Travel less often for longer

STRANGE, but true: a travel organization that is calling on travellers to fly less often. And yet long-distance travel specialist Better Places Travel is doing just that. “Flying is bad for the environment,” acknowledges founder Saskia Griep. “That’s why it’s better to travel less often to faraway destinations.” When people do travel, Better Places Travel advises travellers to leave as much positive impact as possible during their trip. The travel organization provides helpful tips for this and has even designed several trips with maximum positive impact.

With much of the media focusing on the negative consequences of flying, it’s easy to forget that travel also has many positive effects. Sakia Griep: “While we won’t stop flying, we can make sure to become more aware about the way we fly, reduce our negative impact as much as possible, and ensure that everyone involved profits from travel.” That’s why Better Places Travel is introducing positive impact trips. “We want to create travel itineraries that contribute positively to local communities and the natural environment, and at the same time offer the best travel experience for the traveller. By working together with local initiatives like Resirest, Backstreet Academy and I Like Local we are able to increase our impact much more quickly and efficiently.”

The impact trips (www.betterplacestravel.com/positive-impact-travel) created by Better Places Travel are all at least three weeks long and provide many opportunities for contact with locals during the trip. After all, the best memories are often made by meeting and interacting with the local people. Think about using local drivers and guides, choosing special excursions and staying in homestays or small-scale sustainable accommodations. You will not only see the highlights of a country, but also visit the more off-the-beaten-track places.

Better Places Travel shares some of their tips for making travel a positive experience:

· Travel less often, less far and for longer periods at a time.
· Fly directly to the destination (no layover) with a modern airplane to reduce  

  your CO2 emissions up to 50%.
· Interact often with the locals by, for example, taking a cooking course or 

  sleeping in a homestay.
· Stay in small-scale family hotels that operate sustainably.
· Travel by train or bus instead of taking a domestic flight.
· Take a refillable water bottle and/or filter with you to prevent plastic waste.
· Go on animal-friendly excursions and visit national parks.
· Buy sustainable souvenirs and eat vegetarian food.
· Travel in low season and visit the off-the-beaten path destinations.



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Up in the air . . .

ETIHAD Airways, the national airline of the UAE, is introducing Economy Space, a new seating option across its wide-body fleet, to enhance its product offering and to provide more choice to its customers on longer flights. By December 2018, Etihad Airways will have retrofitted its 10 Airbus A380s with Economy Space seats, which feature an increased seat pitch of up to 36 inches. The redesign increases the number of extra legroom seats in Economy from 20 to 80 on this aircraft type.

KOREAN Air celebrated the 30th anniversary of its first scheduled service between Canada and South Korea, by holding events at the Vancouver and Toronto airports on 2 November. Korean Air launched its scheduled service to Canada on November 2, 1988, with the DC-10 passenger jetliner flying the Seoul-Vancouver-Toronto route twice a week. After international exchanges and cooperation between the two nations improved, Korean Air then split the route into Vancouver and Toronto services in December 1995. The two regular services from Incheon to Vancouver and Toronto have contributed to the economic development and movement of people and supplies between Canada and South Korea.   


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Above and beyond

SOUTH AFRICAN Airways have come in at number 3 on a list compiled by Condé Nast Traveler for ‘best legroom on long haul flights’ going ‘above and beyond’ the average with a generous seat pitch of 33.5 inches in economy class. 

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub.

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Up in the air . . .

LONDON Gatwick is gearing up for its busiest summer on record, with 8,846,000 people set to use the airport during the school holidays. It follows a successful June at #Gatwick, which saw 4.5 million passengers travelling through, with the airport’s long-haul routes growing by +26% year-on-year.

Gatwick’s Canadian routes performed particularly well, in the month that saw world leaders visiting the country for this year’s G7 summit. Winnipeg grew by +66.3% in June, with Edmonton +28.2%, Montreal +23.8% and Calgary +13%.

Other long-haul routes that experienced significant year-on-year growth in June included Lima and Kigali, while emerging short-haul destinations Volos and Tallin also saw large growth rates.

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Up in the air . . .

BRITISH Airways is making the longest of long haul flying even easier and increasing the number of flights to Santiago and Washington D.C this winter.

From October 28 the airline will boost the number of flights to the Chilean capital from four-per-week to five and will be adding three flights a week to its Washington Dulles schedule, giving customers even more options on these routes.

An additional three flights a week will be added to the current two-a-day schedule to the US capital from October 29. There will be three daily flights on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with return fares starting from £385 per person.

