook Brochures, Case Studies, Videos and more. Lastly, but certainly not least, we’re absolutely thrilled that Giles Travel was awarded the coveted Best Travel Management Company 2010 by the travel industry at the recent, prestigious Advantage Awards in Lucerne. It’s great to be recognised among our peers for the quality and service we provide and we’re constantly striving to improve our service to clients through innovation, experience and care. This award continues our successful run recently, following our ranking at number 32 in the annual Top 50 Travel Management Companies study by Buying Business Travel magazine – that’s up two places on last year! News Date: 21-07-2010 |
