Continental Airlines Passengers face charge for extra legroom in economy class

Continental Airlines flies to the United States from seven UK Airports: Bristol Airport, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast and London Heathrow.

From the middle of April it is introducing a £130 levy on exit row seats which have an additional seven inches of legroom. This would add 33% to the airline's cheapest return ticket to Newark which is one of the airports serving New York.

In the past passengers have not been expected to pay extra for different seats in the same cabin. But gradually cash-strapped carriers have imposed additional charges. The price will vary according to the length of the flight and also demand on the day so passengers will only be told of the additional cost when they check in at the airport. A charge of £65 for a one-way flight across the Atlantic has been given a 'guide' price by Continental, but they have also said it would be based on 'market demand' and admitted it could go even higher.

Last year British Airways announced fees for passengers who wanted to choose their seat in advance. It put a £50 price tag on exit row seats, and £20 for anyone picking an aisle or window seat. However it does not push the price up when a plane is full. Given that airlines tend to follow one another, similar charges could be introduced by other carriers.

Continental introduce paperless boarding passes at Heathrow Airport

Continental Airlines have launched a mobile boarding pass service to London’s Heathrow Airport, allowing customers to receive boarding passes electronically on their mobile phones or PDAs.

Continental will be the first to offer the service on direct flights from the UK to the USA. The passes work by displaying a bar code encrypting the passenger and flight information which are scanned. Through their mobiles customers can track their flight.

Continental was the first airline to offer paperless passes in the USA and currently offers the service in 42 airports. It is increasing its number of flights from Heathrow to New York and Houston, where the passes will be used.

BA Launches Ad Campaign To Promote Terminal 5

Following the monumental fiasco that was the opening of the new terminal 5 building at Heathrow, BA have launched the 'T5 is working' campaign.

The campaign will be seen across all media channels, and will last for 38 days. It will feature real people using the terminal, and will focus on the customer experience, tracking their journey through the terminal.

Customer feedback suggests that things have improved greatly at the terminal, so hopefully the problems of the first few weeks are well and truly a thing of the past.

More Delays, Less Complaints!

Flight delays from UK airports are becoming increasingly common, with average delays for charter flights being 25 minutes, and scheduled flights 17 minutes.

The worst offenders were Heathrow Airport, Gatwick Airport and Edinburgh Airport, with between 33 and 42% delayed flights.

The official airline consumer watchdog, the Air Transport Users Council, reported just over 11,000 complaints in the year 2007 / 2008. Nearly half of these complaints were about delayed or cancelled flights, although there were significantly less complaints than the previous year.

So why are we putting up with more delays? It could be that airports now have much better shopping, catering and leisure facilities to keep us occupied while we wait. It could also be that we are simply getting used to all the delays, especially since the introduction of higher level security checks which means more hanging around.

The more cynically inclined could be forgiven for thinking that airport delays were contrived to make us spend more money at the airport terminals!

BA Orders Aircraft For New London City - New York Route

Airbus has confirmed that BA has placed a firm order for two A318 aircraft, which will be used to launch the forthcoming all business service between London City and New York.

The A318 is the smallest aircraft within the A320 family, but is the largest aircraft allowed to use the London City Airport, due to the steep approach to the airport and noise restrictions.

The A318 is usually a 107 seat aircraft, but will be operating with just 32 business class seats. The aircraft will also have to make a fuel stop on the outbound flight, as the aircraft is unable to hold sufficient fuel for the journey. This is not necessary for the return journey.

The new route is hoped to be an attractive proposition for city workers commuting between Wall Street and The City, who will be willing to pay for the convenience of travelling directly from the city, and avoiding Heathrow Airport.

Film & TV Stars Join Heathrow Protest

Film & TV Stars including Gillian Anderson from the X files, Joanna Lumley, Anna Chancellor, Fay Ripley, Rula Lenska and Rebecca Frayn joined a peaceful protest outside the House of Commons yesterday against the expansion of Heathrow Airport.

The protest was organised by the lobby group Climate Action Now, also known as weCAN. The group consists of concerned mothers and young people calling for a halt to airport expansion. The group formed a big 'NO' and handed a letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Virgin Upper Class Sale

Virgin Atlantic have announced the sale of Upper Class seats on a range of flights out of London Heathrow and Gatwick, with prices starting as low as £1,099 return to New York.

