Woman who bought £1.3m jet to beat the airport queues

By Amar Singh

A businesswoman has become the first Briton to own one of a new generation of relatively cheap private jets.

Jane Howell, a 47-year-old entrepreneur who made her fortune by developing and then selling an office interior design business, is planning to avoid the hassle and queues of airports by piloting her own £1.3 million Cessna Citation Mustang.

She plans to fly the six-seater jet over Europe, helping her to divide her time between homes in London, Salzburg and Portofino on the Italian Riviera.

She is also looking forward to stopping in the champagne region to stock up on wine.

Ms Howell, who used to fly propeller-driven aircraft, said flexibility meant she could beat the factors that delay commercial flights, such as fog or air traffic control problems.

"The difference is that I can check these things out before I leave home and alter my route or change the time I travel.

"I do not get stuck in packed airport departure lounges, waiting ages for announcements.

"The older I get, the more frustrating Peter Nicholls I find all the uncertainty and queuing of commercial f lights." Ascend, an aviation consultancy, announced today that British operators have ordered 200 very light jets which are deemed relatively easy to fly.

The six-seat Mustang, at about £1.3 million, is not the cheapest but Ms Howell said she chose it because it is simple for a solo pilot to fly.

She admitted having concerns about the environmental impact of flying but added: "The Mustang is one of the quietest and most fuel-efficient jets.

"Everyone has to make their own decision on how they want to live and mine is that I am going to fly my own jet." The Cessna Citation Mustang an "entry level business jet" costs about £150 per flying hour in maintenance and £150 an hour in fuel.

Ms Howell will also need to pay £10,000 in insurance, while airport parking can cost up to £5,000 a month.

"This is a significant day for Cessna," said Trevor Esling, vice-president of the company.

"The Mustang is ideally suited to the European marketplace and one third of our current order book is from European customers."

Bombardier Calls For Grounding Of Older Q400s

Bombardier said on Wednesday it recommended that Q400 aircraft with more than 10,000 landing gear cycles be grounded until an inspection is carried out after two crashes involving landing gear.

The Canada-based company said there were about 60 Q400 aircraft with more than 10,000 landing gear cycles. A cycle is one take-off and landing. Bombardier said it has delivered more than 160 Q400 aircraft to airlines around the world.

Bombardier, the world's third-largest manufacturer of civilian aircraft, said Transport Canada has been briefed on these recent events, and it is working with TC to establish the requirement for further possible corrective action.

Bombardier's recommendation follows crashes in Denmark on Sunday and in Lithuania on Wednesday. No one was seriously injured in either crash, according to officials.

"Until such time as investigations are concluded by the relevant aviation authorities, Bombardier cannot speculate or comment as to the cause of these incidents," the company said in a statement.

The Q400 turboprop can seat between 68 and 78 passengers, depending on configuration. (Reuters)

SAS Grounds Dash 8s After 2nd Crash Landing

Scandinavian Airlines grounded its entire fleet of Dash 8 turboprop planes and cancelled more than 100 flights after a second crash landing in four days.

An SAS plane with 52 people on board crash landed in Lithuania on Wednesday after the landing gear on the DHC-8-400 aircraft failed. Nobody was injured.

Another landing gear failure caused a similar SAS aircraft with 73 people on board to crash land on Sunday in Denmark, also without casualties.

SAS and its Wideroe subsidiary grounded their fleet of 27 Dash 8-400 aircraft until they can be inspected.

"If they are able to handle these problems through maintenance, the worst case scenario is they would lose SEK10 million Swedish kronor (USD$1.5 million) per day," said Jacob Pedersen, an analyst at Sydbank. "That's about half of a percent of what I expect SAS to earn pretax for the whole year.

"But they need to deal with this kind of fast. If they have to lease other planes there could be other costs. And if they have to change the whole landing gear on these planes it's an entirely different situation. That would be a very large bill."

The Dash 8-400 twin-engined turboprop is produced by Canada's Bombardier and can seat between 68 and 78 passengers.

SAS said Bombardier recommended that all Dash 8-400 planes worldwide with more than 10,000 landing gear cycles be grounded until inspections are carried out.

Aviation regulators in Denmark, Sweden and Norway also ruled that SAS's Dash 8-400 planes must not fly until they can be inspected.

