Dubai hotel chain goes international

Jumeirah International, the Dubai-based luxury hospitality group behind the Jumeirah Beach and the Burj Al Arab hotels, has announced plans for rapid worldwide expansion focusing on destinations served by Emirates Airlines.
Bill Walshe, Jumeirah's chief sales and marketing officer, said that over the next five years the group was looking to open 40 new hotels in a mixture of resort and city locations.

"We will start by targeting capital locations, most likely ones served by Emirates Airlines, as well as cities necessary to become a credible world force, such as New York, Paris, Sydney, and Tokyo."

Speaking to Business Traveller, Walshe accepted that it would be a challenge to maintain service levels in the new hotels, which will be run under management contracts, but he insisted that the group would not "shy away from moving outside our traditional operating base of Dubai".

The group is re-branding all but one of its existing eight London and Dubai properties with the Jumeirah name, so that the Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai for example will become Jumeirah Emirates Towers and the Lowndes Hotel in London is now the Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel. The group's landmark Burj Al Arab in Dubai, however, will not take on the Jumeirah branding.

"The Burj al Arab will always be displayed in conjunction with the brand, and will be endorsed by the hotel group, but as the most famous hotel in the world, it is something more than just a hotel," explained Walshe. "It is like Dubai's Sydney Opera House and the identification it has for Dubai as a destination is bigger than any brand."


Live TV first for Gulf airline

Etihad Airways will be the first airline in the world to offer live television and internet access through its seatback entertainment systems next year after signing a deal with Boeing.

Singapore Airlines is set to launch a similar live TV and internet service for its passengers later this summer, but it will only be accessible to passengers travelling with Wi-Fi enabled laptops. Both airlines are using in-flight broadband technology developed by Boeing called Connexion by Boeing.

The Abu Dhabi-based airline will start rolling out the live TV and internet seatback service from mid-2006 on routes between the Gulf region, Europe and North America.

It will give passengers at every seat access to the worldwide web, e-mail, corporate intranets, virtual private networks, live TV and the ability to stay in touch with friends, family and the office.

Until the full new service comes into operation, Etihad will offer the Connexion by Boeing high-speed internet, data and entertainment connectivity through passengers' Wi-Fi-enabled laptops. This service is also being installed by several other airlines including JAL, Lufthansa and All Nippon Airways.

Peter Dunkin, Etihad's UK general manager, said: "With the introduction of this high-speed mobile internet and entertainment connection on board our new aircraft, we are confident that we will raise hospitality standards to a revolutionary new level of service."


Competition hots up on London to Berlin

Flight connections between London and Berlin will be boosted again in November when Air Berlin adds a fourth daily service from Stansted to Berlin Tegel.

The airline, which operated two flights a day until launching a third daily service in May, will add the fourth in its winter schedule starting November 1.
The move is expected to mean keener prices on services between the two business cities. Air Berlin competes with Ryanair from Stansted to Schonefeld, British Airways from Heathrow to Tegel, and Easyjet, which will launch a new twice daily service from Gatwick to Berlin Schonefeld on September 26 alongside its existing flights from Luton.

Tegel airport is more convenient for Berlin city centre, especially the former Western sector. Schonefeld is further out but provides good access to the city's former Eastern sector. It is also a good gateway for areas of the former East Germany and Poland.

Lufthansa does not fly direct to Berlin from the UK.


Eighties revival for New York fares

Research commissioned by Virgin Atlantic to mark its 21st birthday on June 22 has found that fares for its flights to New York are almost the same as they were when the airline started flying in 1984.

According to its findings, a flight to New York 21 years ago was being advertised for as little as £119 (excluding taxes and charges), compared to Virgin Atlantic's cheapest fare this year of £118 (excluding taxes and charges), a decrease of 0.8 per cent.

Sir Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Atlantic, commented: "It is eye-opening to see how the prices of goods have changed in the past 21 years since we first started flying.

"When you consider that inflation has gone up by 109 per cent in that time it is surprising that some goods have actually gone down in price and others have only gone up by a fraction of the cost of living rate. "Prices in Britain are often classed as rip-off, but our research shows that many things are cheaper now than they were in the mid-80s."

An Apple Mac computer, for example, has plummeted in price from £1,388 in 1984 to £680 now, while (perhaps unsurprisingly) mobile phones have dropped a staggering 96 per cent from £1,750 in the mid-1980s to about £85 for a handset with a yearly contract now.

The biggest increase has been in house prices with the average UK property going up from £32,751 in 1984 to £162,840 now - an increase of 397 per cent.
The price of a McDonald's Big Mac hamburger has also seen a big rise from 63p in 1984 to £1.88 today.


Indian hotel group takes over the Pierre

The Pierre, New York's landmark hotel on Fifth Avenue, has changed hands.
Previously operated by luxury hotel chain Four Seasons Hotels, it is now being managed by Mumbai-based Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces.

The 75-year-old Pierre, which overlooks Central Park and was once owned by US oil billionaire John Paul Getty, is set to switch over on July 1. It will be the first North American property for Taj's parent Tata group.

For the latest review of the Pierre, by Business Traveller Editor Tom Otley:

What's it like? The Pierre doesn't suit everyone, but those whom it does suit will love it. The restored 1930s Georgian-style 41-story building is a mix of
hotel rooms and condominiums (known as “co-ops” and run by a committee who can reject potential purchasers).
Not surprisingly, the co-ops tend to take the lion's share of the Central Park views, but then with Pierre Bergé's (co-founder of Yves Saint Laurent's haute couture empire) 38th-floor apartment recently on the market for $9 million – with a monthly maintenance fee of $12,000 – they certainly pay for the privilege, as will you if you stay here.
A typical floor might have both co-ops and hotel rooms, giving the hotel a unique feel. Wood panelled elevators each have their own white-gloved operator, and there are post shoots on each level, allowing residents to send letters without leaving their floor.

Where is it? On the corner of Fifth Avenue at 61st Street.

How many rooms? 201, including 52 suites, plus 72 condominiums. There are several room categories, from moderate, superior and deluxe to premier, park view and boudoir. Broadband internet access is available for $10 per day.

Business centre: Just off the lobby, the business centre is small but well equipped, manned during office hours but open 24 hours for hotel guests.

Fitness centre: On the third floor, though Central Park jogging is the main draw.

Restaurant: A good, English-style breakfast of sausages and bacon is available in either Café Pierre or the Rotunda, with its Renaissance-style trompe l'oeil and ceiling murals painted by American artist Edward Melcarth in 1967, faux marble staircase and domed ceiling. Good for afternoon tea, though for dinner it's best to walk a few extra paces to Café Pierre, which is decorated with etched Italian mirrors, imported silks and satins, and a colour scheme of saffron, green and gold.

Bar: The bar is small, dark and intimate, like an Upper West Side apartment – with the addition of a pianist. It has a good wine list, served by the glass, assisted by the 10,000-bottle wine cellar for the restaurant, with cocktails also available.

Price: Starting from $395.

Contact: The Pierre New York, Fifth Ave at 61st St, New York, tel 1 212 838 8000