AIRCRAFT


VISAS


German passport ranked most powerful


Emirates orders 36 A380s


EMIRATES HAS ANNOUNCED a


US$16 billion deal for 36 additional A380 aircraft, with 20 confirmed orders and the option to buy a further 16, quelling rumours that Airbus might stop production of the superjumbos. Recently Airbus COO for customers John Leahy hinted that the manufacturer might have to cease making the A380 unless it received more orders, spelling doom for the double-deck aircraft launched in 2005.


Airbus had been in talks with Emirates on a possible order, but hadn’t signed a deal.


In recent years there has been a downward trend in the production of superjumbos in favour of smaller aircraft (see Battle of the giants, BBT, January/ February 2018). However, Emirates confirmed it would continue to operate A380s. The additional aircraft are due to be delivered from 2020 onwards and will join the existing 101-strong fleet of A380s.


Sheikh Mohammed bin


Rashid Al Maktoum, vice- president of Emirates and prime minister of the UAE, commented: “This order will provide stability to the A380 production line.” Airbus’s Leahy


added: “This new order underscores Airbus’s commitment to produce the A380 at least for another ten years. “I’m personally


convinced more orders will follow Emirates’ example and that this great aircraft will be built well into the 2030s.”


ACCORDING TO THE 2018 edition of the Henley Passport Index, German citizens have the most powerful passport in the world, benefiting from visa-free access to 177 countries. The annual report, compiled by Henley & Partners, is based on exclusive data from IATA (International Air Transport Association), which maintains the world’s largest database of travel information.


In second place is Singapore, whose citizens can travel to 176 countries without a visa. Eight countries share third place – Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the UK – with visa-free access to 175 countries each.


Sitting at the bottom of the


table are Pakistan, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, which are each only able to access 30 or fewer countries without a visa. The fastest movers on the 2018 index were Georgia and Ukraine, which completed the visa-liberalisation process with the EU in 2017. Georgia gained access to 30 new countries, while Ukraine linked to 32.


EVENTS UK venue rates set to fall, says report


NEW DATA FROM Meetingsbenchmark shows venue rates in the UK are set to fall by up to 4 per cent in 2018, creating a softer market for meeting planners. The Meetingsbenchmark live


application compares day delegate rate (DDR) and 24-hour meeting rate for all types of venue in any location. The latest figures, taken from the site’s Meetalytics 2018 report, are based on data from 8,665 meetings already booked for the year. Comparative data from 2017 is based on 190,812 meetings held at 7,871 venues. Despite a nationwide downward trend, major cities will continue to outperform the UK average, with London predicted to experience a 2.42 per cent increase in DDR


12 BBT March/April 2018


on 2017. Rate rises are also expected in Edinburgh and Birmingham. According to the data, central London will continue to be the most expensive city for meetings compared to other locations, while Liverpool is one of the cheapest.


The figures contradict the predictions of some TMCs, which vary from no change to a 5 per cent rise across the board. Paul Hussey, director at Meetingsbenchmark, says this could be because other forecasts have taken a rise in accommodation rates into account.


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