Travel Bug

The controversial transatlantic tie-up between American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia has won final approval from the US Department of Transport, some 14 years after it was first proposed.
The green light clears the ways for the three carriers to jointly set prices, sell tickets and schedule flights through their Oneworld alliance, exempt from antitrust rules, the DoT said in a statement.
The decision follows last week’s approval by the European Union, and comes after two previous refusals by the regulators.

Separately, the DoT has also granted antitrust immunity to fellow oneworld members Finnair and Royal Jordanian.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA, described the transatlantic decision as “fantastic news”.
He said: “This is a great day for all three airlines and the oneworld alliance. We’ve waited 14 years to bring the benefits of the trans-Atlantic joint business to our customers and level the playing field with the other two global alliances.”

“As we have argued all along, the EU-U.S. market is highly competitive and Heathrow’s liberalization in 2008 opened it up even further. We are delighted that the U.S. and EU authorities have recognized this.”

However Virgin Atlantic’s Sir Richard Branson branded the DoT’s decision a “monster monopoly,” saying that the US regulator “has decided to put the interests of BA and AA before those of the flying public.” Read the rest of this entry »

The tally of plane orders by the close of third day of the Farnborough Airshow has passed the $25 billion mark, as a resurgent commercial aviation sector offset severe cut backs to government defence expenditure.

Though the show remains a long way off the record-breaking $88.7 billion of bookings announced at Farnborough in 2008, sales are well above the $7 billion placed at last summer’s sister airshow in Paris.

Airbus enjoyed the bulk of today’s bookings, including Thai Airways making a commitment to buy seven A330-300s worth around $1.5 billion, as well as sales to Berlin-based Germania, which signed a contract for five Airbus A319s.

Indonesian flag carrier Garuda has purchased of six long-range A330-200s, worth $1.1 billion at catalogue prices, to expand its new premium service “to more international destinations in a profitable and efficient way.”

Boeing’s sales included Air Austral ordering two long-range 777-200s, worth $501 million at catalog prices. Qatar Airways had ordered two 777-200LRs for the same price. Read the rest of this entry »

Hotels are usually classified by a five-star scale. The best hotels get 5 stars and the worst get 1. De luxe hotels and luxury spa break become more and more popular nowadays. They serve only luxury clients. North American hotels are used to be divided by belonging to a prestigious hotel range as “Hilton”, “Radisson” or “Marriot”.

Different star hotels have different accommodation conditions: general building condition, rooms and a number of additional services. The first hotel information is usually performed by its stars.

One-star hotels are mostly an extinct type. It is rather cheap to stay in such a hotel, but you shouldn’t expect any services there. Fridge, TV, and even a toilet are common, one on a floor or a block of rooms. The only accessories are a towel and a small piece of soap.

Two-star hotel proposes the same range of services that differs from one-star only by the presence of a café, suggesting the possibility of breakfast.

The hotel with three stars offers the most comfortable conditions for a relatively modest fee. Each room should have the radio, air conditioning, bathroom (or shower) and toilet. Rooms are cleaned every day; linen is changed at least once in three days. Room interior can include carpets and plants, as well as stationery sets, electric kettle with packets of coffee, etc. Three-star hotel often has a business center with Internet-connected computers, currency exchange, beauty salon, restaurant or cafe, parking. You can also book tickets on certain types of transport there.

Winter is not perpetual and a new tourist season will come in summer. Millions of people will take vacations and live in hotels. But many of them do not clearly understand the difference between 3 and 4 stars hotels. Why is it advantageous for hotels to raise stars sometimes? Why do they lower stars in other cases? Let’s try to reveal the secrets of hotel stars and advise on how to choose the right hotel.

Most travel agencies use professional slang in hotel descriptions. So it often happens people do not completely understand what conditions of nourishment, accommodation and services they are offered. Beautiful pictures from brochures become the main argument of hotel choice due to this situation. As a result, a vacation or business trip can be ruined. It is better for you to clear up all hotels criteria, their types and other thing to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Hotels, such as hotel in the Costa del Sol, camping, bungalow and cottages are the most widespread for tourists nowadays. Thus many hotels are located in recreation areas, near water, close to tourist sights or shopping centers and propose wide range of services. The territory of a guest house is picturesque places without heavy traffic. Camping is generally used only in summer. It includes usually small houses with separate wings for food and has very inexpensive price. Boatels are for tourists traveling by boat.

