Royal Caribbean International is to launch its first direct cruise connection from Stansted Airport, targeting millions of people in the Uttlesford hub’s catchment area.

Stansted launches cruise flights

British Airways will operate the service with charter flights to Venice from June. Guests flying from Stansted will connect directly to Royal Caribbean International ship Voyager of the Seas for a week-long Adriatic sailing.

Nick Barton, managing director of Stansted Airport, said: “European cruise markets continue to grow in popularity and with direct flight connections, guests can enjoy warmer climates and be settled into their cruise holiday within hours of departing the UK.

“We look forward to welcoming guests jetting away from Stansted for their cruise connection this summer and wish Royal Caribbean International every success with this new service.”

Jo Rzymowska, associate vice president and general manager, Royal Caribbean International, UK and Ireland, added: “Feedback from cruise travellers tells us that convenient flight connections are a factor when selecting their next cruise experience and the new services from Stansted are a great addition to our summer 2011 programme.

“Around 6.7 million people live in Stansted’s main catchment area, putting our cruise connections onto the doorstep of millions of potential customers.”

Voyager of the Seas was launched in November 1999 and has capacity to carry 3,840 people.

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More than 105,000 passengers are expected to have travelled through Luton Airport over the Easter period as the hub reflects on its achievements over the past year.

The airport is likely to see a rise in the number of passengers heading to European cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Budapest, Milan, Paris and Prague over the holiday season as customers flock in their droves to take advantage of low fares to such destinations.

Sun-soaked destinations such as the Canary Islands are also proving popular with families looking to make the most of the Easter break. 

Simon Harley, the airport’s airline development manager, said: “With more than 90 destinations on offer, our passengers have a great deal of choice whether they are looking for sunshine or a cultural city break; perfect for that Easter getaway.”

The bulge in passenger numbers coincided with the publication of Luton’s 2010 Community Engagement Report, which sets out its successes over the last year and looks ahead to the future.

The airport helped raise money for a number of charity projects in 2010 – generating more than £42,000 for local charity Keech Hospice Care and raising £25,000 to aid flood victims in Pakistan.

The hub has also taken steps to become more eco-friendly by reducing its CO2 emissions by 7% from airport-controlled buildings between 2008 and 2010. In addition, It bolstered its environmental credentials further by recycling 22% of its total waste between 2009 and 2010.

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Airlines were right to ground aircraft after the eruption of a Icelandic volcano last year, researchers have said.

Scientists led by Dr Sigurdur Gislason from the University of Iceland examined samples of ash from the volcano as part of a new study and concluded they were capable of causing an air disaster.

Flights across the UK including from airports such as Heathrow, Stansted, Gatwick and Luton, were cancelled or delayed due to the volcanic ash, affecting some 10 million passengers and costing between  £1.3 billion and £2.2 billion.

But in a new study the researchers found the fragments remained “sharp and abrasive” even after attempts to blunt the particles by stirring them in water.

They would have sandblasted aircraft windows, making them impossible to see through, and had the potential to stall engines.

The explosive nature of the eruption on April 14 last year was caused by glacial meltwater coming into contact with hot volcanic magma.

Tiny pieces of extremely hard, abrasive material were ejected to heights of more than 9km and carried as far as Russia.

The researchers wrote in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: “The very sharp, hard particles put aircraft at risk from abrasion on windows and body and from melting in jet engines.

“In the lab, ash particles did not become less sharp during two weeks of stirring in water, so airborne particles would remain sharp even after days of interaction with each other and water in clouds. Thus, concerns for air transport were well grounded.”

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Holidaymakers heading abroad this summer from certain UK airports may find using tablet computers such as iPads abroad could be up to 1,000 times more expensive than in Britain. 

Consumer group Which? has revealed the potentially crippling costs, which could interest people looking to go on holiday from Heathrow, or Stansted airports this Easter. 

The research shows that while some travellers might think they have been thrifty by using airport transfers, they could end up spending over and above anyway by checking the internet or making calls home. 

In Britain a gigabyte of data can cost as little as £7.50 a month for people who like to check emails, watch videos or download music on a tablet. 

