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A tale of luggage gone wrong and it’s not because airlines lose a lot of bags

The poet Maya Angelou once said you can tell a lot about a person from the way they respond to three things: a rainy day, tangled Christmas lights, and lost luggage.

Maya, Maya. Where were you at 2 a.m. the dark night I arrived in Paris without my bags? I needed my suit for the next morning, not folksy aphorisms or your musings on why the caged bird sings. Personally, I find the caged bird sings most beautifully when he has his laptop charger and toothbrush.

We’ll never know quite how Dr. Angelou would cope with the news that a vacation’s worth of clean underwear has been flown to the wrong Portland. But she’s right to suggest READ MORE

Barca – Fed up with having to deal with gawping, autograph-requesting male cabin crew.

One of our favorite travel story of last week involved players from Barcelona football club, and their request for all-female cabin crew when flying with the team’s official carrier, Turkish Airlines. The pampered millionaires (a cliché appropriate for such occasions) are apparently fed up with having to deal with gawping, autograph-requesting male cabin crew.

Spanish football giant Barcelona has requested all female cabin crews during official sponsor Turkish Airlines flights due to the extreme interest male attendants usually show in the players, Airporthaber has reported.

The male flight attendants constantly asked for autographs and jerseys from globally-loved players like Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta, which eventually became a problem for the team officials.

Turkish Airlines has therefore granted Barcelona a handpicked crew, made up of 20 female flight attendants, to accompany the players during their flights.

Source the hurriyetdailynews.com

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Special Challenges for Business Travellers

How to survive a convention, inauguration or SXSW

EVENTS like national political conventions, major sporting events, inaugurations and the like present a special challenge for business travellers. Even the best-run cities strain under the pressure of tens or even hundreds of thousands of extra visitors. With an entire metropolis in chaos, it’s especially important to find the right place to stay and have a good way to get around. Otherwise, you won’t get any work done. Here are some tips:

  • Penny wise, pound foolish: there’s no point saving $50 a night on a hotel outside the city centre if you’re going to be spending that much taking taxis to and from the heart of the action. There’s always a temptation to scrimp on lodging, but where you stay often determines how successful (or stressful) your trip turns out. Remember the estate agent’s motto: location, location, location.
  • Make multiple plans, and look for new lodging the day the event starts: have a back-up reservation that you can cancel closer to the date of the event. Organisers of major conferences like the Democratic and Republican conventions reserve huge room blocks months in advance; often there will be nothing available downtown unless you go through official channels (ie, have connections). But if you have a back-up reservation, you can afford to wait until the first day of the event, when room blocks are released and you can often find rooms at even the best hotels. When in doubt, telephone; hotels might have rooms available that aren’t listed on sites like Orbitz and Kayak. Whatever you do, don’t pay $899 a night, like one Charlotte hotel was asking the week before the Democrats’ gathering.
  • Look into hotel alternatives: some of the best lodging for big conferences like South-by-Southwest (SXSW) can be found on sites like Craigslist and AirBnB. Sometimes you can even find a bargain—and get far closer to the action than you might if you go down the hotel route. The airBnB rental I got for Charlotte came complete with gym access and a stocked beer fridge. It doesn’t get much better than that.
  • Book your flights as early as possible: big events are stressful enough without worrying about connecting through Chicago or Detroit. The good thing about major conferences is that you usually find out the dates at least a year in advance; that gives you plenty of time to find and book a direct flight. Don’t trust flight-price predictors like Bing for big events unless they’re in the same city every year; the algorithms that make the price predictions are unlikely to be able to predict the dramatically increased demand as the big event draws near. Don’t risk losing out on a direct flight for a slim chance at a $40 or $50 fare-price drop: buy early. You’ll be relaxing all the way there while everyone else is scrambling to make their connections.
  • Check walkability and don’t count on cabs: as I mentioned yesterday, walkability score is a good proxy for whether you’ll want a rental car in a city you’ve never visited before. Remember: it’s the neighborhood walkability score, not the entire city score, that you should consider. You don’t want one in Manhattan, Washington DC, or San Francisco; you definitely need one in Houston or Tampa. If you get a car, reserve early and scout out parking options in advance, either online or by calling. If you’re going without a car, don’t count on being able to take taxis; everyone else has the same idea. Try to find a location where you can walk or use public transport to get where you need to go; if you must rely on taxis, try to call a driver in advance and offer to pay double if he or she will pick you up as needed. You don’t want to be stuck looking for a ride at 2am. If you or your company has the resources, consider booking a car and driver for the duration of the event. Though if you’re paying for that, you might as well spend the money on a hotel closer to the action.

