Economy Class & Beyond

Flybe Survives for now… but what next?

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Editors note Yes. After a few days nursing a cold and getting serious sleep – I’m back and ignoring the comments queue. Expect normal service to resume over the next few days as I sniffle my way through a keyboard… and develop my reading skills. It's been a fraught few days for UK operator FlyBe as some companies didn't realise what it was on the hook for … [Read more...]

Examining the Airbus A321XLR

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At the Paris Air Show last week, there was a real star of the show - the Airbus A321XLR (Extra Long Range), which amassed a bunch of orders and interest. Let's dive into it, and examine a few question this new type offers. Expanding the A320neo family Back to basics first. The A321XLR is a development of the Airbus A320 family. As you're aware the A320neo (new engine … [Read more...]

IHG to launch new all-suite hotel brand

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Intercontinental Hotels Group announced its results today. But that's not the interesting part it seems. Rather, the group is to launch another brand - this time an "all-suites hotel" brand. According to the group the new brand will be a mid-scale brand, targeted at an $18bn industry segment. IHG believes there is both strong guest (you and me) and owner (hotel … [Read more...]

Media reports say Virgin Atlantic is after FlyBe…

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Last night, Sky News began reporting that Virgin Atlantic was eyeing up a takeover bid struggling carrier Flybe. FlyBe Dash 8 Q400 at Birmingham Airport - Image, Economy Class and Beyond.  And I'm going to be blunt - this has shades of awful in it.  It's about the networks. And how they hardly touch each other Why? Virgin Atlantic struggled with its Little Red … [Read more...]

Primera Air: Value for money?

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Primera Air made a splash last year with plans to launch transatlantic services from London Stansted and Birmingham to the United States of America and Canada. The airline has been doing a major push recently in the Birmingham area (with Primera Air sponsoring a Free Radio promotion, and blitzing the city with adverts). But is there value for money here... or is it a … [Read more...]

Dear Online Travel Agents… Update your frequent flying programme lists

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Sometimes, it's fun to explore different thing - or to book slightly odd tickets (such as the simple example of me flying out wanting to fly out of Manchester and return via London on a Oneworld Airline). That's all well and good.... except when you get to the booking stage - at which point the Online Travel Agent doesn't care about your frequent flyer status much. They … [Read more...]

So where did it go wrong for Virgin Little Red?

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So by now you're all aware that Virgin Little Red is to go the way of the dodo. But where did it go wrong for this upstart? Lets take a step back an analyse what happened to get to this point. In 2012, British Midland International was put on the sale block and sold by its then owner Lufthansa, and was brought by International Airlines Group - the owners of British Airways … [Read more...]

ESTA’s – Remeber to renew yours if heading to the USA!

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For those of us not in the USA, but in US Visa waiver countries, a US ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) is required to be completed before you travel. The process itself isn't difficult to complete, but does require renewal every two years. Thankfully, if you registered an email address when you registered previously, you'll get a warning email that your ESTA … [Read more...]

Resort fees and Las Vegas – *Head… Wall… Thump…*

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There are some things that you can't avoid when travelling - especially in Las Vegas. One of the things that is irking me is the joy of Resort fees and how much they actually jack up the price of a hotel. These annoyances started creeping in 2009, and seem to be everywhere now. Vegas Chatter has an excellent list of fees and what benefits you get. But how do these numbers … [Read more...]