RAIL AIRPORT EXPANSION
Heathrow makes vow on airport charges
in its attempts to find ways to pay for airport expansion without a major increase in passenger charges. Airlines have raised concerns about their customers having to fund the airport’s third runway through higher airport charges. The estimated cost of the new runway is £18.6 billion.
John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow’s CEO, said the airport was working with airlines
to ensure that these charges were kept at “close to current levels”. “The government set us the challenge to expand Britain’s hub while keeping airport charges close to current levels,” added Holland-Kaye. “Working with airlines, we are making good progress to meet this challenge whilst delivering all our local commitments and the global connections our country needs,” he said.
London Midland loses rail franchise
to a new consortium instead of the current holder London Midland.
MERGERS
Travel Leaders and Altour to merge
as consolidation continues within the TMC sector. The two US-based companies said they would “unite under common ownership to form a single, powerhouse travel agency organisation with nearly US$24 billion in annual sales”. Travel Leaders Group owns the Protravel International and Tzell Travel TMC brands, while Altour’s UK operation is ranked as the 19th biggest TMC, according to BBT’s list of the country’s 50 leading TMCs.
The two companies said in a statement: “There will
be no substantive operating changes or name changes to either Altour or Travel Leaders Group’s businesses or organisations. “Closing of this
combination is expected to occur following regulatory approval in satisfaction of other customary conditional proceedings.”
Alexandre Chemla will continue in his role as president and CEO of Altour, although he will also join the board and become a shareholder of Travel Leaders Group Holdings.
Ninan Chacko will remain as CEO of Travel Leaders Group.
ACQUISITIONS
CTI Travel acquired by private equity investor
Travel management company CTI Travel has been acquired by private equity investor Endless.
The deal sees Endless
secure a majority stake in the Manchester-based TMC as mid-market private equity house LDC makes a substantial exit.
LDC, which first invested in CTI in 2012 and backed its acquisition of Hotelscene in 2013, will retain a small equity stake.
CTI employs 125 people in Liverpool, Leeds, Hull, Manchester and Bristol.
The new franchise, which is due to start on December 10, has been given to West Midlands Trains, which is a joint venture between Dutch public transport specialist Abellio, East Japan Railway Company and Mitsui & Co. As part of the franchise deal, the Department for Transport said nearly £1 billion would be invested in train services in the Midlands, including 400 new carriages by 2021 and increased capacity on rush-hour services between Birmingham and London. Free wifi will also be provided on all mainline services by the end of 2017, and passengers will receive compensation if their service is delayed by more than 15 minutes.
Dominic Booth, managing director of Abellio UK, said: “We will be investing nearly £1 billion into the network, delivering new trains, better stations and a whole host of other benefits for passengers.” The franchise also includes
routes from London Euston to Crewe and from Liverpool to Birmingham, and will run until March 2026.
London Midland, which has run the West Midlands franchise since 2007, was operated by Govia, a joint venture between Go-Ahead and Keolis. Govia also runs the Southern rail franchise, which has been beset by staff industrial action over the past two years.
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