Travel Information
Saturday, March 31, 2012 at 5:19PM Updated daily - or more often if there are problems to report
WoW is supported by Beziers Cap D'Agde Airport
The Friendly Airport - Gateway to the "Real" South of France.
+++
_______________________________________________________________________________________The
Montpellier: Saint-Roch station - major project
.
________________________________________
Montpellier Station - warning of delay
Perhaps some of your readers might like to be aware that Montpellier Train Station is a complete shambles!
The station is undergoing extensive modifications.
The problem is the parking at the 1st floor level of the station which was used to drop off and pick up passengers is now closed !
Now you pass the old entrance to this parking on your right, continue and take the first turn to your left by the bus stop.
There is a Parking Sign. This brings you into a large parking place.
Now comes the crunch, even if you find a parking place close to the entrance you have at least a 1km walk to the main entrance of the station.
There is no access via the closed parking.
If you are doing a 'drop off' there is an illegal trick to get closer to the station entrance, instead of turning left to the parking turn right and you arrive at the Taxi parking close to Station
main entrance. Attention there is no parking place it is just a fast illegal 'stop and go!'
For Pick Up you will have to use the Parking.
Be prepared to have 30 minutes before the train leaves to be sure you find the parking and get to the Station.
Thanks for this from LFN
_________________________________________
Renewing UK driving licence at 70+
Your driving licence entitlement will expire when you reach the age of 70 and if you want to continue to drive, the entitlement will need to be renewed by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Your renewed licence will normally be valid for three years.
However - if you live in France - swap your UK licence for a French
one - you don't need a medical and it is valid in the UK
A WoW tip!
________________________________________
Montpellier airport - cool cars -make electricity
.
______________________________________
easyJet first airline trials electric taxiing system
easyJet, in collaboration with Honeywell and Safran, has announced that it will be the first airline to support the development and trial of the innovative new electric green taxiing system
Due to the high frequency and short sector lengths of easyJet’s operations, around 4% of total fuel consumed annually is used when the airline’s aircraft are taxiing. easyJet’s aircraft average 20 minutes of taxi time per flight – the equivalent of 3.5 million miles a year.
The first operational trials are expected to start in 2013
Ian Davies, easyJet’s Head of Engineering and Maintenance, said: “easyJet is always seeking innovative ways of reducing our environmental footprint as well as our operating costs so this technology is of great interest to us.
John Bolton, President, Honeywell’s Air Transport and Regional business,
The EGTS (electric green taxiing system) allows aircraft to taxi without requiring the use of aircraft engines by using the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) generator to power motors in the main wheels.
Each of the aircraft’s powered wheels is equipped with an electromechanical actuator, while unique power electronics and system controllers give pilots total control of the aircraft’s speed, direction and braking during taxi operations. The system would therefore reduce, if not remove altogether, the need for tugs to manoeuvre aircraft in and out of stands.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Watch the progress of the final few minutes of
Costa Concordia
Hit this link for the actual AIS (Automatic Identification System)
data taken off the 'Costa Concordia' GPS/Chart Plotter on
the night of the grounding. Hit any part of the address below
http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/news.qps.nl/Grounding+Costa+Concordia.wmv
Thanks to Mike for sharing this with WoW
.
RYANAIR’S JANUARY TRAFFIC DOWN 6%
Ryanair released passenger and load factor stats for Jan
Jan 11
Jan 12
Change
Yr to Jan 12
Passengers (m) 1
4.66M
4.39M
-6%
76.2M
Load Factor 2
71%
71%
0%
82%
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:
“As previously guided, Ryanair’s 2011/12 winter traffic was expected to decline by approx 5% as we sit up to 80 aircraft on the ground due to higher oil prices.”
1. Booked seats sold
2.Passengers as a percentage of total seats available.
_________________________________________
An on-line check for drivers - click below
http://www.alcoroute.com/testVirtuel.php
_______________________________________
French air workers strike
Security workers at French airports staged a last-minute strike before Christmas
Unions representing French pilots, cabin crew and ground staff have announced a four-day strike.
Workers plan to strike from Monday to Thursday to protest against a bill currently going through parliament.
The bill, put forward by President Nicolas Sarkozy's party, would require aviation workers to give more notice of industrial action.
Unions say the bill, which has already passed through the lower house, would affect workers' rights.
Air France says its customers due to travel between 6 and 9 February can change their flights.
In a statement, the airline said it was doing "all it can to limit the impact of this strike on its operations".
The French pilots' union SNPL said the right to strike was non-negotiable and the union had decided to mobilise all its energies "against a bill which is unfair and destructive to our profession".
Before Christmas a last-minute strike by security staff at French airports led to the government deploying police to try and minimise disruption.
____________________________________________
Beziers summer flights pattern start next month
Düsseldorf Weeze 27 Mar
Manchester T2 26 Mar
Oslo Rygge 26 Mar
Stockholm Skavsta 27 Mar
+++
The cheapest fuel in l'Herault? +++
If you know a cheaper place - please email WoW
hicks-france@wanadoo.fr
We filled up yesterday (1 Feb) at Hyper U in Agde at 135.5 euros a litre for diesel.
Anyone better that?
The French Government launches
New campaign for road safety - click below to see
___________________________________________
.
