Travel Weekly Blog

Bosses at Cardiff International Airport are searching for a new name for the airport. They are hoping to come up with a name that will help dramatically increase visitor numbers - in the way that Speke Airport in Liverpool benefitted from renaming itself after John Lennon (doubled visitor numbers).

In the mix are Catherine Zeta Jones, Dame Shirley Bassey and Gavin and Stacey, according to the Metro newspaper.

With this range of 'options' for Cardiff, I am beginning to wonder whether the naming of airports after celebrities is something that should be encouraged . . .

Martin Couzins, managing editor

Spotted in the Observer's quotes of the week box:

"Surely you have a word for handjobs in German?"

Michael O'Leary, the ever-charming boss of Ryanair poses a gentle question at a conference in Germany, after noting that his new transatlantic service will offer all sorts of extras. It caused some trouble for his interpreter.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

The International Herald Tribune has an AP story on AirAsia - the budget carrier's CEO Tony Fernandes believes it can stay profitable despite the skyrocketing price of oil.

We are comfortable even with oil at US$200 (a barrel). ... We will market ourselves out of this problem.

He also cites less competition as a 'silver lining' of the situation. Fernandes also says - and this is the bit Jaunted picked up on - that part of the airline's strategy would be to sell more in the air.

Hmm. So as the oil price forces base air fares up, and as the economy slows down, passengers will be buy more than they do now?

Is that how it works in a downturn?

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Another good newspaper ad here: Bill Geist shares one that US airline Southwest, which is resisting the spread of luggage fees Stateside, ran in the Wall Street Journal. 

  The coupon reads 'Don't #$*!% me over'. Beneath that comes the payoff: 'Southwest is the only airline that accepts this coupon'.

It's worthy of Ryanair, the UK's undisputed king of cheeky print ads. Hit the pic for a bigger version on Bill's site.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

I'll be totally honest: when I heard that Silverjet had secured more funding after ostensibly going out of business at the end of May, I had three questions:

• From who?
• Seriously?
• Seriously?

It's not that I don't like Silverjet - I heard nothing but good things about the service, I admired the chutzpah of its advertising, and so forth.

But its initial failure came hard on those of Eos and Maxjet. The business-only model wasn't looking too secure - to say nothing of the passenger aviaiton sector in general. So I was astonished when the carrier found the cash it was looking for.

Now the deal appears to have completely fallen through, with the BBC reporting that Silverjet's entire workforce is on the way out. So is this, finally, the end?

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Our stablemate Flightglobal has posted a video interview with British Airways boss Willie Walsh from the IATA AGM in Istanbul (more video coverage on online editor Michale Targett's blog).

Walsh has more gloomy predictions for the aviation sector:

I fully expect more [airlines] to go out of business... there are a lot of airlines out there who have not been profitable with oil at half this price. So if they struggled when it was $65, $70, $80, I don't see how they can survive when it's $130 a barrel

Nathan Midgley, web producer

On the day that more long-haul BA flights are being transferred over to Heathrow T5, TW's deputy features and supplements editor, Joanna Booth, recounts her morning's arrival from Johannesburg.

Heathrow Terminal 5's operational troubles seem to be a thing of the past. My flight from Johannesburg arrived at 6.20 this morning, and only 20 minutes later I was cleared through passport control and carrying my bags - which had been waiting for me on the carousel ­- out of the shiny glass exit.

I hope this bodes well for passengers flying in on the long haul BA routes being transferred over to T5 today. Destinations as diverse as Bangalore, Cairo, Cape Town and New York JFK.

However, there¹s always the possibility my smooth passage was merely a result of flying in at the crack of dawn. I wonder how things will go with a much larger influx of passengers later in the day.

Entitled 'Some sad news . . .', this is what Silverjet is sending out to travel agents. The message is from Ann-Maria Stacey, Silverjet's corporate sales manager.

