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# Thursday, 03 April 2008
Plans to introduce fingerprinting for passengers travelling from Terminal 5 were suspended only 24 hours before they were due to open. BAA says that the measures are needed to distinguish domestic passengers from international ones but the data protection watchdog has said the plan may breach British law. Talks are now being held between the Information Commissioner and BAA which wants to bring in the checks in the future.

posted on Thursday, 03 April 2008 12:41:20 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Wednesday, 02 April 2008
There is likely to be more disruption at Terminal 5 as BA struggle to sort out the problems that hit the opening week. BA is still struggling to clear the backlog of luggage and is still cancelling some flights and there are now reports that it could take months for things to get back to normal. BA has now postponed the switch of long haul flights to the terminal which was due to happen on the 5th of April and there could also be a threat of strike action which would hit service further.

posted on Wednesday, 02 April 2008 15:45:37 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
The General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) has plans to build 97 airports before 2020. The plan will see the number of airports in China increasing to 192 in 2010 and to 244 by 2020 meaning that most people will live within 90 minutes drive of an airport by 2020. The new airports will cost around 450 billion Yuan ($64 billion) and are being built to meet increasing demand.

posted on Wednesday, 02 April 2008 15:30:49 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Tuesday, 01 April 2008
If your flight has been delayed or cancelled you might want to have a look at this article. It has lots of useful information about what compensation you could be entitled to. For example if your flight is delayed for two hours on a journey of up to 1,500km you should be able to claim free meals and refreshments and two phones calls, whereas if you are delayed overnight you are entitled to hotel accommodation. Its definitely worth a read before you travel.

posted on Tuesday, 01 April 2008 15:54:14 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Monday, 31 March 2008
According to BA the baggage handling system at Heathrow is now working well. However there is a huge backlog of bags at the airport. BA has a team of 400 volunteers who are working to clear the backlog of around 15,000 bags which have now built up at the airport although reuniting passengers with their luggage is likely to take some time because the bags need to go through enhanced security screening This is now being done manually because BA has been unable to use the Terminal 5 baggage system to process the bags. 

posted on Monday, 31 March 2008 13:24:19 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
The Post Office has announced 53 branches in Norfolk that are facing closure. Despite the closures The Post Office says that the cutbacks are necessary to make the service sustainable and that most people will still be within a mile of a post office.

The full list of proposed closures:
•    The Crown, Colby Road, Banningham
•    Barney, The Street, Fakenham
•    Beeston Village Stores, Beeston, Kings Lynn
•    Beresford Road, Great Yarmouth
•    The Post Office, Castle Rising, King's Lynn
•    Village Hall, The Street, Caston, Attleborough
•    Clint Green, Norwich Road, Clint Green, Dereham
•    65 Intwood Road, Cringleford, Norwich
•    Cromer Road, Sheringham
•    East Runton Stores, Cromer
•    The Post Office, East Walton, Kings Lynn
•    Village Hall, Church Road, Wretham
•    4 Harvey Estate, Gimingham, Norwich
•    Church Road, Great Plumstead, Norwich
•    Textile Centre, Great Walsingham Barns
•    Church Road, Griston, Thetford
•    The Pleasure Boat Inn, Staithe Road, Hickling
•    Ancient House, Wells Road, Holkham
•    Lichfield Road, Southtown, Great Yarmouth,
•    Post Office Road, Little Plumstead, Norwich
•    98 London Street, Swaffham
•    Chapel Road, Longham, Dereham
•    47 Lynn Road, Downham Market
•    High Street, Marsham, Norwich
•    Lovells, Market Place, New Buckenham
•    308 Bowthorpe Road, North Earlham, Norwich
•    North End, Loke Road, Kings Lynn
•    East View, Mill Road, North Tuddenham, Dereham
•    Northgate Street, Great Yarmouth
•    Norwich Road, Watton
•    Nuns Bridges Filling Station, Bury Road, Thetford
•    Downham Market Railway Station, Railway Road, Downham Market
•    Ringstead, High Street, Hunstanton
•    Rosary Road, Norwich
•    Sporle Community Centre, Kings Lynn
•    Springfield Road, Gorleston, Great Yarmouth
•    Bungalow Stores, Stokesby, Great Yarmouth
•    Norwich Road, Tacolneston, Norwich
•    Tittleshall Village Hall, Tittleshall
•    The Street, Trowse
•    Church Road, Upton
•    Suffolk Square, Norwich
•    Wells Road, Fakenham
•    Staithe Road, West Somerton, Great Yarmouth
•    The Street, Wattisfield, Diss
•    The Street, Scole, Diss
•    High Road, Bressingham, Diss

posted on Monday, 31 March 2008 13:08:39 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
Several British airlines are facing increased costs which could amount to hundreds of millions of pounds after expansion plans have been set back because of problems with the new 787 Dreamliner plane. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and First Choice Airways have ordered 97 of the planes between them making them an essential part of the UK aviation industry’s new fleet. There are likely to be delivery delays of more than a year because parts of the plane have needed to be redesigned.

