Car Hire and Travel News

Low cost airline Ryanair has decided to cut 90% of its flights from Manchester after the international airport refused to cut down charges. Ryanair had hoped that Manchester airport would agree to cut flight charges for landing to allow them to keep offering cheap routes.

The 69-year old gentleman from Switzerland preferred to leave his initials rather than his name. He stated that the Hertz car hire company at Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport informed him he would be fully liable for any damage and loss.

According to a Post Office report fuel prices are falling in Europe this summer bringing the cost of car hire down with them.
Petrol rates on the Continent are due to drop by as much as 12%, states the Post Office Travel Services' Motoring organisation, while diesel prices will also plummet by as much as 31%.

Travel industry experts have warned customers about a number of car hire shortages this summer.
Popular summer holiday destinations such as the Spanish cities of Alicante, Malaga and Murcia are among those which will be hit the hardest.
This is because the global financial crisis has prevented many car hire firms from adding a range of new vehicles to their existing fleets.

Though the number of cars manufactured in 2008 fell by 5.7% overall, last Christmas was particularly bad in the UK as many car production plants were shut down.

A shocking new scheme will benefit residents of a capital city who are looking to rent cars.
The pay-as-you-go car club Streetcar have today set up London’s first electric car hire scheme.
The scheme was championed by London mayor Boris Johnson having been put in place by the Transport for London organisation and the Camden council.

With more than 2,500 parking spaces and nine floors, the car hire centre could certainly be described as large. The chief executive of the Dusseldorf airport management company, Christoph Blume, said: 'With our new car hire centre in the direct vicinity of the airport terminal, we are continuing to extend the range of customer services for our passengers at what is the third largest airport in Germany.

The British Lions rugby team is currently touring South Africa while the Confederations Cup football tournament is only two weeks away.
These two major sporting occasions could push up car hire in South Africa by as much as 10 per cent according to industry experts.

The survey was based on hiring a Renault Clio with four doors and air conditioning in the first week of August. It found that while cheap car hire destinations were Turkey, Croatia and Bulgaria, the most expensive locations included Greece Car Hire, the Balearic Islands, Portugal and Spain.

Europcar is offering free delivery and collection for van and car hire with its new ‘weDeliver’ service.

The service allows customers to phone the company and get a car delivered to their house within two hours guaranteed.

The consumer watchdog for the car hire industry Eurotest has just published a damning report of Mediterranean car hire.
Eurotest is part of a consortium which includes the Automobile Association (AA) and it recently ran a check on more than 50 car rental outlets in various Mediterranean holiday resorts.

Two major car manufacturers are yet to go ahead with the United Kingdom car scrappage scheme due to reservations about some details.

Under the car scrappage scheme proposed by the government, cars that are older than 10 years can be scrapped in return for a £2,000 discount on a new model. The government will subsidise half of this £2,000 sum while the car companies will make up the other £1,000.

Drivers should avoid paying large excess fees for their car hire in the view of an expert.
The excess is what you are liable to pay if you have an accident. It is therefore worth noting when booking car hire what the excess is and whether you get a vehicle theft waiver and a collision damage waiver.

Car rental company Europcar is doing its bit for the environment by detailing the vehicle CO2 emissions on rental invoices.
Europcar is a leading European car rental company which handled more than 10 million contracts in 2008.

Increasing levels of hire car theft have meant that travellers driving between the United Arab Emirates and Oman must now seek written permission.
A No Objections Certificate (NOC) is required to cross the borders of these Middle Eastern countries. Drivers who do not have them could be turned back by police.

Holiday makers who want to use car hire this summer should book well in advance as there will a shortage of vehicles.

Over the Easter holidays car hire options dried up in the holiday hotspots of Malaga and Alicante.
Among the companies experiencing difficulties were Travelsupermarket, which deals with 40 brokers and suppliers, yet was unable to find some customers cars in those locations.

Alamo Rent a Car and National Car Rental are to make 171 redundancies in the New York area of West 77th Street at the beginning of August.

Car hire company Avis is to provide 15,000 free car rentals to small and medium sized companies doing business abroad as part of a new campaign to stimulate trade.
The Fair Deal for Small Firms campaign is being run by the Daily Mail newspaper in Britain.

Dollar Rent a Car and Thrifty Car Rental are the latest large car rental companies to report reduced profits due to the economic downturn.
On Tuesday the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. announced that their first quarter rental revenue was down about 9% compared to their 2008 figures. Dollar Thrifty shares fell fives cents, to close at $1.80 last week.

A partnership has been struck up between low cost airline Ryanair and car rental firm Hertz.

The deal, which is effective from now until 2014, means that Ryanair passengers can access good Hertz car rental bargains with each flight.

The number of Ryanair passengers who have gone on to rent Hertz vehicles over the last four years has increased by 70% according to a Ryanair spokesman.

A TRAVELLER complained after her car rental reservation was not honoured by a major car company.
Kristin Luna from San Francisco was told that hiring a Dollar Rent a Car vehicle in Texas would cost $37 per day.
But when she arrived to collect her car a recent hurricane meant that none of the vehicles were in stock.

