The news that train operator Abellio will take over the running of the lucrative ScotRail franchise in 2015 sent some shock waves through the UK rail industry when it was announced last month. While controversial, the award of what is the Scottish Government’s biggest contract to a subsidiary of Holland’s nationalised railway service does present…
The organisation of a clinical trial is a detailed and complex one, there are many key players involved and one of the most important elements is patient engagement and data confidentiality. As an organisation who has been working with clients in the medical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and who has been managing the travel of…
Deciding where to host your meeting or event can be a difficult task with many factors coming in to play. From venue to travelling to the location, what is the most important factor in the decision making process and can be there be such a thing as too much choice? London is a hugely popular…
Premium Economy was first introduced by EVA Air in 1991 and was quickly followed by Virgin Atlantic in 1992 where we saw a new cabin class emerge between economy and their “Upper Class”. The premise for this new offering was more leg room and wider seats. British Airways followed by offering their World Traveller Plus…
There is a new trend emerging in the travel industry with some flag carrying airlines beginning to offer a “cabin baggage only” fare. The airline industry has seen a lot of change when it comes to baggage charges. The low cost airlines, Ryanair and Easyjet, changed the way we travel in the 1990s when they…
A recent survey by hotels.com found that customers rate free Wi-Fi as the most important in-room amenity which is not so surprising in this day and age where we expect constant connectivity for our mobiles, tablets and laptops.
As little as a couple of years ago it was the norm that when you checked into a hotel you’d ask for the price of Wi-Fi. This is now changing with more and more hotel chains and independent hotels offering this service free as standard. Thankfully we have moved on from being given a tiny strip of paper upon checking in with a code typed out!
Historically both leisure and business travellers in Scotland have benefited from direct flights heading west to North America, but in the past ten years with the growth of Middle Eastern “hubs” passengers have more options to go to the Middle East.
On the 10th April 2004, Emirates Airlines started a direct service from Glasgow to Dubai, increasing to double daily flights in June 2012. Since then, Qatar Airways began operations in May 2014 from Edinburgh Airport direct to Doha with five flights per week, and Etihad have just announced that from the 8th June 2015, it will operate daily direct services from Edinburgh to Abu Dhabi.
You might have noticed if you look at recent developments in any of Scotland’s major cities that we are experiencing a major boom in budget hotels, driven by the growth of national and in some cases international brands. The gap that existed 25 years ago between global five star accommodation providers, aimed at high spending tourists and the business traveller, and small private hotels and guest houses which catered to the rest of the market has now virtually disappeared. A new generation of the competitively priced hotel chain has now emerged, establishing itself in towns and cities across the UK.
Research publicised earlier this year from the accounting group UHY Hacker Young underlined the extent of the European oil capital’s ability to sail through and indeed flourish during what was arguably the worst period of the global recession triggered by the 2007 banking crisis. Aberdeen was the UK’s only major city to grow its economy during what many think (and hope) was the height of the financial crisis, generating a 1.1 per cent rise in Gross Value Added per person between 2008 and 2009.
Over the last few weeks, I have been asked the same question by a multitude of clients, friends, colleagues and fellow students at a two-day sales management training. That question, surprisingly to me was, “…with all the airlines merging, will they stop frequent flyer programs?” Having worked for major airlines and travel management companies, I am used to and enjoy talking about travel. In my friends’ minds, the four major airlines, post mergers, would have no reason to offer traveler incentives. I foresee the exact opposite. Not only will frequent flyer programs at Delta, United, Southwest and the new America continue, they will be enhanced. Here’s my reasoning: