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  • News: Network Rail awards major Crossrail contract for southeast London

    Network Rail has awarded a first-rate contract, with a worth of roughly £130m, to Balfour Beatty Rail for the development of a two-mile component to the Crossrail route from Plumstead to Abbey Wood in southeast London.

    The contract will include:

    *  The installation of 2 new dedicated Crossrail lines from Abbey Wood to the Plumstead portal, providing access to the recent Crossrail tunnels. The Crossrail lines will run alongside the present North Kent lines; and
    *  Works to change several bridges along the path to accommodate the overhead electric wires and two new lines which will be utilized by the recent Crossrail trains.
    *  The contract may even include construction of a brand new station building at Abbey Wood with a brand new Crossrail platform so one can allow for simple interchange with north Kent services. Designs for the brand new station are currently being finalised. The principle construction works will start in 2014, with some preparatory work expected to begin later this year.

    When Crossrail opens, as much as 12 trains per hour in each direction will link southeast London and the Royal Docks with Canary Wharf, central London and beyond, slashing journey times and boosting regeneration within the area.

    Passengers in southeast London will get pleasure from a number of Crossrail’s most vital time savings. With Crossrail, the adventure from Abbey Wood to Bond Street would be around 20 minutes quicker and passengers travelling to Heathrow would be capable of shave around 40 minutes off their journey.

    Peter Mason, Network Rail’s crossrail senior programme manager, said: “Network Rail is undertaking a main upgrade of the present rail network for Crossrail, including an important programme of track renewals in addition station improvements. The transformed Abbey Wood station will act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the encircling area and supply opportunities for local employment, meeting the event aspirations of the 2 London boroughs it serves, Greenwich and Bexley. We’re now watching for continuing our excellent partnership with Balfour Beatty Rail to deliver this exciting project.”

    Matt White, surface director at Crossrail said: “Crossrail will transform rail travel for local residents and contribute significantly to the regeneration during this portion of southeast London. Fast, frequent and direct services will link residents with central London and beyond, slashing journey times and making it easier to get to an entire range of destinations.”

    Under the Crossrail programme, Network Rail is accountable for the upgrade of 43 miles of track, in addition to improving 27 stations from Maidenhead within the west to Abbey Wood and Shenfield within the east.

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  • Holiday Villas for Privacy

    One of the main benefits of hiring out a villa is the high level of privacy. A holiday villa can also give you a lot more freedom over what you do. For example a typical all inclusive holiday in a large complex may have set meal times, a limited choice of food, entertainment that finished too early, and swimming pools with a shortage of sun loungers.

    A holiday with your family in a villa can be rather memorable. You have the freedom to explore, cook your own meals, choose the entertainment you want to do, and if you’re in a busy village or town, you can have a lot more control over what you want to do.

    Having your own pool is a real incentive to go on a villa holiday, and there are plenty of bargains out there to find, especially if you opt for private villas. Just make sure you read their rules and regulations, because they may limit your possibilities somewhat.

  • Starwood Hotels concludes month-long immersion in Dubai

    Marking the realization of Starwood’s month-long relocation to Dubai, Frits van Paasschen, President & CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has shared highlights and insights from the company’s immersion within the Middle East.

    Throughout the month of March, van Paasschen and members of Starwood’s Senior Leadership Team met with 3,000 associates, conducted nearly 50 owner meetings and visited all 14 Starwood hotels in Dubai, that’s the company’s second largest hotel market behind only Ny city. The team also took benefit of Dubai’s strategic location to travel to 19 cities across 12 countries, meeting with government officials and potential development partners in fast-growing markets, including Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and India. Through the five-week relocation, the team travelled 61,000 kilometres (38,000 miles) – the equivalent of circling the globe one and half times.

    Over the process the month, greater than 200 of Starwood’s senior leaders and General Managers travelled to Dubai because the company ran day-to-day operations almost 7,000 miles and an eight-hour time zone difference clear of the company’s global headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.

    During the relocation, Starwood executives also met with greater than 150 corporate and leisure customers who drive business to hotels globally. The center East is an increasingly important outbound travel market, and regional membership in Starwood Preferred Guest, the company’s loyalty program, has increased 140% during the last five years.

    “It is tough to overstate the potential of our business on this region of the sector. By bringing our executives here and spending time with our partners and native teams, we’re uniquely positioned to use this once-in-a-lifetime growth opportunity,” said van Paasschen. “I haven’t any doubt that our time spent here will drive future hotel contracts within the region, accelerate Starwood’s position because the most global high-end hotel company and additional define our culture.”

    Last month Starwood announced that it’ll increase its Middle East and Africa (MEA) portfolio by greater than 60 percent with nearly 50 new hotels set to open over a better five years, adding greater than 14,000 guest rooms to the region and creating thousands of local employment opportunities. With 82 operating hotels and over 20 hotels expected to open by the tip of 2015, Starwood is heading in the right direction to arrive a milestone 100 hotels across MEA.

