Snow has impacted travel in the UK
Stansted airport is currently closed.
Luton airport has just reopened following a closure due to snow fall / local conditions
Snow is falling in the midland / southern area in the UK. Therefore, travellers are recommended to check the status of their flight before they go to the airport.
The UK Met Office has issued an ice alert.
Unions representing Iberia’s ground staff and cabin crew have announced six days of strike action, to be staged before Christmas.
The dates announced for industrial action are December 14th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th & 21st.
The strikes are being held in protest at restructuring plans announced by the airline’s parent company, International Airlines Group (IAG). The plan, announced on 9 November, aims to stem the carrier’s cash losses by mid-2013 and add €600 million to profitability by 2015.
IAG says that cutting network capacity by 15% and reducing headcount by 4,500 will help it do this. At the time, Rafael Sánchez-Lozano, Iberia’s chief executive, said: “Iberia is in fight for survival. It is unprofitable in all its markets. We have to take tough decisions now to save the company and return it to profitability. Unless we take radical action to introduce permanent structural change the future for the airline is bleak. However this plan gives us a platform to turn the business around and grow.”
The leaders of five unions representing Iberia staff – UGT, CCOO, USO, Asetma and Sictpla – say they “will not be complicit in a plan that
would destroy Iberia” and have refused to negotiate with the airline’s management.
British Airways begins a new service between London Heathrow and Leeds Bradford Airport this weekend (Sunday 9th December).
The four times daily service will be operated using Airbus A319 aircraft and will operate to and from Heathrow Terminal 1. Prices will start from £55 for a one-way journey.
Please note, if you are due to travel to Italy this Thursday 29th, or Friday 30th November, that a general strike has been called by both public and private employees.
The strike will happen between 9pm on 29th November until 9pm on the 30th November. Trains, trams, ferries and planes will be affected by the strike. Also traffic wardens, employees at ticket offices and other transport workers will go on strike. The strike has been called by labour unions over government spending cuts. An additional strike has been called on the 10th December.
A word of caution though, often these strikes are called by the various unions involved, however, not all public transport operations close down completely, IE. contrary to the impression given, therefore, please also check with your local sources and if flying, please ensure you check in online.
Fly Finnair to the Far East this winter for prices (excluding airport taxes) starting from just £49 (Delhi)! Be quick though, the selling period for this offer ends on the 11th December.
Fly from either London, or Manchester to : Hong Kong SAR, China, Japan, Thailand, Singapore or India. Flights are via Helsinki, advertised as the shortcut route between Europe and Asia, due to the Trans-Siberian route flown by Finnair. There are some blackout dates, namely the Christmas holidays, but depending upon your destination, travel to some destinations is permitted right through to 30 June 2013.
Finnair is a One World alliance carrier : http://www.oneworld.com/
We have recently received an update from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office regarding yellow fever certificates.
Namely, if you intend to visit Australia, but have recently been to a country which carries a risk of yellow fever transmission, then you must now be in possession of a yellow fever certificate.
A certificate of yellow fever vaccination is required for travellers aged one year or older entering Australia within six days of having stayed overnight, or longer, in a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. The World Health Organization list of countries with a risk of yellow fever is available via the following link :
http://www.nathnac.org/ds/c_pages/documents/WHOYFrisk2011.pdf
Please note that the same requirement/scenario also applies to people wishing to visit South Africa.
LOT Polish Airlines will be the first European airline to fly the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and for a short period only this brand new aircraft will be operating between London Heathrow and Warsaw.
So, if you’d like the chance to see what all the fuss is about, the Dreamliner will be operating on the following dates : 21, 22, 29, 30 & 31st December 2012 and the 1st and 2nd January 2013.
Should you currently be planning a trip from the UK to Singapore, please note that Qantas have just released some new return (UK – SIngapore) Premium Economy deal fares.
There are various levels of fare depending upon how far in advance you book, and a number of restrictions will apply, for example, 7, 14 & 21 days advance purchase, return prices start from just £1,808.79 inclusive of all airport taxes and surcharges.
These fares are only valid on Qantas flights between London Heathrow & Singapore, although UK domestic services on British Airways are permitted in order to connect with the Qantas service from Heatrow. Please note that all travel must be completed by 31st March 2013.
Qantas operates two Airbus A380’s a day to Singapore with the Premium Economy cabin situated at the rear of the upper deck. The Premium Economy cabin of the A380 only consists of four rows of seating, and so is a nice, quiet area to be seated. Seat pitch is 38-42″ with a 9″ recline and seat width comes in at 18.5 – 19.5″.
BMI Regional, once part of BMI British Midland, which was sold to British Airways’ parent company IAG, is now operating flights again. Sector Aviation Holdings Ltd acquired BMI Regional from IAG and is now flying mainly UK domestic services.
Some of the cities BMI Regional are operating to/from are : Aberdeen, Bristol, Edinburgh, Manchester, Norwich. The European cities served are : Brussels,
Copenhagen, Groningen, Lyon & Zurich.
Further to our update below, posted on 7th November, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) strike, backed by unions in Greece, Portugal, Spain and the Canary Islands, could lead to many flights being disrupted for up to three days this week (13-15 November).
Passengers booked to fly on all affected European sectors should therefore checkin online for the most up to date information regarding their flight/s. Easyjet has already cancelled many of its flights to countries in southern Europe. British Airways said passengers due to travel to or from Spain on Wednesday 14 November can change to another date free of charge; they also warned that there could be disruptions on services to other European countries.
Iberia has cancelled more than 350 flights this week, including those on the Madrid to London route as a result of the strike, which affects air traffic controlers. TAP Portugal has announced that London to Lisbon flights will also be affected on 13 November and 15 November.
Tomorrow’s industrial action, which has been organised by the European Trade Union Confederation, is in response to austerity measures being taken by the governments of several southern European countries. Protest marches, rallies and strikes will affect different countries at different times.
