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INTHIS ISSUENewIdentityNewBeginnings

SelfService–HowConvenient?5StarSelection

WINFLIGHTSWITHQATARAIRWAYS

TRAVELLERSNEWSISSUE24 AUTUMN/WINTER2010 £3.00

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28 - MEET THE TEAM

ISSUE24AUTUMN2010CONTENTS

FEATURES

REGULARS

ATPI Travellers News is now printed on sustainably sourced paper

Editorial Beverley Allen & Georgia Saunders editor@atpi.comDesign Naked Marketing info@nakedmarketing.co.ukComments and recommendations contained within this magazine are based on the author’s opinions. Whilst everyeffort has been made to ensure that the information in this magazine is correct, neither ATPI nor the contributors makeany representations in respect of the content of this magazine and they cannot accept any responsibility for any errorsor omissions or for any consequences resulting therefrom.

13 - FLIGHT CHECK

30 - ATPI NEWS

08 - NEW IDENTITY NEWBEGINNINGSATPI launches its new brand positioningand identity.

10 - A GLOBAL REPORTING SOLUTION

14 - ATPI NEWSWorldwide Sales &Account Management Team Unveiled

15 - ATPI SUPPORTS INSTITUTE OFTRAVEL ANDMEETINGS Adam Knightstells us why cooperation with The Instituteof Travel & Meetings will be a usefuladdition for all ATPI clients.

16 - PERFECT PARTNERS

25 - SELF SERVICE - HOWCONVENIENT?

27 - ATP EVENT EXPERTSmakingcelebrations go off with a bang forThe Sting!

34 - 5 STAR SELECTION Qatar Airwaysshares with Travellers News the secret ofits successful wine programme and givesreaders an overview of the wine lists inFirst and Business Class.

34-5STARSELECTION

05 - CEO’SWELCOME

07 - AROUND THEWORLDWITH ATPI Inthis edition of Travellers News we visitNorway, the third largest oil exporter inthe world and one of the five biggest gasproducing nations.

13 - FLIGHT CHECK

19 - HOTEL CHECK A welcome contrast atDubai’s Emirates Towers

20 - DESTINATION FACTFILE

23 - TOP TIPS

26- COMPETITIONWIN a two night stay inEdinburgh with APEX Hotels

28 - MEET THE TEAM A lot can change ina year, just ask Peter Muller.

30 - ATPI NEWS Golf classic celebrates2nd decade.

32 - TRAVEL NEWS

36 - TRAVELLERS TALES In this issue ofTravellers News we talk to Anne Yare, CTCMarine Project Services and ContinentalAirlines' Bob Schumacher

38 - ATPI NEWS Sydney success for ATPI

39 - COMPETITIONWIN flights with QatarAirways

20 - DESTINATION FACTFILE

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WELCOME

I am pleased to introduce thelatest edition of TravellersNews, which is circulated to anever increasing Internationalreadership. In fact, due todemand we are now producingmore copies than some of thewell known travel magazines.In this issue we include an

outline on the important workthat the ATPI marketing teamhas undertaken which hasresulted in the new branding forATPI. I hope you find it interestingand share my view that our newbrand identity perpetuatesthe strength of our existing brandwhilst clearly communicatingthe specialisms within ourbusiness. We felt it wasimportant to undertake acomplete rebranding exercisebecause of the acquisition ofInstone International and thegeneral expansion of thecompany.I would also like to take this

opportunity to congratulate theATPI team because this year wehave retendered and retained anumber of our major clients.During a retendering process thesales and account managementteam undertake considerablework ably assisted by oursupport teams and they havedone a great job. Successfulretention of clients is onlypossible if service levels are highand during the Icelandic volcaniceruption earlier in the year, ouroperational staff receivednumerous accolades for goingthe extra mile to assist strandedtravellers or for helping clientswho needed to get to theirdestination. So I make noapologies to our readers forcongratulating our ops staff andthanking them for their efforts.ATPI has also been

extremely successful this yearinternationally in winning recordlevels of new business. In orderto maintain our high levels ofservice, to new and existingclients, we have recruited andtrained new staff who will have

the time that is required toprovide our customers with aquality service which managestheir travel budget mostefficiently.An introduction to the new

sales and account managementteam structure and theirindividual specialist areas is alsoincluded in this issue.I am particularly pleased with

the level of new business inScandinavia which has resultedin ATPI recruiting new stafffor our Norway operationand an article introducing oursuccessful Norwegian team isfeatured.In the rest of the magazine you

will find an interesting mix ofarticles including features onglobal reporting, the golden ageof flying and a piece from JeremyFowke of Hammonds, a leadingInternational commercial lawfirm, which outlines why he hasappointed ATPI as the firms TMC.There are various other regularitems and an interesting look atVietnam which is a burgeoningbusiness and leisure destination.I hope you enjoy this issue of

Travellers News and apologiesfor having blown our trumpet alittle bit more than usual. It isgood to share such positive newswith our clients and colleaguesacross the globe.

Graham RamseyGroup CEO

Contact Uswww.atpi.comSales 0207 111 8647

ATPI UK Operations Centres

LONDON & SOUTH (REGISTERED OFFICE) Rivercastle House,10 Leake Street, London SE1 7NN Tel: 0207 111 8500 Fax: 0207 111 8290EAST Sapphire House, Mobbs Way, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR32 3BETel: 0207 111 8000 Fax: 0207 111 8031MIDLANDS Lower Court, Hardwick Business Park, Noral Way, SouthamRoad, Banbury, Oxon OX16 2AF Tel: 0207 111 8300 Fax: 0207 111 8198SCOTLAND Bridge House, 58 Bridge Street, Aberdeen AB11 6JNTel: 0207 111 8200 Fax: 0207 111 8641NORTH South Court, Sharston Road, Manchester M22 4SNTel: 0207 111 8700 Fax: 0207 111 8505NORTH Rail Lodge House, Lodge Square, Burnley BB11 1NNTel: 0207 111 8400 Fax: 0207 111 8511

ATPI Worldwide Operations Centres

AUSTRALIA Suite 7.03, Level 7, 99 Mount Street, North Sydney,NSW 2060. Tel: +61 2 9951 8700AZERBAIJAN Silk Way Business Centre, 37 Telnov Str., Baku,AZ1025, Azerbaijan Tel: +994 1249 06861 Fax: +994 1249 06862BELGIUM Berchemstadionstraat 78, 2600 Berchem, BelgiumTel: +323 218 10 50 Fax: ++323 218 1049CHINA Room 1209, 12/F, Tianan Center, 338 Nanjing Road (West),Shanghai, China, 200003 Tel: +86 21 6103 4618 Fax: +86 21 6103 4612CYPRUS Karalis House, Office 101, Agias Phylaxeos 221 – 225 3116Limassol Cyprus Tel: +357 25 770 491 Fax: +357 25 818 963DENMARK Havnegade 35, DK-1058 Copenhagen KTel: +45 3391 5915 Fax: +45 3391 5916FRANCE 9, Avenue Alexandre Maistrasse, F92500 Rueil Malmaison,France Tel: +33 141 398 888 Fax: +33 147 51 30 01GERMANY Ottostraße 1, 80333 Munich, GermanyTel: +49 89 55 25 5015 Fax: +49 89 55 25 5029GREECE 22, Katehaki Street, 115 25 Athens, GreeceTel: +30 2106 715360 Fax: +30 2106 715375HONG KONG 13-01 Stanhope House, 734-738 King's Road, North Point,Hong Kong Tel: +852 3664 8000 Fax: +852 2561 6880INDIA 601, Krishna Building, 224 A.J.C Bose Road, Kolkata 700020, IndiaTel: +91 3330 585700 Fax: +91 3330 585701INDIAWing B, 19th Floor, Nirmal, 241/242 Backbay Reclamation,Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021, IndiaTel: +91 2240 095555 Fax: +91 2240 095556NETHERLANDS Beechavenue 101, 1119 RB, Schiphol-Rijk,The Netherlands Tel: +31 2020 11 322 Fax: +31 1020 2011323NETHERLANDS Schiedamsedijk 40A, 3011 ED Rotterdam, NetherlandsTel: +31 1089 25600 Fax: +31 1089 25699NETHERLANDS Barendrecht, Zuideinde 63, 2991 LJ BarendrechtNetherlands Tel: +31 1080 696770 Fax: +31 1080 696767NETHERLANDS Twente,Veldegge 2, 7468 DJ Enter, The NetherlandsTel: +31 10547 286026 Fax: +31 10547 286029NETHERLANDS Eindhoven, DeWitbogt 24, 5652 AG EindhovenNetherlands Tel: +31 1040 238 0980 Fax: +31 1040 257 1491NETHERLANDS Bussum, Kerkstraat 19, 1404 HG Bussum, NetherlandsTel: +31 1035 695 8058 Fax: +31 1035 695 8060NETHERLANDS Den Haag, Wijnhaven 8, 2511 GA Den Haag,Netherlands Tel: +31 1070 3306810 Fax: +31 1070 3468654NORWAY Stadion Parken, Blokk B, Jåttåvågveien 7, N-4020 Stavanger,Norway Tel: + 47 5181 7880 Fax: + 47 5181 7899NORWAY Tollbugata 17, P.O.Box 76 Sentrum, N-0101 Oslo, NorwayTel: +47 2310 3250 Fax: +47 2310 3260NORWAY C Sundtsgt.39, N-5004 Bergen, NorwayTel: +47 5530 6400 Fax: +47 5530 6430NORWAY Nedre Tyholmsvei 3, N-4836 Arendal, NorwayTel: +47 3700 5600 Fax: +47 3700 5620PHILIPPINES 8th Floor BDO Plaza, 8737 Paseo de Roxas, Makati City1200, Philippines Tel: +63 2813 7001 Fax: +63 2813 3229RUSSIA 6 Solnechnaya Street, Office 21, 2nd Entrance, 115116 Moscow,Russia, 115114 Tel: +7 495 989 2458 Fax: +7 495 325 5084RUSSIA 24-B Prospekt Kommunisticheskiy, Office 300 Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, 693000 Russia Tel: +7 4242 312050 Fax: +7 4242 312052RUSSIA 212, pr. Moskovskiy, Office 5039,191104, RussiaTel: +7 812 363 20 79 Fax: +7 812 363 20 80RUSSIA 21 Bestuzheva Street, Office 21, Vladivostok, 690003, RussiaTel: +7 4232 513591 Fax: +7 4232 513591SINGAPORE 400 Orchard Road, #18-05 Orchard Towers,Singapore 238875 Tel: +65 6233 5100 Fax: +65 6733 5456SOUTH AFRICA P.O.Box 1068, Kelvin, 2054, South AfricaTel: + 011 656-2079 Fax: + 011 656-2079USA One Greenway Plaza, Suite 1050, Houston, Texas, USA 77046Tel: +1 866 376 7249 (toll free US) Tel: +1 713 590 8282 (local)USA 195 Church Street, 11th Floor, New Haven, CT 06510, USTel: +1 866 360 2874 (toll free) Tel: (203) 772 0060 (local)

04 & 05

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18 & 19

AROUND THEWORLDWITH ATPINorway

06 & 07

In this edition of Travellers Newswe visit Norway,the third largest oil exporter in the world and oneof the five biggest gas producing nations.

