Alstom (OTC: ALSMY) and Hitachi Rail have today confirmed that the Hitachi-Alstom High Speed (HAH-S) 50/50 joint venture has signed contracts with High Speed Two (HS2) to design, build, and maintain the next generation of very high speed trains for HS2 Phase 1 as part of the £1.97 billion contract, including an initial 12-year train maintenance contract.
The UK’s two leading train manufacturers will deliver Europe’s fastest operational train, capable of operating at maximum speeds of 225mph (360 km/h), significantly reducing journey times for passengers. The fleet will be 100% electric, and be one of the world’s most energy efficient very high speed trains due to the lower train mass per passenger, aerodynamic design, regenerative power and latest energy efficient traction technology.
In a major boost to grow and rebalance the economy, the HAH-S joint venture will manufacture the 54 trains at newly enhanced facilities in County Durham, Derby and Crewe. The award to the British-based firms will protect and create thousands of green jobs and add £157 million GVA to the UK economy for every year of the train building phase.
The new 200m-long, 8-car trains are set to run in Phase 1 of the project between London and Birmingham, and on the existing network, and will dramatically increase capacity and connectivity between towns and cities across the country including Stoke, Crewe, Manchester, Liverpool, Carlisle, Motherwell and Glasgow. They will have a major impact in reducing carbon emissions from transport by encouraging people away from fossil fuelled cars and planes, and onto rail.
British Airways is launching four new domestic routes from Belfast this summer, supporting important business and tourism links between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.
Over the next few months, the airline will start to operate 18 flights a week between George Best Belfast City Airport and Exeter, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford and Newquay airports. The new routes will run alongside existing British Airways services between Belfast and London City and London Heathrow airports.
Customers can book via ba.com from today, with return fares from Belfast to these new destinations starting from £48 each way.
Customers booking with British Airways can do so with absolute confidence, thanks to the airline’s flexible booking policy. Customers are able to exchange their booking for a voucher or move their dates without incurring a change fee if their plans change. British Airways Holidays’ customers also have access to a range of additional flexible booking options, as part of the company’s Customer Promise.
Full schedule:
Route
Flight number
Schedule/departure time
Belfast City (BHD)/ Exeter (EXT) From 16 June 2021
The additional services will be operated using BA CityFlyer’s existing fleet of Embraer 190 aircraft.
For more information about the NI Domestic Aviation Kickstart Scheme visit www.economy-ni.gov.uk
Aer Lingus is operating services between Belfast and Edinburgh, Manchester, and Birmingham. Please check www.aerlingus.com for the latest schedules.
British Airways has introduced a number of measures at the airport and on board to look after the safety and wellbeing of its customers and crew. These include social distancing measures, the wearing of face masks and hand sanitiser stations. Prior to travel customers will also receive details of how they can prepare for their next flight.
The airline is cleaning all key surfaces including seats, screens, seat buckles and tray tables after every flight and each aircraft is completely cleaned from nose to tail every day. The air on all British Airways flights is fully recycled once every two to three minutes through HEPA filters, which remove microscopic bacteria and virus clusters with over 99.9% efficiency, equivalent to hospital operating theatre standards.
Emirates has announced that it will deploy its latest flagship A380 aircraft featuring new premium economy seats and luxurious enhancements across all cabins to London Heathrow.
Starting from 4 January, passengers flying between Dubai and London Heathrow can experience Emirates’ latest A380. Operating as EK003/004, the aircraft is scheduled to depart Dubai daily at 14:30hrs, arriving at 18:20hrs in London Heathrow. The return flight departs London at 20:20hrs and arrives in Dubai the next day at 07:20hrs. All timings local.
Emirates last week unveiled its latest A380 with brand new premium economy seats that offer a generous seat pitch of up to 40 inches, in addition to new economy class seats similar to those installed on its latest Boeing 777-300ER gamechanger aircraft, enhancements to its popular A380 First and Business Class including its signature Shower Spa and Onboard Lounge, and refreshed colours and fittings across all cabins.
Until more Premium Economy seats enter its inventory, the airline intends to offer these as spot upgrades for its valued customers on a discretionary basis. All other signature Emirates A380 First, Business and Economy cabins are available for reservation on emirates.com or via travel agents.
The airline has safely and gradually restored its network over the past months, bringing back signature experiences onboard and on the ground with comprehensive measures in place for the health and safety of its customers and employees.