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British Airways celebrates 90th Academy Awards

TO celebrate the 90th Academy Awards ceremony (the Oscars), and the British Academy Film Awards (the BAFTAs) last month, British Airways has added a collection of award-winning films to a newly-created category in its in-flight entertainment. The category, called Award Worthy, features films which won 12 Oscars and 12 BAFTAs in this year’s awards season, as well as receiving 87 nominations across the two ceremonies. 

Customers who fly with British Airways on long-haul flights have free access to over 1,000 hours of films, top TV shows and audio programmes via their personal seatback screen. The content is updated regularly, with categories often added for major holidays or key calendar events. These changes to British Airways’ in-flight entertainment system are just one of a number of ways that the airline is improving experiences for its long-haul customers. 

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Travel the world for half the Avios

BRITISH AIRWAYS is offering customers the chance to travel the world for half the number of Avios usually required.

Available for booking until December 17, the airline will offer World Traveller (long-haul economy) flights from Heathrow or Gatwick to more than 90 long-haul destinations for 50 per cent fewer Avios.

This means that customers can book a return flight to Toronto or New York using just 13,000 Avios instead of 26,000, to Johannesburg for 16,250 Avios instead of 32,500 or to Hong Kong for 19,500 Avios instead of 39,000.

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Fly worldwide with easyJet and Norwegian

PASSENGERS will be able to book an easyJet short-haul flight and self-connect to a Norwegian long-haul flight in one simple transaction.

Norwegian is partnering with easyJet on the new ‘Worldwide by easyJet’ platform, allowing passengers to connect a Norwegian long-haul flight with an easyJet short-haul flight in one single booking.

Launched by easyJet, ‘Worldwide by easyJet’ allows passengers to seamlessly connect their easyJet flight with other partner airline flights, including Norwegian’s fast-growing network of affordable long-haul flights to the U.S, Asia and South America.

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British Airways unveils it’s plan for Club World

THE first tranche of British Airways’ £400 million investment in Club World, its long-haul business cabin, is set to arrive on September 1 as a new restaurant-style dining experience launches on flights between Heathrow and New York JFK. 

Travellers will be able to select their choice of freshly prepared starters and desserts from new display trolleys, which will be served by the crew on to new table settings.

The carefully curated wine selection will feature white wines and Champagnes presented on top of the trolleys in large, silver wine coolers, while regiments of red wine bottles stand alongside them.

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Up in the air . . .

NORWEGIAN first launched transatlantic flights from Gatwick Airport to three U.S destinations in July 2014, with the aviation industry divided on whether the ‘low-cost long-haul’ venture would succeed.

Two years later, and Norwegian’s long-haul operation is already profitable and now plays a key role in the airline’s continued passenger growth. Norwegian is still the only airline offering UK passengers direct low-cost transatlantic travel - the airline’s long-haul network from the UK has now grown to 8 US destinations with over 650,000 UK passengers and more than 800,000 flights on sale this year.

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New York is on top, but Bali is on the rise

AS summer kicks in, we will all start packing our suitcases and getting ready to leave for #holidays. According to new data from travel search engine momondo.co.uk, Brits are planning for far away destinations this summer, with New York on top of the list. Bali has shown a massive 333% increase in searches making it the highest trending #destination.

The relaxing holidays ahead don’t come without a price though, as more than one in three Brits finds holiday planning stressful. Surveying 1,030 Brits and analysing flight searches for travels during the summer months, travel search site momondo.co.uk found long-haul destinations are most popular among Brits for their 2017 summer holidays. 

“Across all the searches completed on our site, New York is by far the most popular summer holiday destinations among Brits this year, even though beach holidays are usually the most preferred holiday type,” says Neil James Cartwright, spokesperson at momondo.co.uk.



Top 5 most popular destinations for Brits:

1. New York
2. Bangkok
3. Bali
4. Orlando
5. Los Angeles

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On the Runway . . .

AIR Canada has announced St. Vincent and the Grenadines as one of six new routes for the airline’s winter season.

A news release issued by Air Canada stated that weekly flights from Toronto to St Vincent and the Grenadines are now available for purchase.

“Air Canada is continuing its strategic, global expansion with a diverse range of exciting new non-stop routes this winter to Australia, South America, the Caribbean and the United States,” Benjamin Smith, President, Passenger Airlines at Air Canada said.

The airline says its first long-haul international scheduled service to St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the other five destinations, “offers new choices for travellers looking to escape Canadian winters”.

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Hop on over . . .

AUSTRALIANS can now book non-stop flights from Australia to Europe for the first time, with tickets for Qantas’ Perth-London (Heathrow) route. Daily flights on the history-making route begin on 24 March 2018 and form part of a new Melbourne-Perth-London return service. 