Oil Rig SupplyBoat at Bergen Harbor

EXCITINGTIMESAHEAD

Alice SyslakManagingDirector Norway

GretheReinaasManager Oslo

Mette MoenManagerArendal

May HegeStangelandManagerStavanger

One of the key regions for the oil and gas industry,Norway is home to four ATPI offices situated acrossthe country.The offices are located in the business district of key cities;

Bergen, Arendal, Stavanger and the country’s capital Oslowithseparate managers for each location. Managing Director ofNorway is Alice Syslak who is based in Bergen where thebusiness first began back in 1995.“The Instone business started in Bergen in 1995 with five

experienced business travel staff,” says Alice. “From day onethe focus was on marine travel, and at that time competitionwas very small. Business grew rapidly and today we handleapprox 70% of the shipping market. Growth is now from theenergy and offshore side of the business.”In 2005 ATP opened an office in Stavanger on the south

west coast of Norway, to meet the growing demand for apresence in the region for oil and gas clients. Now withthe successful merger of the two companies, ATP InstoneMarine & Corporate Travel is firmly established in Norway.Employing a total of 76 staff, 42 are operators working both

within the marine/offshore and energy sectors as well astraditional corporate travel business. Key clients includeOdfjell, Wilhemsen and Deep Ocean/Trico and the team haverecently been awarded the global account for PGS.“Themerger of InstonewithATPI hasgivenusmuchstronger

buying power because of the size of the new operation as wellas global footprint. For our clients this is essential.“We expect to see even more activity in the energy and

offshore sector, following the merger. ATPI is a big player inthese markets and I see a distinct line between Houston,Aberdeen, Stavanger and Singapore - the key oil capitals ofthe world. There are exciting times ahead for the business.”

The beginning of the summer saw theculmination of months of planning as ATPIlaunched its new brand positioning andidentity. Travellers News talks toNetherlands based Head of GroupMarketingJeroen van Hest and Art Director Paulien vanHemmen about the exciting changes takingplace and the rationale behind thenew identity.As ATPI’s business has grown from strength

to strength, the company has seen theexpansion of specialist areas such as eventsand experiences as well as its core businessof corporate travel. This, coupled with anaggressive acquisition programme,highlighted the need to re-position the variousspecialist areas of the business to ensureclients were aware of the different productofferings.“It became very clear last year that this

needed to change, when Instone waspurchased. This became the catalyst forchange,” says van Hest.“Over the past ninety years Instone has built

a good reputation, especially in the marinesector. It would be a waste to throw thatgoodwill overboard, hence the Instone brandneeded to be positioned next to ATP. But youcannot simply put two names together, a clearstructure is needed.” Having made thatobservation, the need for a new positioningand branding structure for the organisationwas born.Van Hest explains: “The new brand

structure is there to enable us to showcaseour specialist areas in a more prominent,easily identifiable way. Both ATP and Instonerepresent a substantial ‘brand equity’. Hencethe split into four operating brands; ATPCorporate Travel; ATP Instone Marine &Corporate Travel, ATP Event Experts and ATPSelect. All four brands underpin the ‘mother

IDENTITYnew

brand’ ATPI, which is the base of the wholeinternational organisation.”

Unity and diversityATPI Art Director Paulien van Hemmen is

responsible for the design and visualrepresentation of the company. “We startedlooking at the corporate identity of the businesson an international level. Over the years this haschanged due to the acquisition of newbusinesses. Slowly a patchwork of differentbrands, cultures and identities developed.”Echoing the sentiment of vanHest, she says theInstone acquisition last year accelerated thenew for a new structure and design.“On the one hand there was a requirement to

create a ‘mother brand’ that would unite thetotal organisation, but on the other handwe didnot want to abandon brands that were highlyregarded by both ATP and Instone clients. Thatwas a complex challenge; we had to create anewunity and give existing diversity a distinctivenew look. In addition the new brands needed torepresent the shared values of the internationalorganisation – innovation, commitment andempowerment.”The new brand design was developed jointly

by Glazer Brand & Design Consultants inLondon and ATP’s own internal communicationdepartment Concept and Creation in Holland.“A new style of lettering gives a more modernappearance with the corners rounded off andthe colour in the logo is lighter giving it a shineas if the logo is coming to life.”Different colourswere applied to the new four

operating brand logos making them instantlyrecognisable in relation to themarket. “For ATPCorporate Travel, the existing blue colourremained, allowing for identification. ATPInstone Marine & Corporate Travel was given asea green logo because of its maritimebackground. The third brand in the group has a

BEGINNINnew

new name, ATP Events Experts, and features afresh logo in ‘sunrise red’.”

A Group IdentityWith the four operational brands clearly

identified a corporate group identity wasrequired for ATPI. “We opted for a simple, butstrong logo with two curves that embrace allATPI activities but at the same time symbolic ofthe world and the global marketplace weoperate in.”To ensure uniformity across the organisation,

ATPI has developed style guidelines for usage.“These guidelines cover very practical matterssuch as howmuchwhite is required around thelogo and what type of paper is used for whatpurpose.We have established a stylemanual ofdirections and examples covering everythingfrom letterhead to business cards, powerpointpresentation formats and email signatures. AllATPI offices worldwide can download thisinformation. But, if for a reason an office on theother side of theworld cannot completely followthe instructions, so be it. As long as the maindrivers are being followed. Thewhole operationhas been done to create global unity.”“For our clients not a lot will change as

a result of the ATPI rebranding,” says van Hest.The new branding was rolled out from June 1in a phased approach across twenty differentcountries where ATPI has offices. “We aimto have the role out completed by January 12011.” A perfect new beginning to theNew Year.

Pictured left is Art Director Paulien van Hemmenand Head of Group Marketing Jeroen van Hestand above is a selection of pages from the newcorporate brand guidelines.

08 & 09

NGSw

ATPI’s success over the years - both inhandling multinational clients from our ownresources and providing combined serviceofferings with partner agencies - hasnecessitated us in providing GlobalManagement Information reporting. TravellersNews talks to AdamKnights who explains howthe technology has developed.We’ve been working this way for around five

years and while part of the GlobalStar networkwe joined the “hosted” solution provided by theAtlanta based datamanagement company TRX.In simple terms this allowed ATPI and all

other partners to send data to one central“warehouse” source. Each agent or branchworked to provide asnapshotofdata, andTRXdidthe hard work of combining it into a useablecustomer report.At the time we thought we were simply

providinga ‘musthave’ solution thatwasstandardfare amongst our global competitors. However, itsoon became clear that we, as a maybe morenimbleorganisation,werequickerandmoreadeptat providing this reporting to customers withsmaller travel budgets inmany countries.

Time for a changeWhen ATPI left the GlobalStar organisation we

decided to pursue the TRXmodel in more depth.We decided to do this for a number of reasonsincluding, a knowledge and history of thatplatform, many customers already using thatplatform and also because our Netherlandsbusinessand thenewlyacquired Instonebusinessalso used the platform.Under the guidance and leadership of Henk

Booten, our Amsterdam based Global MISManager, we sought to consolidate the threeplatforms into one database hosted in ourNetherlands data centre.By consolidating this data into our own TRX

system (rather than sending everything to theAtlanta version)wewereable to complete the tworemaining gapswe had in the hosted solution.

The first was our inability to write our ownbespoke reports; thehosted solution limits userstogeneric reporting. Thesecondwas the fact thatwe were always reliant on our agency partnersworking with TRX in Atlanta. While this workedfor reasonably sophisticated partners, it is fair tosay that less developed markets struggled withthe specification of hand off files and qualityassurance and therefore with the quality anddelivery of data. As such, one of the keyrequirements - daily hand-offs to provideemergency tracking data - was beyond many ofthesemarkets. At ATPI we are now doing all theabove for all our markets including the lessdevelopedmarkets (in data consolidation terms)of India, Philippines and China.For ATPI it is the natural conclusion to an

excellent start made over six years ago byourselves and a number of partners.While of course this tool can report on pretty

much anything a customer wants to see, thepower of ATPI’s solution is our central hosting ofthat product and our historic experience dealinginmany different countries.One of themost interesting things to comeout

of the consolidation exercise is that all globalreporting tools are only as good as the weakest

AGlobalReportingSolution

“Wehavefound itverybeneficialasaGrouptoconsolidateourpreviously

diverse travelarrangements throughATPfromanexpenditure tracking,savingsmeasurement,employeetrackingandbusinessmanagementperspective.”

Eamonn Friar, Group TravelManager – Acergy

10 & 11

or “least detailed”handoff file. Therefore, it is finereporting on air spends across theworld asATPIuse one GDS (Galileo) to book air travel world-wide and therefore the handoff file is consistent.But what about rail travel? Many rail companiescannot be booked through the GDS (or at leastnotwith someof theextrabenefits direct bookinggive) so how does that data get into a GDS fedsystem?HenkBootenhas cleverlywritten tableswithin

the TRXsystemcustomised to the third party railproviders that ATPI uses across Europe. We arenow able to accurately chart rail travel bookedoutside the GDS with a third party consolidatorand compare that to air travel.Why is this important?Well, just knowingwhat

you spend on total travel is important butincreasingly customers are wanting to comparethe costs and time of rail travel to air travel forboth ease and convenience but also to considertheir carbon footprint.The graphical power of the enhanced TRX

platform that ATPI has now introduced providesclever “What if” charting in a PDF format rightthere on screen. i.e. What if we move from KLMto BA or economy to business?However, the single biggest benefit of the

system is to be able to show country data in aconsistent format. When our customers maincontacts receive a clean and accurate ExecutiveSummary mailed to them eachmonth, in a PDFformat that is also rolled up to a global orregional summary for the travel manager, thereporting requirements job is almost complete!That is of course before we break that down intotraveller detailwith savings rejectedandadvancepurchase patterns broken into cost centre,division or region!Formore informationonour TRXplatformand

associate charges please contact your accountmanager formore information.

Adam Knights – Group Sales Director

“The TRX systemreally offers a completeclient reporting solution,the feedback received

from travelmanagers hasbeen impressive.”

Henk Booten, ATPI’s Global MIS Manager

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12 & 13

FLIGHTCHECK

Etihad’s entertainment programme againsurpassedexpectation,with a selection of recentHollywoodblockbusters, Indian andArabmoviesandmany films through thedecades. Therewerealso a selection of TV programmes and a vastselection of audiomaterial.