New seasonal line MONTPELLIER – Deauville
La SA Aéroport Montpellier Méditerranée a le plaisir d’annoncer l’ouverture d’une nouvelle ligne Montpellier- Deauville, opérée par Régional, filiale d’Air France.
Air France, lance pour la saison estivale une liaison entre l’Aéroport Montpellier Méditerranée et l’aéroport de Deauville Normandie, du 26 mai au 15 septembre 2012, à partir de 83 euros TTC l’aller-simple. Elle sera opérée par un Embraer Jet de 50 sièges, chaque samedi.
Horaires des vols (Heures locales)
Ligne Départs Arrivée
Montpellier >> Deauville 08h50 >> 10h15 Samedi
Deauville>> Montpellier 10h50 >> 12h15 Samedi
Réservations au 3654*, en agence de voyages, ou sur www.airfrance.fr
Flybe is to offer a number of new routes between the UK and France this summer.
New routes from Aberdeen, Bristol and Newcastle to Paris Charles de Gaulle and from Birmingham to Lyon will be on offer, and the codeshare agreement will offer new onward travel options.
Passengers flying from any of Flybe’s 11 UK departure points serving the French capital can now connect seamlessly to a selection of 19 new European destinations.
Providing onward travel from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Budapest, Geneva, Ljubljana, Lyon, Madrid, Munich, Nice, Nuremburg, Prague, Sofia, Vienna, Warsaw, Zagreb and Zurich
__________________________________________
New flight - MONTPELLIER – MUNICH by Lufthansa
Starts 31 Mars
Lufthansa opèrera ce vol chaque samedi en jet CRJ 900 de 86 sièges. Durant tout le mois d’août, un vol supplémentaire le dimanche reliera Montpellier à Munich pour couvrir le pic de la saison estivale.
Horaires des vols MONTPELLIER-MUNICH Durée du vol : 1h40
Du 31 mars au 27 octobre 2012
Ligne Départs Arrivée Jours
Montpellier >> Munich 18h35 >> 20h15 Samedi
Munich >> Montpellier 15h50 >> 17h30 Samedi
Du 05 août au 26 août 2012 – vol additionnel
Ligne Départs Arrivée Jours
Du 05 aout au 19 août
Montpellier >> Munich 18h35 >> 20h15 Dimanche
Munich >> Montpellier 15h50 >> 17h30 Dimanche
26 août
Montpellier >> Munich 11h15 >> 12h55 Dimanche
Munich >> Montpellier 09h00 >> 10h40 Dimanche
Réservations sur www.lufthansa.fr ou en agence de voyages
________________________________________
EasyJet increases administration fee – and keeps credit card charge
.
• £9 upfront fee is response to government call for transparency, says easyJet
• Increased surcharge to be displayed at first stage of booking
EasyJet is to charge an administration fee regardless of payment methods – as well as an additional fee for credit card payments Photograph: Alamy
EasyJet has responded to government calls to make surcharges for card payments fairer for customers by restructuring – and increasing – its fees.
The airline previously charged a booking fee of £8 for anyone paying for its flights by debit card. The credit card fee was either £12.95 or 2.5% of the costs of the booking, which ever was higher.
It will instead charge an administration fee of £9 for all passenger bookings, a fee that will now be included in all advertising and displayed as part of a full and final flight price at the first stage of the booking process.
This will be applied to all bookings regardless of payment method and how many flights are made. But the airline is also continuing to charge an additional £4.95 or 2.5% for those who pay by credit card. This means that credit card payments will now incur a fee of at least £13.95.
A spokesman for the airline said the new "administration fee" was to cover costs such as those associated with its IT infrastructure and added that the changes to transparency were "exactly what consumer groups have been asking for".
In a statement the airline said: "These changes have been made in order to address the concerns raised by consumer bodies and regulators across the European Union whilst retaining a simple, transparent and consistent booking process for all passengers regardless of nationality."
In December, Treasury minister Mark Hoban announced that the government was preparing to legislate to prevent airlines and other businesses from imposing hefty charges on credit and debit card bookings that are difficult to detect.
Under the legislation, airlines, cinemas and holiday firms will be stopped from imposing millions of pounds in "hidden last-minute" charges on internet bookings. The ruling will put the UK ahead of many other EU countries, all of which would have to ban the same fees from 2014 under the Consumer Rights Directive.
Ryanair enraged consumer groups last month when it reacted to the news by claiming that it does not charge its passengers any credit or debit card fees. Instead, it calls them administration fees.
___________________________________________________________________________
Bouygues selected to build TGV line Nîmes-Montpellier
Réseau Ferré de France (RFF) announced Thursday it had awarded the contract to Bouygues for the high-speed line (LGV) Nîmes-Montpellier which will cost 1.83 billion euros, - da Vinci was also a candidate.
The Bouygues-led consortium includes Alstom Transport.
The contract should be finalized in the first half for a start of work this year.
RFF said the project also included the creation of two new stations for a total of 230 million euros, for which financing has not yet been decided.
___________________________________________________________
RYANAIR TO INTRODUCE €0.25 ETS LEVY TO COVER NEW EU "ECO-LOONEY" TAX
Ryanair has announced it will introduce a €0.25 levy per passenger for all bookings made from Tuesday 17th January to cover the costs of the EU’s new “eco-looney ETS tax,” which will cost Ryanair passengers €15m - €20m during 2012.
