20 November All electric aeroplanes – will they come into commercial operation this decade? Electric aircraft would be a huge contribution to reduction in carbon emissions mediation, aviation, travel The idea of getting into an aeroplane powered purely by electricity is really quite exciting and probably extraordinary.
14 October Who would want shares in an airline with all the problems they face, especially in the USA? Poor airlines but what about poor airline customers? Now flying is happening again, take care to protect yourself as best you can against the vagaries of the industry mediation, aviation, holidays, travel Traditionally probably we do not have sympathy with airlines; they somehow usually manage to fall on their feet and generally at the expense of the flying public.
31 August Ryanair reckons that the flying market will come flying back It sounds great but somehow it may be more like wishful thinking! mediation, hospitality, aviation, holidays, travel Here we are at the end of August and basically the end of the summer holiday season.
18 August Long covid – do you know how serious this can be? It is important that you understand the risks involved in getting long covid mediation, hospitality, aviation, Covid-19, masonry s the days go by we begin to learn more about long covid.
5 August More changes in the travel restrictions list – good and bad If you have a hankering to go abroad, things have become mildly easier but still not really recommended as things can change mediation, hospitality, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, travel Along comes another review of the traffic light travel system with countries moving in both directions.
30 July Easing of restrictions makes for more flights Loads of people still wanting to go abroad for holidays; they may get their chance yet mediation, aviation, travel As July reaches its end, the August holiday season starts this weekend.
6 July Masks? Big questions looming as we face relaxation of legal restrictions Mask or no mask? What was previously a simple matter suddenly will become a very complex one with potentially far-reaching results mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, local pub, masonry There was a time when no one was very keen on masks; now everyone is worried about whether lifting restrictions is coming too soon. How fickle we are!
24 June The travel tug of war is on again So many different opinions both at home and abroad – difficult to know which way to turn mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, local pub, travel The travel companies want it all opened up as quickly as possible while Angela Merkel wants all of Europe to impose quarantine on arrivals from Britain.
13 June World aviation on the rocks – what is the way forward? What are we going to do about flying? Is now a good moment for a societal re-think? mediation, aviation, holidays, community, ecology, travel Covid-19 has wreaked havoc across the world with economies and businesses, literally on a global scale. Indeed, who knows what further damage will follow in its wake?
5 June Breaking the sound barrier – are we going to have flights again? A whole new set of pioneers is ready to make this a reality. Good luck to them! mediation, aviation, community, travel Breaking the sound barrier was originally almost a thing of science fiction, indeed it was questioned as to whether it was even possible.
4 June Rise in UK cases is a real worry We may yet have to batten down the hatches as cases start to increase exponentially mediation, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, travel As the holiday and aviation industries get hot under the collar over the removal of Portugal from the green list, the ONS reports a 76.5% increase in cases in the past week in England.
26 May Airships back in the news Just think – noiseless travel in comfort; the ability to stop where you want and perhaps just hover in the sky. The possibilities are huge mediation, aviation, holidays, travel Back in January we reported on how airships might become a transport of the future after the disastrous Hindenburg incident 84 years ago.
16 March Learjet production to cease Another change in the aviation map – this time from a different angle mediation, aviation, travel In that once the word “hoover” was synonymous with vacuum cleaner, to many at one time any business jet was known as a Learjet.
6 March Queen’s planes to be sold off – what is reasonable to keep for a modern day head of state? It is important to keep things in realistic proportion. Times are a’changin’ mediation, aviation, community, masonry, travel Going back centuries, the country’s wealth was more or less all held by the Crown and the aristocracy. The ordinary people by and large had nothing.
5 March Summer holidays – choices galore now with the Cyprus announcement? Will staycation be able to hold its own against the increasing ease of making those continental trips? mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, local pub, travel Today’s announcement that Cyprus will allow British in quarantine free from 1st May if they have had both of their vaccinations has thrown the whole holiday situation up into the air.
