Riad Accommodation Blog

Despite worries concerning the rise in Air Passenger Duty (APD) on flights to the Caribbean, British Airways will offer flights to Puerto Rico to mark the start of a slew of new summer services from the airline.

BA will now operate increased flights to the Caribbean, including twice-weekly Gatwick services to San Juan and Puerto Rico. In addition, the airline will also operate an additional two flights per week to Barbados, increased flights to Tampa and an additional flight per week to Cancun in Mexico.
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British Airways started new flights to Marrakech from London Gatwick on March 27, 2011 in direct competition with low cost carriers.

The airline announced its new flights to Marrakech last November at the World Travel Market at ExCel in London.

« Marrakech adds another fabulous destination to our leisure network at Gatwick and I am confident it will be a huge success. It’s a great starting point to explore Morocco; from trekking in the Atlas Mountains to exploring its amazing deserts and beaches and soaking up the atmosphere of the many medinas. »

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London Luton airport proved an increasingly popular option among travellers catching flights in January this year.

Figures show that passenger traffic increased by 9.4% compared to the same month in 2010 – with an extra 50,000 people flying from the base.

Glyn Jones, Luton’s managing director, said the growth was fuelled by additional capacity on the airport’s 95 existing routes.

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The airline will offer direct flights to Casablanca four times a week with return flights from £199 and direct flights to Marrakech three times a week from April 2 with prices from £149.

There will also be daily Norway flights from April 1 with return fares to both destinations from £99.

But it’s not all good news. Blaming the increase in domestic passenger charges of more than 50 per cent by Heathrow’s owners, BAA, the airline will suspend its seven daily flights to Glasgow from March 27.

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British Midland International announced it will be ending its daily flights between London and Glasgow from March 27^th, but it will be using the spare aircraft to operate new routes to Morocco and Norway.

From April, Bmi will launch new routes to Marrakech, Casablanca, Bergen and Stavanger. On April 1^st, the carrier will start daily flights to Bergen and Stavanger in Norway, plus three times weekly flights to Marrakech. Four times weekly flights from London Heathrow to Casablanca will commence on April 2^nd. Bmi aircraft will also be used to operate codeshare services with Lufthansa from Birmingham and Manchester to Frankfurt.

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Marrakech has grabbed the top spot on a list of must-visit destinations for 2011.

The list, British Airways’ 10 best travel tips for 2011, puts the Moroccan city as the top holiday destination, followed by San Diego in southern California and New York.

Other destinations included in BA’s top travel tips for 2011 are St Kitts & Nevis islands, Puerto Rico, Maldives, Japan, Las Vegas, Mauritius and St Lucia.

British Airways is scheduled to begin its services to Marrakech on March 28.

Willie Walsh, chief executive, BA, said: « The response we’ve had to the launch of routes like the Maldives, Las Vegas and Marrakech has been incredible.

« We’ve seen destinations in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean becoming even more popular with leisure travellers looking for sun and relaxation. Those after 24-hour cities are heading towards New York, Las Vegas and Japan.

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For all those who are undecided, British Airways has put its mind to it and come out with 10 possible locations for 2011.

While destinations in the US, Caribbean and the Indian Ocean all feature heavily in the list, the top honour goes to Marrakech.

The top 10 destinations according to the airline are:

• Marrakech, Morocco

Known as the « Red City », Marrakech also provides quick access to the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara desert, offering one of the most unique landscapes in the region.

It hosts the annual Almond Blossom Festival which takes place in the second week of February in the Tafraout Valley area. A souk springs up at the same time, replete with its dancers, musicians and storytellers.

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Snow and freezing temperatures continued to cause holiday travel chaos Monday for road, rail and air passengers in Britain and much of Europe after a weekend of disruption.

Airlines said that Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, was the worst hit by the poor weather – with only a limited number of flights to arrive and depart. Hundreds of passengers camped overnight in terminal buildings after services were cancelled or delayed.

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London – British group ADS, specializing in aerospace, defense and security and Moroccan industrial Aerospace group (GIMAS) signed in London a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen bilateral cooperation relations.

Signed in the presence of Morocco‘s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Chrifa Lalla Joumala Alaoui and British ambassador to Morocco, Tim Morris, the MoU provides for establishing joint initiatives between the two groups and strengthening exchanges in this strategic area.

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