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# Wednesday, 21 November 2007
Under new measures announced by Gordon Brown, rail passengers could face having their baggage screened. He aims to bring in measures such as vehicle exclusion zones and blast resistant buildings in order to improve security at railway stations, airport terminals and other sensitive locations. Baggage screening is also likely to be brought in at large railway stations.

posted on Wednesday, 21 November 2007 11:24:07 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Tuesday, 20 November 2007
British Airways have been flying empty planes on some routes because they have no cabin crew to staff them. In the last two weeks empty planes have flown between Britain, Canada and the US. BA said the practice is extremely rare and only occurs when there is no cabin crew available for the flights. He also said that it is better to fly empty planes one way if the return leg is full rather than the cancel both legs. In a time when the phrase carbon footprint is being used daily, flying empty planes seems ridiculous.

posted on Tuesday, 20 November 2007 10:21:43 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Monday, 19 November 2007

blogoftheweek Elliott is another one of those blogs that champions the cause of the poorly treated traveller. Seen as one of America's top travel ombudsmen, his blog is full of useful advice and warnings about scams. If you've been unfairly treated by the travel industry and don't know where to turn, Elliott is probably your knight in shining armor.

One post I found of particular interest is about rental car scams, car rental companies are becoming more an more innovative in adding all kinds of hidden fees to their rates. From charging you for a full tank of fuel when the meter isn't exactly on F down to even charging you for the disposal of old tires! Elliott says the best way to avoid these fees is to play the car rental companies at their own game. Read their terms and conditions very carefully, stick to them and argue about any fee that is not disclosed on your rate quote.

posted on Monday, 19 November 2007 12:31:30 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Sunday, 18 November 2007
Baggage rules are likely to be eased from January 2008 as the one bag rule for hand luggage is likely to be relaxed. Airports will need to show that their security procedures meet government standards. Once they have done this, passengers will then be able to take more than one bag into the cabin. Restrictions on carrying liquids are likely to stay in place. There will also be limits on the size of hand luggage. The dimensions of hand luggage must not exceed 56cm x 45cm x 25cm (22in x 17.7in x 9.8in approx), including wheels, handles and side pockets.

posted on Sunday, 18 November 2007 12:21:40 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Saturday, 17 November 2007
A study carried out by the European Commission has found that around 200 European airline websites are misleading. The main problems are that they fail to show all the taxes and charges when advertising their prices. The Commission has not named any of the airlines involved in the study, in order to give them time to improve their services. However, if they do not improve it could force misleading websites to close.

posted on Saturday, 17 November 2007 13:45:13 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Friday, 16 November 2007
The Eurostar service has now stopped running out of Waterloo International and now leaves from St Pancras. The first service from St Pancras left at 1103 GMT on Wednesday and arrived in Paris just over two hours later at 1317 GMT. The new route has cut journey times to Paris by around 20 minutes making the average journey take around two hours and fifteen minutes.

posted on Friday, 16 November 2007 10:23:42 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Thursday, 15 November 2007
There is likely to be disruption to Air Lingus flights next Tuesday and Friday as staff are due to strike. The trade union said that new employment contracts meant staff would be forced to work more hours for less money. If the strike goes ahead it will affect Air Lingus ground staff.

posted on Thursday, 15 November 2007 13:32:18 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Wednesday, 14 November 2007
British Airways customers will see another rise in the cost of their tickets after BA raised it fuel surcharges for the third time this year. The rise is due to record oil prices meaning oil is currently at around $100 a barrel. Fuel surcharges for short-haul flights will increase from £4 to £20 and on flights longer than nine hours the charge will increase from £30 to £116. Long haul flights of less than nine hours, will also increase from £20 to £96.

posted on Wednesday, 14 November 2007 13:41:57 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback