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Virgin Australia has been making a lot of improvements during the past year. Some of them include repainting their planes, making rebranding efforts, and opening classy lounges across their network airports. This is why, when they announced that they would be opening the business class cabin across their Boeing 737 and Airbus 330 aircrafts, their patrons just thought they?ve saved the sexiest and the best improvement for last.
Last April 2011, when the airline was still called Virgin Blue and not Virgin Australia, the airline authorities announced their desire to compete with Qantas. In 2001, only Ansett came close to being rivals with Qantas. Since Ansett folded up, though, Qantas has been dominating the domestic flight niche of Australia. Now, Virgin Australia might just be able to go head-to-head with Qantas with its premium aircrafts. While it used to market itself as a low-budget option, it?s now trying to pierce through the other market area.
Seat changes
The introduction of the business class areas will create a phenomenal ripple across the airline, though. All domestic jets, particularly the B737 700 and B737 800, will be renovated to accommodate a separate business class cabin. This means a seat makeover for the airline?s former premium economy class.
There is also the addition of a wider-body aircraft for all transcontinental flights. These will be A330s which have four rows of bigger seats, and better accommodations like amenity kits and a three-course meal service. There will also be a divider between the economy class and the business class. This divider will be in the Virgin?s signature purple.
The airline?s smaller jets, the Embraer 190, will also have their own business class cabins. The set up will be simpler, though, with four seats in front which have bigger leg rooms compared to other seats. These will all be window seats, and no dividers will be put in place because of the limited space in the aircrafts.
Improvements in the in-flight services
The airline has also promised better and more personalized in-flight service. Business class passengers will be able to enjoy premium check-in, priority/security lanes, and boarding privileges. Transcontinental passengers will receive branded garment bags for coats. The economy class isn?t left out either. All passengers get to enjoy the happy hour if they fly between 4PM and 7PM. They can have a complimentary alcoholic drink. Early morning flyers are, on the other hand, served complimentary tea or coffee. Passengers used to have to pay $3.50 just for instant coffee, so the complimentary drinks are definitely an improvement.
On lounges
Earlier, it was mentioned that Virgin Australia set up a lot of lounges across the Oz. Now, they?re making things more exciting by giving their passengers a choice between a hot dinner served after their flight, or before it. They can enjoy this premium meal in the new VIP lounges. When you?re treated like royalty like that, it?s hard not to tag the business class improvements as the sexiest improvements the airline have made so far, don?t you agree?
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It?s the end of the year, so here are some of the top rated travel literature books we?ve reviewed in 2011. If either you?re after some inspiration for your travels in 2012 or a gift for a friend or family member with wanderlust, you?re sure to find something of interest below.
Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory by Peter Hessler
Reviewed by Ben Handicott
Country Driving is a look at modern China through the eyes of a journalist fluent in the language and with a keen understanding of Chinese culture. The title is more than nominal with Peter Hessler traversing large parts of the countryside, but if you want to learn a great deal about all facets of China, the country and its people, then this is your book.
Read the full review here.
Along the Enchanted Way by William Blacker
Reviewed by Will Gourlay
?Enchanting? isn?t a word usually associated with Romania. Think ?Romania? and most people will conjure images of Communist-era architecture in Bucharest or hair-raising tales of Dracula. However, in Along the Enchanted Way, William Blacker?s account of years spent living in Romania paints an altogether different ? and unexpected ? picture of this little-known country.
Read the full review here.
Lost on Earth by Steve Crombie
Reviewed by Steve Waters
In Lost on Earth, young Aussie Crombie plans to ride his single-cylinder Honda 650cc motorcycle from Ushuaia at the southern tip of South America?s Tierra Del Fuego, toPrudhoe Bay, Alaska; the Pan American Highway?s unofficial endpoint well north of the Arctic Circle. This cracking tale of sheer determination should be mandatory reading for any young, would-be adventurer. (Disclaimer: Steve Crombie has worked for Lonely Planet.)
Read the full review here.
Travels: Collected Writings by Paul Bowles
Reviewed by Trent Holden
While Paul Bowles may not have the celebrity status of some of his contemporaries, namely the holy trinity of Beat writers (Ginsberg, Burroughs and Kerouac), his contribution to 20th-century literature was arguably just as significant. He?s remembered as one of the literary beacons of his time, not only because of his stellar body of work (including the masterpiece The Sheltering Sky). This is essential reading for not only all Bowles fans, but anyone interested in travel writing ? as few have truly lived the life he has, immersed deep within the culture and blessed with the ability to articulate life as he saw it.
Read the full review here.
Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India by William Dalrymple
Reviewed by Elizabeth Shannon
Nine Lives is not really a travel book. This is not the tale of a bemused foreigner fumbling through an exotic landscape, but rather the result of William Dalrymple?s long familiarity with India: nine stories of religious practitioners navigating both the innate certitudes and contradictions of their own faiths and how India?s rapid development has affected these traditions and people?s roles in them.
Read the full review here.
In Tasmania by Nicholas Shakespeare
Reviewed by Kirsten Rawlings
In Nicholas Shakespeare?s eyes, Tasmania is a secret and rarely visited place, ?a byword for remoteness?. His comprehensive biography In Tasmania paints this outpost as a magnet for the lost, a place to be renewed or be forgotten. From the burgeoning towns of Launceston and Hobart, to the fertile northeast and the windy and bleak west coast, Shakespeare reveals the hardships and inspirations of its inhabitants over the centuries, suffusing each corner with history and beauty.
Read the full review here.
Halfway House to Heaven by Bill Colegrave
Reviewed by Steve Waters
I must admit to a certain amount of jealously when I first encountered Halfway House to Heaven by Bill Colegrave. The Wakhan Corridor, that long thin sliver of Afghanistan thrusting into the Pamir Mountains, hemmed in on three sides by Pakistan, China andTajikistan, has long been on my own radar, ever since I read The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron and Peter Hopkirk?s Great Game series. Colegrave, though, claims a much older influence, the Central Asian tragedy of Sohrab and Rustum, as recounted by the 19th century English poet Matthew Arnold.
Read the full review here.
Thin Paths ? Journeys in and around an Italian Mountain Village by Julia Blackburn
Reviewed by Claire Beyer
Julia Blackburn, author of Thin Paths, has an eye for detail. The seemingly small and insignificant are given big lives. The common dormouse, the developing tadpole and vocal owl are all given as much loving attention as her new surroundings in this lovely tale of life in an Italian mountain village.
Read the full review here.
Read all the Lonely Planet travel literature reviews here.
Source: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/blog/2011/12/17/top-travel-literature-titles-of-2011/
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Your holiday doesn?t have to be spent on booze, staying up late at night, and losing sleep on overcrowded schedules. As a matter of fact, there are spots around the world you should visit if you want to spend the holidays improving your health. Here they are.
Milestone Hotel in London
This hotel offers a ?Sleep Experience Package? which is especially designed to help busy individuals get their sleeping cycles back in order. The package includes a one-on-one session with the renowned sleep expert Tej Samani. After this one-hour session, you will be able to enjoy a 90-minute sleep-inducing massage.
According to Samani, all sleep issues are caused by physical factors even if specialists peg the culprits as burnout and exhaustion. The package works to balance the parasympathetic and the sympathetic sides of your autonomic nervous system. Imbalance in your nervous system apparently causes insomnia.
Aside from the one-on-one session and the massage, the package also includes a special diet which encourages a healthier sleeping cycle. For 24 hours, guests who avail of the package are also outfitted with monitors for their nervous systems. They are also sent to bed with a matchbox-sized gadget which they could ?listen in? to. The audio content of the gadget are brain waves of healthy sleepers which their own brains could replicate should they have a hard time sleeping. The package costs £488 per head on double sharing rates.
Zen Bar A Sieste in Paris
This is the world?s first nap bar, and it?s making waves in Paris. The City of Lights and Love is also now a prime destination for Sleep Tourism. For £12, you can enjoy 15 minutes of nap and massage. For the same rate, you can also spend time on their zero gravity chair which features dim light and calming music. Just across the town, Paris also has a boutique hotel which could help you get over your insomnia. The Hotel Gabriel in Marais has a Night Cove. This is a system installed in their rooms which emits sounds which could induce sleep. There is also a light system which produces melotonin which works to the same effect.
Grand Resort Bad Ragaz in Switzerland
While this destination has ?resort? in its title, the highlight here is their medical center which offers specialized programmes which could help improve your sleep. The facility can record your sleeping pattern during your first night?s stay and help you analyze how your breathing pattern and the position of your limbs affect your sleep. This is a painstaking process which is most likely to work after all else has failed. The only downside of the deal is the fact that you will have to pay £2,270 per night to enjoy these specialists? pampering and attention.
