Gatwick to Budapest with Wizz Air

WIZZ Air has announced the launch of a new route from London Gatwick to Budapest.

This new Gatwick connection to Hungary’s capital will see Wizz Air increase its presence at London’s second busiest airport, where it already operates flights three times daily to the Romanian capital of Bucharest.

Beginning on March 31st, the new flights will run daily, bringing a low-fare travel option for passengers travelling from the south London hub.

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Zero emission Fuel Cell Electric bus service launched at Gatwick

A prototype fuel cell electric double-deck bus was shown in public for the first time at Gatwick's Annual Transport Forum on Friday 12th October.

In a first for the region, the new technology will soon trailed with an in-service trial of the bus run by local service provider Metrobus on the company's Fastway 100 service between Crawley, Gatwick Airport and Reigate. 

Metrobus expects to follow this with an order for 20 single deck fuel cell electric buses to expand provision of zero emission journeys and improve local air quality.

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Up in the air . . .

IN a UK airport first, passengers, staff and local residents can now reserve and pick up a 100% electric car at Gatwick – and return it to any of 300 compatible pick up/ drop off points across London or back at Gatwick - the airport announced today.

Operating in a similar way to existing cycle schemes across the capital, ten cars and charging points are currently available on Gatwick’s South Terminal forecourt. This is Bluecity’s first airport hub and discussions are in progress to increase capacity.

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Gatwick to Oakland, San Francisco Bay with British Airways

MADE in Chelsea star Stephanie Pratt brings a Californian glow to Gatwick to celebrate British Airways’ new route to Oakland, San Francisco Bay. Stephanie, who went to college in San Francisco, stuns in a photoshoot to mark the airline's first route from Gatwick to California, and its fifth service from London to the 'golden state'. 

The route takes off from March 28 with flights launching from £210 each way based on a return fare.

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Gatwick set to be carbon neutral by Spring

GATWICK has revealed plans to become the UK’s first carbon neutral airport by spring.

Already, Gatwick runs solely on green energy after starting to use renewables four years ago.  Furthermore, it has succeeded in keeping its environmental footprint as low as it was in the early '90s, even though its passenger numbers have doubled since then.

Gatwick is the first UK airport to join RE100, a global group of 87 businesses committed to operating on 100% renewable energy.  The programme aims to create a huge increase in demand for renewable energy.

Last year, Gatwick announced it would be the world’s first airport to recycle Category 1 waste at a dedicated, on-site waste plant. Plans are in motion to convert the waste into energy to heat the North Terminal.

Gatwick’s CEO, Stewart Wingate, said: “The initiatives announced today are important milestones in Gatwick’s journey to become the UK’s most sustainable airport and one of the greenest in the world.

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On the runway . . .

THREE of Gatwick’s major carriers will move terminals this January. 

• British Airways will move to the South Terminal,
• Virgin Atlantic will move to the North Terminal, and
• easyJet, which currently operates out of both terminals, will consolidate its operation in the North Terminal.

These changes will improve the experience for passengers at #Gatwick with brand new facilities including state-of-the-art technology at check-in, security and immigration as well as new bag-drop zones along with new British Airways and Virgin Atlantic lounges. It will also simplify and streamline the journey through the airport for passengers.

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Wizz Air launches Gatwick-Bucharest flights

WIZZ AIR will begin direct service from London’s Gatwick Airport to #Bucharest, Romania, from June 18. It will be the only direct connection between the two airports, offering the easiest access to the Romanian capital from Gatwick. 

With a total of four Wizz Air direct flights a day between London and Bucharest, the new Gatwick route adds a second option for travel from London, along with Wizz Air’s direct three-times-a-day flights between Bucharest and London Luton.

Gatwick, a new airport for Wizz Air’s low-fares services, will be the company’s ninth airport in the UK, the others being Luton, Doncaster-Sheffield, Bristol, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Belfast, Liverpool, and Birmingham.

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Heathrow, Gatwick, and Manchester airports chiefs against 'Brexit'

THE BOSSES of Heathrow, Gatwick, and Manchester Airport are among some 200 business leaders calling for the UK to remain a member of the European Union (EU).

Other travel sector signatories to a letter to The Times published include Tui Travel supervisory board member Peter Long, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary, easyJet chief executive Carolyn McCall, and lastminute.com co-founder Martha Lane Fox. Virgin chief Richard Branson has also set a case against a UK withdrawal from the EU.

They claim a UK exit would put jobs at risk.

The letter says: ‘Following the prime minister’s re-negotiation, we believe that Britain is better off staying in a reformed European Union. He has secured a commitment from the EU to reduce the burden of regulation, deepen the single market, and to sign off crucial international trade deals. Business needs unrestricted access to the European market of 500 million people in order to continue to grow, invest and create jobs. We believe that leaving the EU would deter investment, threaten jobs, and put the economy at risk.’

