Yes, you read right. I've found a call centre that has managed to mess things up *MORE* than BMI ever could (btw, I'm in FULL rant mood). Who is it today? Step forward InterContinental Hotels Group and your Ambassador programme. Those of you who have hung around GhettoIFE.com a bit will remember I was swayed with a Suite Upgrade when I did Toronto in Multi-Modal Mayhem, … [Read more...]
Dear Sir Richard Branson. Buy It or Put up and Shut Up… (the sale of BMI)
I'm probably going to win no supporters over at London Heathrow Terminal 3, but really the whining from Virgin Atlantic over the sale of BMI is getting intolerable from over there. As we all known, Lufthansa is trying to get shot of it's BMI subsidiary, and of course as I reported earlier this month, Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic fame is after BMI as usual, and … [Read more...]
Heathwick? What an awful idea….
Hitting the press today in the United Kingdom has been the idea of "Heathwick" (with the Telegraph breaking it first, followed by the BBC The idea is to some simple - slap in a High Speed Rail link to operate between London Heathrow and London Gatwick Airports around the M25, running at 180mph to 15 minutes and create a "virtual hub" between the two airports. Ministers … [Read more...]
Lufthansa: Pay by PayPal or it’s an extra £4…
One of the things that REALLY do annoy me is credit card fees when you book flights. What was a fee for processing a card is rapidly turning into a profit centre. Today's example of this is Lufthansa's £50 single UK-Germany fare. Here's how it's built up: Ok - apart from the fuel surcharge rip off and the fact I want to go to Frankfurt - not somewhere in … [Read more...]
Train Travel… and they wonder why they’re loosing revenue hand over fist.
So muggins had to make a mission of mercy trip to London on Tuesday, and of course as time was short - I needed to catch the fast trains and pay the idiot fares to London. Not that the fast train helped to be honest - we were 21 minutes late due to line problems near Birmingham airport. And nor that it help on the way back (as the slow lines were closed to a point, a slow … [Read more...]
Soapbox: United… WHY? (Put the booking engine back to how it was!!!)
You know, I think airlines are turning more into confusopolyies these days (According to Scott Adams of Dilbert fame, a confusopoly is where a company or companies gains monoploistic powers by being too darned confusing for mere mortals). And United Airlines seem to be taking this to an extreme. For example, I'm pricing out a mileage run whilst I'm stateside next so I hit … [Read more...]
Soapbox: Want to enter the USA? That’s $10 please.
In an effort to show how caring the USA is wanting to educate us how great it is to visit the country, for online Visa Waivers, there is a planned charge of $10 to use to the tool. The US Consulate calls this "A storm in a teacup". I alas - don't. Where as a fare to the USA is made up of many things (including security charges, inspection charges, etc), this represents … [Read more...]
Ryanair partially pulls out of MAN…
However, it isn't the end of the world. Job losses: If there is one thing O'Leary loves, its hyping numbers - in this case the job losses shouldn't be that many (and if anything - it's mostly ground handling crews so they should get redeployed by the handling company) Services: Well well well. Lets look at these hotspots and work out what's happening Barcelona (Girona), … [Read more...]
Branson Makes Noise. Rest of the World Rolls eyes
Time to talk about Tricky Dicky Branson and Virgin Atlantic. Today's subject is: BA and AA - Don't merge! Some readers might be concerned... why am I going after Branson as opposed to O'Leary. Alas, Mr Branson likes to make a lot of noise, and time and again - fails to deliver. - "I'll sponsor the London Eye" - that died a quiet Death - "I'll change the Railways" - Oh … [Read more...]
Soapbox: Apple App Store Travel Guide Writers – SHOW SOME ORIGNALITY!
Amazingly, its a Sunday Soapbox entry... on a Sunday! Today, I'm taking a sideways swipe at Travel guides and how many of them really quite frankly have had been designed by a programmers state of mind, or that it's a direct lift of WikiTravel (and that's not a complaint against WikiTravel - it's a very good resource on where to go, what to see and what to avoid.) My … [Read more...]