The impact of ETS on Ryanair passengers at €0.25 per one way booking will be less than the impact upon those travelling with other EU airlines as Ryanair is Europe’s greenest, cleanest, airline (confirmed by Brighter Planet 2011 report) which enjoys lower ETS costs than high fare European flag carrier airlines who operate older, noisier, more polluting aircraft.
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:
“Ryanair will introduce a 25c ETS levy on every seat from Tues 17th January next to cover our estimated €15m - €20m ETS bill for 2012. Ryanair does not believe that European aviation should be included in the ETS scheme since it accounts for less than 2% of the EU’s CO2 emissions. This latest EU stealth tax will damage traffic, tourism, European competiveness and jobs at a time when no other economic block is including aviation in their ETS schemes.
This new ETS tax is the latest in a long line of cost increases imposed on Europe’s air passengers by the European Union, which reduces the competitiveness of EU air transport with yet another misguided ‘environmental’ tax which does nothing for the environment but penalises EU consumers and families.”
59 Ryanair routes at Girona airport for summer
Ryanair have today announced a new schedule at Girona airport (GRO) which will see a total of 59 destinations on offer from Girona during summer 2012 . From March 2012, 19 new routes have been added in addition to the reinstatement of routes cancelled during Ryanair's dispute with the government of Catalonia.
New routes from Girona from March 2012 include Aarhus, Bydgoszcz, Cagliari, Cork, Doncaster, Dusseldorf, Gdansk, Ibiza, Knock, Krakow, Madrid, Malmo, Nador, Perugia, Poitiers, Skelleftea, Stockholm, Thessaloniki and Turku.
___________________________________________________________________________
RYANAIR’S 2011 TRAFFIC GROWS 5%
Ryanair have announced 5% traffic growth for 2011, with over 76m passengers choosing Ryanair last year, up from 72m in 2010.
Ryanair’s 2011 traffic highlights include:
- Traffic grew 5% from 72.7m to over 76.4m passengers.
- A new record of 8.1m passengers in August (up 6% on Aug’10).
- The busiest day was Fri 12th Aug when over 280,000 flew on over 1,600 Ryanair flights.
- The busiest booking day was 28th Mar when over 310,000 bookings were made on www.ryanair.com.
The long term plan for Trams in Montpellier
_____________________________________________________________________________
If you like knowing where planes are and which one is flying over your house - try this website
_____________________________________________________________________________
LUTON AIRPORT - always a pain but even worse this month - see easyJet note
London Luton - Security Delays
During the month of December, Luton Airport will be operating at full capacity and there is a likelihood that there will be congestion through the security area. We therefore strongly recommend passengers allow extra time for travel through the airport.
To help you easyJet will be opening check-in at 3 hours before departure and will close 1 hour prior to departure.
Montpellier: 350 tram drivers in training
The commissioning of two tram lines simultaneously scheduled in the month of April is a great challenge for Montpellier Agglomeration!
This is a first in France!
To successfully launch the new lines, on April 6th, drivers are preparing for the operation of new trains.
To do this, the TAM has established a special driving simulator, the only one in France. It will include simulating the different possible cases of traffic during the commissioning.
The most sensitive point on the Gare Saint-Roch, which will be the interconnection of many means of transport across the network Montpellier.
Montpellier: Saint-Roch station - major project
.
________________________________________
Montpellier Station - warning of delay
Perhaps some of your readers might like to be aware that Montpellier Train Station is a complete shambles!
The station is undergoing extensive modifications.
The problem is the parking at the 1st floor level of the station which was used to drop off and pick up passengers is now closed !
Now you pass the old entrance to this parking on your right, continue and take the first turn to your left by the bus stop.
There is a Parking Sign. This brings you into a large parking place.
Now comes the crunch, even if you find a parking place close to the entrance you have at least a 1km walk to the main entrance of the station.
There is no access via the closed parking.
If you are doing a 'drop off' there is an illegal trick to get closer to the station entrance, instead of turning left to the parking turn right and you arrive at the Taxi parking close to Station
main entrance. Attention there is no parking place it is just a fast illegal 'stop and go!'
For Pick Up you will have to use the Parking.
Be prepared to have 30 minutes before the train leaves to be sure you find the parking and get to the Station.
Thanks for this from LFN
_________________________________________
Renewing UK driving licence at 70+
Your driving licence entitlement will expire when you reach the age of 70 and if you want to continue to drive, the entitlement will need to be renewed by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Your renewed licence will normally be valid for three years.
However - if you live in France - swap your UK licence for a French one - you don't need a medical and it is valid in the UK
A WoW tip!
________________________________________
Montpellier airport - cool cars -make electricity
.
______________________________________
easyJet first airline trials electric taxiing system
easyJet, in collaboration with Honeywell and Safran, has announced that it will be the first airline to support the development and trial of the innovative new electric green taxiing system
Due to the high frequency and short sector lengths of easyJet’s operations, around 4% of total fuel consumed annually is used when the airline’s aircraft are taxiing. easyJet’s aircraft average 20 minutes of taxi time per flight – the equivalent of 3.5 million miles a year.