Fast track arrivalThe Fast Track entry voucher for Abu Dhabi

airport wasn’t needed, as the immigration linewas very short. Theon-arrival duty free shopwasreasonably priced and because alcohol is noteasily available in the Emirate, very useful too!The return flight was similar, Etihad of course

are based at Abu Dhabi, so the difference was inthe check-in, where Etihad have a separateBusiness Class terminal. First Class is alsochecked in there, and we were fortunate to behandled at the First desk, which involves sittingdown for a chat at a nice leather chair while theagent goes through the documentation andissues your boarding card. The Etihad lounge atAbu Dhabi was, unsurprisingly, opulent, with agreat variety of breakfast options.I’d thought that the lack of central bins on the

outward flight might prove a problem with afull cabin of Business Class passengers tryingto stow pull-along trolleys and briefcases butthe full flight on the inbound proved me wrong,no one seemed to struggle to find a home fortheir bags.Without exception, the staff on board were

courteous and efficient, to the extent that thesenior hostess on the inbound flight, spottingmewalking around to get someexercise, asked if I’dlike to take a look at the First Class cabin. I didand was impressed to find it laid out with smallsingle cabin-style accommodation, with slidingdoors to ensure privacy from the aisles. Maybethis gushing reviewwill getme a seat there nexttime, but if not then I’ll be very happy to revisitEtihad Business Class!

Gary Hance, Director of IT & Yield

Etihad

TheGoldenAgeof flying

The loungeboastsaspa,a ‘finedining’areawherewaiter service is available, and a buffet foodoffering, as well as two separate seating areas.There are magazines and newspapers aplenty,and drinks available from a bar. Five minutesbefore scheduled departure we were asked toaccompany one of the smiling hostesses to theaircraft and boardedwith no fuss.Champagne was offered before departure,

and a drink order was taken for the posttake-off refreshment. Menus and wine listswere distributed.

Anew configuration?The Airbus 330 Business Class configuration

was staggered in a kind of one-two-oneway thatis difficult to describe, but ensured that singletravellers had some privacy, while allowingcouples to be seated close together. As a slightlyjaundiced and always mildly critical traveller, Ithought I’d seen all possible combinations, butthe Etihad Business Class definitely bringssomething new to the genre. Normally storagebinson this size of aircraft are thereonboth sidesof the aisles, but on this aircraft the central areawas free of storage, and was adorned with tinylights, giving the effect of a star lit nightwhen thecabin lightswere dimmed. This extra touch gavea real feeling of spaciousness to the cabin.Drinks arrived, then a white table cloth. The

menu offered three starter choices, four maincourses including one vegetarian and adequatedessert/cheese options. My choices were verypleasant indeed and worked well with the 2005Meursault. A snack servicewasalso available forany-time dining.

Despite Etihad being a newcomer to theaviationscene (thecarrierwas formedonly fiveyears agoasAbuDhabi’s national airline) it hascreated a service which has won internationaltravelawards, (includingBestLonghaulAirline,at the 2010 Business Travel Awards where,incidentally, ATP was shortlisted for BestBusiness Travel Provider) and in my opinion,really harks back to the ‘Golden Age’ of flying.At least it did inBusinessClass, and fromwhat

I saw, I suspect First Class would be the same,andmore! When I say ‘Golden Age’, I’m thinkingabout the levels of personal care and attentionwhich, to be fair, are incredibly difficult to achievewhen youhave a couple of hundredaircraft flyingon a worldwide network. But right now, Etihaddoesn’t, with their three flights per day fromLondon to Abu Dhabi (and one per day fromManchester to the Gulf).My wife and I checked in at 1.50pm one hour

before travel, leaving us minimal time forenjoyment of the facilities in the Etihad lounge.At Terminal 4, this (perhaps appropriately) wasin a previous life the Concorde lounge, when theMach 2 airliner was then the epitome of highclass travel.This was my first experience with Etihad, and

after using the Fast Track security channel, thensearching around for a book to read on the flight,we arrived at Gate 10 at around 35 minutesbefore departure. Some carrierswould have youusheredon to theaircraft at that stage, butEtihadhad not actually started boarding. We wanderedup to ask if therewas still time to use the loungeand were immediately escorted to the lounge, atwo minute walk from Etihad’s departure gate.

ATPI NEWS

With the integration of ATP and Instonenow complete ATPI new Worldwide Sales& Account Management Team hasbeen unveiled by Group Sales Director,AdamKnights.Wehave restructured the team to reflect the

domestic experience in our strongestmarkets,” says Adam. “The ATPI business isbased on the strength of its individualdomestic markets whether that be the UK,The Netherlands or Norway in Europe or thePhilippines and Singapore in Asia.

“Our international success so far has comefrom organically developing these markets tonetwork domestic customers to our otherinternational locations. The restructuredSalesand Account Management Teamwill allow usto strengthen this strong foundation and buildon its success.“Willie McPherson will build on our strong

reputation in the energy sector inAberdeenbycontinuing the organic growth programme ofexisting customers in our portfolio to otherATPI offices in Houston and Norway and the

Far East.“Erik Van Markus will continue the strong

Netherlandsbusiness travel growth combinedwith further growth opportunities inmainlandEurope offices and Simon Bean will head thekey corporate UK market covering theFinancial Services, Retail, IT and Legalsectors. Martin Purvis, Head Of Sales,Shippinghas recently joinedATPI.Hewillworkclosely with the group overseas networkdeveloping Shipping sales.”

Worldwide Sales & Account Management Team

UNVEILED

5

1 3

4

7 8

6

2

1 AdamKnights – Group Sales Director2 Simon Bean – Head Of Sales UK3 Willie McPherson – Head Of Sales Energy Sector4 Karen Jackson – Head Of

Account Management UK5 Erik VanMarkus – Head Of Sales & Account

Management Netherlands, France,Belgium&Germany

6 Pippa Strasser-Ganderton – Head of AccountManagement Marine and Energy

7 Ingrid Joshi - Head Of Sales Far East8 Martin Purvis - Head of Sales, Shipping

The Institute of Travel and Meetings (ITM) isone of the most prominent trade organisationsfor business travel in the UK. Founded as theInstituteofTravelManagement, anorganisationforcorporatetravelbuyerstosupporteachotherwhilst debating the art of travel procurement,the institute has led many of the industrydevelopments in recent years.Initiallyexpanding themembership frombuyers

to suppliers includingairlines, hotels andcarhirecompanies and intermediaries like travelmanagement companies, ITMwasoneof the firstto recognise that travel procurement requiresa full range of organisations. Later developmentsinclude the change of name to include thegrowing meetings industry as well as apartnershipwithEventia the leading tradebody forevent organisers, and another ATPI partnerorganisation. Most recently the ITM hasannounced it is the power behind NBTA Europe;theEuropeanarmof theNationalBusinessTravelAssociation of the United States – a steptowards the worldwide integration of travelprocurement thinking.ATPI’sGroupSalesDirector, AdamKnights has

recently been appointed a member of the ITMboard. “The parallelswithATPI strategy are clear.Rapid growth and International representationthat embracesall aspects of travel frombusinesstravel through to the staging the most creativeof events.

“ITM was quick to recognise that nationalassociations need support and developmentacross theworld.By joining forceswithNBTAwhosought to develop the successful US associationmodel in Europe, the ITM continues to provide itsUKmembershipwith relevant and timely contentin an ever-changing globalmarket.”

Howwill itwork?The plan is to gradually work closer together

says Adam. “I have long been impressed withITM and the obvious opportunities it providesboth for ATPI to communicate with existingand potential clients but more importantly for usall to discuss the industry as awhole and howwecan better serve our ultimate customer thebusiness traveller.”

Earlier this year ATPI was a platinum sponsorof the ITMconferenceheldatStamfordBridge, thelegendary home of Chelsea F.C. This was ofcourse first and foremostabusinessdevelopmentopportunity but Adam explains it was also aunique opportunity to gain an insight into theminds of some of the largest UK travel spends.“The benefits of this were two fold, firstly it gaveus a business development opportunity butsecondly it enabled us to talk with many travelmanagers and get a broader view of thechallenges they face. This can only help us indevelopingoursolutions tobettermeet theneedsof our existing customers”

Whobenefits?“One of the biggest challenges ATPI and all

travel management companies face” saysAdam “is establishing a value proposition forintermediaries beyond just price; the ITMconferenceprovidedan ideal forumtodiscuss thisinanopenand independentenvironment. “Sittingon the board of a leading travel industryassociation like ITM is extremely important forATPI. Of course, we want to support ITMcommerciallybut it alsohelpsus togainabroaderperspectiveof the industry and the issues it faces.This in turnenablesus to expandanddevelopourproducts and services tomeet the evolving needsof our clients.”

To learnmore about the ITM and the benefitsof ATPI’s approach, contact your ATP AccountManager.

ATPISUPPORTSINSTITUTEOFTRAVELANDMEETINGSATPIGROUPSALESDIRECTORADAMKNIGHTSTELLSTRAVELLERSNEWSWHYCOOPERATIONWITHTHEINSTITUTEOFTRAVEL&MEETINGSWILLBEAUSEFULADDITIONFORALLATPICLIENTS.

14& 15

PERFECTpartners

16 & 17

Leading international commercial law firmHammonds awarded its corporate travelaccount to ATP in February this year.Employing over 1,000 people, including 160partners in six countries across the globeHammonds knew exactly what type of TMCthey were looking for tomeet their corporatetravel objectives and ATP proved to be theperfect partner.

Jeremy Fowke, Hammonds’ FinanceOperations and Development Manager isresponsible for the firm’s corporate travel andtells Travellers News how the appointment ofATP has streamlined its business travel andincreased its focus on online bookings withATP Online.“We put our corporate travel account out for

tender at the beginning of the yearwith two veryclear objectives: we wanted to consolidate ourtravel providers for rail, air and hotels byappointing a travel management company(TMC) with expertise to deliver in all of theseareas and who could offer best value; and wewanted to significantly increase our level ofbooking online.“With offices in Belgium, France, Germany,

Spain, HongKong and China aswell as London,Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds in the UK,we were looking for a global player in themarketplace with expertise in all areas and aclear understanding of booking complex flightitineraries through to UK domestic rail traveland hotels.”

A different operating modelHammonds’ operating model is indeed very

different compared to the majority of ATP’sclients. “Our travel booking operation iscompletely de-centralised.We have in excess of150 individuals who can book travel for anytraveller. Our travellers also have the option ofbooking their own travel if they so wish. That iswhy it was so important for Hammonds to finda provider who could offer a stable onlinebooking platform which was intuitive anduser friendly."During the tender process ATP really stood

out compared to the others pitching for ourbusiness – we were really impressed with whatthey could offer. Oncewemade the appointmentthe time it took to implement the programmefrommeetingwith ATP in February to rolling outthe programme on 29 March was incredible. Toachieve what we did in the timescale was downto a tremendous amount of hard work onboth sides.”Corporate travel within the legal industry is

not that straightforward. “Within a law firm it is

vital to distinguish between chargeable and nonchargeable travel at the point of booking andprocessing which can present challenges.ATP's work on our back office accountssystem has achieved a vast reduction in codingqueries which in turn has reduced ourprocessing lead times."The commitment the teamat ATP gave to us

was fantastic. They had to make fundamentalchanges to the ATP ‘Dashboard’ to tailor it tomeet our specific needs and worked overweekends to meet our deadline for going ‘live’with the system.”

