The multi-million dollar South African rapid rail service, Gautrain, has opened to the public for the first time. The Tuesday morning launch, which followed the official Gautrain launch over the weekend, signalled the start of the commercial operation of the service, just three days out from the start of the FIFA World Cup, where it [...]

The FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa kicks off in just seven days, and First Car Rental is on hand with some handy travel advice. With thousands of soccer fans from across the globe descending, their handy reference guide is a must for any traveller – not just those looking to rent vehicles. The [...]

British Airways has announced that passenger numbers in May fell by 11.5 per cent compared to a year ago. The airline is mainly blaming strikes by cabin crew for the fall in performance. BA has also reported a drop in business and first-class travel of 6.5 per cent. The premium sector is the most profitable [...]

The First Car Rental company has signed the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism, joining the battle to protect thousands of minors. Known commonly as ‘The Code,’ the pledge was established in 1998 by End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT). [...]

Despite somewhat disappointing ticket sales for World Cup matches in South Africa, many of the world’s major airlines are planning to add capacity to their South African routes during the tournament. Air France has announced that two of its three giant Airbus SAS A380s will be dedicated to the Paris-Johannesburg route. The aircraft is capable [...]

Carrentals.co.uk has released guidelines with advice for football fans making the journey to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The leading car rental comparison site asked fans to carefully plan and prepare before leaving home in order to ensure the best time possible at the World Cup finals. Travellers from all across the globe [...]

As football fans throughout the world plan their trips to South Africa for the World Cup at the end of the month, car hire firm Holiday Autos has increased its fleet size by 20 per cent. The biggest car hire agent in the world, Holiday Autos, has been working to keep up with demand and [...]

The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) has released its figures for March, with car rental companies contributing heavily to the rise in aggregate new vehicle sales. New car sales for the month, compared with year-on-year numbers from 2009, revealed a significant increase of 20.1 per cent, while the figure also represented [...]

The North Gauteng High Court in South Africa has ruled that a pair of holidaymakers travelling from the UK who were arrested and detained by local authorities are to receive 90,000 Rand compensation for their ordeal. The two travellers, one who was hospitalised on his return to the UK, were unlawfully arrested in Beitbridge, where [...]

The fortunes of the South African hire care industry are already improving thanks to the upcoming football World Cup. Soccer’s greatest showcase promises to be a memorable event and many travelers are using rental vehicles to navigate their way around the tournament despite the lengthy distances. After the recent misery brought about by the economic [...]