The first operational trials are expected to start in 2013
Ian Davies, easyJet’s Head of Engineering and Maintenance, said: “easyJet is always seeking innovative ways of reducing our environmental footprint as well as our operating costs so this technology is of great interest to us.
John Bolton, President, Honeywell’s Air Transport and Regional business,
The EGTS (electric green taxiing system) allows aircraft to taxi without requiring the use of aircraft engines by using the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) generator to power motors in the main wheels.
Each of the aircraft’s powered wheels is equipped with an electromechanical actuator, while unique power electronics and system controllers give pilots total control of the aircraft’s speed, direction and braking during taxi operations. The system would therefore reduce, if not remove altogether, the need for tugs to manoeuvre aircraft in and out of stands.
|
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Watch the progress of the final few minutes of Costa Concordia
Hit this link for the actual AIS (Automatic Identification System) data taken off the 'Costa Concordia' GPS/Chart Plotter on the night of the grounding. Hit any part of the address below
http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/news.qps.nl/Grounding+Costa+Concordia.wmv
Thanks to Mike for sharing this with WoW .
|
RYANAIR’S JANUARY TRAFFIC DOWN 6%
Ryanair released passenger and load factor stats for Jan
|
|
Jan 11 |
Jan 12 |
Change |
Yr to Jan 12 |
|
Passengers (m) 1 |
4.66M |
4.39M |
-6% |
76.2M |
|
Load Factor 2 |
71% |
71% |
0% |
82% |
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:
“As previously guided, Ryanair’s 2011/12 winter traffic was expected to decline by approx 5% as we sit up to 80 aircraft on the ground due to higher oil prices.”
1. Booked seats sold
2.Passengers as a percentage of total seats available.
_________________________________________
An on-line check for drivers - click below
http://www.alcoroute.com/testVirtuel.php
_______________________________________
French air workers strike
Security workers at French airports staged a last-minute strike before Christmas
Unions representing French pilots, cabin crew and ground staff have announced a four-day strike.
Workers plan to strike from Monday to Thursday to protest against a bill currently going through parliament.
The bill, put forward by President Nicolas Sarkozy's party, would require aviation workers to give more notice of industrial action.
Unions say the bill, which has already passed through the lower house, would affect workers' rights.
Air France says its customers due to travel between 6 and 9 February can change their flights.
In a statement, the airline said it was doing "all it can to limit the impact of this strike on its operations".
The French pilots' union SNPL said the right to strike was non-negotiable and the union had decided to mobilise all its energies "against a bill which is unfair and destructive to our profession".
Before Christmas a last-minute strike by security staff at French airports led to the government deploying police to try and minimise disruption.
____________________________________________
Beziers summer flights pattern start next month
Düsseldorf Weeze 27 Mar
Manchester T2 26 Mar
Oslo Rygge 26 Mar
Stockholm Skavsta 27 Mar
+++
The cheapest fuel in l'Herault? +++
If you know a cheaper place - please email WoW
hicks-france@wanadoo.fr
We filled up yesterday (1 Feb) at Hyper U in Agde at 135.5 euros a litre for diesel.
Anyone better that?
The French Government launches
New campaign for road safety - click below to see
___________________________________________
.
New seasonal line MONTPELLIER – Deauville
La SA Aéroport Montpellier Méditerranée a le plaisir d’annoncer l’ouverture d’une nouvelle ligne Montpellier- Deauville, opérée par Régional, filiale d’Air France.
Air France, lance pour la saison estivale une liaison entre l’Aéroport Montpellier Méditerranée et l’aéroport de Deauville Normandie, du 26 mai au 15 septembre 2012, à partir de 83 euros TTC l’aller-simple. Elle sera opérée par un Embraer Jet de 50 sièges, chaque samedi.
Horaires des vols (Heures locales)
Ligne Départs Arrivée
Montpellier >> Deauville 08h50 >> 10h15 Samedi
Deauville>> Montpellier 10h50 >> 12h15 Samedi
Réservations au 3654*, en agence de voyages, ou sur www.airfrance.fr
Flybe is to offer a number of new routes between the UK and France this summer.
New routes from Aberdeen, Bristol and Newcastle to Paris Charles de Gaulle and from Birmingham to Lyon will be on offer, and the codeshare agreement will offer new onward travel options.
Passengers flying from any of Flybe’s 11 UK departure points serving the French capital can now connect seamlessly to a selection of 19 new European destinations.
Providing onward travel from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Budapest, Geneva, Ljubljana, Lyon, Madrid, Munich, Nice, Nuremburg, Prague, Sofia, Vienna, Warsaw, Zagreb and Zurich
__________________________________________
New flight - MONTPELLIER – MUNICH by Lufthansa
Starts 31 Mars
Lufthansa opèrera ce vol chaque samedi en jet CRJ 900 de 86 sièges. Durant tout le mois d’août, un vol supplémentaire le dimanche reliera Montpellier à Munich pour couvrir le pic de la saison estivale.
