Airbus has finalized a deal to sell five A380 superjumbo aircraft to All Nippon Airways (ANA). Reported in the Nikkei business daily on Friday, notably, this is the first sale of the world's biggest passenger plane to a Japanese airline. When compared with the half share elsewhere, the European plane maker will see a big breakthrough resulting from this sale in Japan as the company presently has only about 4 percent of Japan's market.

Nikkei said that following a friction in the late 1980s, the Japanese airlines have been making all necessary efforts to mend the trade relations between Japan and the United States. As part of this effort, the Japanese company has been purchasing almost all its planes from Boeing.

According to an ANA spokesman, the airline had created a committee on Thursday to select a brand new fleet of large aircraft, but so far no decisions have been arrived at. Further he added that the committee was exploring three options: either the A380 or Boeing's B747-8, or not going for a new fleet at all.

Jazz Air has proposed to chop about 5 percent of its staff in the near future. The announcement follows in response to cuts declared last month by Air Canada, its main customer in an effort to cope with surging fuel prices.

Notably, Jazz Air is the regional feeder carrier for Air Canada. The airline observed that the steps taken by the airline to roll back 270 jobs and 5 percent cut in capacity are unavoidable to match the available resources with its forcibly minimised expectations for revenues.

According to Jazz spokeswoman Manon Stuart, the staff cuts will affect all areas of the Halifax including pilots, customer service agents, flight attendants and maintenance and administrative staff, in addition to managers, said. Also, if Air Canada is forced to squeeze its service and work force more, then there could be deeper cuts could be expected.

A group consisting of the residents of suburbs and municipalities lying in the close proximity to the Pierre Trudeau Airport of Montreal is pressurizing the local officials to ban all night flights from the airport. This is due to the reason that this densely populated area is facing a bothering disturbance from the annoying noise produced by the arrivals and departures, as the airport is less than at about 15 minutes drive from the core area of the downtown.

On the other hand, the airport authority of the city Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) claims that it has no plans to ban all the night flights completely. It has also ruled out the possibility of the idea that the Mirabel Airport located at about 60 minutes drive from Montreal is reopened.

However, ADM has confirmed that it certainly has plans to alter the paths of all aircrafts to enable limiting the noise generated by them. However, the residents of Ville Saint-Laurent, a Montreal borough sited to the north of Trudeau Airport, believe that this change of flight paths will have a severe adverse effect even as it helps the municipalities located to the south and west of this airport. To solve all these issues at once, the group opposing the night flights believe that the best solution is to consider the reopening Mirabel and transfer all these routes to this place, which was once known as one of the largest airports across the globe.

Amidst the weakening of pound and the unprecedented soaring of oil prices, the cost of holidays for the residents of UK is expected to rise next year up to not less than £70 per person as the condition of present times continue to affect the tour operators.

According to the prediction by Roger Allard, chairman of the All Leisure Group, a 10-15% increase in package holiday costs can be expected in 2009, as most major tour companies are reducing capacity. He observed, "If the big tour operators have hedged fuel and currency, with the increases in hotel costs, they will need to increase prices by £70 on mainstream package holidays."

He too said that the average selling prices for holidays during late summer 2008 are up to £100 higher than last year. According to the report published by Thomas Cook during last week, the average selling prices for 2008 is expected to increase by 5% on last year, in addition to 19% fewer holidays on offer.

Aegean Airlines, the reputed Greek carrier said in a statement released on Friday that it will raise ticket surcharges for domestic and international flights by up to three euros to meet the soaring cost of jet fuel. Most notably, the carrier ably competes with the state-owned Olympic Airlines operating domestic and international routes. The airline reported a loss of EUR4.4 million euros (USD$6.91 million) during the first quarter due to 57 percent jump in energy costs.

The company noted in a statement, "Taking into consideration the continuing rise of oil prices... Aegean is forced to increase the surcharge on its ticket prices." During the first quarter, Aegean, ably continued to expand its business even amid challenging conditions forced by the soaring prices of oil. The company observed that when compared with the same period last year, the prices of fuels in dollars have risen 110 percent.

