Car hire shortage threatens tourism in Spain - are you affected?

If you’re planning on heading to Spain soon for your holiday, you need to know there’s trouble brewing in the Costas. The issue facing many arriving there is car hire or specifically, the lack of it. Having spent a week in Costa Blanca, I think it’s fair to say there is a massive shortage of cars available, and those you can hire are likely to cost you double the prices paid last year.
Talking to tourists around Murcia and Mar Menor, hire car companies are charging between £200 and £300 a week during July and August, if not more - even a block booking lasting a month may cost well over £1000. The net result is that plenty of families have paid far more for car hire than they have for their flights. On arriving at San Javier airports, the queues stretch back to the luggage belts at one car hire desk, while the others - those with no availability - have idle staff and no custom.
A search around the web reveals a possible cause - Travel Rants suggests the shortage of cars is because of the recession, with companies unable to purchase enough cars to meet demand, therefore pushing up the asking price of those that are available. But it gets worse - readers have left comments explaining that in some cases, car hire companies are cancelling bookings made months in advance with just days’ notice, presumably because more money can be made by fulfilling last minute bookings.
According to Travel Rants, those areas worse affected include Malaga, Alicante, Mallorca, Menorca and Barcelona. You can add Murcia to that list, too. Regardless, if you’re due to travel to Spain in the next few weeks and already have a car booked, you may be wise to re-confirm the booking. If you haven’t booked but know you’ll need one, start looking now or have a plan B in mind. Let us know if you’re affected by this, or if you’ve already lost out at the hands of the Spanish hire companies.

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KLM named most punctual carrier

KLM achieved the best on-time performance of all scheduled airlines operating at UK airports in the first quarter of 2009, according to new research.

Flightontime.info released figures showing that the airline had an average delay of 5.6 minutes in the first three months of the year and launched 91% of its flights within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure time.

Second place in the rankings went to bmi regional with an average delay of 5.9 minutes, followed by VLM Airlines with 6.2 minutes.

In the section of the study covering low-cost carriers, bmibaby was named the most punctual operator in the UK with an average hold-up time of 7.9 minutes.

Crawford Rix, managing director of the airline, said: 'At bmibaby we work extremely hard to ensure all our flights are on time for our passengers. Our results for quarter one of 2009 are excellent.'

The low-cost carrier announced this month that it was putting the first phase of its summer 2010 programme on sale, allowing customers to book flights to Alicante, Faro, Malaga and other destinations.

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Monarch rolls out online check-in overseas

Award-winning low fares airline Monarch is expanding its successful online check-in facility, with the service now available to passengers travelling on scheduled flights from overseas airports*.

Monarch’s scheduled passengers travelling from a range of destinations throughout Mainland Spain and the Balearic and Canary Islands can now check in for their flight via the airline’s website monarch.co.uk and issue a boarding card from the comfort of their own home.

Online check-in is available between seven days and 4.5 hours prior to departure, reducing the required time spent at the airport and ensuring that seating on flights is allocated in advance.

Online check-in can be used by all passengers with pre-allocated seats travelling on scheduled flights from Alicante, Barcelona, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Majorca, Malaga, Menorca, Murcia and Tenerife. If seats have not been pre-allocated at the time of booking, this can be done during the check-in process for the standard pre-book charge of £7.50. Alternatively, extra legroom seats, which offer an extra six inches of space, can be booked from only £15 per person per flight.

Commenting on the launch of overseas online check-in, managing director of Monarch’s scheduled service division, Liz Savage, said, “We have seen overwhelming demand for online check-in from our UK bases, with up to 25% of scheduled passengers taking advantage of the service, so we are delighted to now offer it from our overseas airports as well.

“The introduction of overseas online check-in will speed up the check-in process for a large number of our passengers and reduce the queuing time spent at the airport when they are returning to the UK in addition to their outbound flight.”

Passenger’s taking advantage of online check-in and travelling with hand-baggage only can go directly to the departure gate on arrival at the airport. Passengers travelling with hold baggage should first take their bags to the fast bag drop desk, where they will be tagged as normal and sent down to the aircraft.

Monarch operates scheduled flights to Spain, Gibraltar, Portugal and Cyprus from Birmingham, London Gatwick, London Luton and Manchester airports. In addition to year-round low fares, Monarch also offers a unique range of tasty hot and cold meals onboard with prices from £3.00. To avoid a last minute free-for-all when boarding, seats can be pre-booked at £7.50 per one-way flight, or from only £15, extra-legroom seats are available, which offer up to six inches of extra space.

Passengers travelling on scheduled flights can also avoid the queues at the airport and take advantage of online check-in which is available between seven days and 4.5 hours prior to departure.

In addition to flights, Monarch also now offers a huge range of great value holidays, accommodation options, car hire and travel insurance.

For further information or to book Monarch flights, Monarch Holidays or Monarch Hotels, visit monarch.co.uk.

*Online check-in is currently not available from Almeria, Larnaca, Gibraltar and Faro airports.

