p5 news Apr10 7/4/09 21:07 Page 5
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news
In brief
■ Sunsail closes Turkish resorts after dispute
Sunsail has closed down its resorts in Turkey
Liverpool airport
following a dispute with authorities over the
number of Turkish nationals it employed there.
A Sunsail spokesman said the company had
been informed it had not been operating in
accordance with the Turkish regulations.
slams APD hikes
■ Hoseasons creates jobs as UK demand booms
Hoseasons is set to take on more staff to meet
Chris Gray.
Jasper Spruit, director of aviation
increased demand for UK holidays. The domestic LIVERPOOL airport claims the marketing at Schiphol, said the
specialist said it had received more than 3,000 government’s plans for increasing Dutch government had recognised
calls on some days and had seen a 50% increase Air Passenger Duty are costing it that the “ticket tax” was harming
in bookings through travel agents in the past the chance of a transatlantic link. the industry and abolished it to
two weeks. Airport boss Neil Pakey told TTG help the airport stay competitive.
that five airlines were potentially Its abolition had already provoked
■ ‘Maddy’ resort operator sues for lost income interested in flying from the airport, but interest from airlines, he said.
Mark Warner has launched a legal action against the cost of APD was the difference between Pakey backed TTG’s Fair Fares campaign
its insurers to recover lost earnings in the wake a flight being profitable and making a loss. to reform APD and called on the Treasury
of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance. The Pakey is calling on the government to follow minister responsible for the tax, Liverpool MP
operator says holidaymakers stayed away from Holland and Belgium, which have scrapped their Angela Eagle, to press for it to be abolished.
its Praia da Luz resort in Portugal. The writ is versions of the tax in recognition of the damage Meanwhile, Tui Travel chief executive Peter
believed to seek compensation from AIG on the it could do to their aviation industries. Long said charging APD for premium economy
grounds that business was interrupted for He was speaking as Amsterdam Schiphol passengers at the same rate as business class
reasons beyond the company’s control. airport revealed that as well as benefiting from was “fundamentally just a tax on tall people”.
the abolition of its “ticket tax”, it is cutting “The whole issue of raising taxes under the
■ Jetset promotes free car parking at Bristol airport charges by 9% from this month to help guise of environmental issues is wrong,” he said.
Jetset Flights is offering 16 days’ free car parking reduce costs for airlines. Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer has written
at Bristol International airport to customers KLM has just started the first full-service to chancellor Alistair Darling urging him to
travelling to any destination on KLM or Air France airline link between Liverpool and Schiphol. The address APD, financial protection, VAT and visa
networks. The offer is valid for all bookings made Dutch hub wants to expand its connections to re- costs in the budget.
in April for travel from May 1. gional UK airports and is marketing itself to air-
lines as an alternative European hub to Heathrow. ■ Liverpool links to 600 destinations: Air, p22
■ Jet2 to launch Belfast-Tenerife flights
Jet2.com is launching a direct weekly service to
Tenerife from Belfast International airport this
winter, starting on October 30. Flights will depart
every Friday until April 30, 2010.
■ Amadeus UK boss Durand to move to France
Stephane Durand is to leave his position as
managing director for Amadeus in the UK and
Ireland. Durand is set to move to Nice, where he
will take up a new role at the Amadeus IT Group
as director of leisure and online.
■ Barrhead unveils direct link to operators
Glasgow-based Barrhead Travel has launched a
web-booking engine that links directly with
tour operators, bypassing viewdata networks.
Barrhead director Julie Taylor said the system,
powered by TravelTainment, meant the agency
was the first in the UK to have direct connectivity OUT OF THE ASHES: Claire Willoughby (centre) and former colleagues from Apollo
to book with Thomas Cook and other operators. Travel Direct have joined forces again after she used her severance pay to open a call
centre agency in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Most of the 30 staff at the new venture,
ttglive.com
For the latest news, reviews and comment
called Holidays First, come from Apollo, where they lost their jobs when its parent
from the travel industry, visit ttglive.com company, The Co-operative Travel Group, closed the Rotherham-based business.
10.04.2009 05
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