Archive for Travel News
Harmless Air Turbulence Can Be Dangerous
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For frequent travelers, turbulence is a common experience. The familiar sudden jerks of the plane forward, backward and up and down. In most instances, the turbulence stops all of a sudden. However, in more serious cases, there could result passenger injuries from mere turbulence.
On 3rd August 2009, Continental Flight 128 from Rio de Janeiro to Houston was struck by turbulence unexpectedly; injuring seven passengers badly enough to require hospitalization after the pilot diverted the plane to Miami, Florida. According to officials at the Federal Aviation Authority, the best preventive measure against turbulence is the wearing of seatbelts. In fact, most passengers injure themselves most often when they fail to put on seat belts even when the seat belt sign is on.
Turbulence is normally an inconvenience and it shouldn’t hurt you if you keep your seat belt fastened throughout the spell.
A Global Blacklist for Unsafe Airlines?
Posted by: | CommentsAfter a Yemeni airliner crashed off the coast of the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros yesterday with 153 people on board, EU Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani has called for a worldwide blacklist of unsafe airlines. The European Union has a blacklist based on severe controls in Europe and it has worked pretty well. However, this list is only valid in Europe.
The European Aviation Safety Agency will now try to hasten the application of air safety rules for operators coming from non-EU countries. It also said that a European air safety conference would be organised in the quickest possible time to determine the training needs of people such as pilots and air traffic controllers.
The regularly updated EU’s blacklist, contains the names of more than 200 airlines or companies of concern which are either prohibited from operating in Europe or only allowed under strict regulations. Majority of these restricted airlines operate out of Africa, mainly in Angola, Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Swaziland. Some of them do not operate in Europe since that would have their operations scrutinized by the European Aviation Safety Agency and might prove detrimental to business.
Source: news.com.au
Rotana Opens First Beach Resort Hotel in Syria
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Rotana, the leading hotel management company in the Middle East, has now opened the Afamia Rotana Resort in the historic city of Latakia, on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.
Located on a sandy peninsula, two kilometres from Latakia city centre, the new five-star Afamia Rotana Resort brings a new level of comfort and a host of leisure activities to the city.
The Afamia Rotana Resort is within easy distance of Syria’s historical sites including Ugarit Canaaite, the seaport, crusaders forts, castles and ancient Roman vestiges.
Rotana is currently offering special introductory rates from approximately £75 per room, per night, including complimentary breakfast.
The hotel is situated on a private golden sand beach with beautiful marina views. There are two swimming pools, massage rooms, a tennis court and a children’s playground club.
Guests can relax on Latakia’s spectacular peninsula, in one of the hotel’s 14 stylish beach cabins. The resort also has a state-of-the-art Bodylines health & fitness centre with the latest in cardio and strength equipment as well as a temperature controlled indoor swimming pool, steam room and sauna.
The Afamia Rotana Resort offers guests a range of food and beverage venues including Al Manara – an all-day dining restaurant serving authentic cuisine from around the world, Moodz – a luxurious lounge bar, Aquarius – a pool side bar offering cocktails and light snacks, Café Blue – serving tea, coffee and light snacks and Breeze – a beach terrace with drinks and shisha pipes.
The resort offers meeting and event facilities to host annual conferences and seminars. From one day meetings to extended seminars, the resort’s acclaimed individualised service, attention to detail and superior accommodation will ensure a meeting experience that is flawless, productive and unforgettable.
Source: Breaking Travel News
SIA Launches Business Class Companion Sale
Posted by: | CommentsSingapore Airlines has launched its latest business class promotion, with a 50% discount for two people travelling together.
Unlike the carrier’s last business class sale launched on April 15, this time the Singapore flag-carrier is widely promoting the offer. Tickets must be booked by June 30 with travel taken either between September 1 and December 9 or between January 16 and March 31.
The sale covers destinations in Australia, New Zealand and SE Asia. Departures are possible from either London Heathrow or Manchester with bookings possible either through SIA’s website or main travel agents.
Return tickets per person start at $2500 for SE Asia (destinations include Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Bali and Manila) and $2950 for Australia/New Zealand (destinations include Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Auckland).
For more information visit Singaporeair.com.
The Safest Places To Travel
Posted by: | CommentsHere are some of the safest places to travel according to a survey by Forbes Traveler. To find the world’s ultra-safe places to travel Forbes analyzed data from the U.S. State Department’s warnings on crime against U.S. citizens abroad and the latest United Nations survey on global crime trends. Also consulted are Mercer’s rankings of the world’s safest cities. Factors such as natural disasters, social or political unrest, warfare and terrorism are also considered.
Not in any order they are:
- Aruba
- Bonaire
- Curacao
- Cyprus
- Ireland
- New Zealand
- Singapore
- Switzerland
Aruba
Although some Caribbean Islands are known for violent crimes statistics show that Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao are among the safest places in the world. Crime rates on the three islands are low, political unrest is virtually unknown. In 2008 the trio ranked lowest in the Caribbean in felonious incidents against visiting yachts. In fact, Aruba was the only place in the region to achieve a perfect score on the yacht crime survey. According to Jacob Gelt Dekker, mastermind behind the award-winning Kura Hulanda restoration project and museum in Curacao, the keys to their own their tranquility are employment and education.
