In Brief

Airlines raise fuel surcharges

Three more European carriers this week announced increases in their fuel surcharge.

Lufthansa said the surcharge on domestic and intra-European services would go up by €3 to €24 per flight.

On long haul services, it has been raised by €10 to €92 per flight.

The new rates came into force on June 16.

Austrian Airlines said from June 18, its surcharge on short and medium haul flights would rise by €3 to €24 and on long haul flights by €10 to €92.

Air Berlin said surcharges would go up from June 16 by €3 to €25 on flights between European cities, by €3 to €35 on medium haul flights and by €10 to €95 on long haul flights.

HRG continues African expansion

Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) has appointed two new partners in Africa.

They are Odyssee Internationale in Togo and IPC Voyages in Guinea.

It brings the TMCTravel Management Company: An agency which manages business travel for a company.'s network on the continent to 21 partners.

The economies of Togo and Guinea are expanding due to the export of raw materials like phosphates and iron ore prompting a growth in business travel.

David Radcliffe, HRG's ceo, said: added: "These new partnerships enable us to extend our service for multinational clients and we are particularly pleased to be increasing our presence in the growing African market as it will help extend the benefits and expertise of HRG's global capabilities to the region."

JurysDoyle signs up to Alliance

Irish hotel group JurysDoyle is to become the tenth member of the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA).

The chain will join later this year when it has completed a re-launch process including a revamp of its brand identity.

JurysDoyle has 11 hotels in Ireland, the UK and the US.

GHA is a network of nine independent hotels groups with properties in 41 countries.

Among the members are Kempinski, Marco Polo and Pan Pacific.

easyJet may shut German hub

Low cost carrier easyJet has begun a 90-day consultation over the future of its base in Dortmund.

The process may result in the closure of the base three years after it opened.

Dortmund is easyJet's second largest based in Germany after its main hub at Berlin-Schönefeld but is located in a region well served by airports.

These include Cologne-Bonn and Düsseldorf.

Travelport launches new online security tool

Travelport GDS  has launched a new online security tool for agents using Galileo.

It said its Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) function will give agents increased security when making online bookings.

Patrick Lukan, country manager UK and Ireland, said: "Online security is a critical issue for all companies to manage especially considering the ever-increasing number of online transactions.

"Our new SSL connection ensures that all data passing between the Web server and our desktop remains both private and unique to travel agencies and Galileo."

EC to probe Alitalia loan

The European Commission is to investigate the loan of €300m to Alitalia by the Italian government.

The EDC said the loan could "constitute state aid and is incompatible with the community rules in force and could therefore give the company an unjustified advantage over its competitors."

It said the chronically troubled airline had already received state aid for rescue and re-structuring and could not receive any more.

Alitalia has said the loan, which it described as a "bridging loan", was within EC law.