Source the Economist.
Sep 4th 2012, 10:30 by N.B. | CHARLOTTE

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LAN completed its takeover of TAM – LATAM

LAN, the Chilean flag carrier, completed its takeover of TAM, the biggest airline in Brazil, during the Summer to create a new aviation giant. LATAM, as the company will be known—rather conveniently given its Latin American sphere of influence—serves 150 destinations in 22 countries. Its constituent airlines carried 60.3m passengers in 2011, which puts the new company just outside the world’s top ten, but way above any competition in South America, where it has hubs in São Paulo, Santiago, Lima and Bogotá. Most striking, though, is the total market capitalisation of LAN and TAM, which at $13 billion is bigger than any other carrier’s (Air China in second place has a capitalisation of $10.7 billion).

The deal, which was first announced in August 2010, was approved by antitrust regulators in Chile and Brazil last year. It should deliver synergies of $600m-700m within four years, according to a company statement, with 60% coming from revenue increases and 40% from cost savings. The networks of LAN and TAM appear to fit well together, which just a 3% overlap, says the Wall Street Journal. The two brands will continue to operate in parallel from their headquarters in Santiago and São Paulo, and Bloomberg points to one challenge for the new company: ensuring that LAN’s investment-grade credit rating does not suffer from association with TAM, which only gets a B+ rating from S&P. No decision has been announced as to which airline alliance the new company will join: LAN is in oneworld, TAM in Star Alliance.

South American airlines
LAN, TAM, merger plan
Jun 26th 2012, 11:39 by A.B.

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Miss Sunshine’ -Virgin Atlantic’s A330 Aircraft

Travellers heading from London to New York can now experience the transatlantic trip in sublime comfort aboard ‘Miss Sunshine’ (as Virgin Atlantic’s new A330 aircraft has been dubbed) in the much-awaited Upper Class Suite.


The airline’s in-house design team joined forces with London-based studio Pengelly Design for the seating and with VW+BS for the bar and interior elements. The super-shiny, futuristic space comes complete with Swarovski Crystal embellishments, mood lighting, and a hefty dose of the Virgin colour palette.

Four years in the making, the sleek suites feature elegant leather seats that each conveniently have their own aisle access, beds that are longer than any other airline’s, frosted Perspex passenger divides for light and privacy, and easy access storage solutions. Meanwhile a gleaming bar, which is separate from the cabin, provides a space to mingle with other passengers.

In keeping up with our digital age, the team has ensured we will never have to go without. A programme called AeroMobile, allows passengers to use their own mobile phones in the air. Even better, the new entertainment system is smartphone, tablet and USB compatible, giving passengers the choice to read, watch or listen to their own media.

The re-designed cabin will also soon be available on the Mumbai service, from October this year. Meanwhile, the Virigin team is currently working on resizing and tweaking the Upper Class Suite to fit their 787 Dreamliners, which is due for delivery in 2015.

Sara Henrichs – Wallpaper

 

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Win a trip to London to watch Chelsea FC

Deal Delta becomes “Official Airline Partner of Chelsea FC”

Win a trip to London to watch Chelsea FC

LONDON, June 25, — Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) has made its first signing of a UK soccer club by striking a multi-year deal to become Chelsea Football Club’s official airline sponsor.  The deal brings together two major international brands: Delta, a leading global airline; and Chelsea FC, the champions of Europe.  The partnership will commence in July 2012. 

Delta will be exclusively designated as the “Official Airline Partner of Chelsea FC” and the agreement will give Delta numerous benefits including: LED exposure at each home game and exposure on the Chelsea FC website.  The Delta logo will also be included on media backboards for interviews conducted at Chelsea’s stadium around Premier League home matches. 
Additionally, Delta will benefit from entitlement space at Stamford Bridge’s Millennium Hotel, enabling the airline to entertain guests at Chelsea’s home in a Delta-branded environment.

