The business of travel
Airlines merger in US creates carrier colossus
The merger between American Airlines and US Airways will form the biggest airline in the world. It will have revenues of $40 billion, with 6,700 daily flights to 336 destinations in 56 countries.
The merger is expected to be in place by the third quarter of this year. The aviation market in the US will now be dominated by three major carriers, United, Delta and AA, and the trend of increasing fares will probably continue.
From Ireland, the only direct routes affected are the year-round Dublin-Philadelphia service, the summer Shannon-Philadelphia and Dublin-Charlotte routes with US Airways and the summer routes to Chicago and JFK with AA.
Visiting Antwerp? Contain yourself!
Fed up staying in homogenised hotel rooms? The pop-up concept has been brought to hotel rooms in Antwerp and you could find yourself sleeping in a former shipping container.
The four 20-ft containers have been turned into a comfortable bedrooms with en-suite shower rooms, Ipod docking stations, air conditioning and breakfast too, from €149 a night. There is also a lounger container where breakfast is served. The pop-up moves around the city of Antwerp, track its location on sleeping-around.eu
Ritz hotel getting up to speed
Hurray for the Ritz in London.
Unlike other top-class hotels it has taken the decision to not only provide free internet access for all guests but it has also increased download speeds. The upgrade of the network will deliver speeds of 400Mb and 173 wireless access points have been installed throughout the bedrooms and public areas.
“Our guests not only benefit from complementary internet access but also enjoy download speeds that are unsurpassed in the London luxury hotel sector,” said Stephen Boxall, managing director of The Ritz London.