Go Holiday editor David Kernek comments: Many of these people – who are presumed to know what they’re talking about, and whose views we are expected to take seriously – argued fervently in favour, some years back, of Britain ditching its own currency and joining the euro zone, warning that if it didn’t the country’s economy would collapse. They were wrong then; it didn’t. They could be wrong now.

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Up in the air …

DISCOVER THE WORLD is to start direct flights from Gatwick to Egilsstaðir, East Iceland, next summer. 

British visitors will have direct access not only to the lesser-known East Fjords but also to the north where many other spectacular natural attractions can be seen. 

The twice-weekly flights will be operated by Air Baltic exclusively chartered by Discover the World. They can be booked only as part of a holiday package with the operator. www.discover-the-world.co.uk.

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Contactless payments for Gatwick rail passengers

PASSENGERS travelling by rail between Gatwick and Central London will be able to use pay-as-you-go ticket technology next year.

Oyster card and contactless payments will be introduced as new methods of payment from January for journeys between the airport and London on Southern, Gatwick Express, and Thameslink services.

It is hoped the scheme will reduce overcrowding at stations – a problem at Gatwick at peak times – and offer better value for money.

The currently single journey paper peak-time ticket costs £15.40 from London to Gatwick, excluding the Gatwick Express. With pay as you go, a rush hour trip will cost £14 and £8 off-peak, says London mayor, Boris Johnson.

He said: ‘By providing a quick and easy way to pay, our Oyster and contactless ticketing has transformed the way people get around our capital. We’ve already extended this on a number of key routes outside London, and it makes perfect sense for Londoners, commuters, and passengers from around the world to benefit from this further link to Gatwick.’

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Germany’s top attractions

WHEN thousands of international visitors from 40 countries have voted online to decide Germany's Top 100 attractions, South-West #Germany took the No l spot, and had a total of five in the top 11. 

Here are three of them:

Europa-Park – Germany’s largest theme park – in Baden-Württemberg was voted the best attraction. Visitors in December will see thousands of Christmas trees throughout its 13 European-themed areas. 

With eight Michelin stars, the Black Forest village of Baiersbronn claims to be Germany's culinary capital.

Baden-Württemberg has 60 palaces, castles, and monasteries, many of which are become backdrops for traditional Christmas markets, one of the best of which is at Schloss Bruchsal.

There are bonfires, plus guides who lead tours of the 18th century palace. 

There are daily flights to Stuttgart Airport from Birmingham, London Heathrow, and Gatwick, and frequent flights from Manchester and London Stansted. 

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BA offers Gatwick alternative for NY flights

BRITISH AIRWAYS (BA) is to run daily flights from Gatwick Airport in Sussex to New York, providing an alternative for people on England’s south coast who currently face a long train or car journey to Heathrow. 

BA’s new route, due to start in May next year, also makes it the only carrier to fly to New York from Gatwick, Heathrow, and London City.

Fares start from approximately £400 return.

BA also announced three new European routes from Heathrow for next year: Biarritz (France), Menorca, and Sicily.

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Gatwick prepares to open new North Terminal departures level

THE first phase of a new departures level at Gatwick’s North Terminal opens this month (October) as part of a £1 billion investment in the airport.

Construction work started a year ago on the £36 million North Terminal project which will see the world’s largest self-service bag drop zone start a phased opening from October 20. Two weeks of operational testing will take place prior to this date, with a one-month trial coming to an end on November 18.

The check-in hall will open in two phases between October and April next year to improve the lay-out and give more space. This will increase peak check-in capacity from 3,000 to 4,350 passengers an hour, according to the airport’s managers.

The development follows trials of a self-service bag drop at the South Terminal.

Self-service bag drop enables passengers who have checked in online to take their bags straight to a machine upon arrival at the airport, where they can print their luggage tag, apply it to their bag and load it straight onto the baggage sorting system.

Gatwick will have 60 check-in points with 48 of these being self-service bag drop units and 28 of these will be open for the October date. This means the check-in process can be completed in less than two minutes, the airport claims.

Chief executive Stewart Wingate, said: ‘Gatwick has added eight million passengers since we came into private ownership in 2009, and we are about to reach the 40 million mark. This is a decade ahead of industry predictions and we will continue to grow. While we wait for a decision on building a new runway, we are investing billions to ensure we can grow from our existing infrastructure, but this will only take us so far. Gatwick remains the best and most deliverable option for expansion – we can go from the world’s most efficient single runway airport to the world’s most efficient two-runway airport while limiting the impact on the environment.’

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Pegasus expands Israel flights

PEGASUS AIRLINES has added Israel’s Eilat (Ovda) Airport to its expanding network, bringing its total number of destinations to 101.