Win a trip to London to watch Chelsea FC Live

Delta is synonymous with sport in the United States where the airline is the official airline sponsor of leading U.S. sports teams including baseball’s New York Yankees, hockey’s Los Angeles Kings and American football’s Minnesota Vikings. This summer, Delta will welcome the Chelsea FC team as they tour the United States.  In July, they will play the French team, Paris Saint-Germain, at the new Yankee Stadium, which is also sponsored by Delta.  

“We’re delighted to sponsor Chelsea FC, a top-flight London club with a fan base of millions throughout Delta’s worldwide network,” said Perry Cantarutti, Delta’s senior vice-president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “Partnering with a leading club in the English Premier League is an exciting way to strengthen our brand both in the UK and around the world while a tie-in with Delta will help build Chelsea’s brand in the U.S.”

This year’s winner of the Champions League and The FA Cup, Chelsea FC is one of the best-supported clubs worldwide and allows Delta to reach an international audience of more than one billion.
“It is a fantastic opportunity for Chelsea Football Club to partner ourselves with Delta Air Lines, an industry leader in aviation,” said Chelsea FC Chief Executive Ron Gourlay. “Their passion for innovation and first-class service around the world make them a perfect match for us and we look forward to working together as we continue to develop the Chelsea name across the globe.”

To celebrate the Delta-Chelsea FC partnership and help kick off the team’s U.S. tour, customers can visit Delta’s Facebook page to vote for a U.S. city to host a fare promotion from the United States to London this summer. Visit Facebook.com/Delta to vote.

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. During the past year, Delta was named domestic “Airline of the Year” by the readers of Travel Weekly magazine, was named the “Top Tech-Friendly U.S. Airline” by PCWorld magazine for its innovation in technology and won the Business Travel News Annual Airline Survey. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to nearly 350 destinations in 65 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. A founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance, Delta participates in the industry’s leading trans-Atlantic joint venture withAir France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 13,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. The airline’s service includes the SkyMiles frequent flier program, a world-class airline loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and more than 50 Delta Sky Clubsin airports worldwide. Delta is investing more than $3 billion through 2013 in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and review flight status at delta.com.

The winner will receive:

• round-trip economy class air transportation for 2 from winner’s home gateway to London (ARV $2,400)
• 2 tickets to the Chelsea FC home opener on August 25 at Stamford Bridge (ARV $400)
• 3 nights hotel accommodations (ARV $1,600)
• $500 American Express Gift Card
• Total Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”): $4,900.00

Enter to win here.

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Air France business lounge at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.

The lounge has been conceived as a harmonious pathway, consisting of sections which are conductive to walking acting as a prelude to the journey ahead.


The architectural concept was inspired by a park and developed around a contemporary reinterpretation of the plant expression.

Shapes, material and colours conjure up nature and the organic world. The paths are organised and give structure to the lounge like offshoots of a plant: taut lines and curved shapes go hand in hand with the vision and retain privacy without partitioning.

This upmarket lounge, which is over 3,000 m2, is situated in the new S4 boarding satellite at Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

Designed by Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance and Brandimage.

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Umami flavors now power British Airways’ Height Cuisine menus

With the goal of making bland airline meals a thing of the past, the culinary team at British Airways Height Cuisine turned to Chef Heston Blumenthal to help them tackle the challenge of serving great-tasting food at 35,000 feet. In his show “Heston’s Mission Impossible” Blumentahl explored why so many foods loose flavor at altitude. He then set about developing techniques to solve the problem. Blumenthal suggests that the key to creating flavorful airline menus can be found in the ability to harness the powers of umami-rich ingredients.

Umami flavors now power British Airways’ Height Cuisine menus. Mushrooms, shellfish, truffles, tomatoes and other umami-rich foods can be found in the Gate Gourmet kitchen

The word umami may seem to have popped up recently, but according to Tim Hanni of the Napa Seasoning Company, this particular taste “was dubbed umami, a vernacular word for ‘good’ in Japanese, by Dr. Ikeda in the early 20th century, who formally presented research in 1908 that umami was a separate, primary taste.” Hanni, also known as the Swami of Umami explains, “The umami taste sensation is triggered by natural glutamate that is found in a vast array of foods: meats, poultry, seafood, dairy/cheeses, vegetables and fruits. Umami is amplified significantly when compounds called nucleotides, associated with fermentation and ripening, are added to the mix.” After much research and exploration of the power of umami, Hanni created his own product, Vignon, an all-natural, all-purpose seasoning made with sea salt and over 20 ‘micro ingredients’ that makes everything taste more flavorful and rich.

