LNER Launches International Website Making Travel Simpler For Overseas Tourists   London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is proud to announce the launch of its new international website, making travel simpler and smarter for overseas customers.   The new website coincides with the removal of pre-departure testing and quarantine rules for vaccinated people arriving in England or Scotland from 11 February 2022.   In a move that expands LNER’s global market, customers in 10 countries, including China, Japan, Spain, South Korea and Italy, are among the first to benefit when booking directly online.   LNER’s new search and booking engine offers international customers in those countries an option to purchase train tickets using their language and currency. The LNER.co.uk website will automatically detect those customers who are searching outside of the UK and will redirect them to the customised site to improve their online booking experience. The website launch comes as LNER reintroduces its full timetable, excluding pre-planned engineering works, meaning customers can discover destinations across the full 956-miles of East Coast route.   LNER has been working with travel tech company and rail retailer, Omio, to develop the site, which has the capability to operate in up to 20 languages and 26 currencies, including Euros, Korean Won and Japanese Yen or by using a payment method recognised in the home country.   David Horne, Managing Director at LNER, said: “Our mission is to transform rail travel, inspiring more people to explore the beauty of England and Scotland with our world-class Azuma trains. The launch of our international website means we are offering our customers the best possible experience throughout their journey from the moment they look to make a reservation, to their journey onboard to the time they arrive at their destination.   “We are continuing to see strong demand for customers travelling with LNER for leisure, which is contributing to a strong recovery from the pandemic. Our new international website will now make it easier for even more visitors from overseas to travel with LNER and explore our fantastic destinations.”   Data from the Office for National Statistics show there were 40.9 million visits to the UK in 2019, with overseas visitors spending £28.4 billion, when almost a quarter travelled by rail during their stay.   Many of the top tourist destinations feature on LNER’s East Coast route, including London, Edinburgh, Leeds, York, Newcastle and Inverness. The LNER route is also home to some of the most spectacular scenery in the country, from the Scottish Highlands to the Northumberland coastline and the many towns and cities along the way.     Figures from the Office of Rail and Road further showed that LNER customer numbers in July to September 2021 recovered to 89.6 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, nearly 20 percentage points higher than any other operator, with LNER working hard to build on that success.   Sally Balcombe, Chief Executive at VisitBritain said: “This new initiative will help to boost future bookings by making it much easier for international visitors to plan their trips. Removing barriers to travel also promotes a message of welcome and will encourage visitors to explore more, travel further and stay longer, helping to drive tourism across more of the country, boosting local economies.”   Visit Scotland is also welcoming the move. Data from 2019, pre-pandemic, shows there were 3.4 million overnight international trips to Scotland, of which around a third came from Europe, with a £2.5bn spend from overnight international trips of which 36 per cent was from Europe.   Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “We welcome the launch of LNER’s new international website to make it easier for visitors to book and travel by rail. Train travel is a central part of creating a sustainable tourism destination in Scotland and we support any moves which will encourage its use, while helping to boost Scottish tourism as it recovers from the impact of COVID-19.”   LNER is welcoming even more customers back to rail in many ways. ‘Seat Sure’ enables customers to travel reassured they have the comfort of a seat for the duration of their journey. Once onboard, they’ll enjoy the very best in LNER hospitality and customer service, with a wide range of food and drink, sourced locally along the route, served to their seat in both First Class and Standard.   For visitors and customers looking for inspiration to make eco-friendly choices, LNER has launched a ‘Green Guide’ showcasing the best places to stay, eat and drink during trips to London, Newcastle or Edinburgh. https://www.lner.co.uk/our-destinations/travel-inspiration/green-guides/   LNER’s new Azuma fleet is delivering significant environmental benefits with trains running using overhead electric wires along the majority of the East Coast route, delivering the greenest form of motorised public transport.   To ensure customers can travel with confidence, enhanced levels of cleaning continue to be carried out at LNER managed stations and onboard trains.

  London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is celebrating International Women’s Day 2022 by releasing research that looks at the bias experienced by women working to develop and progress their careers.   The specially-commissioned research conducted by YouGov in February 2022 reveals the true picture when it comes to the bias experienced by women in different sectors throughout their careers. Key findings include:  

• A third (33 per cent) of working women surveyed believe that gender bias exists in their workplace, with the worst industries being IT and telecoms (46 per cent), construction (45 per cent) and financial services (43 per cent).
• A staggering 75 per cent of women surveyed who have been mistaken for someone more junior at work in the past two years believe that their gender played a role in this error.
• Two out three (66 per cent) of women surveyed who have had their skills, knowledge or expertise questioned at work in the past two years believe it is at least partly due to their gender.
• Almost half (48 per cent) feel that, in their workplace, having children hinders progression opportunities.
• Three out of five (57 per cent) of women who have been overlooked for promotion in the past 24 months said their gender played a role in why they were overlooked.

