TRAVELMATTERS TM EXPANDING the BOUNDARIES ISSUE 20 November 2018
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TRAVELMATTERS TM EXPANDING THE BOUNDARIES ISSUE 20 NOVEMBER 2018 BREAKING NEW GROUND FOR THE TRAVEL TRADE IN SCOTLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND, NORTH OF ENGLAND & IOM New routes from Edinburgh: Islay • Bergen • Guernsey • Stavanger Travel Matters Covers_B.indd 1 08/11/2018 09:46 Better Connected from Edinburgh with Loganair Scotland’s Airline, Loganair has announced A 34-seat Saab 340 will fly the Edinburgh its largest expansion programme at to Islay route – the capital city’s first ever Edinburgh Airport, with four new routes scheduled air link to the Inner Hebrides. being launched as part of its summer 2019 The service will commence on 25 March schedule. and will initially operate four times each week before building up to a daily service Named last month as European Regional by May, with a morning flight on Saturdays Airline of the Year, the airline will and lunchtime services on the other six introduce regular year-round services days. to the Norwegian cities of Bergen and Inbound Edinburgh passengers will also be Stavanger; to the island of Islay; and a able to get access to Loganair’s extensive seasonal link between Edinburgh and range of international connections via Guernsey. its Better Connected programme with a an Air Passenger Duty fee of £78 which Stavanger will become Loganair’s second rapidly growing group of airline partners would otherwise be put through for two destination in Norway with four flights – including Qatar, Emirates, KLM, British separate tickets. Customers will also be each week from Edinburgh, on Mondays, Airways, Turkish Airlines and Air France. protected if they miss one of their flights Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Flights This increased international connectivity due to disruption. from Edinburgh to Bergen – the Gateway means, for example, that a passenger on a So next time you’re booking a trip which to the Fjords – will operate three times flight from Sumburgh will be able to travel takes you outside the UK, consider each week on Tuesday, Thursday and on one ticket to global hubs such as Dubai the extensive range of options which Saturday – commencing on May 10. or Qatar with major carriers, getting access Loganair’s interline and codeshare partners Bergen, Stavanger and Guernsey will each to hundreds of onward destinations. can add to your customer’s journey. be operated by the airline’s newly acquired Not only does it make things much easier 37-seat Embraer 135 jet, the latest addition for customers and their baggage, but it Bookings can be made at Loganair.co.uk or to its fleet of 30 aircraft. also provides quite a significant saving on any of the main GDS. Change your channel – visit Guernsey Fly Edinburgh to Guernsey Starts 11 May - 14 Sep 2019 Weekly flights Loganair.co.uk or GDS travel matters 4pp.indd 1 07/11/2018 10:44 am TRAVELMATTERS TM EXPANDING THE BOUNDARIES ISSUE 20 NOVEMBER 2018 BREAKING NEW GROUND FOR THE TRAVEL TRADE IN SCOTLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND, NORTH OF ENGLAND & IOM FOCUS ON NORTHERN LIGHTS HOLIDAYS SHORT BREAK HIGHLIGHTS PLUS SPAA Annual Travel Awards New routes from Loganair And the winner is….. It’s that time of year again…the Awards season! Time for the travel industry to get together, let our hair down and celebrate all the hard work throughout the year. This year’s SPAA Awards’ night fitted the bill perfectly. Bigger and better than ever before, it’s great to be able to recognise the best in the Scottish travel trade - suppliers and agents. However, the greatest thing of all on the night was the atmosphere. What always stands out above everything else at these events whether in Scotland, Northern Ireland, North of England or Isle of Man - is the fantastic feeling of belonging to one big family! Even though we are competing against each other, we all celebrate the winners! And who knows, maybe next year it could be your turn…... Get in touch... Hilary Douglas Gary Reavely Andrea Pellicci Director Director Director 07989 414454 07762 630057 07766 010272 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Read last month’s issue online at... www.travelmatters.biz www.travelmatters.biz Travel MattersTM is published by GAH Publishing Ltd, 96 Craigleith Hill Crescent, Edinburgh, EH4 2JP Printed by Claro Print For magazine delivery and subscription enquiries, Follow us on email [email protected] @travelmatters.biz All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without the prior permission of the copyright holder. All prices and data are correct at time of publication. Opinions expressed in Travel Matters are not necessarily those of the publisher and GAH @ TravelMatBiz Publishing does not accept responsibility for any mistakes that may occur. NEWS Visit California’s Roadshow The Visit California team and destination partners are hosting a series