n cruise ship purchase
European river cruise specialist Peter Deilmann River Cruises has acquired the 98-passenger ship Cezanne for an undisclosed sum. The vessel, previously owned by the French company Provence Cruise Line, will be refurbished this winter to upgrade it from a four-star to a five-star standard. Cezanne will be deployed on France’s Rhone and Saone rivers from April 1 2000. Peter Deilmann will have eight ships in Europe next year, including the Katharina, a new 82-passenger ship that will debut on the Elbe between Potsdam and Prague.
n service under threat
SeaContainers is looking at whether to axe the Campbeltown-Ballycastle route operated by its subsidiary the Argyll & Antrim Steam Packet Company. The twice-daily summer service has experienced a decline in passenger volumes from 28,000 in 1998 to 24,000 in 1999. Car traffic was static at 6,000.
n new package launch
Emirates has launched a range of benefits called The Executive Selection for UK travellers. The package, which runs until June 30 2000, gives customers free domestic UK flights to Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester to connect to Emirates’ flights, free stopovers and duty-free products.
n APD on the agenda
TheF-AIR Passenger Duty for all campaign was set to discuss options for cutting Airline Passenger Duty on low-cost flights at a meeting held as Travel Weekly went to press. The government has pledged to reduce APD in order to counter the impact of a new tax on the return leg of domestic flights. The campaign group wants to decide on a united travel industry position before meeting with the Treasury and Customs and Excise officials.