Manchester to Tobago

THOMAS Cook Airlines’ inaugural #Tobago flight took off on November 13, reinforcing its 17-route-strong long-haul portfolio, which already makes it the largest carrier to the USA from Manchester.

Customers were treated to a steel band and carnival dancers at check-in and more music, food and cocktails at the departure gate. Seven Thomas Cook retail agents were also on the flight to find out more about what the islands have to offer UK holidaymakers.

Direct flights to Tobago from Manchester Airport are available from £409 return for economy and £699 Premium class, with departures every Sunday running from November 13 to March 19, 2017.

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Picture Credit: Global Environment Facility (GEF) 40412379@N02/24932087383 Buccoo Reef in Tobago via photopin.com

In the air . . .

SOUTH African Airways (SAA) has added capacity on its Mauritius route, with the introduction of a bigger aircraft, an Airbus A330-200 to this popular and growing destination.

This aircraft will operate flights SA190/SA191 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays to cater for the increase in demand to this popular island destination.

SAA has been flying to Mauritius for more than 50 years, non-stop since 1957, and the route was one of SAA’s first African destinations. Today Mauritius ranks as one of the top performers when it comes to growth and revenue earning.

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Picture Credit: Darren Olivier flickr.com/photos/94393496@N00/256711086 Full-Reverse via photopin.com

Up in the air . . .

DANCERS from the internationally renowned Bolshoi Ballet and classical superstar Katherine Jenkins staged the world’s first ballet and musical performance in the air, to celebrate the launch of British Airways’ Dreamliner flights from London Heathrow to Moscow, Russia.

Lucky passengers on the inaugural flight of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner were taken to new heights with an incredible, surprise performance by Artemy Belyakov and Olga Marchenkova, stars from the legendary Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. 

The dancers were accompanied by one of Britain’s favourite singers, Welsh Mezzo soprano Katherine Jenkins OBE, who gave a spine-tingling rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

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Picture Credit: Bellevue Fine Art Repro (Scott) flickr.com/photos/8616539@N08/29948583513 ecb-year end2016-8815 via photopin.com

Up in the air . . .

LOT Polish Airlines will launch its new nonstop service from Los Angeles to Warsaw in April 2017. The Polish flag carrier will operate its flights with state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliners four times a week. 

This is the very first direct connection from the West Coast to Poland. Because of its advanced European network, LOT Polish Airlines bring the most comfortable and convenient alternative for travel to dozens of destinations, especially in Central and Eastern Europe.

LOT’s Dreamliners will fly from Los Angeles on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. These flight to Warsaw will take less than 12 hours. They enable LOT to ensure the shortest trip from the West Coast of the US to many destinations in Poland and other countries in the Eastern and Central Europe. 

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Picture Credit: LOT Polish Airlines

Ethiopian Airlines increases flights to Seychelles

ETHIOPIAN Airlines, the fastest growing and most profitable African airline, recently announced that it will add a 5th weekly flight to Seychelles as of 16th December 2016.

Group CEO Ethiopian Airlines, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, said,"Air transport being a vital component of the tourist appeal and the driving factor for economic growth in general, we have been serving our beloved continent for seven decades, offering convenient connectivity options to more than 52 African cities. Seychelles being Africa’s premier tourist destination, with the natural attractions of the archipelagos, we have now added a fifth weekly service to provide more options for passengers flying from any part of the world to the Seychelles and vice versa through our strategic hub at Addis Ababa. As per our growth strategy, vision 2025, we shall continue to increase our presence in Africa, so as to better promote and facilitate growth in the business and tourism sectors".

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Air Travel News

GLASGOW Airport is gearing up for one of its busiest periods of the year as tens of thousands of holidaymakers jet off for the October holiday week.

Over 160,000 people are expected to pass through the airport this weekend with many flying out to popular sunspots in the Canary Islands and Florida and city break destinations such as Prague, Dublin, Milan, Paris, Berlin, Las Vegas, and New York.

In anticipation of the busy period ahead, the airport and its airline partners will have extra staff on hand to help guide passengers, particularly those with young children, through check-in.