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It might be hot but demand for Cheap Flights from airflights.co.uk is on the up

Not even the good weather is keeping us Brits in the UK.
According to the latest figures from Top online travel agency airflights.co.uk the exodus of people from the UK has started in earnest. Departures on cheap flights from Scottish airports such as Glasgow, Edinburgh and even Aberdeen is very high as the school holidays north of the border commence. South of the border from Newcastle to Gatwick we are also seeing huge increases in late booking patterns as customers seek to fly out of the UK for Cheap hotels in the sun and the lure of the Mediterranean or Canary Islands. Whilst we are enjoying good weather at the moment holiday makers are unwilling to risk it continuing, they want the guaranteed sunshine that a cheap flight to say Cyprus, Turkey or Tenerife will bring. Hotel prices are cheap at the moment and whilst people may have delayed making holiday plans due to the economic climate they are now booking fast, customers to our call centre have been worried about missing out on the great deals that are about at the moment say airflights.

Top destinations for cheap flights and hotels at the moment are Tenerife, Dalaman, Bodrum, paphos, Malaga, Lanzarote and Larnaca. The Red sea is also very popular with some great deals on cheap flights and All inclusive 5 star hotels in Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada say airflights.

Airflights.co.uk are a leading nationwide supplier of cheap flights and hotels. Cheap flights are available from airflights.co.uk on line or by free phone on 0800 093 2615. Airflights offer cheap flights to most beach destinations in Europe including cheap flights to Dalaman, Bodrum, Malaga, Alicante, Paphos and Larnaca in Cyprus, Tenerife, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria in the Canary islands as well as Cheap flights and All Inclusive hotels in Egypts famous Red Sea areas of Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada. Ask them about Cheap Car hire and Airport parking.

Meet an American on a cheap flight to Tenerife

Rub shoulders with an American in Tenerife.

It appears that that our friends across the pond are looking to head to the Canary islands and Tenerife in particular say airflights.co.uk. Its reported that European airline Air Europa is offering a non-stop, weekly service departing from Miami International Airport to Tenerife. The Americans have just realised what we British have known for some time, that Tenerfie offers sunshine year round, coupled with great beaches, fantastic nightlife, wonderful golf courses, quality food and even culture and mountain scenery if you look further than the major resorts of Playa De Las Americas and Los Cristianos.
Tenerife has some great hotels and is a British holiday makers favourite. Its proving to be very popular with our customers at the moment say airflights as there are some great cheap flight and hotel deals to Tenerife. Airflights offer cheap flights to most beach destinations in Europe including cheap flights to Samos, Rhodes, Corfu, Kefalonia, Zante, Heraklion and Chania in Crete Malaga, Alicante in Spain, Dalaman, Izmir Adnan and Bodrum in Turkey, Paphos and Larnaca in Cyprus, the Canary islands as well as Cheap flights and All Inclusive hotels in Egypts famed Red Sea resorts of Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada famous for the world class scuba diving. To book with airflights visit www.airflights.co.uk or call free on 0800 093 2615. Car hire and Airport parking is also available at discounted rates.

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Stansted set for one of the busiest weekends of the year

Stansted airport is currently preparing for one of its busiest weekends of the year as schools begin to break up for the summer holidays.

Between 17 and 20 July, nearly 300,000 passengers are set to fly to more than 150 destinations from Stansted.

Flights to Spain, Turkey, the Canary Islands and Morocco are expected to be among the most popular services this weekend, along with connections to long-haul destinations in south-east Asia and Australia.

Neale Jouques, terminal manager at Stansted, appealed to travellers to be aware of airport regulations and requirements to ensure that their experience is as smooth as possible.

'The start of the summer season is always one of the busiest times of the year for Stansted, so following some straightforward but important travel tips will help our passengers get their holidays off to the best possible start,' he said.

'As well as allowing plenty of time for the journey to Stansted, passengers should arrive at least two hours before their flight is due to depart, even if they have checked in online. We also advise passengers to keep hand luggage to a minimum and in line with their airline's restrictions.'

Flights to Alicante, Malta, Paphos and other popular summer holiday destinations are provided from Stansted by carriers including easyJet, Air Malta and Cyprus Airways.

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Escape the weather with a cheap flight from airflights.co.uk

The week before the start of the UK's school holidays has seen the return of the typical British summer with rain wind and travel warnings. Despite the promise from the weatherman of hot weather the prospect of another wet summer looms over the Britains holiday makers. Online travel agency airflights.co.uk have seen a massive surge in last minute bookings as families from Exeter to Newcastle try to book a last minute late deal to the sun. Our call centre has seen huge calls volumes for cheap flights and Hotels say airflights. Despite the recession people are digging deep and choosing the sunshine of Dalaman or Malaga over the seaside resorts of Great Britain. Turkey, Spain and Egypt are particular favourites at the moment due to the availability of cheap flight deals says an airflights spokesman.
Airflights Direct offer cheap flights to most beach destinations in Europe including cheap flights to Samos, Rhodes, Corfu, Kefalonia, Zante, Heraklion and Chania in Crete Malaga, Alicante in Spain, Dalaman, Izmir Adnan and Bodrum in Turkey, Paphos and Larnaca in Cyprus, the Canary islands as well as Cheap flights and All Inclusive hotels in Egypts famed Red Sea resorts of Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada famous for the world class scuba diving. To book with airflights visit www.airflights.co.uk or call free on 0800 093 2615. Car hire and Airport parking is also available at discounted rates

 

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