Hershey Grill Reopens With New Menu, Atmosphere

Breakfast served for first time in six years Hershey, Pa., 2013-03-19 — /travelprnews.com/ — Hershey Grill at Hershey Lodge reopened this week just in time for Restaurant Week in Hershey. Following a two and a half-month renovation project, the restaurant now features a more “open” feel to the room with the kitchen in direct view of… Read the full press release

Rezidor’s Annual Report 2012 published

2013-03-19 — /travelprnews.com/ — Rezidor’s 2012 Annual Report and Sustainability Report are now available on the company’s website, www.rezidor.com. A printed copy of the Annual Report can be ordered from investorrelations@rezidor.com and will be distributed beginning of April. This press release comprises information which Rezidor Hotel Group AB (publ) is required to disclose under the Securities Markets Act and/or… Read the full press release

LAX GATEWAY PYLONS TO GO DARK IN SUPPORT OF INTERNATIONAL EARTH HOUR, SATURDAY, MARCH 23

Los Angeles, California, 2013-03-18 — /travelprnews.com/ — The 100-foot-tall LAX Gateway pylons that illuminate the main entrance to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will light solid green one hour before Earth Hour on Saturday, March 23.  Then, during Earth Hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., the pylons will be turned off as part of a coordinated worldwide… Read the full press release

Airport Ambassadors Aim High with Customer Excellence

2013-03-18 — /travelprnews.com/ — Leeds City College Principal Peter Roberts and Leeds Bradford Airport’s Commercial Director, Tony Hallwood today celebrated the successful completion of a bespoke training programme by the airport’s frontline employees. Seven Airport Ambassadors were presented with certificates for the ‘Standards of Excellence – Leeds Bradford International Airport’ qualification – a ten-week training course… Read the full press release

Gatwick opens new routes to high-growth markets

Gatwick today opens a new route to Moscow with easyJet This follows new routes recently launched to other key emerging markets Gatwick is helping to improve connectivity with the capacity we have today 2013-03-18 — /travelprnews.com/ — Today’s inaugural flight from Gatwick to Moscow comes as the airport reveals its increasing number of connections to key… Read the full press release

Virgin Trains urges customers to book seats as Easter trains fill up

2013-03-18 — /travelprnews.com/ — Virgin Trains is urging those planning to use its services over the Easter weekend to firm up their plans and take advantage of free seat reservations. 100,000 tickets for Virgin Trains services have already been sold for the period from Thursday 28 March to Tuesday 2 April. With significant engineering works taking… Read the full press release

GBTA Foundation Announces New Board Members

Alexandria, VA, 2013-03-18 — /travelprnews.com/ — The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) – the voice of the global business travel industry – today announced four new appointments to the GBTA Foundation Board of Trustees.  Joining the Board will be Christie Hicks, senior vice president of Starwood Sales Organization at Starwood Hotels and Resorts; Volker Huber, president of… Read the full press release

ICAO and UNWTO Affirm Cooperation on Joint Aviation and Tourism Goals

Montreal/Madrid, 2013-03-18 — /travelprnews.com/ — The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and UNWTO signed a special Joint Statement on Aviation and Tourism today, acknowledging the intention of the two UN agencies to begin cooperating more closely on issues of common priority. The Joint Statement was signed by ICAO Secretary General, Raymond Benjamin, and UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb… Read the full press release

PATA Annual Summit Speakers: Travel and Tourism Needs to Get More Political

Bangkok, 2013-03-18 — /travelprnews.com/ — Travel industry leaders will issue a rallying call for politicians and government policy makers around the world to start “Embracing the Complete Visitor Economy” at the PATA Annual Summit, which takes place Friday April 26 in Bangkok. Mr Martin J Craigs, PATA CEO said: “If you want the travel and tourism industry to be… Read the full press release

Southwest and AirTran Finish Connecting Their Networks

2013-03-18 — /travelprnews.com/ — Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) announced today that it has successfully completed the connection between the Southwest and AirTran networks. Customers are now able to purchase itineraries to the airlines’ combined 97 destinations, including international, in one transaction. The newly connected itineraries are on sale now via all Southwest and AirTran sales channels… Read the full press release

