Air India has unveiled its first retrofitted Airbus A320neo which is ready to return to operations.  The aircraft - VT-EXN  - is the first of the 27 narrowbody aircraft inherited at the time of takeover that was elected for a complete retrofit to the new Air India standard, with new seats, carpets, curtain, cabin ambience, a three-class cabin configuration, along with a … [Read more...]

For those of you eager to register for the EU Entry-Exit System and European Travel Information and Authorisation System, their implementation has been delayed. Again. The Schengen/Rest of the World Border at Helsinki Vantaa Airport  The EES is expected to become operational in October 2025. ETIAS is expected to follow in the last quarter of 2026. The delay was … [Read more...]

We're halfway through March, and with lighter evenings comes more news headlines. Yes, it's time for Last Week at Economy Class and Beyond. It's fun, fun, fun, on the trams, trams, trams - Midland Metro tram approaching Upper Bull Street stop, as I switch from one office to another. TRIP REPORT: Miles to Bucharest We've come to the end of another Trip Report - I hope … [Read more...]

It seems that a new home has finally been confirmed for the Alstom Class 175 Coradia 1000 trains - and they're heading to the Great Western Railway (GWR). Class 175/1 and a Class 175/1 in the rear - Image, Great Western Railway  GWR will take on the entire class, comprising of 26 trains. This is split into 10 two-car trains and 16 three-car trains. GWR currently have … [Read more...]

It's time for another airline to activate Apple's "Find My Share Item Location" to help them find missing baggage. And it's KLM Royal Dutch Airlines who is next to join the party. Customers traveling with KLM can use the new Share Item Location feature to privately and securely share the location of their AirTag or Find My network accessory with KLM customer service to … [Read more...]

It seems Delta Air Lines is planning a new route starting this upcoming winter season - this time Marrakech, Morocco. Delta Boeing 767-400ER - Image, Economy Class and Beyond  It marks an expansion of Delta's African network, with the airline planning to operate the route between Atlanta and Marrakech. The new route will start on the 25th October 2025.  The … [Read more...]

With HM Goverment backing a third runway at Heathrow Airport, Heathrow Airport is planning to move forward with expansion projects. Expect Changes Ahead - Heathrow from the Sky in January 2025 - Image, Economy Class and Beyond.  In an address delivered at British Steel Scunthorpe, Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye, they announced the largest private investment programme … [Read more...]

Bikes are a great way to get around a city (especially if you can maintain a sense of balance to ride one). However, with the bike hire schemes, there are two types - docked bikes (where you go to a docking station to pick up a bike and return it later such as the TfL scheme) and dockless bikes - where you pick one without having to use a docking station (such as Lime and … [Read more...]

When I was travelling to Romania, I needed to get some local currency out. Sometimes hard cash is a useful thing to have to hand (and in the end, I didn't need hard currency - but that's beside the point, it's better to be prepared than not). Rather than hitting a cashpoint at the airport (least of all they have the EuroNet ones which have... more than a few issues, which … [Read more...]

STARLUX has launched enhanced service with Viasat’s high performance in-flight connectivity (IFC) solution, expanding their relationship. The phased rollout of Viasat’s high-speed, reliable in-flight Wi-Fi service will span STARLUX’s entire active fleet. In total, 48 aircraft, including Airbus A330-900s, A321neos, A350-900 and A350-1000 aircraft will install or … [Read more...]