Customised training programmeAn on-going customised training programme

has been key to ensuring the successfulimplementation of the new online bookingsystem. A range of training initiativeswas put inplace to support staff including a series ofroadshows for each of the product areas. “Wehave already undertaken two sessions on flightbookings in London which worked extremelywell and we are looking to build on them withboth remote and on-site training."The feedback from our travel bookers who

attended the training sessions was good; theylike the product and were very positive abouthow intuitive the online booking tools wereallowing them, for example, to see the differentoptions and cost savings on rail before theyactually commit to a booking.”

In the first month of operation the onlineadoption rates were significantly higher thananticipated. "The adoption rate for non groupbookingswas in excess of 90% for rail within thefirst month activity which exceededexpectations. The adoption rate for hotels was74% and flights 50%. We are very pleased withthe results to-date and ATP is now working onsome enhancements for our on-line hotelbooking tools which will allow us to bookmultiple hotels per booking.”ATP’s list of clients in the legal industry is

expanding as the company’s reputation aslegal travel specialists continues to grow. Formore information contact ATP sales on0207 111 8647

“During thetender processATP really stoodout compared tothe others pitchingfor our businessand therewas nocontest withwhat they couldoffer.”

Jeremy Fowke

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18 & 19

HOTELCHECK

18& 19

Emirates Towers - Dubai

Emirates TowersAWELCOMECONTRAST

Even at 11pm Dubai airport is busy.Although in commonwithmost airports inthat part of the world the general publiccan’t just wander in, once you are throughthe arrivals terminal and out looking for ataxi, things are best described as frenetic.Or are they best described as shockinglyhot? In fact at 32 degrees and highhumidity at that time of night it certainlywas hot and in my tired state I wascertainly shocked.Taxis however were easy to come by; it

appears that Dubai is still suffering thehangover of high taxi numbers due to theproperty boomover the last few years. Goodnews if youneeda taxi, perhapsnot so goodif you are a taxi driver. The journey to theEmirates Towers hotel takes around 20minutes at that time of the evening,potentially around 10 minutes longer atpeak time.Considering the size of the hotel, the

reception area to the right of the atriumlounge seems small, however I didn’t haveto wait to check-in.

A luxury ReputationJumeirah Hotels is now a well

established brand and they work hard tomaintain the luxury reputation they’vedeveloped. The man at the lifts checkingwhich floor people are heading for anddirecting to the appropriate lift is a usefuland relatively unobtrusive example of thishard work.There’s noshortageof electricity inDubai,

judging by the well lit buildings around thehotel, the view was interesting and everchanging. The room itself was wellappointed, with floor to ceiling windows, achaise longue, an oversized double bed anda work desk including plenty of powersockets and–another thoughtful touch–anadaptor for travellers without a three prongUK style plug. Wireless and wired internetaccess are both available, five minutestinkering foundme wirelessly connected at54meg.

The bathroom boasts a bath and walk inshower, with the (almost) obligatory yellowplastic duck adorning the bath. Still haven’tworked that one out! Molton Brownproducts took care of hair andbodywashingneeds and were replaced daily.The glass walled elevators shoot quickly

between floors and offer an intriguing viewof various meeting spaces and coffeeterraces as they speed by, including thetenth floorwhich has a public coffee loungelooking out over the Sheik Zayed highway.Breakfast is in the big restaurant just off theground floor, with a comprehensiveselection of the usual items, except for porkproducts. Just past the restaurant is thepool deck, my visit in late June meant thatwas just too hot for my pale skin, but I didspot at least one brave sun worshipper.

Convenient NightspotThere’s a fashionable nightclub style pub

on the top floor commanding great viewsover Dubai, but when I was there I ate atScarlett’s, the basement pub/restaurantwhich, althoughpartof thehotel, isaccessedvia the attached shopping mall. Despite themain area being closed off for a privatefunction on the second night (as EnglandplayedSlovenia) thehostessmanaged to findme a seat where they had a selection of bigscreens showing the football. There is agourmet restaurant also available on theground floor of the main building, boastingamongstotherdelicacies themostexpensiveburger I’ve ever seen, made from JapaneseKobe beef and retailing at around £45!With the 24 hour operation of Dubai

airport, people tend to come and go at thehotel around the clock. I arrived around11.00pm one night and with a flight backaround 28 hours later, wanted to leave at11.00pmthe followingnight. That incurredatwo night charge, although they do offerreduced fees for late check out up to6.00pm.Dubai in June is a perfect location for

heatstroke, but if you are travelling onbusiness theEmirates Towers is awelcomecontrast, with perfect temperature andperfect service.

JumeirahEmirates Towers

Vu's Restaurantand Bar

SwimmingPool

Corner 3Restaurant

DESTINATION FACTFILE

VIETNAMACOUNTRYFULLOFSURPRISES

Halong Bay

20 & 21

VIETNAM

Vietnam is a country full of surprises.Lyingon theeasternpart of the Indochinesepeninsula, the shape of the land forms theletter ‘S’. Abusy transport junction fromtheIndianOceantothePacificOcean,Vietnamisbordered by China in the north, Laos andCambodia to the West, the East Sea to theeast and the Pacific Ocean to the eastand south.The population of Vietnam stands at

over87millionwith54differentethnicgroupsalthough the Kinh (Viet) people make upnearly 90%of thewhole population.Agriculture, industry and services sector

have equal importance in the contribution tothe country’s total GDP with tourism a keygrowth area. Main agricultural products inVietnam are rice, rubber, sugarcane, coffee,and tea. Important industries includecement,chemicals, paper, food processing andtextiles. The country has a variety of mineralresources including coal, tin, copper andchromiumand largedepositsofoil andgasonits offshore islands and on themainland.Thecapital of the country isHanoi, situated

in the Red River Delta, in the centre of NorthVietnam. It is the centre of culture, politics,economy and trade of the whole country. Inthe south, Ho Chi Minh City, formerly knownasSaigon, is thesecondmost importantcity inVietnamafterHanoi.Located in thecoreof theMekong Delta it is not only a commercialcentre but also a scientific, technological,industrial and tourist centre. The Port ofSaigon is accessible to ships weighing up to30,000 tons, a rare advantage for an inlandriver port.

GettingThereThere are three international airports in

Vietnam. Tan Son Nhat International Airportserves Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and is thebusiest international airport in Vietnamlocated just 7km from the centre of the city.The capital Hanoi’s Noi Bai InternationalAirport (HAN) is the gateway to northernVietnamsituated justover35kmsfromthecitycentre. On a much smaller scale there are

some international flights operating toDanang Airport (DAD).

GettingAroundMetered taxis are widely available in cities.

For trips further afield Hanoi Railway Stationis Vietnam's main railway station and is thestarting point of five railway lines leading toalmost every province in Vietnam.

WeatherWatchWith Vietnam lying in the tropics and

subtropics the climate is diverse withextremes of weather. Three quarters of theland iscovered inhillsandmountainssoyou’llfind frost and sometimes even snow in thenorth compared to 40ºC plus in the southduring the dry season.Hanoi is situated in a tropical monsoon

zone with two main seasons. During the dryseason (October to April) it is cold and thereis very little rainfall with an averagetemperature of 17.2ºC . Thewet season runsfromMay to September and is hotwith heavyrainsandstormsTheaverage temperature insummer is 29.2ºC but can reach up to 39ºC .In contrast, the climate in Ho ChiMinh City

is generally hot and humid. There are twodistinctive seasons: the rainy season, fromMay to November, and the dry season, fromDecember to April, which is generally thehottest month averaging 30.5ºC, the lowesttemperature is in December with an averageof 26ºC.

Exhibitions&ConferencesThe Saigon Exhibition and Convention

Centre plays hosts to national andinternational conferences and exhibitions. Ithouses four exhibition halls covering 40,000sq metres, an additional 20,000 sq metreoutside exhibition area and a 2,000 seatconference centre.There area a number of large scale

development projects underway in thecountry including the construction of theHoaPhuong Island complex which is the firstman-made island inVietnam.Workstartedon

theproject inDoSondistrict,HaiPhongCity inAugust this year. The complex will include afive-star hotel with 300 rooms, a commercialcentreand200 luxury villasand isexpected tobe completed in 2014.

Places toVisitIn a country so rich in natural beauty,

culture and ancient history there are manyplaces that featurehighon the list of things todo and see.One of the most breathtaking views in the

worldcanbe foundatHalongBay in thenortheast region of Vietnam. Made up of nearly2,000 islands of limestone and schist thisspectacular scenery of caves and grottoeswas named a natural heritage site ofworldwide importance by UNESCO in 1994.Many of the islands are namedafter the formthey resemble such as Dragon Island whichlooks like a dragon hovering above the seaandMan’sHead Islandwhich takes theshapeof a man standing and looking towardsthemainland.ForamazingarchitectureThe ImperialCity

ofHue, thecapital ofVietnamduring thereignof the Nguyen Dynasty is hard to beat. One ofthe oldest cities in Vietnam the complex ofHue monuments by the Perfume Riverfeatures the ImperialPalace, royal tombsandantique temples.

Finally, the capital city of Hanoi can offerthe visitor with little time to spare a realflavour of the culture and ancient wonder ofVietnam with over 600 pagodas and templesand the city’s OldQuarterwhich iswell wortha visit. Other popular sites include the OnePillar Pagoda built back in 1049, the Templeof Literature, Hanoi Citadel, Hanoi OperaHouse and President Ho Chi Minh'sMausoleum. Alternatively seek peace andtranquillity by visiting one of the manybeautiful lakes and parks that surroundthe city.

Formore information visitwww.vietnamtourism.com

Ho Chi Minh City Farming in the rice fields The Imperial City of Hue

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22 & 23

TOP TIPS

Beach LifeIf youare lucky enough tohavea spareday to

relax away from business head to the beach.Although not well known for its fantasticbeaches the country actually boastsmore than3400km of coastline, with infinite stretches ofpowdery sand, hidden coves, lovely lagoons,impressive boulder formations and tropicalislands ringed with yet more hide-awaybeaches. Although too numerous to list themall we have selected our favourites.Most famously Nha Trang has been wowing

visitors for years.Unfortunately theactual townisbuzzingandbrash, but thebeach is idyllic andis the gateway to a cluster of beautiful islands.Mui Ne is set on a picturesque stretch of

sand; Mui Ne is stunning with swaying palmsand massive sand dunes. Here you can relaxwith a beachmassage or enjoy a good range ofwater sports.Phu Quoc is considered the most beautiful

island in Vietnam, and is liberally sprinkledwith picture-perfect white-sand beaches withan interior of impenetrable jungle. LongBeachis sophisticated, Ong Lan Beach is a romantichide-away and Bai Sao is simply irresistible.

ShoppingVietnam is the perfect place to pick up

beautiful silks and local crafts. In Hanoishopping is easily accessible, especially if youare staying near the centre. The Old Quarter isa fascinating mix of shops located along thesmall and narrow streets and is perfect for astroll around while you barter for lanterns,handbags, paper fans, ceramic souvenirs,bowls, decorated dishes and textiles. You canalso ordermade tomeasure clothes, normallyin beautiful local silks. Theprices are relativelycheap but be prepared to negotiate. For higherquality products, you can visit TrangTienPlaza,VincomTowerwhere youdon't need tobargain.Also, alongHue andBa Trieu Streets there aremany clothes shops to choose from.