Canyon Ranch in Tucson, USA
Of course, if you like to keep things closer to home, there is the ?Rest and Rejuvenation? programme at Canyon Ranch in Tuscon, USA. The programme also focuses on everything sleep related: your posture, pillow, and eating patterns. While you?re in this retreat, you can also learn meditation techniques to help you sleep better. Canyon Ranch aims to solve your sleeping problems permanently, and for some people, their approach has been very effective. The price isn?t so bad, either. For only £3749, if your schedule allows, you can spend seven nights in this sleep haven. This rate is based on double sharing.
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Second annual award organized by Kids First Fund
2012 Family Friendly Airline Award isn?t just kidding around
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
It?s the flight every frequent traveler fears ? a fussy infant or an unhappy child brings misery to the captive community on a long flight. Some airlines seemingly leave this outcome to chance, while others create child-focused programs to prevent it. Savvy airline executives know they can serve their highest-paying passengers best when the littlest passengers are happy, entertained, and quiet.
The Kids First Fund introduced the Family Friendly Airline Award last year to identify carriers providing needed services and extra comfort for children and parents. Last year?s winner was Canada-based Air Transat and its Kids Club program. The airline was first selected as a finalist by a panel of five airline-industry judges and became the reward winner after receiving the most votes from thousands of Facebook fans.
The selection process for 2012 begins today by inviting airline executives to nominate their carrier for the award. A panel of travel industry leaders will choose five airline finalists from among the nominees. The list of airline finalists will be announced 01 March 2012 and travelers will then be invited to vote at the Kids First Fund page on Facebook. Polling will close 30 March 2012, which is the first day of the 8th annual International Online Travel Auction for Kids.
?Last year the Family Friendly Airline Award had a great list of finalists with airlines from all over the world,? said Jay Sorensen, president of the Kids First Fund. ?The consumer response received through Facebook demonstrated strong support for programs that enhance travel for children and parents. These consumers are a loyal and powerful fan base for airlines that consider the needs of the youngest travelers.?
Airline executives are asked to submit nominations using the instructions provided at the Facebook page for the Kids First Fund. Nomination requirements are simple: 1) the airline must describe why it deserves the distinction, and 2) there is a limit of one nomination per airline to be received by 20 February 2012.
The Kids First Fund is privileged to have its roster of five travel industry experts return as judges to select the five airline finalists for 2012:
– Mr. Peter Harbison, executive chairman of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.
– Ms. Lisa Moore, vice president of marketing for Travelzoo North America.
– Dr. John O?Connell, Department of Air Transport, Cranfield University (UK).
– Ms. Flo Lugli, executive vice president of marketing, Wyndham Hotel Group.
– Mr. Howard Putnam, motivational speaker and former CEO of Braniff Airlines and Southwest Airlines.
Vicky Karantzavelou – Wednesday, January 25, 2012
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U.S. Travel Association
U.S. travel to capitalize on national strategy for business and meetings industry
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Last week’s presidential announcement of a national strategy on travel and tourism will increase business, meetings and convention travel, restoring the U.S. as the premier destination for business and meetings travelers, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
“Travelers from emerging markets like China, India and Brazil are not just traveling for leisure,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “They’re travelling the world to purchase products at trade shows, attend cutting-edge conferences and expand their businesses. By creating a national strategy on travel and tourism that improves America’s visa and entry process, we can restore the United States as the world capital for business travel and, at the same time, make U.S. companies more globally competitive.”
Business travel is a bedrock of the U.S. travel industry and a key driver of economic growth. In 2010, domestic and international business travel within the United States generated more than $235 billion in economic spending and supported more than 2.1 million jobs. According to 2010 data from the Department of Commerce, more than 13 million (or 22 percent) of all overseas travelers to the United States came for business purposes. Among those business travelers, 2.6 million (20 percent) traveled to the United States to attend a major convention or conference.
But during the past decade, several factors contributed to sharp declines in business travel. One factor is an inefficient U.S. visa and entry process that discourages large numbers of international business travelers from coming to the United States. For example, the Consumer Electronics Association frequently highlights the thousands of visitors lost annually due to the complexity of receiving a U.S. visa.
Another major factor occurred in 2009 when public outrage over a meeting held by insurance giant A.I.G. led to the cancellation of thousands of meetings and events across the country. In the first half of 2009 alone, the U.S. Travel Association estimates that domestic hotels lost $1 billion in revenue from canceled meetings – due in large part to the “A.I.G Effect.”