See the summer season route selection for Helsinki Airport and step into a wonderful holiday feeling

Dreaming of a holiday in Central Europe? Planning a trip to Asia? See the summer season route selection for Helsinki Airport and step into a wonderful holiday feeling. 2013-03-18 — /travelprnews.com/ — Helsinki Airport provides regular connections to beautiful scenery, such as the culture-rich cities of Central Europe and beach resorts of the Mediterranean. There are… Read the full press release

Civil Aviation Authority: Passenger numbers at UK airports up 1.4 million, but still below 2007 peak

UK airports handled 1.4 million (0.6%) more passengers in 2012 than 2011 London airports grew by 1.3 million and regional airports by 0.1 million Overall passenger numbers are still 8% below the peak reached in 2007 2013-03-18 — /travelprnews.com/ — UK airports handled 221 million passengers during 2012 according to figures published by the Civil Aviation… Read the full press release

Courtyard by Marriott Hong Kong Sha Tin Opens

Hong Kong, China, 2013-03-18 — /travelprnews.com/ — Marriott International announces the opening of the Courtyard by Marriott Hong Kong Sha Tin today. Located next to business, commercial and cultural attractions in the New Territories district of Hong Kong, Courtyard by Marriott Hong Kong Sha Tin is the exciting new addition to the Courtyard brand in Asia… Read the full press release

Leading travel and expense management company, Gray Dawes keeps Travelport as technology provider

Langley, UK, 2013-03-18 — /travelprnews.com/ — Travelport, the business services provider to the global travel industry, has today announced a new multi-year agreement with Gray Dawes, a leading travel and expense management company, and member of the Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC), in the United Kingdom. In addition to this renewal, Gray Dawes also intends… Read the full press release

Abu Dhabi International Airport named best Airport in the Middle East by Airport Council International

The Capital’s Airport registered the biggest improvement in ASQ overall satisfaction results in the region for 2012 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 2013-03-18 — /travelprnews.com/ — Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) celebrates today winning the title of “Best Airport for the Middle East region’ for Abu Dhabi International Airport in the recent Airports Council International (ACI) ASQ… Read the full press release

Travelport and Alitalia complete merchandising deployment

Italian carrier distributing bags, lounge access and insurance to Travelport-connected agents Rome, Italy, 2013-03-18 — /travelprnews.com/ — Travelport, a leading provider of critical transaction processing solutions and data for the global travel industry, and Alitalia, Compagnia Aerea Italiana, today announce the completed rollout of ancillary services to Travelport-connected agencies in Italy. The content, which includes the… Read the full press release

New Distribution Capability Filing with US DOT

Washington, D.C., 2013-03-15 — /travelprnews.com/ — The International Air Transport Association (IATA) filed an application with the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) for approval of Passenger Services Conference Resolution 787, which is the foundation standard for the New Distribution Capability (NDC). NDC is an IATA-led collaborative industry initiative to define an Extensible Markup Language (XML)… Read the full press release

UNWTO welcomes travel facilitation measures by Jamaica

Madrid,  2013-03-15 — /travelprnews.com/ — UNWTO welcomes Jamaica’s decision to waive visa requirements for Eastern European nationals and to extend indefinitely the current visa waiver system for some Latin American nationals. These important policy steps are in line with UNWTO’s call for countries worldwide to revise their visa regulations and procedures underscoring the close links between… Read the full press release

GBTA Asks For Delay In Knife Policy On Board Aircraft

Alexandria, VA, 2013-03-15 — /travelprnews.com/ — The following statement can be attributed to Michael W. McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO, on the Transportation Security Administration’s decision to allow knives on board aircraft. “The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) urges the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to delay implementation of its recently announced policy allowing passengers to… Read the full press release

Gatwick submits recommendations for key sifting criteria for capacity options

Gatwick lists eight key tests to help the Airports Commission identify the best options for further development Gatwick provides comment on the Department for Transport’s demand forecasting 2013-03-15 — /travelprnews.com/ — Gatwick Airport has submitted its list of suggested criteria the Airports Commission should use to determine which airport locations would be suitable for further study…. Read the full press release