I really hope this hits your email before you read it or hear it from anyone else, but I'm really genuinely upset to tell you that unfortunately we have not been able to come to an agreement with our potential new investor and have had no choice but to suspend operations this morning and appoint an administrator who will take over the running of the company from later today.

They are trying to develop a rescue package but as you hopefully know I like to be honest with you, and I am not sure if that will have any chance of happening, but we will know for definite in a few days, I will of course keep you updated on this, but in the meantime all Silverjet employees duties have officially come to an end today. However if you need me please do call me or email me and I will do the best I can to help you.

The business-only airline has ceased operations today. From a statement on the Silverjet homepage:

Your belief in us was shared by our investors - but regrettably, due to unforeseen circumstances, they were unable to unlock the finance that we needed. As a result, we are very sad to announce that from 30 May 2008, we will cease operations and we are no longer able to honour flight reservations.

We extend our sincerest apologies to those of you who have travel plans with Silverjet in the future and at present. You are advised to seek alternative travel arrangements with other carriers, and contact your credit card company or travel agent directly for information on obtaining refunds.

Apparently Silverjet is seeking alternative investment, so all is not irretrievably lost - but with Eos and MAXjet also gone, and oil prices continuing to rise, surely only die-hard risk takers will be willing to invest in a business-class-only airline right now.

Is it time to say Sir Richard Branson called it right on business-only airlines?

It might sound goofy, but the story that Frontier Airlines is increasing its antler fee to $100 is indicative of the fee mania that is sweeping passenger aviation as fuel prices and a wobbly global economy put airlines under pressure. (Spot: Jaunted.)

The fees argument needs little retreading: passengers hate paying more for services they consider standard, but airlines argue that by 'unpackaging' prices they are allowing customers to opt out of paying for services they may not need.

This is logical enough, but comes unstuck in practice: unpackaging implies removing the cost of a service from the baseline price and making it optional, not adding it and making it optional. Customers see the distinction very clearly, and the attempt at sleight-of-hand only makes them angrier.

They also don't like it when the extra service they pay for fails to materialise. The Trading Standards Authority isn't keen either, and recently warned easyJet and Ryanair that failure to deliver priority boarding to those who have paid for it verges on fraud.

Anyway, apparently Frontier is not the first airline to charge a specific antlers fee - a spokeswoman told Forbes that it is common for passengers to check them in during hunting season.

I would love - love - to see a pair of antlers at the airport. Photos and stories of oddities on the baggage carousel will always be welcome at TW Blog...

Nathan Midgley, web producer

So: the Ladbrokes vs BA row, in which boss Chris Bell ends his company's relationship with the airline over an attempt to bump his 14-year-old daughter and her friend from a flight.

Never mind the diva overtones - private matters influencing boardroom decisions is just not the cool, dispassionate behaviour we expect from our businesspeople - it was British Airways' response that raised my eyebrows.

A spokesperson told the BBC that:

As soon as staff realised that Mr Bell was travelling with the two girls, the issue was resolved.

So... if they were unaccompanied 14-year-olds, booting them off their flight after check-in would have been okay?

Or perhaps we should read it as, "When staff realised it was Mr Bell, and not some ordinary punter, they made an effort to accommodate him."

Neither interpretation does the airline much credit, does it?

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Just had this press release in from Aeroflot.

Aeroflot on top of its game as English football fans flock to Moscow

Aeroflot has made preparations to ensure a safe and timely arrival for some of the 50,000 English football supporters attending the UEFA Champion's League Final in Moscow tonight.

The Russian airline has announced that the influx of English visitors to Moscow, spurred by what is set to be a historic match between archrivals Manchester United and Chelsea, *will not lead to any delays* or congestion at its base airport Sheremetievo.

* This is the bit I liked.

We have been told!

I am trying to imagine BA taking the same tone . . .

Martin Couzins, managing editor

The Virgin boss talks to journalists about his space tourism business on a Virgin Atlantic and Kenya Tourist Board trip to the Masai Mara in May 2008...

