24th March 2010

Peru to fine Orient Express $10 million

Peru might enforce a penalty of up to $10 million against partners of Orient Express Hotels which manages the Machu Picchu tourist train.
Members of the anti-trust regulator. Indecopi, suggested that the companies involved should be penalised for abusive practices against likely competitors on the route. The Indecopi board is currently evaluating the possible penalty to be charged.
Sources inside Indecopi revealed that the companies have until the end of the month to give their response to the findings made by the regulator. From there, the panel will release its final ruling within a month.
Orient Express, which owns over 50 luxury tourism [...]

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24th March 2010

Wave of airline strikes hits Europe

Holidaymakers across Europe should expect more chaos, as the strike held by British Airways (BA) staff continues and labour conflicts in other carriers. BA cabin crew had ended their strike at midnight on Monday, but plan to start the strike again this Saturday.
The UK national carrier announced that during the first two days of the strike, BA had operated only 78 per cent of its scheduled international flights and half of its short-haul flights.
In related news, TAP Portugal pilots will also stage a five-day strike that will commence this coming Friday. Moreover, Alitalia was forced to cancel its flights last Monday [...]

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24th March 2010

UK job centre staff spending millions on first-class train travel

Statistics revealed by Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) Minister Jonathan Shaw to the House of Commons have shown that staff at job centres across the United Kingdom have spent in excess of £3.1 million on premium rail travel in the past year.
The JobCentre Plus figures outlining the level of spending were announced in written form by way of response to the parliamentary question posed by Philip Hammond, the Conservative MP for Runnymede and Weybridge. Further information in the response also revealed that nearly £7.5 million was spent on first-class rail travel by the Department of Work and Pensions in [...]

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24th March 2010

Darren Bent in car hire row

Premier League star Darren Bent faces a legal battle over a £63,000 payment for hiring an Aston Martin DB9. The striker, for football team Sunderland, drove the car for almost three months while his Mercedes CLS was being repaired.
The judge said that the hire costs of £500 a day should be paid for by the [...]

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24th March 2010

Rental car firms Thrity and Dollar enter US prepaid toll market

The US company Rent A Toll has announced the launch of a new agreement between Pass24 Prepaid Tolls in Oakland and San Francisco with Thrifty Car Rental and Dollar Rent-A-Car.
The Pass24 scheme will be extended to customers from both of the hire car companies, being already in place in Florida, Colorado and Texas. The system will allow rental drivers to bypass cash lanes on the bridges in the San Francisco area, utilising the express toll lanes. This effectively means doing without the hassle of fumbling for change or waiting in line.
The toll system will feature an all-inclusive low daily or [...]

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