I certainly couldn’t believe my eyes when I received Qantas Hotels’ “Leap year Craziness” email.
Check out these accommodation prices:
Sadly, I was too slow to catch the bargain of a lifetime. It was quickly followed by this correction.
Update: Qantas responded to my tweet about this as follows:
@debritz Hi Brett, this was due to a technical glitch. A new email with correct prices has been sent out, sorry for any confusion.
Here’s some good news for those of you planning a trip to Mars.
According to this report, Nasa is looking at a way to reduce travel time to the red planet to just three days.
The secret, apparently, is something called photonic propulsion, which may or may not be related to warp speed on Star Trek. The Daily Mail, a British newspaper, describes it as “a technique that uses light from lasers to produce thrust to drive spacecraft”.
Given that no humans have actually been to Mars yet, the estimated average current mission time is 162 days, and the expectation is that people who go there won’t be able to return, I wouldn’t be racing out to buy a ticket right now.
But at the same time, I was born before men landed on the Moon, defying all expectations, so anything is possible.
Meanwhile, checkout Nasa.gov for the latest on space exploration.
Popular: First class on the Etihad Dreamliner Related: Business class on the Airbus 300-330 Talking point: Where is it not safe to travel? Cruise news: Costa Diadema review
A harmless case of mistaken identity, or a security nightmare? The story of two women with similar names who were assigned the same boarding pass is certainly cause for consideration.
As news.com.au reports, two women — one named Michelle Cheung and the other Michelle Cheng — both had passes for the same seat on a Virgin Airlines flight from Perth to Sydney.
It turned out that one of them was in fact a Qantas customer who had somehow received a Virgin boarding pass, and had had her bags stowed on the Virgin plane. Luckily, it was sorted out on the ground before take-off.
Now, I’m sure both airlines are worried about how this could happen, and are taking measures to avoid a repetition.
I was in a similar situation on a KLM flight from Mumbai to Amsterdam many years ago, when another man came along with a boarding pass for the seat I was already occupying.
The solution then was to upgrade me to business class (as I’d paid a full-price fare and the other chap was on a discounted ticket), which I certainly didn’t mind.
Security wasn’t so high on my personal worry list back then, but I think I really would be uncomfortable if the same thing happened today.
How long is too long to sit on an aircraft? I guess the answer depends on who you’re flying with and what class you’re in. And, perhaps, who you are sitting next to.
In any case, some Emirates airline passengers are about to find out, with a new direct service between Dubai and Auckland that will keep them aloft between 16 hours and 17hr 15 mins.
Now that may seem a long time to white-knuckle flyers, but those who enjoy the airline experience might see it as a bonus. If nothing else, it stops you wasting your time in a stopover when you could be getting to where you need to be.
The Dubai-Auckland route is one of several contenders for world’s longest direct flight, all made possible by new aircraft technology, lower oil prices and more efficient air-traffic control systems. And it’s an impressive thing, especially for those of us who remember long haul flight of yore than involved two or three stops.
This flight will use the Boeing 777-200LR aircraft which, while very impressive, doesn’t have all the attractions of the larger Airbus A380s that Emirates uses on other long-haul routes.
But as an Australian, in the tradition of friendly trans-Tasman rivalry, I do have to ask: why would anybody want to bypass Australia on their way to New Zealand?
Anyone who has followed this blog since its inception — and I am pleased to note that that is not a class of one — will have noticed its evolution.
It began as a place for me to rant about what was going on, or not going on, in my life, and to make observations about stuff in general.
Rather quickly it evolved to its current focus on travel, and in particular my interest in flying — I do believe that the flight is a big part of the experience, not something to be endured before the fun begins — and cruise ships. (Mind you, I do reserve the right to rant occasionally.)
While the original URL of brettdebritz.net is still active, I’m encouraging people to access the travel stuff via www.planesailing.co — a name that reflects the content and new mission statement.
Of course, there are thousands of travel blogs and websites out there, but this one is different — really!
In a nutshell, it is not a site for young backpackers who want to find the cheapest flight, cheapest drink and cheapest hostel. It’s a site for more mature people (and by that I’m referring to outlook more than age) who want to travel in some comfort, take their time, and immerse themselves in the experience.
Of course, I will be looking out for bargains, but more along the lines of frequent-flyer point deals, specials and booking tricks that, for example, allow you to take a business-class flight for two-thirds of the going rate.
While I’ll be reporting my own experiences first-hand, I’ll also be publishing a selection of news that I think is important. And, yes, there may be some sponsored content along the way, but it will be clearly identified.
Let me know what you think, and how I can serve you better. You can comment below, or email me.
Happy trails!
In an age when many of us are constantly connected to the internet, it seems like an anomaly that wi-fi is still not widely available on planes.
Mind you, it also seems like and anomaly that you can’t use your phone or other mobile device during taxiing, take-off and landing on most airlines. (Apparently the jury is still out on that one; if there’s any chance my device will interfere with the navigational equipment, I’m prepared to forgo its use.)
Anyway, Qantas has just joined the club of airlines that do offer internet to their passengers. Not just internet but, according to its media release, “fast free wifi”. Which, of course, is the very best kind.
According to the release, the new service, on domestic Australian routes, will feature speeds up to 10 times faster than conventional on-board wi-fi, giving customers the ability to stream movies, TV shows, the latest news bulletins and live sport.
But don’t get too excited just yet.
In-flight trials are expected to begin with a single Qantas Boeing 737 aircraft in late 2016. A full roll-out across Qantas Domestic’s fleet of A330s and B737s is planned from early 2017, with the aircraft to be fitted with modems and the advanced antenna that receives the satellite signal.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce is quoted as saying that the goal was to make Australia home to the world’s best inflight wi-fi experience.
“Bringing high-speed wi-fi to the domestic aviation market has been an ambition of ours for a long time and we now have access to the right technology to make it happen,” Mr Joyce said in the release.
“The sheer size of the Australian landmass creates some significant challenges for inflight connectivity but the recent launch of nbn’s satellite has opened up new opportunities that we plan to take advantage of with ViaSat’s help.”
We’ve all been there. At the airport, sometimes the wrong airport, waiting for a plane that’s been delayed.
I was once on a plane from Brisbane to Sydney that diverted back to Brisbane after almost an hour in the air (that is, almost in Sydney) because it didn’t have enough fuel to stay in formation for the period required by air traffic control.
As I result, I nearly missed a connection to the United States.
This was a long time ago, and there was no word of compensation for the inconvenience. I guess there would have been had I actually missed the flight.
On another occasion when I was living in Scotland, I woke up at 3.30am to catch a flight to Malaga that was scheduled to leave at 6.30am. It finally took off at 7.30pm. The airline, a charter carrier, gave us all a five-pound voucher to buy lunch.
I also had a flight from Brisbane to Fiji that was delayed by an entire day (not a great inconvenience because I was living in Brisbane at the time), then had to fly to Nadi via the Solomon Islands to pick up some stranded passengers.
More recently, I was at Abu Dhabi airport when I received a phone call from an Etihad ground-staff member. She found me in the check-in area and asked whether I would be willing to change flights.
I had a business-class ticket to Brisbane. Instead of flying via Singapore to Brisbane, she asked, would I mind flying first to Sydney and then to Brisbane. The departure time was 10 minutes later than my original flight and the total travel time was about the same.
I said it was fine. I wasn’t even thinking about compensation, but when I got to Sydney, an Etihad staff member was waiting for me with a US$300 travel voucher. And I received 20,000 Etihad Guest points for the inconvenience. I was also upgraded to first class on my return flight to Abu Dhabi.
So it was with some interest that I read this story about passengers on a “nightmare flight”. The Delta plane tried and failed several times to land at New York’s JFK airport and at least one of the passengers ended up deplaning in Manchester, New Hampshire and catching a train to New York.
Very little was offered in way of compensation, although the passengers suffered a significant time delay. But all this was the fault of the weather and safety concerns rather than any error or wrongdoing by the airline.
The take-home advice is:
+ Know what kind of compensation your airline is likely to provide in the event of a delay.
+ Make sure your insurance will cover you if the airline doesn’t.
+ If you’re running to a schedule, add in a little wriggle room for unforeseen delays.
+ Be thankful that pilots and airlines are not insistent on trying to land in blizzards or hurricanes.
This arrived in an email today: a preview of the new “Travelodgicals” campaign for the British hotel chain, Travelodge.
I’m never quite sure what makes a marketing campaign a success. A memorable advert doesn’t always create brand awareness or translate into more business. They can win awards but not customers.
The ads from last year were certainly well executed. This one has a catchy tune, but the thought of sharing a bed or a bathroom with a lookalike puppet seems a little creepy to me. Especially if you wonder whose operating them and where they’re hiding.
There’s a lot of discussion on travel blogs about the comfort factor of passengers, so I was struck by a discussion on the Quora website that began with the question: “What are some ways to make a flight attendant’s trip more pleasant?”
We may think that the women and men in uniform are solely there to serve us food and pour us drinks, but the reality is that that have an important part to play in the operation of the aircraft, and they are highly trained to protect our health and safety. And let’s face it, we really don’t want to be in a position to see them put that safety training into action.
