Economy Class & Beyond

Philippe Starck to develop… amenity kits? Why yes!

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Airlines love the branded amenity kits - be it Rimowa cases, Tumi cases, Elemis spa creams and balms, Bulgari fragrences and such, with the brands tying up with airlines to push their products further. Well, it seems a great product designer has teamed up with a distributor of kits. Philippe Starck has been designing some interesting items for many years, from rooms, … [Read more...]

Airbus abandons comfort, and goes to squeezing passengers in…

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Editors note: Thanks to @thatjohn and @Airlineflyer for tweeting pictures of the Airbus presentation that I couldn’t make due to me going back to Birmingham to pick up my passport. This post would not had been possible without them. It seems Airbus is giving up with it its idea of wider seats in Economy Class as it proposes a three-class economy solution at Aircraft … [Read more...]

What I’m looking forward to at AIX 2015

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Well, tomorrow takes me back to Germany - and somewhere were I haven't been in years - and that's Hamburg (If I'm honest, the last time I was there was when I was... 9 or 10 years old. Considering I'm nearing 40 this year, it's been a long time). Sadly - whilst I'll have little time for sightseeing as I'm going to be busy at Aircraft Interiors Expo 2015. Aircraft … [Read more...]

Ultra-long haul Air Passenger Duty drops from today (1st April)

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In good news, Air Passenger Duty for departures from United Kingdom changes today. In the past there has been four bands of Air Passenger Duty, split into two rates: Band A: 0 - 2000 miles Band B: 2001 - 4000 miles Band C: 4001 - 6000 miles Band D: over 6000 miles The two levels are: Reduced Rate - for the lowest class of travel on a plane (eg … [Read more...]

Iberia WiFi connectivity in-plane – even worth considering?

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In flight connectivity is all the rage these days, with Gogo offering various all day packages in the USA for $16 upwards, Emirates offering 500mb for a $1, and so on. Yesterday, I was aboard an Iberia flight - and there was WiFi offered aboard the plane. Which is all well and good. The A330 had the "new" Iberia cabin installed - but we're not interested in that in … [Read more...]

British Airways does “The Face” … for Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day.

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For those of us of a certain age, we will remember a certain advert that British Airways released in 1989. That advert was "The Face", done by Saatchi and Saatchi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAcBsSzjiUo Well, for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day (A comedy based fund raiser), apart from painting the nose radardomes of some planes red (red nose... get it... no... oh go to … [Read more...]

Should I buy an Iberia upgrade for a long haul flight?

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Earlier this month I wrote about Iberia offering auction pricing to upgrade my flight. Well it seems Iberia want to offer me something different now, with an Iberia Upgrade: Well, what should come through the email box but this: So the new option: Cabin Upgrade from Economy Class to Business Class aboard an A330 for €500 all in for one segment (MAD-ORD). Upgrade is for … [Read more...]

Low Cost Hotels continue the Free WiFi push – Premier Inn to offer Free WiFi

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The low-cost value end of the market can be cut-throat - with Travelodge and Premier Inn two of the bigger chains fighting it out in the United Kingdom. Premier Inn is making a slightly different play. Whilst Travelodge offers 30 minutes of WiFi free, then £3 of WiFi for 24 hours of access - Premier Inn will be offering a two tier offering of WiFi. The basic offering will … [Read more...]

Uber comes to Birmingham

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Uber has launched services in my local city - Birmingham with a fanfare. The "Shared Ride" company will be going up against the Black Cabs and Private Hire cars that currently operate in the city. Prices seem "reasonable", with Uber quoting the following: Birmingham New Street Station to Selly Oak – £5-7 The Bullring to Edgbaston – £4-6 City Centre to Birmingham Airport … [Read more...]