"We grounded these planes immediately after this. Now we will conduct an investigation," said Anders Lundblad, a spokesman for the Swedish Civil Aviation Authority. "How long it will last, I guess we'll have a discussion with SAS about that." (Reuters)

Hoteliers take top honours at the Amadeus Thai Hospitality Awards

Weeks of speculation over who would take home the tourism industry’s top honours came to a close on Wednesday when 20 gold statuettes, or ‘Hospys’, were awarded at the 2007 Amadeus Thai Hospitality Awards. Prizes were awarded in 4 categories including one new category with a special trophy. This special category created by Amadeus was for the corporate division of a hotel chain which has proactively imbibed technology to streamline its processes and offer seamless service to its customers.

The official ceremony was held at the Royal Paragon Hall in Bangkok in conjunction with the International Food & Hospitality Show 2007.

Tom Aikins, the event founder, said: “The Amadeus Thai Hospitality Awards is an opportunity to recognize outstanding individual achievements, but also to celebrate the success of the Thai hospitality industry as a whole.”

The event was attended by more than 100 top hoteliers, restauranters and industry professionals. According to Bruno des Fontaines, Vice President of the Hospitality Business Group at Amadeus Asia Pacific, “The challenge for the Thai hotel industry is to continue its development in order to keep pace with growing tourism and an increasingly competitive market.”

“Hotels must look at ways to enhance the guest’s experience and improve the efficiency of their operations. These awards show that there are many hotels that are focusing on these areas, and Amadeus is proud to recognise these outstanding achievements. Our regional headquarters is based in Bangkok, where we work very closely with our partners in the hospitality sector to continually drive enhancements to our suite of industry-leading technology solutions,” said Bruno.

Full List of Winners

Small Hotels:

• For best Executive Housekeeper – Tassanee Prysi, Anantara Hua Hin
• For best Chief Engineer – Chockchai Siriwan, Sila Evason Samui
• For best Executive Chef – Donald Lawson, Anantara Koh Samui
• For best Food & Beverage – Panuphon Punmaneekul, Evergreen Laurel
• For best Human Resources – Thaweerat Suriyaphunt, Royal Princess Larn Luang
• For best Resident Manager – Andreas Kraemer, Sila Evason Samui
• For best General Manager – Pornthep Hantrakarnpong, Royal Princess Larn Luang

Medium Hotels:

• For best Chief Engineer – Ekachai Chucheepchai, Amari Orchid Resort
• For best Information Technology – Suwat Chawna, Amari Orchid Resort
• For best Human Resources – Varunyou Markpol, The Sukhothai
• For best Sales & Marketing – Andrew Cornelio, Dusit Laguna Resort
• For best Financial Controller – Kamonphan Ratanatikul, Royal President
• For best General Manager – Mongkolchai Thammachote, The Davis Bangkok

Large Hotels:

• For best Executive Housekeeper – Nathamon Wathananusak, Chaophya Park
• For best Restaurant Manager – Panicha Tailanan, Sofitel Centara Grand
• For best Public Relations – Sommai Yocapajorn, Dusit Thani
• For best Food & Beverage – Somjai Homcheunjai, Amari Atrium
• For best Financial Controller – Krisana Chirachinda, Pan Pacific
• For best Resident Manager – Niwatcharee Wungsoontorn, Amari Atrium
• For best General Manager – Andrew Wood, Chaophya Park

New Category: Amadeus Award for excellence in imbibing new technologies in the hospitality industry – Jean Marc Lafosse, Group Director of Operations, Centara Hotels and Resorts

Vicky Karantzavelou - Wednesday, September 12, 2007

UK Infrastructure must keep pace with travel & tourism growth

The United Kingdom’s Travel & Tourism economy is expected to generate over £190 billion in 2007, growing faster than the current rate of inflation at 3.3 per cent per annum between 2008 and 2017, according to the latest research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

Despite this positive growth industry leaders convened in Canary Wharf in London’s financial district to raise their concerns about continued inaction to address deepening infrastructure constraints, which is jeopardizing economic prospects and seriously affecting the experience of millions of travellers across the world.

The United Kingdom, which stands as the 5th largest Travel & Tourism economy, contributing 9.1 per cent of GDP and 8.5 per cent of employment in 2007, has received increasing criticism in recent months for its mismanagement of increasing pressures on its infrastructure system, most notably at the main airport hubs.

Presenting these statistics, WTTC President Jean-Claude Baumgarten warned that the UK government must react now to maintain this strong economic position. The impact would heavily affect the UK’s Travel & Tourism industry and wider economy.

He added “The current focus is on climate change and this industry cannot be demonised as the cause. It is quite simple - efficient infrastructure and less congestion will have a positive impact on the environment.”