The services will be operated by Qantas’ new Boeing 787-Dreamliner – an aircraft designed specifically for comfort on long-haul sectors. Customers from other Australian cities will be able to connect to London via Perth, while inbound passengers will be able to transfer from the West Australian capital to onward destinations across the country.

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On the runway . . .

GATWICK Airport achieved an impressive 3.0 million passengers travelling through the airport this February, +9.9% on 2016.

Long-haul routes continue their booming growth at Gatwick, +20.3% on February 2016 and driving a +6.0% cargo increase, – once again demonstrating Gatwick’s key role connecting Britain to important growth markets when these links have never been more crucial.

Dubai was the airport’s most popular long-haul destination in the month with 76,965 passengers visiting and +8% on February 2016. Other destinations also likely benefiting from the Valentine’s effect included St Lucia +52%, New York +66% and Paris +77%.

Los Angeles was +90%, on the same time last year, with Gatwick passengers to shortly have even more options for travel to America’s West Coast as British Airways start their new route to Oakland, San Francisco, this March.

Skiing destinations performed well in February with Geneva Gatwick’s most popular European destination in the month with 109,500 passengers visiting, +5% on February 2016. This was joined by Innsbrook +9% and Genoble +8% on the same month last year.

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Tokyo cheapest long haul destination for UK travellers

#JAPAN has been named as one of the top ten best value holiday hotspots for 2017 according to the Post Office’s Holiday Money Report. The Post Office’s ‘Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer’ surveys costs of 8 popular items UK tourists are likely to purchase - such as a cup of coffee, a glass of wine, a bottle of mineral water, suncream, and a 3-course evening meal for 2 people - in 44 destinations.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the barometer is dominated by popular European destinations such as the Algarve, Prague and Budapest, however Tokyo’s debut at number eight this year makes it the only long haul destination in the list of top ten best value cities.

According to the report, Japan’s appeal has increased in leaps and bounds in recent years as the yen has fallen in value against the pound - by a whopping 24.7% over the past five years. Consequently, prices for commodities such as meals and drinks have dropped sharply, turning a country once regarded as a luxury destination for the few into a now affordable option for many.

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Thomson & First Choice add to their long haul portfolio for 2017

THE UK’s leading #holiday brands, Thomson and First Choice, are announcing the introduction of #Vietnam to its winter 2017 programme. 

The Caribbean islands of St Lucia and Cayo Santa Maria in Cuba, which were new additions to its summer 2017 programme, will also be extended into the winter season. 

The move is part of continued interest in long haul destinations and builds on the 350% increase in long haul holidays over a 10 year period that the brands revealed last year.

The island of Phu Quoc off Vietnam has been added to the long haul portfolio, the island off the coast of Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand is well known for white-sand beaches and resorts. The majority of the island is part of Phú Quốc National Park, which features mountains, dense tropical jungle, hiking trails and wildlife.

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Sky high savings on Christmas day

HOLIDAYMAKERS who are prepared to forgo the traditional Christmas Day celebrations at home and enjoy their turkey dinner mid-air, can land sky-high savings according to leading global flight search and travel deals website, Cheapflights.co.uk.

Savings of up to 23 per cent can be made on out-bound #flights to the most popular Christmas holiday hotspots if travellers are happy to fly on #ChristmasDay. 

The top 10 searched-for Christmas destinations are all long-haul with Bangkok in pole position and New York, Dubai, Sydney, Los Angeles, Goa and Cape Town also riding high.

Andrew Shelton, Managing Director of Cheapflights, said: “If you have always wanted to visit Australia, South Africa, Asia or the USA but have been put off by the prices, travelling on 25 December could be the way to get you there. “Our advice is to plan ahead and book early to make the most of the Christmas Day savings but for holidaymakers hankering for a Christmas getaway this year, there are still bargains to be snapped up.

For more tips on travelling on Christmas Day, go to www.cheapflights.co.uk/news/things-anyone-travelled-christmas-day-knows-true

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Austrian Airlines Flies to the Seychelles

AUSTRIAN Airlines will initiate flight service to the #Seychelles starting with its winter 2017/18 flight schedule. 

From October 25, 2017, it will fly non-stop every Wednesday from Vienna to the vacation island in the Indian Ocean, returning to Vienna on Thursdays.

“Demand for direct flights to long-haul tourist destinations is high. We responded: In addition to Mauritius, Colombo and Havana, the Seychelles represent our fourth new destination within a period of only two years”, says Austrian Airlines CCO Andreas Otto.

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