Bristol-Hannover council welcomes new air link with twin city

2013-03-15 — /travelprnews.com/ — The organisation behind one of Bristol’s oldest twinning links has welcomed the impact a new flight from the region’s airport will have on its activities. The Bristol-Hannover Council was founded in 1947 and remains active in promoting links between the two cities. The Council has welcomed news that bmi regional will operate… Read the full press release

Turkish Airlines announces its big deal…

A giant purchase decision of 117 aircrafts… Turkish Airlines, a Star Alliance member, forges ahead on being unrivalled in Europe with adding 117 Airbus airplanes to its fleet… 2013-03-15 — /travelprnews.com/ — Being the fastest growing carrier of the world, Turkish Airlines has become one of the biggest airline companies in aviation industry. New aircrafts are… Read the full press release

The New Dusit Club Lounge at Dusit Thani Manila

Makati, Philippines, 2013-03-15 — /travelprnews.com/ — Anticipate a convergence of traditions allied with state-of-the-art facilities and offerings featuring a wide-ranging perspective of comfort and luxury with the launch of the new Dusit Club Lounge, Dusit Thani Manila’s latest addition to its ever-growing list of innovations. Founded on a vision to provide things that never existed before,… Read the full press release

MEDIA INFORMATION – VOLVO WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

Media Accreditation for Volvo World Match Play Championship 2013-03-15 — /travelprnews.com/ — It is our pleasure to announce the start of the Media Accreditation for the Volvo World Match Play Championship. To apply on-line, please visit http://www.volvoworldmatchplaychampionship.com/content/media-accreditation. For foreign journalists – please apply via the above link or send any questions regarding accreditation to Michele Mair… Read the full press release

FIRST HYATT PLACE HOTEL OPENS IN NYC

Hyatt Place New York/Midtown-South highlights brand’s move into urban, downtown locations CHICAGO, 2013-03-14 — /travelprnews.com/ — Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H), Chesapeake Lodging Trust (NYSE: CHSP) and Real Hospitality Group today announce the opening of Hyatt Place New York/Midtown-South, marking the first Hyatt Place property to debut in New York City. The new Midtown Manhattan location represents a… Read the full press release

Oslo Airport largest Scandinavian airport in February

2013-03-14 — /travelprnews.com/ — This February saw Oslo Airport pass Copenhagen for the first time, making it the largest airport in Scandinavia this month. – This is something we have eagerly anticipated. This is excellent news for us and we’re very proud. At the same time, we are aware that Copenhagen will be the largest airport… Read the full press release

MGTO hosts spring banquets in Taiwan for exchange and promotion

2013-03-14 — /travelprnews.com/ — Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) holds spring banquets today and tomorrow in Taiwan for Macau tourism promotion and exchange with local travel trade. MGTO hosts the local trade and media representatives for spring banquets in Taipei and Taichung on February 14 and 15 consecutively. Exchange and networking are enhanced during the banquets,… Read the full press release

IATA Establishes New Office to Serve Gulf Region

Abu Dhabi, 2013-03-14 — /travelprnews.com/ — The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the conclusion of an agreement with the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the establishment of its Gulf Area office in Abu Dhabi, effective 1 June. “We are very pleased to be moving to our new home in Abu Dhabi. Today’s… Read the full press release

EASA certifies the Airbus A400M

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) today handed over a type certificate for the Airbus A400M to Airbus Military. 2013-03-14 — /travelprnews.com/ — This type certificate supersedes a restricted type certificate that was issued by EASA in April 2012 for the same type. It follows the satisfactory completion of a functioning and reliability flight testing campaign… Read the full press release

Lufthansa on course with its SCORE programme

The Lufthansa Group increases revenue by 4.9 per cent to EUR 30.1bn in 2012 SCORE delivers earnings contribution of EUR 618m in its first year Operating profit falls to EUR 524m (-36.1 per cent) due to higher fuel prices The Lufthansa Group expects to make further progress with SCORE and to improve its operating result… Read the full press release