Eating andDrinkingEating is one of the great joys of visiting

Vietnam. The Vietnamese people rejoice indining with family and friends and good foodcan be found in upscale restaurants, vendorstands, private homesandmany other venues.The cost of dining is surprisingly cheap andgood value and an accompanying cold beer isalways cheap and refreshing. The ubiquitousPho is a Vietnamese noodle soup, usuallyserved with beef (pho bo) or chicken (pho ga).The soup includes rice noodles and is oftenserved with basil, lime, bean sprouts andpeppers that are addedby thediner for taste. Aversion is also served in many hotels for ahearty breakfast. As you would expect theusual fast food restaurants are available forthose missing their hit of KFC but we wouldrecommend that you try the amazing range oflocal cuisine available.

Mealtime EtiquetteWhen eating with chopsticks, do not leave

the chopsticks in the rice bowl at the end of

your meal. This resembles the incense sticksused to commemorate a death and isconsidered insulting. Place the usedchopsticks side by side either on the table ormore commonly, on top of the bowl. Do not tapthe edgeof your rice bowlwith your chopsticksas some people believe that if you do suchthing, in the next life you will not have enoughrice to eat.WhendiningwithVietnamese friendsor if you

attend a family meal wait until the oldestmemberof the familyhasbeenservedand thenyou may help yourself. You will need to eat allthings in your bowl so if you have had enough,then slightly cover your hand over your bowland theyshouldstopadding food into yourbowl.

DestinationTravelAdvicePassport and Visa

A visa for entry into Vietnam falls into twodistinct categories, either a business visa ora tourist visa.Business visa applications require an

invitation from the hosts organisation inVietnamand this should bepresentedalongwith a fully completed visa application form,one passport style photograph, a UKemployers support letter and the passport.Tourist visas require only the form,photograph and passport.Processing is usually five working days,

although this can be expedited to a two dayservice at the embassies discretion. Thereis also a facility available, almost uniqueamongst embassies, where the entireapplication canbe faxed twodays in advanceof the passport being presented, whichoften can result in the visa being issued onthe same day as the passport is provided.One of the most important things to

consider with Vietnamese applications isthat the visa will be issued to reflect theentry and exit days provided on theapplication form and cannot be used untilthe entry date.The embassy issues strong advice to all

applicants “Do not purchase tickets toVietnam before you obtain a visa. The visaprocess is not bound by your travel plans”and that “Once the application is with theEmbassy, there is no possibility of anychange.”Forms for Vietnam visa applications are

available from the ATPI Visa web site atvisas.atpi.com/ATPPassport/Visahome.aspx,or direct from the Vietnamese Embassy siteatwww.vietnamembassy.org.uk/consular

Pictures from top to bottom:Nha Trang, Traditional silk lanterns,Vietnamese noodle soup,Beautiful local silk clothing

VIETNAM

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24&25

This belief is born out by my recentexperience at Bergen airport, as I stood at thedesk (number 3 in the queue for the oneavailable agent) waiting to change a ticket, Iwatched the latest self service initiative asfellow travellers checked in their own bags,struggling to tear off the backing from theadhesive labels and trying to stop tangling uptheir fingers in the glue as they attached thelabels to their cases.

Do it yourselfWhat next I thought? Well I guess the airlines

could dispensewith baggage handlers by forcingtravellers to carry their bags through to the gateand chuck them into the baggage pallets. Thenwe could have a vending machine on board todispenseasoft drinkandabiscuit. Travellingwithonly credit cards would alleviate the need forcash, as well as helping the airline demographicanalysis – Hmm – Mr Bloggs sitting in seat4A booked a week before travel, checked in a 14kilo bag, and bought a packet of Pringles. Let’ssend him a special offer voucher for two weeksinMajorca.Thesafety demoonmanyairlinesnow is semi-

self service, the little TV screens pop down fromtheceiling and tell youa storywith cute animatedtravellers, all of whom do exactly what they aretold, and the staff just pop up to show you thelocation of the emergency exit.

Looking backIt doesn’t seem so long ago that TMC’s like

ATPI employed staff to drive around delivering

paper tickets to customers. Those tickets wereessential to the traveller and when they werereplaced by e-tickets many worried flyerswondered if things could ever be the same. Wellfor the airlines, things were actually a lot better.The customer had to purchase the paper and

the ink, and printed their ticket at their own cost,using their time. While airlines have passportreaders to get thenecessary information into thesystems to save immigration officers time, theaverage PC equipped traveller has to enter allthis by hand. Passport number, date of birth,country of residence, etc. 20minutes to check infor a transatlantic journey if you do it yourselffrom home is absolutely not a problem for theairline, they can simply dispense with anothercheck in desk. Of course the fact is that all thisautomation renders the carrying of the e-ticketreceipt pretty much redundant, the airlinecomputer system can find youwith nothingmorethan your name and flight number, or aconvenientbarcode if youhavealreadychecked in.Five years ago I attended a conference in

Atlanta where the conference hotel had a line ofself-check in machines in front of the receptiondesk. That was a trial and the staff were there innumbers to assist, but it’s already found its wayinto some properties. For example, Norway’sSmart Hotels are totally self check in and food isprovided via vendingmachines rather than froma traditional restaurant. Regular travellers withAvis are given directions straight to their hire carwhen arriving at many rental locations, and onlyhave to provide their license for a cursoryinspection when leaving the depot.

The cost savings available by switching theresponsibility from the supplier to the consumerof the product are such that self service willbecome more prevalent. Hopefully technologywill make it easier for the traveller at the sametime, logically the universal device – the smartphone to you! –will end up carrying enough datato avoid having to print boarding cards or evencarry other ID. For now though, watching thosepoor guys struggling with self check- in of theirluggage, that seems a long way away. But whatnext, will there be an ‘App’ to help us to flythe plane?

Gary Hance - Director of Yield and IT

“The cost savings available byswitching thework responsibility

from the supplier to the consumer ofthe product are such that self service

will becomemore prevalent.”

It’s been a long time coming, but I think we are nowclose to the ultimate in self service on airlines.

H O WC O N V E N I E N T ?

S E L F S E R V I C E

COMPETITION

Apex Hotels own and operate seven fourstar city hotels, in London, Edinburgh andDundee, so you’re always in the hub of thebusiness and financial districts.

If you’ve never stayed at Apex before, whynot discover for yourself why Apex Hotelscontinue to win awards for outstandingfacilities and service.

Stay connected with free unlimited Wi-Fiinternet access and when you’re ready tounwind, you’ll discover your room is designedfor relaxation.

The Apex Waterloo Place Hotel opened inMarch 2009 and enjoys a prime city centrelocation in Edinburgh’s New Town. Located atthe east end of Princes Street on Waterloo

Place, this beautiful Georgian building hasbeen transformed into a contemporary fourstar deluxe hotel.

• 187bedrooms• Elliot’sBar&Restaurant• YuSpa–gym,pool, saunaandsteamroom

To WIN a two night stay at the ApexWaterloo Place Hotel, Edinburgh, withchampagne on arrival and Elliot’s AfternoonTea for two in the Elliot’s bar, just answerthis question.

Closing date 26 November 2010

When did the ApexWaterloo Placehotel open its doors to the public?

a) March 2009b) August 1819c) November 2009d) January 1997

Toenter the competition and for fulltermsand conditions, please visitwww.atpi.com/competitions/apexhotels

WIN a two night stay in Edinburgh with APEX Hotels

ATP EVENT EXPERTS

TheSting!

Forget BuckinghamPalace – this summer, all eyes wereon the new occupant of another famous London address.The Sting, a major European clothing department store,already well established in the Netherlands, Belgium andGermany, opened their new flagship store at 1 PiccadillyCircus in July and ATP Event Experts were there to ensurethe opening celebrations went with a bang!Kim Alderden from ATP Events Experts in the Netherlands

gives a first hand account on the event planning. Kim hasbeen at ATP for nearly 20 years and enjoys creatingstunning event concepts for parties, product launches,incentives and conferences.Occupying the premises of the now defunct entertainment

retail chain Zavvi (formerly Virgin Megastore) and located onone of London’s most famous shopping streets PiccadillyCircus, The Sting brings a refreshing variety of clothing brandsunder one roof, many of them still relatively unknown here inthe UK.Planning The Sting’s arrival in the UK was an exciting

project for ATP Event Experts to be involved with. The Sting’sphilosophy is simple and clear, there are ‘no frills’ in thebusiness model. You need to ensure that you purchase thatfabulous T-shirt inside the store because you cannot order itvia the web, as no online sales are available. The Stingstrongly believe that a premier shopping location will resultin stunning sales.Recruitment for the London sales staff became an event on

its own. The London recruitment drive was triggered by cleanand crisp advertisements which lead to over 1000 youngapplicants. Interviews were held at the ‘hip and happening’Sanderson Hotel, before the second round selection processcontinued at Club 24.

Dynamic brandATP was approached almost a year ago with a request to

plan and organise the launch celebrations on the 8th July2010. Flying in nearly 350 guests from theNetherlands in twowaveswas an exciting challenge for the team. As a young anddynamic brand The Sting was looking for an exciting themeand plenty of ‘buzz’ to the event, but were also looking forsomeone to keep their eye on costs and tight control of thetravel arrangements!The first wave of guests from The Netherlands arrived on

Thursday 8th July for the Grand Opening. Accommodation forthe guests was reserved in The Sanderson and St. MartinsLane Hotels and dining was arranged at a convenientrestaurant behind Regent Street. After dinner the guestscontinued to Club 24 where they danced the night away.Central London locations need careful consideration as

coach transportation in the West End needs to be avoided atall times because of loading and parking restrictions. Guestswere therefore encouraged towalk fromone venue to another.The second wave of guests arrived on 10th July. For this

group ATP reserved a champagne flight in the London Eyeplus a tour of The Sting for a first hand view of this excitingnew addition to the London shopping scene.Wewish The Sting the best of luckwith their new venture in

London and hope to be on handwhen The Sting celebrates itsnext store opening.For more advice on the Sting opening video visit Youtube:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ase-BVrRRnk.

For more advice and assistance with your upcomingevents contact ATP Event Experts on 0207 111 8531 oremail groups@atpi.com

26 & 27

A lot can change in a year, just ask PeterMuller. In the last twelve months he hasbeen appointed Divisional ManagingDirector of ATPI with responsibility for theUK, France, USA, TelMe technology and theSouth African scripting division. Recentlythe company has completed its acquisitionof leading marine travel specialist Instone,‘it’s certainly been quite a year and we arenow in a more powerful position to winmulti-national business.‘The acquisition of Instone in 2009 has

created a tremendous opportunity to bringtogether both companies’ technical expertiseand office network across the globe. We havea real opportunity to build our corporatebusiness presence in countries where we arerenowned as specialists in the marine travelsector and vice versa.Based in the London offices near Waterloo,

he visits the different offices on a regular basisworking closely with managers for eachcountry. ‘It’s interesting to see how differentthe countries are, not just the culture and

climate but the work ethic too. The UK isbecoming more like the USA with its ‘live towork’ attitude. For me South Africa has thebest balance between life and work.’

