UK eases visa rules in Eastern Europe

Croatia was recently taken off the UK's visa nationals list after six years, meaning that Croatian visitors wanting to stay in the country for less than six months for study, business or tourism purposes no longer have to apply for a visa. Transit visas for Croatian nationals have also been abolished, although those wanting to stay for more than six months will still have to apply for a visa. As with all other non-EU citizens, Croatian visitors will be subject to immigration control on entering the UK.

Visa applicants from Poland and Azerbaijan can now also use the Internet to process their information, thanks to the expansion of the visa4UK online system into these countries. Applicants will no longer have to visit the embassy in person, unless an interview is required, while any interviews will be arranged by guaranteed appointment. It is hoped that the new system will cut down on waiting times and wasted journeys for those needing to apply for UK visas in these countries.

In an effort to speed up the immigration process for all arrivals into the country, the UK government has also expanded its iris recognition immigration system test at London's Heathrow Airport. The system is currently being tested as part of the Home Office's e-Borders programme whereby individuals signed up to the scheme can look into a camera and if the system recognises them, walk into the UK. Only those who have had their details authenticated by immigration officers are currently able to use the scheme at Heathrow terminals one, two and four.

Business class airline OzJet has failed to take off successfully and after three months, domestic services in Australia have been cancelled. The airline was hoping to find a niche high-end market for passenger travel between Melbourne and Sydney.

"Unfortunately, for whatever reasons, we have not had the support we needed to operate in that environment against big, established carriers," said Chairperson of the airline, Paul Stoddart. "It's very disappointing, particularly for those people who had started travelling regularly with us. Sad to say, there have not been enough of those regular customers."

Meanwhile, established Australian carrier, Qantas, has said it may start a long-haul "value-based airline" by the end of the year, aiming for the opposite end of the price spectrum. It already operates domestic low-cost carrier, Jetstar, and Jetstar Asia, in collaboration with Singaporean business interests. The long-haul low-cost carrier would be expected to fly under the Jetstar branding too.

Delta Airlines has announced that it will increase flights to JFK Airport in New York this summer in order to connect other areas of North America with European destinations via JFK. In all, there will be an extra 46 daily flights to the airport from 17 cities between June and September.

The carrier filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2005 and is attempting to raise US$3 billion in cost savings and revenue increases in order to survive. It has recently been concentrating on increasing its international routes and is investing $10 million in renovations to its Terminal two and three facilities at JFK Airport, which is a major hub.

Delta's Chief Executive, James Whitehurst, said, "We're building a hub here. We're trying to do a much better job offering services to our international and domestic markets."

The new services to JFK Airport will be from Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Cleveland, Detroit, Norfolk, Richmond, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Hartford, Providence, Washington, DC, San Diego, Las Vegas and Montreal.

German air carrier Lufthansa is to expand its range of low-cost short haul flights after initial routes proved more successful than expected. Passenger numbers were up by 40 per cent in Hamburg and 15 per cent in Dusseldorf after the carrier introduced European return flights from these cities at just e99 (US$119). Meanwhile, Air Berlin plans to float on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange to fund further expansion.

China is planning to build a second international airport in Beijing within the next five years in order to help it cope with the soaring demand for air travel in the country. Beijing's existing airport currently handles 41 million passengers each year and is currently in the middle of expansion work to build a new terminal and third runway in time for the Olympic Games in 2008.

A study by Halifax Travel Insurance in the UK has shown that the purchasing power - value of the pound when exchanged for local currency - of British holidaymakers in Europe has decreased by 16 per cent in four years. This means that visitors to the World Cup in Germany will have to take 13 per cent more spending money this year than on a comparable holiday in 2002.

According to Airbus Marketing Chief, John Leahy, the airliner market could be facing a slump of more than 50 per cent this year to about 800 plane orders for Airbus and rival Boeing, from 2,057 orders in 2005. Leahy also announced that a number of new products were under consideration.

The European Commission has approved an emergency grant of e25 million (US$30 million) from the Italian government for Volare Airlines, which is in administration and due to be sold.

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways posted a 38 per cent drop in second half earnings last year, as high fuel prices outweighed robust passenger growth. Other carriers in the region have also seen earnings decline, with Singapore Airlines posting a 15 per cent drop in quarterly earnings and Qantas reporting a decrease in the first half profit of 10 per cent.

The founders of low-cost airline Ryanair have teamed up with one of Mexico's largest bus companies to launch a new no-frills carrier to offer routes between Mexico and the USA. The airline will be called AeroBus and expects to carry 1.5 million passengers during its first year of operation.

Malaysia Airlines has announced a rescue plan that will see capacity increase on routes to South Australia, while other Australian services could face closure. According to the airline, only three of its 10 Australian routes were profitable and it has estimated that it needs to save more than AUS$1.4 billion (US$1 billion) to solve its current cash crisis.