Economy Class & Beyond

Lufthansa sells BMI to… IAG (BA/Iberia)

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Well it seems Virgin was too late to the party with Deutsch Lufthansa AG deciding to sell it's British Midland Airways subsidiary to ... International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG). For IAG, the spoils of war are simple: 56 slots at Heathrow. The cost has been revealed to be  £172.5m, and IAG/Lufthansa aim to have the deal done in the next 3 months. The deal of … [Read more...]

Bad news: LOLCats are coming to GhettoIFE

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It seems the Internet is powered and populated by Cats from what I've seen. And it seems this corner of the Interwebs will be invaded by LOLCats too. Quick primer - Take an image of a cat. Add a few funny or appropriate comments (Ideally in IMPACT font). Add childlike language. Boom. You can haz LOLCat! However, LOLCats have a lot to do with frequent flying. And over in … [Read more...]

IAG pledges to “Grab” BMI according to Bloomberg

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The ongoing saga of who is buying British Midland Airways (owner of British Midland International and BMI Baby) continues to rumble on with International Consolidated Airlines Group (owner of British Airways and Iberia) seemingly wanting BMI according to Bloomberg. IAG concedes that whilst the sales process is taking longer thanks to Virgin Atlantic Airways putting it's … [Read more...]

ANA International 787’s delayed

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As I eluded to last week, ANA were having trouble with it's 787 delivery schedule from Boeing (As I was almost hit with the changes to my upcoming 787 flight). Well, more details are emerging. ANA has taken 2 of the 787's into service, but blames Boeing for a "productivtiy" issue over the 3rd plane that was due to be delivered. As such, it's had to trim following … [Read more...]

UK Regulated Rail fares to rise by 5.9% Average – but expect chaos

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Things are not peachy with the UK rail network - itself one of the most expensive networks in Europe, but there is some small relief when in the Autumn statement, the Chancellor capped the rise in fares in regulated fares from 8% to 6%. Average rises amongst the train operating companies have settled down near the top, at 5.9%. However don't read too much into that. Whilst … [Read more...]

Just a reminder – Holiday Inn 2012 sale for £20.12 is on now

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Just a quick reminder for those who want some bargain rooms in January 2012, ICHG is running a London 2012 tie-in promo where you can get your rooms... for £20.12. Book at http://www.holidayinn.com/2012 But check the terms and conditions The £20.12 room-rate promotion is available at participating Holiday Inn hotels in the UK for room bookings only for stays between … [Read more...]

UK Banks and Credit Card companies to scrap *some* fees on ForEx

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News from the BBC indicates that some fees on Foreign Exchange are being scrapped by Banks and Credit Card companies after pressure from the Office of Fair Trading. The OFT has been looking at a complaint has filed by consumer focus (that the banks moaned about because they had no consultation) More importantly, fees that are charged will be displayed more clearly in … [Read more...]

Kingfisher set formal accent into OneWorld confirmed for February 2012

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It looks like an Indian Airline is actually going to formally join an alliance. And as you can all guess from the title, it's not Air India, but KingFisher who will be first to formally join an alliance. OneWorld state that Kingfisher Airlines is to formally join the the alliance on February 10, 2012. Members of Kingfisher’s King Club frequent flyers club will be able … [Read more...]

Etihad Airways increases its share of Air Berlin

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Etihad Airways is to increase its stake in Air Berlin to 29.21%, which will make it the largest single shareholder in the German carrier. For Air Berlin, this could seem an angelic feat as they are in the middle of a restructuring programme. They are increasing their stake by 2.99%, at a cost of €2.31 ($3) per share. Eithad will also invest up to to $255 million in Air … [Read more...]

Airplane Art: Frontier Airlines A319

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It's Sunday again, so it must be time for some airplane art. This week, it's more a panorama, but staring in it is a Frontier Airlines A319 featuring Flip the Dolphin at Denver International Airport (and I'd advise you zoom in to see some of the detail of the panorama - the main image sadly is a bit compressed to fit in the blog layout0 More of course next week! … [Read more...]