“We’ve come a long way since 2009 when travel for business, meetings and conventions was criticized as a boondoggle,” said Dow. “The president’s call for a national travel and tourism strategy is firm acknowledgement of what our industry has known all along – that business travel is the locomotive of economic recovery. As we work with the administration to craft a national strategy on travel and tourism, the industry has my commitment that business travel, of all types, will remain a central focus.”
Vicky Karantzavelou – Wednesday, January 25, 2012
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Multi-million pound refurbishment
British Airways flies newly refurbished Boeing 777-200
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
British Airway‘s customers flying on a recent Boston flight were the first to experience the airline’s very latest seats and cabins following the first complete refit of one of BA’s Boeing 777-200s.
The aircraft was the first of 18 to be fitted with British Airways’ recently launched First cabin, new World Traveller and World Traveller Plus cabins and the airline’s latest Thales in-flight entertainment system.
The multi-million pound refurbishment gives the 18 Boeing 777-200s the same contemporary interiors as British Airways’ six brand new Boeing 777-300ERs.
Frank van der Post, British Airways’ managing director of brands and customer experience, said: “This exciting and ambitious refit now brings our 777s right up to date, with new interiors and the very latest inflight entertainment system.
“We have had fantastic customer reaction to our new fleet of Boeing 777-300ERs, which originally showcased our new cabins, and we know those who travel on these 18 aircraft will be equally impressed with our investment.
“Customers will be able to enjoy the very best travel experience British Airways has to offer, with more comfortable seats and brighter, more contemporary cabins.”
Over the next five years British Airways will be investing more than £5bn in new aircraft, smarter cabins, elegant lounges, and new technologies to make life more comfortable in the air and on the ground.
It takes British Airways’ Cardiff-based engineers, at the airline’s Welsh maintenance base, approximately a month, or 5,700 man hours, to carefully remove a 777′s old seats and interiors and replace them with the airline’s very latest cabins.
Each aircraft will also have a staggering 13 kilometres of wiring removed and new fibre optic cables installed to power the new in-flight entertainment system.
New widescreens will be fitted in Club World and customers flying on these refitted Boeing 777-200s will also be able to experience the airline’s sophisticated new First cabin. New seats and cabins in World Traveller Plus and World Traveller, feature the latest cushioning technology and in-seat power sockets.
The Thales in-flight entertainment system offers over 700 hours of movies, TV and music options on demand; that’s more than 230 TV programmes, 70 films and 400 CDs, providing customers with 50 per cent more choice on movies and doubling the range of TV and music options, as well as plug and play technology.
Each cabin also gets bigger, high-resolution widescreens: customers in World Traveller will be able to watch TV and films on 35 per cent larger video touchscreens (now 8.9 inches); in World Traveller Plus they are 60 per cent larger (now 10.6 inches); Club World widescreens increase by 16.3 per cent (now 12.1 inches) while the new First screens increase by 275 per cent (now 15.4 inches).
Vicky Karantzavelou – Tuesday, January 24, 2012
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?Tis the season when the cash registers ring and the sales sing appealing to your sense of frugality. There is snow on the ground, a chill in the air and… Read more
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The USA?s least-visited state, North Dakota raised eyebrows recently, with a ?flirty? tourism ad ?aimed at Canadians? that suggested Fargo nightlife could lead to ?legendary? status in amorous matters del noche. The shot, one of 10 new ads, showed three women stopping on a Fargo sidewalk to chat with two guys ? drinking beer! ? with the caption: ?Drinks, dinner, decisions. Arrive a guest. Leave a legend.? Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, know-what-I-mean?
After some viewers found it ?sickening,? North Dakota Tourism took down the ad from its Facebook account ? but savvy collectors can still find it in the North Dakota 2012 visitors guide.
Though the effect of tourism slogans remains questionable ? and 15 of 50 states go without slogans altogether ? I thought it was worth taking a look at the five most-suggestive state tourism slogans.
1. Mississippi: ?Find your true south?
Indeed. Putting the X back in Biloxi, are we?
2. Nebraska: ?Possibilities? endless?
Whether you go to Valentine or not.
3. Maine: ?There?s more to Maine?
The ?more? is underlined on Maine?s site. Subtlety gets you nowhere in the northeastern tip of the US.
4. North Dakota: ?Legendary?
We will never think of ?legend,? or North Dakota, the same way again.
5. Virginia: ?Virginia is for lovers?
The state slogan since 1969, it now feels more PG than the others.
