Spanish Travel News - July 2008 Edition

Dear {!firstname_fix},

As we're now entering the real high season in Spain we thought it was worth reminding you to be extra vigilant at our airports. Unfortunately this is the time when belongings go missing and the lost property offices are inundated with items and so take much longer to respond to any queries.

Regrettably it's also the time when most of the luggage gets lost, so if you one of the unlucky ones it's important to carry at least a change of clothing in your hand luggage: or better still if you are travelling with a partner and taking two hold bags put a selection of your clothes in both bags as one of them will hopefully turn up! Another option is to look into security tagging your bags.

On a more cheerful note the weather here is glorious with warm seas and soaring temperatures starting to hit the 30's, so if you are heading this way shortly keep safe and have a great trip.

Gary Ingram

Many airlines which presently use Almeria Airport are progressively reducing the number of destinations they have on offer, mainly due to competition from low-cost operators.

One example, British Airways, have had to cease flights to London, unable to compete with easyJet’s prices. Other companies which reduced the number of flights to certain destinations during the quieter winter months are now considering whether it is worth their while restarting the routes.

Some such destinations, which have brought numerous tourists to and from the province, are Glasgow, Newcastle, Shannon, Belfast, Rome, Marseilles and Bordeaux.

Almeria Airport is one of the province’s most important links to the rest of Spain, Europe and farther afield. Located eight kilometres from Almeria City, it has connections to the major tourist destinations in the area such as Cabo de Gata, Aguadulce, Roquetas de Mar, El Ejido and Mojacar.

During the 1990s, it became increasingly popular until reaching one million passengers in 2000, having undergone several changes in 1995. In 2007, the airport received 1,206,634 passengers, 20,141 aeroplanes and 19.8 tonnes of cargo.

Local people are worried that this will have a negative impact on tourism, especially as the high-speed train link with Madrid will not be ready until 2013 at the very soonest. In addition, the A-7 motorway is still not completed, preventing national tourists from reaching the area in adequate numbers.

If you are going to rent a car when you arrive in Spain hire it now as some makes and models get completely booked out over the high season, and last year some of the hire car agents ended up with nothing at all available in August. So if you are coming to Spain make sure you hire a car well in advance to ensure that you can get a vehicle.

We work with a company called Cartrawler who hold a central database of Spanish car hire firms which they can match your requirements against and come up with a very competitive quote. So to save yourself some time and money get a free online quote for car hire here.

If you are visiting Barcelona and don't fancy walking round the city carrying unintelligible maps and guide books you can download a guided walk of the attractions straight on to your iPod or MP3 player!

The route has been prepared by expert guides and enables you to see all the main attractions in this beautiful city, including places off the normal tourist track. You can find out more at www.talkingtrip.com

Malaga to New York flights now operating

The first Delta Air Lines flight from JFK Airport in New York arrived in Malaga airport on 5th June, while the first passengers heading to the Big Apple without any stopovers from Malaga were checking in.

There are currently two flights a week and from July the frequency will increase to four times a week with Delta expecting to fly 70,000 passengers a year on the route. You can find out more and book a flight online at www.delta.com

Ryanair flights from London Stansted to Madrid will depart twice on every weekday and on Saturdays and Sundays with effect from 26th October 2008. For up to dat

e timetables, fares and to book a flight online visit www.ryanair.com

Castellon Airport Update

The Madrid Government has now given final approval for Murcia's new airport at Corvera to go ahead. The project offers an an alternative to the existing airport at San Javier which handles over two million (mainly British passengers) a year.  The regional government has already awarded the concession to construct and operate the new Corvera airport and all that was holding up works was the final approval from the Ministry of Development.

The construction contract and 40 year management concession has gone to Aeromur SA who are expected to start the two year project in the summer of 2008 and complete it by 2010. The new airport will have an initial operating capacity of 1.5 million passengers, rising to 5.2 million in 2015 and eventually increasing to 8.7 million in the second phase of construction.

It has been announced that several budget airlines have already expressed strong interest in Corvera Airport because flight operations are restricted at the San Javier one because it shares its facilities with the military base nearby. At Corvera civilian flights will be able to operate 24-hours a day.

The new airport will be directly linked to the several new motorways across Murcia and to the main A7 north-south motorway.  The Spanish Airport Authority will continue operating the existing airport at San Javier and has recently added a second control tower and a second runway (which is completed but not yet in use). 

Currently the local land owners are having their land expropriated and this is expected to be concluded soon, but no cash bonus is being offered and they are only being paid the value of their land as dry stony farmland.

A company called Vistilo is offering our newsletter readers 10% off Baby & Laptop Bags
 
Always on the look out for innovative and good quality new Spanish products, we have recently been in contact with Saskia who is the owner and founder of Vistilo Bags. She used to work in the London City and when she became a mother was unable find the perfect bag for her laptop ( that wasn't in the usual plain and boring style) or a good baby bag which had loads of pockets and space but still looked great.  So using her artistic inspiration and business acumen she designed and created her own bags and now runs www.vistilo.com

The bags are made in Spain with high quality and hard wearing fabrics which come treated to repel  rain and stains. They ship to the UK and have international sales points too.  You can obtain your 10% discount by emailing Saskia at info@vistilo.com or give her a call on 0034 696 231 973 mentioning the Spanish Airport Guide.
 

Why not spend the summer in our own 1 bedroom apartment! Its just 45 mins by car from Malaga and is the perfect place to recharge your batteries!

You are welcome to come and stay for as little as 3 days to as long as 3 months!

If you would like more information and photographs on the apartment then please click here!

www.lamaestranza.eu

We are still receiving a large number of requests for information on our message board, and ask that you give us as much as notice as possible if you need information on bus and train timetables in order to plan your journey as they can sometimes take some time to find.

And please carry on sending your travel tips or advice as we can pass them on to other travellers and include them in our monthly newsletter.