Delays expected at UK airports as Border Agency staff strike

Passengers arriving into the UK tomorrow (June 30) are being warned they may experience delays as staff at passport control plan to go on strike.

The Public and Commercial Services union has called a 24-hour strike from this evening, which will affect Border Agency staff in the UK.

Passport control staff will be joined by teachers and civil servants on the walk-out, with protests planned in cities across the UK. Read more

Airport Workers Will Join the Strike on June 30 in UK

Airport immigration officials and some air traffic controllers will join teachers and public sector workers in their mass walk-out on June 30. A spokesperson at airport owner BAA seemed unsure about how the strike would affect the UK’s air travel on June 30. However, a spokeswomean for NATS, which provides air traffic control services to UK airports, said none of its employees were involved in the strike. Read more

Virgin Atlantic Pilots Vote for Strike

Pilots of the British business mogul Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways have broken with tradition and voted in favor of the picket line over a pay proposal, a first in the airlines' history. Read more

Mobile Security: What Travel Managers Need To Know

Mobile devices are a huge asset but can also drive significant risks. A recent webinar sponsored by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) focused on providing detail on what is going on in the mobile market, some of the benefits and concerns, and recommendations for corporate travel managers. View the slideshow here. GBTA members may view the recorded webinar from the GBTA website (www.gbta.org).

Learn More About the Meaning of Duty of Care As It Applies to Travel Risk Management

Companies with multinational operations and those with employees who travel across borders are increasingly concerned about managing risk to their travelers, expatriates, and assignees. Read more

The Always Connected Traveler: How Mobile Technology Will Transform Air Travel Within the Next 5 Years

A new industry report identifies changing traveler attitudes to airline mobile services while also highlighting the specific, emerging mobile technologies that will revolutionise each stage of the travel experience in the future. Read more

Corporate Travel Execs Seeing Changing Habits Amid Recovery

Businesses say that roughly 50% of their prospective customers are converted to new customers with an in-person meeting, vs. 31% without such a meeting. In addition, the report found that on average, business travelers believe that 38% of their customers would switch to a competitor and their companies would lose 37% of annual sales without in-person meetings. Read more

Revisit Travel Policy and Improve Traveler’s Performance

A recent study focused on the measurement of the mental and physical health of a group of frequent travellers and indications are that the tough travel policies currently in place in many companies, may be a false economy when it comes to protecting the health and maximizing productivity of employees. Read more

A Growing Number of Consumers Are Turning to Their Travel Agents

A growing number of consumers are relying on professionals to wade through information, sort out conflicting price offers, plan customized travel, keep abreast of changing conditions and even step in as intermediaries when trips go wrong. Read more

Southwest to End AirTran’s Codesharing with SkyWest on Sep 6

When Southwest Airlines bought AirTran, it also inherited AirTran's marketing arrangement with regional carrier SkyWest Airlines. To replace some of the nonstop service that will end Southwest will add some flights from Milwaukee to St. Louis, and AirTran will add some to Des Moines , Iowa , and Akron, Ohio. Read more

How Safe is That Foreign Airline?

Millions of Americans board flights on foreign airlines every year with little or no idea of how safe they'll be, and the U.S. government provides no help telling them which ones may be risky to fly. Read more

U.S. to Launch Trusted Air Traveler Program in Fall

U.S. travelers frustrated with airport security may see a little relief later this year with the launch of a trusted traveler pilot program. Read more

What Do Airline Alliances Mean For You?

While there are some benefits, the alliances are far from providing a truly seamless experience for travelers. Read more

Yesterday’s Story About Delta Airline’s Jewish Passenger Policy On Saudi Arabia Flights

A report about Delta airlines refusing to fly Jews to Saudi Arabia lit up the internet yesterday. Read more

Business Card Etiquette Quiz

In the Philippines, who should present their business card first? The visitor or the host? What color ink is best for business cards in China? Test your knowledge of business care etiquette. Read more

Qantas to Overhaul International Flights; Many Cuts to Services Expected

Qantas will embark on a substantial overhaul of its international flights, with CEO Alan Joyce set to reveal his plans for "a strategic renewal of Qantas international" on August 24. Read more

Continental Airlines Resumes Sendai Japan Flights

Continental Airlines said Wednesday that it will resume twice-weekly flights between Guam and Sendai, Japan, on Oct. 2. Read more

Spirit Airlines Adds $5 Boarding Pass Fee

Spirit Airlines Inc. is adding a $5 fee if a gate agent has to print a passenger's boarding pass. Passengers can avoid the fee by printing their own boarding pass at home or use a check-in kiosk at the airport. Spirit also said it is lowering fares by $5 each way. Read more

No Getting Around Airline 'Glitches'

They snarl traffic and strand passengers, but information technology experts say computer outages are a reality of flying, no matter how hard airlines try to prevent them. Read more

Boeing Rights a Wrong: the Flight Attendant Button

Usually located next to the reading light button and often indistinguishable from it, the dreaded button causes flight attendants to make countless pointless trips down the aisles every day, only to hear embarrassed passengers say they were just trying to switch on the light. Read more

Japan’s ANA Airlines Presents Boeing Dreamliner

The Dreamliner wowed the crowds when it landed on Tuesday at the Paris Air Show, the world’s biggest aviation industry fair. It is heralded as a new generation of highly fuel-efficient mid-sized aircraft for long-haul routes. Read more

Save Your Cooking Oil for This Flight

KLM Launches Commercial Flights From Amsterdam to Paris on Biofuels. In September KLM will launch more than 200 flights being operated on biokerosene between Amsterdam and Paris. The flights will be operated on biofuel made from used cooking oil. Read more

Good Service Grows the Travel Business, Just Ask the Guy in the Red Coat

Things go wrong in air travel, and even experienced travelers need some customer service now and then. Read more

Amtrak Expands Security Measures to Deter Terrorist Attacks

Amtrak is expanding its comprehensive rail security efforts to provide increased right of way (ROW) protection to detect and deter terrorists seeking to derail passenger trains. Read more

A Halt to the Hotel Humdrums

Survey after survey reveals that business travelers like hotels and pretty much despise airlines. Their decisions usually come down to one word: choice. Read more

Your Next Hotel Stay Might Include an iPad

Hoping to generate more food and beverage sales and reduce the need for staffers, a growing number of hotels are providing the popular tablet computer to guests in their rooms. An app allows guests to order food, browse hotel amenities and local attractions, request wake-up calls, schedule housekeeping, message hotel staffers or other guests, and arrange car service. Read more

Starwood's Specialty Select Group Continues Fast-Paced Worldwide Expansion

With distinct personalities and offerings that have reinvented and reinvigorated the select-service space, Starwood's three brands - Aloft, Element, and Four Points by Sheraton - are reaping awards and top rankings from travelers, developers and the media. Read more

Meetings Gamification Goes Beyond Fun and Games

I think you’ll agree that the right game, used in the right way, can be a great way to capture and hold participants’ attention and make your next meeting worth attending. Read more

Measuring the Business Value of Your Event

The business value of meetings: You want to prove it, but that’s problematic given the diversity of its definitions. Read more