Economy Class & Beyond

BREAKING: Qantas to be cleared for flight from 15:00 AEDT

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A literal grab from the Reuters/BBC News feed (before I close the computer down for the night). According to a breaking news headline, Qantas has been cleared to fly by the Australian Regulators from 15:00AEDT. Mentioned on the Qantas Twitter feed: Qantas resuming services today, subject to approval. All customers booked on afternoon flights should go to airport. Some … [Read more...]

Airplane art – BMI Regional ERJ-145

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It's Sunday again, so it must be time for some Airplane Art. This week, in light of the news that BMI Regional is in the process of being sold,  it's a BMI Regional Embraer ERJ-145 at London Heathrow Airport More of course, next week! … [Read more...]

Credit Cards in the UK – Hotels

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Ok, last up in our review of Travel Credit Cards in the UK - Hotel Credit Cards. And I'll be blunt - this is not a competitive sector at all. There are 3 (yes, THREE) Hotel Credit Cards we're going to look at, issued by two issuers. The big thing with all these cards is this: you'll only extract best value from them if you're brand loyal only to that hotel. Those of us who … [Read more...]

CONFIRMED: Qantas grounds ALL Aircraft

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This people, is big. In the ongoing spat between the unions and Qantas management, Qantas is ground it's entire fleet.  What will operate: QantasLink Jetstar, Jetconnect services, Qantas freight services (Express Freighters Australia and Atlas) Codeshares (eg BA flight 16) Everything else is off the table. The grounding occurred at 5pm (AEDT) on Saturday … [Read more...]

Retro Safety Video Saturday – Zoom Airlines

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It's Saturday again, and it's the end of the month. That means it's Safety Video Saturday with an airline that has long since parked up at the airport for the last time, or an airline who has got something old and laughable which we can all enjoy. This week, it's the former with Zoom Airlines (what was a Canadian outfit) giving a safety demo for their 767-300ER More … [Read more...]

British Midland International to sell it’s regional unit (BMI Regional)

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Well it seems the break up of BMI is beginning, with news from Donnington Hall that BMI Regional (the ERJ operation BMI has, serving regional destinations within the UK, as well as abroad) is now in the process of being broken away and sold to a UK based investor group. The memo is below (copied from FlyerTalk and Business Traveller): You are already aware that the … [Read more...]

Transareo signs MOU for 4 A380’s… with *700+* Seats

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Yes, you read that right. 700 seats. Transareo - Russia's 2nd largest airline - will be the first Russian airline to take delivery of Four Airbus A380's according to airbus.com Image - Airbus SARL. Transareo will be planning to operate these aircraft on long-haul routes from Moscow, in a 3 cabin layout seating about 700 passengers. Olga Pleshakova, Transaero … [Read more...]

Air France to send an A380 to LA…

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News from over the channel, with Air France preparing to commence an A380 equipment service from Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) to Los Angeles International (LAX) from the 28th May 2012 The proposed schedule is : AF066 DEPT CDG 10:30 ARRIVE LAX 13:05 AF065 DEPT LAX 15:50 ARRIVE CDG 11:20+1 Commencement: 28/05/2012, All times local Booked Equipment: Airbus … [Read more...]

FCO on Bangkok: “Avoid All But Essential Travel”

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The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has updated its travel advice for Bangkok - and the message is clear We now advise against all but essential travel to the city of Bangkok and the 26 provinces in Thailand affected by flooding. Our advice against all but essential travel to the city of Bangkok does not include transit through Suvarnabhumi international airport. … [Read more...]