The company reported, "Fuel costs account for 35 percent of total company costs, despite the ongoing investment in new A320/321 Airbus planes, which reduce fuel consumption."

Amidst unprecedented soaring of oil prices, Jazz, the regional airline associated with Air Canada has taken a decision to dismiss not less than 270 among its 4,980 employees in order to cope up with the crisis of the times. In addition, the carrier foresees that the number of travelers with the airline is expected to decline due to increase in the price of tickets and due to the fact that increasing number of potential clients are canceling their travel plans.

However, Joseph Randell, Jazz's chief executive officer feels that the biggest problem of the times for all the airlines that singly stands out as a highly bothering issue is the record high price of fuel. He observed, "We are in a period of great uncertainty and cannot predict where the price of fuel is going," Randall explained. The Jazz chief did, nonetheless, indicate that he continues to hold out hope for an upswing in the air travel industry, as soon as fuel prices start to go down.

Based in Halifax-Nova Scotia, Jazz, is a highly popular carrier in Canada and enjoys the pride of owning the second largest fleet of the country. However, after the mainline service of Canada, WestJet remains the second largest airline in the country as all the planes of Jazz are relatively smaller, regional Canadair-Bombardier jets.

In a highly welcomed move, the most reputed Hertz Car Rental company has launched an express self-service check-in program across 50 U.S. airports. This shall help the customers reach their rental cars within ten minutes or less right from their counter. The company is highly positive that this move shall certainly enhance the profile of the company and also help the company meet its claim that it shall give a $50 credit on the cost of the rental to any customer who happens to wait any longer than this.

For getting the eligibility to make use of this brand new offer, the customers have to first check in at www.hertz.com and take a print out of the confirmation of the reservation. Following this, once they arrive at the airport, they have to go to anyone of the express counters or new kiosks for competing the reservation process. Most notable among the airports that participate in this program are Atlanta, O'Hare in Chicago, Dulles and Reagan in Washington D.C., LAX, Maui's airport and LaGuardia and Newark in the New York area, in addition to San Antonio, Texas.

Hertz also observes that in introducing this service, the company is paying sincere attention to customer requests. Recently, the company has made certain changes to the prices charged for refueling. Now the company charges market prices in addition to a fee, for those who refuel through Hertz on returning their rental car.

In a highly significant move, LTE, the low-cost Spanish carrier has started operating its flight services from Norwich Airport to three highly popular destinations in its homeland. According to the recent move, the airline is to commence its services to Barcelona, Alicante and Majorca with effect from this Saturday (July 5). This is done by filling up the slots opened up recently, when Flybe cancelled its services operated to Paris and Glasgow.

The airline has made elaborate arrangements to mark the launch of this most significant route. As the first inbound flight leaves Barcelona, it will carry with it a host of Spanish VIPs. Most notably, this group will seek to heighten the appeal of Norwich as a tourist destination.

Maria Luisa Moreno, the LTE spokesperson noted, "The carrier was highly enthusiastic about promoting the beautiful green countryside in Norfolk to Spanish holidaymakers, who want to visit different places."

There has been a serious controversy surrounding the plans by the government to replace the Air Passenger Duty (APD). Over and above, this issue has taken a new twist when easyJet, the low-cost airline threw its weight behind the government.

Whitehall says that the present system bases charges entirely on the class in which a passenger flies irrespective of whether it is a long-or short haul route. However, he says that this needs to be replaced with a more precise measurement taking into consideration the distance flown by the passenger. Under the present way of calculating, passengers needs to pay £10 to £20 APD in Europe depending on the class in which they travel - economy, business or first class. However, the charges are between £40 and £80 for long-haul services.

The government is of the opinion that the present approach is not fair and it has called for a new system to be introduced which takes into account the take-off weight and distance traveled in the individual flights.

Though they had been strong political rivals for over six decades, Taiwan and China have together decided to offer weekend charter flights on Friday. This move shall let millions of visitors tour the island, further giving way to a series of warming relations.