At the meeting, Manchester Airports Group CEO Geoff Muirhead CBE highlighted the importance of the aviation industry to the UK economy “The four Manchester Airport Group airports (Manchester, East Midlands, Bournemouth and Humberside) generate more than £3 billion for UK plc, and support thousands of Travel & Tourism jobs. Inbound tourism is clearly good news for the British economy, while overseas travel allows UK citizens the chance for a well earned break in a sunnier climate. We need to find ways of supporting both these aspects of tourism much more effectively, given their importance to the UK economy as a whole.”

Hospitality and leisure development will also continue to grow and will create greater jobs opportunities explained Whitbread Chief Executive Alan Parker “The hospitality industry depends heavily on the infrastructure of air, road and rail links, which transport clients to the hotels. If infrastructure does not keep pace with growth, then business and tourism could drift away from the UK to other markets on the continent.”

WTTC Chairman Geoffrey Kent concluded “The government must put in place a long term infrastructure plan with at least a 15 year horizon. The 2012 Olympic Games will provide the platform, focus and budget for this long-term plan, which will drive the forecasted tourism demand.”

EC updates black list of banned airlines

The fifth update of the Community’s list of airlines banned in the European Union has been adopted by the European Commission yesterday (11 Sptember). This was first drawn up in March 2006 and last amended in July. The new list replaces the previous one and can already be consulted on the Commission’s website[1]. With this update the Commission is banning in the European Union two new airlines that have been found to be unsafe: Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines from Ukraine and the Iranian company, Mahan Air.

“This latest update illustrates once more that the black list is a dynamic instrument which the Commission can use whenever necessary, without having to wait for the quarterly reviews”, said Jacques Barrot, Commission Vice-President in charge of transport.

On the basis of notifications from several Member States, the Commission questioned the two carriers (Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines and Mahan Air) and the respective national civil aviation authorities responsible for their supervision. It also consulted the committee of Member State air safety experts, whose task it is to assist the Commission in such matters and who unanimously approved the bans.

ASTA launches new web site

The development of a new Web site, with new and improved features has been announced by ASTA. The new site has a planned launch date of mid-November. According to the Society, the new site will look different from the current site and users will have a more personal experience when interacting with the site. Though the content will be the same, where the information is housed and managed will be different. Among the new features are a new buyer’s guide, which will make it easier for Allied members to participate and add information about their company, an electronic postcard service and interactive financial tools that will allow members to benchmark their financial status against others in the industry.

“The goal of the new site is to make it easier for our members to use and find resources. Although we will retain much of the current content, there will be new and rebuilt areas as well as different levels of access to the site depending on your membership. We`re confident, thanks to rigorous staff and member testing, that the new site will greatly enhance ASTA members` ability to find and use resources as well as enhance their overall membership satisfaction,” said Cheryl Hudak CTC, ASTA president and CEO.

ASTA has been working up to this goal since January 2007 when select new features were unveiled such as the eLibrary, the Learning Communities and recently, an electronic version of ASTAnetwork. ASTA’s white papers are currently kept in the eLibrary, along with other resources for agency operations, sales, legal and legislative issues, suppliers and technology and GDS. In the Learning Communities, there are a series of message boards under the topics of agency operations/legal, premium networking community, selling travel and technology. These boards allow members to share ideas, ask for collaboration from colleagues and share solutions to every day problems.

Banyan Tree`s Angsana Resort & Spa to operate first resort in Jordan

A new management contract has been signed by Banyan Tree for their first Angsana Resort and Spa by the Dead Sea in Jordan. This new management contract follows from the Groups’ continued strategy of expansion in the Middle East.

This is the Group’s ninth property in the region and adds a sixth project in the portfolio of Angsana properties which are currently being developed in Abu Dhabi, Dubai (two properties), Fujairah and Oman.

“We are very pleased to be able to bring our brand of Asian hospitality and wellness that is stepped in culture and historical significance into a destination that is equally rich in culture and history. Angsana Resort and Spa Dead Sea will further our desire to provide our guests with truly unique experiences throughout the Middle East,” said Executive Chairman, Mr Ho Kwon Ping.

Angsana Resort and Spa Dead Sea is developed by the British led Belavista Overseas Investment Corporation and is located on one of the last remaining beachfront sites of the world famous Dead Sea in Jordan. Designed by WATG, the development is scheduled to be completed in 2011 and will see a total of 220 hotel rooms and suites, 256 residential apartments and will be offered for sale, a first on the Dead Sea.