British Airways to offer 'hand luggage only' fares

British Airways is to offer cheaper fares on selected routes to passengers who travel without checked luggage.

The airline says the fares – which will initially be offered on flights from Gatwick to Amsterdam, Dubrovnik, Jersey, Tunis and Turin – will give its passengers “more choice”, but they are likely to be viewed as an attempt to compete with low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet. “The suprise is not so much that BA has made this move, but that it has taken so long to do so,” said Nick Trend, Telegraph Travel’s Consumer Editor. “It appears to be a reaction to commercial pressure from its no-frills rivals, which quote lower headline fares because they don't include the cost of checked bags. This can make BA's fares look expensive and so less attractive by contrast.

“BA says that the new fares are about giving it customers ‘more freedom to choose the kind of flying they want’, but they are also about giving British Airways the freedom to make its fares look cheaper.”

He added that those passengers who do check a bag into the hold could eventually end up paying more.
“Airfares are so variable that, within a few weeks, it will be impossible to know whether BA passengers without hold luggage are getting a better deal, or whether those who check in their bags are being charged extra,” he said.

But Peter Simpson, director of Gatwick for British Airways, claimed that passengers who check in a bag will not be expected to pay extra to make up for those who choose the cheaper fares.
"It is all about giving our customers more freedom to choose the kind of flying they want," he said. “Many British Airways customers at Gatwick choose not to check in a bag as they’re already taking advantage of our generous two-bag hand luggage policy. Those who still want to check in a bag will simply pay the same price they do now.”

The new “hand baggage only fares” go on sale next Tuesday (February 26), with starting prices ranging from £39 (one-way to Amsterdam) to £69 (one-way to Turin). BA said that, depending on the route, the fares are between £9 and £15 cheaper than usual. The announcement by BA - which axed free meals on some flights in 2009 in a bid to cut costs - follows KLM's decision to begin charging customers who check in luggage on short-haul flights. KLM's policy will be effective from April 22. A spokesman for Ryanair said: “We welcome BA’s conversion to the Ryanair way".

This is a smart move by British Airways as this will help them compete with budget airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet who have taken over dramatically in the europen market. BA are doing the complete opposite to budget airlines. Instead of showing just the price for the flights without any add ons which is what budget airlines are doing at the moment, BA shows the total price with luggage already. In contrast with BA and budget airlines this made budget airline fares much cheaper, but now BA will give the option to take off the check in luggage to make the flight between £9 to £15 cheaper, depending on the route.

What is a CRS/GDS?

 

What are the benefits of learning how to use Computer Reservation Systems?
A Computer Reservation System (CRS) are computer systems, which link airlines and travel agents together. These systems are used in the booking process, and provide up to date availability for airline seat purchases. Global Distribution Systems (GDS) are CRS systems, which can cater for multiple airlines, hotels, and car reservations. Airline Courses Online offers the most popular CRS courses including Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan. These CRS systems are not available to the public. A Travel agent must subscribe to a CRS provider and complete specialist training. This is where airlines can help, by providing the specialist training. To work within the travel and tourism industry, learning a CRS can be an advantage when applying for jobs. Travel agents or airlines, will expect you to know a least one CRS. These systems are also used by hotels and car hire companies. Learning a CRS will greatly improve your chances of finding employment.

Below is a flowchart linking the database at the centre with the various operations it can perform.

3 innovative Uses of The Ipad by the Hospitality Industry

There is no doubt that Apple’s iPad has the potential to revolutionize the dining and hospitality industry. The functional ambiguity of the iPad can serve various applications in both hotel and restaurant settings.  Even as etiquette for mobile device usage at social places are hotly debated and being constantly redefined, restaurants are embracing new mobile technologies to update the experience for their customers.  These early-adopters are the pioneers that can potentially craft a valuable edge in the industry’s competitive landscape.  

iPads Replace Menus at Australian Restaurant

An upscale Sydney restaurant, Mundo Global Tapas, is replacing their paper menus with the interactive tablet.  Customers use the restaurant-provided iPads to not only browse menu selections and order food, but access photos of every dish and even notify chefs of how they want their steaks cooked.  The digital medium offers several advantages over the paper medium – these include easy revisions for fluctuations in price and keeping track with inventory so customers don’t order items out of stock.  The restaurant envisions the iPad menu to eventually revolutionize the dynamics of food ordering by utilizing local weather and customer moods to recommend meals.

