The fallout from the Icelandic volcano and the ensuing disruption to air travel failed to prevent budget airline easyJet from beating annual profit forecasts.             

easyJet beats profits forecasts

The low-cost airline also cheered investors by announcing it will  pay a dividend to shareholders for the first time.

Following the Icelandic volcanic eruption in March and the resulting ash cloud over Europe, easyJet had to cancel 7,314 flights, causing disruption to 960,000 passengers.

The plan to pay a dividend next year should appease founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, whose family controls around 38% of the shares and has long called for the easyJet board to start payments to shareholders.

The airline has recruited more staff and introduced additional breaks in its schedule, in what the company has described as a long-term fix.

easyJet, which flies from UK airports including London-based Luton, Gatwick and Stansted, also announced it will buy another 24 planes, expanding its fleet to a total of 220 aircraft by September 2013, representing a 7% increase in seats per year.

The firm announced it has launched a new flexible fare targeted at business travellers that will give passengers flexibility to change their flight up to two hours before the scheduled departure time.

Its other aim is to increase ancillary revenues after it started easyJet Holidays, allowing passengers to book accommodation at the same time as booking a flight.

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Jet2 has stationed a Boeing 737-300 at Gatwick after failed charter carrier Hamburg International Airlines filed for insolvency in October.Several tour operators will be relieved that Jet2 has stepped in at the last minute as Hamburg’s demise left a number of operators facing a shortfall that needed to be filled at short notice. The no-frills carrier will fly several times a week with a different operator each time.

The move will be a departure for Leeds-based Jet2, as its scheduled operations are normally flown from airports in the North, Scotland and the Midlands.

Passenger sales director Phil Ward stressed that Jet2 was not setting up a base for scheduled flights at Gatwick, but was providing seasonal charters to meet demand from operators.

“As a financially stable and operationally reliable airline we are mindful that our customers need surety in the supply of flight capacity to avoid disruption or disappointment to their passengers,” he said.

“Jet2.com operates a variety of charter flights each year and will work hard in the next few weeks to ensure the Gatwick programme gets off to a flying start.”

Hamburg International Airlines was first launched in 1998, with the first planes taking off in 1999. By March 2007 it had a pool of 215 staff and was wholly owned by its management and local venture capitalists.

After it went bankrupt on 19 October, 2010, all of its aircraft were returned to their respective lessors, with the immediate cessation of all flights.

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More than three-quarters of overseas tourists who visited the UK in 2009 had been here before, according to research. 

The VisitBritain organisation revealed that 77% of holidaymakers in the UK had already visited here at least once in the previous decade. 

Republic of Ireland residents are among the most loyal with 95% of them making a return trip to Britain. With Luton airport regularly offering a gateway to and from the Emerald Isles, many of those passengers may have travelled in and out of the busy London airport.

Tourist officials are hopeful that these results could mean UK tourism will receive a massive long-term boost after staging the 2012 London Olympics. 

About 50,000 foreign visitors were questioned, and the results indicate that Luxembourg travellers are the most loyal to Britain, with 96% having been here in the last 10 years – closely followed by Ireland. 

Visitors from the United Arab Emirates were third with 92%, while people from Chile and Taiwan are the least likely to return, with only 33% of them visiting the UK on return trips.

Most of the tourists heading into the UK are from France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Holland and Spain, with 59% of French visitors and 56% of Germans being “repeaters”. 

VisitBritain’s strategy and communications director Patricia Yates said: “These figures are very encouraging considering the number of worldwide destinations available to overseas travellers, and the fierce competition for overseas visitors.

“It is an important sign that Britain is to generate a sustained uplift in tourism after the Olympics.”

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The number of passengers using BAA’s six airports increased last month, it has been announced.

However, by comparing passenger numbers at Heathrow in London to Stansted Airport, it is clear some airports did not enjoy such a positive month.

Passengers numbers at Heathrow jumped by 7.2% last month to reach a little under 6.01 million, but a fall in holiday flights caused figures at Stansted to show a 3.1% decline.

BAA’s six airports handled a total of 9.75 million passengers last month, some 3.4% higher than October 2009’s figures. Numbers at Edinburgh (up 3.5%) and Southampton (up 1%) increased, but Glasgow (down 7.4%) and Aberdeen (down 5%) experienced a fall in passenger figures.

The number of passengers on European scheduled services increased by 4.2% and North Atlantic traffic rose by 9.7%, but Gatwick’s European charter traffic fell by 12.3% compared with figures from the same month last year. The number of people passing through the West Sussex airport overall increased by 0.8% to 2.85 million.

An increasing number of people took long-haul flights between Heathrow and China and Hong Kong, with 16.1% more people using the routes last month compared with 2009’s figures.

BAA chief executive Colin Matthews said: “Passenger growth is good for the economy with thousands of people across the country employed in aviation, international trade and tourism.

“Low sterling and interest rates make the UK a competitive place to do business.”

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London 'gives tourists best welcome'

London has seen off several of the great European capitals when it comes to giving tourists the best welcome, according to a recent study.

The “mystery shopper” poll showed that the UK capital scored the highest out of six capitals, with high ratings for airport signs, taxis, bus tours and city centre tourist information offices.

And the city – which has transport links feeding Luton, Stansted, Heathrow and Gatwick airports – scored top marks for its city centre public transport.

London, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, Rome and Berlin were subject to a 24-hour visit from mystery shoppers who rated the cities on the basis of the welcome given to visitors in 11 categories.

London came top of the secret shopper survey, followed by Paris and Amsterdam in joint second place. The Spanish capital Madrid came fourth followed by Italy’s Eternal City Rome, with Berlin languishing in sixth and last place.

