Economy Class & Beyond

Archives for October 2011

American Airlines to retire up to 11 757’s…

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According to Flight, it seems that American Airlines are modifying their fleet. with the carrier announcing it is to remove up to 11 757-200's from service during 2012. As part of an effort to reduce capacity, it's retiring 11 birds due to due to costs, jet fuel costs, and of course, the economy (when in doubt, blame the economy).. Speaking of fuel prices, a hedge of $29 … [Read more...]

BMI Amex Credit Card Holder? Check NOW – Product has changed.

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If you're a BMI Credit Card Amex branded card holder, I'd check now to see what MBNA are up to. In some cases they are changing the points earning, and in other cases, they are offering a second linked VISA card. And no, I don't know what MBNA's game is either. According to Business Traveller, the new Visa card will be sent to you in November,  allowing cardholders the … [Read more...]

Sri Lanka to charge for Visas….

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If it isn't Australia or the United States of America, it's now Sri Lanka who will be charging for Visas. So if you're heading there from 1st January 2012,  you'll need one. Head to www.eta.gov.lk and be prepared to cough up the following: US$50 for tourists (a double-entry month-long permit) US$60 for business travellers (business people multiple-entry) US$25 for … [Read more...]

Keep your laptop close when going through Germany…

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Disturbing news from Germany today with reports of a sanctioned Malware component from German government. The Chaos Computer Club has discovered a  Trojan horse virus that is capable of spying on Skype internet calls, monitoring the online activity of infected computers, logging keystrokes, and updating its functionality via the net. The tenuous link to travel is … [Read more...]

Arik Air orders two 747-8i’s… huh?

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Arik Air is an odd beast. With bits of it from Nigerian Airlines, and different investments here and there, it operates a 22 aircraft fleet, focusing on Nigeria and the area, as well as a few long-haul routes (namely, London, New York JFK, Abu Dhabi and Johannesburg). To run the long haul routes, it's drafted in a pair of Airbus A340-500's which can been seen flying some of … [Read more...]

Airplane Art – American Airlines Boeing 777-200

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It's Sunday, and in GhettoIFE land, that means it's our other regular feature - Airplane art.  For those who ask, it's when I go travelling, I like to take pictures of planes (as well as many other things). Airplane art used to be known as Airplane p0rn, but as I've moved the site over to a more family friendly site, I'll make it more family friendly. And yes, it hurts a … [Read more...]

Heathwick? What an awful idea….

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Hitting the press today in the United Kingdom has been the idea of "Heathwick" (with the Telegraph breaking it first, followed by the BBC The idea is to some simple - slap in a High Speed Rail link to operate between London Heathrow and London Gatwick Airports around the M25, running at 180mph to 15 minutes and create a "virtual hub" between the two airports. Ministers … [Read more...]

Safety Video Saturday – TAM

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For those who are new to GhettoIFE, it may be Saturday, but we do run two fixed features at GhettoIFE. Saturday demonstrates our commitment to your safety (if you like it or lump it), and I link them up to see how a safety video can change from country to country, from airline to airline. This week, it's TAM... with Plasticine More safety of course next week! … [Read more...]

Dutch Railways to introduce “Emergency Plastic Relief Bags”

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Umm. Are we sure it's not April 1st? Oh dear. In this case, it's probably true. This up on the BBC News site, who note that the Dutch National Railways (Nederlandse Spoorwegen), is to add plastic bags as part of a first aid provision on some services. What you'll be doing in these bags... well.. is it to provide an emergency place to urinate. Or to put it bluntly - Wee … [Read more...]