A sports fanAs a player and spectator of sports (golf and

rugby are among his favourites) Peter has akeen interest in ATP Events Expert, one of thefastest growing brands in the conference,events and sports hospitality industry. “Theseare exciting times for ATPI. We have beenworking with various football clubs on theirupcoming plans and of course the London2012 Olympic Games are moving closer.’ ATPIis one of the largest Authorised Ticket Resellerin the world for the Olympic Games, so this isan incredibly busy time preparing for theseworld famous events.South African born Peter graduated from

The University of Witwatersrand and afterundertaking compulsory National Service fortwo years he started a successful career withleading publisher of consumermagazines andperiodicals, Caxtons.Switching to trade journal ModernMedicine

gave Peter his first introduction to truedatabase management and with a friend heundertook a management buyout of Waide

Looking forwardto the future

MEET THE TEAM

PETERMULLER

Heaton, who subsequently operated underfranchise licence in South Africa the extremelysuccessful Swiss based Bounty International,a consumer group sampling company.(Readers with children may know of Bountyfrom the bags containing sample productswhich are given to new mothers in hospital).‘With this product we could track the life cycleof consumers and target services andproducts to meet their needs at particulartimes of their lives using databasemarketing.’

A new challengeRestless for new opportunities Petermoved

to the UK in 1997. “South Africa is such abeautiful country and things are so differentnow but back then I felt it was the right time toleave and sold his business interest.’Once in London his database and sales

experience led him to be offered a job with theLondon listed technology company PhonelinkPLC where Graham Ramsey was ManagingDirector. Heworked in a variety of roles beforebecoming Managing Director of the newly

formed TelMeOnline and established TelMe asa leading supplier of travel technology to theinternational travel trade. Several acquisitionslater ATP was formed following the purchaseof Seaforths and Ayscough Travel, and Peterwas originally asked to take on responsibilityfor all of ATP’s non business travel activities.

Time with the familyThere’s nothing Peter enjoys more than

spending time with his wife Nikki and youngfamily, Joshua two and a half and nine monthold twins Darcy Rose and Ava Jean. ‘AlthoughI travel extensively I always try to get home atweekends. My father in-law has a motorcruiser and we spend most weekends in thesummer on the Thames enjoying the river andits surroundings.’A love of water is a definite theme running

through Peter’s life. A strong swimmer, backin South Africa he played water polo andachieved colours in fresh and surf life saving.He is also a keen scuba diver and has travelledaround theworld diving. “I enjoy reef diving but

wreck diving ismy favourite, although it’smorechallenging. There are so many great placesto dive but high onmy list are the Red Sea andthe Florida Keys.”With his spirit of adventure it’s not

surprising that his favourite type of holiday issafari, travelling across Africa in a 4 x 4,camping under the stars and visiting the gamereserves. However, with a young family, for thetime being a villa in Portugal provides a perfectholiday. “Portugal is a fantastic country forfamilies but as soon as the children are oldenough we will be going back on safari.”He is now looking forward to the future. “We

will continue to build the ATPI network incountries where our clients need us to have apresence; you cannot underestimate thepower of local knowledge. The Africancontinent and Angola are particularlyinteresting.”There’s no doubt, exciting times lie ahead for

both ATPI and Peter Muller.

“I enjoy reef divingbut wreck divingis my favourite,

although it's morechallenging.”

28& 29

ATPI NEWS

Yes the dream of 20 years ago became areality as July 23 2010 saw the running ofthe 20th anniversary ATPI Golf Classic atEdzell. As ever sponsors gathered from farand wide to ensure another spectacularevent which as has been described bymanyas ‘The best Classic ever’. This year saw arecord number of sponsors, includingseveral new ones, who undoubtedlyenhanced the reputation of the eventeven further.To run a successful event like this you

need several key elements such assunshine, (19 years out of 20 luckily had thatguarantee!), great cooperation with the hostclub, loyalty from so many great sponsorsand of course a huge amount of behind thescenes work from the ATPI team. I am surethe Edzell secretary, Ian Farquhar, had a fullhead of hair until we arrived there four years

ago and without his blessing and hard workthe event would be a lot harder to organise.So to the day itself, which for many starts

very early in Aberdeen and finishes too lateto mention, the Gods once again dished usout a wonderful helping of Angus sunshine.For those on the bus the day starts withbreakfast in Norwood Hall before arriving inEdzell to be greeted at the registration hutby some wonderful Lufthansa cocktails andcakes. Then it is off to the range for the‘Classic Pros’ Gordon Simpson (Hilton ParkGlasgow) and John Kerr (Fairmont StAndrews) to either sort your game out orconfuse you even further. George and Louiseat Edzell GC have a wonderful reputation fortheir hospitality and the fantastic BBQ thatfeeds every golfer and sponsor before theyset off on their marathon afternoon on thefairways is proof of that.

Stiff competitionWith competitions at almost every hole for

the guests and specialist ones for thesponsors, competition is always keen. It isdifficult to know if the fantastic on coursehospitality that is provided at every holehelps the higher handicappers and hindersthe lower ones. However if your game wasnot totally in tune with your mind you couldsimply relax and enjoy a wonderful oncourse massage which was located at twotee’s and was organised by Apex Hotels andFairmont St Andrews.We definitely pulled off a major coup by

convincing our friends at Loudmouth golf to

GOLFCLASSICCELEBRATES

2NDDECADEWillie McPherson, ATP Instone’s Head of Sales, Energy

Sector, reports from the annual ATP Golf Classic inScotland; one of the social highlights of the year.

‘This year'schampion wasplaying in his veryfirst Classic andplayed what hedescribed as theround of his life.’

L to R Gordon Simpson, Nick Dalgarno, CJ DeVries, JamieDe Vries

L to R Kevin Coll, Euan Duncan, Angus Lee, David Sinclair.

30 & 31

attend and sponsor the event. I have neverbeen shy when it comes to wearing ‘loud’golf gear but this was their first everScottish event of its type and it certainlywont be the last. Loudmouth are thecompany who design and make thewonderful clothes worn by former Openchampion John Daly. CEO Larry Jacksonextended his stay in the UK after the Opento attend with his team and there is nodoubt they made a massive impressionon everyone.

The AwardsSo on to an evening of mirth and

merriment and, of course, more wonderfultraditional Scottish fayre. It may be the

middle of summer but a hearty dinner isrequired to revive the tired bodies who havebeen on the course some six and a half hours.So with that in mind themenu of Cullen Skink,chicken stuffed with haggis and sticky toffeepudding hit the spot for one and all.This year's champion was playing in his very

first Classic and played what he described asthe round of his life. Steve Johnson of Prosafewas the recipient of the Classic trophy and allthe rewards and glory that goes with it bywinning the ‘5th major’. In the new ‘Super 3s’competition that replaced the scratch section,PSN's Robert Stevenson showed off his Fridaybest to win by a short neck. We do of coursereward those who come at the wrong end ofthe field and Acergy's Eamonn Friar wasshocked to be pipped at the post by Oriongroup's Dave Willetts as the "Trier of the day"as we never say last in The Classic.

Thank you’sA special mention has to go to Jo Ashman

of SAS as the only sponsor who has supportedthe event for 20 years and the only player toplay in every one.But finally it has to be said that without the

continued business of all our customers thisevent would not exist and without the supportof the sponsors it would never be the same.Thank you to everyone for that. So as the sunsets on another year the ideas for the next oneare pouring out already as this event trulytakes a massive amount of time and effort tohost. But it is worth every minute!

L to R Adam Knights, Gus Mather, Alasdair MacKenzie

L to R Bill Reilly, David Sinclair

L to R Robert Stevenson, Adam Knights

L to R Euan Duncan, Peter MullerL to R Keith Heslop, Raymond McErlaine, Leanne Mehmet,

Larry Jackson, Tim Reggione

L to R Larry Jackson, Tracy Sanderson, Jen AbellL to R James Grant, Gary Hance,Andy Forrest, Andrew Macleod

TRAVEL NEWS

HEATHROW – ABERDEEN CAPACITY INCREASEServices between London’s Heathrow and Aberdeen have received a

big boost with a 90% increase in seat capacity each day by bmi.Extended use of the airline’s fleet of A319 aircraft will see nearly 3,000

additional seats on the route eachweek. Demand frombusiness travellersin particular has led to bmi upgrading three of its six daily services fromEmbraer Regional Jets to Airbus 319 aircraft.

SELF-SERVICEHeathrow Express has increased the number of

airlines available for check in through itscommon user self-service customer checkin services at Paddington Station. The newcarriers areAirCanada,AmericanAirlines,Kenya Airlines, KLM and Lufthansa,joining Delta Air Lines, Finnair Iberia andUnited Airlines. The customer check inservices consist of threemachines locatedbelow the flight information display screensat the Heathrow Express ticket office at thestation. The machines are very easy to use withtouch screen facilities. Customers can print their boarding pass and alsoview their flight information before they arrive at the airport, helping themto feel more at ease on their way to Heathrow. Travel time from London is15 minutes to the central area and a further six minutes to T5. Trains runevery 15 minutes. Change at the central area for T4 (Heathrow Connect).Free Wi-Fi is provided on the parts of the service which run underground,a first of its type.

MANSTON–ANEWGATEWAYFlybe launched a new route betweenManston, Kent andManchester on

6 September, following on from the launch of its successful daily servicebetween Manston and Edinburgh in May this year. The six-day a weekservice to the North West (no Saturday service) uses Bombardier Q400aircraft and is the first ever scheduled route betweenKent andManchester.Flight time to Manchester is 1 hr 5 mins and Edinburgh 1 hr 30 mins.Manston has had no full scheduled services since the demise of EUjet in2005. The airport is to the east of Canterbury and borders on the coastaltowns of Broadstairs, Margate and Ramsgate. The port of Dover is just 15miles away.

KLMLAUNCHESNEWAFRICANROUTEOctober sees the launchof anewservicebetweenAmsterdamandKigali,

Rwanda. KLMwill operate five flights aweekwith anAirbus A330-200. Theservice will also have a scheduled stopover in Entebbe, Uganda.A new European service between Amsterdam and Budapest also

launches at the end of October with three flights a day operated by KLM’sBoeing 737 aircraft.

FIRST FOR ABERDEENThe first Hilton Garden Inn in Scotland has opened in Aberdeen

city centre. The new hotel is just 25 minutes by taxi from AberdeenAirport and is within a few minutes’ walk of the city centre andrailway station. The hotel features include a 24 hour business centre,24 hour gym and complimentary Wi-Fi throughout. To guarantee agood nights sleep all rooms feature Hilton’s ‘Garden Sleep Centre’where you can adjust the firmness of yourmattress to suit your ownpersonal preference.

