Nine years ago, Etihad did not exist. Today the airline flies over seven million people to 82 destinations in 64 planes. They have the record for the fastest growing airline in the world and for one of the largest aircraft orders in commercial aviation history, ordering at Farmborough in 2008, 205 aircraft – 100 firm orders, 55 options and 50 purchase rights. They sponsor football fields in Australia and the UK, the Irish hurling championships, some teams and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. They have won awards for being the “World’s Leading Airline” in 2009, 2010 and 2011. They have also…
Spanair no more
The end came quickly for Spanair and her people.- very quickly. History Established in 1986 as a charter airline by Scandinavian airlines with a Spanish travel company, Spanair began scheduled international flights in 1991 followed by Spanish domestic flights in 1994. Membership of Star Alliance came in 2003. Skytrax rated them a 3 star airline. Spanair struggled to make money and in June, 2007, SAS announced it would sell most of its 94 per cent shareholding. SAS failed to find a buyer, however, and finally sold 83.1 per cent for a euro to the government of the Catalonia region in Spain in January, 2009. This region gave the…
Etihad World #1 Airline
Etihad, the Abu Dhabi based airline has won for the third year in a row the award of World’s Leading Airline 2011. Check out of the video of the awards. The award was previously won by Singapore in 2008. Prior to that British Airways had gained the award every year from 1994 to 2007 with the exception of 2003 when Virgin Atlantic won. Other winners are listed here: http://www.worldtravelawards.com/winners2011-1 They included Qatar Airways for leading Business Class and Cathay Pacific Airways obtaining Leading Economy Class. No US airline got an award except for American Airlines for their…
Wednesday Wackiness: Tasmania- MIA
Arnotts, the dominant Australian biscuit (cookie) and cracker manufacturer has created a new cracker in the shape of Australia for the country’s national holiday tomorrow January 26. Some have criticised the crackers because the map does not incude the southern island state of Tasmania (see right) Tasmania has been a separate island for 10 000 years and part of Australia since Federation in 1901 but often gets left off maps, promotional materials, tourist materials. How does one keep the island state in people’s front of mind? A question often asked by the Tasmanian Tourist authorities. In the year to September, 2011…
United delays International 787 expansion
Following the grounding of one of United’s six 787s for an electrical generator failure on 4th December, the airline has delayed sthe deployment of the 787 on some routes out of Houston Intercontinental. The services are to Lagos which will start in “late January” instead of 3 January, London due now on 1 March instead of 4 February Amsterdam on 24 February instead of 23 February United still plans to begin flights between Los Angeles and Shanghai Pudong on 30 March, and Denver and Tokyo Narita on 31 March. The airline said “By delaying the…
Choosing an Airline in South Africa
Booked to fly SAA for the first time in April, 2012 from Perth, Australia to Johannesburg on one of their Airbus A340-300s. My seat request is in the emergency exit. Anyone flown with SAA? Any advice? Tips? Also, I am doing a couple of internal flights. The logical thing would be to fly British Airways because I get lounge access, points etc but I am also curious to try the other airlines too. How come South Africa has six domestic airlines playing between major cities? Maybe I could spend one day just flying them all?!!! 1time “one…
Costa Concordia accident
I am astounded by the cruise liner sinking in Italy. My condolences to family members affected by this tragedy. What is your reaction? Costa Concordia accident: Pictures of cruise ship sinking off coast of Italy in Titanic-like scene | Mail Online.
Britain – Plan Set for Fast Trains
The country that invented railways is about to go high speed. The UK has one high speed line HS1 between London’s St Pancras station and the Channel Tunnel, opened in November, 2009. This is about to change with approval of HS2 (High Speed 2) between a rebuilt London Euston Station and Birmingham. Don’t hold your breath. Opening date is set for 2026. A second phase would have the line split at Birmingham with one branch running up to leeds and the other to Manchester. If Phase one will open 2026, phase two may not be…
Hotel Lock Out
Recently, my partner and I stayed at a small rural hotel in Australia’s Sunshine Coast. Check in was pleasant and friendly. We dumped our bags in the room, had a shower and went out to dinner. As I reached into my pocket in the restaurant at about 1020pm for the car keys to return to the hotel, I realised that I did not have the room key. I immediately rang the hotel and got the voice mail of reception. I left a detailed message and then rang again 30 minutes later. When we arrived at the hotel at…
Tuesday Trip Report: Air Australia
I blogged on Friday about Air Australia – the newest airline operating in Australia. Today’s Trip Report is about my recent journey on board their only domestic flight: between Brisbane and Melbourne, the two hubs of Air Australia’s international operations. Booking: 6 out of 10 As noted in my blog post, last Friday, the CEO of Air Australia, the newest airline in the country, has promised that the airline will bring “Simplicity”. Well that promise did not extend to fares, the booking process or to the website. There are five types of fares (Sale, Saver, Flex Saver, Flexible and Business). I have already said Air…
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