However, the UK capital came dead last when it came to how tourists were received in museums, airport tourist information offices and some restaurants later on at night. And there was better news for Paris as it scored highly for airport signage, public transport to and from the airport, food and museums.

The survey, commissioned by the Paris and Ile de France regional tourist board, was released at World Travel Market in London. 

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British Airways (BA) has announced plans to resume flights from Gatwick to the Moroccan city of Marrakech.

The service is scheduled to run three times a week from March 27 next year.

BA has previously flown to Marrakech as GB Airways but the service ended in March 2008 when low-fare carrier easyJet took over GB Airways.

BA’s UK and Ireland sales and marketing head, Richard Tams, said: “BA offers a real alternative to discerning travellers to Morocco.”

The new route was announced at the opening of the World Travel Market in London. The flag carrier airline also announced a sale of Gatwick fares to European destinations including Amsterdam, Geneva, Rome, Turin and Venice.

Marrakech is known as the “Red City” and is situated in the south-west of the country near the foothills of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains. It is the third largest city in Morocco after Casablanca and Rabat. It was once an imperial city and has more than a million inhabitants.

The city is divided into two parts – the Medina, the historical city, and the new European modern district called Gueliz or Ville Nouvelle. It is served by Menara International Airport and a rail link to Casablanca and the north.

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easyJet plans to introduce flights from Israel to Switzerland to add to its existing Tel Aviv to Luton Airport flights, it has been revealed.

easyJet to operate Israel flights

The move, which will see the budget airline offer routes from Tel Aviv to Basle and Tel Aviv to Geneva, comes as Israel’s ministry of transport reported that there will be 13% more flights this winter to and from the country compared with last winter. 

In an attempt to bolster the number of flights to and from the country during the winter season, which started last week, the Israel Airport Authority has approved routes to and from Israel by 53 foreign air carriers.

Other companies flying to and from Israel for the first time are Germanwings, which will operate flights between Tel Aviv and Cologne, Spanair, which will fly passengers to and from Tel Aviv and Barcelona, Air Ukraine, which will operate Tel Aviv to Kiev flights, Cimber Sterling, which will schedule Tel Aviv to Copenhagen and Armavia which will operate flights from Tel Aviv to Yerevan.

Minister of Transport Israel Katz said that El Al Israel Airlines Ltd will have 7% more flights this winter compared with last winter. He added that Arkia Airlines Ltd would have 12 weekly flights overseas and Israir seven weekly flights.

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Gatwick Airport has unveiled a hi-tech facility for travellers to view the progress of its £1billion investment programme.

The ‘Gatwick Discovery Tour’ can be accessed by mobile technology via barcodes that will be placed around the airport.

Using a free mobile application, users will be able to scan the barcode and view video of how the London airport is being transformed.

The project has kicked off at the North Terminal inter-terminal shuttle departure point, where a video reveals how the new shuttle route between the North and South Terminals was built, and opened a month ahead of schedule. 

Over the coming weeks and months, more barcodes will be introduced at check-in and just after security in the North Terminal as well as the forecourt areas and immigration in the South Terminal.

Gatwick is the only airport in the world to use standard barcodes as an audio-visual information tool. If successful, major airports such as Luton and Stansted could follow suit.

Gatwick’s head of airport communications, Samantha Holgate, said: “We wanted to find a fun and interactive way to communicate to passengers about how the money is being invested, what work is going on behind the hoarding and how they will eventually benefit.”

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Cyprus Airways (CY) is to increase the number of flights to London Stansted as part of a shake-up of its UK scheduling.

Cyprus Airways is to increase the number of flights to London Stansted

From this month, CY will provide two flights a week from Paphos to Stansted. Flights from Larnaca and Paphos to Birmingham will be ended in March next year, as will the service to Heathrow from Paphos.

The airline is increasing its operation across Europe ahead of Cyprus assuming the EU presidency in 2012. CY will operate five flights a week to Brussels, in addition to adding Munich to its schedule.

easyJet already flies to four UK destinations from Paphos: London Gatwick, Manchester, Luton and Bristol.

Natalie Christofidou of AC Inflights Ltd, speaking on behalf of easyJet, said there would be no reduction of flights this winter. Their new service from Paphos to Edinburgh has just got under way.

“easyJet is constantly reviewing its route network, looking for opportunities to expand its services and grow its brand. We are currently increasing our services to and from Paphos, adding Edinburgh to our routes list,” she said.

Ms Christofidou added that easyJet flights operating between Paphos and the UK have always been very popular. During 2009, the airline carried 292,168 passengers between Paphos and the UK, while it estimates that during 2010, a total of 369,741 passengers will be carried.

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With Christmas around the corner, scores of Britons are debating whether to escape to warmer climes before the winter weather takes hold, with Spain and Tenerife proving to be particularly popular holiday destinations.

Spanish winter breaks

A travel price comparison site has revealed that Spanish deals start from £121 per person for seven nights at a three-star hotel on the Costa Brava, departing from London Gatwick.

If the Costa Brava doesn’t float your boat, the Gran Canaria is another viable option, with deals starting from £149 per person for a week-long break departing on December 1 from London Stansted. 

Alternatively, Tenerife is also an attractive prospect at this time of the year, and those wishing to fly from London Luton can grab a seven-night holiday departing on November 23 for just £147 per person.

They believe there are enough deals to beat even the most severe winter blues.

“With the winter months setting in we have seen an increase in travellers looking to enjoy some Mediterranean winter sunshine.”

“The top destinations for November and December are holidays in Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Spain, and we have some great offers available at this time of year as travellers save twice combining off season savings with last minute prices.”

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