Ian Allan Newsletter April 2017 Follow us on Twitter! www.twitter.com/ianallantravel Keep up to date with all the latest news www.ianallantravel.com/latest-news Air France A Unique Experience between London & Paris Air France is operating 6 weekly morning flights from London to Paris on their new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. following a unique 320m investment by the franchise operator and the infrastructure manager. The completion of the new rail link to London the first from a major British city in more than 100 years sees central Oxford connected to Marylebone via successful new stations Oxford Parkway and Bicester Village. It has been just 15 months since the line opened from Oxford Parkway in October 2015. The first year has seen over 1.5 million passengers using the line; this is expected to grow with the extension into the city. Chiltern s new service offers business travellers an alternative route from London to Oxford. The new service will offer two new trains per hour throughout the day between Oxford and London Marylebone with journey times to the capital from just over one hour. Passengers will experience on their short hop all that the Dreamliner has to offer including enhanced seat comfort, larger windows, improved air quality and special LED lighting. Flights in Economy start from as little as 78 return*. For those who wish to travel I even more comfort and style, Air France s Dreamliner boasts their newest long haul Business Class product, with direct aisle access thanks to a 1-2-1 seat configuration. *Fares subject to change without prior notice. Air France s Dreamliner to operate between London and Paris until 28 October 2017. Chiltern Railways New Rail Line to Oxford Now Open Chiltern Railways and Network Rails new rail link connecting Oxford with the capital is now open, Hertz Branch added at Gatwick North Terminal Hertz has launched a full rental service from the Sofitel London Gatwick hotel the only car rental firm to have fleet available at the airport s North Terminal. It means customers will no longer need to take the inter-terminal shuttle to the group s existing facility at the South Terminal to pick-up their vehicle. Reception for the new branch is located in the lobby of the Sofitel, which can be accessed via a walkway from the North Terminal building. Hertz have also announced a partnership with Chauffeur Company - Blacklane to add professional driver services to its global transportation offering. The first stage of the rollout give Hertz customers in Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain and the UK the opportunity to book transportation to complement their car rental in more than 250 cities and 500 airports worldwide.
Free flights and more for your business with Etihad BusinessConnect Etihad BusinessConnect is tailor-made for companies with between 2 and 50 business travellers, and the more travellers that connect, the more miles and benefits you receive. So while your employees are earning miles for themselves they are also amassing them for your company, meaning you get even more free flights and upgrades. Sign up for BusinessConnect today and your company will receive 5,000 miles as a welcome to the programme. Everyone benefits: It s free to sign up. The traveller earns 100% Etihad Guest miles for themselves. The business earns 75% of Etihad Guest miles. Your appointed administrator can manage your account online. You can book your flight any way you choose your travel agent, etihad.com, Etihad Contact Centre. Redeem miles for free flights, upgrades, gifts from our Reward Shop or even cash via PointsPay. percentage of miles over and above what the individual Etihad Guest traveller earns, depending on whether travel is in our Premium or Economy cabins. For more information contact your Ian Allan travel consultant or visit www.etihadbusinessconnect.com. Online Passport Renewal System Introduced A new online passport renewal service has been introduced by the UK Home Office. Following a successful pilot on 2016, the new service enables people to upload a digital photo and enable renewal within 10 minutes. Passport applicants who meet the following criteria will be directed to the service when they choose to apply online: Age 26 or over residing in the UK Do not hold a dual nationality Are in possession of their current passport (not damaged, lost or stolen) Will not be making changes to their name The passport that is being renewed expired after 2012 How does it work? Business travellers sign up to our Frequent Flyer Loyalty Programme at etihadguest.com. An administrator sets up a BusinessConnect account at etihadbusinessconnect.com. Then connect your Etihad Guest members to your BusinessConnect account. The Guest continues to earn 100% of the miles for themselves. The business earns an additional
Lufthansa Group and Cathay Pacific Sign Codeshare Deal. Lufthansa Group and Cathy Pacific have signed deals covering codeshare and frequent flyer agreements. The deal sees Lufthansa Group customers (Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, and Swiss) offered improved connections from Hong Kong towards Australia and New Zealand. They will be given four new destinations connecting flights via Hong Kong from 26 th April. Passenger arriving in Hong Kong from Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna and Zurich will be able to transfer to Cathay Pacific under one booking. They will also be able to check their baggage through to their final destination on any route of Cathay and collect miles on the respective codeshare flight segments. The new destinations via Hong Kong with Lufthansa Group are: Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns and Auckland. In turn, Cathay Pacific passengers can reach under Cathay Pacific flight numbers, 14 different European Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian destinations with their ticket, thereby expanding their options for the existing flights to Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and Zurich. Great Western Railway - Introducing New Trains After 175 years from the first train running between Bristol and London, Great Western Railway (GWR) are carrying out the biggest upgrade on their network. The Electrostar Their brand new Electrostar train has started operating between London Paddington and Hayes and Harlington in September 2016. They provide free Wi-Fi, at-seat power sockets, airconditioning, improved toilets, plenty of space for wheelchair users and, more importantly, more capacity; each providing over 400 seats a 16% increase in peak time capacity into Paddington. From January 2017 the services increased to half hourly in each direction between Paddington and Hayes & Harlington. By the middle of 2017, as electrification of the Great Western Main Line progresses, services will operate as far as Maidenhead. Eventually, 45 trains will replace most of the existing diesel trains they currently operate in the Thames Valley. The Intercity Express The first trains will come into service this year, with more joining by the end of 2018. They ll include: more seats, tables and legroom; improved air conditioning and window blinds throughout extra room for luggage and bikes bigger and better toilets improved passenger information and Wi-Fi throughout all of the trains better access and security faster and more reliable journeys new food and drink options; served from modern high-capacity kitchens Services to Bristol, South Wales and the Cotswolds will benefit first, with the second batch mainly serving the West of England route; these will also have modifications to improve power over the steeply graded West Country routes.
