The Virgin love in continues with my Virgin America flight from LAX to Dallas Fort Worth. I currently rate this airline as the best in the USA, slightly ahead of JetBlue. I wish Australia’s Virgin Blue was as good as Virgin America. The Aussie version started as a discount carrier and is evolving into Australias’ second mainline carrier so its history is very different. Check In The star difference hits you right from the start with Virgin American. For example, how many other airlines have “We are Family“ playing at Check in? Was fascinated that…
Virgin across the Pacific
I was very excited about today’s flight: my very first time flying Virgin Blue’s International off shoot V Australia my first flight across the Pacific in one of my favourite aeroplanes the Boeing 777, the world’s largest twin-jet. my first International flight for 2011 my tenth flight for 2011 my 707th flight ever Plus I was in Premium Economy! For a plane geek lots of virginal experiences! Check-in at Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport was brilliant- very smooth and pleasant. From taxi to lounge via security, customs and duty free, in a little less than half an…
My Next Three Weeks
This is going to be a very busy time. Looking forward to flying with V Australia for the first time (the International arm of Virgin Blue, the Australian affiliate of the Virgin group) and spending a little time in Boise, Idaho.
Fantastic: Delhi Airport Express connects city to airport
Trains to the airport in Delhi??? Alleluia…for this is the city where I had two of my most terrifying taxi rides….traffic in that city is extraordinarily bad! Check out my blog post on bad Taxi rides and my wishlist for good service. The good news is that of yesterday Delhi has an Express train to the airport taking passengers from Connaught Place (centre of New Delhi) to the International Airport (23km) in 18 minutes. Cost 80 rupees ($1.80). Trains run 6am to 10pm but that will change with trains expected to run later in the night.…
How far is it from? Great Tools
Ever need to find out the travel distance between two cities? Sometimes you just need to know or you want to work out points earnt for frequent flying. The tool pictured right Travel Math will tell you travel distance, flight times as well as driving distance and driving time. It will also tell you the closest airport. Calculations are in miles, kilometres and nautical miles. NB there is also an online booking form on the same page. Be careful you may actually start booking a flight instead of finding the distance! My other favorite distance finding…
Bad timing: Expedia’s Earthquake NZ sale
I subscribe to Expedia.com, Expedia.com.au and Expedia.co.nz (3 times in total). As a result, when they have a sale, I get three emails from them. On 23 February, three emails all came through at around 907am Australian time/1107am New Zealand time. They were all promoting a cheap holiday deal in New Zealand. The snafu was that this email came 17 hours after a massive earthquake ripped through Christchurch, New Zealand. This major tourist centre seems to have lost most of its hotels and the biggest hotel in the City, the 26 storey Grand Chancellor may collapse.…
Amazing Video of LAX landing
This awesome video shows a commercial plane landing at dusk into Los Angeles International Airport. The video has been edited and sped up fitting all the action into under 5 minutes with very appropriate background music (Los Angeles by Sugarcult) that I find really cool. Some hate the music (hint: watch the video with the sound on mute, if that is you) The plane comes in from the northwest into Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at an altitude of 10,000 feet (3 000 metres) the downwind leg is entered over the Santa Monica VOR (VHF omnidirectional radio range) station the…
BMI Baby makes fares fully transparent
I complain so often about the airlines that hide their prices behind a wall of charges and “extras” (see my blog posts: $198 to Europe or 981.80 and More on Cheapies) Today BMI Baby (yes its a real airline) in an email to customers said: You’ve probably noticed a change in the way that our fares are displayed, but don’t be alarmed, there’s a very good reason for it. You see, we want to be open and honest with our customers, by including all airport taxes and charges on our fares display page. We’ve made this change…
You are Gold!
Always believe in your soulYou’ve got the power to knowYou’re indestructible, always believe in, ‘cos you are Gold(Spandau Ballet) The Virgin Group have just made me Gold Status with them. Thank you! What does this mean?Because I am also Gold with United and Platinum with Qantas it means: I fly too much Lounge access whenever i fly internationally almost anywhere in the world Lounge access at almost all domestic lounges in Australia Priority security lanes and boarding (when available) Priority for upgrades Bonus Points This does make me happy! Let me toast this with a…
What do you buy an adult plane geek for their Birthday?
In this case the geek is not me but you could buy me first class seats in an A380? ORor a ride on a Boeing 707or a Qantas Gift voucheror For my friend (and very regular blog reader) Troy, I bought a lego mini plane: Be king of the skies with the super-agile mini plane with spinning propellers! Rebuilds into an ultra-light airplane or sleek speedboat. Comes in a handy reusable storage can. Enjoy- and Happy Birthday mate!
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