AIRLINES RAIL
Lufthansa ‘concerned’ by growth of Gulf carriers
Virgin Trains secures West Coast Main Line
VIRGINS TRAINS HAS WON THE CONTRACT to continue operating West Coast Main Line services, with a pledge to raise capacity and introduce new routes. The new West Coast franchise will run until 2017, with an option for a one-year extension. In 2012, the government controversially
awarded the contract to First Group, but it was delayed and then cancelled after the Department for Transport (DFT) discovered technical flaws in the way the franchise process was conducted. The new contract will provide an extra 5,500 standard class seats per day. This will be made possible by coach G on 21
HOTELS CORINTHIA TACKLES JETLAG
CORINTHIA HOTELS HAS LAUNCHED an initiative aimed at improving the nutrition and sleeping patterns of delegates who attend meetings and conferences. The Malta-based upmarket operator, which has nine hotels, including its flagship London property, unveiled its ‘Performance Sleep’ and ‘Food for Thought’ programmes for meetings, during an event at its Budapest property. Performance Sleep has been developed in association with London-based Dr Guy Meadows, whose Sleep School aims to improve the sleep of company employees –
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particularly those who travel regularly or work shifts.
The Sleep School’s corporate packages being offered through Corinthia advise on techniques to improve sleep while travelling and dealing with issues such as jetlag. The hotel group has also launched Food for Thought conference menus, designed to combat ‘sugar rushes’ and bouts of tiredness. The menus have been developed in consultation with nutritionist Jeannette Hyde, formerly a travel editor at The Observer. • See Reviews, p82
Virgin trains being converted from first to standard class. Virgin also announced it will offer ‘superfast’ free wifi on all 76 Pendolino and Super Voyager trains. Network Rail intends to support this by providing track-side infrastructure. There will be new direct services between Shrewsbury, Blackpool and London from December. The contract means the DFT will receive
a guaranteed payment of more than £430 million for the duration of the contract, as well as up to 100 per cent of the additional returns generated above a certain threshold. The new West Coast contract came into force on June 22.
LUFTHANSA HAS CUT ITS PROFIT targets for the next two years, citing the increased competition from state-owned Gulf airlines. The airline said carriers such as Emirates and Qatar Airways are “advancing even further” into the European market, as well as investing in European airlines – such as Etihad’s deal with Alitalia. The warning comes as Lufthansa cut its profit forecast for 2014 to €1 billion from a previous forecast of €1.3-1.5 billion and lowered its 2015
earnings target to €2 billion from €2.65 billion. The airline, which is Europe’s biggest in terms of sales, also blamed increased competition from European low-cost carriers for its lower profit forecast.
LEGAL
Airlines to face ‘large increase’ in claims
THE UK CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY (CAA) has warned airlines they could face a “large increase” in the number of compensation claims for delayed and cancelled flights, following a landmark court ruling. The warning comes after
holidaymaker Ronald Huzar demanded compensation for a 27-hour delay from
Jet2.com. The airline said it did not have to pay because an “unforeseeable technical problem” had grounded the flight, but the court ruled in favour of Huzar.
The ruling is subject to appeal. • See Legal, p89 BBT JULY/AUGUST 2014 13
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