Sixt rent a car blog » airports

Crazy Planes with a Light Hint of Photoshop

Andy Aspden — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:12:57 +0000

You’d think that we had generally settled on the shape of what a plane should be, much like if you fold one out of paper there’s always one “standard” design that gets created. However, the world of aviation does like to throw up the occasional curveball that leaves us with a slightly puzzled look and makes us wonder how it even stays in the air.

There have plenty of experimental aircraft flights throughout history, with some designs certainly looking as if they have the aerodynamic qualities of St Paul’s Cathedral and yet they somehow manage to take to the air. Thanks to the introduction of fly-by-wire technology onboard computer can now maintain an aerodynamically unstable aircraft in steady flight leading to even more outlandish designs like the F117 Nighthawk (Stealth Fighter to the layman).

Our Commercial Director, Per Voegerl, discovered a run down of some of the craziest aircraft designs, alongside some images that have been light doctored which we thought would be worthy of putting on our blog.

Now the question is, can you decide which is real and which has been ‘shopped?

Admittedly some of these are military aircraft, so you won’t see them landing at Heathrow Airport or Stansted Airport any time soon, but they are definitely hitting the title of “crazy”. If you want to see more, then go to the following link, which inspired this post: http://www.openfreak.com/10-strangest-planes-in-the-world/

Flyers Choosing to Upgrade Again

Andy Aspden — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 07:28:23 +0000

Travellers are starting to gain confidence in the markets again as the number of passengers choosing to buy premium airline tickets increased in June. The economic recovery has been slow but is now beginning to make strides as travellers kept first and business class seats occupied.

The airline industry body, the IATA, has said that demand for premium travel has increased by 16.6% in comparison to last year and with increased numbers and ticket prices this has led to an marked improvement in revenues. Of course this is good news for the industry as a whole, with the economy recovering and the end of the volcanic ash delays and cancellations everything seems to be going in the right direction. The effect has been drastic enough for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to change their forecast for the industry from a $2.8 billion loss to a $2.5 billion profit.

At Sixt we like to reward our more frequent customers, platinum card holders and above, with free upgrades to their cars whenever we have the stock available, rather than charge premium prices.

Airport Tax-Free Discounts are Disappointing

Andy Aspden — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:16:22 +0000

A new report published by online shopping comparison website Kelkoo has discovered that despite the public’s perception that airport stores are considerably cheaper than the high street, the amount saved is not as big as it could be and is in most cases bettered by shopping online. Consumers still believe that they are purchasing goods duty-free, which is free of both VAT and excise duty, in airport, but this was abolished by EU member states in 1999 and has been replaced with tax-free shopping for those travelling within the EU.

Departure lounge retailers, on average, save consumers 6.2% off the high street price for goods. However, they could be saving more by purchasing on the internet, up to a further 6% off the in-airport stores. With over £2.5 billion being spent in “tax-free” stores in airports last year, consumers could have saved a further £156 million off that total.

The mystery shopper exercise used 22 different products, ranging from health and beauty to electrical goods and confectionery, to compare the average high street RRP against 10 airports in Europe and the best price available online. People in the UK have a mix of the best and worst deals available, Heathrow Airport offered the worst value out of the airports tested with only an average discount of 3.1% possible. However, when it came to shopping online, Brits could look forwards to shaving 15.4% off the high street price.

Sale of BAA Airports could be Overturned

Sixt rent a car News — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:53:39 +0000

The potential sale of two of London’s Airports, which had been ordered under a Competition Commission ruling earlier this year, has been blocked after an appeal to the courts showed that the original ruling showed “apparent bias”.

The initial ruling in March of this year ordered BAA to sell off both Gatwick, Stansted and one of either Edinburgh or Glasgow Airport to break up the monopoly that BAA had on the UK’s Airports. BAA, who also own Heathrow, already sold Gatwick Airport earlier this year for over £1.5bn and have put other potential sales on hold until the issue is resolved.

The key point of the appeal was whether the inclusion of Professor Peter Moizer on the commission panel created bias as he was also advising one of the key players in the purchase of Gatwick at the same time. After careful deliberation the Competition Appeal Tribunal concluded “with the greatest reluctance” in favour of BAA.

With Sixt having car hire branches at both Heathrow Airport and Stansted Airport we are keen to keep an eye on any further developments from the case and hope that a decision regarding this is reached quickly.

Baggage restrictions ‘make family holidays difficult’

David Jackson — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:58:06 +0000

London Heathrow Airport

A new study has found that baggage restrictions and getting on flights are among the main problems that families jetting off on holiday experience, users of car hire may be interested to hear.

Parents are not getting enough help when it comes to travelling with their family, the new study has suggested.

Research by The Co-operative Travel found that 39 per cent of those asked thought that baggage restrictions make it difficult to take childcare essentials with them.

Meanwhile, 21 per cent noted they had experienced problems getting onto a flight and 15 per cent stated that moving around the airport was an issue, those jetting off on a break from Heathrow or Stansted may be concerned to learn.

Trevor Davis, director of retail distribution for the researcher, commented: “Holidays should be a time for families to relax and enjoy spending time together, but this survey reveals that many simply aren’t getting the help they need to make the most of their holiday.”

He said that travel companies should “go the extra mile” to ensure that families have a fantastic getaway.

Mums and dads with young children heading on a flight from Heathrow or Stansted Airport to France may want to find Paris car hire so they can drive to all of the city’s major attractions, such as the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.