Rent a car in France

Europe’s biggest airline, Air France-KLM, admits that it may have been a little too cautious in its profit predictions for the year, and analysts agree. For the first-quarter, ending June 30, the airline said that its operating profit hit 26 million euros. This does not include the 158 million euros the volcanic ash cloud cost the carrier, but the result is strong compared to the period a year earlier when the airline announced a loss of 496 million euros.
Air France-KLM said the better than expected performance was mainly due to a return of the business traveller and an increase in [...]

A merger, which would create the largest airline in the world, has been given the go ahead by the European Commission. Competition regulators in Europe have announced that they do not believe a tie up between US giants Continental and United would have any significant effect on airline competition in Europe.
Currently, both airlines fly to a combined total of 35 destinations within Europe. The new airline, which will retain the name United Airlines, will now have to get the approval of anti-trust bodies in the US as well as a positive vote from their respective shareholders.
The European Commission said that [...]

Hertz has announced that it will be assisting people travelling to the Gulf Coast area, intending to help with clean-up activities, by opening its Gulf Coast Customer Care Centre. The purpose of providing a dedicated care centre is so that those visiting the area will have trained company representatives to help with providing specialist vehicles, [...]

Leading car hire company Enterprise Rent-A-Car has announced the successful renewal of its existing speech recognition contract.
The UK leader in providing business, personal and replacement car hire, Enterprise will continue to utilise the speech-enabled locator service from Eckoh, EckohLOCATE.
Using the specialist speech recognition software, customers with Enterprise can announce the name of any town and the EckohLOCATE will identify the closest Enterprise rental branch to within five miles of that destination. It will also offer the ability to connect directly to that branch, while providing opening hours, address and contact information.
Operating since 1994 in the UK, Enterprise currently employs over [...]

Heathrow’s Terminal 5 will see the introduction of the latest state-of-the-art innovation in touch-screen technology.
Fresh from the recent release of the similarly innovative iPhone App, the touch-screen debut comes from the leading European car rental organisation, Europcar. The new interactive technology is the first of its kind for any car hire company anywhere in the world, and shows Europcar’s continued commitment to enhancing the customer experience.
From the start of next month, travellers who arrive at Heathrow’s iconic T5 will be able to utilise the new 30 inch screens which run on the Microsoft Surface platform. The screens are especially built-in to a [...]

Continental Airlines has announced that it is currently testing an automated self-boarding system at one of its gates at Houston Intercontinental Airport. Although self-boarding gates are not a new thing for many of the world’s airlines, the Continental experiment is the first in the US.
The airline has not released a great deal of information about the experiment, but all passengers now have to do when they are barding their plane, is to swipe their boarding pass through and electronic reader. Once this is done a turnstile or set of doors will open and the customer can cross the jet-bridge and [...]

The ongoing row between British Airways and cabin crew union Unite over travel privileges may now end up in the courts. Unite is claiming that BA is in breach of legislation on European Human Rights. If the fight does enter the courts, Unite will also claim that BA did not follow the correct disciplinary procedures when removing travel perks.
In a statement, BA said that it would defend the fact that it had always acted in accordance with the rules, and that it totally rejected the union’s claims. The ongoing battle follows BA’s cabin crew voting to reject the airlines latest [...]

Over the next few months, Europcar customers visiting outlets of the car hire specialist throughout the UK and Europe, will be able to use the new Microsoft Surface system to plan their onward journeys. Surface consists of a touch-screen 30-inch monitor incorporated into an interactive table. Europcar has developed specialist software to run on the [...]

Across Australia, the cost of hiring a vehicle through leading car rental organisation has increased.
According to new data, the average rental rate for a Hertz hire car has increased by around AUD$5 (£3) on a daily basis, or AUD$30 (£18) for weekly hire. This increase applies to all cities and states across the length and breadth of the country.
Hertz claims that the increase in rental costs in Australia has been brought about by the continually growing costs of gasoline prices in the popular driving destination, in addition to a slight increase in the cost of vehicle maintenance and vehicle depreciation [...]

A new survey has revealed that more than half of British drivers take a snack break behind the wheel.
The idea has long been one in question, with fears raised that – similar to talking on a mobile phone – using your hands for anything less than driving could imply a lack of concentration on the road ahead, although as yet no form of legislation has been enacted to minimise the consumption of food or drink by drivers.
The new study, released today by Co-operative Insurance, discovered that 53 per cent of UK motorists admitted to consuming soft drinks or eating while [...]

The Vatican has said that in order to avoid the possibility of disruption due to strikes by British Airways’ cabin crew, the Pope will be flying to and from the UK, when he makes his official visit in the autumn, with Alitalia, the Italian state airline. Tradition usually dictates that the Pope flies back to Rome after a tour on board the flag carrier of the country he has just visited.
The recent rejection of a new pay deal by BA staff means that strike action could occur as soon a September, when Benedict XVI is due to make his four-day [...]

A number of mourners gathered in the Paris suburb of Gonesse on Sunday to remember, and pay their respect to, the 113 people who died when an Air France Concorde crashed shortly after taking off from Charles de Gaulle Airport 10 years ago. Two ceremonies took place. The first was attended by officials, Air France employees and a number of local residents.
A minutes silence was observed. Local mayor, Jean Pierre Blazy, said he hoped that the results of an investigation would put and end to speculation about the crash and finally bring someone to justice. He added that he feared [...]