The Travel Bargain

What are consolidated airline tickets? Well it’s when a block of tickets is purchased for a given flight. These tickets are usually much cheaper than if you bought them one at a time and even sometimes are cheaper than single discount tickets. You can find cheap airline tickets including these consolidated airline tickets at FareMax.com. They are a powerful search engine that looks deeply into travel websites to find the best ticket deals around. They call it Deep Search Technology and it can save you even more money than if you tried to search multiple airline ticket sites yourself. They also offer Fares for hotels and cruises.

Have you been booking flight tickets by internet sometimes? What do you think about those ticket sites?

I’ve always found them a bit annoying, because they’re not so very user friendly. What’s worse is also that they’re promising cheap flight tickets in ads, but then when really looking into it and actually trying to book a ticket for that cheap price, there isn’t one to find.

There have been an investigation of 447 of those sites in 16 European countries in the end of September 2007, both leading airline companies and low price companies, which now clearly shows that over half of them is breaking EU:s consumer laws.

The investigated countries were: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain and Austria.

What they found was that they contain misleading advertising and not allowed marketing methods. The total price must be clearly given and any limited access of cheap tickets must be declared.

It kind of surprises me (and in the same time not) that they think that they don’t have to follow the law… Though I suspect that it has been as it has, because they have known that no one is following it up. Very sloppy I think.

They don’t seem to care about how many customer they lose this way obviously. If people are like me, they get very annoyed coming to this site and very negative against the company, so it’s actually very bad marketing.

Those flight companies will be contacted by national authorities and be urged to correct their internet ticket sites. They’ve got 4 months to answer to this before any legal action will be taken or exposing of the names of the air companies.

In my opinion that is too long. How hard could it be to change it, if they really wanted to?

National Express has launched a new door-to-door airport to hotel transfer service.

National Express dot2dot, which was launched at the World Travel Market in London last week, operates a fleet of vehicles providing transfers between hotels in central London and Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

The service is around half the price of a taxi and promises “a stress-free door-to-door service”, with no more than three other stops on the way to the airport. Bookings can be made at www.thetravelbargain.co.uk.

There are 12 services an hour between central London and Heathrow, with the catchment area stretching from Hammersmith in the west to Tower Bridge in the east, Waterloo in the south and King’s Cross in the north.

Around 600 hotels are covered by this area. Customers need to tell dot2dot which hotel they wish to travel to or from, and the bus will take them to the door. The company can also try to accommodate those staying at hotels outside the service area, such as in Canary Wharf or near Wembley stadium.

The vehicles are branded with the National Express dot2dot logo and feature the latest satellite navigation equipment. They are also climate-controlled and promise the kind of space you might find in a first class airline seat.

Other means of transport to London’s major airports include the Heathrow and Gatwick Express train services, which depart from Paddington and Victoria/London Bridge respectively.

An art and photography exhibition has been opened by Liverpool John Lennon Airport to mark the city’s Capital of Culture celebrations.

At a launch event guests included Paul Saltzman, whose super-sized photographs of the Beatles in India are showcased in seven giant light boxes in the airport departure lounge.

Joining the existing statue of John Lennon will also be pictures from photographer Harry Goodwin and two of John Lennon’s suits are on display for people to take a look at before jetting off.

Neil Pakey, managing director at John Lennon Airport (JLA), said: “As one of the key gateways to the North West we want to demonstrate just what the airport has to offer visitors in the run up to next year’s Capital of Culture celebrations and launching JLA’s Collection 08 was the way to do it.”

A police unit is to be created dedicated to protecting Edinburgh Airport.

Five more officers will be added to the 39 already on duty at the Scottish hub, with more of these authorised to use firearms.

The unit, which will be stationed at the airport, will help to alleviate passenger security fears in the wake of the terrorist attack on Glasgow Airport earlier this year. Airport operator BAA will pay the £2.5 million annual cost.

A dedicated police presence there means that officers will not have to be drawn from other parts of the Lothian and Borders police.

A spokesman for the police told The Scotsman: “An important aspect of this arrangement is that the policing presence in the communities will not be compromised as we will have a dedicated team at the airport - there will be no need to call on resources from other areas.”

Airports around the UK have stepped up their security in recent months, and passengers are currently only allowed to take one piece of hand luggage with them on flights, measuring no more than 56cm x 45cm x 25cm. However, this rule will be relaxed early next year.

A fossil finding tour and art exhibition will help passengers to pass the time as they wait for their flights at Liverpool Airport.

The Merseyside hub has established a fossil tour, the “JLA (John Lennon Airport) Fossil Mystery Tour”, which looks at the ancient stone markings that are dotted around the building.

Joe Crossley of the Liverpool Geological Society, which produced the tour, said: “It has been quite fantastic and most enjoyable to research the exotic continental fossils at JLA, because they are such superb fossils, so very well preserved, and beautifully displayed in the polished limestone slabs which not only floor the entire concourse but also adorn the walls.

