easyJet has announced its new flight schedules and destinations for the rest of this year and for Spring 2015. “People can now book their flights for Easter and Spring,†a spokesperson told Le News yesterday.
Increased flights from Geneva to Barcelona (five times a day), Bordeaux and Porto (three times a day) and Brindisi (five times a week) can now be booked by those seeking a Spring break.
And keen to stay ahead of its competition, the low-cost airline has continued to add to its portfolio of destinations. Those planned for the Autumn from Geneva include Hamburg and Vienna with flights four times per week; and (as it announced in May) Reykjavik with two flights per week. For deprived sun-lovers, Lanzarote in the Canaries can soon be reached from Basle twice a week.
Four Valleys multi-resort ski package to be scrapped
Skiers in the Four Valleys can expect a spectacular jump in costs next season
VERBIER Skiers looking forward to the 2014/15 ski season will be disappointed to learn that the one-ticket, multi-resort ski package usually offered in the Four Valleys Ski Area is to be scrapped. Because lift operators in these resorts, including Verbier and Nendaz, could not agree on how to share the revenue fairly. Skiers will have to buy one ticket per resort.
SWISS – Flying up or down quality-wise?
Swiss International Airlines, which was founded in 2002 following the collapse of Swissair, dislikes – for legal reasons – being referred to by the same name as its predecessor. Yet Swiss, a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group, still talks about having 80+ years’ experience, cashing in on the quality reputation that Swissair once enjoyed. Heavily criticized for spending over CHF 4 million on an un-inspiring “new†logo in 2002, Swiss began re-painting its tail fins in 2011 to look remarkably like Swissair.
Now profitable and flying over 16 million passengers a year, Swiss still has far too go (despite its clever “we didn’t get the poor service memo†adverts) before it can even remotely re-assert Swissair’s past prestige. This includes providing better service than most US airlines (save for Southwestern) whose no-frill economy services are of little comparison to prestige European and Far-East carriers. Swiss still offers free breakfast or lunch on most European flights – and chocolate. The American carriers want you to pay for everything from bags to drinks with some imposing unwanted ads on overhead TV screens.
However, Swiss is in danger of going “cheapâ€. It recently introduced a low-budget rate for travel with hand luggage only, a restriction not immediately clear on its website. To put a bag in the hold, you have to upgrade your ticket, which can make it more expensive than buying a regular ticket in the first place. If Swiss is serious about quality, it might focus more on being different – and better – rather than competing with Ryanair’s irritating strategy of separate item pricing.
Edward Girardet
Confused by hotel stars?
GENEVA Whether travelling for business or pleasure, trying to figure out Europe’s hotel star category system (often confused with the stringent Michelin restaurant stars) can leave many scratching their heads in confusion.
Switzerland was the first to institute a non-government form of hotel classification in 1979; this greatly influenced similar systems in Austria and Germany. In 2010, the European Hotelstars Union was created to harmonize the various rating guides. It currently has 15 members, including Switzerland – but not France.
Stars are normally awarded in ascending order depending on room size, view, noise and location. Critics say the system penalizes smaller, older hotels that may lack a critical element such as an elevator – perhaps one reason France has not joined Hotelstars.
According to Hotelstars, every room in a one-star hotel must have a private bathroom, TV and public access to a telephone. In France, the focus is on room size (more than 9m2, excluding bathroom), while lift access is only required for higher floors.
At the upper end, a “superior†rating for a four-star hotel is for amenities such as a sauna or gym. These are not mentioned in the five-star rating, but probably taken for granted. The main perk of a five-star hotel continues to be its appearance. On this the French go one better, having introduced, in 2012, a “Palace†category within its five-star rating for “buildings of prestigeâ€. If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.
Hotel star criteria
European Hotelstars ratings:
* Private bathroom, TV, breakfast, table, chair, soap, telephone access
*** Bilingual staff, drinks available in room, internet access, heater in bathroom, hair dryer
***** Multilingual staff, 24-hour room service, PC/internet in room, safe, valet parking, minibar, ironing service, personal care products, flowers or gift in room.
French government ratings:
* Room at least 9m2, continental breakfast, public or private bathroom
*** Room at least 13.5m2 including private bathroom, internet access, separate hotel salon
***** Room at least 24m2, A/C, room service, TV with international channels, plus a variety of extras such as minibar, bathrobes and safe
