Another cowardly attack on everyday people at the airport of one of my favourite cities. This does not further our world. This could have been any of us at that airport. I will not start fearing and I will not stop travelling.
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for June 2016.
Special Meals Decoded- Descriptions and Ticketing Codes
Last week, I covered airline “Special Meals”. If you are ordering a special meal, you may want to know what the code is for one or be ready to read your ticket information for what the airline has scheduled as a meal for you. Just as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) allocates two letter codes for airlines (AA= American Airlines) and three letter codes for airports (JFK = John F Kennedy, NY), they have created four letter standardised codes for meals which should cover every combination you will ever encounter! AVML – Asian Vegetarian Meal…
Seven things I have learnt from flying 2.5 million KM
Two and a half million kilometres is a long way! Just over 1.5 million miles, it represents 62 laps around the earth. 600 times between NYC and Los Angeles! I have spent exactly 21 weeks sitting in aeroplane seats!! I hit this milestone, I believe, 35,000 ft over New Zealand, en route between Auckland and Wellington. Probably somewhere near Mt Taranki. There was no award and unlike in Up in the Air, no one came in with champagne and congratulations. (George Cloony’s character had hit 10 million miles, though). I am in an extremely privileged position.…
My First 787: Latam Business Sydney-Auckland
Finding a way of booking a Business Class ticket for not much more than a regular coach ticket is one of the Holy Grails of Travel! LATAMs flight between Sydney and Auckland offers a very affordable Business Class fare. It often costs not a lot more than Qantas charges for an Economy fare on the same route and is half of the fare Emirates, Air New Zealand and Qantas charge for the sector. There are some downsides of the LATAM option, which will become clear but it is a nice way to cross the Tasman.…
All about Airline Special Meals
Just before the main meal service, the crew will be bustling along the aisle discreetly serving what are known in the industry as “special meals”. There are a bewildering range of special meals (IATA lists over 30 different types). Vegetarians and diabetics are usually covered as are those requiring Kosher, Halal or beef free. These can be split amongst five categories: Baby and Children Meals Dietary meals – e.g. Diabetic, Gluten free, Low cholesterol Occasion meals e.g. Birthday Cake, Champagne Religious meals- Halal, Hindu, Kosher Vegetarian and Vegan meals A few tips on ordering a special meal:…
As I plan my first A350 flight, here’s where they fly.
The 350s have been steadily appearing across the world. There are now 24 Airbus 350s flying 21 routes with six operators: Cathay Pacific, Finnair, LATAM, Qatar, Singapore and Vietnam Airlines. Three more carriers will follow with Thai, China Airways and Ethiopian getting their first 350s in the next few months. The opportunity for me to fly on my first 350 is getting closer. With Thai Airways announcement that they will start their Airbus 350 service between Bangkok and Melbourne in September, it is looking likely I will be aboard a Thai 350 in December. Originally, Thai was looking at…
Dude, Where is my 787?
As we landed in Sydney to connect to our LATAM 787 service to Auckland, we found out via at the LATAM app, that the flight was cancelled. Sure enough, the departure screens at the airport confirmed this. The good news was that we had been re-booked onto an ir New Zealand service leaving Sydney a mere 7 hours later. I love NZ Business Class- its a very solid product but… The bad news was we had specifically booked the LATAM service so we could fly on the 787! They are the only airline offering the 787 between…
All about Flight Numbers & Airline Codes
After a couple of posts on airport codes, it is time, I turned my attention to airline codes and flight numbers! Every airline has a two letter code issued by IATA, the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Some are easy and recognisable e.g. AA = American Airlines BA = British Airways NZ = Air New Zealand UA = United Airways Others are more obscure such as: AY: Finnair – I discovered when I flew them originally carried the name Aero Oy 9W = Jet airways WN = Southwest airlines. There are multiple theories as to why Southwest is…
Exploring the Red Centre of Australia
Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock) has a deeply special significance for me and thousands of others. Along with The Sydney Opera house and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, it would have to be the three instantly recognisable symbols, of Australia: If coming to visit, I recommend at least three days in the Centre. Many of the 300,00 annual visitors come in and out for one single day as part of a “whistle stop” Australian tour. One day at Uluru is not enough time to experience this magical place. This last visit was my fifth and I could come back another fifty.…
Funny, weird and inappropriate Airport Codes – the definitive list
Following on from post on Monday about how to find airport codes, here are all of the codes I can find that are funny, weird or just downright inappropriate in English. The airports with an * are ones I have been to: ACK: Nantucket Memorial United States ALE: Alpine United States ATM: Altamira Brazil AWK: Wake Island US Minor Outlying Islands BAD: Louisiana’s Barksdale Air Force Base BAG: Loakan, Philippines BAH: Bahrain International, Bahrain* BED Bedford, Mass, USA BOM: Bombay, (Mumbai), India* BOO: Bodø, Norway BRO: South Padre Is. Intl United States BRR: North Bay, United Kingdom BUD: Liszt Ferenc…
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