Saturday, 29 October 2011

Qantas letter to domestic and international travellers.

URGENT COMMUNICATION

  Update - Qantas Fleet Grounded
                   
UPDATE : 8.45pm, 29 October 2011

With the grounding of the entire Qantas fleet, the Government has made an urgent application to Fair Work Australia under the "Fair Worker Act 424" for the termination of all industrial action instigated between the unions and Qantas on the basis that the fleet grounding will damage the Australian economy.

Stranded passengers are urged to consult the attached documents issued by Qantas on the help available to them.

Virgin Australia has responded to the Qantas decision, advising that it will put on extra staff and add additional flights to boost capacity and assist stranded passengers. Virgin Australia are also currently in talks with their international partners (such as Singapore Airlines, Etihad and Air New Zealand) in order to assist stranded international travellers.

They have also announced special fares for passengers who have commenced their journey and are at a port away from home and hold a Qantas ticket. These fares will be valid for travel for the next 5 days. 

Goldman Travel will continue to monitor this situation and organise alternative travel arrangments for those affected.


Qantas Grounds Entire Fleet - URGENT COMMUNICATION

URGENT COMMUNICATION

  Qantas Grounds Entire Fleet
Effectively Immediately
                   
UPDATE : 6pm, 29 October 2011

Qantas has grounded its entire fleet (domestic and international) effective immediately until further notice, in response to the ongoing strike action by the unions - TWU, ALAEA and AIPA.

Aircraft currently mid-flight will complete the sectors they are operating and will then be grounded. QantasLink, Jetstar, Jetconnect services and freight services (Atlas and Express Freighters) will continue to operate as normal.

Virgin Australia has advised it will be adding additional services. 

Qantas will providing a full refund for any flights cancelled due to the industrial action and will be managing customer bookings on a day-by-day basis.  Travellers can be kept up to date on the situation via its website, Facebook page and Twitter.

Goldman Travel are currently in the process of contacting all affected travellers and making alternate arrangements. Your patience is appreciated as we prioritise the bookings of affected passengers.   


Tuesday, 18 October 2011

Capacity boost for Virgin Australia domestic operations

Virgin Australia ceo John Borghetti has just confirmed the ongoing expansion of the carrier's domestic capacity "to meet market requirements and to minimise the impact of ongoing Qantas industrial action on the Australian travel and tourism industry".

He said that over the last three months DJ had already added more than 31000 seats per week, including the expansion of Perth services with the airline's new Business Class offering.

"We are very committed to this market and believe we have the capacity to support increased demand," with 3000 extra seats each week up to 30 Oct and the addition of a fifth daily return Melbourne-Perth flight effective 20 Dec.

Borghetti said the airline was also closely monitoring the Queensland market to ensure it could meet any additional capacity needs as the state's tourism industry rebuilds from the natural disasters earlier this year.

On the international front, "we are well advanced in discussions with alliance partners Etihad Airways and Air New Zealand on providing extra capacity from November, leading into the busy December and January holiday period," he said.

"We will continue to work with all of our alliance partners who are keen to help us support the Australian travelling public and ensure tourism is not affected, both domestically and internationally," Borghetti added, with the alliance network seeing Virgin Australia's global network capacity share in and out of Australia forecast to be around equal to that of oneworld in 2012.


Source:Travel Daily 19 Oct 11

Goldman Travel goes Pink for the day

 Goldman Travel goes Pink for the day

        
 

Goldman Travel is proud to continue our association with the Cancer Council in support of Pink Ribbon Day.

Many of us are touched by cancer and helping the Cancer Council is our way of joining with many in the community who contribute to this great day. Pink Ribbon Day is coming soon and we will be donating 50% of all service fees generated on the 19th October to help beat cancer.

One in every nine Australian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer by the age of 85. Our donation - and yours - will help the Cancer Council fund prevention programs, support services and world-class breast cancer research. Every Pink dollar raised makes a real difference for those affected by breast cancer, so if you're thinking of travelling soon, make contact today.

Goldman Travel Corporation is happy to support Pink Ribbon Day and if you'd like to contribute in some way, see the website for more details:   http://www.mailoutguys.com/ukt/link.php?M=1179&N=369&L=1131&F=H

Best regards,
 
David Goldman
General Manager & Director




 (L-R) Fee Njoo, Chris Cheyne, Erin Amundsen, David Goldman



Tuesday, 11 October 2011

Ongoing Union Strike Action

This morning Qantas has been advised that the Transport Workers Union (TWU) plans to take further industrial action on Thursday 13 October.  The strike action will be in the form of 2 periods of 2-hour work stoppages across all major cities.

City
Period 1
commences
Period 2
commences
Adelaide
0500
1600
Sydney
0600
1600
Melbourne
0700
1600
Brisbane
0800
1700
Hobart
0900
1500
Townsville
1030
1800
Darwin
1100
1300
Perth
1130
1330
Cairns
1200
1600
Canberra
1600
1800
Other cities
1100
1300

Qantas is doing all it can to minimise the impact of the industrial action; combining flights, using larger aircraft and deploying management staff into operational roles.

Schedule/flight changes are being published as soon as possible on the Qantas website to provide travellers with as much notice as possible. Please refer to the website for the latest developments.

Alternatively, contact Goldman Travel for more information. 

Wednesday, 5 October 2011

Union strike Action on Friday

URGENT COMMUNICATION


     More Union Strike Action on Friday

                   

UPDATE : 5pm, 6 October 2011


The Transport Workers Union (TWU) will again be striking for 2 hours tomorrow afternoon, Friday 7 October between the hours of 4pm-6pm.

At present, 17 services will be cancelled and a further 29 will be delayed by up to an hour. The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) will also be undertaking industrial action in Melbourne between 6pm-7pm.

The ALAEA has also notified Qantas that its members in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane will walk off the job for 4 hours on Monday 10 October.

Qantas will make every effort to advise affected travellers of the disruption to flights. Affected travellers are advised to refer to the Qantas website for the latest information.

Alternatively, contact your dedicated Goldman Travel consultant for more information. 


Goldman Travel launches new mobile technology to make corporate travel easier !

 As a result of our continuing quest to provide clients with the latest in travel technology, Goldman Travel Corporation is proud to announce two new services, powered by technology specialists conTgo.

We call it Gold Connect and Gold Locate.

The goal is to make life easier, travel more controllable and emergencies (such as volcanoes, industrial stoppages) much more efficient to handle, and less worrisome for travellers.

Amazing technology

Gold Locate is a system that will locate and communicate with travellers wherever they are. Should a crisis arise, the company and Goldman Travel Corporation can provide immediate assistance via SMS.

Manage travellers with ease

Gold Connect will help companies manage their travel budget better. Travelling staff can be updated with itinerary changes on the go, non-complying travel choices flagged, assistance provided and administration tasks automated and reduced.

There are some great benefits!

  • less administration
  • more control
  • easy to use (browser based)
  • superior back up for travellers
  • non-compliant travel more easily controlled
  • constant contact in case of emergency
If you'd like to see just how easy, convenient and time saving these new platforms are, please contact David Goldman at david@goldmantravel.com.au or (02) 8333 7700.