  When it comes to women being expected to do tasks in the workplace beyond their job description, one in five women (21 per cent) were asked or expected to do extra administrative duties (eg, booking meeting rooms, collecting refreshments for colleagues).   The International Women’s Day global theme for 2022 is Break The Bias and looks to address imbalance for women across the world, ranging from the workplace to access to healthcare, education and social attitudes.   As well as encouraging more business leaders to review bias in their organisations, LNER is a leader for gender diversity in the transport industry with a 42 per cent female workforce, compared to the industry average of 16 per cent.   Claire Ansley, People and Customer Experience Director at LNER, said: “International Women’s Day continues to be a focal point for all our people at LNER as we take stock of how gender is perceived by colleagues and our goals in diversity for the future.   “Our research shows that women are experiencing bias at work in some sectors more than others, which is why this year we are celebrating International Women’s Day by highlighting the many ways in which women can take their careers forward in the railway sector.   “Speaking from personal experience, I’ve enjoyed 27 years of working in the rail industry, starting out by serving teas on the Pullman service between Yorkshire and London before progressing through a variety of roles in retail, station management and operational responsibilities and now to my current role as People and Customer Experience Director at LNER.   “It shows that the railway offers brilliant opportunities for women to develop and progress their careers, with a huge range of opportunities across roles that many people would not necessarily associate with rail. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, digital analysts, chefs and accountants – a whole host of different roles – are available in the railway and offer women the opportunity to take their career forward in ways they might never have imagined.”   LNER is proud to champion equal career development opportunities for all, with many colleagues having tenure of more than 20 years across multiple, progressive roles and is calling on other businesses to offer the same to their workforces.   Kate McFerran, Director of Communications at LNER, said: “Our research shows there is still a great deal of progress to be made in attitudes based on gender bias in the workplace, and in some sectors more than others.   “However, in the railway family, we take pride in colleagues who regularly say that once you join, you never want to leave the industry, due to the multitude of opportunities to develop and thrive at work.   “Our ambition is to help other women realise the benefits of a career in the rail industry, which offers a world of challenges and opportunities for people across all roles and experiences levels.”

London City Airport today opened its first electric car charging stations. The airport is offering seven new charging stations for use by passengers, staff and black cab The initial instalment will include three 50kW rapid and four 22kW fast charging points, of which one 50kW charger will be specially designated for use by the local black cab community. The remaining rapid and fast chargers will be located in the airport's car parks and will be available to passengers, staff and minicabs. The installation was undertaken by UK Power Networks Services, who manage the private electricity network of London City Airport. The service will be provided by BP Pulse and a rapid charge for passengers will cost 30p per kWh, with payment possible either by credit card or via the BP Pulse app. To promote sustainable journeys and make electric cars more affordable, a salary sacrifice finance scheme was offered to all London City Airport staff late last year, in partnership with Tusker. This will continue to be offered to new starters as the airport plans for a recruitment drive throughout 2022. London City Airport CEO, Robert Sinclair said: "Travel is about more than just a flight and we are committed to encouraging clean journeys, whether by electric car or by DLR, to and from London City." "As we start to offer connections to more destinations, I am hopeful that the electric charging stations will help re-affirm our position as the airport with the best sustainable transport links in the UK." "Aviation Minister Robert Courts said: "As we build back greener from the Covid-19 pandemic, it is great to see London City Airport leading the way in catering for the growing number of people who are switching to electric vehicles."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he plans to end all remaining Covid restrictions in England earlier than planned. 'If the current encouraging trends in the data continue' the last restrictions will be removed a month earlie, Johnson said at PMQs. The restrictions were originally set to expire on 24 March. "It is my intention to return on the first day after the half-term recess to present our strategy for living with Covid," Johnson said. "It is my expectation that we will be able to end the last domestic restrictions - including the legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive - a full month early." Currently face coverings are required on London transport and fully vaccinated people with Covid can leave isolation after five days if they test negative two days in a row. Downing Street said the removal of isolating would be replaced by guidance, and it urged people not to go to the workplace if they are positive be Covid-19. Some unions and health experts slammed the move as 'too far, too soon.' The news will pile pressure on Scotland and Wales to follow suit.

Passenger traffic at London Luton Airport (LLA) remains down by two-thirds compared to pre-pandemic levels. It welcomed 1.2 million passengers throughout July and August this year, as holidaymakers took advantage of relaxed travel restrictions. However it was still well down on 2019 when the airport served 3.6 million passengers. The most popular destinations for passengers travelling through the airport in July and August were Palma de Mallorca, Bucharest and Belfast, reflecting the government's traffic light system. Despite the success of the UK's vaccination program, the uncertainty created by changing travel restrictions resulted in a 4% drop in passenger numbers compared to last summer. LLA is calling for further industry support from government. This includes simplifying travel through easier and cheaper testing. and additional financial support through the quieter winter period. "We recognise the effort Government is making to try to help the sector navigate this difficult period, but these figures make clear the need to urgently overhaul the current travel system," said Alberto Martin, the airport's  CEO.