of California Quiz Nights. Featuring some fantastic individual and team prizes, including a place on the 2019 California SuperFam, dinner and drinks will be included on the night. To participate, agents will first need to complete the online California STAR training programme, at www.star.california.com/uk The Roadshow will visit Aberdeen on 27th November, Glasgow on 28th November and Edinburgh on 29th November. To sign up, email you and your colleagues’ names and the event you want to attend to: [email protected] Shine Bright with Cunard Agents can now register for the Cunard Shine Rewards Club. Following the introduction of the programme by P&O Cruises last November, Cunard will also operate a points system allowing agents to gain points through a variety of ways, from making a Cunard Fare booking to completing training modules. Agents can now combine the points they earn from both Cunard and P&O Cruises and exchange them for a variety of rewards, including designer goods, experience days and technology products. There are also enhanced rewards from Cunard brand partners such as Pickerings 3 Queens’ Gin, Laurent-Perrier champagne and Godiva chocolates, with the ultimate reward of a Cunard cruise. Agents can register online at www.shinerewardsclub.com NOVEMBER 2018 5 Inside Guide... 5 & 7 12 Discover the Americas Agent winners - with United Emirates’ incentive 13 14-23 River cruising on board Focus on Northern Fred. Olsen’s Brabant Lights Holidays 14-15 18-19 Iceland & Beyond - Winter excursions Icelandair with Hurtigruten 21 30-43 Travel with the experts - Focus on Short Breaks Iceland Pro Travel 30-31 38-39 Take a Faroe Islands Eurowings - break - Atlantic Airways destinations worldwide 46 47 Q&A with Richard Forde, Earn Rewards Newmarket Holidays with Cunard 50 53 Check-In with Links Travel & Tours - Turkish Airlines Asia Specialists 56-62 63-64 SPAA Annual Travel Awards Loganair adds - suppliers say Thank You new routes NOVEMBER 2018 6 NEWS Grand opening …. After starting out as a modern apprentice 17 years ago and working for various travel companies including Lunn Poly/Thomson and Virgin Holidays, Paul Reid has recently opened his own travel agency in Uddingston. Working alongside Billy and Kirsty, Paul and the team of the new office Travel Guru, have been rushed off their feet since they opened! Icelandair Group acquires Wow air The Icelandair Group has entered into a share purchase agreement to purchase all shares in the airline, WOW air. Subject to approval, the shareholders of WOW air will receive 5.4% of Icelandair Group‘s shares after the transaction. The companies will continue to operate under separate brands and their combined market share on the transatlantic market will be around 3.8%. Bogi Nils Bogason, Interim President & CEO, Icelandair Group commented: “WOW air has in recent years built a strong brand and enjoyed great success in the company‘s markets to and from Iceland and across the Atlantic. There are many opportunities for synergies with the two companies but they will continue to operate under their own brands and operating approvals. The tourism industry is one of the cornerstones of the Icelandic economy and it is important that flights to and from Iceland will remain frequent.“ WOW air currently serves 37 destinations across Europe, North America and Asia including Edinburgh, Dublin, London, Montreal, Los Angeles, Dallas Ft Worth and St Louis. NOVEMBER 2018 7 NEWS 27 CALIFORNIA QUIZ 04 GRAFTAS NIGHT, ABERDEEN NEWCASTLE 28 CALIFORNIA QUIZ HILTON HOTEL NIGHT, GLASGOW 06 SPAA AGM & 29 CALIFORNIA QUIZ More appointments for NIGHT, EDINBURGH CHRISTmas NETWORKING LUNCH 29 TURKISH AIRLINES’ Royal Caribbean THE CORINTHIAN CLUB, FESTIVE SHINDIG, PRINCIPAL HOTEL, GLASGOW Royal Caribbean has announced EDINBURGH a number of new appointments within its Sales Team. Adam Morris has now joined the UK 2019 Sales team as Regional Sales Manager North East. Adam joins from Thomas Cook where he has spent the last 12 years, most recently as a large store manager and Cruise Expert 28 SPAA 89TH ANNUAL 20 SPAA SUMMER IN THE for the North East region. DINNER - CROWNE CITY BALL, EDINBURGH PLAZA, GLASGOW A new Regional Sales Manager for Scotland, Cumbria and Lancashire has also been appointed. Emma Sweeney 22 SPAA GOLF DAY has joined the company LANARK GOLF COURSE from TUI Travel PLC, where she has been since 2011. 07 GEORDIE BALL GOSFORTH PARK Emma has strong sales HOTEL, NEWCASTLE experience and an excellent 14 STAR EXHIBITION 05 SPAA SEMINAR & understanding of the importance PRINCIPAL ROXBURGH AUTUMN NETWORK of customer service. HOTEL IN EDINBURGH LUNCH, EDINBURGH 10 TRAVEL GOssIP ROadsHOW, GLASGOW 11 TRAVEL GOssIP ROadsHOW, NEWCASTLE New Regional Sales 12 STAR EXHIBITION Manager for Saga ABERDEEN 11 SPAA SEMINAR & Saga Travel has announced the SPRING NETWORK appointment of Jason Kemp LUNCH - GRAND as Regional Sales Manager, CENTRAL, GLASGOW responsible for Scotland and 07- ABTA TRAVEL Northern Ireland.