Emirates currently serves London Heathrow with 5 daily flights of which 4 are operated with an A380. The airline also operates 10 flights a week to Manchester, and daily flights to both Birmingham and Glasgow.
Emirates serves 99 cities across the world, offering travellers convenient access to Dubai and onwards to popular destinations in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Emirates announced plans to operate its popular A380 aircraft four times a day to London Heathrow from 27 November and six times a week to Manchester from 2 December, and to deploy additional A380 services to Moscow from the current two-a-week, to a daily service from 25 November.
Emirates will also increase flights to Birmingham and Glasgow from the current four-a-week to daily services at both cities, from 27 November and 1 December respectively. Emirates’ services to Manchester will increase from the current eight-a-week to 10 flights per week from 1 December, of which six will be served by an Emirates A380 and four with a Boeing 777-300ER. At London Heathrow, Emirates’ current twice daily A380 and once daily Boeing 777 flights will become four daily A380 services from 27 November.
These represent a significant expansion of Emirates services to the UK, following the recent establishment of the UK-UAE air travel corridor which has led to increased demand. Under the air travel corridor, travellers entering the UK from the UAE will not longer be required to quarantine, which is a boon for travellers, and speaks to the UAE’s rigorous and effective pandemic response. In the other direction, UK travellers heading to Dubai can opt to do their COVID-19 PCR tests 96 hours in advance of their flight, or to do the test on arrival in Dubai, adding to the ease of travel.
Emirates’ enhanced services to Moscow will also meet increased demand from travellers seeking to holiday in Dubai, or at popular island destinations within easy reach through Dubai, such as the Maldives.
Dubai is open for international business and leisure visitors. From sun-soaked beaches and heritage activities to world class hospitality and leisure facilities, Dubai offers a variety of world-class experiences for visitors. In 2019, the city welcomed 16.7 million visitors and hosted over hundreds of global meetings and exhibitions, as well as sports and entertainment events. Dubai was one of the world’s first cities to obtain Safe Travels stamp from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) – which endorses Dubai’s comprehensive and effective measures to ensure guest health and safety.
Flexibility and assurance: Emirates’ booking policies offer customers flexibility and confidence to plan their travel. Customers who purchase an Emirates ticket for travel on or before 31 March 2021, can enjoy generous rebooking terms and options, if they have to change their travel plans. Customers have options to change their travel dates or extend their ticket validity for 2 years.
COVID-19 PCR testing: Emirates customers who require a COVID-19 PCR test certificate prior to departure from Dubai, can avail of special rates at clinics across Dubai by simply presenting their ticket or boarding pass. Home or office testing is also available, with results in 48 hours.
Free, global cover for COVID-19 related costs: Customers can now travel with confidence, as Emirates has committed to cover COVID-19 related medical expenses, free of cost, should they be diagnosed with COVID-19 during their travel while they are away from home. This cover is immediately effective for customers flying on Emirates until 31 December 2020, and is valid for 31 days from the moment they fly the first sector of their journey. This means Emirates customers can continue to benefit from the added assurance of this cover, even if they travel onwards to another city after arriving at their Emirates destination. For more details: www.emirates.com/COVID19assistance
Health and safety: Emirates has implemented a comprehensive set of measures at every step of the customer journey to ensure the safety of its customers and employees on the ground and in the air, including the distribution of complimentary hygiene kits containing masks, gloves, hand sanitiser and antibacterial wipes to all customers. For more information on these measures and the services available on each flight, visit: www.emirates.com/yoursafety
Tourist entry requirements: For more information on entry requirements for international visitors to Dubai visit: www.emirates.com/flytoDubai
Growing independent regional airline Via Airlines has abruptly ended all scheduled commercial flights with plans to revert back to its original business model of conducting charter operations. Known by its shortened name, ViaAir, the airline began flying in 1997, specializing in both public and private charter flights catered for corporations, casinos and sports teams.
The RV industry has seen an impressive resurgence in recent years. And while the electric vehicle scene is also booming, options that take both sectors into consideration are still rather thin. Nissan already has an all-electric mini-camper in its arsenal but today we’re getting a look at a new project coming down the line. Leaning on technology from its Leaf electric vehicle, Nissan is leveraging rechargeable energy on its ROAM battery pack, which will be paired with the forthcoming Opus concept camping trailer. Enough on-board energy to keep campers warm and fed for nearly a week makes this one of the more intriguing concepts we’ve seen in a while.
