What the Saturday papers said
Shares in Dart Group, which runs the Jet2 budget airline and package holiday group, rose after miserable weather and tightened family finances resulted in a surprisingly strong summer holiday season. Passenger numbers at its Jet2holidays package division almost doubled year-on-year to 312,000 as families opted for all-inclusive deals when trying to escape the wet summer (FT).
European airlines have been accused of obstructing passengers who seek compensation for delays and cancelled flights. Flight-Delayed.com, a website which offers assistance to passengers with claims, has come up against airlines that refuse to share information and others that reject all complaints out of hand (Telegraph).
Expedia?s share price soared on Friday after it reported solid quarterly earnings and raised its full-year earnings outlook. Smaller rival Priceline also rose, and its stock has gained 2.7% over the past five days (FT).
Alitalia stands to lose tens of thousands of pounds as a result of a computer error that allowed internet users to buy flights for next to nothing. The airline ran a promotion on its Japanese website, offering ?195 off selected flights, but a technical oversight meant thousands of customers were able to use the discount on other routes (Telegraph).
Rezidor Hotel Group, the operator of Radisson, Missoni and Park Inn, reported a 4.6% increase in third quarter revenue per available room and announced a ?15m cost-cutting programme (Times).
The ?6m St John Hotel in Leicester Square has fallen into administration only 18 months after opening. Kier Group, the contractor on the conversion of the former Manzi?s restaurant, confirmed it was still owed money for its work (Times).
Finnair said that it was likely to turn profitable this year for the first time since 2008, as a cost-cutting programme proceeded faster than expected (Times).
Glasgow airport workers got a surprise when they found a Mexican snake on a plane, after a passenger flight from Cancun. The staff remained ?remarkably calm? when they discovered the 18-inch snake under seats (Guardian).
What the Sunday papers said
Virgin Trains is planning a bid to run the East Coast main line when the franchise is put up for tender in the new year, Sir Richard Branson has revealed. It had appeared likely that Virgin Trains would be wound up in December after the Department for Transport awarded a 15-year West Coast contract to rival FirstGroup ? but the franchising process was flawed and the contract was stripped from FirstGroup (Telegraph).
As he promoted the start of Virgin Atlantic?s London-Mumbai service, Sir Richard Branson flagged his intention to apply to also fly to Bangalore, Goa and Hyderabad. But he admits that such routes will only be a pipe dream unless Heathrow is expanded, due to the lack of available take-off and landing slots (Telegraph).
With 25 ski resorts in Europe and North America already open and significant snowfalls across the Alps this weekend, winter-sports pundits are cautiously optimistic that the 2012/13 season could be off to a cracking start. However, several tour operators indicate that some packages have been priced too high and will be cutting rates in coming weeks (Times).
Dertour will honour all remaining bookings ahead of its withdrawal from Britain at the end of the year. The German specialist blames falling profits for the demise of its UK operations (Times).
Tony Fernandes, the Malaysian tycoon who owns Air Asia and Queens Park Rangers, has teamed with Renault to launch a sports car company (Times).
The Indian conglomerate pursuing a takeover of Orient-Express has hinted that it might be prepared to raise its initial ?1.2bn bid. Indian Hotels, part of the Tata empire, has told Robert Lovejoy, Orient-Express?s chairman, the offer is based on publicly available data but it is willing to engage ?in a constructive dialogue? (Times).
Longcroft Luxury Cat Hotels, which offers rooms to cats for ?12 a day, has been so successful that founder Abi Purser is expanding the brand as a franchise (Mail).
The flagging health of Britain?s manufacturers and builders will be under the spotlight this week as the Bank of England?s rate-setters hunt for clues on the state of the economy. The latest snapshots of both sectors? fortunes are likely to dampen any euphoria over the recovery following the UK?s dramatic pull out of a double-dip recession between July and September, marking the strongest quarterly growth in five years (Independent).
People
Traveldoo appoints Julian Mills to lead its new UK team?CTT Group promotes Clare Collins to director?Danny Talbot to stand down as managing director of Thomas Cook Sport to become MD of sponsorship activation agency Kempster?Intrepid Travel promotes James Thornton to managing director?Dale Keller named chief executive of the Board of Airline Representatives in the UK (BAR UK), succeeding Mike Carrivick?Blue Bay Travel appoints Maxine Rowland as head of sales & marketing and promotes Lauren Goostry to marketing & PR manager?South African Airways confirms new UK commercial and marketing team: Liam Quinn (business development manager); Jon Danks (head of UK marketing and communications); Stephen Gerrard (commercial manager); Matt Parr (leisure sales manager); Philip Ariss (corporate sales manager); and Kerry Farmer (online sales manager)?
The Week Ahead
Monday 29 October
BAA Q3s
Tuesday 30 October?
Q3s: Avis Budget; TripAdvisor
Wednesday 31 October
decisionmakers.tv: Victoria Sanders, MD, Teletext Holidays
Q3s: Lufthansa
Ski & Snowboard Show, to 4 Nov
GfK consumer confidence
Thursday 1 November
Q3s: Morgans Hotel Group; Orient-Express Hotels Ltd
Friday 2 November
ETOA Global European Marketplace, Wembley
Q3s: Travelport
Source: http://www.e-tid.com/the-weekend-update-18/58942/
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