Horaires des vols MONTPELLIER-MUNICH Durée du vol : 1h40
Du 31 mars au 27 octobre 2012
Ligne Départs Arrivée Jours
Montpellier >> Munich 18h35 >> 20h15 Samedi
Munich >> Montpellier 15h50 >> 17h30 Samedi
Du 05 août au 26 août 2012 – vol additionnel
Ligne Départs Arrivée Jours
Du 05 aout au 19 août
Montpellier >> Munich 18h35 >> 20h15 Dimanche
Munich >> Montpellier 15h50 >> 17h30 Dimanche
26 août
Montpellier >> Munich 11h15 >> 12h55 Dimanche
Munich >> Montpellier 09h00 >> 10h40 Dimanche
Réservations sur www.lufthansa.fr ou en agence de voyages
________________________________________
EasyJet increases administration fee – and keeps credit card charge
.
• £9 upfront fee is response to government call for transparency, says easyJet
• Increased surcharge to be displayed at first stage of booking
EasyJet is to charge an administration fee regardless of payment methods – as well as an additional fee for credit card payments Photograph: Alamy
EasyJet has responded to government calls to make surcharges for card payments fairer for customers by restructuring – and increasing – its fees.
The airline previously charged a booking fee of £8 for anyone paying for its flights by debit card. The credit card fee was either £12.95 or 2.5% of the costs of the booking, which ever was higher.
It will instead charge an administration fee of £9 for all passenger bookings, a fee that will now be included in all advertising and displayed as part of a full and final flight price at the first stage of the booking process.
This will be applied to all bookings regardless of payment method and how many flights are made. But the airline is also continuing to charge an additional £4.95 or 2.5% for those who pay by credit card. This means that credit card payments will now incur a fee of at least £13.95.
A spokesman for the airline said the new "administration fee" was to cover costs such as those associated with its IT infrastructure and added that the changes to transparency were "exactly what consumer groups have been asking for".
In a statement the airline said: "These changes have been made in order to address the concerns raised by consumer bodies and regulators across the European Union whilst retaining a simple, transparent and consistent booking process for all passengers regardless of nationality."
In December, Treasury minister Mark Hoban announced that the government was preparing to legislate to prevent airlines and other businesses from imposing hefty charges on credit and debit card bookings that are difficult to detect.
Under the legislation, airlines, cinemas and holiday firms will be stopped from imposing millions of pounds in "hidden last-minute" charges on internet bookings. The ruling will put the UK ahead of many other EU countries, all of which would have to ban the same fees from 2014 under the Consumer Rights Directive.
Ryanair enraged consumer groups last month when it reacted to the news by claiming that it does not charge its passengers any credit or debit card fees. Instead, it calls them administration fees.
___________________________________________________________________________
Bouygues selected to build TGV line Nîmes-Montpellier
Réseau Ferré de France (RFF) announced Thursday it had awarded the contract to Bouygues for the high-speed line (LGV) Nîmes-Montpellier which will cost 1.83 billion euros, - da Vinci was also a candidate.
___________________________________________________________
RYANAIR TO INTRODUCE €0.25 ETS LEVY TO COVER NEW EU "ECO-LOONEY" TAX
Ryanair has announced it will introduce a €0.25 levy per passenger for all bookings made from Tuesday 17th January to cover the costs of the EU’s new “eco-looney ETS tax,” which will cost Ryanair passengers €15m - €20m during 2012.
The impact of ETS on Ryanair passengers at €0.25 per one way booking will be less than the impact upon those travelling with other EU airlines as Ryanair is Europe’s greenest, cleanest, airline (confirmed by Brighter Planet 2011 report) which enjoys lower ETS costs than high fare European flag carrier airlines who operate older, noisier, more polluting aircraft.
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:
“Ryanair will introduce a 25c ETS levy on every seat from Tues 17th January next to cover our estimated €15m - €20m ETS bill for 2012. Ryanair does not believe that European aviation should be included in the ETS scheme since it accounts for less than 2% of the EU’s CO2 emissions. This latest EU stealth tax will damage traffic, tourism, European competiveness and jobs at a time when no other economic block is including aviation in their ETS schemes.
This new ETS tax is the latest in a long line of cost increases imposed on Europe’s air passengers by the European Union, which reduces the competitiveness of EU air transport with yet another misguided ‘environmental’ tax which does nothing for the environment but penalises EU consumers and families.”
59 Ryanair routes at Girona airport for summer
New routes from Girona from March 2012 include Aarhus, Bydgoszcz, Cagliari, Cork, Doncaster, Dusseldorf, Gdansk, Ibiza, Knock, Krakow, Madrid, Malmo, Nador, Perugia, Poitiers, Skelleftea, Stockholm, Thessaloniki and Turku.
___________________________________________________________________________
RYANAIR’S 2011 TRAFFIC GROWS 5%
Ryanair have announced 5% traffic growth for 2011, with over 76m passengers choosing Ryanair last year, up from 72m in 2010.
Ryanair’s 2011 traffic highlights include:
- Traffic grew 5% from 72.7m to over 76.4m passengers.
- A new record of 8.1m passengers in August (up 6% on Aug’10).
- The busiest day was Fri 12th Aug when over 280,000 flew on over 1,600 Ryanair flights.
- The busiest booking day was 28th Mar when over 310,000 bookings were made on www.ryanair.com.
The long term plan for Trams in Montpellier
_____________________________________________________________________________
If you like knowing where planes are and which one is flying over your house - try this website
_____________________________________________________________________________
LUTON AIRPORT - always a pain but even worse this month - see easyJet note
London Luton - Security Delays
During the month of December, Luton Airport will be operating at full capacity and there is a likelihood that there will be congestion through the security area. We therefore strongly recommend passengers allow extra time for travel through the airport.