Some of the choices were obvious: idyllically and rustic New Zealand, neutral Switzerland and squeaky clean Singapore easily make the list.
Cyprus is another place that bucked its traditional image. Tasoula Manaridis of the Cyprus Tourism Organization feels that several factors contribute to the island being such a safe destination. “Cyprus is a country with very high per capita income, one of the highest in Europe. The poverty is at a very, very low level.”
A recent World Health Organization study named the Ireland the least violent country in Europe. And according to the latest Mercer rankings of the world’s safest urban areas, Dublin is less dangerous than major cities in Japan, Australia or Canada.
Airline Passengers Could Face Rising Prices
Posted by: | CommentsTicket sales for business travel and first class seats are still trending downwards. Overall demand remains weak in spite of the stock market upturn the last few months. And fuel prices are rising again, coming off their year lows. These turn of events could be bad news for consumers this fall, as airlines face pressure to cut more capacity to cover their costs, or raise fares.
The rise in unemployment coupled with the meltdown in the financial markets, has caused a marked decrease in air travel. Airlines also have lost business from the Influenza H1N1 flu, which has caused some people to cancel travel plans to Mexico, USA and other affected regions around the world.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc. projects it will take a $125 million to $150 million revenue hit in the second quarter because of the impact on air travel from the H1N1 flu virus. The quarter ends June 30. The flu scare also has hurt Delta sales to customers in Asia, who may be worried about travel because of the SARS outbreak in 2003.
Delta Air Lines
The overall drop in demand has coincided with a recent increase in fuel prices, which means lower sales. If fuel prices continue to climb into the fall, airlines will be under pressure to raise prices or cut more capacity to cover their costs, Delta President Ed Bastian said.
Fewer seats in the air means fewer options for travelers as routes are not being served anymore by an airline or cutting the number of flights to a destination. Routes across the Atlantic and Pacific may be affected significantly.
Source: Associated Press
Airlines in the US Say More Flights are On Time
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Flights on U.S. airlines were on time more frequently in April than the month before and improved from a year earlier, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Hawaiian Airlines had the best on-time performance, while Comair — a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines Inc — had the worst. Among legacy carriers, Northwest Airlines — operated by Atlanta-based Delta — was on-time the most, and Continental Airlines Inc. posted the worst on-time performance.
Legacy carriers are those airlines that had a large presence in a number of regions before the industry was deregulated in 1978.
The airlines reporting had a combined average on-time rate of 79.1 percent, compared with 78.4 percent in March. Last April the on-time arrival rate was 77.7 percent.
Weather problems were involved in a little less than half of the delays in April — a slight decline from March. Other delays came from congestion, airport operations, maintenance and crew issues.
There are fewer planes in the sky this year, as many carriers have scaled back their flights to meet lower passenger demand.
Reports of mishandled baggage declined in April from March, and were lower than in April 2008 as well.
DOT said there were about one-third fewer complaints overall from consumers in April than a year earlier, but more than in March. Most were about flight cancellations and delays. DOT received 647 complaints about U.S. carriers during the month, compared with 974 in April 2008. There were 586 complaints in March.
Nineteen U.S. airlines report monthly on-time data and the causes of delays and cancellations for nonstop flights to the Department of Transportation. The airlines report the causes of delays in broad categories — such as “Extreme Weather” and “National Aviation System Delay” — that were created by the airlines, industry groups, travel agents and government officials.
A flight is considered on-time if it arrives within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time shown in the carriers’ computerized reservations systems. Canceled and diverted flights are counted as late.
Source: Yahoo Travel
A Slump in Travel Pushes Some US Airlines To Cut Seat Capacity
Posted by: | CommentsSome US airlines like Delta Air Lines Inc., American Airlines and some others may need to trim capacity by as much as 5 percent after the summer travel season to increase fares.
photo credit: Andrei Dimofte
A 12-month slide in traffic among the biggest U.S. carriers means there are still too many seats to support higher prices. A new round of cuts would build on the elimination of 10 percent of U.S. airlines’ capacity since the start of 2008, including the parking of 500 jets.
“Something in the 3 percent to 5 percent range is probably what we’ll see, and the more the better,” said Crissey, who is based in New York and recommends buying Delta, the world’s biggest airline.
American Airlines bowed even more deeply to the reality of high fuel prices and travel slowdoan by announcing steep cuts in flights. The reductions will likely mean elimination of at least 300 flights a day from the 4,300 that it and its regional affiliates offer. That will also likely lead to elimination of more than 6,000 jobs. The company plans to retire at least 75 mainline and regional aircraft.
Global airline revenue may fall 15 percent to $448 billion this year amid the “most difficult situation that the industry has faced,” the Geneva-based International Air Transport Association said on June 8. North American carriers will probably lose about $1 billion, the trade group said.
“I wouldn’t expect to see any bottoming or pickup until the first quarter of 2010 at the earliest,” Becker said. “Most companies have cut travel budgets and they’re not reinstating any money until they see signs of improvement.”
For three of the past four months of 2009, traffic slid 10 percent or more as travel cutbacks deepened.
Delta may be in the “best position to cut more” because it has some redundant routes and extra planes from its purchase of Northwest Airlines last year, Keay said. He recommends buying Delta and holding Continental, UAL, AMR and Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co.
Source: Bloomberg