The promotion also includes flights to Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Delhi, Mumbai, Shanghai, Dubai, Lagos and Nairobi, for tickets purchased before June 24, for travel until December 31.

The Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Experience starts with a complimentary chauffeur driven car service to and from the airport. Your seat is more like a suite, with a table and extra seat for a guest / business meeting, and the seat reclines into a fully flat position, converting into a wide and very confortable bed. The 'snooze pack' includes all kinds of goodies to help you relax and enjoy the flight, including Cowshed beauty products and essentials such as toothbrush, eyeshades, socks and earplugs.

Early Morning Heathrow Flights Challenged In Court

Wandsworth and Richmond councils will go to court next week in an attempt to reduce the number of early morning flight arrivals at Heathrow Airport. There are currently an average 16 flights arriving at Heathrow between the hours of 04.30 and 06.00.

The move follows the councils' previous 2005 challenge against the government's night flight arrangements, when it was discovered that some flights before 06.00 fell into the wrong noise category. These included the popular Boeing 747-400 RR.

The judicial hearing will be heard for 3 days from May 20, by Mr Justice Sullivan. The challenge is also backed by Hounslow, Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham, and Hillingdon councils.

Foreign Visitors Allowed Into UK Unchecked

The Terminal 5 debacle shows no sign of disappearing from the news, as it has been revealed that a number of international flights into Heathrow Airport T5 were wrongly treated as domestic, with passengers subsequently taken through the airport without proper immigration and customs control.

The Telegraph reported yesterday that amid the recent chaos at the new terminal, international passengers were allowed to enter the UK without passing through the correct immigration and customs channels. Passengers arriving on a flight from Libya were even allowed to pass through the airport without showing their passports, which is a disturbing breach of airport security and immigration control.

BA admitted that there had been a very small number of errors of this nature, but said that they were confident that the problem had been addressed and new processes put in place.

Tony Blair Caught Fare Dodging On Heathrow Express

Tony Blair, the ex-Prime Minister, was found to be travelling first class on the Heathrow Express last monday, without a ticket.

The red faced Mr Blair explained that he had been given the money for the fare by an aide the night before travelling, but was unable to find the money on arrival at Paddington station.

Aparently, one of his security guards offered to pay the fare to the ticket inspector, who responded by waiving the fare and giving the ex-Prime Minister a free ride. This was later denied by a BAA spokesperson, who said that all passengers were treated equally, regardless of their status, and that the fare had indeed been paid by one of Mr Blair's security guards.

Cherie Blair was also caught travelling without a ticket in 2001, between Luton and London Blackfriars. She was forced to pay a £10 fine plus a £7.90 fare.

BA Pays Kate Moss £10,000 For Lost Luggage

Many passengers have lost their luggage at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 since its grand opening three weeks ago, with some passengers still waiting for their luggage to be returned to them. However, it seems that the treatment received from British Airways can vary considerably, depending on who you are.

Kate Moss lost her luggage, and immediately action was taken to locate the bags, which were found within 24 hours and returned to her. She was also immediately given a £10,000 payout as compensation for her distress.

This news must be a painful blow to those passengers still without their luggage, and those now being told that they will not be insured if travelling through terminal 5.

More Flight Cancellations At Heathrow Airport Terminal 5

Disruptions at Heathrow Terminal 5 continue today, as BA cancels a further 54 flights. A reported 400 volunteers are helping BA staff work their way through the backlog of 15,000 pieces of luggage accumulated during the last five days.

Over 250 flights have been cancelled since the terminal opened on March 27th, although the situation does seem to be slowly improving, with BA planning to run 87% of its flights tomorrow.

The estimated cost to BA of the terminal 5 debacle has been cited by some analysts as being around 20 million pounds.

BA still plans to start operating long-haul flights from terminal 5 next month, provided that they are satisfied that all the issues have been resolved.

Heathrow Terminal 5 Chaos Continues

Chaos continues at Heathrow's new flagship terminal building today, as 20% of flights are cancelled and passengers experience delays and long queues.

Yesterday saw the opening of the new terminal, after months of preparation and training by the British Airways Staff. Some teething problems were to be expected, but the scale of the disruption has left many passengers angry, and senior BA staff facing mounting criticism over the way the opening has been handled.

Yesterday saw hold luggage services suspended as a result of the baggage backlog, with passengers having to wait up to four hours to reclaim their luggage. 34 flights were also cancelled.