14 February New quarantine restrictions to start 15th February, a date which earned fame 50 years ago! Historic day coming up! Who can remember why? mediation, aviation, Covid-19, travel 15th February is already a date on which a major event took place in the UK but this year is going to be remembered for something new.
10 February Future of the travel industry This is a subject over which there is constant speculation but with little real information to rely on for predictions! mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, local pub There is no doubt about it but the travel industry has every reason to feel glum at the moment and this is not going to change any time soon.
29 January Airships coming back as a serious mode of transport? Are you joking? May be “new norm” won’t be all bad! Definitely aviation with a twist mediation, hospitality, aviation, travel When the word “airship” is used, no doubt it conjures up in our minds that dreadful accident in 1937 in New Jersey when the Hindenberg caught fire. It was probably the most famous aviation disaster ever caught on camera and basically brought about the end of airships as a realistic form of transport. Airships, also known as “blimps” have continued to exist but are a relative rarity.
15 January Covid variants – panic building so why let them in? The trouble is too many people are too impatient. They want predictions it is impossible to give accurately mediation, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, illegal immigrants It’s all about Covid-19 at the moment. Hospitals bulging to overflowing, patients being examined in corridors and ambulances and doctors tearing their hair out because of insufficient resources. How did we allow this to creep up on us without realising what was about to happen?
11 January Avatar Airlines’ fantastic plan for the future. Do you know about this? An interesting plan. Can it possibly succeed? mediation, aviation A little while ago we reported the arrival of British Airways’ final 747 ‘Queen of the Skies’ at Cotswold Aerodrome where she, and her cohorts already awaiting their fate, would most likely be ‘parted out’ (scrapped). In fact that particular 747 has been acquired by the aerodrome authority for development as a (static) conference and learning facility, but the fact remains that there is simply no second hand market for these aeroplanes; long haul super-large four engine airliners have had their day. The long haul skies today belong to the new generation of twin-engined jets.
23 December Turmoil deepens as Health Secretary announces a large number of elevations in tiers. Does anyone now really doubt that we have a big problem? mediation, hospitality, aviation, Covid-19 Not only have we been told of a number of counties going into higher tiers, including Cornwall and Herefordshire which were regarded as really low level risk counties. There can be hardly an area in the country which has not been affected by these changes.
20 December Is this the season of denial? We are where we are. Late notification of a new strain of Covid-19 has not helped but we are stuck with the fact whether we like it or not. mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19
9 December No Vaccination certificates? This is incredibly short-sighted and naïve in the extreme! Proving you have had the vaccination is bound to become essential if you want full access to services in due course. mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, local pub, community, illegal immigrants As the excitement of getting first vaccinations done romps on, thoughts are already being turned to the future. As we surmised yesterday, comments are already being made about the less well-off countries which may not get the vaccines because the wealthy countries decide to hoard them.
6 December Up up and away! 737 MAX takes to the skies again. As the 737 retires it looks like the 737 MAX will be the start of a new era in aviation. mediation, hospitality, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, community Wednesday 3rd December marked the beginning of the end of the Boeing Commercial Airplane Company’s 19-month nightmare that is the model 737 MAX. It began a series of passenger carrying flights with its hitherto grounded and recently re-certified fleet aimed at restoring public confidence in the type.
16 November Post-war Berlin has at last completed its new aviation facilities – 75 years after the end of the war. It sometimes takes a long time for society to re-adjust after a war and these changes have certainly taken their time filter through mediation, hospitality, aviation, holidays Today I have been asked to write something about the closure, just over a week ago, on 8th November, of Berlin Tegal Airport.
11 November Norwegian Air facing big trouble following refusal of Norwegian government to help out financially. No holidays with them. Yet another airline on the brink. mediation, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, insolvency We have been keeping an eye on Norwegian Air this year because it has looked like tottering quite a lot.
