ADVANTAGE/BA LINK
Advantage Travel Centres will become the first independent consortium to have a joint marketing agreement with British Airways when the initiative begins in the New Year. BA will fund promotional activities which Advantage agents will be able to advertise in their shops. The agreement was due to be finalised as Travel Weekly went to press.
BA DESIGN CHIEF QUITS
British Airways head of design management Chris Holt has resigned after 11 years with the airline. He was behind the controversial ethnic branding of BA’s tail fins. Despite spending £60m on the redesign, BA has admitted the new tail fins are unpopular with many UK customers. Holt is expected to leave at the end of the year.
FLEXTECH OPEN DEAL
TV broadcaster Flextech has signed a deal to open a travel shop on British Sky Broadcasting’s new digital TV service Open. Going Places has also signed up as a content provider on Open. At present, the TV service offers retailers access to 1.25m Sky digital subscribers.
ABTA APPOINTMENT
Thomas Cook commercial manager Paula Thomson has joined the ABTA board following the resignation of Lunn Poly consumer innovations director Peter Povey. Povey’s place on the Travel Agents’ Council has been taken by Lunn Poly’s Mark Pritchard.
GB AIRWAYS ON MOVE
GB Airways has announced plans to move into new Gatwick premises in May 2000. It will leave its current Gatwick headquarters, the Iain Stewart Centre, for former terminal, The Beehive.