BA have been forced to openly apologise to passengers, and have warned passengers travelling over the weekend to expect further delays and disruption.

For the latest information regarding BA flights, you can call the offical BA information line on 0800 727800, or visit the BA website.

Flights to US from UK likely to become cheaper!

On March 30th, air travel between the US and Europe undergoes a significant change, as the open-skies agreement comes into effect. Airlines based in the US and Europe will be allowed to fly between any two airports in the regions, opening up the market for more choice, and most likely cheaper fares, for travellers.

Currently, transatlantic flights are governed by separate agreements between the US and the individual EU country, with restrictions applied in various degrees. For example, there are currently only two US airlines allowed to land at Heathrow airport, namely American and United Airlines. Once the new agreement comes into effect, airlines such as Continental, Delta and Northwest will be allowed to land at Heathrow for the first time. As a result of this change, flights from the United States to Heathrow are expected to increase by 31 percent, according to OAG Back Aviation Solutions.

As well as providing increased competition on established routes, new routes are planned, bringing direct flights from the UK to many more US destinations such as Dallas Fort Worth and Atlanta.

Micheal O' Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, has already announced plans to start transatlantic no-frills routes from secondary airports such as Birmingham airport and Liverpool airport, promising base fares from as little as 10 euros.

Flights to Poland contribute to UK airport traffic growth

Flights to Poland accounted for 20% of the growth in traffic at UK airports last year, according to figures published by the Civil Aviation Authority.

The total number of passengers passing through UK airports in 2007 was 241 million, up 2.4% on the previous year. This equates to an extra 5.6 million passengers, of which 1 million came from Poland.

Transatlantic flights experienced an increase of 0.7 million passengers, rising from 21.7 to 22.4 million, reflecting the weakened position of the dollar.

Heathrow Airport handled the largest number of passengers, with 68 million passengers passing through the gates, or 28% of the total. Gatwick Airport handled 14.6%, Stansted Airport 10%, Manchester Airport 9%, and Luton Airport 4%.

Security alert just before Queen opens new terminal 5 at Heathrow

The Queen is due to open new state of the art terminal at London's Heathrow airport later today (Friday 14th March) despite security breaches by protestors who are opposed to its expansion. Yesterday police arrested a man who ran out on to the runway and blew up his bag as a precaution but did not find a bomb. Green protesters are worried that the new terminals are the first stage in a vast new expansion that will see a third runway, sixth terminal and twice as many passengers.

Terminal five is the new home of British Airways and comes complete with gourmet restaurants run by the likes of Gordon Ramsay, luxury shops like Gucci and Prada and high-tech baggage systems which minimise the chances of your luggage being lost.

Heathrow has had one of the worst rates of airport delays in the world, and there are also plans to replace terminals 1 and 2 which means that 70% of passengers will be using new terminals within four years.

Flight cancellations and delays at UK airports

Flights to and from UK airports, including Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester, Aberdeen and Glasgow International, continue to experience cancellations and delays due to the severe weather conditions.

Passengers travelling to and from all UK airports are advised to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport. Live UK flight departure and arrival information can be found on the UK Airport Guide, by visiting the information pages relating to the individual airport in question.

Record numbers of passengers at BAA Airports

About 10.8 million travellers passed through a BAA airport in November, representing a rise of 1.5% compared with the same month in 2006. Statistics released by BAA this week also show that long-haul routes across the North Atlantic saw the highest rates of growth last month.

Gatwick experienced the strongest passenger growth rate during November, followed by Edinburgh and Heathrow.

December could see a bigger increase in passenger traffic as a result of the peak Christmas travel period. Last year BAA airports handled 10.9 million travellers in December, despite foggy conditions in the south-east of England adversely affecting some flights in the run-up to Christmas.

Fabio Capello seen at Heathrow

The Football Association have confirmed discussions have been held with Fabio Capello about the vacant England manager's job. Chief executive Brian Barwick and Sir Trevor Brooking met with the former AC Milan and Real Madrid coach, who flew out of Heathrow this evening.

He was returning to Italy to honour a commitment and further talks are expected with a decision to de made imminently.

Airline workers strike threat over New Year

Holiday plans could be thrown into chaos for tens of thousands air travellers after BAA staff moved to vote on strike action in a row over pensions where there are plans to stop new entrants joining the company's final salary pension scheme from 1 December.

