Norwegian Air Shuttle began selling tickets for their New York JFK and Bangkok Boeing 787 services on Thursday November 8 for flights from May 30th, 2013. Some very cheap seats were available -and they were selling fast. The carrier will fly between Oslo (Norway) and Stockholm (Sweden) three times a week. Seats on Norwegian’s 787 will be nine across 3-3-3 in economy class with a 31″ pitch. The airline is also introducing a Premium Cabin on the 787, configured six across 2-2-2 with a 46″ pitch. Up to now, the airline has been all one class.…
Spanish Shakeup for IAG
IAG CEO Willie Walsh has thrown down a challenge following nine months of losses at Iberia and a 25% fall in third quarter profit for the group. This week he said: “We want Iberia to be strong and successful. For too long the narrow self-interest of the few has damaged the long-term future for the many. We will not hesitate to take necessary steps to protect the interests of our shareholders.” It looks like Iberia is going through the same medicine that British Airways went through two years ago. The immediate changes are: Iberia capacity will be…
Double Turkish Delight
Apologies for publishing both the final version and an initial draft almost simultaneously of my Report on my Turkish Airlines experience from Washington to Budapest via Istanbul. The draft was clearly not meant to be published. Ironically, I was on a plane when they went live. As one reader noted, I must have inserted the wrong disc in my amenity pack! I recommend the correct version. It is much more tasty! Thank you to those who noted the mistake.
Turkish Delight -Great Trip + Best Economy Meal Ever!
Turkish airlines are the 83rd airline I have ever flown. Member of the Star Alliance since 2008, they have been expanding rapidly in the last eight years and now fly to over 200 destinations with 160 aircraft. Turkish Airlines have been awarded Europe’s Best Airline and Southern Europe’s Best Airline twice in 2011 and 2012. Interestingly, this week, Lufthansa expressed an interest in either merging with or forming a closer alliance with Turkish Airlines. Booking 5 out of 10 I booked through online travel agents who were offering the same flights at a much reduced cost compared to the Turkish Airlines own website. I also…
Negotiating US Security- an appeal and a guide
I have just spent three weeks out of the last five in the USA flying 21 times. This is a lot of checkins! Flying can be very frustrating at the best of times but people’s dilly dallying at airport security really raises my impatience levels. If a passenger “wastes” a minute at security, that can be a be an annoyance. If 15 people in a security line all “waste” one minute, this time delay adds up. For some people, this can mean missing a flight! In the book and movie “Up in the Air”, the…
Medical Tourism in Hungary
I have joined the world of medical tourism, getting some major dental work done this week in Hungary. There are few accurate figures estimates on how many people are travelling to countries other than their own for health care procedures but it is thought to be in the millions. The most common procedures are dentistry and cosmetic surgery but eye care is also popular and some people opt to travel overseas for major surgical procedures because of pricing. The top countries for medical tourists are: Brazil, Costa Rica, Hungary, India, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey. It is estimated that in 2011, between 70 and 80 thousand people travelled to Hungary for dental treatment generating revenues…
Air Zim back (again)
Robert Mugabe, the leader of Zimbabwe is not in a hurry to go anywhere nor it seems, is his country’s national carrier. After suspensions of services several times. multiple strikes and groundings and suspension from IATA, the carrier’s ceasing of flight’s seemed to spell the end in February. Not so! In March 2012, the government of Zimbabwe disbanded Air Zimbabwe Holdings, absorbed a one hundred and fifty million US dollar debt and established Air Zimbabwe Private Limited. They then flew from Harare to Bulawayo and Victoria Falls (all in Zimbabwe) from May 2nd to July 2nd, 2012. Now the airline is on its…
Virgin Australia’s Next Move
The Australian airline industry has become like a giant game of chess. Virgin Australia 18 months ago, upped the ante with a dramatic series of movies including new planes, refurbished cabins, a business class product and expanded lounges. These changes began in tandem with new partnerships with Delta, Air New Zealand, Singapore and Etihad which plugged the airline into a worldwide network for a much reduced cost. The aim was to poach as many of Qantas customers as possible. Qantas responded by forming a major alliance with Emirates. This threw the gauntlet down again. I have been…
Air Koryo Goes Online
Few people have flown Air Koryo. The North Korean carrier officially has 14 destinations in six countries. It reportedly has a fleet of 30 old mostly Soviet aircraft which are usually grounded due to lack of fuel and or parts. Video of the fleet can be found here. Combined with an erratic schedule and a one star Skytrax rating, the airline has been described as “the world’s worst airline“. Following a visit to the airline’s headquarters in July, 2012, by the country’s new leader, Kim Jong-un, the airline has reportedly attempted to modernise. The carrier has launched an on line booking service: www.airkoryo.com.kp giving customers “easier,…
My 200 000th mile
I vowed last year to reduce my flying but it looks like I am on track to fly over 200 000 miles (almost 300 000 kilometres). In fact this week, I will reach the dubious milestone of over 412 hours flown this year – the most number of hours I have ever done. I travel this week across USA and with Turkish airlines (who I have ever flown before( from USA to Europe) This years so far, 20 airlines have taken me in 20 different types of planes to 53 Airports in 13 countries!
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