Amity World Business Travel

BA to launch London City – Isle of Man. »

Financiers and Bikers take note! BA’s ever growing London City route network is to be augmented by the introduction of flights to the Isle of Man – a route abandoned by Aer Arann recently.

BA’s cunning plan for this small numbers/high fares route is to wet-lease Saab2000 aircraft from Eastern Airways – who have considerable expertise in running similar profile charters to service the Scottish oil industry.

BA Cityflyer will launch a daily weekday service on May 28, increasing to three weekday flights, plus one Saturday and two Sunday services from June 25.

BA says the aircraft “will be painted in British Airways livery, crew will wear British Airways uniform and customers will receive the full British Airways service”… but will their customers be able to connect to/from the all-Club World BA service to JFK?

Contact our Business Travel Team on 01489 589958 or sales@amitytravel.co.uk for further details and reservations.

UK braces for (even more) border control misery. »

A 24-hour strike by UK Border Control staff could bring even more misery to passengers arriving at UK airports as early as this evening.

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union , which includes UK Border Agency staff, has called a one-day strike for Thursday 10 May…however while the action is due to start at midnight, union sources have apparently suggested that members whose shifts start at 19.00 this evening might not turn up for work.

There may also be a knock-on effect into Friday morning as well.

This action may lead to even longer queues than have become usual at passport control for arriving passengers at many UK airports.

The PCS, which is fighting the Government’s planned pension reforms, represents 250,000 public sector workers, 13,000 of whom work for the Border Agency which is responsible for staffing immigration desks at ports and airports.

Members of the Immigration Services Union, which represents 4,500 border guards, are also joining the strike.

PCS spokesman Richard Simcox said: “We expect that the UK Border Agency will throw all its resources, bringing in extra staff and drafting in volunteers, to man passport gates during the strike, but they won’t be trained to do the job and in many cases they won’t have the right level of security clearance so they won’t be able to access the systems the Border Agency uses. They will only be able to sit on desks and wave passengers through. They won’t be checking passports at the gates, and if that were to go on for any length of time there would be a major incident.”

In response, the Home Office reckons it has contingency plans in place to minimise disruption. Immigration minister Damian Green said: “We are preparing to use our trained pool of backroom staff and Ministry of Defence police to boost staffing levels at ports and airports around the UK.”

British Airways tell us they are still planning to operate a normal schedule and continue to speak with the UK Border Agency in order to minimise any potential inconvenience to customers. Additional staff from airlines and airport authorities will be on hand to lend moral support to beleaguered queuing passengers.  

The UK Border Agency has asked for customers arriving in the UK to assist them by having travel documents readily available and by using automatic e-passport gates, where possible.

Please note that UK Border Agency handles incoming immigration checks at the airports. Departing and international transfer passengers will remain blissfully affected. Probably.

Same-Day Chinese Visa Service Terminated »

The Chinese Embassy in London had advised our consular agent, CIBT,  that from Tuesday 8th May the Same Day visa service is being suspended indefinitely. Therefore, the last day we are able to offer the Same Day Service for Chinese visa applications will be Friday 4th May, although due to limited lodging spaces this service is provided on a first-come, first-served basis. The 3 and 4 Day Services will continue to run as normal.

Our website has been updated to reflect this change, however CIBT will continue to monitor this closely in the coming weeks and will keep us informed should the situation change.

We apologise for the short notice and for any inconvenience this may cause.

Virgin Atlantic launch Bonus Miles promotion »

Virgin Atlantics’ Flying Club members now have an opportunity to trouser bonus reward miles when flying with their favourite airline.

Yes! Virgin Atlantic are offering thousands of bonus Flying Club miles to members who register for the promotion by 13 May 2012 and fly before 15 June 2012.

That’s bonus miles in whichever cabin flown, on top of the usual miles that would be earned.

…and miles mean rewards like flights and upgrades.

Here’s what’s on offer:

*15,000 bonus miles in Upper Class (7,500 miles per sector)

*10.000 bonus miles in Premium Economy (5,000 miles per sector)

*5,000 bonus miles in Economy (2,500 miles per sector)

Register now at www.virginatlantic.com/flybonus

Amity World Business Travel have best-in-class corporate fares with Virgin Atlantic – contact our Business Travel Team on 01489 589958 / sales@amitytravel.co.uk for a quote for your next trip.