But the study has shown that similar usage while travelling abroad could end up costing several thousand pounds.

It would take a considerable amount of hours watching video online to run up such astronomical charges – but simply using GPS to get around, browsing the internet, or checking emails could lead to a bill of several hundred pounds.

Also, smartphone and tablet users could find their devices racking up big bills without them knowing as the gadgets access the internet to conduct automatic updates.

Although data charges are limited to about £40 in the EU due to an automatic bill cut-off required by EC regulation, and some operators have caps for use further afield, others do not have a limit on how big a bill a customer can rack up.

Which? found that using a mobile phone to make and receive calls, send texts and browse the web while abroad can be extremely costly too.

Unlike within the UK, mobile users must pay to receive calls as well as to make them.

Prices are capped in the EU, but calls made elsewhere can be up to 10 times more expensive and texts can be four times more expensive.

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Sir Richard Branson will be dressing as a stewardess on a charity flight from London Stansted Airport. 

Branson to dress as stewardess

And to fully prepare him for the role, Sir Richard is looking for someone to shave his legs.

The Virgin Airlines owner is hoping to raise more than £350,000 for charity with the stunt.

Sir Richard will be donning a female cabin attendant uniform and serving on board a special flight from London Stansted Airport to Kuala Lumpur after losing a bet with a colleague.

It comes after the tycoon bet Malaysian airline mogul Tony Fernandes that their F1 teams would finish ahead of each other last season.

Mr Fernandes’ budget carrier AirAsia said that a “successful bidder would be invited” to shave Sir Richard.

“As an AirAsia flight attendant, Richard would have to comply to our grooming standards, and that includes shaving his legs,” Mr Fernandes said.

“Rather than shave him myself, Richard and I thought we could have a bit of fun, engage with our guests and raise more money for charity if we opened up the opportunity to the highest bidder,” he added.

The bidding will take place before the AirAsia flight leaves Stansted Airport and the winner will “be invited to shave Richard once he’s unveiled as an AirAsia flight attendant,” the airline said.

Proceeds of both the bidding and flight ticket sales will go to beneficiaries identified by Virgin Unite, Sir Richard’s non-profit foundation.

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More than 20% of Britons have booked time off between the Easter and royal wedding bank holiday weekends, according to research.

A YouGov poll commissioned by online travel retailers lastminute.com revealed that just over a fifth (23%) had arranged annual leave to make the most of a potential 11-day holiday. 

This long break could give workers the perfect opportunity to travel abroad on Easter weekend. 

For those looking to head overseas during this busy time, it might be a good idea for them to book airport transfer services to take away the stress of driving on hectic roads on the way to the airport. 

But 13% of respondents said their employers had stopped them from taking holiday over that period. 

Around 10% said they are planning to use the royal wedding weekend to have a ‘proper’ holiday overseas or in Britain.

Meanwhile, 45% of people said they are not planning to watch the celebrations, while this figure is set to increase to 60% in Scotland.

The ceremony is a must-watch event for 32% of respondents, while the rest are undecided.

Nearly twice as many woman than men were planning to watch the ceremony, at 41% compared with 22%.

A separate survey by ComRes for the Independent on Sunday and Sunday Mirror placed the percentage of people planning to watch the Royal Wedding on television at 48%, with those not planning to at 38%.

They similarly found the proportion of women, at 62%, planning to watch to be significantly higher than the number of men, at 35%.

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Heathrow Airport could get underground heating to make sure there is no repeat of the disruption caused by ice and heavy snow last winter.

A geothermal system, which would gather and store heat in the ground during the summer and use it to keep flights running smoothly in the winter, is being looked into by operator British Airports Authority (BAA). 

The technology is still being developed but it could keep stands above freezing by running warmed water through pipes.

Capital projects director Steven Morgan, told Building magazine: “It’s not the snow that caused problems last year, it was the ice. We are working on a concept to capture geothermal energy from the surface of the tarmac… during the summer, to then provide a heating capability so the stands don’t freeze in the winter.

“We would store the energy underground and use it to gently heat water that would then be run through pipes in freezing conditions to warm the stands, which are the slabs of concrete directly beneath the planes, to just above zero.”

