The Business Travel Show in London.The Business Travel Show in London The big news and talking point at this year's Business Travel Show at Olympia, and parallel Travel Technology Exhibition last week were not the shows themselves, but that they are both to relocate to Earls Court Two in 2007. The new venue has many advantages over what is essentially a left over relic from the Victorian age Noun 1. Victorian age - a period in British history during the reign of Queen Victoria in the 19th century; her character and moral standards restored the prestige of the British monarchy but gave the era a prudish reputation . Earls Court itself dates from 1937 but the extension Earls Court Two was only opened (by Princess Diana Noun 1. Princess Diana - English aristocrat who was the first wife of Prince Charles; her death in an automobile accident in Paris produced intense national mourning (1961-1997) Diana, Lady Diana Frances Spencer, Princess of Wales ) in 1991 and has benefited from recent investment. It offers a much larger floor space area than Olympia, has no restrictive pillars and is essentially more attractive giving the organizers far greater scope with what is on offer. Best of all it has very good public transport connections via the Underground. Heathrow is just under 40 minutes via the Piccadilly Line The Piccadilly Line is a line of the London Underground, coloured blue on the Tube map. It is the third busiest line on the Underground. It is mainly a deep-level line running from the north to the west of London via Zone 1, with significant surface running sections in its outer and in the other direction Westminster but ten minutes. Perhaps we might see some key politicians next year, after all business travel is a vital part of the economic equation? Key executives from organizers Centaur centaur (sĕn`tôr), in Greek mythology, creature, half man and half horse. The centaurs were fathered by Ixion or by Centaurus, who was Ixion's son. were seen scurrying scur·ry intr.v. scur·ried, scur·ry·ing, scur·ries 1. To go with light running steps; scamper. 2. To flurry or swirl about. n. pl. scur·ries 1. The act of scurrying. around the nooks and crannies Noun 1. nooks and crannies - something remote; "he explored every nook and cranny of science" nook and cranny detail, item, point - an isolated fact that is considered separately from the whole; "several of the details are similar"; "a point of information" of Olympia signing up this year's exhibitors for 2007 and meeting with success. Whilst actual figures are hard to come by attendance is thought to be up by 10%, very noticeable on the opening morning. Real news was scarce at Olympia, only Virgin Rail ready to make genuine noises and most keen to show how the trains were at last hitting back at the airlines when it comes to the business traveler needing to get to and from London and the northwest. They had the figures to prove that the air carriers are losing out and were promoting a scheme to give away thousands of first class tickets to airline passengers. Throughout February and March air travelers between London and the Manchester area can swap their used airline boarding cards for a free return train journey between the two cities to sample the total convenience and comfort of intercity train travel. Free first class return tickets will be available for use until August in both directions between Euston and 11 Northwest destinations. You could call the show the battle of the flat beds, although British Airways, who really started the revolution some years back are not yet ready to unveil their new product and had a dull and frankly disappointing stand, thought by one wag to be the 2005 effort brought out of storage! Virgin Airways stole the show with a display which seemed bigger, brighter and airier with plenty of the genuine samples for people to try out. Just around the corner Air New Zealand Parameter not given Error... ''Template needs its first parameter as beg[in], mid[dle], or end. Parameter not given Error... has exactly the same product, Virgin kind enough to license the kiwi carrier with its own design. The airlines only compete on London - Los Angeles and there is enough business to go around to keep everyone happy. Also showing the latest in their luxury products were Air China, Emirates, Eos, Etihad, Gulf, Icelandair, Jet Airways of India, Kenya Airways, Qantas (upstairs once again - it will be a level playing field See net neutrality. at Earls Court Two), Royal Brunei, SAA (Systems Application Architecture) A set of interfaces designed to cross all IBM platforms from PC to mainframe. Introduced by IBM in 1987, SAA includes the Common User Access (CUA), the Common Programming Interface for Communications (CPI-C) and Common Communications and Turkish Airlines. Strange that nobody bothers to show their economy packages. The Skyteam carriers clubbed together for a single stand, one way of reaching out to the business travel buyer. Carlson Wagonlit Travel Commercial Director Steve Savage presented ScotAirways Merlyn Suckling suckling In mammals, the drawing of milk into the mouth from the nipple of a mammary gland. In human beings, it is referred to as nursing or breast-feeding. The word also denotes an animal that has not yet been weaned—that is, whose access to milk has not yet been with a grand birthday cake during the show. The privately owned carrier started out at Ipswich (grass) Airport, now a housing estate, 20 years ago. Harry Weeks Travel & Leisure Group won the Business Travel Show 'Innovation Award' for its online rail booking tool, Evolvi. Whilst the two major budget airlines out of the UK chose to use their promotional money elsewhere most of the other players in this market are very aware of how important business travel. Air Berlin, Cyprus Airways, Eastern, FlyBe, Luxair, Scot Airways, SN Brussells and VLM 1. (architecture) VLM - Very Large Memory. 2. (networking) VLM - Virtual Loadable Module. sales representatives were hosting on their stands. The only airport at the show, once again, was London City, promoting the new rail link (which according to Transport for London Not to be confused with Transport in London. Transport For London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system throughout Greater London in England. takes 45 minutes from Earls Court, very little longer than Heathrow). Success breeds success. One important announcement at Olympia was Millennium Hotels' confirmation that work has began on an extension of its property at Reading, part of the Madejski Stadium complex. It is expected to be completed at the end of March next year taking the property's size up from 140 to 200 rooms. Let us hope that Reading FC can hold its place in the Premier League. The additional capacity will be needed. In some ways the Travel Technology Show was even busier than the Business Travel area. Perhaps it was the hall which wrapped itself around a hidden balcony. In any event over 100 companies took part including Amadeus, Anite Travel Systems, Comtec, Dolphin Dynamics, Mobycards, Opatia, Netizen, SITA, Telme, Travel Technology Systems, Web Marketplace Solutions and Worldspan. http://www.traveltechnologyshow.com M. Ginsberg, ABTN ABTN Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas (Brazilian Association of Technical Norms) |
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