Video by Travel Weekly's news ed Michelle Perrett

Prime minister Gordon Brown is appealing to the masses by asking them to upload questions to the PM's Youtube site - Ask the PM.

He will answer the most popular questions. We had a quick chat in the TW office and decided to ask Gordon about 'green' taxes on airlines and why they aren't spent on green initiatives.

The most voted for questions get answered, so we need your votes. Voting starts on 26 MAY so be sure to vote then. We will remind you!

Martin Couzins, managing editor

Thanks to Gadling for pointing us to the work of scientist Charles Ehret who has developed a diet to beat jet lag.

Not sure how it works - it costs a few quid to get your bespoke diet - but it has been proven to work on servicemen.

I'm just casting around the office to see who will be the TW guinea pig.

Martin Couzins, managing editor

JetBlue Airways Corporation is facing a £1m lawsuit over allegedly ordering a passenger to sit in the toilet (reports the Sydney Morning Herald).

Gokhan Mutlu was travelling on a standby pass and bagged the last seat after a flight attendant agreed to take the crew 'jump seat'.

But he claims that she found the jump seat uncomfortable, and that the pilot subsequently told him to give up his own.

Mutlu says he was told that passengers are not allowed to sit in the jump seat, and instructed to 'go hang out in the bathroom'.

Hang out. Almost makes it sound fun, no?

Nathan Midgley, web producer

BA's chief exec has told the House of Commons transport select committee that with hindsight he would not have moved into T5 when he did. TW's Ian Taylor was at the committee and here is his story.

Martin Couzins, online editor

We like this picture because airport chaplains do not get a lot of press. This picture was taken at an airport chaplains event held recently at Southampton Airport.

Martin Couzins, online editor

In a forerunner news piece for tonight's BBC Radio 4's File on Four programme, Don Langford, head of customer services Europe for American Airlines, said Heathrow suffered from lack of investment.

American Airlines flies out of Terminal 3, which Langford described as a "bit of a dump".

Radio 4's File on Four programme at 8pm tonight investigates the chaos surrounding the opening day of Heathrow's Terminal 5.

The programme should be interesting as it interviews some of the volunteers drafted in to 'test' T5 prior to opening.

Martin Couzins, online editor

Business class airline Eos is the second no-frills business only airline to fail within six months following the collapse of rival MaxJet.

The airline cancelled all its flights from New York to London today (Sunday) and is only operating selected flights over the weekend. All flights will be cancelled from tomorrow (Monday).

It announced that it had filed for a voluntary position under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code yesterday (Saturday) despite successfully negotiating terms for further funding.

Here is the Eos press statement.

More on The TW website as the story develops.

Juliet Dennis, chief reporter

There is no such thing as bad publicity. Certainly not for Ryanair.

Brand Republic reports that the low-cost airline has generated £1m of 'incremental media value' from coverage of its Advertising Standards Authority ad bans.

That's all the content generated around the bans, so I think TW Blog deserves a thankyou for inadvertently helping line Mr O'Leary's pockets. We'll try and work out how much . . .

Here is a list of some of the many ASA adjudications against Ryanair.

Air transport technology provider SITA has released its fourth annual report on baggage handling, and the picture is about as pretty as you'd expect:

• The industry handles 2.25bn pieces of checked baggage per year
• 42.4m bags were mishandled or delayed in 2007
• Baggage problems cost the industry $3.8bn in 2007
• Transfer mishandling is responsible for 49% of baggage delays
• If mishandling rates stay constant, by 2019 70bn bags will be mishandled a year

But take heart:

For all the lost and mishandled luggage there are literally billions of bags a year which make a perfect journey. In fact, barely one in a hundred passenger’s bags are ever mishandled (and most of those are reunited with their owners within 48 hours)

As for improving the situation, SITA is pushing Radio Frequency Identification, which has apparently improved bag identification rates by 85-90% at Hong Kong International (in association with one of SITA's baggage systems, natch).

Sounds good. A word of advice, though: the most advanced system will still fail if you don't train your staff to use it...