*View full terms & conditions at www.virginatlantic.com/flybonus

Virgin Atlantic quietly launch NEW! IMPROVED! Upper Class Suite »

A select band of lucky business travellers can now enjoy the new Upper Class Suite, on-board the brand new Virgin Atlantic A330 aircraft operating flights VS003/004 between London Heathrow and New York JFK.

Already innovators in premium cabin design, Virgin have re-engineered and redesigned their Upper Class Suite, creating something even more remarkable.

•             On boarding the aircraft, you are greeted by a futuristic new bar. Virgin have completely redesigned the space, changing the bars orientation to create a really stylish first impression.

•             The suite’s revolutionary new comfort system gives customers a more luxurious and comfortable sleep. With a huge seven foot three inch bed surface, the bed is longer than any other airlines business class bed.

•             Using the same comfort system, the new espresso coloured leather seat is more spacious and comfortable than ever. The seat has an extra one and a half inch width plus it now reclines up to 50 percent more.

•             Each suite has a 12.1-inch touchscreen monitor with a touchscreen handset, loaded with a brand new entertainment system called JAM. With the new technology hub, passengers can connect their smart phone, USB stick or tablet to JAM and watch, read or listen to their own content, while charging their device.

Take the video tour here.

Add-in limousine transfers (on qualifying fare types) and access to the legendary Virgin Clubhouse lounges at Heathrow and (newly re-furbished!) JFK …and you have a very powerful business class proposition.

Amity World Business Travel has best-in-class corporate fares right across the Virgin Atlantic network. Contact our Business Travel Team on 01489 589958 / sales@amitytravel.co.uk for a quote for your next trip.

It’s BIG, it’s back…and you want it, don’t you! »

If your travel policy allows you to “turn left” when boarding long-haul flights, and you’re not too picky about buying the lowest-price option, you’ll want to know that British Airways have one again rolled out their Buy-Club-Get-First-One-Way promotional upgrade offer.

Yes! Simply book a qualifying C,D or R booking class Club World return flight between 24 April and 15 May for Travel between 24 April and 12 July…and you can claim a complimentary one-way upgrade to First which will be confirmed at the time of booking (subject to availability at the time of booking).

According to the BA promo press release: “First Travellers enter a different world, where personal service and attention to detail define the journey, from check-in to final destination – a world where every seat along the way is first class…”

This is always an incredibly popular promotional carrot – so if you’re planning an eligible long-haul trip in the next three months, contact our Business Travel Team on 01489 589958 and they’ll be pleased to  give you a complete range of travel options – including this one!

IAG deal to acquire bmi is completed. Doh! »

British Airways parent company IAG has completed the purchase of bmi. Unfortunately for them, the deal includes custody of bmibaby and bmi Regional as Lufthansa Group failed to find separate buyers for either of them prior to completion.  

So, not even the Germans can polish a turd!  

Industry experts reckon that Lufthansa may have had to reduce the original £171m price for the bmi mainline operation by up to £80m in order to offset the operating losses IAG will inherit by taking on the two struggling subsidiaries. 

Under the terms of the deal, BA will have to give up 14 pairs of oh-so-valuable slots at overcrowded Heathrow as a sop to the European competition commission. It is expected that up to 1000 bmi staff will lose their jobs as the operation is rationalised to cut costs. 

 9 bmi international routes to: Addis Abba, Almaty, Baku, Beirut, Bishkek, Freetown, Khartoum, Tbilisi and Yerevan are now selling with BA flight numbers.  

 Following the acquisition bmi will immediately cease to be a member of Star Alliance; however Diamond Club members can earn & burn with Star Alliance (except LH group) as per their current membership status until 31 May.

 BA will offer status-match membership of the Executive Club to all Diamond Club members from 01 May.

 None of this is good news for UK business travellers as it further erodes competition and choice from the marketplace. BA’s effective eradication of bmi also removes an entire domestic feeder network from Heathrow and makes Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt even more attractive as connection hubs for those in The Regions.

