The plume of volcanic ash being spewed out of Iceland is continuing to cause problems for airlines. The cloud is now 1,400 miles from side to side and 2,100 miles long. Most of the ash is spread out over the North Atlantic and covers an area stretching from Greenland to Portugal.
In an attempt to avoid the volcanic cloud, a number of airlines have rerouted their transatlantic flights to the north and the south. However, this has started to cause some congestion as the routes are become clogged with traffic. The diversions have also added to passengers’ journey times.
In Europe, hundreds [...]

Virgin Holidays is launching a new marketing campaign which will highlight the company’s dedication to customer service. The campaign revolves around the idea that Virgin customers will be offered a ‘Rockstar Service’, and is targeted at consumers who are seeking for the best possible treatment when it comes to hotels and airport transfers.
The campaign aims to follow on from Virgin’s ‘Ask for the world’ message, and will feature a fictional rock band called the Danke Schons. The band, loosely based on Spinal Tap, will be seen taking a Virgin Holidays package trip as they prepare to record their third album. [...]

In a bid to prevent a repeat of the disruption caused to European businesses, passengers and airlines by the volcanic ash cloud which closed the skies over Europe for nearly a week last month, European Union transport ministers have been meeting in Brussels.
A number of measures have been agreed upon, and the European Commission has announced that it will be drawing up guidelines which will allow airlines to receive compensation for loss of earnings from governments.
Other measures include opening up the skies over Europe so that they are controlled by a single European regulator. Following the meeting, Siim Kallas, the [...]

The European travel industry, still reeling from the fallout from the Iceland volcanic ash cloud, is set to be plunged into further chaos following a new eruption. Though not yet considered a major threat, scientists have said that the geothermal activity may set off the Katla volcano.
Ireland has issued a temporary travel ban for Tuesday as the ash cloud hovered closer, while British authorities have closed small sections of air space, although at this stage, European airspace is still running per schedule.
On Monday, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) said that all flights from 6:00 GMT until midday Tuesday would be [...]

An agreement has been reached by the boards of both Continental Airlines and United Airlines which could see the emergence of the largest carrier in the world. The decision to merge the two airlines is expected to be passed by shareholders as well as regulators by the end of the year.
Although the deal had been frustrated recently because of a disagreement over share values, it seems that both boards are now unanimous in their decision. Glen Tinton, United’s boss, will become chairman of the new airline, which will operate under the name United (although the colours will now be those [...]

Economic forecasters are warning that the combination of rapidly rising fuel prices, and the costs incurred by airlines because of this months volcanic cloud crisis, could mean a drastic hike in the price of airline tickets. Over the next three years this could be as much as 3.83 per cent.
Figures released by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, suggest that the cost to airlines of the grounding of aircraft due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland, is around £1.3 billion. This figure, when added to a year-on-year rise in the price of airline fuel for the first three months [...]

After nearly a week of chronic disruption due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland, it now looks as if the world’s airline industry can start to return to some semblance of normality. Last night, the UK’s airspace was reopened and a British Airways passenger jet inbound from Vancouver was permitted to land at Heathrow. German officials say that they plan to resume flights as of today and planes have already been taking off from Amsterdam, Madrid and Paris.
The World Meteorological Organisation said that it is confident that the worst of the impact of volcanic ash in the atmosphere is over. [...]

The eruption of a volcano in Iceland may cause disruption for airline passengers in the UK throughout today and into tomorrow. The concern is that prevailing weather conditions will bring the ash plume which has been created by the eruption down through Scotland, making flying conditions hazardous for aircraft.
Aberdeen airport was closed at midnight as a precautionary measure and other Scottish airports are monitoring the situation. Aberdeen said that it was told to close by air traffic control because of the volcanic ash threat.
The ash consists of rock and glass and is hazardous to aircraft mechanics as well as pilot [...]

BCD Travel, the world’s third-largest travel management organisation, has released its global update for the first quarter through its consulting unit Advito. The revised update includes projections that hotel room rates will fall and that car rental charges will rise, with North American airfares remaining stable.
The hotel rate revision was applied to room rates at leading travel markets including China, Spain, France, India, Germany, Brazil, the UK and the US. Advito said that the new outlook was based on the slow pace of global economic recovery along with emerging markets showing increased capacity. The figures reflected the stabilisation of American Depository [...]

The Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways has unveiled another questionable toilet etiquette policy following the announcement of new, female-only lavatories to be installed on its jet planes. Only recently, the same airline raised eyebrows in the travel industry by instructing its boarding passengers to visit the bathroom before stepping onto the plane – theoretically as a water and environment saving measure.
The women-only lavatory will be introduced by ANA next month on all international flights. The reason, claims the airline, is that women air passengers have said that a separate toilet was the thing they wished for the most on long [...]