Posts from our online forum businesstraveller.com/forum

POST Panda01 HOW CAN NORTHERN IRELAND ATTRACT AIRLINES? DATE Nov 6, 10:22

United recently announced it would stop flying to Northern Ireland, leaving the country without a long-haul flight. This makes me wonder, how will it attract airlines?

FDOS_UK Nov 6, 12:22

The bottom line is that Belfast is too small a catchment area to justify long-haul flights on a commercial basis. One can get to Dublin quite easily, have a range of flights and enjoy [US] pre-clearance, too. That must dilute the demand.

onajetplane Nov 6, 21:04

I have often thought that United or American Airlines might run a service to the US via Shannon from Belfast. They would avoid the higher air passenger duty tax bracket and could merge demand with Shannon passengers (in a similar way to many previous ex-Dublin flights to the US making a stop in Shannon), plus the bonus of immigration pre-clearance at Shannon.

MrMichael Nov 7, 14:37

Unless there is a significant price reason to do so, I cannot see myself connecting through Belfast to reach the US. The reason Dublin has so many flights is the number of people transiting from across the UK using Aer Lingus or Ryanair. Dublin, and to an extent Shannon, are natural change points to many points in the US, provide easy transit and are likely save a few bob, too.

POST Mitchell WHAT INFLUENCES YOUR HOTEL CHOICE? DATE Nov 11, 12:10

Aside from price and location, what can a hotel offer that will influence your choice? Any features or gestures that will make it stand out from the crowd? I found one that offers personalised packed lunches for customers heading off to meetings in the morning.

Alan Orton 1 Nov 11, 16:16

Not everyone will just look at price and location, but they may well factor in hotel brand or loyalty programme. I like Hyatt as it doesn’t feel as much like a “chain” and I feel looked after by its loyalty scheme.

seasoned traveller Nov 12, 14:14

Loyalty programme, price, location – in that order. Early check-in and late check-out are desirable. Wifi and cleanliness are a given; I like plug sockets at the bedside.

John Harper Nov 13, 02:02

A bathroom with a power shower and strong lighting, a comfortable armchair and a decent-sized desk with room to spread things out. Room service staff that respect the room is mine for the moment and who don’t “tidy” my belongings into neat piles – particularly papers.

POST Sang Fung PRIORITY PASS LOUNGE AT T4 IS SUPERB DATE Nov 11, 05:20

We flew on a cheap Air Malta economy flight from London to Malta and were offered an upgrade to business for £125 each. We declined the offer and headed for the Priority Pass lounge, which turned out to be the Skyteam lounge. What an impressive set-up. We had the most divine breakfast, there was a great atmosphere and a lot of space with runway views. The magazines on offer put British Airways to shame. We kept wondering why Skyteam would let Priority Pass members use Skyteam’s premium lounge?

AlanOrton1 Nov 11, 09:32

It is interesting that Skyteam would open up this lounge to Priority Pass. Welcome news, though, as it is a good one. More often than not, of late, major carriers have started to shun Priority Pass. I remember not so long ago Priority Pass could access US Airways and United clubs in the US, but no longer. As a result its coverage in the US is pretty patchy. Hopefully, having signed up Skyteam at Heathrow T4 is a sign of an effort to avail itself of more and better lounges.

Alex_F. Nov 11, 13:01

This year I purchased an unlimited Priority Pass membership. The Heathrow options are excellent – including the Sofitel at T5 as an arrivals lounge. The quality of lounges varies. In Marsa Matruh airport in Egypt, the options are basic but at Zurich you have access to the Swiss lounges and, at Charles de Gaulle, there is access to the Star Alliance lounge.

The focus for Priority Pass, it would appear, is to ensure members have options at each airport they operate into. That includes terminals. So whereas the Aspire Lounge at Heathrow T5 is very basic and the No 1 Lounge at T3 not much better, at T4, where none of these pay-per-use lounges exist, it is forced to link up with a major alliance such as Skyteam to maintain a presence.

For Skyteam it works because it encourages/sways potential Priority Pass holders towards its member airlines. For Priority Pass it works because it is seen to cover all terminals at Heathrow, including T4, and it keeps its members happy – especially given the departure of United from the list.