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

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. 

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.

More union strike action

URGENT COMMUNICATION      More Union Strike Action on Friday                     UPDATE : 10.30am, 27 September 2011

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) and the Australian Licenced Engineers Association (ALAEA) will again be taking strike action against Qantas on Friday 30 September.   The TWU will strike for 1 hour this Friday. The ALAEA wil strike for 1 hour on Friday in Melbourne. Qantas are currently assessing the impact of this strike action and implementing contingency measures on what is traditionally one of the busiest weekends of the year.   The strike action is expected to disrupt the travel plans of thousands of people including football fans travelling to Melbourne for the AFL Grand Final, Rugby League fans travelling to Sydney for the NRL Grand Final and families travelling interstate for the school holidays. Affected travellers are advised to refer to the Qantas website for the latest information. Alternatively, contact your dedicated Goldman Travel consultant for more information.

Delays expected due to strike on 27 September.

URGENT COMMUNICATION      Delays expected due to Strike Action by Quarantine and Customs staff                     UPDATE : 12.30pm, 26 September 2011

International travellers are warned to expect delays due to the commencement of strike action by customs and quaratine staff.  Customs officers from up to 50 locations will strike for 2 hours tomorrow from 7am. Quarantine inspection staff at international airports will hold stop-work meetings.  Disruptions are expected to affect both arriving and departing passengers at international airports and will occur as follows: Sydney International Airport Tuesday 27 SeptemberDelays are to be expected throughout the day. Stoppages will be in place from: 6am – 9am 7pm – 8pm Thursday 29 SeptemberDelays are to be expected throughout the day. Stoppages will be in place from: 6am – 9am 7pm – 8pm Saturday 1 OctoberDelays are to be expected throughout the day. Stoppages will be in place from: 6am – 9am 7pm – 8pm Melbourne International Airport Tuesday 27 September Delays are to be expected throughout the day. Stoppages will be in place from: 7am -8am 3pm – 4pm 9pm – 10pm Brisbane International Airport Tuesday 27 September Delays are to be expected throughout the day. Stoppages will be in place from: 7am - 8am 7.30pm – 8.30pm Perth International Airport Tuesday 27 September Delays are to be expected throughout the day. Stoppages will be in place from: 1.30pm - 3.30pm 11pm – 1am Wednesday 28 September Affected travellers are advised to refer to Australian Customs for the latest information.   Alternatively, contact your dedicated Goldman Travel consultant.