A BAA spokesman said: “We are always investigating a number of concepts to improve Heathrow’s resilience, but it is far too early to discuss anything and nothing referred to currently exists at Heathrow or has any funding agreement at all.”

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More Britons are stopping with friends and family when they travel abroad for their holidays, new tourism statistics have revealed.

It has never been easier to get away on holiday, with a number of airports such as Stansted, Luton and Gatwick offering cheap and convenient flights to some of the most attractive destinations in the world.

And the number of UK residents jetting off to locations where they are hosted by family and friends grew by 9% in the first two months of 2011, the Office for National Statistics figures show. It appears that many Britons see this as a way of enjoying the usual benefits of a holiday while saving on accommodation costs.

However, the overall number of foreign holidays taken by UK residents dropped by 4% in January to February 2011, compared with the same period in the previous year. There was also a marginal fall in foreign business trips, with the number dropping off by 1%.

The rise in visits to friends and relatives meant that the number of trips UK residents took overseas in the first two months of this year reached just under 6.6 million – about the same as the January-February 2010 period.

Spending by Britons on these foreign trips fell 3% to £3.71 billion in the first two months of this year.

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Britons will be better off financially if they spend Easter in Benidorm or Bulgaria instead of Brighton, according to research.

Post Office Travel Money listed Spain as offering the best value-for-money for 10 typical holiday items in a table of 14 popular destinations. 

Although the items, including suncream, beer and cigarettes, cost £42.15 in Spain they were priced at £77.01 in Brighton and £92.81 in Miami, Florida, which was the most expensive destination. 

Tourists looking to make the most of their Easter break while still saving money might also want to explore using airport transfers. 

As well as alleviating the stresses of driving, travelling by bus will also remove the additional cost of petrol and parking at the airport.

The second cheapest location was Bulgaria, where the items cost £43.50. 

For some destinations the cost of the items had seen noticeable increase compared to last year, with Brighton up by 10%. 

Having a three course evening meal in the Sussex resort is now expected to cost around £45.30, compared with £23.58 in Spain. 

Corfu in Greece was 10% less than 2010, with the 10 items now costing £58.87. Turkey was down 13% to £79.58 while Egypt, although comparatively expensive at £78.30, was 12% lower than last year.

Post Office Travel Money head Sarah Munro said: “While Spain is undoubtedly best value overall, the healthy price fall in Greece means that this traditional favourite can once again be considered a good bet for wallet-watching holidaymakers.

“In fact, the eastern Med looks a good choice all ways round as prices have fallen significantly in Turkey after 2010’s sharp rises.

“A combination of the weaker Turkish lira and lower charges by Turkish restaurants and bars have brought prices back to the levels UK holidaymakers came to expect during the noughties.”

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There was an increase in the number of passengers passing through BAA’s UK airports last month, it has been announced.

A total of 8.3 million people passed through the six airports in March 2011, which is a 0.9% rise on the March 2010 figure.

There was a marked improvement at Heathrow and BAA’s three Scottish airports compared to March last year, when numbers were hit by British Airways’ strike action.

Heathrow’s passenger numbers climbed 2.3% during the month compared with last year, while rises were also seen in Aberdeen (8.6%), Edinburgh (7.2%) and Glasgow (2.4%). 

Year-on-year comparisons for April will be harder to gauge as the entire Easter break will fall within the month this year, while last April saw travel crippled by the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud crisis.

The royal wedding on April 29 is also likely to lead to an increase in flights this month.

Meanwhile, Gatwick Airport, formerly run by BAA and now operated by US-based investment fund Global Infrastructure Partner, handled 1.4% more passengers last month than in April 2010.

BAA chief executive Colin Matthews said: “Heathrow’s performance is solid, and the growth in traffic at our Scottish airports is encouraging.

“In the UK, consumer confidence remains fragile, affecting airports up and down the country. Continued rises in the price of oil are a concern for airlines and passengers in all our markets.

“While Stansted and Southampton’s traffic performance remains disappointing, both are well placed to benefit from an upturn in leisure travel as the economy improves.”

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