This French Life

Airlines prepare for air traffic control strike in France

AIRLINES are expected to have to cancel a number of flights over the coming days as air traffic control staff stage strike action.

The disruption is scheduled to begin on Tuesday 11 June at 6am local time and will continue for 72 hours until 5.59am on Friday 14 June.

During this period, the French civil aviation authority DGAC has requested carriers reduce their schedules by 50 per cent at Paris, Lyon, Nice, Marseille, Toulouse and Bordeaux.

Flybe expects to cancel a number of flights each day and is advising passengers to consult its website.

Ryanair has listed the flights set to be cancelled and said that affected passengers will be notified by email or SMS on their rerouting or refund options.

Similarly easyJet has been advised to expect only 50% of normal air traffic control services, which means it will be required to cancel approximately 128 flights each day.

MyFerryLink blocked from Dover by Competition Commission

THE Competition Commission in the UK has said that Eurotunnel's MyFerryLink cross-Channel service should be blocked from operating out of Dover.

The Commission said that Eurotunnel already enjoyed a large market share and its presence would lead to price rises for passengers and freight customers.

Eurotunnel has been given six months to divest its ships on the crossing between Dover and Calais, but has said it will appeal the decision.

Jacques Gounon, chairman and chief executive officer of Eurotunnel, said: "This decision by the Competition Commission will reduce the choice of services across the Straits of Dover to the detriment of the consumer. It will inevitably lead to an increase in the price of a crossing."

Eurotunnel bought three ferries and other assets from bankrupt SeaFrance in a €65 million deal and leased them back to a cooperative of former SeaFrance under the MyFerryLink brand to sail under the French flag.

The Competition Commission (CC) believes that Eurotunnel decided to acquire the SeaFrance ferries in order to prevent ferry operator DFDS/LD from buying them.

Eurotunnel was concerned that if DFDS/LD obtained the assets cheaply, it could drive down prices for customers. The CC also found that one of the three current ferry operators on the Dover–Calais route was likely to exit in the short term, if the CC took no action, in which case Eurotunnel could gain an even larger share of the cross-Channel market.

Chairman of the Eurotunnel/SeaFrance Inquiry Group and CC deputy chairman, Alasdair Smith, said: "It cannot be good for competition when Eurotunnel, which already holds a market share of over 40 per cent, moves into the ferry business—particularly when it did so to stop a competitor from buying the ferries.

"Customers would lose out from Eurotunnel increasing its share even further and being able to raise prices on the tunnel services."

Bike routes for France added to Google Maps

FRANCE is just one amongst a number of European countries that now has cycle routes available as an option in Google Maps.

The team behind Google Maps says that they have added information about bike trails, lanes and recommended roads directly to the map, in some countries they have worked with partner organisations.

As the season of big bike races in Europe has started, why not check what route Google suggests for a historical stage of the Tour de France?

Our bicycle route for the classic stage from Biarritz to Bordeaux navigates on 206 beautiful, often car-free kilometers close to the Atlantic Ocean, compared to the rather boring 206 kilometers on the N10/A63 which is suggested for cars.

To see the biking directions service, launch maps on an Android device, pick the biking directions option and 'Bicycling' layer, then ask Google Maps for directions.

Lack of a local petrol station means more driving for some

NEARLY four million people in France are threatened by the lack of a petrol station close to their home, claims the Fédération nationale de l'artisanat automobile (Fnaa).

The organisation says that the risk of so-called 'désertification', or the closure of petrol stations, means that 300,000 people have no station within ten minutes drive.

For around 3.6 million others, the same situation would occur should their nearest petrol station be forced to close.

The Fnaa warn that it is not just a problem in the countryside, as a number of residents in Paris face a similar journey time to fill up their vehicles.

And with increased environmental standards set to come into force at the end of 2013, Fnaa believes more petrol stations could close.

In 2012 there were 12,300 petrol stations in France, in comparison to 47,500 in 1975.

Related: Website helps find cheap petrol prices in France

SNCF reward turns up nearly half of its lost railway wagons

WELL that was quick. In March SNCF offered a reward to its staff to help track down 150 railway wagons lost on its network.

Now France Info reports that 63 wagons have turned up after staff became much more attentive thanks to the €80 reward on offer for people who helped track down the equipment.

The wagons where found in workshops, distant sidings and long forgotten corners of railway yards.

Brighton to Paris flights suspended due to French customs delays

ONLY a few weeks after starting, Brighton City Airways has said its service between Brighton Shoreham Airport and the Aéroport de Pontoise, found to the north west of Paris, has been suspended.

The airline has said that due to ongoing French customs and immigration delays in setting up a point of entry at Paris Pontoise airport, flights will be stopped from Tuesday, May 7.

Brighton City Airways has said it will offer a full refund to passengers expecting to fly on the cancelled services and apologise for the inconvenience.

Mobile check-in and boarding passes from easyJet

BUDGET airline easyJet is to trial mobile boarding passes on flights departing from six airports – London Stansted, London Southend, Manchester, Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Nice.

Passengers travelling from the airports included in the trial can now to check-in in less than 10 seconds, download and store their boarding passes on iPhone and Android phones.

Designed to be simple and easy to use, it offers passengers peace of mind by displaying their status as ‘checked in’ or ‘not checked in’.

Once boarding passes have been downloaded they are stored offline so no network coverage or wi-fi is required and no roaming charges will be incurred.

The app also has Apple’s popular Passbook functionality so that customers can easily store boarding passes for upcoming trips in one, convenient place.

SE France gets iDBUS links to Italy

SNCF is to expand its iDBUS bus services to offer connections from southern France to Italy,

A link will operate between Aix-en-Provence, Marseille and Nice crossing into Italy and connecting up Genoa, Turin and Milan.

The service starts on Ma7 27, 2013 and will offer one return journey a day between Marseille, Nice, Genoa and Milan. While two journeys a day will be available between Nice, Genoa and Milan.

Each iDBUS offers a little more leg room than standard buses, as well as provides wifi and electrical plug points.

Eurostar to start London to Lyon Part Dieu service in May

EUROSTAR has announced it will be operating a weekly Saturday service from London to Lyon Part Dieu between 4 May and 29 June, 2013.

The route will be direct on the outbound journey from the UK, but will require a change at Lille for the return journey, and an assessment of the success of the route will take place at a later date.

Eurostar say return ticket prices will start from €109 in standard class, and €229 return in the premier class service.

MyFerryLink has £19 each way tickets on Dover to Calais

YOU might have to book soon, and be flexible with your travel times, but the Dover to Calais service from MyFerryLink has tickets priced from £19 each way.

The deal is available on any duration crossings for a car and up to nine passengers, although during busy travel periods you may not find your perfect crossing time, but MyFerryLink say there is plenty of availability throughout spring and early summer.

MyFerryLink operates 16 daily crossings between Dover and Calais.