Francois Bourienne, Glasgow Airport’s commercial director, said: “The October school break is a huge week for us, and follows on from the busiest summer in our 50-year history when we welcomed nearly three million passengers through our doors between June and August. This weekend in particular will be very busy and we are expecting to welcome even more passengers than we did during the same period in 2015.

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Up in the air . . .

NORWEGIAN carried almost 2.8 million passengers in September, an increase of 14 per cent compared to the same month last year. A total of 2,778,806 passengers chose to fly with Norwegian in September. This is 343,566 more passengers than the same period last year.

Norwegian CEO Bjørn Kjos said: “September’s figures show that our positive development continues across all markets, both with more passengers and a high load factor. It is also satisfying to see that more customers are choosing Norwegian when they are flying between the US and Europe and Europe and Asia.”

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Roald Dahl takes off

ROALD DAHL'S portrait has been applied to a brand new Boeing 737-800 aircraft, becoming Norwegian’s first ever British ‘tail-fin hero’.

With the author’s portrait now applied to the aircraft, the ‘World’s No.1 storyteller’ will take to the skies this weekend as Norwegian’s brand new aircraft on its inaugural flight from Oslo on Saturday.

Norwegian already has more than 80 ‘tail fin heroes’ using iconic personalities who symbolise the spirit of Norwegian by pushing boundaries, challenging the norm and inspiring others. To reflect Norwegian’s rapid growth in the UK, where it now flies 4 million UK passengers each year to more than 40 destinations, the airline has selected Roald Dahl as its first British tail fin hero.

Thomas Ramdahl, Chief Commercial Officer said: "Selecting our first ever British tail fin hero is not only a mark of our huge plans for UK expansion, it is also a chance to recognise a truly heroic British figure. Roald Dahl has inspired generations of adults and children and as the world celebrates his centenary, it is a great honour to have this world-famous author adorn our aircraft.”

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Picture Credit: Norwegian

Up in the air . . .

IN September Hong Kong Airlines became the first and the only carrier to provide a direct twice-weekly flight service between Hong Kong and Yonago, Tottori Prefecture, Japan.

The new service is operated by an all-economy class Airbus A320 aircraft. To mark the official launch of this route, Hong Kong Airlines held grand celebrations at both Hong Kong International Airport and Yonago Kitaro Airport.

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SWISS launches new “SWISS Holidays” travel portal

SWISS has established a new travel portal which enables customers to compile their own individual vacation packages including flights and hotels.

The airline’s new www.swissholidays.com travel portal offers scheduled flights from Switzerland on SWISS and further partner carriers, together with a selection of over 10,000 hotels and 140 vacation destinations, all of which can be freely combined.

To mark the new portal’s launch, SWISS Holidays is offering a special prize, too: an exclusive four-day city break to Barcelona with round-trip SWISS flights, accommodation at the five-star Hotel Melia Barcelona Sarriá and a culinary tapas tour.

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Picture Credit: 87857621@N00/90430542 Swiss Air Lines A330-200 winglet via photopin.com

Qatar Airways 'Best for Business'

QATAR AIRWAYS has once again been recognised as one of the leading airlines in the world in the recent Condé Nast Traveller ‘Readers Travel Awards’ held in London, United Kingdom.

The airline was awarded the coveted ‘Best for Business’ accolade with readers highlighting #QatarAirways’ industry leading on-board experience and premium lounges.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “We are honoured to be recognised as the ‘Best for Business’ by the readers of Condé Nast Traveller. Such an accolade is a direct reflection of our passengers’ satisfaction in the service we provide and we remain committed to providing the very best experience to our guests throughout their journey.”

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Picture Credit: 46799619@N04/15844168442 Qatar Airways Airbus A380-861 cn 145 F-WWAL // A7-APC via photopin.com

BMI seasonal seat sale

BMI regional's seasonal sale has 500,000 seats available to European destinations at bargain prices.

The sale which began on 2 September and runs for ten days (finishes at midnight on 12 September) and includes discounted seats to a host of exciting cities including Stavanger, Milan, Oslo, Munich, Hamburg, Esbjerg, Frankfurt, Brussels and Dusseldorf.

