p5 oct10 8/10/08 22:02 Page 5
ttglive.com
news
In brief
Crunch hits lead-in times
■ Air France cancels Heathrow-LA service
Air France has cancelled its service from
Heathrow to Los Angeles for this winter owing to
Lee Hayhurst.
had to secure holidays early before they sold out.
the “present economic and financial crisis”. The REDUCED capacity and economic uncertainties “Go back three or four years and on a Monday
carrier said the aircraft and slots would be used are polarising lead-in times: savvy customers I would still have had 600 seats to sell for the
instead to increase its service to New York JFK are booking early, but those worried about their Friday. Now, I have none,” he said.
from two to three flights for summer 2009. finances are hoping to find a late deal which In contrast, Gold Medal’s Terry Fisher said
may not materialise. lead-in times for its core destination Dubai had
■ GAP Adventures revenue soars 52% Some mainstream and specialist operators shrunk from 12 weeks to between four and six.
GAP Adventures has reported record increases have reported healthy early bookings for 2009. FTO director-general Andy Cooper agreed that
in passenger numbers and revenue for July and Twelve per cent of next summer’s capacity has 2009 bookings were looking healthy for many
August this year. Passenger numbers for the been sold, according to Ascent-MI Leisure Travel operators, putting this down to the poor weather
two months increased 66% and revenue by 52% Monitor. However, these sales are believed to be in the UK this year and a lack of late deals.
compared with the same period in 2007. predominantly for the busy July and August “Of the 12% that is booked for next year,
school holiday period and there are concerns the three-quarters of that will be for July and
■ Virgin group posts 67% interim profits rise shoulder periods could be difficult to fill. August. The challenge for many operators will be
Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays have reported Playton Loizou, Jewel in the Crown managing May, June, September and October,” he said.
a 67% increase in pre-tax profit to £72 million for director, said forward sales for 2009 by the end Cooper warned that although operators were
the six months to August 31. The group’s first-half of August were up 84%, fuelled by customers reporting strong early sales, they were mostly
revenues rose 15% to £1.37 billion, compared who knew what they wanted and realised they for “a very short” peak season period.
with the same period last year. Virgin Atlantic
chief executive Steve Ridgway claimed the
airline had “cushioned itself” well against any
downturn. He said its cash in the bank now stood Gill’s admits to misleading ads
at £688 million compared with £599 million at
the end of the last financial year. GILL’S Cruise Centre has accepted an Advertising might have to review its discounting policy to
Standards Association ruling that an advert for comply with the rules (TTG September 26).
■ Qatar Airways appoints sales chief for north a P&O Cruises’ world cruise was misleading. Gill’s said the price was calculated by adding
Qatar Airways has appointed Duncan McCubbin The retailer placed a newspaper advert the 45% discount and a fuel surcharge. But the
as sales manager for the north of England. stating that a cruise was available for £7,389 ASA said Gill’s had not been able to prove that
McCubbin has been in the industry for 26 years. per person compared with the full brochure price that price had ever been charged for the cruise.
His most recent role was head of corporate sales of £14,651, but the ASA received a complaint Alistair Gill, Gill’s chairman, described the
at Delta Air Lines. stating the full price was not genuine. breach as “technical” and said: “We accept that
The case is similar to two complaints made we need to get this right.”
■ Attraction visits in Britain rise by 3% against Reader Offers ads for Fred Olsen cruises, Nigel Lingard, Fred Olsen marketing director,
Visitor numbers to UK tourist attractions grew by which the ASA is also expected to uphold. said it would slowly move away from quoting
3% in the past year, according to VisitBritain. The The cases raise the possibility the industry headline brochure prices that were not charged.
tourism agency’s 2007 Visitor Attractions survey
revealed that visits were up the most in the east
of England, which saw a 9% increase. Attractions
in London brought in 5% more visitors, with the
British Museum being the city’s most popular
free attraction with 5.4 million visits.
■ Insurer unveils cruise and medical policies
AllClear Travel Insurance has introduced policies
for cruise passengers and those travelling abroad
for medical treatment. AllClear Cruise covers
cancellations up to £25,000 and also provides
compensation for pre-booked excursions missed
due to illness. Treatment Abroad covers those
leaving the country for medical, cosmetic or
dental treatment if their recovery period abroad
lasts longer than expected.
FLYING TACKLE: Air Astana, the national airline of Kazakhstan, flew its football squad to
ttglive.com
For the latest news, reviews and comment
England for their World Cup qualifier tomorrow. Chief executive Peter Foster, a Liverpool
from the travel industry, visit ttglive.com supporter, said the airline was 100% behind the team, despite it being 49% British-owned.
10.10.2008 05
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88