38 TRAVEL TRADE NEWS


A destination not to be missed! T


HRIFTWAY Consol and Turkish Airlines recently hosted a group of local travel agents on a fam trip to the historical city of Istanbul. The group flew from Dublin airport on the direct service operated by Turkish Airlines and stayed in the Keban Alkoclar hotel located just off the famous Taksim Square.


A wide variety of fantastic sights were on the agenda during the four day trip. One of the highlights of which was a behind the scenes visit to the Turkish Airlines joint venture company Do&Co. Their catering facility prepares 150,000 meals a day using only fresh ingredients, for over 60 airlines. The visit to the vibrant city of Istanbul also included the ‘must see’ Grand Bazaar, Sultan Ahmed Mosque (popularly known as the Blue Mosque) and the Hagia Sofia church. Not forgetting the impressive Topkapi Palace with its array of historic artifacts and the fascinating Istanbul Archaeology Museums. A dinner highlight featured a short river ferry boat ride to the only manmade island in the middle of the Bosphorus between Asia and Europe, to the


WORDS AND PICTURES By BRENDAN MALLON


Galatasaray FC owned restaurant Suada. The visit to the Turkish Airlines Flight Training Centre at Istanbul airport was another highlight of the trip. The facility has 12 flight simulators, each costing about US$50million. Everyone in the party had a turn to sit in the Captain’s chair in the simulator.


They also visited the cabin crew training area where they saw crew being trained in all aspects of their work including firefighting, evacuation slides, first aid, in-flight security etc.


Istanbul straddles Europe and Asia, has a population of around 15m and manages to be both lavishly ancient and vibrantly modern. All the participants on the trip were suitably impressed by what they saw and seemed keen to share their experiences with their clients on their return. Istanbul is a destination not to be missed.


Northern Ireland agents check in with Onur Gul of Turkish Airlines at Dublin International Airport. From left to right are Laura Hewitt, Thompson Travel, Brendan Mallon, Roomteam, Onur Gul, Turkish Airlines, Rachel Dynes, Co-Operative Travel, Comber, Jayne Selby, Feherty Travel, Anne Dunlop, Dunlop Travel, Sue Goodwin, Travellers Secrets, Michelle Curran, Rosetta Travel, Aine Corr, Professional Travel and Ashley Kennedy, Getaway Travel


June 2014 Travel News


Agents enjoy a healthy meal at the Hotel Keban Alkoclar


Jayne Selby of Feherty Travel tries her hand at the flight simulator


Aine Corr of Professional Travel on the Turkish Airlines’ flight simulator


The agents pose in front of the beautiful Blue Mosque


The group of agents visit the Hagia Sofia Church in Istanbul Cruise excursion company agent offer


RAPIDLY expanding shore excursion company, Cruisingexcursions has opened bookings for Summer 2015 and announced that agent commission will be raised to 16 per cent for all UK agents. Agents also receive two points for each pound spent to To celebrate the opening of Summer 15 sales all prices have also been discounted by


Travelport/Virgin deal


TRAVELPORT, a leading distribution services and e-commerce provider for the global travel industry, has announced the renewal of its full content agreement with Virgin Atlantic, one of the world's leading airlines.


Building on the existing relationship between the London-based carrier and Travelport, the renewed agreement will ensure that content from Virgin Atlantic will continue to be made available to Travelport GDS users globally, with full content access to the carrier's best inventory and fares.


Robin Ranken, Head of European Airline Relationships at Travelport commented: "Virgin Atlantic is one of the world's best known airlines and we are delighted to extend our agreement with them in order to maximise their reach to global travellers using Travelport's leading technology.”


five per cent – both to the agent and direct sell – for bookings made before the end of July this year, for excursions next Summer (April 1, 2015 to to October 31, 2015). In addition, child prices on all Essential Collection tours booked for the period May 1, 15 and Oct 31, 15 are priced at just £1 (excludes any ticket costs applicable on some


The agents visit Do&Co, Turkish Airlines joint venture - their catering facility prepares 150,000 meals per day using only fresh ingredients for over 60 airlines


Sudden death of Tom


Donnelly on holiday in Canaries


THE local Travel Trade lost another of its personalities recently with the death of Belfast man Tom Donnelly. Tom became ill suddenly and died while on holiday in Lanzarote in The Canaries recently. He was just 45.


Tom was well known for his time working with Eric Patterson and Robert Wilson in Travelplan/Travelbreak in the early nineties. He also worked for a time with Travel Solutions. Tom was very popular in the industry and a great companion on trips abroad. He was a keen golfer and a passionate fan of Liverpool Football Club.


Thriftway Consol ran a Travel Trade Promotion in association with Qantas to win a Samsung Galaxy Tablet. Pictured with Stephen Cordner, Thriftway,


receiving the


prize on behalf of Clubworld Travel, Lurgan is Claire Mulligan


Said one of his colleagues Robert Wilson: "Tom worked in the perfect industry for him - he really loved his holidays."


Tom's funeral took place to St Gerard's, Antrim Road, Belfast before a large attendance of mourners including former colleagues in the Travel Trade.


The group visited the Suleymaniye Mosque


Death of one of the Province’s best-loved travel agents


THE Northern Ireland Travel Trade has lost one of its most popular and best-loved travel agents.


Trevor McIlwaine died recently after a long battle with serious illness after a lifetime in the industry.


He held posts with Hamilton Travel, Wesley Pentland Travel and local tour operator John Hill which specialised in Portugal.


Until his retirement due to illness, Trevor was a familiar face at Thomas Cook's Royal Avenue store.


Four years ago Trevor's name was added to the Travel Industry's Roll of Honour at


the 2010 Northern Ireland Travel and Tourism Awards when he was accorded a warm and appreciative reception by his colleagues in the industry. One former colleague said of Trevor: "He was a real gentleman who was passionate about travel and above all customer service. He couldn't do enough for customers and his death is a sad loss to the industry."


Trevor's funeral took place on at Mountpottinger Methodist Church, Albertbridge Road, when many members of the Northern Ireland Travel Industry attended.


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