Brazilian President Lula launches “Brazil is Calling You” campaign in Johannesburg, following South Africa officially handing over the keys to Brazil as the next host nation of the FIFA World Cup.

The new campaign, titled “Brazil is calling you! Celebrate life here”, consists of movies, images and social media elements which aim to encourage the world to visit Brazil for business and leisure and take advantage of the opportunities that Brazil brings as hosts of world´s greatest sports events.

The campaign will be broadcast from 12 July on television channels globally and on YouTube, and forms part of the Ministry of Tourism and Embratur’s strategy to increase international visitors to the country.

The main objectives of this strategy, called “Plano Aquarela 2020 – International Tourism Marketing”, is to secure a 300 percent increase in foreign currency inflows from international tourists and to double the number of these visitors to Brazil by 2020. Brazil aims to invest approximately US$30 million into this campaign by the end of 2010. This will include of a range of marketing initiatives. Read the rest of this entry »

Boat passengers in the European Union are to see their rights enhanced in the event of delay or cancellation following a decision by the European Parliament.

At present ferry passengers have the right to a refund or a space on a later sailing if their journey is disrupted. However, airline customers get more protection, such as compensation if a flight from a European airport is affected.

The new rules are designed to bring consistency to the arrangements.

From 2012 when a regular passenger boat or ferry service is cancelled or over 90 minutes late in departing, the passengers will have the right to be rerouted (in order to reach the destination earlier) or to receive back the ticket cost and not to travel (or else to return to the initial port of departure at the company’s cost).

This will not apply in the case of weather delays or other conditions outside the operator’s control. Read the rest of this entry »

Over one million holidaymakers have visited South Africa for the FIFA World Cup officials have confirmed, with a late surge expected as the tournament enters its final week.

According to immigration records compiled by the South Africa department of home affairs, the total number of arrivals during June totalled 1.3 million.

This is up from the 1.01 million visitors recorded for the same period of 2009.

African visitors have been among the most numerous arrivals – with nationals from Lesotho, Zimbabwe. Mozambique, Swaziland and Botswana – leading the way.

Europe has also been strongly represented, with tourists from the UK, Germany and the Netherlands all turning out in force. Read the rest of this entry »

Google has marked its entry into the travel search market by buying the aggregator ITA Software for $700m (£461m). The cash deal, which represents the six-largest in Google’s history, will position the technology giant against the likes of Expedia, Cheapflights, Kayak.com and Microsoft’s Bing Travel.

Although an unknown name to the public, ITA is an important player, providing behind-the-scenes data on flight times, availability and pricing to travel agencies and online reservation systems, which are then used as part of customer-facing sales tools.

Google’s chief executive, Eric Schmidt, said: “Their technology opens exciting possibilities for us to create new ways for users to more easily find flight information online, and we’re looking forward to welcoming them to Google.”

A consortium of rivals including Microsoft, Kayak, Expedia, and Travelport attempted to buy ITA earlier this year as they all rely on its data and wanted to keep the company out of Google’s hands.

ITA was reportedly holding out for $1 billion, but Google secured the original $700 million price.

This also puts the pressure on Microsoft, and its Bing flight tracker, which aggregates flight prices and suggests whether you should buy now or wait for a better deal. Read the rest of this entry »

A congressional committee has voted to lift the ban on U.S. travel to Cuba. The House Agriculture Committee voted 25-20 to allow travel to the island and to expand U.S. exports there.

Though the vote is only a first step toward Congressional approval of the changes, supporters view it as a significant step towards rebuilding trade and travel relations between the countries.

The end of the Cuba travel ban would mean a bonanza in tourism to the island at a time when Fidel and Raúl Castro are in desperate need of new revenue streams. But some argue that Cuba’s isolation preserves the dictatorship and that a flood of gringo tourists would weaken it.

Similar measures have failed in Senate in recent years and State Department spokesman would not say whether the Obama administration would support the legislation.

The bill, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, must still go through the Foreign Affairs and Financial Services Committees before it can be considered by the full House. Then the Senate would have to act. Read the rest of this entry »