5,000 union members employed by the British Airports Authority will be balloted over the next few weeks on whether or not to launch a campaign of industrial action. A strike could see the BAA airports, which include Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Heathrow and Gatwick, closed from 27 December and causing chaos during the New Year travel period.

Plans for Stansted scrapped in favour of Heathrow development

The Government has abandoned its plans for the new runway at Stansted Airport, and is instead concentrating on almost doubling the number of flights at Heathrow and will today present a new plan to build a third runway there by 2020.

Ruth Kelly told The Times that it was much more important to expand Heathrow than Stansted because of the economic benefits of adding capacity at Britain’s hub airport. This reverses the Government’s White Paper in December 2003 which stated that Stansted should gain a new runway before Heathrow.

JONATHAN RHYS MYERS INVOLVED IN BREACH OF PEACE

Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, recently seen as Henry VIII in BBC Two's The Tudors, has been charged with public drunkenness and breach of the peace following an incident at Dublin Airport where was stopped from boarding a flight to London Heathrow. He had been in Dublin promoting his latest film, August Rush. The movie opens in the UK on Friday and also stars Robin Williams.


The 30-year-old was released on bail and is due to appear before Dublin District Court on 5 December. Earlier this year Irish-born Meyers was admitted to a Californian rehab clinic but checked out after a month.

"Revolutionary" car park due to open in T5 at London Heathrow

BAA has claimed that the airport parking facilities at Terminal Five which is due to open at Heathrow in March 2008, will offer "revolutionary" services with over 7,000 parking spaces in three new car parks, which are designed to take the 'guesswork' out of finding a space at the airport.

One of the main objectives is to bring passengers as close to the terminal as possible, with a new 3,800 space short-stay car park within walking distance of check-in. There will be business parking options and a long-stay car park a short distance from the terminal, served by frequent courtesy buses.

BA flying empty planes from London to North America

British Airways has been flying planes from the UK to North America without a single passenger aboard because of a cabin crew shortage. Since November 1st, about one BA flight a day from Britain to the United States or Canada has left Heathrow or Gatwick airport carrying only pilots and cargo so that they could up passengers in those countries who were due to fly to Britain.

BA said it is working hard to resolve the problem which is caused by the difficulty it sometimes has co-ordinating the separate schedules of its 15,000 full-and part-time cabin crew members, 3,000 pilots and 240 planes operating around the world, which sometimes leads to a lack of cabin crew for a specific flight.

Airline business travellers "lose" 400 laptops every year

Business travellers are being warned to keep an eye on their belongings after a new survey revealed 8,500 mobile devices are lost in UK airports annually.

Security firm SafeNet have published figures showing that travellers through London airports Heathrow and Gatwick were most likely to lose their mobiles or laptops and are misplacing 400 laptops and 2,500 other mobile gadgets every year.

Those travelling through airports in the north-west including Liverpool's John Lennon airport lose 100 portable computers and 800 mobile devices (including BlackBerrys and USB sticks) every 12 months.

Paul Gasacoigne lives on "pocket money"

Football legend Paul Gascoigne confided in staff at London Heathrow Airport that lives off pocket money from his mum so he doesn’t spend his cash on drink. She pays instalments of between £700 and £800 a time directly into his bank account because she fears he could self-destruct if left in control of his own finances.

Gascoigne, who has battled alcohol addiction for years, was banned from a flight to London last Sunday night after allegedly getting drunk following a charity football match in Malta. But he denied he was drunk, blaming a hip problem on arrival at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday evening.

Heathrow Airport hiring more staff to reduce queues

Heathrow Airport has a recuirment drive aimed at reducing queues for passengers.

One of the most problematic areas for the build-up of queues is the security checkpoint and more workers are being brought in to deal with this issue. Money is also being spent on technology improvements to keep delays to a minimum.

NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS SHOPPING DESTINATIONS

New York and Los Angeles are two of the most visited destinations for travellers over the festive season flying from Heathrow airport due to their excellent shopping facilities - especially as the UK pound has climbed past the $2.10 level against the US dollar – the highest it has been in 26 years.

Heathrow claims that recent changes to baggage restrictions would not adversely affect queuing times for those travelling over the Christmas period, quoting that in August this year (which was one of the busiest on record) 95% of the time passengers queued for less than ten minutes.

