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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Under serious threats from several sides challenging the survival of airlines, a leading analyst has claimed that only the most competitive players in the airline industry can hope to survive the present turmoil threatening the airlines.

According to Davy Stockbrokers, a few airlines that are very well placed to comfortably withstand the slowdown haunting the sector include Air France, Lufthansa, easyJet and Ryanair. The core issue among several others is the alarmingly increasing fuel costs.

Addressing a group of investors, Davy analyst Stephen Furlong noted, "The current oil-price-driven crisis could well be the worst to hit the airline industry. We view the long-term winners as the stronger airlines."
 
Stephen Furlong argued that the airlines in this list are in a comfortable position as they are partly protected by their ready cash flow besides low operating costs. However, he too stressed that carriers like Air Berlin and Clickair were more vulnerable to the present threats. Furlong was highly positive that stronger airlines could always capitalize on any sort of bankruptcies arising in course of the present turmoil.

As a result of a deal between the two countries, direct flights between Kenya and the United States have been allowed now. This move is expected to enhance the tourism industry and exports to the US to a significant extent. Earlier last week, the transport ministers from both the countries signed an open skies deal in the United States.

Addressing a news conference, US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger said, "Direct flights could facilitate the greater export of Kenyan flowers to the US market where there is a high demand."

Kenya is the largest exporter of flowers to Europe. Most notably, the horticulture sector of Kenya has earned the country 70.3 billion Kenya shillings (USD$1.09 billion) during last year alone. However, Kenyan flower exports to the US is in a negligible quantity. According to an official at the Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya, the direct flights between these two countries are likely to account for 2-5 percent of exports to US from Kenya.

In a highly significant move, the Kuoni Group has decided to acquire a 60% shareholding in Direkt Reisen AG. This shall come into effect on July 1. Notably, the remaining 40% of the company domiciled near Zurich, Switzerland, will rest with the founding family, who is a further shareholder. It is interesting to note that Direkt Reisen AG is a leading Switzerland based direct sellers of inclusive-tour products focusing on the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and African and Asian destinations. Most notably, the acquisition further enhances the position of Kuoni in the Swiss direct-sales travel market.

Direkt Reisen AG was founded in 1999 and with a work force of some 25 employees; amazingly the company generated a turnover of CHF 53 million during last year alone. After the acquisition of the shares, all the company's personnel will be retained in addition to the Direkt Reisen brand and further partner brands. During talks, the parties have agreed strictly not to divulge the sale price involved. After the acquisition, Direkt Reisen and all its activities will be integrated into the Kuoni Switzerland unit of Strategic Business Division Smart forming part of the Kuoni Group.

Stefan Leser, Head of Strategic Business Division Smart and CEO of Kuoni Switzerland said, "We expect to generate sizeable synergies between Direkt Reisen and our present Kuoni Switzerland brands, in terms of both existing customer relationships and increased procurement volumes. And we intend to exploit these to the full."

In a highly welcomed move, Embassy Suites Hotels announced the opening of the Embassy Suites Anchorage in The Last Frontier - Alaska. Most notably, this is the brand's debut in the region. The magnificent property is ideally located in the midtown Anchorage. The 169-suite hotel is also incidentally the brand's first ever property developed and owned by Stonebridge Companies based in Colorodo. On its opening, the property proudly joins the other Hilton Family hotels in Anchorage like the Hilton Garden Inn - Anchorage, Homewood Suites by Hilton - Anchorage and the Hampton Inn Anchorage.

The brand new property clearly demonstrates the domestic growth plans of the brand in addition to the continued integration into untouched U.S. markets. Sited at about two miles from Ted Stevens International Airport and downtown Anchorage, the property is ideally positioned itself as the most luxurious, all-suite hotel in the state of Alaska. Being located in the Anchorage's epicenter, the property is ideal for travelers visiting on leisure and business needs.

Jim Holthouser, senior vice president, brand management, Embassy Suites Hotels remarked, "We are thrilled to bring the Embassy Suites brand and upscale all-suite concept to Alaska, offering our unique value proposition to an emerging U.S. market. Expansion into new markets like Anchorage is imperative to our continued growth and success, as well as our goal of 300 hotels built, under construction or in the pipeline by 2010. It is also essential to the brand's growth to broaden our developer base, which we are accomplishing by working with Stonebridge Companies."