 For the widest choice of travel options and fares, contact our Business Travel Team on 01489 589958.

Stansted Baggage Handlers plan strike over Easter Holiday »

Update from ABTA: The Union GMB has announced that 150 members who are employed by the Handling Agency Swissport at Stansted airport will strike over the Easter weekend following a ballot in which the workers voted in favour of strike action after the union claimed that shift changes would lead to wage cuts of up to £1,000.

To follow the official press statement we have received from the GMB union.  The statement confirms that the outcome of the ballot has been notified to Swissport and the union has asked them to reconsider the proposed pay cuts. If Swissport refuse and there is no progress in the dispute, the strike action will take place over the Easter bank holiday weekend. Notice of strike action has been served for action on Friday 6th, Sat 7th and Monday 9th April.  No details of timings have been announced at this stage,

GMB Statement

“GMB MEMBERS EMPLOYED AS BAGGAGE HANDERS BY STANSTED AIRPORT CONTRACTOR SWISSPORT OVERWHELMING VOTE FOR STRIKE ACTION ON PAY CUTS UP TO £1,000 A YEAR The travelling public should be aware that it has been this aggressive move by Swissport to cut our members pay at a time of high inflation that has led to this strike vote and if the strike goes ahead Swissport is entirely to blame for the disruption  GMB members employed by Swissport as baggage handlers at Stansted Airport have voted overwhelmingly for strike action over pay cuts arising from shift changes amounting up to £1,000 a year per member. The members have also voted for action short of a strike.  The outcome of the ballot has been notified to Swissport. GMB has asked the company to reconsider the proposed pay cuts. If the company refuses and there is no progress in the dispute strike action will take place over the Easter bank holiday weekend. Notice of strike action has been served for action of Friday 6th, Sat 7th and Monday 9th April. Swissport imposed a change to shifts patterns which GMB estimates will cost each of the GMB members up to £1,000 a year. The changes will also require that the baggage handlers travel to work an additional 13 times a years with all the additional transport and childcare costs. Gary Pearce, GMB Organiser said, “GMB members have voted overwhelmingly for strike action and for action short of a strike. Up to now the company has been intent on imposing these changes without agreement and this is completely unacceptable as this vote shows. GMB has offered several alternative shift patterns and working arrangements but the company refuses to listen so far. I have notified Swissport of the ballot result and I have asked them for more talks to try to avert action over these pay cuts.  Swissport claim they have lost work on the Ryanair contact at the airport. GMB baggage handlers have seen no evidence of this. Swissport also claim that they are losing money on the contract. GMB has asked to see the evidence to confirm this but Swissport have refused to comply leading members to question if what they are being told is true.GMB members consider that Swissport is attempting to make savings at their expense and they are not willing to agree to this. Unless there is urgent talks and a settlement this vote for action this will result in disruption over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. The travelling public need to be aware that it has been this aggressive move by Swissport to cut our members pay at a time of high inflation that has led to this strike vote. If the strike goes ahead Swissport is entirely to blame for the disruption.” Ends

We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide updates as more information becomes available.

Kindle Winner! »

Meet Mike Stevens, MD of MiKopy Ltd in Romsey… who was the winner of an Amazon Kindle in our “Great Darts Challenge” at the recent Business South 2012 show.

Mike ( the good-looking one on the left)  who is also a Business Growth Advisor for the Entrepreneurs Circle in Hampshire, managed to throw an entirely respectable score, using 3 magnetic (health & safety!) darts with absolutely no directional stability at all. Well done!

He is seen here at Amity Towers receiving his prize from Amity director Adrian Williams.

Sadness abounds at Amity Towers »

Amanda Cobb 1969 – 2012 

We are very sorry to announce that Amanda, our Business Travel Team Manager, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by her family, on Saturday following a short illness.

Everyone at Amity Towers is shocked and devastated at the sudden loss of such a  wonderful colleague and friend.

Since joining our company in 2001, Amanda has touched the lives of all her colleagues and made friends amongst countless clients with her boundlessly enthusiastic  personality and sheer professionalism – despite meeting few of them face-to-face.

She will be greatly missed.

Our  heartfelt condolences go out to her family at this very sad time.