“With time to spare before their flight we hope that passengers will take up the tour and learn about the fossils and what they tell us about the distant past.”

Passengers can also enjoy “Collection 08″, a collection of photography, art and other exhibits that are on display at the airport.

Paul Saltzman was on hand earlier this week to launch his giant photographs of the Beatles in India, which are showcased in light boxes in the departure lounge.

The cost of parking at Dublin Airport’s short-term car park has increased by 50 per cent.

The daily charge now stands at €40 (£28), with the hourly charge for those parking for longer than one hour rising to €4.50 (£3.22). At the airport’s long-term car parks, the daily charge has been hiked to €9.50 (£6.80).

A spokesman for the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) said one of the main reasons for the increases was to ensure that there are enough spaces available for the majority of customers who park for less than one hour. The charges for these customers remain unchanged at €1.50 (£1) for up to 30 minutes and €3 (£2) for up to one hour.

The DAA said that three out of five users of the short-term car park use it for less than one hour, typically having come to meet and greet incoming passengers.

However, budget airline Ryanair claimed that these figures are wrong, and pointed out that the airport has doubled the price of daily car parking in only two years.

Peter Sherrard, Ryanair’s Head of Communications, said: “The only way to address this blatant price gouging is to allow competing terminals at Dublin Airport, which would force the DAA to improve its services and lower costs to the travelling public.

“The only reason why the DAA is able to abuse the travelling public by doubling car park charges is because the DAA is a monopoly with no effective regulator.”

Visitors arriving at airports in Scotland are to be greeted by new messages promoting the country as a vibrant destination.

From the end of the month messages proclaiming “Welcome to Scotland” will feature at Glasgow, Edinburgh, Prestwick, Dundee, Inverness and Aberdeen airports.

They will incorporate a range of local messages celebrating diversity and success across Scotland, which Culture Minister Linda Fabiani said would give people a taste of the country’s past and future direction.

Speaking at the launch of the slogan at Glasgow Airport, Linda Fabiani said: “From St Andrew’s Day, these images will welcome people arriving in our country and Scots coming home, giving everyone a taste and glimpse of the very best of Scotland - enticing everyone to see more.

“As one of the first things that people will see upon arriving in Scotland, these images celebrate the historic and modern day successes that have shaped our country.”

The signs will draw on different elements of the region where the airports are based, for example, Edinburgh being recognised as UNESCO’s first city of literature, Glasgow as the host city for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the standing that Inverness enjoys as the Capital of the Highlands.

The new scheme was welcomed by a number of bodies, including tourism agency VisitScotland, Scottish Financial Enterprise and the Robert Burns World Federation.

The Welcome to Scotland campaign replaces the previous “best small country in the world” message, which was launched in 2005, and was heavily criticised by the Scottish National Party’s Alex Salmond who said it gave the country an inferiority complex.

A new door-to-door “shared journey” minibus service is set to be launched for Stansted Airport passengers on December 10.

The Stansted Shuttle will transport passengers between the airport and any address in Essex, and some surrounding areas, with the potential for expansion if the service proves to be popular.

Journeys will be available seven days a week, 365 days a year, with hourly departures from a dedicated stand at Stansted Airport Coach Station, and a pre-booking service available for customers wishing to be picked up from their homes.

Prices will be £40 single and £55 return for a family of four; £30 single and £45 return for a couple; and £20 one-way and £30 return for a single person, with the operators Sky Transfers guaranteeing no more than four other passenger pick-ups in any one journey.

“Our value for money fares will appeal to both budget and business travellers who are looking for a door-to-door, personal service,” said Colin Bland, Stansted Shuttle’s head of sales and marketing.

Passengers are advised they can pre-book now via the service’s website, www.stanstedshuttle.info, to guarantee seats, though new arrivals at the airport will be able to queue for available seats once the shuttle is launched.

A new access road has been opened at Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield, which its builders claim features the country’s first ever reptile tunnel.

The £5 million stretch of road was opened yesterday (December 12), with the airport’s shuttle bus being the first vehicle to travel along it, and it also features more than a kilometre of cycle way.

Peter Nears, of Peel Holdings the parent company of the airport owners, said: “Environment issues are at the forefront in the design of the new road. With over 1,200 metres of cycle paths installed, combined with our commitment to encouraging airport users to travel by public transport.

“Suitably today, the very first vehicle to have used the new road being the Airport Arrow shuttle bus service. We will be planting some 6,000 new trees and shrubs, and as we continue to seek to act responsibly towards our surroundings, the construction of the country’s first ever reptile tunnel being a significant achievement by all involved.”

The tunnel was built to protect existing reptile habitats, and provide new environments for them, with reptile friendly fencing also installed around the road and the tunnel features internal heating and lighting to prevent wildlife using it for hibernation.

The road will relieve traffic from Hayfield Lane and Auckley and is part of an overall scheme to bring together the airport, its business park and associated businesses including the new Ramada Encore Hotel, due to open in the summer.