New Munich link for Air Berlin at Stansted
From November 5th, the German carrier Air Berlin will start a twice daily service from Stansted airport to Munich with a one flight service on each day at the weekend.
Air Berlins country manager for the UK and Ireland, Titus Johnson, stated that the new route was formed after demand for the route from customers.
With fares starting from £24 one-way, including taxes, Stansted departures will be at 08:20 and 19:15 hours daily with one flight departing on Saturdays at 08:20 and another flight on Sunday departing at 19:15 hours.
Times Online names the top ten travel websites
In a recent article, the Times Online has named what it considers to be the top ten travel websites.
Rather than focusing purely on website statistics alone, sites with high visitor numbers which can also be low on thrills, the Times has opted to select websites that they feel are more interesting and offer ease of use plus extensive information on products and services for visitors.
As with any top ten list, it’s often found that some less well known companies are found to offer as much or sometimes more than the bigger well recognized organisations in the market reinforcing the advice to shop around.
An online comparison website that allows visitors to compare travel related products and services from thousands of service providers. Although one of the biggest players in the price comparison field, the service is limited to companies that pay to be included within its listings so alternative comparison sites shouldn’t be ruled out when searching for the best online deals.
Ok, so it may be blowing their own trumpet but for good reason. The Times Online is world renowned for the quality of its travel articles plus its feeds and links to other great quality sites, deals and travel blogs.
Another great comparison website that’s quick and easy to use, instantly returning availability and pricing details from the leading parking providers allowing users to quickly compare and book from a simple search. Covering over 120 car parks at 24 airports across the country, as well as central
With around 98% of its bookings now made online, the no frills airline claims that with it’s easy to use online search and booking facility, bookings can be made in around 3 minutes. The review concludes that although airport parking, airport hotels and car hire can also be booked via the site, better deals can be found elsewhere with other major comparison sites.
Does exactly what the name suggests. With a large range of availability for last minute bookings, discounts of upto 70% can be made on the published room rates if booked upto 7 days in advance. If you draw a blank on your search with laterooms .com, alternatives such as Wotif.com could provide the answer with a booking window of 28 days.
Maybe one of the lesser known sites but this great travel-networking site puts you in touch with the worlds travel community. The name which is short for “Where are you now?” currently has over 8 million members. Based in the
When booking a last minute departure, it’s now more important than ever to check the weather at your destination with ever increasing occurrences of flooding and storms. Although sunshine and rainfall figures can sometimes be found at travel agents, these can appear optimistic when compared with official meteorological statistics. The World Weather Information Service is run by the World Meteorological Organization and uses official data to create forecasts at more than 1,200 locations worlwide.
A great alternative to the various software options available, Multimap.com provides access to maps that are packed with useful details and driving directions in a clear and easy to follow format that can be printed. The site remembers your previous searches and allows you to send maps direct to your mobile phone. The site covers much of the worlds road network although the level of detail can reduce dramatically when comparing say a major city to some of the farther flung locations.
Established for almost 10 years, Expedia has built a reputation of trust and reliability within the trade. With a huge inventory of deals on everything from car hire to flights, it’s a great resource for travellers looking for the latest travel information and deals online.
Owned by Expedia, Tripadvisor is geared towards user-generated content. With over 10 million reviews, there has in the past been suspicion that a number of the reviews have been written by hoteliers and other individuals to falsely boost the rating of a service or venue. This said however, hotels with a large number of reviews tend to provide a good indicator of the overall standard; Tripadvisor is also getting better at spotting and weeding out false review submissions.
Short-haul flights from Heathrow cut by BMI
BMI, the UK airline that operates cheap flights from the UK to Europe the Middle East and the USA is set to announce a reduction in the number of short-haul services that it operates from Heathrow airport.
Over the next two years, the company that currently operates 19 short-haul services plans to cut back on its short-haul services in favour of it’s medium and long-haul operations. The change has been attributed to intense competition on some of the routes from other London airports, the companies purchase of Bmed from BA and the introduction of the new open-skies agreement between the UK, Europe and the US.
BMI’s chief executive Nigel Turner said that the future reductions in short-haul services would likely affect domestic services as well as flights to Spain, these cuts would be in addition to the 25% cut in short-haul services that had already been made over the past 3 years.
The airline is said to be conducting a review of it’s position and considering it’s options following its £30 million purchase of Bmed from British Airways earlier in the year. The acquisition of Bmed gave BMI an additional 17 mid-haul destinations and several slots at Heathrow airport. Sir Michael Bishop, the BMI chairman said that the slots would be returned back to BA in 2009 meaning that BA would need to rethink its services to fit the medium-haul and proposed US routes into the restricted space at Heathrow.
Fruit Veg and now Euros at the Co-op
18 Co-op stores in the Nottingham area are to start selling pre-packed euros at the checkouts. The new initiative is a partnership of the travel business Travelcare and retail arm of the Co-operative group.
Silverjet Takes Flight
After much publicity in recent months, the new business class only service from Silverjet made its debut on Thursday January 25th from Luton airport.
Silverjets first transatlantic crossing was made by a newly reconfigured 767 and although Silverjet have opted for the traditional seating configuration, it’s reported that the new seats were very comfy and reclined to an almost flat position.
Overall, Silverjet have made it their business to ensure that the travel experience is as much about the service on the ground as it is in the air. Judging by reports from the passengers on the inaugral flight, they have very much succeeded in delivering everything from a speedy, comfortable and stress free check-in to a great on-board service.
Only time will tell if this new service will claim market share from the other established operators, but with bookings reportedly increasing day on day since launch, it’ll be interesting to see how many business travellers who make their way over from the Luton airport parking sites or turn up on foot head over to the Silverjet check-in.
With Silverjets commitment to carbon neutral flights in todays environmentally aware society, it’s sure to quickly gain a loyal following of Eco friendly travellers.