Visitors to the US will have to pay a fee of at least $10 following the passing of the Travel Promotion Act by the US Senate.

The act, which is expected to become law within 10 days, means travellers will have to pay to complete the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation form before travelling.

It is thought the charge could be as much as $17, taking into account the cost of setting up the transactional website and credit card fees.

A Corporation for Travel Promotion will be set up to push the US as a tourist destination to source markets and to provide information to prospective visitors and travel professionals overseas. This will be funded by the charge for visitors, which will be directed into a Travel Promotion Fund.

President Obama is expected to sign the measure in the next few days.

Visit USA chairwoman Kate Burgess-Craddy said: “This has been needed for a long time. The US has lost market share because other countries have upped their game and the US hasn’t been marketing itself enough. We don’t welcome the charge but as a proportion of the cost of going to the US, it is not really very much.”

She claimed the UK travel industry was likely to benefit from the act in the long term.

“We should see a good chunk of the money being spent here,” added Burgess-Craddy.

“Visit USA will be lobbying to make sure the money is spent with operators and airlines. Hopefully this will mean more bookings for the UK trade.”

The move has been welcomed by the travel industry in the US, which has been lobbying for the government to get involved in promoting the US as a tourist destination for some time.

British Airways has been running a campaign to prove that their new Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport in London is working:

A reportage style will be adopted for the campaign, which signals a move away from the airline’s traditional approach. The 24-hour turn-around production times will also be a first for British Airways and unusual in the advertising world.

The campaign focuses on the customer experience. It will demonstrate how the terminal is working through indicators such as the length of time it takes customers to get through security, flight punctuality, baggage arrival times or simply how quickly a person can get from the plane to the arrivals hall. These details will be illustrated through photography of real customers during their journey through Terminal 5 captured the day before the ads appear in print.

The overarching aim of the campaign is to produce an accurate portrayal of how Terminal 5 is performing, demonstrating that it is now working effectively and helping to dispel any remaining negative perceptions.[...]

Katherine Whitton, British Airways’ general manager for marketing communications, said: “This campaign isn’t about making big promises. The terminal has now been open for 131 days, more than six million people have travelled through it and it has been performing very well for some time. We are letting it speak for itself and reflecting genuine customer experiences on the aspects of the journey that research tells us are most important to them.

“The aim of the campaign is to communicate to the travelling public in an open and factual way that Terminal 5 is now working well. The campaign will show that Terminal 5 is a fantastic building that provides a high-quality travel experience and will encourage travellers to try it for themselves.”[...]

Source: British Airways Press Release, dated 4th August 2008

I happened to walk past one of BA’s billboard adverts earlier today and was rather surprised to read that “Terminal 5 is working”, which prompted me to a Google search and submit this post. I don’t fly much these days but I had assumed, like most people, that most if not all of the initial problems had been resolved since the media had stopped reporting any.

In addition, some rather complimentary posts have recently been made on the Professional Pilots Rumour Network (www.pprune.org) among other sites.

So it is a little bizarre that BA felt that they should initiate this rather unusual marketing campaign for a service which after all should by default be “working”. I can’t quite envisage or recall any other quality airlines, such as Virgin Atlantic, advertising something which should be, really, de facto.

What did go wrong with at Terminal 5?, BBC News, 30th March 2008

Bags of Terminal 5 embarrassment for BA, Times Online, April 1st 2008

‘Eco-safe’ driving will be included in the UK driving test from this autumn as part of the government’s campaign to cut carbon emissions. From September, candidates will be assessed on how green their driving is – including not accelerating or braking sharply, and knowledge of other tips such as checking tyre pressures and avoiding unnecessary baggage in the back.

Nobody will be passed or failed on the issues, but research has shown that ‘eco-driving’ can save between 5 and 17 per cent of fuel – and so emissions – and is safer, too, says the Department for Transport. The DfT estimates that, if all drivers in the UK followed the tips, CO2 emissions from cars could be reduced by 8 per cent – or more than 5.5 million tonnes of CO2 a year, saving motorists more than £2bn a year. In the Netherlands, specialists believe fuel use could be cut by up to one third.

In the EU, the eco-driving campaign is organised and co-ordinated by a consortium of organisations which are partners to the ECODRIVEN project. A total of 9 countries which are members of the European Union take part in the campaign.

The consortium is assisted by an Implementing Expert Committee to which the representatives of multinational and umbrella organisations and associations from the automative industry and the transport sector are nominated. The committee serves as an advisory and supporting body and supports the development and implementation of the campaigning activities and materials.

According to the project workplan the campaign itself will last for one year (between 2007 and 2008). The rest of the time will be used for the preparation, monitoring, and evaluation of the campaign activities and their impacts.

During the campaigning period, end-users will be regularly informed about ecodriving activities within their familiar social environment, which will stimulate them to reflect on and optimise their driving behaviour in a safe and energy-efficient manner.

To achieve this, in each country, the campaign activities will be organised in collaboration with car dealers, fuel stations, touring club consumer stores, drivers’ associations and driving schools as well as local actors such as municipalities, SMEs and hauliers.

In addition to the common campaign format, specific local collaborations in each country may be used to reinforce the common campaign messages.

For this reason, each participating country may use country-specific campaigning activities, tailored to different national audiences, and depending on their current level of ecodriving implementation. Their overview may be found here Country-specific campaigns.

The overall campaign goals are following:

• At least 2,500,000 drivers of passenger cars, delivery vans, lorries and buses in 9 EU-countries have been stimulated to drive in a safer and more energy-efficient manner.
• Until 2010, 0.5 Mtons of CO2 emissions have been avoided, as well as significant amounts of other emissions deriving from road transport (e.g. NOx and particulates).
• ECODRIVEN has led to the establishment of a European-wide network of local and regional collaborations between local actors, relevant local departments and outlets of national and international companies and organisations.