To help you easyJet will be opening check-in at 3 hours before departure and will close 1 hour prior to departure.
Montpellier: 350 tram drivers in training
The commissioning of two tram lines simultaneously scheduled in the month of April is a great challenge for Montpellier Agglomeration!
This is a first in France!
To successfully launch the new lines, on April 6th, drivers are preparing for the operation of new trains.
To do this, the TAM has established a special driving simulator, the only one in France. It will include simulating the different possible cases of traffic during the commissioning.
The most sensitive point on the Gare Saint-Roch, which will be the interconnection of many means of transport across the network Montpellier.
.
Paris - to Moscow - new route direct train
| Моscow - Paris |
08:00
|
09:23
|
51:23 |
3 177 |
Smolensk |
| Paris - Moscow |
20:20 monday |
20:35 wednesday |
46:15 |
More info http://eng.rzd.ru/statice/public/rzdeng?STRUCTURE_ID=4127#paris2
The Paris line follows the Moscow - Nice route
| 017Б | Moscow - Nice |
18:18 Thursday
|
17:44 Saturday |
50:23 | 3 315 | Smolensk Minsk Brest Warsaw Vienna Innsbruck Bolzano Milan Genoa San-Remo |
| 018Б | Nice - Moscow | 19:43 Sunday |
00:17 Wednesday |
49:34 |
___________________________________________________________________________
Regional airport/travel news
€1.6 million is being spent to upgrade Montpellier Airport - work will finish in 12 months
€550,000 was spent last year by the departement to encourage tourism – this has been cut for next year by 40.000€
€661,000 was spent by the Montpellier Agglomeration to “encourage” lo cost flights
In 2010 the 5 regional airports (Montpellier, Beziers Cap d’Agde Carcassonne, Nimes, and Perpignan) handled more than 2,200,000 passengers.
RYANAIR URGES PASSENGERS - TRAVEL LIGHTER DURING PEAK TRAVEL TIMES
ONLINE CHECKED-IN BAG FEES TO INCREASE BY €5/£5 FOR PEAK SUMMER 2012 FOR BOOKINGS FROM 15th DEC NEXT
Ryanair today (9th Dec) announced that it will continue to encourage passengers to travel lighter, particularly during peak travel periods (June, July, Aug, Sept and Christmas 2012), by increasing its peak period checked-in baggage fees by €5/£5 (from €20 to €25) per bag for all online bookings made from 15th Dec next. To encourage online payment of baggage fees, Ryanair will also increase its checked in bag fees paid at call centres and airports by at least €25/£25 (from €35 to €60) per bag. Low season (Oct – May) online checked-in bag fees will remain unchanged at €15/£15 per bag.
Ryanair will continue to encourage all passengers to avoid its baggage fees by not checking in any bags and instead travelling with Ryanair’s free of charge 10kg carry-on bag allowance.
Ryanair will also increase its ‘boarding card reissue penalty’ from €40/£40 to €60/£60, from 15th Jan 2012, to try to persuade the less than 10 passengers per day who refuse/fail to bring their boarding card (despite email reminders) to their departure airport as 99.9% of Ryanair passengers already do.
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:
“Ryanair continues to incentivise passengers to travel light especially during peak periods by raising our online checked-in baggage fees. As always, baggage fees are avoidable, but for those who chose to check-in a bag during peak travel periods the new fees will apply for bookings made after 15th December next for travel in June, July, August and September 2012. Over 70% of Ryanair passengers will be unaffected by these changes as they already travel with no checked-in bags and instead use Ryanair’s free of charge 10kg carry on allowance.
Also, in a move to persuade the less than 10 passengers per day who fail to print or bring their boarding cards to their departure airport, to do so, we will increase our boarding card re-issue penalty to €60/£60 from 15th January.”
RYANAIR BAG FEES €/£
|
Bag Type |
SEASON
|
ONLINE OLD/NEW |
APT/CALL OLD/NEW |
|
Bag 1 (15kg) |
Low |
15/15 |
35/60 |
|
|
High * |
20/25 |
40/100 |
|
Big Bag (20kg) |
Low |
25/25 |
45/75 |
|
|
High * |
30/35 |
50/105 |
|
Bag 2 (15kg) |
Low |
35/35 |
70/105 |
|
|
High * |
40/45 |
80/135 |
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From: Christopher Elliott Subject: new train timetables
I imagine WoW readers may not be au fait that 80% of all of France’s rail: timetables change this coming Sunday.
Two major events are causing this, first is the opening of the new High Speed line from Dijon to Belfort and second the introduction of interval train times in this and other regions
This new system offer trains starting at the same minutes past the hour on a regular basis
It has been in operation in the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other European countries for many years but SNCF has been a reluctant newcomer to the club.
So my advice to anyone planning a train journey to check in advance as their usual train may well have been retimed.