Honorable mentions: Massachusetts (?It?s all here?), Connecticut (?Connecticut?) and Indiana (?Restart your engines?).
Source: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/blog/2012/01/19/top-5-most-suggestive-us-state-tourism-slogans/
Singapore Airlines is the first foreign carrier to operate Airbus A380 to Frankfurt
Inaugural Singapore Airlines A380 flight take off from Frankfurt to Singapore
Friday, January 20, 2012
Dieter Posch, Minister of Economics, Transport, Urban and Regional Development, German Federal State of Hessen, officially inaugurated the first Singapore Airlines A380 flight from Frankfurt to Singapore this morning. Minister Posch was joined by Singapore Airlines Regional Vice President Europe, Mr. Paul Tan, Singapore Ambassador to Germany, Mr. Jacky Foo, and Fraport AG executive board chairman, Dr. Stefan Schulte, at a Gate Festivity prior to the departure of the flight, SQ 25 from Frankfurt to Singapore
Singapore Airlines is the first foreign carrier to operate the world?s largest aircraft, the Airbus A380, to Frankfurt. The much awarded carrier will fly their A380, on the Frankfurt ? New York and Frankfurt ? Singapore routes on a daily basis from today.
Frankfurt and New York are Singapore Airlines? ninth and tenth global destinations to receive the superjumbo. The Singapore Airlines A380 has proven exceptionally popular among our customers, with strong loads on all routes it serves. Systemwide, more than 6.5 million customers have flown on the Airline?s A380s since the inaugural flight in October 2007 between Singapore and Sydney.
The daily A380 flights will replace the existing daily Boeing 747-400 services from Frankfurt to Singapore and from Frankfurt to New York?s JFK Airport, representing a daily increase of 25% in seat capacity.
?The introduction of the A380 to Frankfurt is another milestone for Singapore Airlines. We are very happy to celebrate our inaugural A380 flight from Frankfurt to Singapore. Frankfurt is our 4th A380 destination in Europe after London, Paris and Zurich. Operating two daily A380 services to and from Frankfurt, one to New York and one to Singapore, makes this routing unique among our A380 services to Europe,? said Paul Tan, Singapore Airlines? Regional Vice President Europe in his welcome address. ?For Germany, it will also mean offering our customers the latest cabin products all our 21 weekly Frankfurt flights?, Mr. Tan added.
?We are pleased that Singapore Airlines is the first foreign carrier to offer A380 superjumbo flights via Frankfurt Airport ? a key hub in international aviation, particularly for next-generation large aircraft,? said Fraport executive board chairman Dr. Stefan Schulte. ?Thanks to our capacity expansion developments and our shared commitment to the A380 vision, passengers can enjoy even more comfort and quality service via Frankfurt. Singapore Airlines’ inauguration of A380 flights strengthens the ties between Singapore, New York and the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region ?three global centers for finance, trade and tourism.”
Exclusively available on the A380 are the Singapore Airlines Suites. Each Suite offers customers a high level of privacy in an exclusive cabin in the sky, featuring a sliding door and adjustable roller blinds. Each Suite is furnished with a luxurious and fully adjustable leather seat, upholstered by world-renowned Poltrona Frau, and a full-sized bed. For entertainment, customers can enjoy crystal-clear images on a sleek 23-inch high-resolution LCD monitor, mounted on the wall in each Suite.
The Singapore Airlines A380 Business Class is also in a league of its own. Measuring 86 centimetres (34 inches) in width, the Business Class seat is the widest in its class and each has direct access to the aisle. Each seat can be converted into a comfortable wide bed, simply by folding down the seat back.
Singapore Airlines? latest Economy Class seat on the A380 offers customers unprecedented comfort and space. The ergonomically designed seat not only maximises knee and legroom, it also boasts intelligent features such as a non-intrusive reading light and height-adjustable leather headrests with side panels.
The same Business and Economy Class cabin products are now offered on all our flights ex Germany, both Frankfurt and Munich.
Customers across all three classes can enjoy a wide range of the latest movies, TV programmes and a library of CDs on KrisWorld, Singapore Airlines? award-winning inflight entertainment system. Come mealtime, delectable inflight meals, designed exclusively by world-class chefs like Alfred Portale from the United States and George Blanc from France, are served and presented on exclusive Givenchy-designed serviceware.
Singapore Airlines currently has 15 A380s in service and a further four on firm order.
Vicky Karantzavelou – Friday, January 20, 2012
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