BMI announces 17 new destinations from Heathrow

The British airline BMI has launched 17 new destinations from its hub at London Heathrow Airport this week. The new destinations are: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Aleppo, Syria; Almaty, Kazakhstan; Amman, Jordan; Ankara, Turkey; Baku, Azerbajan; Beirut, Lebanon; Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; Cairo, Egypt; Dakar, Senegal; Damascus, Syria; Ekaterinburg, Russia; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Khartoum, Sudan; Tbilisi, Georgia; Tehran, Iran and Yerevan, Armenia.

Heathrow Airport voted the world's least favourite

Heathrow was voted the world's least favourite airport and came joint top with Chicago in a survey of 2,500 travellers carried out by the travel organisation TripAdvisor.

The poll asked travellers to rate 36 airports in terms of how easy they were to navigate, cleanliness of lavatories and the quality of parking facilities

The survey also showed that 90% of British travellers opposed plans which would allow passengers to use mobile phones during flights.

Virgin Atlantic Co-pilot arrested at Heathrow

A Virgin Atlantic co-pilot has been arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of being over the legal alcohol limit.

The 42-year-old first officer was arrested on Sunday morning and the 266 passengers on the Miami-bound flight were delayed while a replacement was found.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said the man was later freed on bail and it is believed he was acting as relief first officer providing cover for the captain and his co-pilot in the unlikely event that they both became unable to fly the plane.

National Express launches new airport transfer service in London

In November 2007 National Express will launch dot2dot which is a a new airport transfer service operating between Heathrow and Gatwick airports and central London hotels.

dot2dot have been working with IT services company Concentra to develop a state of the art website which collects all the details of when and where passengers wish to travel, and prepares a tailor made itinerary to meet their requirements.

The website advises passengers when they should travel, suggested pick up times, check in time at the airport and drive times. For visitors to London, it removes the anxiety associated with planning travel in an unfamiliar city.

Trials for opening of Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport

When it opens in March 2008 Terminal 5 will be able to cope with 35 million passengers a year, enabling Heathrow to handle many more flights than the 480,000 take-offs and landings that are at present allowed by the Government. BAA hopes that this limit will be increased once Terminal 5 is fully operational and are recruiting 15,000 volunteers to take part in 100 trials of the £4.3 billion terminal’s check-in, security search and baggage systems. The trials began this month and the biggest which due to take place in Decemberwill involve 2,000 volunteers.

Kylie Minogue jets off from Heathrow

Kylie Minogue was spotted boarding a plane at Heathrow Airport on Friday with her friend William Baker. They are apparently are headed to Marrakech for a much needed vacation before the promo for Kylie's new single Two Hearts is officially released.

Passenger planes collide at Heathrow Airport

Passengers were evacuated after a British Airways Boeing 747 clipped the wing of a Maldives-bound Sri Lankan Airlines Airbus A340 as they taxied on a runway in preparation for take-off

The London Fire Brigade said nobody was injured in the incident.Three months ago two British Airways planes were involved in a similar collision when they ran into each other while one was reversing.

The latest incident once again raises concerns over safety procedures at Heathrow which is one of the world's busiest airports.

Posh and Scary Spice arrive at London Heathrow Airport

Spice Girls Victoria Beckham and Melanie Brown were spotted arriving at Heathrow hand in hand to commence shooting the video for their new single Headlines.

There are rumours that trouble is brewing up among the five members of the Spice Girls while they prepare for their reunion tour

Bookmakers Ladbrokes are offering odds of 1-4 that the group will be ruling the charts before the New Year, and 3-1 that the band will be this year's Christmas Number One.

The band start their global tour in the United States on 7 December which is 10 years after they last performed in public together

Public rally to save flight slots from Shannon to Heathrow

A major public rally to save the Heathrow Airport slots at Shannon is being held in Limerick City on Saturday, October 20.

The rally is part of a campaign organised by the four Mid West local authorities which aims to show public anger at the Government's abandonment of Shannon while protecting Dublin and Cork's connections to Heathrow airport.

Delta Air Lines and Air France today announced an agreement that will give US passengers new flight choices to Europe.

Starting in March Open Skies will allow airlines from the USA and the European Union to fly from anywhere to anywhere across the Atlantic.

Atlanta-based Delta will use some of Air France's takeoff and landing slots to gain immediate access to London Heathrow which is a favorite with US business travellers and is the busiest European gateway to the rest of the continent, the Middle East and Asia.