Mundo Global Tapas

Luxury Hotel Provides Personal iPad For Each Customer

London’s Berkeley Hotel plans to offer hotel guests iPads for the duration of their stay.  The iPad comes with selected apps that help craft the travelers experience in the area – like suggesting the top-five places to visit, and a providing a list of local hidden gems.  The device becomes a travel guide for customers by helping map out their itinerary with restaurant and location recommendations to make it into a better traveling experience.

Berkeley Hotel

Major Hotel Chain Plans To Equip Concierges With iPads

Intercontinental Hotels Group, a multi-national company that manages several hotel brands including Holiday Inn, have conducted tests to research the benefits of hotel staff being equipped with iPads.  Results have shown that concierges with an iPad by their side are more versatile to fulfill services for hotel guests.  By not being stationed at their behind-the-counter desktop computers, concierges are able to roam around the lobby to assist their customers, creating a less static method of customer service.  The company also discovered that by supplying iPads to concierges, it greatly reduces the time of training for new employees, crediting the tablet’s intuitive interface.

Intercontinental Hotels Group

The Ipad has made a big impact on the world and has revolutionize the hospitality industry. This new technology updates the experience for customers. Many organisations such as the business's above are investing in bringing the Ipad to the hospitality industry. I think this is a very good idea although not all customers know how to use the Ipads which means there should also be human interaction with customers if they wish not to use Ipads or other similar technologies.

British Airways and Iberia sign merger agreement

I found this article on the BBC website which happened in April 2010. I thought it would be interesting as these are two big companies in the travel and tourism industry merging together.

British Airways and Spanish airline Iberia have signed a deal to merge and create one of the world's biggest airline groups.

The merger, which was provisionally agreed in November last year, is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

In a statement, the two companies said the merger would benefit shareholders, employees and customers.

It is expected to save the airlines 400m euros ($533m; £350m) a year.

The new company will be called International Airlines Group, but the BA and Iberia brands will continue to operate as normal.

The company will have its headquarters in London, with BA shareholders retaining 55% ownership of the company.

Further consolidation

In total, the group will operate 419 aircraft, flying to more than 200 destinations, and carry a total of 62 million passengers a year, BA said.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh said the merger would be good for customers.

"The merged company will provide customers with a larger combined network," he said.

Iberia's chairman and chief executive Antonio Vazquez said the merger was a key move.

"This is an important step in the process towards creating one of the world's leading global airlines that will be better equipped to compete with other major airlines and participate in future industry consolidation," he said.

The merger is seen as a chance for the two airlines to cut costs following two very tough years for the airline industry.

Both BA and Iberia are expected to report heavy losses this year, with BA predicted to announce its biggest annual loss since privatisation.

The airlines are also regarded as a good match, having few overlapping routes.

The merger will also allow the company to compete more effectively with other European giants including Air France-KLM and Germany's Lufthansa.

The signing of the merger deal follows reports on Wednesday that two US airlines - US Airways and United Airlines - were also in talks over a possible merger.

New alliances

Analysts welcomed the move in light of the current economic environment in which global airlines are struggling for survival.

"The merger makes huge sense for passengers and airlines alike. It will allow participating airlines to spread their cost base, something they desperately need to do," said Ashley Steel, global chair for transport and infrastructure at KPMG.

Pension problem

BA and Iberia are expected to complete the merger by December, subject to approval from regulators and shareholders.

One stumbling block could be BA's pension problems. Its two final-salary pension schemes have a combined deficit of £3.7bn, which it needs to cut.

Last month, the airline agreed plans with unions to increase pension contributions to close the deficit.

But those plans still need to be agreed with pension trustees and the pensions regulator. They could yet insist that BA pays in more money to fill the deficit.

If Iberia is not happy with those demands, a specific clause in the contract allows it to call off the merger deal.

Plans for a tie-up between BA and Iberia date back long before the current troubles in the airline industry.

The two airlines first began working together in 1999 following the privatisation of the Spanish flag-carrier. BA currently has a 13% stake in Iberia.

With both of these airlines merging together this has created Europe's third largest scheduled airline. Bookings will now be made easier as customers can now book through either airline's websites and they will be able to combine BA and Iberia flights to find the cheapest fares available between them both. Because of the merge passengers who are a member of BA executive club or Iberia Plus programme will be able to recieve their rewards with either airlines. This merge is a good match as both airlines had a few overlapping routes. In total, the group will now operate 419 aircraft, flying to more than 200 destinations carrying a total of 62 million passengers a year.