Dave

British Airways to celebrate centenary by painting a Boeing 747 in retro B.O.A.C. colours

/in /by

British Airways has announced it will be painting one of its aircraft in the design of its predecessor British Overseas Airways Corporation (B.O.A.C.) as part of its centenary celebrations.

The livery from the 1964 – 1974 B.O.A.C. era will adorn a Boeing 747. The aircraft will arrive at Heathrow on 18 February, before entering service one day later. This will also mark the 50th anniversary of the first Boeing 747 flights.

British Airways plan to repaint more aircraft with retro liveries, which will fly on British Airways routes.

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said,

So many British Airways customers and colleagues have fond memories of our previous liveries, regularly sharing their photos from across the globe, so it’s incredibly exciting to be re-introducing this classic BOAC design.

Our history has shaped who we are today, so our centenary is the perfect moment to revisit our heritage and the UK’s aviation landscape through this iconic livery.

Happy anniversary to British Airways, from all of us at Global Travel Management.

Drone chaos overcome for GTM’s clients
Dave

Drone chaos overcome for GTM’s clients

/in /by

At Global Travel Management, we make sure our clients’ travel plans go as smoothly as possible.  Occasionally, there are events outside our control which result in delays and cancellations for travellers.  It’s at times like this that our team steps up to do everything we can to fix travel problems as they occur.  A good example of this was in December when Gatwick was forced to close due to sightings of drones near the runway.  That was an international news story.  But we prevented further drama for our clients.

Our Operations Director Kelly Packington explained how we dealt with the situation.  “The team immediately ran a report to see who was travelling to or from Gatwick on the day of the drone sightings. Once we had that information, we could start working out how to manage each passenger’s situation”.

Jane Marrison, Team Leader and Senior Travel Consultant, saw that one of her clients was caught up.  “One of my clients was due to return back to Gatwick that day. But any delay would cause him problems as he had another flight out the following day.”

“I checked his flight status with the airline, and his flight was shown as delayed but not cancelled. As a precaution I checked availability to Heathrow for my client, held a seat and then notified him what was happening and what I had done.”

“Throughout the day his flight status changed a couple of times. At one point his status changed to ‘departing on time’ and the airline asked me to cancel the seat I was holding back to Heathrow, which I did. However, his flight was eventually cancelled.”

“When the airline cancelled the flight, they ‘reprotected’ him on a flight returning the next day. But, as I knew he wouldn’t be able to return the next day I quickly went on to our reservations system and got the last seat back to Heathrow on the last flight of the day.”

This is just one example of how we manage clients’ travel, even when there are unforeseen problems impacting travel, worldwide.

What did this particular client think of the quiet, efficient way in which we made sure his travel was as smooth as possible?  Jane summed it up neatly: “My client was very happy!”

Guildford College
Paul

Inspiring the next generation of business travel experts

/in /by

Guildford College invited Global Travel Management to present to a group of first and second year students this week.

Managing Director Scott Pawley gave a presentation to an attentive audience taking a break from their Travel and Tourism BTech and City and Guilds Level 3 studies.   The talk covered a number of topics concerning business travel, including

  • Reasons for business travel
  • What are the different “types” of business travel agent?
  • What products and services are offered
  • What specific requirements business travellers have

In addition, Scott covered his own personal journey through the business travel industry, including setting up GTM and seeing the business grow, year after year.

Scott explained why he gives these presentations.   “It’s important to inspire and inform the next generation of business travel industry experts”, he said.   “At GTM we are very aware of the vital role our great staff play in our company’s success.   So it’s important that anyone entering the industry has as much knowledge as possible about what to expect when they start work”.

GTM has offered places to two of the Guildford College students to gain work experience in the industry.   Scott explained that the candidates will be joining the business for two weeks later in the year and will be given hands-on experience on a number of aspects of how an award-winning, international business travel management company operates.

Paul

Virgin Atlantic & Stobart agree Flybe takeover.

/in /by

Virgin Atlantic and Stobart Group have combined to rescue British airline Flybe with a cash offer for the entire share capital of the airline.

Flybe will continue to serve passengers across the UK and Ireland, but it has been announced that the airline will be re-branded to Virgin Atlantic.

Ultimately, this will mean GTM customers will be able to book flights that link regions in the UK and Ireland to Virgin Atlantic’s extensive long-haul network through improved connectivity at London’s Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester Airport.

For schedules, availability fares and to book on Flybe or Virgin Atlantic, please contact your GTM Travel Consultant.

Paul

LOT Polish To Launch New London City – Warsaw Route.

/in /by

LOT Polish Airlines is pleased to begin operating a new service between its base at Warsaw Chopin Airport and London City Airport.

