Economy Class & Beyond

JAL Confirms 787 Delivery Date: 25th March

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Japan Airlines has formally confirmed that Boeing is due to deliver their first Dreamliner to the group on the 25th March 2012. More details of the plane have been revealed - in particular - the seating: Business Class: 42 in a 2-2-2 layout - The JAL Shell Flat Neo seats configured ina 60.2-inch pitch, a 21.3-inch width, 171 degree recline and a 15.4-inch IFE touch … [Read more...]

The UK Budget and how it will hit you (in traveller terms)

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Well the UK Budget has been announced today, and at GhettoIFE towers, it's time for a quick look at what Transport related items have come up... Aviation: Air Passenger Duty is confirmed as up from the 1st April 2012. However buried in the Red book this year is an ominous line: 2.158 Aviation tax: rates – Air Passenger Duty (APD) rates will rise from April 2012, … [Read more...]

Three Virgins get together and link programmes…..

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The three big Virgin Airlines have finally seen a bit of sense, and fully linked their Frequent Flyer Programmes together. This includes: Virgin Atlantic Airways (Flying Club) Virgin America  (Elevate ) Virgin Australia (Velocity) This means if you're a member of one of the above programmes, you can earn and redeem miles - and more importantly earn  status points … [Read more...]

AirBerlin formally joins OneWorld

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Amazingly, Oneworld finally has a new airline in it's stables, and it is indeed Air Berlin which takes its place at OneWorld formally today. Air Berlin formally joins as a full member of OneWorld, with all the usual features (Earning/Redeeming miles on Oneworld metal and Oneworld members able to earn on Air Berlin) NIKI will also be joining Oneworld as an affiliate member … [Read more...]

787 – JAL’s turn is coming…

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Well the second customer is lining up to receive their 787's. And step forward Japan Airlines who will be the next Boeing customer to get their birds. The big difference between the ANA 787s and the JAL 787s will be the power-plant - ANA use Roll Royce Trent 1000's engines, whilst JAL will be using General Electric GEnx-1B-engines. For Boeing this is an important step as … [Read more...]

Lufthansa decides the first regions the 747-8i aircraft are visiting

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Lufthansa is slowly moving forward to delivery of it's new Boeing 747-8 Intercontinentals with some interesting titbits of information released today. Firstly, Lufthansa is expecting it's first delivery towards the end of April, at a delivery rate of five 747-8i's a year. For Lufthansa, these new birds will feature a new business class seat which will have a flat bed … [Read more...]

Heathrow Express to go out on strike. Again.

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Well it seems that strike season is well and truly with us, with Heathrow Express drivers walking out on Saturday and Sunday, 24 and 25 March. This is in relation to disciplinary action by Heathrow Express against two workers. The strike action of course is timed to annoy passengers, with the first batch of action between 03.00 to 12.00 on March 24, and the second batch … [Read more...]

So, you want to find your way around a cockpit?

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Well good news for those of you who do, or have ever wondered what all those buttons, dial and switches are a pilot on Quora.com takes you through a guided tour of a cockpit. This makes excellent lunch time reading for those of you stuck at desks. http://www.quora.com/What-do-all-the-controls-in-an-airplane-cockpit-do/answer/Tim-Morgan-5 … [Read more...]

Kingfisher to abandon LHR routes, Considering grounding Long Haul Fleet

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It's time to look again at the ongoing comedy/tragedy that is Kingfisher Airlines. Due to costs and a lack of crew, long haul routes are being sliced up, with one of the A330's leased being retured to lessor, the London Heathrow service's  is being cut from the 10th and 16th April from the look of the GDS's. In addition, there are more cuts internationally according to … [Read more...]

Surprise: Hotel rates on the up for London in August 2012…

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In a piece of news from the BBC and Hotels.com that should surprise... well - no one,, a survey on hotel rooms prices in London for August 2012 has been released. And sadly, it is a case of "Rip off Britain" with hoteliers cashing in with a 102% rise on last years rates. Hotels.com state the average price of a hotel room in London will be £213 a night. This compares … [Read more...]