ETIHAD’S SEOUL CONNECTIONEtihad will launch services to the South Korean capital of Seoul

from 12 December. The airline has also announced that it willintroduce its first ‘all economy’ class aircraft into its fleet in October2010. The two Airbus A320s will be configured to carry 162 economyclass passengers, an increase of 42 from the current economycapacity. Initially the aircraft will operate within the Gulf and fromAbu Dhabi to the Indian sub-continent.Later this year the carrier will open a new premium lounge in

Terminal 1 atManchester Airport. It will be the third Etihad lounge toopen outside of the airline’s home base in AbuDhabi. The loungewillinclude five star dining, business centre, relaxation area and luxurybathrooms and shower facilities.

EMIRATES’ CONTINUES EXPANSIONThis summer saw the launch of Emirates’ new service between

Dubai andBaghdad. The airline operates services three times aweekon a Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Emirates’ Airbus A330-200aircraft offers 12 First Class, 42 Business Class and 183 EconomyClass seats.Emirates has also launched a non-stop service from Dubai to the

West African destination of Dakar. Flying five times a week everyTuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the route isoperated by an Airbus A340-300 aircraft, featuring a three-classconfiguration of 12 First Class, 42 Business Class and 213 EconomyClass seats.

CUSTOMERSCANPRINT THEIRBOARDINGPASSANDALSOVIEWTHEIR

FLIGHT INFORMATIONBEFORE THEY EVENARRIVEAT THEAIRPORT

32 & 33

FIRSTSCANDINAVIANROUTEBA is launching its first flights fromLondonCityAirport toScandinavia

thisSeptember.TheBACityflyerservice toCopenhagenwill operate twicedailyduring theweekwitha reducedserviceatweekendsusingEmbraer190 aircraft. Cimber Air also offer a daily service using the turbo-propATR aircraft.

SINGAPORELUXURYSingaporeAirlines is taking luxury flying tonewheights by introducing

the first ever first-classsuite. Theairline isnowoffering12deluxecabinsaboard its A380 aircraft, which regularly make the 13-hour flight fromLondon toSingapore.Foracool$15,000per ticket, the "SingaporeSuite"features a real bed (which can bemade into a single or double), a hand-stitched Italian armchair and a full lengthwardrobe.According to the site, the rooms also features 23-inch television and a

selectionofmore than700music albumsand120movies.Privacy is key,as the suite includes sliding doors with blinds. Gourmet dining isavailable,aswellasachoicebetweenDomPerignonorKrugchampagne.

ITALIANUPGRADEAlitalia has received its first new Airbus A330-200. The aircraft is the

first Alitalia plane to feature the new Premium Economy ‘Classica Plus’class and a completely updated ‘Magnifica’ Business Class. Seating 230passengers with 181 in Economy, 21 in Premium Economy and 28 inBusiness Class, the aircraft will be deployed on Alitalia’s transatlanticroutes. It is the first of a batch of 11 aircraft to be delivered by 2013.

VIRGINCALLINGVirgin Atlantic has signed

an agreement with Panasonic toinstallanin-flightentertainmentsystem that will enablepassengers to send andreceive texts/emails andmake phone calls with theirown devices. The airline willinstall theeX2systemonnewAirbus A330s. Virgin Atlantic isscheduled to take delivery of 10A330s, starting next February.Also, the eX2 system will enablepassengers to rate films, read reviewsfrom film critics andwatch interviewswith the cast and directors. Besidesmovies, the system will have a selection of TV shows, games andmusic.Passengerswill beable toplay content fromtheir iPodsand iPhones.

GOGHANAThis summer saw the launch of two new long haul services to Accra,

Ghana . Virgin Atlantic launched a three times aweek service at the endofMay fromHeathrow’sTerminal3usinganAirbusA340configuredwith34 Upper Class, 35 Premium Economy and 171 Economy seats. Theseven-hour flight is overnight outbound and daylight for the return. Itcompetes with British Airways daily Boeing 777 service from HeathrowandGhana International and the three times aweek 757 operation fromGatwick. United Airlines recently introduced the carrier’s first-evernon-stopservice to theAfricancontinent,withadaily767service toAccrafromWashington.

TOKYO INCREASEAir France has launched its first daily flight between Paris and Tokyo

using its A380 aircraft.KLM has also announced that it will operate three additional flights a

weekon theAmsterdam-Tokyoroute from5November,bringing the totalnumber of flights aweek to ten.

LONDONHOTELNEWSLondon has a new and impressive hotel and apartment

accommodation in an unfamiliar area for most visitors, Bethnal GreenTown Hall. For those whose geography is not so strong Bethnal Greenis in the heart of theEast End, an area now revitalisedwith its proximityto ‘TheCity’and theStratfordOlympicPark.The imposingandtraditional1930s building with Edwardian frontage and Neo-Classical fine stonefrontage has been restored offering 98 spacious hotel rooms andapartments combining the amenities and luxuries of a 5-star hotel.Enormouscraftsmanshiphasgone intoasensitive restorationofwide

marble halls, dramatic staircases and stunning public rooms whichinclude a traditional council chamber and the original council meetingrooms. Offering a mix of studios, one-bedroom suites, two-bedroomsuites and feature rooms, every apartment is unique.Meantime, Fairmont Hotels has set 10 October as the long-awaited

reopening date for TheSavoy, arguably London’smost iconic hotel. There-introduction of The Savoy into London’s social scene will reveal anumberofnotablehighlights including thecomplete remodellingof thelegendary River Restaurant and introduction of a new luxurious two-bedroomRoyal Suite.There are 38 River Suites and guest roomswith stunning views over

theRiver Thames. The hotel closed inDecember 2007 for a restorationthat encompasses the entire building, from the dramatic entrance andthe American Bar to the Savoy Grill and of course, every one of the 268guest rooms. Bookings for both properties are available from yournormal ATPI contact.

EASIERTRANSFERSTOMILANMALPENSAAnewdouble track tunnelon theCastellanza lineopenedearlier this

year. This has significantly reduced theMalpensaExpress journey timefromMilanCadorna station to theAirport’s Terminal 1. Construction ofthe EUR 150 million tunnel involved upgrading the infrastructure andbuildingadouble trackrail linewhichwill allowan increased frequencyfrom74 to 80 runsper day of theMalpensaExpress service and reducethe journey time from40 to 29minutes.

The airline proudly collected the award for‘Best Consistency of Wines’ across Businessand First Class at the prestigious annualBusiness Traveller’s 2010 Cellars in the SkyAwards in June.“Ourmandate is simple”, said JamesCluer, a

qualified Master of Wine, who has been a WineConsultant to Qatar Airways since 2005. “Wewant to have the best selection of wines in thesky. As one of only a few airlines to be rankedas ‘5 star’ we place considerable emphasis onour wine programme.”The wine selection committee comprises

James Cluer, Colin Bother (WSET Dimploma)and Erwan Robert, Qatar Airways Manager ofInflight Services, who is an expert on food andwine. This small group have a good level ofexpertise in tasting as well as in-depthknowledge of the on-board menus, highlightedby the fact that the airline haswon awards everyyear since 2005 for its wine programme.Meeting three or four times a year in Paris or

Frankfurt the committee blind tastes hundredsof wines which have been received in responseto tenders. “We never select wines based on thecritic’s scores.“Our overall objective is to offer passengers

an extensive selection of fine wines and anappropriate budget is allotted. We believe thatour wine list is critical to delivering a ‘5 star’experience to our passengers and this includespouring quality wines in Economy class.”

ChangingWine selections in First and Business Class

change regularly, approximately three times peryear.Many of the selections are ‘boutique’ winesonly available in small volumes. The airline doeshave a small number of wines that it keeps forlonger terms, such as the ‘impeccable’Weinbach VT Gewurztraminer and the Taylor’s20 year old Tawny.Each passenger is provided with their own

wine list that gives explanations anddescriptions about each selection, as well asphotographs of the label. To complete theexperience the cabin crew present a sommelierstyle service to passengers even if they arecruising at 35,000 feet! “The cabin crewpresents the bottle to the passenger and thenpours a sample for tasting, to mirror a finedining restaurant. We also invest considerablesums in top quality glassware. The crew areproperly trained in wine using information from

the WSET programme as a guide, and kept up-to-date with quarterly newsletters. This allcombines to provide our passengers withexceptional service to compliment the quality ofthe wines.“Our wine programme is focused on offering

benchmark wines from classic areas,”continues Erwan Robert who takes us on ajourney across the globewith an overview of thewine lists in First and Business Class.

First Class“In First Class the experience begins with La

Grande Dame fromChampagne Veuve ClicquotPonsardin. Passengers are served a nicelychilled glass of champagne prior to take-off,complimented by a selection of amuse bouche.This is the beginning of their vinous journey.Our selection of white wines includes a

deliciousMosel Kabinett fromSelbach-Oster, astunning single vineyard New ZealandSauvignon Blanc from Saint Clair, and a fineChassagne Montrachet from Jadot’s MonopoleClos de la Chapelle. Thesewines cover a varietyof styles in terms of dryness, body, acidity andoak, and pair with our deluxe Mediterraneanbuffet of lobster, crab, smoked salmon andother delicacies.Our selection of red wines includes Chateau

Ducru Beaucaillou 2004. This year we spent aconsiderable amount of time in Bordeauxtasting dozens of top flight classified growthsand, in the blind tasting, Ducru showedtremendous style, complexity and finesse. Ibelieve this chateau is making wines on a parwith the first growths, particularly in recent

SELECTIONQatar Airways shares with Travellers Newsthe secret of its successful wine programmeand gives readers an overview of the winelists in First and Business Class.

five star�����

34 & 35

vintages. The high level of aromatic intensityand the softer tannin structure from St Julienmakes it ideal for service on-board. We havepurchased several vintages of Ducru, which isnow our flagship claret.Other red wines in First Class include last

year’s ‘Best First Class Red’ Morton EstateBlack Label Pinot Noir which was re-selectedin a new vintage, 2007. Morton’s elegance,freshness and overall balance edged out theother top notchwines in the recent blind tasting.The range is completed by a rich AustralianShiraz from Dorrien in the Barossa valley, aclassic example of its type.For dessert we serve the stunning Domaine

Weinbach Gewurztraminer FurstentumVendange Tardive 2005, which also won ‘BestFirst Class Dessert Wine’ in 2007. Theexperience is capped off with a benchmark 20year old Tawny Port from Taylor Fladgate,accompanied by a selection of cheese.

Business ClassIn Business Class, we welcome passengers

with a glass of vintage Lanson 1998. TheLanson displays a high degree of maturity withtoasty notes to the bouquet layers of complexflavors. The richness is underpinned by arefreshing acidity.The selection of white wines includes an off

dry Dr Loosen Urziger Wurzgarten Kabinett, acrisp New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc fromCraggy Range’s Te Muna vineyard, and a fullerbodied Meursault from Chartron et Trebuchet.This provides passengers with a selection ofstyles to suit their individual tastes and

“We believe that ourwine list is critical todelivering a ‘5 star’experience.”James Cluer,Wine Consultant to Qatar Airways.

complimentour menu.The red

wines inBusinessClass include theintense and wellbalanced ChateauMonbousquet from StEmilion. Following our visit toBordeaux we have assembled aportfolio of fine claret for several yearsto pour in Business Class. This includesChateaux Smith Haut Lafitte, Le Bon Pasteurand Brane Cantenac.There is also an outstanding Brunello di

Montalcino from Poggio Antico “Altero”, and afull bodied Shiraz from Heartland in Australia.Ben Glaetzer shows his winemaking talent withthe top bottling, The Director’s Cut.The Poggio Antico tastes beautifully in the

sky, and shows well balanced levels of tanninand acid. We were cautious about listing anItalian red but after tasting samples in-flight wewere convinced it was a good choice, and todayit is one of our most popular wines.The experience is completedwith the fortified

20 year old Tawny Port from Taylor Fladgate,which has previously been ranked as a RunnerUp at the awards.”Whether you are a true wine connoisseur or

just enjoy a glass of fine wine with your meal,Qatar Airways award winning wine list certainlyoffers something for all of its passengers.

