Economy Class & Beyond

A film about Birmingham…

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The City of Birmingham. It's 100 miles from London, and a world apart. It's also the place I like to call home. Dusk over Broad Street in Birmingham from the Hyatt Regency Birmingham - Image, Economy Class and Beyond In a lot of peoples minds, Birmingham is a concrete palace, with odd accents and more canals than Venice (it's technically correct, so there … [Read more...]

Dealing with the unfamiliar….

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I'm in the midst of organising my tradition autumn trip to the USA at the moment. And I'm facing a quandary. Namely - dealing with the unfamiliar. If you look at my trip reports, you'll notice that there's a commonality in my trip reports namely: The Hyatt Regency O'Hare The Crowne Plaza O'Hare Both of these hotels have served me well in the past - however - the … [Read more...]

Airline PR’s… and the reality….

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I get a fair few PR's, notes, offers, and a lot else that I file away or put in the bin in my mailbox... and I mean a fair few. Although some of them do make me laugh. Lets look at this gem from Birmingham Airport. The line of text that I'm loving from this: Air France passengers departing from Birmingham Airport can enjoy travelling in one of the brand new cabins currently … [Read more...]

The new Malaysia Airlines takes flight… but can it fly?

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Malaysia Airlines as we all know has been through major pain. Earlier this year, the airline was taken out of private ownership as it was technically bankrupt, and needs to "hard reset" itself. Malaysia Airlines Airbus A380 at London Heathrow - Image Economy Class and Beyond The new entity - Malaysia Airlines Berhad was granted its operators certificate on the 28th … [Read more...]

I converted my Tesco Clubcard vouchers… but not in the way you think…

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One of the many spare time things I do in the UK is shop at Tesco - mainly to take advantage of their ClubCard scheme. The scheme is simple: 1 point per pound if you're just using the basic Clubcard, and varying amounts if you're collecting via the Credit Card or Bank Account. For frequent flyers one of those options is converting them into Avios or Virgin Atlantic Flying … [Read more...]

Want to visit Canada? That’ll be CAD$7 please…

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If you're going to the Commonwealth of Canada, it could  be time to read up on the entry regulations as the Canadian Government introduce eTA's - Electronic Travel Authorization. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/eta.asp This programme sound familiar in the least? It should do if you've been to the United States of America, and have required an ESTA to enter the … [Read more...]

The Five Yen of Happiness! – Hiroshima 70 years on

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The Five Yen of Happiness - Hiroshima, 70 years on I give in – I need a break (Introduction) To Heathrow and The BA Galleries North Lounge BA902 London Heathrow to Frankfurt Airport in Club Europe Bumbling around Frankfurt Airport with random #AVGeek spotting Meeting the A350 and the Air Canada Lounge Qatar Airways QR068 Frankfurt to Doha The joy of … [Read more...]

Expecting free bags to come back? Forget it Says United’s Jeff Smiesk.

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Firstly, my apologies for the lack of posts this week. It's been one hell of a week in the real world - and it might lead to a few new articles here about IT security and keeping yourself secure on the road. If there any further sign that airlines want to milk more money out of you, lets turn our heads to United Airlines very own Jeff Smisek, who according to Reuters has … [Read more...]

ApplePay (formally) launches in the UK

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Good news for those of you married to Apple devices (like I am), with the launch of Apple Pay in the United Kingdom. So what are the requirements for Apple Pay? You will need... Apple iPhone 6 (in shops and app) Apple iPhone 6 Plus (in shops and app) Apple Watch (in shops only) Apple iPad (in app only) Also you will need a card from one of these issues in the first … [Read more...]

The Davis Commission suggests a 3rd Runway at Heathrow

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Well, as if not many of us could guess the result, the Davis Commission has released its report today (Warning: Heavy Reading) on the need of a new runway in the South East of England, which recommended a 3rd runway should be built at London Heathrow Airport. Heathrow Airport at Takeoff, Image - Economy Class and Beyond So you think that's it - get the diggers in … [Read more...]