The introduction of the winter timetable will see the arrival of the first international trains operated by DB German Railway and a new Private Italian operator; this will bring real competition to the rails of France
Chris
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Béziers Cap d'Agde airport generates
58.9 million euros a year to the local economy
The airport commissioned a large scale visitor survey last summer - it makes interesting reading and is not afraid to be hard hitting and critical of facilities - however 97.6% plan to return
Profile of customers
80% of passengers are foreigners, confirming the positioning "receptive tourism" Airport Beziers Cap d'Agde. Only 10% of French users are from the Languedoc Roussillon:
They have high purchasing power and are mostly aged between 45 and 65 (62%), and 54% are senior executives, professionals, engineers, teachers and retirees, in contrast to the usual clientele in the region.
They travel up to 100 km after arriving at the airport
54% would not have come without low cost airlines
How they learned about the area - 60% had already visited and 21% via the Internet
The average stay eight nights, 57% stay with friends and family or in a second home.
For the rest of the 43%
Rent: apartments (14.5%),
Hotels (9.5%),
Camping (7.2%),
Holiday village (4.2%),
Bed and Breakfast (2.3 %)
and boat (1.6%) probably on the Canal du Midi.
Activities
76% just “chill out and 65% go to the beaches
Other interests not usual for summer tourists: are visits to wineries / wine tasting / markets and tasting of local products (53%),
visits to castles / museums / cities (34%),
Walking / Hiking / Canal du Midi (34%),
outdoor activities / cycling (23%) .
Festivals, concerts, shows and water sports come second with 13% and 8% of responses.
7.4% were looking for a second home
The ranking of sites / most visited cities shows the vast majority of respondents radiate primarily in the territory west Herault -
Béziers (49.6%),
Agde / Cap d'Agde (38.9%),
Pezenas (22, 9%),
Valras (15.3%),
Other places of interest or major cities in the Languedoc Roussillon Carcassonne (19.1%),
Sète (17.5%),
Montpellier (16.4% ),
Narbonne (15.6%),
Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert (6.5%).
"Satisfaction levels"
Accommodation:
- The reception is generally appreciated
- The intrinsic quality of accommodation is fairly valued
- The quality / price ratio shows quite marked dissatisfaction recorded
Dining out
- The reception and quality are quite popular
- But on quality / price ratio there is a fairly strong level of dissatisfaction
Tourist sites:
- Hospitality and cleanliness need to improve
- Opening hours are very unsatisfactory
- Services on the beach (access, parking, toilets, showers) a lot of dissatisfaction (15%), particularly from Scandinavians.
On the whole passengers interviewed appreciate the hospitality of local people, although more effort with language would be appreciated.
Traffic and road signs are judged negatively by 15% of respondents.
In general, despite the steps taken to improve the quality of care, customers want a better price / quality ratio.
With higher purchasing power than normal tourists to the area, there is a clear demand for higher quality.
However, 96.7% plans to return,
- 35% in less than 6 months.
Economic impact
The value per night per passenger staying in the area is: € 72.6 (between € 41 and € 45 for the usual tourists in Hérault)
The overall budget for a group / family staying in the area is: € 1,150 (Norwegians, Swedes, Britons). (€ 1,521 in commercial accommodation, € 721 if staying with friends or family.
In a full year, the number of tourist nights generated by the airport is: 893 500, - 2.4% of total bednights in Herault of 38 million per year.
Of the 362,500 overnight stays in commercial accommodation :
Furnished rentals/Gites 134, 907,
Camping 83, 161
Hotels 47, 563,
Residential Tourism 28,943
Bed and Breakfast 11, 826.
Total spending in the area over a year is estimated is put at 58.9 million euros – which represents 3.5% of the total for Hérault of 1.7 billion euros).
Breakdown of revenue
Accommodation (€ 12.3 million),
Restaurant (14.3 M €),
groceries (€ 8.5 million),
transportation ( € 7.7 million),
Recreation / Activities / Sites (5.5 M €),
Souvenirs (4.6 M €), Other consumer goods (5.7 M €).
Other data socio-economic impact:
o Direct expenditure to benefit businesses 1, 085 M €
§ Airport: 50
§ 20 people
§ Aircraft: 10 people
§ Civil Aviation and service of the State: 15 people
o Job creation in the tourism sector and services: 200 jobs since 2008
Nearly 10,000 questionnaires were distributed in six languages on regular passenger lines (London, Bristol, Düsseldorf, Paris Beauvais, Stockholm, Oslo, Southampton)
2149 questionnaires were analyzed, representing a return rate of approximately 22%
More Southampton - Beziers flights next year.
flyBe had a good first year of operations between Béziers Cap d'Agde and Southampton.
Launched in May this year and running through until the end of September - two flights per week with an Embraer 195 (turbo engine) with 118 seats, the link carried around 6,000 passengers with a load factor of more of 70%.
As a result flyBe and Beziers Cap d'Agde airport will increase the supply of seats for the upcoming season of summer with an extra flights each week (against two in 2011)
The new 3 flight a week pattern will start from 25 May until 28 September on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays.
flyBe expect to carry nearly 10,000 passengers in its second year into airport Béziers Cap d'Agde
Flybe 9 matching destinations will continue to be available via Southampton International Airport: Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, Dublin, Jersey, Guernsey.
It is estimated the Southampton / Béziers Cap d'Agde has generated an economic impact of € 1.9 million in the Beziers area.
Information / Reservations: www.flybe.com www.beziers.aeroport.fr.
