Starting in Chicago, I head up to Toronto, Canada and down to Buffalo and New York city – for the first of my birthday celebration s(i figure if I travel so much, I may as well enjoy multiple birthdays!!!
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for June 2012.
2012 Airline Bankruptcies
A cheerful topic! The one commonality the airline industry has, is that no brand is impervious. Unlike brands in other industries: Ford (USA), Cadbury (UK) and Waitrose (UK), airlines seem to come and go. The airlines lost so far in 2012 are listed below. Where I have blogged about the collapse, you will see my link. 2oth January: Cirrus (Germany) 27th January: Spanair (Spain) 30th January: US3000 (USA) 9th February: Malev (Hungary) – Check out my three blog posts about them: The Collapse 17th February : Air Australia (Australia) 26th February: Norfolk Air (Australia) 27th February: Velvet Sky (South…
Travel Tip: Take No Toiletries
I am amazed at what people carry with them in their as toiletries. Most, if not all of us take too much. The more toiletries you take means the more space they take and the more weight they create. You have to carry that weight. These days airlines are tightening up what you check in . If you are paying for your luggage then, you are paying for those toiletries. Should, you try and take them on board the plane, you may find yourself throwing stuff out because you cannot get the items past security courtesy of the 3-1-1 rule that applies to all US domestic flights and many international flights across the world. This rule limits passengers to Liquids, aerosols and gels must be in containers three oz/ 100 ml or less, Items being in one, clear plastic zip-top bag, and Only one zip-top bag per passenger. So my goal and suggestion is to cut back on toiletries. Taking none is impossible. . Here are my 4Rs for travelling with toiletries: Reduce what you take to one of every item. Do you really need three body washes, perfumes or aftershaves? Remember shampoo, soap and body wash are available in your hotel. The stuff they give away in most 3, 4 and 5 star hotels is perfectly acceptable. No, it may not be the brand you are used to but the point of travel is to try and new things. Reassure yourself that most toiletries are available universally around the world. If you are going to backpack in Cuba or Togo, that may be a different proposition. I used to carry around a roll of toilet paper – for years- I never used it.…
This Week June 11, 2012
I am all over the USA! I am mostly flying American (ugh). See you on board!
Qantas 250th time
I flew my 250th Qantas flight, last week, from Sydney to Melbourne, Australia. It was also my 860th flight of my life! Five weeks of my life spent inside Qantas planes travelling the equivalent of 16 times around the world! As you can see from the map below, the Australian flag carrier has taken me to five continents. What is interesting is how many of the Qantas routes I have flown on have now vanished: Harare to Perth, Bangkok to London, Sydney to San Francisco, Christchurch to Melbourne, and Auckland to Los Angeles are all gone. I have…
British Midland Regional Future???
This post is an update of my earlier post: Bye Bye BMI. Sector Aviation (previously known as Granite Aviation) successfully bought Scottish based bmi British Midland Regional Limited for £8 million cash from International Airlines Group (British Airways/Iberia). Handover was completed June 1. IAG inherited bmi Regional when it bought British Midland from Lufthansa earlier in 2012. This sale included all of bmi Regional’s fixed assets and long-term liabilities, including owned and operating lease aircraft. The carrier has 19 Embraers. Sector Aviation is led by Ian Woodley who is now Chair of bmi Regional. In 1987, Woodley founded Business Air. It became…
Wacky airline message for smokers
This Tweet caught my eye: @ardenbagni Love @WestJet #flightattendants. “This is a no-smoking flight. If you are caught smoking, we will ask you to leave the plane immediately.”
Travel Tip: Don’t Stress
‘Everything will be all right in the end. If it’s not all right, then it’s not yet the end … Don’t stress about travel. Its not worth it. Life is stressful enough. Things will go wrong with travel. – its inevitable. There are some things that can help: Time Leave enough time for your check ins etc. I add an hour to my check in time at Los Angeles compared to Melbourne Australia. Avoid flying on the day of an important meeting or wedding. Also choose flights with longer layovers. If you have the choice between 60 and 90 minutes, take…
United ditches Auckland-Houston
Remember the promise of a 787 flight from Auckland to Houston Intercontinental (IAH)? It was made by pre merger Continental. At approximately 11900 km (7400 miles), the new route was to be the longest from Continental’s Houston hub. I was very excited by this possibility. Houston is a much nicer airport than Los Angeles and the flight would get you into the heart of the USA. For me, Melbourne-Auckland-Houston-Philadelphia for example (as nightmarish as it sounds) is much more preferable than Melbourne-Sydney-Los Angeles-Philadelphia. Changing planes at Sydney is a hassle and in Los Angeles it is awful. The only…
The Interislander
Have a quick stopover in Wellington, New Zealand en route to the USA. I will be taking the Interislander ferry between the North and South islands of New Zealand. (To get to the airport in Melbourne, I will be taking bus and train. So on Thursday, I will manage bus, train, plane and ferry all in one day!) Am always excited to take the Inter- Islander. It is a stunning ride. When the water is calm, the trip is magic. When it is rough, it is shall we say more “challenging”.
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