Economy Class & Beyond

IcelandAir offers Gate-to-Gate WiFi

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For those of us who want to be connected at all times in the air, IcelandAir have become the first airline in Europe to allow Gate-to-Gate WiFi on its fleet. IcelandAir Boeing 757-200 - Image, Icelandair  Gate-to-Gate in this case means you can hook onto the WiFi when you get on the plane at your origin, and disconnect from the Wifi when you walk off the plane - … [Read more...]

Icelandair Introduces Stopover Buddies!

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Lets put this out there first - the airline industry can be extremely boring and repetitive (the recent example over the excitement of American Airlines reintroducing snacks is just one thing that flags up on my radar that I file under "That it?'). Icelandair though... has always been slightly different. It's been promoting Iceland as a stopover point between Europe and … [Read more...]

Oh Gate A10. How I hate thee.

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With apologies to Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 - Shall I compare thee to a summers day? Oh Gate A10 in Heathrow Terminal 5. Shall I compare thee to a summers day? Or shall I compare thee to the third ring of hell, where souls are packed tightly into buses in the vague hope they will be going somewhere? Shall I compare these to unorganised human mess as opposed to … [Read more...]

Japan Airlines Sky Wider II seats – huh? 

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As I mentioned earlier - it seems the Japan Airlines are converting some of their Boeing 787 operations into something a bit more comfortable down the back of the plane. Japan Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner - Image, Economy Class and Beyond. One of my major complaints about the Boeing 787 Dreamliner (and I know I'm not alone on this one) is the implementation of 9 across … [Read more...]

United to bring Illy Coffee to its planes and lounges

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Airline coffee. I think it's the one thing that we can all agree that needs drastic improvement in the air. Let's face it, in economy class coffee is akin to day-old dishwater. Even business class coffee is a disappointment more often than not. In fact, thinking about it, the only really decent cup of coffee I've had in the air was when I flew Openskies. Coffee aboard … [Read more...]

KLM to start charging for Advanced Seat Reservations

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In news that is sadly not surprising, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will now be charging for Advanced Seat Reservations. KLM CityHopper Embraer 170 and Fokker F70 - Image, Economy Class and Beyond So to the nitty-gritty - the Advanced Seat Reservation fee will be €20 per person per segment - and goes into effect on the 1st December, for flights from 26th January. The charges … [Read more...]

Selfie Sticks at JR West Stations are no longer welcome…

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I admit I hate the things. Those metal poles that extend, might have a mount and turns people into zombies. I am of course referring to Selfie Sticks. Selfie Stick bans have been many and varied, with Disney banning the things, football clubs, as well as various landmarks around the world. Well it seems that the Selfie Stick are now on the banned list on JR West … [Read more...]

Lufthansa to introduce Short/Medium haul in-flight WiFi in 2016

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WiFi  (or in-flight connectivity) in planes in Europe can best be described as "patchy" at best, and "hopeless missing" at worse, with limited carriers offering WiFi connectivity aboard their planes on European routes (with Norwegian Air Shuttle operating the most planes with WiFi aboard), and other airlines making token efforts as they dip their toes into the WiFi water … [Read more...]

Birmingham New Street completes its refurbishment

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Birmingham New Street has been a bit of a joke in the past. I've called it Mordor Haptbahnhof more than once due to how dark and dingy it was. Well, things have changed a bit. In 2013, the first half of New Street was refurbished. Now, they've finished the other half of the construction work. How does it look? Well lets take a look, as I approach the station from the … [Read more...]