RYANAIR’S NOV TRAFFIC DECLINES 8%
Ryanair yesterday (5 Dec) released passenger and load factor stats for Nov 2011 as follows:
|
|
Nov 10 |
Nov 11 |
Change |
Yr to Nov 11 |
|
Passengers (m) 1 |
5.06M |
4.68M |
-8% |
76.7M |
|
Load Factor 2 |
80% |
80% |
0% |
82% |
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:
“As previously guided Ryanair’s 2011/12 winter traffic will decline by approximately 5% as we sit up to 80 aircraft on the ground due to higher oil prices. November was originally expected to decline by up to 10%.”
1. Booked seats sold.
2. Passengers as a percentage of total seats available.
New tram reaches Lattes on Line 3
Construction workers photograph and clap the new tram as it arrives on it's inaugeral visit to the town
Welcomed by the Maire and greeted by the children
Line 3 is 19.6 kms long and is expected to carry 77,000 a day when it opens in April next year. The total cost of the line and its 19 tram sets (designed by Christian Lacroix) was €530 million - 375€ funded by the Montpellier Agglo.
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The tram design is exotic, as are the adverts. Allure in Lattes eh?
Lattes has it's own 2.5 km spur from the mainline and it is expected central Montpellier will be just 15 minutes away by the new tram.
Before the tram way is fully functioning next year - the station will be built, extra parking provided, racks for 50 bikes to hire, a lavatory block and a new public park.
It was, as ever, a launch with style - food and drinks were ready once the speeches had finished.
It promised to be a great event - which perhaps explains why the flowery line 2 tram sidled in to share in the civic pride - keen not to miss a party perhaps
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RYANAIR Customer Service Stats - OCTOBER 2011
Ryanair has published its October customer service statistics.
- 92% of Ryanair’s over 46,000 flights arrived on time, up 7% on October 2010.
- Less than 1 complaint per 1,000 passengers was received.
- Less than 1 mislaid bag claim per 2,000 passengers was received.
|
OCTOBER |
2010 |
2011 |
|
On-time flights |
85% |
92% |
|
Complaints per 1,000 pax |
0.94 |
0.58 |
|
Bag complaints per 1,000 pax |
0.47 |
0.42 |
|
Complaints answered within 7 days |
99% |
99% |
· Only Ryanair guarantees the lowest fares and ‘no fuel surcharges ever’;
· Ryanair operates Europe’s youngest, greenest, cleanest fleet;
· Ryanair is Europe’s No.1 on-time airline (beating Easyjet every week since 2003);
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:
“Ryanair’s unbeatable formula of the lowest fares, no fuel surcharges and No 1 customer service delivery continues to encourage passengers to switch from high fares, fuel surcharging flag carriers such as Air France, BA and Lufthansa.
Once they have switched to Ryanair’s prices they keep coming back for our unbeatable on- time flights, fewest lost bags and great customer service.”
RYANAIR HALF YEAR PROFITS RISE 20% TO €544M
|
RYANAIR HALF YEAR PROFITS RISE 20% TO €544m
TRAFFIC GROWS 12% - FULL YEAR GUIDANCE RAISED 10% TO €440m.
|
|
Half Year Results (IFRS) in euro
|
Sep 30, 2010
|
Sep 30, 2011
|
% Change
|
|
Passengers
|
40.1m
|
44.7m
|
+12%
|
|
Revenue
|
€2,182m
|
€2,712m
|
+24%
|
|
Adj. Profit after Tax
|
€451.9m
|
€543.5m
|
+20%
|
|
Adj. Basic EPS(euro cent)
|
30.47
|
36.62
|
+20%
|
RYANAIR’S OCT TRAFFIC GROWS 4%
Ryanair today (3 Nov) released passenger and load factor stats for October as follows:
|
|
Oct 10 |
Oct 11 |
Increase |
Yr to Oct 11 |
|
Passengers 1 |
7.02(m) |
7.27(m) |
+4% |
77.1(m) |
|
Load Factor 2 |
85% |
84% |
-1% |
82% |
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:
“We are pleased to report a 4% growth in traffic in October, bringing our summer schedule to a close. As previously advised Ryanair’s winter traffic will decline each month from November onwards as we ground up to 80 aircraft for this winter period.”
More easyJet flights to Montpellier.
Flights will increase from 5 to 10 a week from March 27 next year
And up to 17 a week during the summer holidays.
easyJet, carried over 94,000 passengers in to Montpellier last year and expects to bring in some 125,000 passengers this year with the increased capacity.
During the summer, Montpellier-London Gatwick, will have and extra three flights a week.
The Montpellier to London Luton, flight will start from March 27, with 3 flights a week.
easyJet expect to sell than 41, 300 seats against 16,000 in 2010.
This means Montpellier airport will be connected to the British capital up to 3 times per day during the height of summer.
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WoW hears that Montpellier airport were offered the Ryanair - 4 flights a week to Paris Beauvais but turned it down!
They told WoW recently they were now concentrating on Lo-cost.
"Oh no they are not" seems more factual
The history is the Montpellier was always keen to be seen as a "grown up" airport and rahter looked down its nose at the lo-cost sector.
We had been told that had changed - ah well - lucky Beziers snapped up the offer - well done Beziers Cap d'Aged
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