The business of travelling for work
What's left behind
If you wonder what everyone is doing when they stay in a Travelodge, this research might enlighten you. So far this year, 7,000 copies of Fifty Shades of Grey have been discarded in bedrooms, followed by the other two volumes in the trilogy.
Other books making the “Books Left Behind” list includes Stieg Larsson The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy and our own Marian Keyes’s The Brightest Star in the Sky. Business travellers were probably responsible for leaving behind Steve Jobs, the Exclusive Biography.
Size doesn't matter
Finding a room for a small meeting in Dublin just became easier with Bewleys Hotels. Meetings for up to 10 people will cost €100 per day and include wifi, mineral water, AV and smart boards or LCD projector and screen. There are four Bewleys hotels in Dublin. Manchester Airport Bewleys will cost from £85 per day and Leeds City Centre from £99 per day. Book online on BewleysHotels.com/meetings.
European airlines gather in Dublin
Welcome to Dublin to the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) for the general assembly 2012. The ERA, which represents 60 intra-European carriers, will be meeting in the Convention Centre over the next three days to discuss many issues of vital importance for the provision of air transport links. Issues will include the investment in infrastructure and fleet, mitigating environmental damage and ensuring fair competition.
Christoph Mueller, the chief executive of Aer Lingus, will give the keynote address. The area covered by ERA members stretches from Greenland to Cape Verde, off Africa, and east as far as Novosibirsk in Russia, with 462 destinations in 61 European countries.
Cuts hit US customs
Cutbacks at Shannon Airport by the US Customs and Border Patrol mean the second daily British Airways business class-only service from London City Airport will not be able to use the US pre-clearance facilities. The business class-only services from London city were introduced three years ago and use A318s configured for 32 passengers. The flights carry the original Concorde designators, BA001 – BA004.
Wifi for all seasons
Four Seasons hotels will have free in-car wifi in all of its house cars and contracted limousine and chauffeur services. Already in place in many Four Season properties, including Hotel Pudong, Shanghai, the service will be available at all locations by October 1st. Some cars will also be equipped with iPads offering hotel information, and multi-adaptor device chargers.
jscales@irishtimes.com