Travel is for anytime from 19 September 2016 until 25 March 2017 – taking in the busy Christmas period!

To book, visit www.bmiregional.com

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Up in the air . . .

NORWEGIAN has unveiled plans to launch two winter sun routes from Manchester Airport, with services to #GranCanaria commencing on October 30 and flights to Tenerife starting on November 1. 

Flights to Gran Canaria will operate every Friday and Sunday for the winter season, while the Tenerife route will run every Tuesday and Saturday.

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Picture Credit: By Wouter Hagens - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1765205

London City Airport gets green light for expansion

LONDON CITY AIRPORT has received planning permission for expansion which will enable it to handle 6.5 million passengers by 2025 and inject £1.5 billion each year into the economy. 

The City Airport Development Programme is a £344 million privately-funded investment which includes plans for seven additional aircraft stands, a parallel taxiway, and passenger terminal extension.

The development will transform the airport, one of East London’s largest employers in London’s Royal Docks, enabling the airport to welcome quieter, next-generation aircraft and add more capacity. Last year the airport, which opened in 1987, handled 4.3 million passengers.


The construction phase of development will create 500 jobs and a further 1,600 jobs once completed. Under the plans, the airport can add approximately a further 32,000 flights by 2025, movements which are already permitted, helping to unlock more air capacity within London’s airport system in advance of a new runway for the South-East of England.


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Report highlights alarming statistics about airport drinking

THE UK GOVERNMENT has announced that it will ‘look at’ airport drinking in a move to curb unruly in-flight behaviour. The move follows a survey by Cheapflights which found that the majority of British holidaymakers (62 percent) head straight to the bar as soon as they reach the airport departure lounge. 

The research by the flight search and travel deals website found that 8am is the earliest Brits deem it acceptable to have their first beer or glass of wine at airports.

Andrew Shelton, managing director of Cheapflights, said: ‘At any other time, downing three drinks at 8am would be unthinkable, but some holidaymakers adopt an attitude of “it must be after lunchtime somewhere in the world”. As we move into peak summer holiday season, it’s alarming to see the number of people who let it all go as soon as they’re through security at the airport.

‘An initiative to review alcohol consumption, judging by the results of this survey, is to be welcomed. Holidays should be a time to de-stress, but not to the extent that it’s likely to spoil the fun for others, or to risk your own safety or chances of getting away and relaxing.”

The research found that:

• 28 percent admitted they have had one too many before getting on the plane, with the average holidaymaker having three drinks at the airport bar – and a further two on the plane.

• Twelve percent of Brits say they or someone they know has been told that they can’t get on a flight because they’ve had too much alcohol. 

• 76 percent of those surveyed claimed they would never usually drink in the morning, but thought it was acceptable to have a drink to mark the start of their holiday, regardless of the time. 

• 59 percent admitted they drink more on holiday than they would normally if they were at home. 

• 82 percent of those polled believe that as a nation the UK has a less responsible relationship with alcohol than other countries. 

• 91 percent said that they found the whole pre-holiday experience ‘incredibly’ stressful – with long queues emerging as one the main complaints.

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Ryanair unveils new route from Liverpool

#Ryanair has announced an expansion to its Liverpool winter 2016 schedule with the addition of a service to #Marrakesh, #Morocco, which will operate twice-weekly from October. 

This is in addition to a new route to Sofia announced earlier. Ryanair’s Liverpool winter 2016 schedule will now deliver two new routes to Sofia and Marrakesh, both twice-weekly, and five new winter services, including twice-weekly services to Bergerac, Pisa, Porto, Szczecin, and a weekly flight to Gran Canaria. The airline will also operate more flights to Alicante (five-weekly) and Malaga (four-weekly).

With the expansion move, the airline will operate 25 winter routes in total, with 95 weekly flights.

Seats for Marrakesh are on sale from £24.99.

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Up in the air …

AS THE UK GOVERNMENT stalls on deciding which London airport should be awarded a new runway, Flybe has once again proposed opening up RAF Northolt to scheduled commercial flights.

The airline claims this would provide enhanced regional access to London and to long haul connections at neighbouring Heathrow airport, six miles from Northolt.