1 November Let’s pile on the restrictions and is there a face mask fashion in the making? Things are really getting serious as the UK government changes its position dramatically over the virus. mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, Covid-19, local pub Clearly on Friday I was not the only one who was depressed about the way the Covid-19 pandemic is going. As yesterday the number of world cases passed 46 million and declared deaths passed 1.2 million, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been persuaded by his scientific experts that we were not doing enough to stop the spread of the disease. Moreover the UK yesterday has passed the milestone of 1 million cases according to Johns Hopkins.
28 October Heathrow Airport suffers £1.5 billion loss. Should we be worried? The aviation industry is a major contributor to our national economy. We should be watching very carefully. mediation, hospitality, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, community, insolvency Heathrow Airport is seldom out of the news for long and has certainly been making a lot of noise in the past nine months, although not so much of that noise has been made by aeroplanes.
20 October Flybe’s resurrection has been announced! Will the stress of flying be removed as long as there is a risk of Covid-19? mediation, hospitality, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, community It is no doubt a surprise to many that Flybe, the airline which went into administration back in March has been bought and is expected to get started up again. The purchaser is Thyme Opco who are linked to Cyrus Capital, a company which was part of a Virgin-led rescue attempt for the airline last year.
15 October The Virus That Killed the Jumbo Jet? How modern aviation is moving forward. Today’s aviation is certainly in a real pickle. mediation, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, community I’ve just watched a very moving BBC documentary called “The Virus That Killed The Jumbo Jet”, and concede to being somewhat surprised by the affection that the British public appear to have towards this so called “Queen of the Skies”.
22 September The Prime Minster has spoken – but is it enough? Not a lot of good news around for the autumn equinox. It looks like a hard winter lies ahead mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, Covid-19, local pub A very widely “leaked” statement was made by the Prime Minister at noon today aiming to set out new restrictions being brought in to combat Covid-19.
11 September Crystal balls sadly in short supply so is it time for serious scientific attempts to try and foresee the future? We can only plan for the future if we can make some pretty good guesses about how it could look. What will “new norm” be? mediation, hospitality, aviation, Covid-19, bankruptcy Who could have foreseen it all? Did anyone think that in 2020 the world would be brought to its knees by a pandemic? If anyone had suggested it, there would have been comments like “what do you know that we don’t?”.
4 September Yet more circles to go around with quarantine rules It’s time the media stopped hyping up quarantine issues. Those who get caught out simply took a gamble and lost mediation, aviation, holidays, Covid-19 Have you noticed that it is getting rather frenetic on television over the changes to the quarantine rules? And then when they tell us what the travellers say, most of them admit that they knew they were taking a risk
29 August More countries removed from travel corridor list Coronavirus is definitely on the increase now generally mediation, aviation, Covid-19, travel It will not have escaped general notice that three more countries have now been removed from the travel corridor list, namely Czech Republic, Jamaica and Switzerland whilst Cuba has now been added, all with effect from 4 am this morning.
28 August Drones – a blessing or a curse and who is liable when one brings down an aircraft? It is unlikely that a lot of thought has gone into this particular issue on the part of members of the public – time to check it out! mediation, aviation, community With all the problems of Covid-19 and the significant reduction in airline travel at the moment, one may think that the question of drones is not a very important one. Well nothing could in fact be further from the truth.
22 August Time to look at the numbers again – why are more countries being added to the quarantine list? With the information in this article, you will have all the tools you need to determine the level of risk of having to quarantine when you return to the UK mediation, aviation, Covid-19, travel The World Health Organisation today said that they hoped the Covid-19 pandemic would be over in “under two years”. This seems to be putting down a clear marker for the world to ruminate over – another two years of what we are going through?
21 August Rollercoaster August – do we know where things are going? As the days go by we see more and more changes which leave our lives in some turmoil mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19 There has been something about this month which seems to be very unsettling. We are now three weeks through it and every day seems to herald some new news which in some way rocks the boat.