Between Taiwan and China, not less than thirty-six round trip routes are to open that shall eliminate unnecessary stopovers at Hong Kong or Macau, thereby simplifying group travel from both the sides. In 1949, the defeated nationalist forces fled to Taiwan amidst civil war and since then there have been no direct flights between these two countries on a regular basis except a few charters connecting the destinations on select holidays.

Last month, negotiators from both the countries agreed for weekend charter flights. They too decided that not less than 3,000 Chinese tourists a day to tour the island. Earlier, the tourists were seen as a security risk, but now they are seen as a source of money.

In a significant move, Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines have combined forces. According to the joint contract agreement reached by the pilots of both the airlines, pilots for Northwest Airlines are to receive a 2.4 percent equity stake in Delta Air Lines. This has been stated by the summary of the agreement. Yet another feature of the agreement calls for a raise for pilots amounting to not less than 18% over the period of four years.

However, before the agreement becomes final, the pilots of both Delta and Northwest need to approve the collective bargaining agreement. Pilots of both the airlines agreed to abide by the binding arbitration that would enable producing an integrated pilot seniority list provided they are individually not able to arrive at a seniority agreement within a given period of time. Notably, pilot seniority impacts their schedule and the aircraft they fly in addition to protection against layoffs.

Delta hopes to acquire Northwest by the end of this year. Significant during a time when the fuel prices are soaring, the combination is expected to give way to the largest carrier in the world. Both the regulators and shareholders need to sign the proposed agreement.

According to the recent announcement made by the company, Samsung Telecommunications America has decided to install 22 mobile phone charging stations at the St. Paul International Airport, Minneapolis. Notably, out of the total number of 22 stations, 18 are located inside Lindbergh Terminal, and the other four are located inside the Humphrey Terminal.

Chief Marketing Officer of Samsung Mobile, Bill Ogle said, "Holiday travel can be stressful, especially when your battery runs out before you can call or email your loved ones. We hope the Samsung Mobile Charging Stations will make traveling more enjoyable for everyone this holiday weekend."

Interestingly, there will be four outlets per station enabling multiple travelers to re-charge their electronic devices simultaneously without any fee. The stations are can help re-charge personal electronic devices that are designed for U.S. voltage (120 volts). Also, there are shelves to hold the devices.

In their attempt to attack plans forcing the airport workers to enroll in the national ID card scheme, bosses at the major airlines of the UK claim that the aviation industry of the UK is used for political purposes and that the project has a questionable public support. This has been reported in the register. The bosses say that the move might drastically harm security concerns by adding what they claim as a 'false sense of security to our processes.'

The group opposing the proposal includes the bosses of airlines including British Airways, Virgin, bmi and easyJet. In a joint letter signed and sent to Jacqui Smith, the home secretary through the British Air Transport Association, the MDs and CEOs of many airports in addition to the general secretary of the airline union BALPA have conveyed their strict opposition to the proposal.

According to them, the plan is sure to add extra processes, costs and risks and that the existing system is already comprehensive with respect to identity and record checks. Over and above, the staff of the airlines are already subjected to an extremely thorough vetting and criminal records checks. Any alteration to the existing system can never add anything for the betterment of the existing system.

In a recent announcement, Copa Airlines, a subsidiary of Copa Holdings S.A., said that it is about to commence a new service from Panama and connecting cities to Belo Horizonte, Brazil, with effect from 21st August 2008.

Pedro Heilbron, CEO, Copa Airlines observed, "This new flight to Belo Horizonte strengthens our position as the best travel option in Latin America. We continue to expand our extensive route network and reaffirm our commitment to the development of business and tourism in Latin America and the rest of the American continent."