Holiday booking company Expedia has teamed up with car rental company Avis to offer improved travel deals.
The ‘White Label Deal’ collaboration will cover 12 European countries and allow hotel bookings to go hand in hand with bargain car hire. The move is part of Avis’ ambition to give their customers better value and more choice.

HOLIDAY makers have had to cancel their trips to Hawaii because the islands are running out of rental cars.

The large rental companies National Car Rental, Alamo Rent a Car and Avis Rent a Car have sold out of vehicles on Maui and Hertz’s vehicles are costing $500 for a week’s rental.

Car rental giant Hertz has taken over a French design company in an effort to improve their technology systems.

Eileo S.A, a car sharing technology leader based in Paris since 2002, has been acquired by Hertz Global Holdings Inc. The financial terms of the take over have not been announced.

The credit crisis is forcing car hire companies to come up with creative marketing ideas if they want to remain in business.
Last week the global economic meltdown created more casualties when a British car hire firm was forced to lay off more staff.

A major car and van hire company is going into administration and hundreds of jobs are now at risk.
The Leeds based UK car hire company 1car1 is the latest firm to suffer from the global market meltdown.
So far 200 staff have been made redundant and there could be more job losses among the 800 people employed by 1car1 across Britain, Scotland and Wales at almost 90 different car hire locations.

The Easter holidays are proving to be the light at the end of the tunnel for many Europeans who are fed up with cold weather and the constant media attention on the recession.
Rhino Car Hire is already reporting a rise of 20% in car rentals for the Easter period between April 17 - April 21.

An economic group in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has called for an end to the proliferation of unauthorised car rental companies. The news came in a Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) meeting during which it was argued that police need to take more action against illegal car hire firms.

The car hire company Avis Europe is restructuring its operation. A 10% increase in prices starting next month is to be combined with salary freezes for its employees as well as some job cuts. Pascal Bazin, chief executive for Avis Europe, stated: “This is the first time our prices have risen for the past six or seven years.

The incident happened in the Marbella hills of Southern Spain when the male driver, who is in his sixties, accidentally accelerated around a corner instead of braking.

Papua New Guinea’s internal security minister Sani Rambi, who owns the Mountain Hire Cars company, is under investigation after being paid a million US dollars by Papua New Guinea’s police department.

London will lead the way in environmentally friendly transport if Mayor Boris Johnson gets his way, and electric cars will be available for hire which can be picked up and dropped off at various areas of England’s capital city.

Car hire is reportedly on the increase in England. As less people travel due to the recession, car hire for UK based holidays is on the up.

Dream conditions for skiing this winter have led to an increase in car hire.
Weather over the Alps right now, where the world ski championships are being held in Val d’Isere, is absolutely perfect with tonnes of fresh powder making it a delight for skiers and snow boarders.

The economic down turn could be good for the car hire business according to a major rental company.

The accident happened on New Zealand’s South Island last week and shortly afterwards the grieving family were sent a bill by car hire company New Zealand Car Rental Specialists.

More than 4,000 jobs will be axed by car rental company Hertz as it seeks to combat the world wide economic crisis.

Cyprus seems to be surviving the global financial crisis according to new figures which show more passengers using the island’s airports than ever before.

An amusing campaign by atheists to get across the message that god does not exist has been met with controversy.

A top police chief who could have been embarrassed when he found that his wife was running a car rental firm illegally was relieved to learn that no action has been taken against her.

Cyprus Airways (CY) has called off its flights to Greece as well as Crete and Rhodes due to a 24 hour strike by Greek air traffic controllers.

The incident happened in the early hours of Monday, December 8, at around 3am when 50 activists occupied an area near the runway of the airport.

AS the days get darker and the temperatures begin to drop, it can only mean one thing – the hunting season is upon us.

A major moment in the history of Cyprus aviation happened over the weekend with the opening of the new Paphos airport terminal.

A NEW gateway to the east has now opened with a third Emirates terminal which will seek to double passenger capacity at Dubai airport.

Children starting secondary schools in England this week will be the first to be legally required to stay in education until they are 17.  The rise in the age at which pupils can end their studies is just one of several changes taking effect in English schools this term.

TOURIST ARRIVALS from the UK have always amounted to over half of the total visitors to the island and this market has for a long time been the mainstay of the Cyprus Tourist industry.   The British market may have reached saturation point now and has dipped considerably over the last five years but it still managed to account for 55% of tourists last year. To a degree it has held it's own this year because many people will have booked their holidays before global prices began to spiral out of control.

Orlando is home to what is arguably the greatest selection of theme and adventure parks on the planet. Globally renowned venues such as Disney Land, SeaWorld and Universal make Orlando the premier family holiday destination in the world.
Fans of the TV show The Simpsons will be pleased to hear that a brand new ride has been opened at Universal in the World Expo section. The ride is based upon the fictitious theme park operated by the character Krusty the Clown, named Krustyland on the show.

A comparison chart detailing the approximate petrol prices around the World

Petrol prices in Cyprus are set to fall in reaction to the falls on the international market.