The answers varied, and many of them are worth repeating:
Gigi J Wolf suggested: “Everyone could stay home that day. But that wouldn’t be very lucrative for the airline.”
Her more practical suggestions included acts of common courtesy (which seem to disappear when some people go flying): not constantly pushing the call button, not blocking the aisles, follow regulations (such as turning off mobile devices when asked) and be polite.
Nuralia Mazlan also emphasised politeness and following the rules. Those seatbelts are there for a reason, she says. Also: use the rest room before the food service begins, and take out your earphones when talking to the crew.
Others stressed the necessity to pay attention during the safety announcements (or at least shut up so others can hear them), not to push your way on or off the aircraft, and to obey the rules about the overhead lockers.
It’s really not too much to ask. After all, we’re all entitled to a pleasant flight.
Update: Of course, there’s always the occasional flipside, where the aircrew don’t respect you.
This is how Air France farewell the last Boeing 747 jet. Once the biggest and best aircraft in any airline’s fleet, the jumbos are slowly going out of service, superseded by the larger A380 and a series of smaller, more fuel-efficient aircraft fro both Boeing and Airbus.
(Hat tip to allthingsaero.com)
What is it that makes some people misbehave on a plane? The alcohol? Perhaps, but not everybody drinks. The different air pressure? The sense of claustrophobia?
Whatever the reason, “air rage” is an increasingly common occurrence, and something that cabin crew and the rest of us who just want to get where we’re going really don’t need to deal with.
In the latest incident, a passenger on an Emirates airlines flight was arrested for allegedly attacking crew members on a flight from Dublin to London. The man had to be restrained and three rows of seats had to be cleared. Other passengers said they were frightened by the incident and concerned both for the crew and the man himself, who is now facing court in London.
The case is not unusual. Similar incidents are reported every few weeks, and it is clear that others, of a relatively minor nature, go unreported.
I suppose the very unnatural nature of flying triggers many of these incidents. But so, too, I would argue, is a general breakdown in standards of behaviour.
Like children having tantrums, many adults no longer feel inhibited about the way they act in public, be it in a shopping mall or on an airplane.
We’ve all had our moments when it just gets too much, but for may people the trigger event can be extremely minor. Can’t find what you want on the supermarket shelves? Well, just yell at the nearest shop employee.
Yelling is one thing but, too often these days, many people stoop to physical violence.
The problem when we’re flying at 30,000 feet is that the potential consequences of bad behaviour are so much greater. And that’s why we should all support action of the airlines and other authorities to minimise these events and punish the offenders.
The news that Etihad airways has been named airline of the year by Air Transport World magazine, raises a question: What makes a great airline?
In accepting, Etihad’s boss, James Hogan, said the award “recognises what we set out to do as an airline 13 years ago – to be safe, profitable and simply the best”.
It’s interesting that he put the safety factor first, because it might have been tempting to put profit at number 1. Maybe that’s what the shareholders would expect. But Hogan, like all astute business operators, knows that one follows the other.
With any business where the customer has a choice, priorities are important. Nobody is going to fly with an airline they think is unsafe.
After safety and profit — essential to keep any business afloat — comes the intangible idea of being “the best”.
For airline passengers, that means a combination of things, including comfort and confidence.
Flying can be an unpleasant experience — just the idea of speeding through the air in a metal cylinder puts some people on edge. The ageing aircraft, cramped seats, rude service and cattle-herding mentality at the terminal gates that are par for the course on some airlines make things no easier.
So a good airline has to do all it can do to make passengers comfortable. That means both on the ground and in the air. There has to be a basic level of comfort and efficient, friendly service for economy passengers, and something special for premium passengers. That’s where business- and first-class lounges, limousine transfers, airport greeting services and other frills come in.
Confidence applies not just to the safety factor, but to the whole experience. Passengers need to be sure that they will have zero problems getting where they want to go. They want a no-fuss experience, and for the plane and their bags to arrive on time.
No airline gets this right all the time. As I’ve said before, Etihad has always got it right for me, but I know other people who’ve had problems. Again, the test of a good business is how they handle customers problems and how they put in place procedures to minimise or eliminate recurrences.
By winning this award, and a slew of others in recent years, Etihad is showing that it’s getting it right most of the time for most of the people.
Yes, flying is expensive. It’s a costly business keeping an aircraft flying and servicing it while it’s on the ground.
Which is why the aviation industry and its customers can do without idiots who sabotage flights by aiming lasers at planes in flight. Sadly, there are many of them.
In the latest incident, a New York-bound Virgin plane was forced to return to London because somebody shone a laser at it, creating a “medical issue” for one of the pilots.