Starting this coming Monday, 7th January 2019, LOT Polish will begin twice daily services using four new Embraer 190 aircraft with 106 seats and configured in a 2 x 2 set-up and a 3 cabin service of Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy Class.

The airline’s schedule from London City will be as follows:

LO288 (daily except Sunday)  0930-1300 & LO290 (daily) 1820-2200

And on the return, departures from Warsaw Chopin Airport leave at:

LO287 (daily except Saturday)  0715-0900 & LO289 (daily)  1605-1750.

Please contact your GTM Travel Consultant for availability and fares.

Paul

ESTA Application Processing Time.

/in /by

Please note that you must now apply for your ESTA, if applicable, no later than 72 hours before departing for the US. Previously real-time approvals were possible, however, this is no longer the case.

For more information, please click here.

Paul

Free Copy Of Your Quarterly Hotel Market Report!

/in /by

I am very happy to announce the publication of the HOTELS QUARTERLY MARKET REPORT.

The publication, compiled in association with our partners, Advantage Travel Partnership, provides an insight into the hotel market in 2018 and contains fascinating industry insight, particularly for anyone who needs to book business travel in the year ahead.

With detailed research and analysis, the report contains important information for any business booking hotel rooms for business travel in the next year. The data includes details on the average daily rate paid in hotels worldwide; research into how many hotels are being built; how many additional hotel rooms are coming on-stream; the increase in hotel nights booked worldwide – and the extent to which the UK market leads the world; plus many other data points that are critical in determining how and where next year’s travel spend can best be utilised.

The report analyses which hotel industry trends should be watched in the year ahead. Including the effect Brexit will have on Average Day Rates in hotels in London and elsewhere in the country; the best way to book stays in order to ensure securing hotel group loyalty points; and advice on how to make sure bookings are made at the best rates.

The top 40 locations in the UK are analysed to show which places are the most popular and where the highest and lowest Average Daily Rates can be found. And there is information on the top 40 places outside the UK too.

This report is a vital set of research to help ensure you can optimise your hotel spend in the coming year. If you would like a copy of the report, please drop me an email – pb@GTM.uk.com – and I will send you a PDF version, free of charge.

Dave

USA: Update – Winter storm causes further flight cancellations at airports across Midwest on 26 November

/in /by

More than 1,000 flights were cancelled as a snowstorm hit the U.S. Midwest on Sunday, snarling post-Thanksgiving travel on one of the busiest days of the year.

 

O’Hare is a hub for both United Airlines and American Airlines. American Airlines waived date-change fees for travellers booked to and from 20 cities in the Midwest if they can travel through Nov. 29. Spirit Airlines also waived fees for date changes through Nov. 29 for tickets in and out of Chicago and Kansas City, due to the storm. Southwest Airlines said travellers wouldn’t have to pay the fare difference to change their tickets in and out of Chicago’s Midway, Des Moines, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Omaha and Wichita. The airline normally doesn’t charge travellers a flat fee to change their travel dates.

 

A few travel problems may continue into the start of the workweek. American said it cancelled 85 flights scheduled for Monday, while FlightAware.com showed about 200 flights were cancelled in and out of Chicago’s airports and Kansas City.

Paul

Lufthansa’s lowest air fares remain available to customers of GTM!

/in /by

Global Travel Management will continue to offer its customers the full range of Lufthansa Group Airlines’ air fares, despite the airline restricting access to their lowest prices via the traditional Global Distribution Systems (GDS) from December 1st 2018.

Lufthansa Group Airlines’ most competitive fares, sold in the UK, for European point-to-point flights have always been available to GTM – and all other TMCs – via their GDS’. However, from 1 December this year, Lufthansa Group has decided to restrict the sale of their lowest fares, via a new channel known as NDC. This means that only TMC’s who are connected to LHG’s NDC pipeline will be able to offer these fares; and GTM is one of those!

GTM has access to these fares – typically offering significant savings on European short-haul flights. These Economy Light fares on Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Swiss and SN Brussels Airlines’ flights across Europe will all continue to be available via GTM, but will be restricted from the main global distribution systems.

Thus, GTM’s clients will still be able to book these flights, while some other travel management companies’ customers will not. GTM continues to work closely with Lufthansa Group, along with British Airways and Air France KLM to ensure that our customers benefit from the widest choice of fares at the lowest available cost. Please feel free to contact Paul Baker, Sales Director, should you wish to discuss the matter further.

Dave

Germany: Eurowings employees stage warning strike at Dusseldorf Airport

/in /by

Eurowings passengers at Dusseldorf Airport can expect flight cancellations on Tuesday. During a warning strike, employees of the Lufthansa subsidiary stopped working this morning, affecting 18 flights.

 

Eurowings advised passengers to arrive at the airport in advance, as there could be delays at check-in and in the security area.