This French Life

Flybe offer up new flights to France and beyond

THANKS to its codeshare agreement with Air France, Flybe is to offer a number of new routes between the UK and France this summer.

New routes from Aberdeen, Bristol and Newcastle to Paris Charles de Gaulle and from Birmingham to Lyon will be on offer, and the codeshare agreement will offer new onward travel options.

Passengers flying from any of Flybe’s 11 UK departure points serving the French capital can now connect seamlessly to a selection of 19 new European destinations.

Providing onward travel from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Budapest, Geneva, Ljubljana, Lyon, Madrid, Munich, Nice, Nuremburg, Prague, Sofia, Vienna, Warsaw, Zagreb and Zurich

And from Paris Orly Ouest to Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Perpignan and Toulouse.

Related: Southampton to Tours summer flights from Flybe

Southampton to Tours summer flights from Flybe

A SUMMER service is to be operated between Southampton and Tours by Flybe, with one way fares starting from £44.99.

Flights will operate on Wednesday and Saturday from May 16, with the service running through until 8 September, 2012.

Timetable:
Southampton to Tours
Wednesday, depart 10.15am, arrive 12.30pm
Saturday, depart 4.10pm, arrive 6.25pm

Tours to Southampton
Wednesday, depart 12.55pm, arrive 1.10pm
Saturday, depart 6.50pm, arrive 7.05pm

Official SeaFrance statement

THE Commercial Court in Paris ordered the full liquidation of SeaFrance on the 9 January 2012. As a result, the company is no longer able to trade.

SeaFrance has always respected its obligations to its customers and regrets not being able to fulfil any outstanding customer bookings.

The company has set up an automatic refund process for all current bookings and customers will be contacted about this process by email within 24 hours. Customers’ bank accounts will be credited with a full refund as soon as possible.

The staff of SeaFrance are grateful to all their customers for the loyalty and confidence they have shown and hope that they will be able to make alternative travel arrangements.

Any customers wishing to contact SeaFrance directly should call 0845 458 0666.

Another fee on Ryanair tickets

ANOTHER fee is to be added to the price of a Ryanair flight, with the introduction of a €0.25 levy per passenger for all bookings made from Tuesday 17 January.

The airline said it has introduced the fee to cover the inclusion of airlines in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), which aims to cut greenhouse gases.

All European airlines will face the additional cost, and it is expected that others beyond Ryanair will put the price of tickets up to cover the ETS scheme.

A family of four travelling on Ryanair will pay an additional €2 on a return ticket and it comes soon after it said it will cost more to put bags in the hold, especially during the busy summer months.

Ryanair add routes to Girona, new links to SW France

A NUMBER of new routes across Europe have been launched by Ryanair from Girona Airport, offering new links to south west France.

The airport, which is around 100km from Perpignan, will see new services to Doncaster, Cork and Knock, as well as a new route to Poitiers, which will start in March.

Other new routes include Aarhus, Bydgoszcz, Cagliari, Dusseldorf, Gdansk, Ibiza, Krakow, Madrid, Malmo, Nador, Perugia, Skelleftea, Stockholm, Thessaloniki and Turku, and takes the number of Ryanair routes from Girona to 59 for summer 2012.

CityJet to restart London to Pau flights in March

THE Air France subsidiary, CityJet, will restart its three times a week service between London City Airport and Pau from 26 March, 2012.

The airline will also offer a link to Dublin from Pau starting 18 May.

Elsewhere in France, CityJet will operate flights between London City Airport and Toulon from 30 March, and a link between London and Avignon starts on 18 May.

CityJet recently announced it would operate flights between London City and Brive from January to March after the closure of Bergerac Airport for runway work.

TomTom advice on speed cameras in France

THE French government's decision to ban the use of speed camera warning devices has caused many to wonder whether they are driving legally with sat-nav equipment in their cars.

The devices have not been banned, it is just the ability for it to warn you in advance of speed cameras that is now punishable by a €1,500 fine and points on your licence, turn this option off and you can continue to use your sat-nav.

One of the biggest suppliers of sat-nav equipment is TomTom and on their website there is a page offering advice on how to turn off the speed camera alerts.

In most cases the alerts can be turned off in a couple of steps, and TomTom are looking at providing 'a new service for France that warns you about danger zones instead of speed cameras'.

Reminder: Bergerac Airport closure, Brive option

DON'T forget, if you use Bergerac Airport to reach the Dordogne region then it is closed for three months from Monday, 9 January 2012.

Runway work is to take place with the closure set to last until 23 March, however, if you do need to reach the region then CityJet are to offer two flights a week between Brive Airport - Vallée de la Dordogne and London City Airport.

The flights operate Friday and Sunday, with the first one taking off on 6 January and running through until 23 March.

Flight times:
London City Airport to Brive Airport
Friday: 11:45 - 14:20
Sunday: 16:55 - 19:30

Brive Airport to London City Airport
Friday: 15:00 - 15:35
Sunday: 20:00 - 20:35

New tests introduced for contrôle technique

ROLL up to the local garage for a contrôle technique and you face a little longer wait as a number of new tests have been introduced.

The new checks cover areas such as fluid levels in power steering systems, direction of anti-fog lights and movement within your vehicle's wheels.

There is no official change in the price for a contrôle technique, they cost around €65, although that decision lies with the test centre, but with more tests now in place there are more opportunities for faults to be found and a contre-visite to be necessary.

Related: Tips on registering an English car in France

Christmas and New Year sailings from P&O and DFDS

WITH SeaFrance ships still tied up as no deal has been reached on the company's sale, ferry crossings between the UK and France are available via P&O and DFDS Seaways.

Both ferry companies have published their Christmas timetables enabling passengers to check up on the options available.

For P&O Ferries between Dover and Calais there is a reduced service on 24 December, and no service on Christmas Day itself.

On 26 December eight sailings from Dover between 7.35am and 11.15pm will be on offer, with six sailings from Calais between 10.45am and 9.45pm.

Normal services on 31 December and New Year’s Day.

The DFDS Seaways service between Dover and Dunkirk will see a last departure from Dover as noon on Christmas Eve, with again no service on Christmas Day.

There is a reduced service on 26 December, with normal services operating between 27 and 30 December, while crossings on New Years Eve and New Years Day will also be reduced.