St. Regis Hotel in Singapore

ANNEYAREHRDIRECTORCTCMARINEPROJECTSERVICES

Anne’s Top 5 items she cannot travel without:1. iPod2. Good quality hand-cream3. Comfy socks4. Warm scarf5. Lipstick

IN THIS ISSUE OF TRAVELLERS NEWSWE TALK TOTWO MORE SEASONED TRAVELLERS TO DISCOVERTHEIR FAVOURITE DESTINATIONS, AIRLINES ANDHOTELS; THEIR PET HATES, TOP TIPS AND FINDOUT WHAT THEY DON’T LEAVE HOMEWITHOUTWHEN THEY GO ON THEIR TRAVELS.

TRAVELLERSTALES

First Flying Experience? Family

holidays to Jersey, I’ll always remember the

beautiful scenery and local hospitality and

of course, the ice-cream.

Ideal Travelling Companion? My

current role allowsme to travel extensively

on business and has given me the

opportunity to meet some great people.

From a lovely Grandma who had spent the

last three months visiting her

grandchildren in Australia to a guywhowas

about to re-join his crew mates on a

submarine! For personal travel I only get

the chance to travel with my family once or

twice a year, so I have to say my ideal

travelling companion is my wonderful

husband Peter. If he can’t make it I would

be more than happy to sit next to Jamie

Oliver as I really can’t cook and would

welcome some culinary advice.

Favourite Destination? On business it

would have to be Singapore. I have beena

number of times and always feel at ease.

Arriving in a new country, when you are

travelling on your own, can sometimes feel

a little daunting. Singapore is beautiful, itis

incredibly efficient and the people are really

helpful. On holiday I would have to say

Rome as it has so many wonderful

memories for me. It is a truly beautiful city

with so much to see and do.

Favourite Airline? I have three

favourite airlines and they are all good

for different reasons.Singapore Airlines as nothing was too

much trouble for the crew. The flight and

service on-board were of a very high

standard. Flying on Emirates is also a

pleasure as the cabin crew are always

helpful and the in-flight entertainment on

long-haul flights is good. Lastly Qantas,

again the crew are excellent. Really

pleasant and fun and although I haven’t

travelled with my children on them, on my

last flight I noticed how well the ‘little

people’ were looked after.

Best book to read during a long flight?

When I amnot reading business documents

I like to escape in a good book. I read a great

book by Tess Gerritsen recently called ‘The

Harvest’, bewarned youwon’t be able to put

it down.Favourite in flight film or best album

on your iPod? I love music – I have loaded

most of my favourite songs onto my iPod–

so I put it in shuffle mode and wait for the

next song to be chosen for me. I also have

photographs ofmy lovely family to enjoy. As

formovies I try to avoid tear-jerkers as I am

hopeless, I always cry!Luggage tips or tricks? Pack your

suitcase and then take half of it away as you

rarely wear everything that you pack.

Always take some flat, comfortable shoes,

fold your clothes well and never take more

than you can easily carry (or pull/push).

Best Hotel? I really had a great

experience staying at the St Regis

Hotel in Singapore, a lovely hotel in a

fabulous setting.Anything you always request when

checking into a hotel? When staying on

business Wi-Fi access is essential and

when staying on holiday I like a good view.

What do you hate about travelling?

Late night and early morning flight

transfers. I sometimes feel as though I

spend too much of my life waiting for the

next flight!What would make your life easier

when travelling overseas? Shorter but not

too tight connection times.

Comfy socks - one of Anne’s essentials!

Canadian Rockies - the great outdoors

Are you one of our seasonedtravellers? If so would you like to takepart in our next Travellers Tales?Please email us at editor@atpi.com

BOBSCHUMACHERSENIORDIRECTORUK& IRELANDCONTINENTALAIRLINES INC.

Bob’s Top 5 items he cannot travel without:1. Blackberry2. Charger3. Guide book (I continue to have more guidebooks than places I have visited!)4. One of my two passports5. An open mind

First Flying Experience? The first flight

that I can remembermust have beenwhen

I was around seven or eight years old and

travelling as an unaccompaniedminor on a

flight from Heathrow to Zurich on a

Swissair Coronado (for all you plane

spotters). Mymother is from a large Swiss

family, so I had several similarly aged

cousins to visit; this was the first of many

trips. I recall I had an UNMIN

(unaccompanied minor) sign that was

about three quarters the size of me. I can

remember the excitement and I wish I had

bottled it for the future.Ideal Travelling Companion? My wife.

We met through the aviation industry at a

Canada 3000 conference in Vancouver

(Canada 3000 was a large Canadian

charter airline that ceased trading in 2001).

We’ve travelled to some great places since

and our children have learnt the art of

travelling well and have not prevented us

from continuing to enjoy the fruits of this

business.Favourite Destination? There are too

many fantastic cities to choose from, but

for business I love New York. There are

always newplaces to visit and the buzz that

the city exudes is second to none. Gerard

Kenny had it right - it really is - “So good

they named it twice”!On holiday, I love the great outdoors of

the CanadianRockies, especially to ski, but

a Caribbean rhythm and a beautiful beach

also ticks many boxes. I’ve recently taken

to experiencing them from the floating

hotel that is a luxury cruise ship, I never

thought I’d do such a thing, but I’m so glad

I did.Favourite Airline? Need I say anything

here? Although I hear the United product’s

also mighty fine.Best book to read during a long flight?

One of the joys of long haul travel is the

chance to read, particularly newspapers

and periodicals, cover to cover. I rarely get

the chance. Otherwise, a ‘Grishamesque’

news stand novel also fits the bill.

Favourite in flight film or best album

on your iPod? This is a difficult choice as

when it comes to a favourite film it

depends somuch on onesmood. I recently

stumbled over ‘This is England’ which

reminded me so much of Britain in the

early 1980’s when I was at college. I often

choose films for their casts; Streep,

DeNiro, Hoffman and Nicholson have

featured in some of my favourite films. As

for music, give me some 80’s

soul and I’m happy.Luggage tips or tricks? I

always try to carry it on board,

if I can. Unless it’s a longer

break I find that it ensures a

disciplined packing routine.

For longer trips always have

an ‘emergency kit’ in your

hand baggage, as you never

quite know if this time it’s

going to be you and your

bags have gone AWOL!

Best Hotel? The Fairmont Chateau

Whistler is a nice hotel, as are many of its

sister properties. Luxurious rooms, a

mountain view and a hot toddy are the

perfect way to soothe the aching limbs

after a hard days skiing.Anything you always request when

checking into a hotel? I always request a

quiet room.What do you hate about travelling?

Queues.We understand enough nowabout

the travel process that queues could be

minimized. Often it’s simply poor resource

allocation. The supermarkets seem to

manage it, so why can’t the airports?

What would make your life easier

when travelling overseas?

The advent of the Euro, one currency fits

(nearly) all was a great step. Whether it’s

now socially and economically sustainable,

well that’s another conversation entirely.

36 & 37

Bob enjoys the chance to read on a flight

Advertisement

ATPI is celebrating its first move into Australia withthe opening of a new operation in Sydney. Theexpansion into Australia is in response to increasingdemand from clients for a presence in the countryparticularly with its proximity and involvement withthe booming Asia Pacific market.Graham Ramsey, ATPI Group Chief Executive flew to

Sydney to be part of the opening celebrations. "Our clientshave long been asking us to support them in Australia, sowe are excited to now be able to offer our specialist andunique services. This is verymuch a strategicmove for usand I see great opportunities in the Australian market."Heading up the Sydney operation is Managing Director

DebraBournewho joined ATPI at the beginning of the yearfrom global distribution system Amadeus. "We have aunique proposition in Australia for both our corporate andspecialist sector clients, particularly those in the marineand energy sector. ATPI's strong customer service cultureand access to leading edge travel technology to supportboth travel consultants and clients' needs will provide anunbeatable service."The time zone positioning will also enable the

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SYDNEYSUCCESSFORATPI

ATPI NEWS

Back row L to R Debra Bourne, Raoul Taylor, Graham Ramsey, David GoldingFront row L to R Judith Taylor, David Mair, Bridie Gill

38 & 39

COMPETITION

WINQatar Airways is delighted to announce

new services to the Vietnamese capitalHanoi, with four flights a week. The newroute will complement the existingservices to Vietnam’s commercial centreand largest city, Ho Chi Minh City, whereflights will also be increased from four aweek to daily. The Hanoi service starts on1st November 2010.Qatar Airways announced in June its

expansion programme was continuing withvigour with plans to launch six new routes,strengthening their presence in Europe andAsia from October 2010. The brand newdestination of Hanoi is in addition toBengaluru (Bangalore), Copenhagen,Ankara, Tokyo and Barcelona alreadyintroduced this year. New destinations fromthis autumn include Phuket, Nice, Brussels,Bucharest andBudapest. Operatingwith oneof the youngest and most environmentallyfriendly fleet of 84 aircraft in the skies, theQatar Airways network now numbers 92cities served worldwide and is on track tomeet a target 120 destinations by 2013.

A ‘Five Star’ AirlineAnother piece of news is that Qatar Airways

was named one of the top three airlines in theworld by the independent aviationmonitoringagency Skytrax. Skytrax also gave QatarAirways the ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’accolade and the airline retained its highest‘Five Star’ ranking – one of only six airlines inthe world to have this honour.Qatar Airways is renowned for its premium

and first class products and recently won‘Best Business Class in the World’ at theWorld Travel Awards. Corporate travellerscan enjoy a superb level of service andcomfort with Business Class having veryspacious 180-degree flat-bed seats and aseat pitch between 55" and 78" providesplenty of room to relax and stretch out. Theairline is acclaimed for having the world’sonly dedicated First and Business ClassTerminal at its hub at Doha InternationalAirport, so luxurious and well equipped it’s ajoy to arrive early at the airport!

To win two return flights from LondonorManchester to Vietnam (or anywhereon the Qatar Airways network) answerthe following questions:

1. When does the newservice to Hanoi start?A. 4th November 2012B. 1st November 2010C. 25th December 2010

2. How many aircraft do QatarAirways currently have in their fleet?A. 73B. 84C. 92

To enter the competition and for fullterms and conditions, please visitwww.atpi.com/competition/vietnam

Closing date 26 November 2010.

FlightswithQatarAirways

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