    “With 80 percent of Starwood’s pipeline coming from rapidly growing markets, it’s important for us to stay on the forefront of latest travel demands and changing travel patterns,” said Simon Turner, President of worldwide Development, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “The Middle East is experiencing rapid economic growth, a growing middle class and ever greater global connectivity, and the Dubai relocation may help us expand all of our brands across this crucial region.”

    The company also announced a comprehensive renovation strategy for its Le Méridien brand, for which Starwood and its ownership groups will invest greater than $200 million within the renovations of 13 hotels and resorts within the MEA region over the following 3 years.

    Following the company’s successful relocation to China in June 2011, this second leadership move reflects Starwood’s innovative management method to cultivating a more global culture by understanding, appreciating and leveraging different societal and associate perspectives and approaches to business and hospitality.

  • News: Steigenberger Cruise Ships launched

    The Steigenberger Omar El Khayam is the jewel within the crown of Steigenberger’s new fleet of cruise ships. It has no fewer than 80 cabins, including 68 double cabins, four Royal Suites and 8 Grand Suites. Accommodation sizes are 24 m², 35 m², 25 m² or 70 m² dependent on category. All cabins are equipped with their very own balcony and have large panoramic sliding windows offering views out over the Nile. Passengers also benefit from the use of bogs with both bathtub and shower and video channels broadcast by the ship’s own satellite reception system. Individually adjustable aircon systems has been installed in all of the rooms. The cabins and suites are decorated in bright shades of cream and beige brown whilst dark wood fixtures and deep red colour details combine to create an opulent atmosphere. The primary restaurant on board, “Abu Nawas”, serves up first-class gourmet cuisine. Guests might also relax inside the lounge bars “Bashawat” and “Mamlouk”. The sun terrace of the six-storey ship has a swimming pool, a whirlpool and a pool bar. an additional whirlpool are available within the on-board Cleopatra Spa, which also incorporates a modern gym and 3 separate massage rooms.

    The Steigenberger Legacy and Steigenberger Minerva are both new Nile cruise ships within the fleet. Both extend over five storeys and feature two luxury suites in addition to offering 74 and 75 double cabins respectively. Accommodation is arranged around the lower four decks of the liners. Room decorations feature the identical cream and beige hues, deep red colour highlights and dark woods found at the Omar El Khayam, the latter two aspects reflecting the average oriental flair of Egypt. All cabins have individually adjustable aircon, satellite reception, on-board video channels, a minibar, a secure and personal bathrooms. The Steigenberger Legacy and the Steigenberger Minerva also are capable of fulfil any culinary requirement passengers may need. The menus typically restaurants on both vessels include everything from regional dishes to international specialities and offer something for everybody. There are fresh water pools, these being located at the top decks of the ships at the side of a pool bar and a sun terrace relating to both liners.

    The Steigenberger Minerva and the Steigenberger Legacy travel the River Nile between Luxor and Aswan and offer trips with a decision of 3, four or seven overnight stays. The Steigenberger Omar El Khayam operates on Lake Nasser between Aswan and Abu Simbel and might be reserved for cruises of 3 or four nights’ duration.

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  • News: Aegean Airlines to sell ancillaries through Sabre

    Sabre has extended its relationship with Aegean Airlines so the carrier can sell pre-paid baggage through Sabre-connected travel agencies.

    Agents should be in a position to view the discounted pre-paid baggage option at both the shopping and pricing stage of a fare search.

    The two companies have already got a multi-year distribution agreement in place that offers agents access to the airline’s fares, schedules and inventory.

    Dimitris Gerogiannis, managing director of Aegean Airlines, said: “It is critical that modern airlines maximize revenues generated by the sale of ancillary services.

    “Sabre’s global reach into the travel industry community allows us to take action by putting our fares and the pre-paid baggage option on agency desktops all over.”

    David Gross, senior vp of Sabre Supplier Distribution, said: “Aegean Airlines recognizes the price of having the ability to market and sell products, including ancillaries, to millions of travellers worldwide.

    “We’re seeing more carriers turn to ancillary products to enhance their revenues, and decide to sell through Sabre’s high-yield marketplace.

    “It’s a local within which we’ve made significant investments so airlines can market and sell their products, and so agents can improve efficiency and repair by booking and fulfilling tickets and ancillaries together, while capturing data for his or her corporate customers.”

    Aegean has chosen to sell its ancillaries through Sabre using industry technology standards developed by ATPCo and IATA. The electronic miscellaneous document (EMD) allows an agent to efficiently purchase an airline’s ancillary products on behalf of shoppers within the same way they’d a base airfare.

    Sabre provides both the airline and the agency a straightforward and efficient strategy to manage the sale and buy of recent airline ancillary products, while also providing travellers with complete transparency as they may be able to see the whole cost of the fare and extras. 

    Aegean joins a listing of world airlines, including Alitalia, Air New Zealand, Finnair and US Airways already selling ancillary products through Sabre.

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