Archive for the ‘Travel News’ Category
Refreshments on a plane have been branded a ‘rip-off’ with companies such as Ryanair flights charging 12 times more for a bottle of water, than in a supermarket. It’s a well-known fact that flying on an airplane can cause de-hydration. But it seems low cost carriers are unaware of just how thirsty passengers get. Budget airlines including Ryanair have been exposed for imposing charging ridiculous amounts for food and drink bought in the air.
According to travel supermarket.com, a family of four could easily spend around £45 for a sandwich, drink and pack of crisps –a small lunch.
The flights themselves may be cheap, but if you end up slightly peckish on board a Ryanair flight, you better get ready for the hefty prices. Some examples of their astonishing prices include: small tubs of Pringles crisps, bought for 26p in a supermarket, sold at £2.20 on a Ryanair flight – nearly nine times as much! This applies to drinks also, with a 500ml bottle of still water costing 25p in a supermarket and £3 with Ryanair as well as this, the airline charges £2.50 for a cuppa! Another killer is the standard 33cl can of Pepsi. This drinks costs just 25p if bought in an eight-pack at Asda, but comes in at £1.60, this time with Thomas Cook flights!
Travel expert from travelsupermarket.com, Bob Atkinson explains: ‘Holidaymakers flying with airlines which don’t offer a complimentary meal are in danger of wasting money on highly inflated prices for food and drinks on board. If you’ve saved money on flights why throw away up to £50 each way on overpriced food and drink for a family of four?’
In defence, Ryanair quickly responded with: ‘The restaurants on the 100th floor of the Empire State Building or on the top of the Eiffel Tower also charge a little more than the shops below. You do tend to pay a bit more in a restaurant at 30,000 feet. You don’t have to pay our prices. If you don’t want to buy a bottle of water, don’t buy it. If you are saying passengers should pay the same as at a supermarket like Tesco or Asda then bear in mind you are not comparing like with like. If the likes of Tesco and Asda start offering air fares we can look at this again.’
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The latest addition to the Celebrity Solstice Class is the Celebrity Silhouette which weighs 122,400 tonnes and cost £500million to build. Its first voyage was not its easiest as you can see from the video below; the captain of the cruise ship had to navigate it from the landlocked port it was built in, in Papenburg Germany to the open sea via narrow canals which left little room for manoeuvre.
For spectators and those leaving along the rout the giant ship is not something frequently seen on these canals, the whole journey took twelve hours to complete. The Liner will be starting its cruise holidays in Rome where it will be based with cruises around the Holy Land on offer, then later in the year it will offer 12-night Caribbean cruises from Cape Liberty, New Jersey.
Moving such a vessel is quite a task, to negotiate the canals, power lines, and railway tracks had to be removed along the route. Timing was also key; the journey had to take place at high tide to avoid the hull from scraping the bottom of the canal. The ship will remain in port at Eemshaven whilst tests in the North Sea with the vessel are conducted, it will then head back to Germany where it will be formally named on July 21st in Hamburg.
There are many new cruise liners being launched this year, with the cruise industry picking up, it seems this form of travel which was considered only for the old and rich is becoming popular with other people now, however this could be down to the fact that there are plenty of cruise deals available even for summer 2011!
With the Olympic games only a year away, airline carrier, easyJet has announced that it will Southend-on-Sea airport as a new London base and transform into a large airport in time for the 2012 Olympic Games. The airline plans to carry around 800,000 passengers in the first 12 months, from the airport, which lies just three miles from the seafront, the intend to have two million passengers a year using the airport by 2020, making the airport nearly as big as the capital’s City Airport.
At the moment the airport is mainly used by private jets and charter flights as well as a couple of commercial flights to Ireland. However, easyJet plan to start flights at Southend from April next year, under a ten-year partnership with the airport’s owners, Stobart Group they will also have a multi-million-pound terminal opening this autumn. According to airport5 bosses passengers would never wait more than four minutes to clear security, and trains from a new station nearby would get them to central London in an hour.
The expansion of Southend Airport will see the creation of about 300 jobs, which will be half with the airline and half with the airport. Many of the new flights out of Southend will be serving a range of European destinations such as Barcelona, Ibiza and Faro, which have been confirmed, but it is expected that other destinations will also be served, such as Madrid, Milan, Amsterdam, Berlin, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast.
The airline is looking at attracting a range of travellers, such as those looking to holiday in the Spanish resorts, to those looking for city breaks. They will have three A319 jets will be based at Southend and easyJet say that flights will be 20 minutes shorter than from the other big London airports because Southend is clear of the air traffic congestion over much of London.