20 August Boeing 737MAX getting closer to re-entering service. Is that something to worry about? New aeroplanes coming into service may be a little superfluous to requirements at the moment until business builds back up mediation, aviation, Covid-19 In a previous post via this forum I discussed the withdrawal around the globe of the Boeing 737MAX-8 and MAX-9 airliners, and the technical reasons for that decision. I concluded by speculating whether the type would ever return to service, and if it did, whether it would be promoted under the same name, and what the passenger reaction might be once they realised that they were about to travel on a MAX?
14 August Coming from France – quarantine now required. Why has it taken so long? What price that ferry now? Here again is the risk assessment chart People are not paying attention. The facts and figures are there for all to see. Sorry to say “I told you so” mediation, hospitality, aviation, holidays, Covid-19 Yesterday we said that we were surprised quarantining incomers from France had not come into force. I guess that the Transport Secretary read our blog!
4 August Could closing the borders get rid of Covid-19? How would the people respond to a really aggressive approach to getting Covid-19 out of Britain? mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, illegal immigrants It is perhaps a little known fact that there are areas which belong to Britain which are clear of coronavirus. You cannot tell this from looking at Johns Hopkins as their table brackets the “Channel Islands” as one territory but in fact the Bailiwick of Guernsey is Covid-19 free and life has gone back to normal, even down to kissing and hugging!
1 August What price a foreign holiday now? The education in how the spread of the virus affects people is sadly deficient as the people do not seem to be taking it on board mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19 I cannot help but wonder just how seriously the people are taking the Covid-19 pandemic. We see social-distancing as a concept largely ignored by large swathes of the population, usually at a rally or something similar or more particularly in the street outside the pub.
29 July The Rise & Fall of the Jumbo This iconic aircraft is reaching the end of its days mediation, aviation The reign of both British Airways’ & Virgin’s “Queen of the Skies” having come to an abrupt end, it may be a good time to stand back and examine how present day long haul flying has changed, even before the advent of SARS.CoV.2., which has merely hastened the 747’s inevitable fall from grace
26 July Was it really such a shock decision to re-introduce quarantine for those coming from Spain? It’s easy to blame the government but the writing was on the wall for some time mediation, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19 There remains in the country a huge body of opinion which feels that the lockdown has been relaxed too fast in some ways. This is clearly evidenced by the fact that people still prefer to stay at home, pubs and restaurants are nowhere near as busy as they could be, even with social distancing, and shopping is down as well.
25 July Airport safety measures – do you feel safer? As time goes by there will be all sorts of new measures introduced to enhance your safety so life can return to normal mediation, aviation, Covid-19 We floated the issue of safety while flying a week ago and now some of the measures which have been introduced at London Heathrow have been made public.
21 July Aviation starts to be innovative It’s good that there is some positivity around during these troubled times mediation, aviation, holidays, Covid-19 In order to try to allay the fear of air travel which a lot of people seem to have at the moment, a few innovations are emerging. United Airlines is trying a new technique to keep passengers safe and reduce the spread of coronavirus.
17 July End of an era as British Airways decide to withdraw their entire fleet of Boeing 747s and half price meals in August may be difficult to find As the world tries to give itself a kick-start economic problems continue to emerge mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, local pub Time for retirement – British Airways has brought forward the withdrawal of its entire fleet of 31 jumbo jets. This was originally scheduled for 2024 but the reduction in business due to the pandemic has caused the decision to be taken now, according to announcements made by BA.