The new flight is scheduled to depart Panama on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 6:48 p.m. to arrive in Belo Horizonte at 3:29 am on the next day. The return flight will depart Belo Horizonte on Mondays, Tuesday, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 4:28 am, arriving in Panama at 9:11 am. Notably, Belo Horizonte happens to be the 42nd destination of the airline in addition to being the fourth in Brazil. Belo Horizonte has the credit of being the third largest city in Brazil with a population in excess of five million, besides housing a very strong industrial sector.

In a recent significant move, the EU and US are taking the final steps to enter into an agreement to enable FBI access the credit card data and the Internet browsing habits of the citizens of UK. The essential features of this agreement between these two countries will remove the limitations that have prevented the swapping of private data including the spending habits and travel history. However, this news comes as an alarming factor to the advocates of civil rights.

Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US, negotiations began for accessing the highly personal information by American security agencies. The argument of the US counter-terrorism officials is that they require the access to the information regarding the spending and travel of the EU residents, which can help them prevent any such future attacks.

In a joint report issued by the negotiations between the EU and US, it has been noted that a significant progress has been made on the agreement despite several years of opposition from the member EU states with strict privacy laws. However, there is still one single hurdle to be cleared. For instance, British and the other EU citizens do have the right to sue the government of the US with respect to the handling of their personal information.

Gas prices are striking record high and have exceeded $4.10 a gallon at all the pumps in the US. The crunch of this situation is compelling most Americans to cancel or reconsider their travel plans for the Fourth of July holiday. An opinion poll conducted by CNN reveals that more than one third of all Americans are trimming down on their travel plans on account of the high cost of petrol. Not less than 31 percent of respondents said that though they had planned a trip for the vacation earlier, they have been forced to either cancel it or cut it short to save money.

The soaring prices of gasoline together with the slow US economy have forced over 72 percent of Americans to make some significant changes to their lifestyle. This is because most of them do not want to spend much due to the rise of oil prices. Most notably, even those Americans who earned $50,000 per year have started feeling that a change of lifestyle is highly essential for them to save on gas. Truly speaking, about 21 percent of the respondents ascertained that the change of events during these times have certainly had a noticeable impact.

In course of the last month alone, the price of gasoline has risen more than 3 times. The price of fuel is more than a 38.5 percent jump than the last year. Over and above, the rise of gasoline prices has caused a troublesome period for the owners of car rental firms and airlines, with each of them finding the shrink of their profit margin.

In a recent statement, Avis Budget, one of the leading rental firms across the globe has confirmed that the profits of the company for the second quarter are most likely to turn out to be lower than those reported last year during the same period. According to this giant in the car hire industry, there is certainly a decline in commercial travel. Over and above, the record high costs of fuel are hanging down heavily upon the whole of the car rental industry. Amazingly, the impact is such that the shares of Avis Budget shares are now lower than any time during the past sixteen years. In addition, the spokespeople of the company have told that the full year profit of the company is most likely to be lesser than what was reported last year.

According to major financial analysts like Reuters Experts, Avis Budget's earnings are likely to stand at around $0.18 per share towards the end of this year. In addition, Ronald Neilson, the CEO of the firm has mentioned that the widespread capacity cutbacks by several airlines are most likely to render the fourth quarter a highly challenging period for all the car rental companies across the globe as most of them base much of their rental businesses at airport locations. Despite the crunch of the present times, Avis Budget still assures that its income will stand at not less than $140 million by the end of the year.

Visit www.avisbudgetgroup.com

With a series of repair works at the runway on progress, it appears that the same is to disrupt the flights departing early in the morning from Jersey Airport to the channel island. The airport has commenced a series of resurfacing and strengthening work to repair and improvise its landing strip. This is part of a 19.5 million upgrade. The work is scheduled to commence on September 15th, 2008 and is estimated to be completed by 30th April 2009.

On most days, the airport authority has planned to carryout the repair works during nights between 9 pm and 6 am. This shall cause small delays for the first flights leaving to the island. Most notably, some of these delays might cause postal and newspaper delivery services too.

Assistant economic development minister in Jersey, Alan Maclean acknowledged that some disruption is unavoidable and bound to occur, however, he insisted that the work is vital in connection with the expansion plans of the airport.

Most interestingly, Belfast International Airport is preparing itself for a record 1.2 million passengers during this summer. The airport has a wide range of more than 100 worldwide destinations to choose from. It also has the credit of serving more than 5.5 million passengers estimated to use the airport during this year. Over and above, more than 400,000 people are expected to pass through the airport across the traditional twelfth fortnight.

A comprehensive charter programme has been launched at the airport that includes flights to interesting destinations like Balearics, Canaries, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Bulgaria and Tunisia in addition to USA and Canada. This shall certainly result in a record number of holiday makers go off through the Belfast airport.

John Doran, Belfast International managing director noted, "This year's figures are extremely encouraging against what is a testing time for the travel trade. The choice and availability of destinations on offer is better than ever with a number of new, exciting locations available on the route network."

In a statement, a ministry official noted on Wednesday that the transport ministry of Indonesia grounded not less than five small airlines earlier this week as they failed to meet safety standards. According to Budi Mulyawan Suyitno, the director general of air transportation, the transport ministry had given Helizona, SMAC, Asco Nusa Air, Tri-MG Intra Asia Airlines and Dirgantara Air Service a notice period of three months to comply with minimum safety standards.

Suyitno observed, "Those airlines, with small planes for rent, didn't meet safety standards. If within three months they don't show any improvement we will revoke their air operator's certificate."

According to Suyitno, the present move by the ministry is part of an on-going process to considerably improve the safety standards of Indonesian airlines. For instance, in the month of March, Adam Air, the Indonesian budget carrier that suffered a series of accidents and showed a default in debt payments was grounded for safety concerns. Following the liberalization, the airline industry of Indonesia has grown rapidly during the past decade, with several new players entering the arena besides a wider choice of routes available across the archipelago.

Roger Dow, President and CEO of the Travel Industry Association (TIA) said in a testimony before the House Small Business Committee that many of the air travel processes have become frustrating. Notable among them are the inefficient security screening and flight delays and cancellations. He noted that over the past year alone, such frustrating factors have caused the passengers avoid not less than 41 million trips. According to Dow, security and air traffic control are the main cause of most flight delays and cancellations. However, both are within the purview of the federal government.

Dow noted, "The problem America faces today is that our air travel system is in steep decline. This is not a problem solely for the aviation community, but for business across America."

Recently, TIA partnered with Peter D. Hart Research Associates and The Winston Group - two of the nation's premier political polling firms - to encourage a better understanding of concerns of the travelers with the processes of air travel, in addition to highlighting the effects of these processes over the decision of the passengers to fly. The TIA survey considered issues other than costs and the recent shoot up of fuel prices. A random sampling of more than one thousand travelers was conducted between May 6 and May 13.

The highly welcomed agreement on Aviation safety is expected to further strengthen the aviation relations between the European Community and the United States. By virtue of the tremendous benefits arising out of the mutual recognition of the aviation safety certificates, the agreement shall give way for the evolution of harmonious safety systems across and beyond the Atlantic region. In addition, the technical and administrative procedures for recognizing the certificates will become less cumbersome. It is also expected that this agreement will encourage further improvement in safety levels besides reducing costs by several millions of euros year by year for the European and US manufacturers, in turn reflecting the benefits of such savings in the fares charged from the passengers.

European Commission Vice-President in charge of Transport, Antonio Tajani observed, "The agreement is a historical milestone not only because it is the first aviation safety agreement the European Community has concluded with a third country, but also because of its impact on aviation safety on a global scale."

With a record of less than 0.6 accidents per million departures between 1996 and 2005, the EU and US are proud to possess the best aviation safety records across the world. Over and above, both the partners are looking forward to improve this state by working together in close quarters. 

The highly controversial 67 percent increase of passenger fess at Norwich Airport has given way to the axing of two winter routes offered by Thomson. This has been reported by the Evening News. Thomson has announced that it will not be able to offer the winter flights to Gran Canaria and Tenerife any longer as it is not commercially viable following the decision of the airport to increase the Airport Development Fee (ADF) from £3 to £5 per passenger with effect from September.