In a strategic move, Camair Freight, based at Newcastle Airport Freight Village, has merged with BS Freight, the Durham Tees Valley Airport Cargo Terminal based company. The merger has lead to the formation of Camair Freight Solutions, the freight division of Casper Shipping Limited.

Notably, the parent group Casper Shipping, based in Middlesbrough bought both these firms last year as the 136-year-old raw materials carrier contemplated on bringing these two companies in order to break new markets.

It is expected that within the next five years the new air freight company shall be able to grow its turnover from £1.5m to £20m within the next five years as it embarks on tapping into the fast expanding Middle East oil and gas market. Notably, the two firms shall enhance the amount of equipment exported by them to foreign-based oil companies by way of helping them speed up the process of launching freight operations at other airports like Heathrow.

In a highly significant move, the planning committee of the Doncaster Council has given a green signal to the Robin Hood Airport for getting a new rail station at the complex. However, the station scheme still requires to clear several hurdles associated with planning. The present proposals say that the station would be located on the Doncaster to Lincoln line at about a few hundred metres from the airport terminal.

According to the present proposals, the station will feature two platforms. This was an alteration of the initial proposal with a single platform. This proposal proved highly expensive with respect to signalling costs. The initial design also featured a 250- space park and ride with a shuttle service connecting the station with the terminal building.

The airport's environment manager, Clare Wilson noted, "We are delighted with the news that this important new facility is nearer to reality. Seven percent of our passengers already use public transport, which is really positive when you consider that the airport has only been open for three years."

The new PCI Compliance Primer released by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) ensures that the hotels located across the nation implement strict security procedures in compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). The primer has been designed as a guide to help the hoteliers in terms of processes that are both technical and business related in order to prevent the misuse and abuse of the security card data.

Most significantly, it is noted that the hospitality industry alone reports more than 55 percent of the total credit card fraud instances. In this regard, the above said move by the Association comes as a measure to minimize the same across the industry. The primer has been ably prepared by Dan Connolly, PhD., of the University of Denver, and Mark G. Haley, CHTP of the Prism Partnership, LLC being funded by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation (AH&LEF).

AH&LA President/CEO Joseph A. McInerney, CHA observes, "Though much of PCI compliance is IT-related, this primer clarifies the issue as a greater one that affects all aspects of business operations. While often seen as difficult and costly, PCI compliance is not optional for any hotel that accepts credit cards, and this document provides tangible strategies for hoteliers to create a safe and secure environment for their guests."

According to the bankers involved with the deal, BAA appears close to obtaining loans amounting to £7.15 billion to refinance debt. The loans are to mature somewhere between 2010 and 2013, with six other lenders underwriting the transaction along with Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Citigroup, Calyon.

Though BAA was consistently trying to put off getting into new debt, the UK regulators reviewed the fees charged at its three London airports and now the airport operator is under pressure to replace its loans amidst the rise of interest rates as the refinancing process is delayed. Earlier last year, while Moody's were threatening to follow suit. 

The report says that the Airport Authority will pay annual interest of 100 to 225 basis points more than the rate offered by London interbank offered rate, or Libor, on the new loans. In addition, the interest margin is expected to go up over the life of the debt. While BAA is paying a margin of 212 basis points than the London interbank offered rate on existing senior loans that are due in 2011, it is expected that this might rise further up to 267.5 basis points by July next year.

Even amidst threatening factors such as the alarming rise of fuel costs, weakening of the US dollar and a significant drop in cross border tourism, the prospects of the 2008 summer travel season still appear encouraging. Hosted by Best Western International and ably moderated by Tony Pollard, president of the Hotel Association of Canada, the annual Leisure Travel Summit addressed several key issues related to enjoying a great holiday despite the current challenges.