‘Independent of a decision on airport capacity expansion at either Heathrow or Gatwick, which may take well over a decade to implement, the government has been presented with an immediately actionable solution at Northolt that would enhance regional connectivity to Heathrow and the capital at no additional cost to the taxpayer,’ said Saad Hammad, CEO of Flybe.

‘Northolt is available right here, right now. It is a military airport that is used largely by a few wealthy VIPs and could easily be opened up to scheduled commercial flights with less noisy aircraft.’

RYANAIR has announced the launch of its biggest ever summer schedule for 2017 at Birmingham Airport, with:

Three new routes to Chania (Greece), and Girona and Reus in Spain,

Two new summer services to Sofia and Warsaw, and

More flights to Faro, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Palma, and Tenerife

The announcements comes after the airline announced its 2017 summer schedules at Leeds Bradford Airport and Newcastle Airport, including new routes and more flights to several of its most sought after summer destinations.

Ryanair’s Birmingham summer 2017 schedule will operate 28 routes in total, with 141 weekly flights, which will support 1,700 jobs at Birmingham Airport.

NORWEGIAN is expecting its busiest ever British summer with more than 1.3 million passengers taking advantage of the airline’s unique low-cost flights to America and extensive European city and sun routes.

Norwegian is the only airline offering British passengers direct low-cost flights to America.

FLYBE has started its new peak summer route to Rennes from London City with a service to north-western France that flies six times a week. Flights operate through to September 4.

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Picture Credit: archive

Up in the air …

BRITISH AIRWAYS customers can now meditate their way to a more relaxing flight – it says here – thanks to an in-flight entertainment channel on the airline’s long-haul routes. The Headspace video channel offers content designed to help travellers unwind in the air, by practicing simple meditation and mindfulness exercises.

Guided by Headspace co-founder, and former monk, Andy Puddicombe, each exercise focuses on a different topic, such as enabling stressed parents and anxious travellers to feel happier and more relaxed, overcoming jet lag or just helping them to get the most from every minute of their journey.

Troy Warfield, British Airways’ director of customer experience, said: ‘We know our customers value making the most of their time on our aircraft and the new Headspace channel on our in-flight entertainment system offers them a fantastic way to make their flight more fulfilling and relaxed. Our partnership with Headspace means their specially curated content offers customers a range of guided meditations to unwind, de-stress, and feel happier and more relaxed, all from the comfort of their aircraft seat, at 35,000 ft.’

SCHEDULED passenger flights between the US and Cuba could resume as early as the autumn. Eight airlines have been tentatively awarded rights to operate a total of 20 daily flights between the US and Havana.

Airlines that won rights include American Airlines Group, Delta, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, and Southwest Airlines. They will be allowed to operate flights between Havana and Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa, Fla., Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, and New York.

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Up in the air …

AER LINGUS has launched an express bag drop service designed to make travel as seamless as possible. It enables travellers to self-tag and check-in their bags once they have their boarding card printed or downloaded to their mobile device. In a matter of minutes or even seconds, Aer Lingus passengers can complete the check-in process, deposit their bag, and proceed towards departures. The Aer Lingus check-in area at Dublin airport has more than 40 self-service express bag drop kiosks.

THE ANNUAL ACI EUROPE Best Airport Awards have been announced. London City Airport was highly commended in the ‘under 5 million passenger’ category, while the winner of the ‘5-10 million passenger’ category was Glasgow Airport.

The highly commended airport in the ’10-25 million passenger’ category was Edinburgh. In the ‘over 25 million passengers’ category, London Heathrow was the winner, and the Accessible Airport Award was won by Dublin.

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Up in the air . . .

BLUE AIR has announced a thrice-weekly flight service from Birmingham to Cluj, the second largest city in Romania, which will start in December with fares from £19.99 one-way including taxes and charges. 

BRITISH AIRWAYS is offering 16 direct flights a week from Berlin-Tegel to London City Airport. ‘With up to 11 London flights a day – London City, Heathrow and Stansted – we are complying with demand to and from Berlin,’ says Katja Selle, at BA.

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