This winter, the passengers who have booked on the weekly flights to the Canaries will see that their services are cancelled and rerouted through different airports that include Luton and Stansted. This move by the airline follows that of the decision taken by Flybe to scrap its direct flights to Glasgow and Paris besides reducing the number of flights to Guernsey from Norwich in the month of April.

Addressing the newspaper, a spokeswoman of the airline observed, "We appreciate that route changes can be inconvenient and apologise to any customers who may have been affected by the decision to operate summer flights only out of Norwich airport. There has recently been a review into the profitability of these winter routes, partially due to the increase in the Airport Development Fee this year, and the conclusion has been made that winter routes from Norwich Airport are no longer commercially viable. However, the summer flights to the Canaries and other Spanish destinations, as well as Corfu, Malta and Cyprus, would be unaffected."

In a highly strategic move, the Kuoni Group is all set to acquire a 60% interest in Direkt Reisen, the direct travel group. The sum involved in the deal is still not publicly disclosed.

Most notably, Direkt Reisen AG is among the leading direct sellers of all-inclusive tours in Switzerland, having a special focus on holiday destinations especially located in the African, Asian, Caribbean and Mediterranean regions. Following the deal, the remaining shares of the company shall continue to rest with the founders of the company and an additional shareholder.

In a recent statement concerning this deal that comes into effect on the 1st of July, Kuoni has hinted that there will not be any loss of jobs and that the company shall retain the Direkt Reisen brand in addition to its entire partner brands. Over and above, following the deal, The Direkt Reisen Company will be integrated into Kuoni Switzerland's unit of Smart. Notably, this is a strategic business division of the group.

By way of complementing the online facilities available for travelers, easyCar, the renowned car hire brand has introduced a range of additional services. For instance, the customers of the company can now pre-book airport parking, airport transfers, accommodation at airport hotels and airport lounges.

The facility to book parking in advance is presently made available through the website of easyCar for all the main airports of the UK. Some of the notable customer services include meet and greet chauffeurs in addition to basic parking arrangements. Over and above, with the range of recently added services, the customers of easyCar have the option of purchasing pre-booked airport-transfers via the online portal of the company thereby making the process of getting into the airport highly easy.

The transfer service is available from and to all locations in the UK in addition to 30 other countries. The facility proves to be ideal for passengers who want to ensure that specific options are available in addition to those who want to enjoy a peaceful travel having made advance booking. Looking at the instant quotes displayed, customers just have to and book for the services in two simple steps.

China based airlines including China Southern Airlines have decided to raise domestic jet fuel surcharges to about 50 percent with effect from Tuesday for offsetting the pressure ensuing from shooting oil prices. With citation to regulators, an aviation industry web site reported this information on Monday.

According to the approvals made by regulators, the report says that the increase in domestic fuel surcharges are effected from CNY60 to CNY80 yuan (USD$11.67) for flights operated over 800 kilometre (497 miles) or less, and from CNY100 to CNY150 for flights operated over longer distances.

Also, the announcement made by the regulators says that the ex-refinery jet prices of the country have been raised by CNY 1,500 per tonne with effect from June 20. This factor has considerably delivered a double-whammy to domestic airlines that are already suffering from a drop in passenger volume from the month of May, during when a devastating earthquake hit southwest China.

Starting from this week, direct weekend flights are to fly between Taiwan and China. This move is expected to give a boost to carriers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. This can be achieved only at the expense of Hong Kong; however, only after all the present restrictions are lifted.

In a significant deal signed on 13th June, Beijing and Taipei agreed to introduce the first regular weekend flights after 1949. This has been achieved as a result of a decade long stalemate between China and the neighboring island that china claims as its own. Most interestingly, a great number of flights operated between China and Taiwan has to stop between a third external destination such as Hong Kong or Macau. This shall certainly prove to be a boost for airlines in these hubs.