posted on Monday, 31 March 2008 13:04:28 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Sunday, 30 March 2008

blogoftheweek_thumbThis weeks travel blog of the week is Family Travel. The blog is run by away.com and features  regular authors Steve Jermanok and Christine Loomis and other guest authors.  It aims to offer practical advice and tips for those planning a trip with the family.

ski_liftOne article written by Nathan Borchelt looks at the Copper  Mountain ski resort in Colorado which Nathan says is an ideal resort for the whole family. The reason he says this is that the resort has a large area which is dedicated to beginners but also has more challenging intermediate and expert runs which are situated well away from those who are just learning the ropes. The resort also holds classes for two age groups children aged 3 to 5 and another for children aged 5 and over, as well as having seasonal youth programs also separated by age group. It certainly looks like a great family destination.

Another useful article written by guest blogger Jennifer Michaels and entitled packing tips from the expert  looks at how to organise your packing and still stay within the airlines baggage allowance. Tips include things lie using a board to fold shirts and shorts and rolling bathing suits and underwear into cubes to save much needed space. Other tips include renting large items of baby equipment once you reach your destination and giving each child their own carry on kit for the plane journey with their special toys and some snacks included. This article is definitely worth a read before you travel.

posted on Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:14:03 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Saturday, 29 March 2008
Terminal 5’s third day has been hit by further cancellations. More than 100 flights were cancelled on Thursday and Friday because of problems with the baggage handling system with another 54 flights cancelled today. Customers are being advised to check on the BA website for a full list of cancellations. Those who do have their flights cancelled will be able to apply for a refund or rebook.

posted on Saturday, 29 March 2008 15:20:06 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
Things didn’t get any better on the second day of operations at Terminal 5. After the initial problems with the baggage handling system on the opening day the second day saw one in five flights being cancelled. 80% of the planned 534 flights were operating with passengers now able to check in hold luggage. BA has set up an information line for T5 passengers: 0800 727800. The airline has also advised customers to check its website, www.ba.com for service updates.

posted on Saturday, 29 March 2008 10:39:06 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Friday, 28 March 2008
The RMT have announced a three day tube strike in a row over safety concerns. The strike will run from 1830 on 6th of April and will end on the 9th of April. The strikes will affect tube travel over a total of four days.

posted on Friday, 28 March 2008 14:29:13 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
It appeared that BAA had everything covered with the opening of the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow. After all they had spent months testing the terminal, so what could go wrong? Quite a lot it seems. On the opening day flights from the new terminal were departing with hand baggage only after luggage check in was suspended due to a processing backlog. British Airways announced that all check in was suspended until the following day. In addition 34 flights were cancelled because of baggage problems and passengers faced delays of up to four hours to reclaim their luggage. Not a good start.

posted on Friday, 28 March 2008 12:27:38 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
Members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union have voted to strike over safety concerns. The unions, which represent 7,500 station staff and drivers, have concerns about staff working alone and plans to introduce "mobile supervisors" at stations. It is expected the strike dates will be announced later today.

posted on Friday, 28 March 2008 11:05:07 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
East Midlands Trains is investing £90 million to improve the performance of its services. The money will be used to refurbish stations and its current fleet. The firm will also improve CCTV on trains and set up a new control centre in Derby to improve communications with Network Rail. They also aim to improve punctuality and have issued staff with atomic watches.

posted on Friday, 28 March 2008 10:40:24 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Thursday, 27 March 2008
Terminal 5 opened to passengers today. The opening, however, was not without its problems. Problems with the baggage handling system left many customers waiting up to two hours for their luggage. There were also long queues to get through check in and security. To add to the problems a set of escalators also broke down and there were problems for people trying to pay for parking. Lets hope this just teething problems and not the shape of things to come.

posted on Thursday, 27 March 2008 18:14:25 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
Train Drivers working for South West Trains have called off strikes which were planned for next week. A four day strike was due to take place in a disagreement over pay. The Aslef union has now reached a draft agreement with the train operator and drivers will vote on the deal next month.

posted on Thursday, 27 March 2008 16:12:28 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback