Business News
British Airways flies back into Birmingham
British Airways is to start flying from Birmingham Airport again with the launch of four new summer-only routes to popular European sunspots. From May, the airline will begin direct flights from Birmingham to
Malaga, Ibiza and Palma and Florence. They will operate on modern 98-seat Embraer 190 jet aircraft, with spacious cabins and two abreast seating so every customer can have an aisle or window seat. The new return flights will operate once a week at weekends. British Airways last flew from Birmingham in 2007 when the regional
airline business was sold to Flybe. Since then, Vueling and Iberia Express, subsidiaries of British Airways’
parent company, International Airlines Group (IAG), have started up services to Barcelona, Malaga, Alicante, Tenerife, Paris Orly and Madrid from Birmingham, while Aer Lingus has continued to operate to Dublin from Birmingham since 1984. Luke Hayhoe, British Airways’ general manager commercial and
customer, said: “Customers can once again enjoy competitively priced flights to the sun direct from their doorstep with British Airways to those destinations they tell us they want to fly to. We look forward to a busy summer at Birmingham.” Basic each way fares from Birmingham to Ibiza from £45 and to Florence,
Malaga and Palma from £49 are available to book on
www.ba.com David Winstanley, chief operating officer for Birmingham Airport, said:
“Having British Airways return to Birmingham is not only great news for the airport but also the Midlands region and we are confident this is the beginning of a long-term growth plan with the airline.”
• More travel news pages 62-63
Opportunities are limitless thanks to royal initiative
Chamber start-up members Limitless Travel were one of three companies to be given a royal seal of approval when Prince Andrew’s Pitch@Palace initiative came to Birmingham for the first time.
Birmingham-based Limitless
Travel organise accessible holidays for travellers with disabilities. Set up by the prince,
Pitch@Palace is an initiative which guides, helps and connects entrepreneurs with potential investors and supporters, in order to grow and develop their businesses. Sixteen entrepreneurs
showcased their ideas to Prince Andrew and a panel of experts at the Birmingham office of KPMG, with three earning a place at boot camp in Nottingham this month. The final takes place at St James’s Palace in April.
Midlands Engine goes on exhibition
A Midlands-wide delegation – featuring ten Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) areas and 49 private and public sector partners – will exhibit together for the first time at the global property and real estate show MIPIM. Working collaboratively in a
dedicated pavilion, the Midlands Engine delegation is the largest of its kind to represent the UK at this year’s event. The region will showcase more than £14bn worth of projects and investment sites to the annual exhibition’s 23,000 attendees – from potential investors and developers to property agents and the media. Themes will range from the
opportunities surrounding the Midlands’ connectivity offer, to the region’s Enterprise Zones, housing and commercial schemes. Sir John Peace, Chairman of the
Midlands Engine, said: “The Midlands is coming together on an unprecedented scale at MIPIM to attract even more investment from around the world. The Midlands Engine is working
hard to accelerate growth across the whole region and Local Authorities, LEPs and businesses are all collaborating to bring this ambition to fruition.”
March 2017 CHAMBERLINK 13
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
