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Score one for the consumers as they obtain relief from colluding airlines. In what, up to a few weeks ago, seemed like a never ending procession of ‘fuel surcharge hikes’ by airlines, a bit of good news has trickled out. Passengers who purchased long haul air transportation from British Airways or Virgin Atlantic Airways between August 11, 2004 and March 23, 2006 are entitled to a partial refund of the ‘fuel surcharge’ each airline collected as a proposed settlement in a class action suit has been reached.
This proposed settlement, reach in the US District Court for the District of Northern California, comes on the tails of the cargo cartel price fixing investigations where several carriers (including British Airways, QANTAS, and Korean Air) have also admitted guilt to the Department of Justice in the US.
August 18th, 2008
With the Olympics set to opening tomorrow in Beijing on 08/08/08, China is prepared to welcome the world to its capital city and with it, showcase modern China. Despite the debate over whether the Olympics should have been awarded to China due to its less than stellar human rights record, there was much preparation for the expected massive numbers of visitors. Most of it has gone well and everything should be ready for the opening ceremonies, including the peculiar looking National Stadium, even though there are still persistent smog problems.
August 7th, 2008
On a very hot and humid Thursday, July 17, 2008, I was fortunate enough to attend a reception for An Taoiseach Brian Cowen, TD, in New York. It was held at the residence of Niall Burgess (consul general of Ireland in New York) and was in honor of the first official visit of Mr. Cowen to the US as prime minister. The event I attended was to introduce the leader of the Republic of Ireland to the travel trade in the USA who specialize in tourism to Ireland and also served as an opportunity for Mr. Cowen to reiterate the importance of tourism to the island of Ireland and the commitment of his administration to support tourism during such a challenging time.
July 26th, 2008
On Friday, May 9, 2008, myguideTravel was a sponsor of the annual ICCUSA (New England chapter) Emerald Award Gala Ball held at the InterContinental Hotel in Boston. ICCUSA is the Ireland Chamber of Commerce in the USA
and is a non-profit business networking organization with a focus on Ireland. ICCUSA is nationwide in the US and each major city has its own chapter. ICCUSA’s goal is to foster business relationships and economic exchanges between the US and Ireland in a variety of ways, including a breakfast speaking series, charitable fund raising and an annual trade mission.
May 13th, 2008
I classify myself as an aviation enthusiast so it was with great interest that I recently read about the launch of a new commerical air service for the island of Mull in Scotland. Usually, launching a new air service is met with a mixed response depending upon which side of the environmental protection issue you stand on. This new service, however, is a bit different. Loch Lommond Seaplanes is to serve the Hebridean Isle ofMull from the city center of Glasgow with the quest of resuming commerically viable sea plane service. The service is to be operated by Cessna Aircraft that will leave little impact on the environment and make use of existing infrastructure. The flight will be a delight for frequent visitors to the islands as it will turn a 4 hour trip on country roads and ferry in a relaxing flight that lasts about a half hour. Alas, there is one drawback: flights are seasonal and will only operate during the summer schedule.
April 25th, 2008
These past few days have been a reckoning for the aviation industry as no less than three air carriers have gone belly up, with a few more probably to follow. Apparently, the environment to operate an airline now is pretty tough, with rising fuel prices and a softening economy exacerbating other factors such as aircraft efficiency and labor costs to the point where several carriers have just shut their doors without warning and at least one more (Champion Air) plans to do so shortly.
April 5th, 2008
As we approach the traditional feast day of Ireland’s patron Saint, Patrick, on March 17, it is interesting to note that in 2008 the religious celebration of it was moved by the Church to Saturday, March 15 to avoid a conflict with the start of Holy Week. Arguably one of the most famous saints (along with probably Saint Nicholas and Saint Valentine), Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated worldwide in both religious and secular fashion. Even though Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, the first public celebration of his feast day was actually organized by the Charitable Irish Society in Boston and held in 1737. Today, celebration of the day has turned into a week long affair in Dublin with parades, parties, dancing and much more. Indeed, most of the world has embraced the day and added to it in their own special way. Nevertheless, it remains the quintessential Irish day of celebration by the Irish, Ireland’s diaspora and the Irish for a day.
March 16th, 2008
Over the February 22-24, 2008 weekend, the myguideTravel team exhibited at the annual Boston Globe Travel Show at the Seaport World Trade Center on Boston’s Waterfront. I was fortunate enough to be part of the team who worked at the event and I must say it was very impressive. There was over 250 exhibitors on hand, with such destinations as diverse as India, Egypt and Malayasia. We were on hand to promote our destination specialist brands myguideIreland, myguideBritain and myguideScotland. Despite a snowstorm on Friday that dropped about 8 inches (2o centimeters) on the city, the turnout was strong with approximately 13,000 people coming through the doors.
February 27th, 2008
By most accounts, US exporters fared better than other parts of the economy did in 2007 as a weak dollar made American goods more affordable abroad while growing foreign markets increased the pool of people looking to purchase those items. An area of exporting that saw a flurry of activity in 2007 was professional US sports leagues packing their bags and passports to showcase their talents overseas. Three of the four major professional sports leagues (NFL, NHL, and NBA) played games abroad in 2007 and, not wanting to be left out of the act, Major League Baseball scheduled two foreign trips (one to Japan and one to China) for early 2008.
January 29th, 2008
I travel a lot. On airplanes, trains and cars and I, like most frequent travelers, have a few things I do to attempt to improve my commute. One of these is to avoid checking any luggage for carriage in the hold when flying. Like many of my fellow travelers, I try to cram as much as I can into a carry on so I don’t have to wait at the baggage return carousel at my destination or, in the worst case scenario, wear the same clothes for 3 days while my airline attempts to re-unite me with my luggage if it makes an unscheduled en route stop . So, it was with elation that I read the British Airport Authority (BAA) has recently revised it one carry on only bag restriction at 7 of its 8 airports (Gatwick is still excluded). I transited BAA’s Heathrow Airport three to four times a month in 2007 and it never failed to perturb me how frustrating this policy was for travelers. Not only is Heathrow one of the worst airports to transit on a good day, but this onerous restriction used to compel me to have to check my roller bag as I could only take one carry on (my laptop bag) through security. My airline would let me take two bags, and when I checked in at Boston Logan, the TSA lets me carry two on, but connecting at Heathrow I would only be permitted one by BAA. So, either I check it in in Boston or abandon it at Heathrow in the flight connection centre. Now, as I would appreciate a change of clothes when abroad I had no choice but to check it.
January 6th, 2008
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