10 July How long until tourism gets back to pre-Covid-19 levels? Are people getting out and about or does there remain a significant concern over catching the virus? mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, Covid-19, local pub, accountancy advice It is now a week since bars and restaurants opened and gradually it becomes a little clearer what operators are thinking about the prospects for the future. Optimistic operators are talking about two years before they get back to former levels while many others are talking about three years
9 July Reservation deposits – blessing or curse? But what about the empty chairs and empty tables? And how would you feel if you discovered your pilot did not have a licence to fly the aircraft? Is the trust we place in our regulators justified? Pakistan CAA clearly has egg on its face mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, Covid-19, local pub, insolvency, accountancy advice It is probable that the general public have little clue about the damage that no-shows can cause to restaurants and hotels. Unfortunately, this is not just an occasional problem but might almost be said to be endemic. What is difficult to know for certain in why no-shows take place and probably everyone has done it at some time or another, even if only because one of the party does not feel very well
5 July Super Saturday. Really? Reality shows that we have a divided country For the majority Super Saturday weekend seems to have gone down like a damp squib mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, local pub It all goes to prove that things can be hyped up as much you want but reality is not always the same. We were told to expect the roads on Super Saturday to be absolutely packed while 10.5 million people were going to go out to their caravans, second homes, holidays etc. We were told that the people could not wait to get out to the pubs and restaurants and that there would be great queues everywhere and you would not be able to go into a pub or restaurant without a booking. We were told that everyone would want a haircut.
3 July Adelphi Liverpool set to make half of its staff redundant. How hotels see it With the hospitality industry set to re-open in England on 4th July, it is not all going to be plain sailing mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, local pub The news this week has been little other than grim. Take a look at the Britannia Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool at this link
2 July Need a holiday? Wales can be very nice Nothing like a drive up to the Elan Valley dams. When can you do that? mediation, hospitality, aviation, holidays, Covid-19 Wales is a wonderful country in so many ways but at the moment if you live there you are stuck with travelling no further than five miles from home or if you are not, you cannot even go there.
1 July Week started badly for business and gets no better, especially in aviation and hospitality Of course airlines may be closed down again if virus continues to spread at current rate mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, insolvency Today is the day that Ryanair has started its 1000 flights a day. That plan suffered a minor blow when Greece said not yet please but nevertheless Mr O’Leary claims that their flights to other destinations are 70% full. By clicking on this link you can see what flights are in the air and the Ryanair flights have RYR at the beginning of the ID.
30 June Unsure whether to fly? This is what you need to know about air conditioning Is social-distancing when flying actually possible? mediation, aviation, holidays, Covid-19 As the world’s airlines gird their loins in preparation to get flying again it may be worth considering the measures being proposed by the carriers to mitigate possible viral cross-infection between passengers. At one point during the lockdown the suggestion of blocking middle seats was mooted. easyJet at first suggested they might adopt such a measure, but then seemed to talk themselves out of it.
28 June Are you afraid of a second wave? You probably should be. Get that face mask on As new cases exceed 10 million this pandemic is on the increase! mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, Covid-19, local pub, community, insolvency By the end of the coming week, we shall have seen major new relaxations of the social-distancing requirements. Pubs and hotels are re-opening and we shall see a further week of unlimited shopping. The following week travel opens up again and we hear talk of the quarantine measures being relaxed for certain low-risk countries.
24 June More airline redundancies and other problems The truth on airline contraction is becoming clearer mediation, aviation, holidays, Covid-19 The latest round of redundancies appears to be from Jet2. It would appear that 102 captains and first officers are to be made redundant, the leavers being those who joined the company most recently. Another report states that 380 cabin crew will be made redundant; it is not entirely clear whether this figure includes the pilots or not but the inference is that it does not.
23 June PM brightens everyone’s day with relaxations in the lockdown but bar stools a no-no! As we get more freedoms, it gets more and more difficult to understand what they actually are! mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, Covid-19, local pub There can hardly be a soul in the land who will not be pleased with some parts at least of the Prime Minister’s announcements in Parliament today, even if it is just “I can go and have a hair cut”! Additional measures such as two households at a time getting together indoors will also enable friends to meet again and for reciprocal dinner parties to get started again.
21 June Tight-lipped government leaves everyone in suspense and uncertainty Double check before you take any action. mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19 We can be forgiven for becoming more and more confused and less and less certain about what we are and are not allowed to do as the days go by.