Airlines and siports go to extraordinary lengths to ensure the safety of their passengers, but there are some things they can’t control: idiots on the ground.
I hope the pilot is OK and has a swift recovery, and I feel sorry for all the people who were inconvenienced by the inconsideration of the fool or fools with the laser.
I hope these people are caught and that they face the maximum possible penalty.
For the second in this series, it should be no surprise to those who know me that I chose the capital of Thailand — a city with so much to offer to so many people. Continue reading Must-see cities: Bangkok
Everybody has their favourite big-city destination. If you ask around, the same handful of names will come up, with a few variations depending on that person’s individual interests.
I’ve always been an advocate of going off the beaten path, but there are a few cities that should be on everybody’s itinerary.
So, I have a little list that I’ll be sharing with you, one by one, over the next few weeks and months.
I’d be happy to hear your additions/ subtractions and the reasons why. Comment below or send me an email.
London, England. This is the first major city I visited outside of my native Australia, and it’s the one I love the best. For me, London offers the best of all worlds — it is simultaneously old and new, its history and culture are palpable but it’s as modern as tomorrow.
My first stop way back when was the British Museum, and no trip feels complete unless I spend an hour or two there, revisiting such icons as the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon friezes (controversial as they are; if you want to see them, that’s where you have to go) and the Egyptian gallery, or checking out what’s new.
Of course, there are dozens of other world-renowned galleries and museums in the British capital. From the Tate Modern to the National Portrait Gallery, there is something for every taste in art.
A visit to the Tower of London is a must. Who doesn’t want to say that they measured themselves up against Henry VIII’s suit of armour, saw the spot where two of his wives — Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard — lost her heads, or enviously gazed at the crown jewels? It’s gruesome and glorious all at once. Oh, and don’t call your guide a Beefeater. He, or she, is a Yeoman of the Guard.
After that, to reassure yourself that London isn’t entirely locked in the past, take a trip to see the 306-metre-high Shard. And, if you don’t hate heights (as I do), go for a spin on the London Eye to get the best view of the Houses of Parliament and other famous London sights (weather permitting).
The West End is the place to go to see some of the world’s best theatre, from the experimental to the traditional to the highly commercial. Cheap tickets can be obtained in Leicester Square, which is well worth exploring on its own.
What else? There’s too much to mention: St Paul’s cathedral; Madame Tussauds (cheesy but fun, and near Baker Street, where you can search fruitlessly for Sherlock Holmes’s fictional abode); Covent Garden; Hyde Park and the shops of Mayfair; any of the great railway stations (Paddington is my favourite); Buckingham Palace (a bit of a let down in my books, as it’s just a very big house with a very famous resident); the Roman wall; and the pubs and clubs and restaurants (some of which are excellent despite England’s poor culinary reputation).
And take the time to just walk and soak it all in. The grand architecture, the denizens of the City, and the sights, sounds and smells of the London Underground (bearing in mind that the Tube map is representative only and does not align with above-ground geography).
As the great man of letters, Samuel Johnson, said back in 1777: “Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”
When is the best time to book your next holiday? Actually, that’s a trick question, because there is no “best time” to book a holiday.
It depends on where you are going and when. And it often comes down to luck.
I’ve been noodling around online over the past few days trying to find something to do in March. Yes, I know that’s only next month, but the same problems arise whether you’re booking for next week or two years hence.
For reasons that are not really important, I have a flight to Munich booked for March 10 and a return flight from Munich booked on March 19. As yet, there is nothing in between, not even a hotel booking.
I am thinking — and this will not come as a big surprise to anybody who knows me — of taking a cruise. There’s only really one that suits is a seven-day return trip from Savona, which is relatively accessible by plane, train and automobile from Munich.
The problem is that the itinerary is very similar to a cruise I took a year ago. The difference would be the ship, which I haven’t been on before. So that’s one dilemma: do I want to go or not?
The second dilemma is, if I do decide to go, do I book now or wait?
The risk with waiting, of course, is that the cruise might sell out altogether, or the cheap cabins will all be gone and I’ll be forced to pay more than I am comfortable with.
The risk of booking now is that something better might come along closer to the date, and that if I book now, I’ll have to pay now. Also, price may drop, and I could get a better deal with a last-minute booking.
In any case, isn’t the money better off in my bank account than in the cruise line’s. So, for the time being, I’ll wait.
My advantage, of course, is that I am booking for myself and I am flexible about what I do. If you are booking for more people — say a family holiday — and your holidays are fixed, or your heart is set on a particular trip at a particular time, then the best advice is to book as early as you can, and be prepared to pay a little more for the sake of securing exactly what you want.
