Two Days/Nights Free at Disneyland Paris with Abbey Travel
Clients booking a two-, three- or four-night break to Disneyland Paris with Abbey Travel before 31st January 2013 for arrivals from 6th January – 31st August 2013 (excluding 11th – 23rd February and 23rd – 27th March) will get two extra days and two...
Belfast International Airport Unveils Golden Anniversary Plans
Belfast International Airport plans to make 2013 a year to remember as it celebrates its 50thanniversary. To mark the occasion, the airport has put together a spectacular schedule of events including, among other things, charity fund-raising activities and a photographic exhibition looking back over...
Shannon Airport Celebrates ‘Independence Day’
Shannon Airport celebrated the beginning of a new era on 1st January 2013 as it officially became an independent entity overnight. Separation officially took place at 23.59 on Monday night, with the first passengers to transit through the newly autonomous airport arriving on board the...
Topflight / Cool FM Launch ex-Belfast Listener Ski Trip to Soll
Topflight and Cool FM/Downtown Radio have announced a Listener Ski Trip that will depart from Belfast on 23rd February 2013 to the big party ski resort of Soll. Gareth Stewart, Connor Phillips from the Cool FM Breakfast Show and the team will broadcast live...
Kingfisher’s Flying Permit Lapses
India’s debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines, which has been grounded since October after repeated strikes by employees over unpaid wages, has seen its flying permit lapse after a 1st January deadline to renew its suspended license expired. The airline had failed to provide additional details on...
New European Capitals of Culture Inaugurated
Marseille in France and Kosice in Slovakia have assumed their positions as the European Capitals of Culture in 2013. The cultural programme will officially begin on 12th January in Marseille and on 19th January in Kosice.
Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and...
Avis Budget to Buy Zipcar for US$500m
Avis Budget Group is to buy smaller rival Zipcar for US$500 million in cash. The move will allow Avis Budget to enter the fast-growing US car-sharing market. The offer of $12.25 per share is at a premium of 49% on the Zipcar share price...
Welcome Back!
The Irish Travel Trade News team hopes you all had a happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year holiday. Now it’s welcome back to work (!) – and Ronan, Michael, Neil, Ian, Hilary and Manus look forward to working with you throughout 2013.
Welcome also...
First Emirates A380 Flight Departs from New Concourse A
Emirates has achieved another first with the inaugural departure today of an A380 flight from the new and world’s-only, dedicated and purpose-built A380 concourse at Dubai International Airport.
With 528,000 sq m spread across 11 floors and the capacity to handle 15 million passengers a...
Emirates Launches Special Economy Class Fares
Emirates is welcoming 2013 aboard by offering attractive fares for quick-acting customers. The special Economy Class fares apply to more than 120 destinations across the Emirates network when booked between 26th December 2012 and 10th January 2013 for travel from 18th January to 10th...
Aer Lingus Launches January Sale
Aer Lingus has announced details of its January sale with “great value seats” to the UK, Continental Europe and the USA now on sale until 14th January 2013.
Passengers can fly to Britain from €25.99, Continental Europe from €35.99, USA from €229 and Canada from...
Etihad Launches Google+ Page
Etihad Airways has launched a Google+ page to complement its existing social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – and has exceeded 10 million passengers during 2012.
Etihad’s Facebook ‘likes’ have increased from 56,600 to 316,500, followers on Twitter from 6,900 to 29,300, and...
Graphical Display for ICE Seat Reservations with Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn now offers an individual graphical display for seat reservations for most of its ICE trains when booking on www.bahn.com. Customers get a display of their preferred seat on the train carriage map according to their specific parameters, similar to airline booking systems....
SAS Launches First Step in Future Onboard Services
SAS has strengthened its onboard wi-fi product by launching a new start page that offers free digital entertainment and services for all passengers. They will also be able to listen to Sweden’s most popular podcast, Alex & Sigges, featuring Swedish celebrities Alex Schulman and...
Bangkok Airways Plans Two More Routes and Increased Frequencies
Bangkok Airways, which celebrates its 45th anniversary next year, is looking to add two new routes to its regional network in 2013: two daily flights from Bangkok to Krabi in April and four flights a week from Bangkok to Mandalay in September. The airline...
New TAT Governor Appointed
Suraphon Svetasreni, currently Deputy Governor for Marketing Communications, has been appointed the new Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. He will officially assume his duties for a four-year term from 1stJanuary 2013.
Khun Svetasreni joined TAT in September 1977. In his 32 years with...
New Website for Celebrity Cruises, New Oasis-class Ship for RCI
Celebrity Cruises has launched its newly designed UK website with new content and new features for holidaymakers and agents, making it easier for them to explore all of the possibilities that a Celebrity Cruises holiday has to offer. Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean International has ordered...
Expedia Buys Into Trivago
Expedia is to buy 61.6% of European hotel price comparison and booking site Trivago for €477 million. Trivago was launched in 2005 by Düsseldorf-based founders Peter Vinnemeier, Malte Siewert, and Rolf Schrömgens. Revenue has doubled every year since 2008 and the site expects to...
RCI Orders Third Oasis-class Ship
Royal Caribbean has placed an order for a third ship in the 5,400-passenger Oasis class from the STX France shipyard. The ship will be the same size as the Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, and is intended for delivery in...
Rose Hynes Appointed Chairman of Shannon Airport Authority
The Chairman of the new Shannon Airport Authority, which will oversee the running of the airport when it becomes independent at midnight on 31st December 2012, is lawyer Rose Hynes.
She is currently Chairman of Bord Gáis Éireann and headed up the Aviation Business Development...
