Economy Class & Beyond

I like Paris… But….

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... Not the scammers. Good afternoon from Notre Dame Cathedral, where I'm soaking up a few rays of light. However a new breed of people have seemed to infested this city - the scammer. Here's a few examples encountered in some of the big tourist areas: - The ring found on the floor scam and someone offering it to you (Champs Eelysee - the ball and three cups game near the … [Read more...]

Good morning from LHR Terminal 5

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Good morning from Heathrow T5, where it is five o'clock. And that's cause for a a drink... So far, so uneventful. Apart from a rain show and lightning storm which made the coach journey entertaining... I made it safely to LHR. And even at 4:10 in the morning, it's a place with life. Security was slightly slow to open (with only North Security open by 4:35... South was … [Read more...]

1:15 at the coach station… Again

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Good morning from the delightful place in the world that is Digbeth Coach Station - as I begin a 24 hour odyssey of travel (well less provided thing go well after landing tonight ). And yes, it's all to do with this little character... We're off to Paris today to the pop-up Paris Pokemon Centre, with some flights as well. I'll up updating my travels on Twitter during … [Read more...]

UK Passport backlog delays

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It seems there's a bit of a backlog in new passports being issued, with latest reports indicating 465,000 passport applications being delayed and the UK Passport Agency having difficulty processing them. Good luck getting one of these... Image - UK Government Apparently a "12 year surge" in applications, along with of overseas passport renewals to be processed in the UK … [Read more...]

Emirates to upscale Dubai to Boston route

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Some routes have natural growth when presented to them. This can be by frequency (laying on more services) or by using a larger capacity aircraft. Emirates recently launched its Dubai to Boston route - about three months ago. Well, it's taking that route and scaling it up further as the equipment used will switch from the current Boeing 777-200LR (the long-range 777) to the … [Read more...]

The FIFA World Cup … Live on Etihad

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It's the Soccer-ball World cup and I couldn't be more excited about it*, with four weeks of ball to ball action**. Etihad seem to be excited about it, as they will be streaming all 64 matches live to their long haul planes. Etihad Boeing 777-300ER taxing at London Heathrow - Image GhettoIFE IMG media will be doing the heavy lift, with the World Cup broadcast onboard the … [Read more...]

American Airlines take delivery of the first of new CRJ-900s

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After taking one for a tour, Bombardier have delivered the first CRJ-900 NextGen to American Airlines. The ribbon cutting ceremony - Image Bombardier Bombardier, PSA Airlines and American Airlines staff at the handover - Image Bombardier This aircraft represents the first of 30 aircraft that will be owned by American Airlines, and operated by PSA Airlines under the … [Read more...]

Emirates cancels an order for 70 A350s

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Emirates today decided to let an order lapse for 70 Airbus A350 aircraft that were for delivery from 2019. Airbus A350 MSN2 on tow - Image Airbus. The decision appears to be part of an effort of Emirates to "right-size" its fleet as it starts to focus on big heavy fleets. The order consisted of 50 A350-900s and 20 A350-1000s, made in 2007 and to be powered by Rolls Royce … [Read more...]

An Uber bit of trouble in London (and Europe) today

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London Taxi drivers will be staging a protest today against Uber. It seems that they are unhappy with what they see as the lack of regulation of Uber, and the use the Uber App which they believe is akin to a taxi meter - which in London is limited to "Black Cabs" only. The protest will commence from 14:00 today (11th June) with up to 12,000 drivers expected to take part. The … [Read more...]

Qatar Airways introduces print at home luggage tags

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Joining Iberia and Lufthansa - Qatar Airways will be joining the self printing luggage game with the introduction of Q-Tag. Qatar Airways Q-Tag on luggage - Image Qatar Airways Q-Tag is available from all flights departing Doha on lots of its flights - 103 destinations in total according Qatar Airways. How does it work? Pretty much like the other soultions Check in at … [Read more...]