Alitalia Introducing BusinessConnet Alitalia are introducing the new BusinessConnect for all Small and Medium Enterprises, which entitles your company to earn miles each time you or your employees fly for business. The more trips you take, the more miles your company will earn miles that can be converted into discounts, award tickets, class upgrades and MilleMiglia Gallery rewards. Why Choose BusinessConnect It offers generous miles It is flexible to use It is clear, transparent and easy It lets you obtain benefits when you fly on the entire Alitalia network as well as main Partner Airlines network It is completely free Click here to join now! Terms & Conditions Eurostar New Route to Bordeaux Eurostar has started ticket sales as of 15 th March 2017 on their new route from London to Bordeaux. How it works Earning miles on your company account with BusinessConnect is easy: every euro spent (excluding taxes) buying flights operated by Alitalia or its partners lets your company earn reward miles on the company account. Miles can be used by you company for: The new high-speed service is due to start on 2 nd July and will cut journey time by more than one hour thanks to a new rail line in France. Passengers will travel from London s St Pancras station to Gare du Nord in Paris before transferring to Montparnasse station to connect with a local highspeed train to the centre of Bordeaux. To claim award tickets for Alitalia flights or those of its main Partner Airlines To get discounts for up to 100% of the flight ticket value on the purchase of your next trip using the Cash&Miles services To make your trip even more comfortable with our services such as upgrades, extra baggage allowance and entry into the Casa Alitalia lounges To receive one of the exclusive MilleMiglia Gallery rewards Eurostar said the fastest journey time will be 5 hours, 55 minutes. The new high-speed line between Paris and Bordeaux will reduce the journey times from 3 hours 15 minutes to 2 hours 5 minutes. Earn Double, Gain Double Benefits If you are already a MilleMiglia member, the advantages are doubled. In additional to the business miles earned with BusinessConnect, you are your employees will also earn miles on your personal MilleMiglia accounts doubling the reward.
London City New Business Lounge London City Airport is boosting its business offering with a new lounge. The business lounge opened on the 20 th March. It will be housed in the airport s Private Jet Centre, easily accessible from the main terminal via a private taxi shuttle. Other features will include adjustable head and foot rests, noise-cancelling headphones, and an exclusive amenities kit. Premium economy passengers will also benefit from priority boarding and disembarkation, an extra suitcase allowance, upgraded dining options and other privileges. The lounge will feature a flat screen TV, charging points and free Wi-Fi as well as complimentary cold food, snacks and alcoholic drinks. Located less than 5 minutes from the terminal, passengers are required to check-in any hold luggage before taking the complimentary private shuttle to the Private Jet Centre with their boarding pass. The lounge can accommodate up to 30 people. The new cabins will gradually become available from summer 2017, with eight Airbus A330-300s and 13 A340-600s due to be refitted. In addition, Iberia s 16 new A350-900s will be factory fitted with the new seat when they are delivered in 2018. The first routs to feature the new seat will be from Madrid to Buenos Aires, Lima and Chicago in the summer. Iberia Premium Economy Iberia has launched a new premium economy seat which is being fitted to 37 of its long-haul aircraft next summer. The seat will be wider than the current economy seat at 19 inches, and seat pitch will be 37 inches. Seat recline will also be increased by 40 percent compared to economy, and the premium economy seat will feature a large IFE screen.