From Essex to Esbjerg

If you fancy travelling by ferry from England to Denmark, DFDS Seaways sails between Harwich, Essex and Esbjerg in Western Denmark three to four times a week all year round. Have a look at DFDSseaways.co.uk for more travel information.


Denmark Travel Tips

• Overall, life seems expensive for us Brits. The Danish kroner has followed the Euro up, versus the pound and the Danish VAT ("moms") is 25%
• Even though Carlsberg is one of Denmarks most famous exports, the locals will more often drink "Tuborg".
• Cycling is very popular - there are fantastic cycle paths all over - just take care in Copenhagen rush hour when the cycle lanes can get pretty fast!

Norwegian Air Continues Growth

Low-cost carrier Norwegian had continued strong passenger growth in 2009 and flew 18% more passengers than in 2008 on board its 737 fleet.

In total, the Norwegian airline which is by some estimates Europe's fourth largest airline opened up 63 new routes, including 30 in Denmark, 18 in Sweden and 15 in Norway. In December the Norwegian low cost carrier flew 815,562 passengers. This is an increase of 163,667, equivalent to 25% compared to December last year.

Passenger growth came at a cost though - Yield for December 2009 is expected to be 17% lower than in December 2008. The change is based primarily on the removal of fuel surcharges and changes to network, as well as phasing in new aircraft with more capacity and lower per passenger seat costs.

Cabin factor for the whole group was 76% in December, which is an improvement of two percentage points compared to the same month last year. In terms of operational performance it was not a good month for time keeping. The company carried 99.4% of its scheduled flights in December, of which 61.8% departed on time. Punctuality for the whole year though was a much more respectable 81%.

"December was an exceptional month in terms of precision. The month was characterized by much snow and bad weather on the continent and along the Norwegian coast. In combination with many travellers in December, staffing, especially at Gardermoen, was too small to handle the traffic fast enough. We have now put more effort into to fix the situation, "says CEO Bjorn Kjos.

London City Copenhagen Flights

Cimber Sterling is pulling out of the crowded Gatwick - Copenhagen market (where it has been up against easyJet and Norwegian) and will instead fly to and from London City.

SAS has recently announced it will stop flying between London City and Copenhagen.

When SAS closes its route between London City Airport and Copenhagen, in the spring 2010, Cimber Air will be moving its London route from Gatwick to London City Airport in the heart of London.

"We had already sought slots at London City, so we would be ready to move into if the opportunity arose. And it does now, when SAS withdraws, " said Bjarne Rasmussen, sales and marketing director Cimber Air. "We have a clear expectation that our customers - both business travelers and those who must leave the city, will appreciate that we now move to the inner city."

Cimber Air will fly to London City Airport twice daily. You can not operate larger aircraft at The Docklands airport, so Cimber Sterling will operate propeller-type ATR with room for 46 passengers. Cimber is well aware of the airport when it has flown the route for SAS since the Dash-8 aircraft were grounded.

Cimber Air continues to fly between Billund and Gatwick, twice daily, Monday to Friday.

Ålesund - Norway Photo

Nordic Travel Deals

It's sale time !

All on the same day I have just got emails from SAS, Iceland Express and Hotel Connect telling me about their great Scandinavia travel deals :

• Hotel Connect - Hotel Connect Buy 2 Stay 3 on Christmas market hotels. Stockholm and Copenhagen are included in the promotion as well as a host of other European cities. Shame not to see Gothenburg on the list. It's great for Christmas time.
• SAS - SAS have got the start of 2010 on sale. Fly from the fifth of Jan until the fifteenth of March 2010. One way flights start at £59 one way and that is for Gatwick to Bergen as well as Manchester / Heathrow to Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm. Other routes include Scandinavia from Heathrow, Manchester, Aberdeen, Birmingham (only Copenhagen) and Newcastle (only Stavanger). Book Now.
• Iceland Express - last but not least and with the shortest booking period is Iceland Express. They are offering flights to Reykjavik from London Stansted and Gatwick for £55 each way. Flights up until the 15th December. Maybe a chance to see The Northern Lights ? Bookings at this special price only at http://www.icelandexpress.com/cluboffer/ and only until midnight (GMT) on Friday 20th November.

Iceland Express to start New York flights

It seems New York might be getting regular visits from Icelandic low cost carrier Iceland Express before long.

Iceland Express New York Flights

Iceland Express are expected to officially announce that they will be offering flight to The big apple to Europe with a stop (or stopover) in Reykjavik.

No word on prices or schedule yet.

Obama travels to Nordic Region

Barack Obama is on the way to Scandinavia.
On Friday, he will fly to Copenhagen - to help his hometown Chicago get the Summer Olympics 2016.

Yesterday the White House confirmed that Barack Obama will visit Copenhagen on Friday.

The International Olympic Committee, IOC are meeting to decide whether Tokyo, Madrid, Rio or Chicago will host the summer Olympics 2016 - and the U.S. president wants to give his old hometown as much help as he can.
- He decided last weekend that he would be there and do what he can, says adviser Valerie Jarrett to NBC.
It has long been known that Michelle Obama would be coming, but now it turns out she will be joined by her husband.
- The president does not want to leave anything to chance, "says Jarrett.
Whether the Obama couple would be taking Air Force One away for the weekend and make a little holiday out of it is not known, but the Copenhagen residents can count on tight security and flight passengers flying from Copenhagen on Friday should check in early as there might be delays and extra security checks!

It is also thought that both the president and king of Spain will be in Copenhagen to support the Madrid bid.