Anticipating a positive trend in the industry during the forthcoming season, Dorothy Dowling, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Best Western International observed, "Canadians are a discriminating group who understand the value of travel and how important it is to their overall well-being. The unprecedented challenges facing travelers this summer are not deterring people from taking their vacations. People are simply going to adjust the distance from home that they will travel while also shortening their stays in order to maximize budget."

The summit noted that weekend getaways and one-tank trips are becoming more popular. It was also observed that presently the consumers are greatly after utilizing a research tools to avail more economical options for their summer trips.

Air Berlin, the German carrier, is reviewing if it still seems right to take over charter airline Condor from Thomas Cook, its chief executive Joachim Hunold told the annual shareholder meeting of the carrier.

The German carrier blamed delays winning permission for the deal and the tough business environment for the decision, which appears nine months after it first, uncovered its intention to buy the charter carrier.

Air Berlin, which is the second-largest carrier in Germany after Lufthansa, recently said that it was stopping loss-making long-haul services and calling off ten per cent of its fleet after rising costs of fuel forced it to give up its profit target for the year.

The harassment of passing through railway stations and airports with luggage to carry along could soon be reduced, if things go the right way.

A new invention is to be launched following this week by a small Henley-on-Thames firm, Live Luggage.

The formal launching of the world's first motorised suitcase is scheduled to take place on Thursday, but Escape was invited for a special trial.

Avis China has been awarded with the recognition of a leader in 'Service Quality' at COTTM 2008, one of Beijing's leading travel trade shows, confirmation if any were needed that the company's 'We Try Harder' values translate into Mandarin Chinese and any other language.

The prestigious CTW Awards, which were launched in the year 2004, are presented by an independent international jury and include 5 categories: Product Development, Service Quality, Marketing, Internet/New Media and Overall Performance. It was for the first time that China-based firms, including Avis China, secured the most awards this year. This could greatly help in the business of Avis China as such awards showcase their commitment to services provided to their customers at all times and through all means.

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt, Director of the German-based China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, said, "Chinese tourists are increasingly willing to pay more for better service. The CTW Award helps them to identify destinations and service providers which are going the extra mile to cater to the specific needs and expectations of Chinese travellers.

On Monday, Taiwan's biggest airline China Airlines and China Southern Airlines revealed that they had reached an agreement to work as a team on direct services between Taiwan and the mainland.

Taiwan and China inked a landmark agreement on the 13th of June to start regular direct services. This is great news for passengers as they would be able to take advantage of collaborated services provided by the two biggest airlines of the country. Some new routes and flights could also be on line by the new agreement.

Mainland and Taiwan carriers will be permitted to fly up to 18 round-trip services every weekend, operating on Fridays to Mondays.

On Friday, Aircraft maker Boeing said that it have concluded the process of putting power on to its first 787 Dreamliner, which marks a time of more than a year after the major activity was initially intended.

The carbon-composite flying machine has been delayed due to frequent production hindrances, bringing it at least fifteen months behind its original schedule.

Switching power on to the aircraft successfully is the first public target the manufacturer has accomplished on the programme.

Nine Scottish airports are expected to be closed to scheduled services when fire fighters go ahead with an industrial action on pay levels on the 23rd of June.

The Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) has revealed that the facilities at Campbeltown, Benbecula, Barra, Kirkwall, Islay, Sumburgh, Stornoway, Wick and Tiree are expected to be closed as a result of the unavailability of members of the rescue and fire fighting teams.

Members of the staff at Inverness are not participating in the industrial action and the facility will remain operating as normal though services to Shetland, the Western Isles and Orkney from the hub are expected to be affected.

UP, the in-flight magazine of TAP, has just won the 'Papier 2008' accolades: the 'Best Portuguese Magazine' with its first edition and the 'Best Commercial Product Printed on a Rolling Press in Portugal' with its fourth edition.

This is an Initiative of Revista do Papel and representatives from the printing press sector in Portugal votes for the awards.

Picking up these accolades and having the courage to dream higher, UP, enjoyed its 'Sao Joao Day' celebrations at Casa da Musica in Porto on the 5th of June, with presentation of its new edition, which is dedicated to the Former, Very Noble, Always Loyal and Unconquered capital city of Northern Portugal.