Download SITA's report here - you need to register some details, but it's free.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Travel Weekly reporter Ed Robertson on his experience of flying from Terminal 5

Coverage of Heathrow’s Terminal 5 opening has dominated the newspapers and none of it has been good.

Since the new BA terminal went into melt down on its first day of opening in March, the ensuing debacle has been blamed for the cancellation of 500 flights and the loss of 28,000 bags.

Two BA directors have this week fallen on their swords while the second stage of the move, which would have seen the airline’s remaining short haul flights and its long haul programme move across, has been postponed.

So it was with some trepidation that I approached the terminal this week to fly up to Glasgow for a Scottish Passenger Agents Association lunch.

However, I am happy to report the experience was brilliant. The building itself is wonderfully light and spacious - a far cry from the rest of the airport - and is a sight to see.

Today's developments for Heathrow Terminal 5:

BA won't complete move into T5 until October.

And Gareth Kirkwood, BA's director of operations, and David Noyes, BA's director of customer services, will be leaving the company.

Martin Couzins, online editor

Well, that's the verdict from a survey of travellers carried out by TripAdvisor. Here is the press release:

A survey by TripAdvisor of more than 1,220 travellers worldwide about the recent chaos at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 suggests that the damage it has done to reputations might not be as bad as feared.

Dire predictions about how global reporting on the airport anarchy will harm UK plc, British tourism and British Airways (BA) appear to be premature.

Yep, the last phase of the Heathrow Terminal 5 move has been postponed until June. Anyone terribly surprised?

Straight from the BAA and BA joint statement:

BAA and British Airways today announced that the planned move of the airline’s long haul services from Terminal Four at Heathrow to Terminal Five will be deferred until June.

While a normal flight schedule has been operated at Terminal 5 since Tuesday, we want to ensure that customers can be confident of high service standards when additional flights are introduced.

We will work together to iron out any remaining problems, including the baggage system and its operation, and develop a robust timescale for phasing the move of Terminal 4 services into Terminal 5.

Willie Walsh, BA’s Chief Executive said: "We are making this decision in the interests of customers. Though Terminal 5 is now working well, we need to have confidence that good service can be maintained when the terminal is handling larger numbers of customers.

"It is only sensible to ensure that Terminal 5 is operating consistently at a high standard before the move begins."

Is this the right decision? You bet it is. But perhaps it might have been better to ensure high standards, y'know, in the first place?

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Silverjet has said it is in talks about a possible takeover.

Tough times for airlines: earlier this week Oasis went into liquidation.

And if you thought T5 was bad, check out the 850 cancellations in the US by American Airlines.

Martin Couzins, online editor

Flight reports that that Boeing has announced another six-month delay to its 787 Dreamliner.

The first delivery to All Nippon Airways won't happen until the third quarter of 2009 as opposed to the first quarter.

Martin Couzins, online editor

Pilots' union BALPA's letter to the world - well, the city and government - calling for a management change at BA.

Martin Couzins, online editor

Interesting analysis in today's Media Guardian of how BA handled the T5 launch. Included are comments by the likes of PR guru Max Clifford, but the most telling comment comes from Julia Simpson, BA's head of corporate communications.

She admits that not allowing journalists to ask questions of BA's operations director Gareth Kirkwood was a mistake - and she is not wrong. Here is what she had to say:

Yes, the opening day of Terminal 5 was a nightmare. It had all started so well. The world's media had welcomed in the first flight at 4.50am, captained by a woman. But by mid-afternoon the baggage system collapsed and serious disruption loomed. Media desire for answers was outstripping our ability to supply them.

Journalists wanted to know what had happened to the baggage system. The blunt truth was at that stage we did not know. If we had, we would have fixed it.

With events moving so fast, we put up our operations director to make a statement on the situation but not take questions. Our overriding objective was to say sorry. But hands up. We should have taken questions.

The next morning, [the chief executive] Willie Walsh fronted up and took it on the chin. In January my PR team had won widespread plaudits for the handling of the BA38 crash-landing incident at Heathrow.

