2nd Sept - HURRICANE EARL NEARS EAST US

The approach of category 4 hurricane "Earl" to the eastern seaboard of the United States has initiated mass evacuations from coastal areas of both North and South Carolina, with fragile Cape Hatteras looking particularly likely to receive the brunt of the Major hurricane's advance. Winds, which could gust to over 200mph, are currently at a maximum sustained 1-minute speed of 145mph and are predicted to cause widespread damage to infrastructure if the hurricane makes landfall at its current intensity. However, there is hope that Earl will still turn out to the Atlantic over the next 48 hours. But, regardless of the actual track of the Hurricane, travel is expected to be severely disrupted in the region over the next few days.

1st Sept - A380 MAKES MANCHESTER DEBUT

The world's largest commercial airliner, the Airbus A380, has landed at Manchester Airport for the first time today. The 517-seat double-decker plane, carrying Emirates flight number EK017, arrived from Dubai at just after 1225 BST. Manchester is the first regional airport in the world to be served by the A380 and thousands of people were at the airport to watch the plane come in to land. One spectator was reported by the BBC as saying "This is amazing, once in a lifetime... a world first. It's fantastic see it land for the first time. I think it is a monumental occasion."

31st Aug - DELTA AIMS AT HEATHROW EXPANSION

Delta Airlines has announced plans to take advantage of British Airways & American Airlines vacated slots at Heathrow. The take-off & landing slots, dropped in order to win approval for BA & AA's alliance, have been targeted by Delta for new transatlantic routes. The services, if approved by both US and EU authorities, would run twice daily to Boston and once daily to Miami from March 27th 2011.

25th Aug - ACCOR HOTELS PLAN EXPANSION

The world’s fourth-largest hotel group, Accor, plans to almost double the number of hotels in its global portfolio to 7,000 in the next seven years. The €1.4bn expansion will see a new hotel opening every week in Asia, and the targeting of high-growth emerging markets, particularly in Brazil and India. Chairman and CEO Gilles Pélisson ruled out a blanket expansion across all emerging markets, with the group exercising particular caution in China, where with 96 hotels already, there was a danger of oversupply.

24th Aug - BANGKOK RAIL LINK OPENS

Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport rail link has finally opened after numerous setbacks and delays. The new link provides both a 15-minute Express and a 30-minute "City Line" Service between Suvarnabhumi Airport and the City Air Terminal (CAT) in Makkasan. A baggage check-in service will be available at the CAT from 2011, with the link able to handle up to 50,000 passengers a day.

23rd Aug - DELTA UPS LHR SERVICES

Delta Airlines has announced that it will be increasing its capacity at Heathrow by adding a second Atlanta to Heathrow on four days a week, and with Detroit - Heathrow on an additional three. The new services are due to operate from November 1st, the Atlanta flights departing on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and the Detroit flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.