Toast of Surrey Business Awards 2015 – Finalist

Toast of Surrey Business Awards Finalist 2015A big thanks to all Global Travel Management stakeholders with whom we would like to share our success in being chosen as a finalist in the 2015 Toast of Surrey Awards, sponsored by the Surrey Advertiser.

Entering this prestigious event for the first time, GTM has been shortlisted for the ‘Companies with a Turnover over £5 Million’ category, one of the 10 areas in the awards that celebrate the contribution Surrey businesses make to the UK economy.

We have received numerous testimonials to support our entry, confirming that we are giving a top rate bespoke business travel service that prioritises our customers’ needs alongside investment in leading technology.

GTM Managing Director Scott Pawley says: “As a Surrey-based company, we take great pride in being chosen as finalists for the Toast of Surrey Awards.
“I already knew I’m working with one of the best teams in the business which is why we have seen a 25% growth in our client list and a steady increase in profitability since we launched 17 years ago. But I feel this gives the whole GTM team the recognition they deserve.”

Italy – General strike and Air Traffic Controllers Industrial Action 20 March

We Have been advised of a national general strike across Italy from 10:00 to 18:00 local time. This will run alongside an Air Traffic Controllers strike from 12:00 to 16:00 local time on Friday 20th March. Every airline flying to and from Italy, as well as those flying within Italian airspace, will be affected. Please check with your travel supplier before you travel. Or contact us for mor e information.

Lufthansa Pilots’ Strike – Wednesday 18th March

The pilots’ union, Vereinigung Cockpit, has called a Germany-wide strike on all Lufthansa continental flights for tomorrow Wednesday, 18 March from 00.01 hours until 23.59 hours CET. Lufthansa long-haul flights will operate as scheduled.

There will be a significant adverse impact on Lufthansa operations during the strike period. However, the Lufthansa Group will still operate the majority of its approximately 3,000 flights a day and will be able to offer most passengers the alternative of rebooking on other flights.

Flights by the Lufthansa Group airlines Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Germanwings and SWISS (operated by OS, SN, EW, 4U, LX) as well as flights by Air Dolomiti (operated by EN) are unaffected by the strike and will operate as scheduled.

Fast Track Security Access For easyJet PlusCard Holders.

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easyJet Plus annual card holders will now benefit from access to Fast Track security at 35 airports* across Europe from the 19th March 2015.

In order to qualify for Fast Track security, please ensure  that you have advised us (Global Travel Management) of your easyJet Plus card number and/or that it is registered on your easyJet mobile app.  

Also, from 19th March easyJet Plus annual card holders can take a second smaller under seat bag, such as a handbag, or laptop bag, on to flights in addition to a cabin bag up to a maximum size 56x45x25cm (including handles and wheels).   

easyJet Plus annual membership already provides a variety of benefits, including allocated seating including extra legroom and upfront seats on all bookings, Dedicated Bag Drop desks in every airport and easyJet Plus Speedy Boarding. Existing card holders will benefit from this addition immediately. Those wishing to purchase a card can do so via easyJet.com.

* Available at: Aberdeen, Athens, Basel, Belfast, Brussels, Budapest, Cagliari Sardinia, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Edinburgh, Faro, Geneva, Glasgow, Hamburg, Lisbon, Liverpool, London Gatwick, London Luton (from Oct ’15), London Southend, London Stansted, Lyon, Madeira, Manchester, Milan Malpensa, Moscow, Munich, Naples, Newcastle, Nice, Paris Charles De Gaulle, Paris Orly, Porto, Prague, Tallinn and Venice.

 

France: Rail Strike Beginning 9th March to Affect RER B and TER Trains.

Rail workers are set to begin a one-day strike at 7pm on Monday night but authorities say the walk-out won’t provoke the kind of travel chaos seen during last June’s industrial action.
Commuters and rail passengers should be spared any serious travel chaos this week caused by a one-day rail strike set to begin on Monday evening, according to SNCF.
The strike is set to begin at 7pm on Monday and will continue until 8am on Wednesday morning.
But according to forecasts from SNCF, most services will run as normal including the TGV, and most of the commuter trains in and around Paris.
There will be “slight disruption” to the RER B service which links the city’s two main airports Charles de Gaulle and Orly.
There will also be some disruption in the regions where only eight out of ten TER trains are expected to run.
The strike, which has been called by the CGT union in protest against planned rail reforms, is not a rolling strike, which means it won’t be extended beyond the set deadline.
The contentious reforms were put into place in January and are intended to tackle the rail sector’s soaring debt, which stands at more than €40 billion and was feared to almost double by 2025 if nothing changed.
The reforms aim to cut costs by bringing together 149,000 employees at train operator SNCF and the 1,500 at RFF railway network to eventually open up parts of the service to competition.
The rolling strikes in June were the longest in years and crippled the transport system. They prompted clashes between riot police and protesters, and lost the state-run SNCF an estimated €80 million.
The CGT union has long argued that the reforms would lead to job losses without reducing debt.

Disruption to Eurostar Services Monday 2nd March.

Due to a person hit by a train between Ashford International and Ebbsfleet International, the High Speed line is currently closed.  As a result Eurostar trains are subject to delay and cancellation this afternoon.  Emergency services are attending the incident and as soon as they advise the line can reopen our service will resume – we expect a further update shortly.

Due to likely delays and/or cancellations, customers due to travel today are advised to exchange to travel another day or refund their ticket.

Important India Visa Update.

Please note that with effect from 14th March 2015, anyone who applies for an Indian visa will now have to provide biometric data, this includes fingerprint information and facial imagery.

Anyone applying from the aforementioned date will need to book an appointment on the VFS web site http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk/ and appear in person at one of the 14 VFS centres based around the UK.

Appointments can only be booked after completing an online form on the VFS website and no applications will be accepted by post. The fourteen centres are based in: London (EC1, TW4 & W2), Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester, Belfast, Bristol, Bradford, Newcastle, Cardiff, Liverpool, Leicester & Glasgow.

Germanwings Pilots’ Strike 11-13 Feb.

Pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) has called a two-day strike at Lufthansa’s short-haul budget airline (Germanwings), as a long-running row over retirement benefits and the airline’s expansion plans for its low-cost subsidiary continues.

The pilots’ union stated late last night that the strike would run from 2300 GMT this evening, Wednesday 11th February, until 2259 GMT on Friday 13th February.

Important Changes To The BA Exec Club Program.

A note to all British Airways Executive Club (EC) members (which is almost all frequent business travellers), we strongly recommend that you take a few minutes to read about the changes to the EC program regards earning and redeeming your Avios points.

Should you have any questions about the changes please do not hesitate to contact Paul Baker at pbaker@g-t-m.co.uk.

 

Global Travel Management In The Press

Global Travel Management are featured in the latest edititon of the Surrey Chambers Magazine. The full article on  Family Businesses can be found if you follow the link.