Economy Class & Beyond

European Mobile Phone Roaming to fall again

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In what can be described as some good news, European mobile phone operators are being forced by the European Union to lower the amounts they charge for roaming within the EU area. This year as well as the price of voice and text going down, Data prices will be going down The new prices go into effect tomorrow on the 1st July 2013: Service Summer 2012 … [Read more...]

Norwegian Air Shuttle takes delivery of its first 787

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A bit later than planned due to the issues that plagued the 787 fleet over the first part of this year, but Norwegian Air Shuttle have taken delivery of their first Boeing 787 Dreamliner today Norwegian 787 during tests - Image, The Boeing Company. The plane is also International Lease and Finance Company (ILFC) first 787, whom Norwegian Air Shuttle is leasing the … [Read more...]

United launches new wingtips on their new 737-900ER’s

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This is something that didn't appear on my Paris 2013 radar, but quite important for those of you looking out of the window... and noticing the wingtip device on the edge of the wing. We're all aware of wingtip fences (as used on A320's and A380's), winglets (as used on the Boeing 747-400 and A330), Blended Winglets (as used on Boeing 737NG, Boeing 757's and 767's), … [Read more...]

British Airways first 787 arrives, first routes and specials announced.

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British Airways has taken delivery - and have flown their first Boeing 787 to London today. Flight BA787 - http://www.flightradar24.com/BAW787 - touched down at Heathrow at 12:07 Local time (after a few loops around the Bovington Stack.. a rather appropriate welcome to its new home) This is the first of 24 aircraft, with BA holding options and orders for all three subtypes of … [Read more...]

British Airways to allow Electronic device useage after landing

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Ok, who here is guilty of turning on their phone the moment your plane lands - even when the flight attendants or cabin crew tell you not to? Thought so. British Airways seems to recognised this, and has agreed a safety case with the Civil Aviation Authority that will allow passenger to switch on phones and other electronic devices after landing after leaving the … [Read more...]

Bombardier CSeries First Flight: Pushed back a month

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As the Airbus A350-900 has taken flight (multiple times now), it's time to turn our attention back to the other brand new plane in the world - the Bombardier CSeries. FTV-1 sitting at Mirabel Airport. Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CS100-FTV1.jpg – Image Alexandre Gouger The first flight of the first aircraft - FTV1 was due to be "towards the end … [Read more...]

Heathrow Express fares “Good Value for money”. REALLY?

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Heathrow Express has gone on the defensive in an article Business Traveller calling the Heathrow Express fare "Good Value For Money", comparing it's £20 fare to a value of a £70 taxi fare. Not bad compared to a taxi, but that is a lot of money. So what are the options? Heathrow Connect is another option that runs every 30 minutes taking 25 minutes to Paddington … [Read more...]

Air Aisa Japan/ANA Joint Venture to end – ANA to take control

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It seems the joint venture that featured ANA and Air Asia coming together has floundered quite badly, with ANA Holdings to buy out Air Asia's stake in Air Asia Japan. This will result in Air Asia Japan operating until the end of October 2013 under the current brand. The partnership between Air Asia and ANA lasted for about a year or so. Operating in Japan has been a … [Read more...]

SAS chooses A350XWB’s and A330’s for a fleet upgrade

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The Airbus A350XWB has been getting a fair bit of interest - especially now it's show itself off since its first flight (and its 3rd flight took it past the Paris Air Show for a steal). This is now starting to pay off with SAS (Scandinavian Airline System) signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus - that hopefully will translate into an order for Airbus. The order … [Read more...]