Gradually, unlimited direct flights in the route are to wipe off not less than 10th off the bottom line of Cathy pacific, the flagship carrier of Hong Kong, which has henceforth enjoyed a large part of the business of transporting the passengers on the long winding route according to Nomura.

At a House Committee on Small Business Hearing on How the Air Transportation Crisis is hurting travelers, Entrepreneurs and the Economy, ASTA's senior Vice-President of Legal and Industry Affairs Paul Ruden highlighted the adverse effects of the current airline crisis on leisure and business travel in addition to the travel agency industry more specifically. In his address, Ruden highlighted the two highly bothering developments namely the additional ticket restrictions and the fees for checked baggage. These factors gave a hint regarding the troubling direction of the airline industry.

The announcement made by Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters on May 16, 2008 spoke about the new aviation measures aimed at eradicating certain crucial and longstanding issues like flight groundings, congestion, inadequate passenger protections, and limited consumer choice. Applauding these measures, ASTA also welcomes the recently enforced DOT rule requiring the airlines to offer complete on-time and tarmac delay data pertaining to flights that may depart from a gate often; flights cancelled after their departure from the gate and flights diverted to some other airport after departure.

Amidst these encouraging factors, ASTA highlights the fact that the short-term outlook for passenger aviation is not encouraging resulting in factors such as the fees collected on checked baggage and restrictions over ticketing. When the system is unable to accommodate the present passenger levels to a satisfactory degree of service, ASTA calls for a reformation of the existing passenger air system for several years from now. It was duly highlighted that such reforms shall infuse some measures to restore the system before it worsens.

In a highly positive measure to stimulate the economy in the Southeast Europe through Tourism, The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its Greek counterpart, Hellenic Aid, are enthusiastically working together in close quarters. Venturing to pool their resources, these two agencies have consented to work for the progress and development of businesses, products and services that can accommodate visitors in addition to infrastructure to support the growing economy like energy and sanitation systems. Most notably, this association shall contribute to further American and Greek investment in the whole region.

USAID and Hellenic Aid are jointly working with 15 companies in addition to local chambers of commerce and nongovernmental organizations to pool together the technical support and expertise required to develop the tourist trade. To meet the above said end, U.S. and Greek experts from power grid construction to environmental education, craft, souvenir, hospitality and agricultural businesses are to be hired.

The plan comprises of producing jobs by opening several of the region's communities, natural and cultural attractions to global and regional markets. In addition, it rests heavily on providing incentives to invite cruise lines, resorts, restaurants and hotels in addition to other components of the tourism industry to join hands with the partnership focused on Albania and the northern region of Montenegro.

In a highly welcomed move, Gulf Air is to commence its services to Hyderabad with effect from 1 July 08. On this day, the inaugural flight is to take off from the Bahrain International Airport at 00.05 am. The present move follows the most successful launch of the carrier's services to China's commercial capital of Shanghai on 16th June 2008.

Addressing the press on the eve of the launch, Gulf Air Chief Executive Officer Mr. Bjorn Naf noted, "Hyderabad has been one of our favourite destinations in our expansion plans for quite sometime and I am glad we were able to link Hyderabad- the emerging IT and bio-tech hub with "Business Friendly" Bahrain."

He too added, "This new route is another example of successful and long-established bilateral relationship between Bahrain and India and, Gulf Air, as the national carrier of the Kingdom, is proud to be a part of this growing relationship. Hyderabad is our eighth Indian destination and we hope to further expand our relationship by adding two more destinations in India within a year."

Taking their cue from Indiana Jones, a group of charity minded industry folk have got together to launch the "Search For Your City" treasure hunt which is taking place in London on Saturday July 5th.

We all know there's nothing the travel industry likes better than a bit of gratuitous dressing up, so it's time for the guys to fish out the trilby hats and whips the girls to put on the rather fetching Russian femme fatal military uniforms - all for a good cause, naturally.

Everyone meets up at The RS Hispaniola on Victoria Embankment at 12:00 noon and sets off across the city looking for the vital clues. When you find them you take a picture with your mobile phone to prove you've been there.