With increases in the price of wholesale oil, an increase in APD and a decrease in profits for the major airlines, cheap airfares that many people have enjoyed for the last few years could be a thing of the past. According to forecasts from the International Air Transport Association airlines will only make profits of £2.4billion in 2011, which is a 78 per cent drop on the £11billion which was made last year.
This means that companies will be looking to recoup losses by increasing ticket prices, to combat falling numbers of travellers and the cost of fuel. The main loss in profits has been attributed to the cost of oil which is significantly higher than it has been for a long time and which can also fluctuate quite significantly, especially with the unrest we are seeing in the Middle East at the moment.
Fewer passengers is also thought to be a contributing factor as well, with less people now being able to take holidays abroad, especially with the increases in APD and people having less disposable income.
How many of us can actually speak the language of the country we are visiting, the answer, not many. In fact this summer the average British tourist on holiday abroad will only be able to speak ten or less key phrases of the native language where they are staying.
Researches conducting a study for Sheila’s Wheels travel insurance polled 3,000 people who are travelling on foreign holidays this year on their ability to speak the local language. One in six of the people asked would be able to ask a local for directions to the hospital however more than half could competently order a beer or glass of wine in a bar or restaurant. This shows us exactly where British traveller’s priorities are. They also found that the typical Brit knows only ten French words or phrases, six Spanish and just three Italian and quite shockingly two thirds of the holidaymakers polled refuse to learn local languages before trips abroad, including the most basic of phrases.
Spokeswoman Jacky Brown said: “The results of this study put holidaymakers to shame, considering that these destinations – France, Spain, Italy and Germany – are all visited regularly by British people. We know English is one of the most known languages internationally, but it’s rude and sometimes dangerous of us to assume that everyone understands English when travelling abroad. More importantly, if holidaymakers don’t have the most basic knowledge of local languages, it is worrying that they will not be able to communicate in an emergency.”
A Fifth of people polled claimed Spain was their all-time favourite holiday destination however they only know six phrases or words in Spanish. The poll also found that abroad a fifth of people (20 per cent) will only eat in an establishment with English menus and staff, with one in ten holidaymakers walking out of somewhere because they couldn’t understand anything.
Now with the Easter holidays upon us, and many people looking to go abroad for a well earned rest, it will come as welcomed news that BA cabin crew are no longer striking as planned over the Easter Holidays as they agreed with British Airways not to hold strike, for now anyway. Last month members voted to stage fresh walkouts in their continuous row with BA, now BA and Unite have agreed a 28-day extension to talks.
This comes after both BA and Unite sought the expertise of a clinical psychologist in a bid to heal deep and quite personal on occasion, divisions between the two parties. However during the 28-day extension, the union retains the right to call a strike at any time within that period, which may keep some travellers on edge.
Mark Hamlin, whose company specialises in dealing with ‘fragility of trust’, was the one who met senior figures at BA and Unite in a bid to improve a fractious relationship. According to BA Mark Hamlin was acting as a ‘long-term relationship builder’ as the airline and Unite thrashed out a basis for peace talks. The role was also acknowledged in a joint statement by BA and Unite who said their process of ‘cooperation building’ had been ‘assisted by a highly-regarded external company’. BA and the union said it hoped that ‘the optimism of recent weeks can be turned into a reality’.
Unite had until Monday to decide whether to name strike dates, under employment law and a joint statement the two sides said that a 28-day extension had been agreed to allow for further talks – though the mandate to strike remains in place throughout that extended period. According to some insiders the extension came as a positive sign from both camp and could lead the way to a positive agreement.
The UK’s top beach resort according to a poll by TripAdvisor is St Ives in Cornwall and it also made it into the top 10 European destinations, placing number 6, above beaches in Majorca and Sicily. Many of the beaches featured in TripAdvisor poll UK top ten were around the West Country, Wales and Dorset.
St Ives, Cornwall, England
Picture courtesy of candyschwartz
1. St Ives, Cornwall
2. Newquay, Cornwall
3. Bournemouth, Dorset
4. Weymouth, Dorset
5. Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales
6. St Brelade, Jersey, Channel Islands
7. Woolacombe, Devon
8. Padstow, Cornwall
9. Shanklin, Isle of Wight
10.Swanage, Dorset.
St Ives
Picture courtesy of chatirygirl
According to TripAdvisor St Ives and the surrounding area have several stunning beaches as well as some top ranked hotels and B&B’s in the country.
TripAdvisor spokeswoman Emma O’Boyle said: “These awards recognise the best beach destinations in Britain and Europe as decided by millions of travellers. Vast numbers of Brits jet off to traditional Mediterranean beaches every year, yet a British beach resort has out-classed all its Spanish, French and Italian counterparts in the awards.”
