Today's News
Business travellers turning to Qantas again
According to the Roy Morgan Air Travel Survey, Australian business travellers are once again looking favourably on Qantas. The percentage of business travellers who would consider using Qantas for their next domestic business trip has risen to 71 per cent for the twelve months to March 2013, (just two per cent down from March 2011) and an encouraging improvement from the low point in October 2012, when the figure was 68 per cent.
Another tourist death in Indonesia from methanol poisoning
Another young tourist has died from methanol-spiked alcohol in Indonesia.
23-year-old British girl, Cheznye Emmons, was travelling through Indonesia with her boyfriend Joe Cook, 21, when she started feeling ill after drinking from a bottle marked as gin from a local shop.
Within days she complained that she was unable to see and subsequently travelled for hours through the jungle before being transferred to Medan, Sumatra where she was placed in an induced coma.
Her parents, made the decision to turn off her life support on April 25.
Tell your clients …. now rollers board last with American
From Thursday last week, American Airlines has implemented a new boarding priority system that lets passengers without ‘rolling’ carry-on luggage board before those who do.
Passengers carrying only personal luggage that fits under the seat will board right after Group 1 premium passengers and before groups 2, 3 and 4. Passengers with rolling luggage will be subsequently boarded.
The move is aimed at avoiding the overcrowding of overhead cabins and the time it takes to stow rolling bags overhead. The airline estimates boarding times will be lessened with the new system and anticipate that travellers will eventually ditch rolling bags for stow-under-the-seat items in order to obtain priority boarding.
TCF terminations
Read on for a summary from 19 Mar – 18 May 2013 of agents no longer registered with the TCF. Note: There may be instances where a sale or withdrawal or change of legal entity sees the business continue at the same location with either the same or an altered trading name.
New appointment at ecruising.travel
Aurora Walker
The Ecruising Group has appointed travel industry veteran Aurora Walker as general manager of its online cruise specialist company, ecruising.travel.
Ecruising chairman Brett Dudley said that Ms Walker’s depth of industry knowledge, which ranges from airlines to travel IT systems, managing and owning travel agencies to recruitment, will enhance the already successful operations in the Sydney office.
Pacific Pearl in a ‘vivid’ new light
P&O Cruises’ superliner Pacific Pearl will become the canvas for a spectacular Vivid Sydney light and sound display – the first time a cruise ship has been part of the festival.
Pilot crash lands at Newark
A US Airways turboprop twin-engine plane with 31 people on board was forced to make a crash landing on Friday night as it approached Newark International Airport in New Jersey.
According to witnesses the pilot had to take emergency action after he noticed one of his landing gears had failed to release making a last-ditch decision to raise the plane’s functioning gears and land the plane on its belly to reduce the risk of the plane going off the runway.
Although reportedly terrified, passengers and crew were uninjured in the incident.
DFAT travel advisories
Nigeria: Reconsider your need to travel
Egypt, Rwanda: High degree of caution
Business class comes to QantasLink
Five Boeing 717 aircraft will have upgraded interiors that will introduce business class, as well as in-flight entertainment for all passengers.
According to QantasLink general manager John Gissing, the five additional aircraft will be in addition to the existing fleet of thirteen B717 aircraft operating across Australia.
“QantasLink will introduce a full business experience on these aircraft, including market-leading seats, premium food and drinks and exceptional onboard service,” Mr Gissing said.
Five-star hotel worker stabs 11-year-old guest in Crete
An 11-year-old Russian boy, Nikita Onishchenko, was stabbed more than 20 times on Tuesday by a Dutch entertainer at the hotel, in Crete, where he was staying with his family.
Greek officials said Nikita, from Moscow, vanished from the five-star hotel in the Hersonissos region in northern Crete. He was found by police, after his mother raised the alarm, five hours after he was reported missing, lying behind a parking lot near the hotel.
The 20 year old Dutchman worked as an entertainer at the hotel and has been arrested. He has confessed to the stabbing and to stealing Nikita’s iPad and mobile phone.
The boy is being treated at Aglayya Kyriakou Children’s Hospital in Athens, Greece.
Brisbane to welcome Emirates A380
Emirates will operate flights EK434 and EK435 between Auckland, Brisbane and Dubai on the Airbus A380 superjumbo from 2 October 2013.
Adding the Airbus A380-800 to one of Emirates’ two daily Brisbane services will see an increase in capacity of 132 seats for sale per flight and 1,848 week, reinforcing Emirates’ commitment to Queensland passengers. The daily double service currently yields 354 seats on the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
Dusit chief calls for Phuket tourism strategy changes
Chanin Donavanik, the chief executive of Dusit International, added his name in yesterday’s ‘Bangkok Post’ to the increasing number of experts calling for change in Phuket. One of Thailand’s most respected figures in resort management, Donavanik has called for improvements in Thailand’s approach to overcrowded airports, pollution and safety issues.
However, Phuket Tourism Association Vice President, Bhuritt Maswongsa, says he wants Phuket’s future to be properly assessed and for its ”carrying capacity” to be the key to a sensible strategy.
Maswonga told Phuketwan he believes constant attention to growing numbers of tourists has taken Phuket in the wrong direction and that it’s time for a dramatic reassessment.
Fakeout Friday – the intimate beach wedding …
Picture yourself in the Dominican Republic, saying your vows to your loved one in front of family and friends in an intimate beach setting …
CLIA all set for cruise3sixty
Reservations for this year’s cruise3sixty conference and trade show have closed, with a delegation of almost forty Australian and New Zealand agents heading to Vancouver for the event next month.
As the largest cruise-focused travel agent conference in North America, the 2013 cruise3sixty has already attracted close to 1300 enrolments from nearly all fifty US states and Canadian provinces, as well as overseas.
Cruise3sixty will be held from 19 – 23 June at the Vancouver Convention Centre, with a comprehensive series of educational sessions and seminars to be offered alongside three days of general sessions led by industry leaders and a two-day trade show.
Seattle launches new ho-ho trolley car today
Seattle’s new Emerald City Trolley launches today through to September 29, with three lines running from the Experience Music Project: a waterfront tour, express service to the Museum of Flight and a route to Ballard and Fremont. Stops along the routes include the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, Seattle Art Museum, Ballard Locks, Woodland Park Zoo, Kenmore Air and MOHAI.
Narrators will recount “historical accounts as well as farcical anecdotes,” and passengers will be able to hop on and hop off along the routes.
The new Emerald City Trolley stops at Woodland Park Zoo.
Photo: Drew Symonds, The Fearey Group
“The Emerald City Trolley line offers travellers a way to visit all the attractions our city offers without the expense and complication of renting and parking a car,” said Jeremy Butzlaff, chief operations officer for Emerald City Trolley. “Guests can just hop on and off whenever and wherever they like, enabling them to see and experience Seattle for what it really is — amazing.”
Fares start at USD $45 for a two-day pass, with extra days costing USD $15. Family passes for two adults and up to three children 12 and under cost USD $110.