13 June Is British Airways really not allowed to manage its affairs to its advantage? Who next? Businesses are now fighting for their very survival. Without them there will be no jobs. mediation, hospitality, aviation, Covid-19, community, insolvency, accountancy advice “No man in the country is under the smallest obligation, moral or other, so to arrange his legal relations to his business or property as to enable the Inland Revenue to put the largest possible shovel in his stores…..” So said
26 May Deaths drop in the UK but government intent on 14 day quarantine for those entering country. Should we sacrifice safety for the economy? Beware the second wave. mediation, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19 The past weekend has seen recorded deaths in the UK at their lowest for a considerable time. Of course it has become normal to see weekend deaths at lower figures because of the lag in information coming through but today has been low too.
19 May How much do you really know about the 737-MAX? There is a lot of technical stuff here but it makes one wonder how these decisions are made. mediation, aviation, Covid-19 Both Airbus and Boeing have recently posted eye watering first quarter losses of €481m and $641m respectively. The CEO of Airbus, Guillaume Faury, warned earlier this month that it may take up to five years for passenger figures to be back at their pre-Covid numbers.
11 May My kingdom for a hair cut. Can you now do just what you want? New rules but what exactly are they? mediation, hospitality, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, community When I heard the Prime Minister on TV at 7pm on Sunday, I thought I understood exactly what the new rules were. However, the media and others have done an excellent job of completely confusing the issue for everyone in the short time since. The government, by contrast, have produced a lengthy document setting out the requirements in far greater detail. In the meanwhile the Prime Minister has made the same statement to Parliament.
7 May Who does Heathrow really belong to? CO2 lobbyists back on the job! As we move towards relaxing the restrictions, parties begin to think of the future. mediation, hospitality, aviation, Covid-19, community, insolvency, ecology Whether you like it or not, Covid-19 is being seen by climate change lobbyists as their “opportunity”. In a previous post, I looked at the effect several factors might play in deciding whether Heathrow Airport (LHR) would get its controversial third runway in the foreseeable future.
3 May Is there still a case for the third runway at Heathrow? Now aviation has dropped like a stone, when will it build up again? mediation, aviation, holidays, community In one of our earlier postings it was stated quite reasonably in an earlier posting that given the dire position in which civil aviation now finds itself (and frankly it has never been the most stable of industries), is it likely that we will see a third runway at Heathrow (LHR) within the next decade?
30 April Aviation in dire trouble – will it ever be the same again? And what about your holidays this year? Do people have a clue just how bad it is? mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, insolvency Current news on aviation is dire. British Airways have announced a possible 12000 redundancies will be taking place and now it is looking like Gatwick will lose all BA activity and BA are telling us that it may not start up again. The job reductions include significant numbers of pilots and co-pilots.
23 April I have paid a deposit for my daughter’s wedding reception. It’s safe – right? No obligation to hold deposits in ring-fenced accounts. mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, community, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy One of the worries which is emerging as a result of the lockdown is a complex area of business which many people find catches them out. That is the payment of advance deposits to make bookings and this is not just for wedding receptions but throughout modern life, and most notably with your deposits for package holidays and airline tickets.
21 April South African Airways – just furloughing or closing? For airlines will it be like escape from Alcatraz? Government not giving financial aid mediation, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, insolvency South African Airways joins the ranks of airlines with a doubtful future in announcing that it is laying off all of its 4700 employees at the end of April. However it sounds a bit more than furloughing with the employees being given a severance package roughly equivalent to one week’s pay for each year of service although even that is conditional on a successful disposal of certain other assets.
17 April When is a lockdown not a lockdown? While we have to sit at home and only go out for essential purposes, travellers continue to fly into the UK unchecked and passenger aircraft continue to be removed from service. mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, community It’s today’s conundrum. When is a lockdown not a lockdown? The answer is if you are flying. Do you remember I provided you with a link to see what aircraft were in the sky? Just to remind you, here it is again - take another look.
10 April Aviation – will it ever be the same again? In the eyes of the public, confusion rules okay. mediation, aviation, holidays, Covid-19 As a former pilot myself, albeit not carrying fare-paying passengers, the future of aviation is something in which I maintain considerable interest.