Malcolm Bell, head of tourism at VisitCornwall said: “This award is an amazing testament to the popularity of St Ives which is truly one of the jewels in Cornwall’s crown. As well as stunning beaches it has a range of quality accommodation and fantastic attractions making it appeal to visitors of all ages and interests.”
In the top 10 European beach destinations, Cornwall battled it out against the likes of Cypress and Greece, both of which are hugely popular with British tourists. The top 10 is as follows:
1. Ayia Napa, Cyprus
2. Skiathos, Greece
3. Protaras, Cyprus
4. Mykonos, Greece
5. Oludeniz, Turkey
6. St Ives, England
7. Alcudia, Majorca
8. San Vito lo Capo, Sicily
9. Calvia, Majorca
10.Villasimius, Sardinia
St Ives
Picture courtesy of chatirygirl
Increases in the controversial Air Passenger Duty APD have been postponed until next April, the Chancellor announced in the budget, he also announced that there would be a tax on private jets for the first time, previously the wealthy who used this form of transport got out of paying APD. The Chancellor, George Osborne stated that the increase is on hold till April rather than November as planned because of the ‘hefty’ rises in the tax last year.
This is great news for the travel industry which has campaigned heavily for the charges not to rise and the APD has increases every year in line with inflation since 2007 and is already up to 8.5 times more than the European average. Currently the duty adds £12 to the cost of an economy flight within Europe, £60 to the USA and £85 to Australia and if you travel business or first class higher charges are then applied to tickets.
The delay in APD will cost the Treasury around £150 million a year, however a family of four could save £4 on a European trip and up to £36 on a long-haul flight to Australia. Bob Atkinson, spokesperson for TravelSupermarket.com, said of the move: “While we welcome the freezing of APD for the average person, it doesn’t affect how we compete in the global market for travellers both outbound and inbound. Competitively we are bad, very bad. It is widely acknowledged a family of four to Florida will pay £240 in tax but a French equivalent would pay about £15. As a measure of monies collected we are paying massively over to our government for the privilege of flying from the UK.”
Last year we saw an increase in the number of people in the UK taking holidays here i the UK rather than going abroad, which is where we found ourselves using the new term staycation. And so as it seems petrol prices won’t be getting any lower anytime soon and the price of holidays increasing quicker than most people can save for, more and more people are looking to take a Daycation now.
According to the National trust more than quarter of us are planning to take at least ten single days off this year, with people looking to make the most of single days out with the family and packing as much into that day as possible. People have so much on their doorstep it can be sometimes easier and cheaper to take a number of single days off and visit places around where they live than taking a week or two off at a time.
Also local and national run discounts mean that sometimes it’s easier to take a day off here and there to take advantage of cheaper admission prices to attractions, something you may miss out on if you’re on a week’s holiday and offers don’t fall during that time.
The research also showed that 36 per cent will take between five and ten daycations with 42 per cent stating that demands on their time made shorter, more frequent holidays more appealing than longer trips and 57 per cent said planning a daycation was less hassle than organising a long holiday.
Tony Berry, from the National Trust said: “Our research reveals an interesting trend for Brits taking multiple single days off work, making the most of their spare time, and enjoying these daycations. Our visitor numbers for 2009-2010 also reflect this with over 17million people enjoying our houses and gardens, and millions more exploring the swathes of outdoor spaces we care for.”
If you are a Harry Potter fan and want to experience the world of Harry Potter then you will be glad to know that you don’t have to travel all the way to Florida to do so, because a new Harry Potter studio tour will be opening in the spring of 2012.
The tour will take place at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, which was bought by Warner Bros. in 2011 where all of the Harry Potter films were produced. Those visiting the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London will be able to walk onto some of the most memorable sets from the Harry Potter film series including the iconic Great Hall, Dumbledore’s office and others. You will also be able to see all the British artistry, technology and talent that went into the film series, with the authentic sets, costumes, animatronics, props and effects used in the production of all eight Harry Potter movies.
The Harry Potter studio tour will last three hours and it will be a walking tour, British artistry, technology and talent that went into the film series, with the authentic sets, costumes, animatronics, props and effects used in the production of all eight Harry Potter movies. You will be able to see firsthand the intricate detail that went into the production, something that can’t be seen anywhere else.
Josh Berger, President and managing director, Warner Bros. UK, Ireland & Spain, says next year’s opening of Warner Bros. Studio Tour London — The Making of Harry Potter will celebrate the British creativity and craftsmanship associated with making major movies in the UK.