Take the Eco Driving Quiz on the Energy Saving Trust website

BBC News article

The EU Proposal for a Directive on patient’s rights in cross border healthcare provides an added stimulus to the already growing number of medical tourists who seek hospital treatment elsewhere in the European Union.

The Directive will create a formal framework and remove obstacles for UK patients wishing to travel for treatment in other EU countries. In some circumstances, patients will be able to travel to other EU countries for treatment and will be able to reclaim the cost of treatment from the NHS. Patients will have to pay their travel and accommodation costs, plus any top-up fees if charges in the foreign hospitals are higher than the NHS cost.

The Directive proposes the following developments in cross border healthcare:

• A legal framework for the reimbursement of treatment where it takes place elsewhere in the EU
• Common principles in terms of guaranteeing patient safety and ensuring quality and continuity of care
• Stimulating greater European cooperation on healthcare including the establishment of “European Reference Networks” which would create a concentration of expertise, training and resources for specific diseases and health issues
• Establishment of a European network for the assessment of new medical technology
• Establishment of standards for e-health, in particular the transfer of patient information and treatment records between member states

Last year, around 100,000 “medical tourists” left the UK for treatment. Their experiences were resoundingly positive with 97 per cent of patients willing to travel abroad for treatment again, according to Treatment Abroad’s recent medical tourist survey.

Malaysia in world’s top five medical tourism destinations (eTurboNews)

Medical Tourism: Seeking Affordable Healthcare Overseas (Nuwire)

The Challenges of Medical Tourism (BBC)

Medical Tourism – The Impact (BBC)

Israel Courts Medical Tourists (BBC)

Silverjet, the business class-only UK based airline which went in receivership last month has failed in a latch ditch attempt to secure a takeover deal resulting in the loss of 300 jobs, administrators said Friday.

Kingplace, an Ireland-based company managed by Heritage Cie SA, a Geneva-based investment firm, had agreed Wednesday to buy Silverjet for an undisclosed price.

“We now understand that, as a result of the unusually complex negotiations with third parties, Kingplace is no longer in a position to acquire Silverjet as a going concern,” administrators Begbies Traynor said in a statement on Friday, when the Swiss deal was due to complete.

“As a consequence, we have today had to make the entire workforce formally redundant, in line with our legal obligations as administrator.”

The failed airline’s 300 employees were made redundant earlier Friday, according to a spokesman for the administrator.

The proposed Swiss takeover had sparked hope that the airline would take to the skies once more.

Source: AFP

Silverjet follows US carriers Maxjet and Eos, which have also collapsed in recent months because of rocketing fuel prices, intense competition and slowing consumer demand amid a weakening global economy.

We previously reported the demise of Silverjet – the business class only UK based airline that used to fly between Luton, New York and Dubai until it was forced to ground itself due to lack of funds. The media have recently been reporting a possible resurgence for the airline:

ArabJet, a Dubai-based business-class airline, has launched a bid to buy the London-based Silverjet PLC, a government-owned business daily reported Tuesday.

Emirates Business 24/7 reported that ArabJet “has allocated sufficient funds to purchase” Silverjet, a business-class airline that suspended operations in late May after a key funding deal fell through.

When contacted by The Associated Press, ArabJet’s CEO Mohammed el-Shanti said the company is interested in SilverJet’s survival but would not confirm the Emirates Business 24/7 report.

ArabJet “had discussions with Silverjet administrators … and we remain interested in Silverjet’s survival,” he said in an e-mail.

“We have great believe in the viability of (Silverjet’s) business model, confirmed by its positive customer satisfaction,” he said.

On Monday, the administrator of Silverjet, Begbies Traynor, said that the airline has received a formal offer from a Swiss investment firm to buy and relaunch the airline. Begbies Traynor also said two other parties have expressed an interest in the carrier.

ArabJet Airlines plans to begin service in 2009, with a focus on the Middle East market, according to the company’s Web site.

Source: The International Herald Tribune

ArabJet is proposed as a niche-market, independently (private) operated premium class airline set to capitalize on a significant shortfall in servicing high demands (current and projected) for business class travel within the Middle East region. Comprehensive research has been carried out by a select team of industry and management professionals, to present this solid proposition to key investors and authorities to both compliment and compete on a strong profit-driven platform. The proposition is backed by a sound business plan and strict schedule, with its first operations commencing in 2009.

As I was joining the M25 Motorway the other day (major motorway/freeway circling the whole of London) I was rather less than impressed by the driver of the compact car in front of me – the “I drive slowly everywhere, hence I’m a safe driver” type since he went down the ramp at 38mph, but luckily picked up his speed once he was on the motorway…to a dizzying 42mph! The result was that several articulated lorries behind us closed the gap incredibily quickly and had to either slam on their brakes or overtake us rather aggressively.

This made me think that there are cases where speed cameras set to catch cars that are driven too slowly for a given road condition may be required. This is the case with the Mont Blanc tunnel between France and Italy for instance – if you get caught driving at less than 50kph you will get fined! I know this because my Maths teacher at a school in Italy got fined years ago (served him right, I hated him!). Furthermore, since the tunnel fire in 1999 the rules are enforced very strictly.

And speaking of enforcement, it is ironic that the Chinese Police have had to deal with loads of drivers that were either slowing down or actually stopping on the new record-breaking sea-bridge near Shanghai – it was “designed to slash travel time between its port city of Ningbo and the financial hub Shanghai from four hours to two and a half.” [Reuters]. This resulted in “Long lines of cars carrying whole families eager to see the bridge and sea vista [which] have caused serious traffic problems and led to a series of accidents.”

Maybe the slow driver on the M25 was enjoying the views too…