British Airways – New London Gatwick Routes Announced.

British Airways has recently announced the details of two new long-haul routes from London Gatwick airport.

Cape Town operations will commence on 24 November 2016 for the winter schedule. The flight will be operated by a Boeing 777ER in a three class configuration, offering 48 Club World seats, 24 World Traveller Plus & 203 World Travellers seats. Services will operate thrice weekly on Monday, Thursday & Saturday (to Cape Town) and Tuesday, Friday & Sunday on the return leg.

Gatwick to New York JFK services will commence on 1st May 2016. Again the aircraft type offering three cabins is as above / as per Cape Town. However, services to JFK will be daily, departing at 1640 arriving 1930, and returning from Kennedy at 2200 arriving 10am the next day.

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British Airways – Upgrade to First Campaign.

British Airways is once again running its Upgrade to First campaign which also includes On Business fares. Passengers can upgrade from Club World to First one-way for no extra cost and, also, receive the eligible Avios & Tier Points for the cabin in which they actually fly.

Furthermore, bookings can currently be made at BA’s semi-restricted fare types (booked in R, D & C classes), between now and 14th June. All travel must be completed by 8th September 2016. Passengers can buy as many upgrade eligible tickets as they wish, however, tickets can only be purchased via a Travel Management Company.

Brussels Airport Update.

The first flight to depart from Brussels Zaventem Airport since the terrorist attack on 22nd March took off yesterday. Services are slowly returning to normal, however, the airport will not reach full operational capacity for sometime to come.

There are also additional security measures in place for departing passengers and we strongly recommend that you read these on the following web site: https://www.brusselsairport2203.be/en/

Should you have any further questions, or concerns, however, please do not hesitate to contact us (GTM).

Brussels Airport Update.

Over the past few days Brussels Airport has carried out a detailed analysis of the affected building’s infrastructure. However, and at present, no dates for a partial re-commencement of flights has been given.

Some airlines have advised that their services to/from Brussels Airport will remain non-operational  until Friday 1st April. Flights for the 2nd & 3rd April are currently being reviewed.

We will continue to post updates as soon as we are notified. Please note that flights to/from Liege and Charleroi are operating as are Eurostar’s services into the Belgian capital.

Brussels Airport – Update.

Please note that Brussels Airport will remain closed today and tomorrow – Thursday 24th and Friday 25th. This is due to the on-going forensic investigation and until this is complete the airport operator cannot access the terminal building to assess the damage.

We (GTM) are following the Brussels Airport web site for the latest updates and will post these as we know more.

Brussels Travel Update.

Please note that Brussels Zaventem Airport will remain closed tomorrow – Thursday 24th March. As we receive updates from the various airlines operating to and from the airport we will update our web site again accordingly.

Eurostar has been operating a normal service today, however, passengers who are due to travel up to the 29th March may exchange their tickets should they wish to do so.

Please feel free to contact us should you have any concerns regarding your travel plans.

 

 

Brussels Airport Explosion.

As per media reports this morning, Tuesday 22nd March, there have been two explosions at Brussels Zaventem Airport. Currently the airport is being evacuated and all flights have been grounded. The Belgian authorities are advising passengers not to travel to the airport until further notice.

British Airways logo

Important BA European fare rule changes…and they’re good too!

British Airways has today, Wednesday 9th March 2016, made some changes to its European ‘fare families’. However, there is an important distinction to be made firstly, between choosing an HBO (hand-baggage only) fare and a fare including checked luggage.

For regular business travellers, fares including checked baggage, whilst ever so slightly more expensive, offer far more flexibility and benefits than HBO fares; definitely a case here of being penny wise and Pound foolish.

European fares including checked baggage now offer free advance seat assignment 48 hours prior to a flight’s departure, and should you wish to change your return flight at anytime, for example, BA have now waived their standard £60 change fee; although a difference in the air fare may still apply.

All in all, some great changes which will benefit business travellers greatly.

TOSA Toast of Surrey Business Awards 2016

GTM Announced As Finalist in 3 Categories In Toast of Surrey 2016 Awards.

Global Travel Management is very proud to announce that we have been shortlisted for three categories in this year’s 2016 Toast of Surrey business awards.

The three categories are: International Trade, Companies with a turnover of more than £5m & Director of the Year. The awards will take place at a black-tie event on 28th April 2016 at the HG Wells Centre, Woking.

We hope to be able to report that we have won at least one of the aforementioned categories on the 29th April!

Important USA ESTA Update.

Effective immediately, the United States has today (21st January 2016) began implementing changes under the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 (the Act). Under the Act, travellers in the following categories are no longer eligible to travel or be admitted to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP):

  • Nationals of VWP countries who have traveled to or been present in Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria on or after March 1, 2011 (with limited exceptions for travel for diplomatic or military purposes in the service of a VWP country).
  • Nationals of VWP countries who are also nationals of Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria.

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