Peak holiday season begins for Irish holidmakers renting cars.

Yesterdays Sunday Independent ran a feature "Schoolchildren have just finished up – and so the peak holiday season begins"

Written by Colm Brady who is the business development director with Europcar Ireland it was giving general advice when hiring a car.

Plenty of advice is in the article including -

Fuel problems when hiring a car -

 

 There are various fuel options available with car rental. Ensure that Pickup Full and Return Full are available for short trips – ignoring this advice could be an expensive mistake .

Some companies allow you to prepay for the fuel at a discount and this means you don't have to worry about refuelling on return. When leaving the airport, take note where the nearest petrol station is when you pass it. Ensure your fuel level is also noted on your rental agreement.

Insurance -

Insurance is another big area where potential problems can arise. Always check what insurance is included in the rate and what excess (the first part of a claim you must pay yourself) is required. Be particularly careful when travelling to the USA or Canada as you need to have collision damage waiver (CDW) or loss damage waiver (LDW) included in the rate. When picking up and dropping off your car, check it for any damage – and make sure this is noted on your rental agreement or damage report.

We suggest you consider buying separate car hire excess insurance. Blue Insurances' Carhireexcess.com is worth looking at find out more here

See all the article Here

What has happended to the property section in the international edition of the Irish Times?

The international edition of the Irish Times on a Thursday use to have a property section that was the same or a slightly edited version of the property section in the domestic home market edition of the Irish Times.

The eighteen page supplement on the left did not come from the International edition, but was posted out from Dublin last Thursday.

As a regular reader of the Irish Times on a Thursday for many years now, I have noticed the property section getting thinner.

The second supplement has been filled with technology and media which is very interesting and unfortunately the residential property coverage has diminished.

Last September on this blog I wrote "Irish Times Property Section appears to have gone on a post summer holiday diet"

I was saying that  "The Thursday edition of the Irish Times was delivered as normal last Thursday (5th September 13) and the top right hand banner says "Residential property: 18 pages" 

So I went to the second section and in the 16 page "Business + Technology" pages 7 to 10 has the property feature. I have noticed this year that quite often there are only two or three pages of property in their "International edition".

It is common knowledge that after your summer holiday when you have probably been eating and drinking too much that the ads appear for loosing weight, but why does the Irish Times cut out so many pages now. Some Thursdays it is waiver thin and whereas the TV and radio guide page used to be there it is very rarely there any more."

Anyway more recently "the diet" of The Irish Times property section on the English side of the Irish Sea has got worse.

On the 29th May, I went to the Irish property insurance Twitter page and tweeted that I could not find the property section (or couple of pages) that they were advertising on the front page. 

On the 5th June I tweeted "2 Pages Property in Irish Times UK edition today better than none last week can we have several pages like in main Irish market in future?"

Then last Thursday the 12th June, there was nothing again.

There was a picture on the front page top right hand corner featuring the "A corker in Clonakilty French chateau style for €9m" had there been a section it would have revealed "Fairy tale of west Cork for €9 million"


I went to Twitter again (Left) and decided to email the Irish Times. I got a very nice reply from someone in the editors office saying
" Thank you very much for your email and can I in the first instance apologise for the fact that you were left without the Property section in your copy of today’s Irish Times.

Unfortunately, due to last minute production constraints, it was omitted from the international edition at a very late point during the yesterday’s print run.  It is not something we would like to happen again.

If you would like to send me your postal address, I will send a copy of it to you in the next post.

Again, I am very sorry that you were left disappointed today"

 

On Saturday the 18 page supplement arrived in the post with a very picturesque Irish Times clock card (above) and a note.

 

I decided to email them on Monday saying "Many thanks for forwarding on a copy of last Thursday’s Irish edition of the Irish Times property section. 

This is just like it used to be on the UK /International edition, until it got thinner and thinner. It is such a shame that it has been reduced to only a maximum of 4 pages, less or nothing at all these days. The property market has recovered a lot in Ireland thankfully now and although the technology / media section is interesting, the property section must surely appeal to those outside Ireland too.

 

Would be very nice if one reader’s comments could be taken on board by the editorial team"

 

Unfortunately have not had a reply yet, but I do hope they take my comments on board. I am not sure if those estate agents who put ads in the paper are under the impression that they are being looked at in the International edition. Unfortunately they are not.

 

CarHireExcess.com has a very smart new website

I see that Blue Insurances the Dublin and Cardiff based car hire excess waiver insurance company have a very smart upgraded website.

It looks very easy to use and ideal if you are shortly arranging your summer holidays and heading off to some destination where you will be renting a car.

By buying the excess waiver insurance from a company like carhireexcess.com you can save a lot of money.

The average car hire company will be charging a great deal more than €2.99 a day and if you are likely to be hiring a car more than once this year remember an annual policy really makes sense.

According to the carhireexcess.com web site " Purchase Car Hire Excess Insurance here from only €2.99 per day for European cover or €3.99 per day for Worldwide cover (which covers you for up to 180 consecutive days for European or Worldwide cover).

If it's an annual policy that you need our great value annual plans start at just €49.99 for European cover or €62.99 for Worldwide cover with unlimited rentals up to 62 days on any one rental. We provide cover for Irish Residents for the excess on their Car Hire Insurance policy.

Most car rental agreements make you liable for the first portion of the repair or replacement costs of the rental vehicle otherwise known as the Excess, which can vary from €100 up to €2,000. Carhireexcess.com covers adults between 21 Years and 84 Years and our policy includes cover for Windows/Glass, Tyres, Wheels, Roof and Undercarriage. In addition, our policy also includes personal possessions and key cover. Our Car Hire Excess Insurance is underwritten by Lloyd’s Syndicate 5820."  Find out more Here and arrange it today

Terminal 2 London Heathrow the new landing and take off place for Aer Lingus

After all those years in a somewhat shabby Terminal 1 at London Heathrow Airport, Aer Lingus will be moving it's 44 daily flights from Terminal 1 on July 9th.

As anyone who has travelled to or from Ireland with Aer Lingus at London Heathrow there is a very long walk to and from the aircraft.

As passengers do not go through passport control the arrivals section has been located on the departure level for more years than I can remember. Not the smartest of places to arrive at if you have just flown from Dublin Airport's impressive Terminal 2.

Aer Lingus check in at terminal 1 Heathrow June 14

The new terminal 2 at Heathrow is very smart, however walking around last Sunday afternoon is naturally somewhat lifeless at the moment.

Following on from the problems of the opening of Terminal 5, the airport company decided to move all the airlines in by degrees.

The US airline United was first in last week when the terminal opened.

 
 According to the plan in the terminal when I  was looking around, the photo to the left is for the Aer Lingus ticket desks.

It will be interesting to see the terminal in action when more of the Star Alliance airlines move in. By the time Aer Lingus moves, Air Canada, Air China and a couple of more will have settled in with the last arriving on the 22nd October this year.