The news that Britain’s third largest package holiday company has collapsed has left thousands of people stranded and hundreds facing the prospect of losing their jobs. XL has blamed the economic downturn and increasing fuel costs on its inability to continue trading. After XL was put into administration, all of its planes were grounded with immediate effect leaving thousands of holidaymakers unsure as to how they are going to get home. Tour operators and airlines, such as bmi, are helping those stranded by making their planes available to collect passengers. Considering that XL was such a big company, it’s scary to think that something like could happen!
Archive for September, 2008
Thousands stranded after collapse of XL
September 15th, 2008The end of paper boarding passes?
September 6th, 2008Air France is currently trialling new boarding passes on mobile phones which don’t leave a paper trail. The trial is taking place on flights between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam. Passengers only need personal identification as a message containing a secure barcode is sent your mobile phone which is then scanned at the boarding gate. The message contains all the normal information shown on a boarding pass but just in an electronic form. According to Patrick Roux, vice-president of marketing for Air France: “This is the first time customers will be able to travel to and from two countries with an electronic boarding pass”. Although it sounds like a good idea, what happens if the screen of your phone is really scratched and can’t be scanned?