Pegasus flights to Eilat, its second destination in #Israel after #Tel Aviv, are scheduled to start on December 1, with three weekly flights between London Gatwick and Stansted Airports and Ovda via Istanbul.

Fares including taxes and charges for the Ovda Airport route from London Stansted via Istanbul start from £72, and £74.66 from London Gatwick.

The route is now open for bookings via the airline’s website … 

www.flypgs.com/en

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Gatwick bus link for Kent

NATIONAL EXPRESS is to start a 24-hour, straight-to-the-terminal Gatwick bus service from locations across Kent. 

Starting in December, the dedicated service will serve both terminals from locations throughout Kent eight times a day, with journey times taking as little as an hour.

Pick up and drop off points will include Canterbury, Chatham, Gillingham, Maidstone, Margate, Broadstairs, and Ramsgate. National Express claims travel times will be up to 45 minutes quicker than their rail alternatives, all of which involve at least one change.

Online fares start at £5 one-way.

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One click stop for connecting flights

LONDON GATWICK and the Icelandic travel search engine Dohop have launched a unique booking service, GatwickConnects, which enables flights from separate airlines connecting through Gatwick to be booked in a single transaction. Gatwick offers a guarantee of service if flights don't operate as planned. 

Previously, connected flights between the participating airlines would have to be booked separately, and carried the risk of travellers having to buy new flights if the first one was delayed. GatwickConnects joins the tickets into a single booking and removes this risk by protecting the connection for the passengers. 

The airlines taking part in GatwickConnects are easyJet, WOWair, and Norwegian, making up 52% of Gatwick's flight traffic. More airlines are expected to follow.

It is the first time an airport has taken the lead to book and safeguard connections, which makes full use of Dohop's Self-Connect technology of looking up and displaying cost-saving connecting flights.

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Westjet to launch Canada services from Gatwick

LOW-COST carrier Westjet is to serve multiple destinations in #Canada with the launch of services from Gatwick next spring. The airline confirmed non-stop flights to six cities in Canada including the only direct connection between London and Winnipeg. The airline will also serve Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, and St John’s. 

As many as four flights a day have been scheduled across the new transatlantic network as the Canadian leisure carrier makes its debut in Gatwick.

Introductory fares from Canada lead in at C$249 (£122) one-way from Toronto to Gatwick with flights starting on May 6, 2016. UK fare levels have yet to be announced.  

The airline’s executive vice president, commercial, Bob Cummings, said: ‘Canadians have been paying far too much to fly to Europe for far too long and today, as we have throughout our history, we're going to fix that.

‘With the addition of our 767 aircraft, we will now bring our low fares and fun, friendly, people-driven service to England, where we know many Canadians have relatives. This new service will also help to connect family and friends on both sides of the Atlantic.’

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easyJet axes Moscow flights as demand slumps

EASYJET is to suspend flights between London and #Moscow, blaming a slump in demand. Flights from Gatwick will stop in March next year. The airline says it will monitor the market with a view to resuming the service should demand pick up. 

‘The decision has been taken in response to the significant and sustained reduction in demand,’ the airline reportedly said.

The weakness of the Russian ruble, political tension between Russia and the West, and the tightening of visa processes are among the factors that have reduced demand for London-Moscow flights.

easyJet has been flying to Moscow from Gatwick since 2012, after being awarded route rights ahead of Virgin Atlantic. 

Only two carriers from the UK and two from Russia are permitted to fly between London and Moscow under air-service agreements.

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Up in the air …

Manchester airport on course to top 23 million passengers in 2015 … Manchester Airport is on course to break the 23 million passenger barrier by the end of the year after a record August. Numbers were up by more than 5% in the month to more than 2.6 million, making it the busiest summer in the airport’s 77 year history. 

Gatwick records busiest month ever … Gatwick Airport recorded the busiest month in its history in August, with more than 4.53 million passengers using the airport – a 3.7% increase on the same month in 2014.

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Up in the air . . .

Flybe launches Liverpool -Amsterdam route … FLYBE has started flights between Liverpool and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Fares start from £34.99 one way including taxes and charges.

Wizz Air starts Glasgow-Bucharest service … Flights between Glasgow and Bucharest are to be introduced by Wizz Air in May next year. It is also increasing the frequency of flights from Luton to Bucharest.

EasyJet increases capacity and routes for spring 2016 … easyJet has hiked capacity next spring with more than 22.5 million seats going on sale. The budget carrier is to run 136,000 additional flights across its network between March 21 and June 26. Sample flights include Bristol to Barcelona from £22.24 one-way, Belfast-Amsterdam from £25.49, Inverness-Luton from £12.49, Southend-Malaga from £28.24, Gatwick-Copenhagen from £30.24, and Luton- Malaga from £30.24.

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