The team behind the Search Your City charity treasure hunt are Ian Fyfe from Bateaux London; Heather Cameron from the Leisure Pass Group; Rob Way from Morris Visitor Publications; Katherine Grimster from the Hard Rock Café; and Amanda Truman from Leisure Pass Group among others.

There are some top prizes and the £20 team entry fee (or £10 per person) goes to the Children's Country Holidays Fund.  To register for the hunt go to www.justgiving.com/searchyourcity.

On Friday Sterling, Nordic low fares carrier, said that it would cut about twenty per cent of its 1,000 staff, both pilots and cabin crew, to combat the impact of a difficult aviation market.

The Icelandic-owned carrier said that it would no longer run its bases permanently at Malmo and Gothenburg in Sweden and Billund and Aalborg in Denmark from the first day of the coming year, strengthening its work force at its bases in Scandinavian capital cities of Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo.

Mr. Reza Taleghani, the chief executive of Sterling, said that he expected to reach the staff cuts mostly through voluntary retirements and would seek to keep some flexibility to spread out again in the coming year if the market allow.

Most nervous flyers have the bothering question of which is the safest place to sit while aboard an aircraft. Having made a study of over 105 accidents and personal accounts from more than 2000 survivors, a report published in The Times makes some interesting observations.  

The study was conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority and was carried out by the Greenwich University. The study discovered that those seats near the emergency exit and those rows just in front or behind it prove to be the safest with the best survival rate. Between 2 and 5 rows from the exit, passengers have a better chance to escape from a fire.

On the other hand, the most dangerous seats are those between six or more rows from an exit. The study says that in these seats, the chances for perishing greatly outweigh that of surviving. Those passengers sitting more towards the front side of the aircraft had around 65% of escaping the fire. However, the survival rate for those at the rear seats was not more than 53%. Similarly, the survival rate for the passengers sitting in aisle seats was 64% while the same for the other passengers was 58%.

In a benign and innovative move, a new tunnel has been made to help reptiles pass under the road at Robinhood Airport. This is to ensure their safety. Notably, the tunnel has been created taking into account the biology of the reptiles, featuring the biology of reptiles in mind, offering a warm and welcoming space employing LED lighting and heating coils.

The idea of creating tunnels for wild life is not a new idea. But these are generally constructed for mammals and remain dark. They are even subjected to flooding. The new concept of a tunnel for cold-blooded creatures had to be evolved separately because the internal temperature of their body clearly reflects the external temperature of the surroundings.

As the reptiles are poikilothermic, they require warmth to be active and the new arrangement can dissuade them from using the uncomfortable wild life tunnel available for them. The new tunnel is adequately heated and lit to ensure a comfortable stay during the seasons when reptiles normally remain active and has been incorporated using energy efficient materials.

Announcing its new policy, Continental Airlines has come forward to allow its customers make any changes to flights within 24 hours of the original schedule for departure. This will be carried out on request by the airline for a discounted change fee. Permitted within the 24-hour period on the same day, customers having restricted tickets can change to any other flight scheduled to depart within 12 hours, making a discounted change fee. Earlier, the airline allowed its customers to choose from those flights departing within 3 hours of the scheduled departure.

The announcement also offers an attractive discount over the change fee for same-day flight changes that are normally applicable to restricted tickets. For instance, the fee will be $50, or $25 for OnePass Platinum and Gold Elite members of the airline. Notably, this fee is applicable to all itineraries that are solely operated by Continental like Continental Express, Continental Connection and Continental Micronesia. Over and above, passengers who have unrestricted tickets or fares without any penalties for changes can make changes totally free of charge, provided the seats are available. If the seats are not available, the customers may still opt to standby. Later, the fee will be charged if the seat is cleared in the earlier flight.

Passengers can confirm same-day flight changes by checking in at continental.com by intimating the Continental Airlines reservations office either through an airport kiosk or through a Continental airport representative. Further details can be had from www.continental.com