The lesson? If a customer-facing operation disintegrates in front of the massed media there is no PR guru in the world who can save your bacon.

Martin Couzins, online editor

This is taken from an article in the International Herald Tribune... as for the year and the airport it refers to, I'll leave that to you. (Thanks to Marcus for giving me the idea.)

$20 Billion 'Public Relations Disaster: Hong Kong's Airport Can't Get Off Ground

With cargo stranded for days on the tarmac, missing baggage, malfunctioning signs, broken air conditioning and washrooms with no water, Hong Kong's new $20 billion airport has turned into a logistical fiasco.

...

For passengers at Chek Lap Kok, things are slowly improving from the disastrous first day at the airport, when planes were stranded on the runway for several hours because of a shortage of ground staff or malfunctioning gates.

...

Some 6,000 to 10,000 pieces of baggage which had gone astray since Monday have now been sent to the proper destinations, airport officials told [Reuters].

Most will have got it, but here's a link to the IHT story if you didn't.

It's not all that long ago - and while it isn't exactly a like-with-like comparison, and certainly doesn't excuse the T5 shambles, it should give pause to the 'only in the UK' brigade...

Nathan Midgley, web producer

As if the past week hasn't been bad enough for BA, there is now a viral game featuring BA's chief executive Willie Walsh. Play it below. (Via the Metro.)

More T5 coverage.

Martin Couzins, online editor

Here at TW Towers we get sent a lot of travel industry publications, including the in-house paper for BA - British Airways News. Oh, how BA will look back at these front covers . . .

20 March

27 March

Martin Couzins, online editor

How ridiculous that Flybe was on the verge of hiring actors to fill seats in order to avoid a £280,000 penalty because it had not filled 15,000 seats in a year on its Norwich to Dublin service. It was only 172 seats short - maybe a bit of compromise on both sides may have been sensible?

Martin Couzins, online editor

Five days in and Heathrow Terminal 5 is still struggling - today's cancellation tally is 27 domestic and short haul flights. Long haul seems to be okay.

Last week I wrote that we shouldn't make long-term assumptions about Terminal 5 based on its shambolic opening, and while I stand by that, there is still plenty to say about how poor BA's preparation, customer service and crisis management have been over the past few days.

My brother made an outsider's diagnosis: BA had shown 'no concern for the infantry'. Our own stablemate Xpert HR said that Terminal 5 'will crop up in every change management training programme for years to come', and aviation union Unite is now urging both BA and BAA to 'listen to Terminal 5 workers'.

That is more or less what you would expect a union to say, of course, and to talk about the fortunes of BA's workers while holidaymakers are stranded is a difficult course to steer.

But the two are inextricably linked. Poor orientation and training of staff means a poor experience for passengers. If Terminal 5 workers can't find the car park, the terminal will open understaffed. If Terminal 5 workers haven't been properly trained, the baggage system will go into meltdown.

Machines and systems are one thing; as The Times wrote on Saturday, the logistical problems at Terminal 5 are 'dismaying, but fixable'. If anything should worry us in the long term, it's BA's apparent failure to get the 'people stuff' right.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

As disruption at BA's newly-opened Heathrow Terminal 5 continues, all-business class airline Silverjet has released this subtle piece of email marketing:

Kicking a guy while he's down? That's just mean. I like the trend for quick-turnaround topical advertising though - see also Classic Collections' Fabio Capello thingy.

And of course it isn't the first time Silverjet has referenced British Airways in its advertising...

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Here's CNN reporting on the environmental campgainers who descended on the new terminal in a 'flashmob'.

Nice bit of agitprop (even if flashmobs are sooo 2006, daahling) but I think it was the least of BA/BAA's worries...

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Consumer watchdog Which? was quick to issue a statement on the Heathrow T5 problems.

The thrust of the statement was about knowing your rights as a passenger when flights are delayed or cancelled. So, useful stuff for those passengers stuck in T5 without a flight. <