Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 will open to the world’s passengers on Thursday 27 March 2008 – exactly one year from today. Airport operator BAA and British Airways are today announcing the opening date for Terminal 5 (T5), which will become a new home for British Airways, serve around 30 million passengers a year and be a stunning new gateway to the UK.

With 366 days to go (leap year in 2008), over 90% of construction-related work is complete and the project remains on time and on budget.

An intensive six-month period of proving trials will begin in September this year, when over 16,000 people will be recruited to act as passengers and thoroughly test every aspect of the building including car parking, check-in, baggage systems, IT systems and security. [Read more…]

Raffles Hotels & Resorts announced that it will manage a 49-villa luxury resort, Raffles Resort Konottaa, its first venture in the Maldives.

The resort, owned and developed by Platinum Capital Holdings Pvt Ltd, is located at the pristine and the newly-developed Gaafu Alifu atoll, in the southern part of the Maldives.

Scheduled to open in Spring 2008, Raffles Resort Konottaa features 49 duplex villas, all with individual plunge pools. The duplex villas, of which 22 are over-the-water villas, are the first of its kind in Maldives. The water villas, which have an additional Jacuzzi pool, are set in secluded surroundings and enjoy unobstructed spectacular ocean views. [Read more…]

Accor announced today its 300th hotel in the Asia Pacific region with the launch of the Grand Mercure Xidan Beijing in China.

The re-branding of Grand Mercure Xidan Beijing follows a record 2006, during which the group’s Asia Pacific hotel network grew by an impressive 21%, adding 53 hotels in 12 countries. Main countries for growth were China, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia.

The expansion included significant new hotel openings covering all seven hotel brands that Accor operates in the region: Sofitel, Grand Mercure, Novotel, Mercure, All Seasons, Ibis and Formule 1. [Read more…]

The Rezidor Hotel Group has opened the first Park Inn hotel in Benelux. Today, the Park Inn Liège Hotel opens its doors at the new passenger terminal of Liège Airport in Belgium. With 100 rooms, this new mid market property increases the total number of new Rezidor-rooms opened in 2007 to 2,500. Between 2007 and 2009, Rezidor will add 20,000 rooms to its portfolio.

“Park Inn is our fastest growing brand, and we are glad to launch it in Belgium”, comments Kurt Ritter, President & CEO of the Rezidor Hotel Group. “Park Inn offers a young, dynamic and fresh hotel experience and is the perfect brand for an airport location. With the new Park Inn Liège, we also strengthen our position as one of the leading airport hotel operators in Europe.” [Read more…]

Air Canada introduced subscription flight passes providing unlimited air travel for a flat monthly rate. To celebrate the introduction of its Unlimited ‘Flight Pass to Canada,’ Air Canada is offering a special introductory price until May 7, 2007 starting as low as only US$1,657 per month to fly as much as you want over a choice of three or six month periods.

In addition, Air Canada is offering automatic top tier Elite frequent flyer status to its customers who purchase a six-month Unlimited ‘Flight Pass to Canada’ subscription at the Latitude fare level starting at $2,360 per month with additional flexibility and benefits. By pre-purchasing air travel, Flight Pass holders benefit from predictable fixed monthly payments and the convenience to manage their bookings online. Moreover, pass prices include airport fees, charges and taxes. [Read more…]

Sheraton and St. Regis Brands to Debut on COTAI Strip of Macau in 2009

Starwood Hotels & Resorts announced that it has reached an agreement with Las Vegas Sands Corporation to develop two hotels on the COTAI Strip development in Macau: The Sheraton Macau Hotel and The St. Regis Hotel & Residences, Macau. The 4,000-room Sheraton Macau Hotel is expected to open in 2008 and the 460-room St. Regis Hotel and over 400 St. Regis Residences will open in 2009. The Sheraton hotel will be the largest hotel to be built on the strip, as well as Starwood’s largest hotel globally.

The two-hotel project is poised to provide a major presence for Starwood in Macau, as well as being an integral part of a new flagship development in the new “Las Vegas of Asia.” The COTAI Strip is a master planned development of resort casino properties on COTAI, an area of reclaimed land between the islands of Taipa and Coloane in Macau. [Read more…]

Paris Airports is to lay the foundation stone of the new terminal 2G (T2G) at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport which will handle flights operated by Air France’s three regional subsidiaries, Brit Air, City Jet and Régional, starting in the autumn of 2008.

“This new complex conforming to High Environmental Quality (HEQ) standards will provide passengers with easy access to a 1,800 sq. m boarding lounge. A large area will be dedicated to shops and services », stated Pierre Graff, Chairman and CEO of Aéroports de Paris. [Read more…]

Qatar Airways announced that Lagos will be the airline’s second route launch of 2007 with scheduled flights to Nigeria’s commercial and business capital beginning on March 1st, 2007.

Following the success of Qatar Airways’ new services to the east African city of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania at the beginning of January, the airline is preparing for further expansion on the African continent.

Qatar Airways will operate three flights a week between its hub in Doha, capital of the State of Qatar, and Lagos using the airline’s state-of-the-art Airbus A330 aircraft, in a two-class configuration of Business and Economy. [Read more…]

On June 2nd 2007 Iberia Airlines will start flying from the U.S. capital to Madrid five times per week with perfect connections to all Spanish cities. It will be the only airline offering non-stop flights between Washington, D.C. and Spain. On May 6th 2007 the Spanish airline will begin flights from Boston to Spain as well.

On June 2nd Iberia will launch a new service connecting Washington, D.C. and Madrid, Spain, becoming the sole airline to offer non-stop flights between the two capital cities. [Read more…]

British Airports Authority (BAA) have unveiled their plans to re-develop Heathrow’s Terminal 3. The plans are part of BAA’s investment programme to transform Heathrow Airport’s central terminal area.

The improvements to Heathrow (LHR) Terminal 3 will include a new, 40m deep pedestrian plaza with a subway connection to the existing subway. Reducing the amount of traffic congestion is high on BAA’s improvements agenda. A new 4 lane drop-off forecourt i included in the modernisation, allowing for 40% additional capacity. BAA’s CEO Tony Douglas has said that “the changes will significantly improve our passengers’ experience of Terminal 3.” [Read more…]