Umami flavors now power British Airways’ Height Cuisine menus. Mushrooms, shellfish, truffles, tomatoes and other umami-rich foods can be found in the Gate Gourmet kitchen. These techniques add power to the overall flavor profile of the food without needing to increase the amounts of salt and sugar. They are carefully prepared and sent up in the air to help make the experience of flying more enjoyable and delicious.

Sitting in Club World or World Traveler Plus class, looking down at a colorful plate of Caledonia blue shrimp with grilled artichoke, tomato petals and sherry truffle vinaigrette, or a Provencale vegetable lasagna with basil ricotta and creamy yellow tomato sauce, passengers now have a much better chance to taste the intended flavor of the food that has been carefully prepared and served with pride by the British Airways’ cabin crew.

Umami Flavors Fly High
British Airways menus powered with the fifth taste serve food high in flavor and lower in salt and sugar.

by Largetail in Travel on 29 June 2012

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Which airline passengers drive you the craziest?

Types of air travelers people want to avoid.

by  CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT on JANUARY 5, 2012
As any new parent knows, air travel with young kids isn’t always easy. But few experiences come close to the Suelings’ Thanksgiving flight from Westchester County to Atlanta on Delta Air Lines.

After the family boarded, their children, ages 3 and 1 1/2, began “crying, screaming and hitting,” according to Christopher Sueling. His wife, Melissa, tried to calm her baby by nursing her, but it didn’t work.

“The flight attendants were just standing there, looking pissed off,” he says.

The jet taxied out to the runway, but then stopped and returned to the gate. The Suelings were told to get off the plane and that they needed to write to Delta if they wanted their money back. They even took a snapshot (see image, above) to document their ejection.

I’m the father of three young children, so I sympathize with the Suelings. I think Delta probably overreacted to the unruly family, and it certainly didn’t move quickly enough when they asked for a refund. I helped things along by contacting Delta on their behalf after they wrote to me last year asking for help, and they were eventually reimbursed.

But there are other passengers — and I think it’s probably safe to say that some air travelers on the Suelings’ outbound flight felt this way — who were relieved that the flight attendants showed them the door.

Why? Because they combined two of the least desirable qualities in a seatmate, according to many travelers I hear from: yelling kids and nursing moms.

I started giving the subject of unwanted seatmates serious thought after a recent story on XL passengers went viral in November. My editor asked me if there were other types of air travelers people avoided, and if we could try to identify the biggest offenders, as a public service to our readers.

Absolutely.

The gadget guy. Passengers who can’t find the “off” switch on their iPhone (think Alec Baldwin) represent a special kind of annoyance to their fellow travelers. Not only do they often aggressively defend their right to use the electronics, even when federal law prohibits it, but they also have a tendency to be in your face about it. They’re less likely to follow the instructions of a crewmember and they show a complete disregard for the safety of others by operating their electronics when it could interfere with the aircraft’s critical systems.

The screaming infant. Noisy kids, and particularly very young children whose high-pitched voices reverberate throughout the cabin, rank high on every air traveler’s “most annoying” list. Here’s a little-known fact: When you’re a new parent, you develop the ability to block your baby’s incessant screams, so you basically can tune the child out whenever you want. The rest of your fellow passengers aren’t so lucky. The ear-piercing, glass-shattering screams have everyone else reaching for their earplugs. It’s highly irritating.

The barking lapdog. Pets on planes is a never-ending source of controversy, and with good reason. Pet owners, who insist they have a right to take Fluffy or Fido with them wherever they go, are clashing with travelers who claim they have allergies to pet dander, but are often just ticked off that they have to endure the sounds of a yapping, caged canine for the duration of a flight.

The oversize passenger. I could probably write about XL air travelers that take up more than one seat every week, because there are such strong opinions on both sides of the aisle. On one side, the passengers who are pushed out of their seat by big travelers who need to raise the armrests in order to sit down; on the other side, large passengers who believe their girth should be treated like a disability. In a way, both are victims — and both are annoyed by their critics.

The breastfeeding mom. I think most of us would be lying if we said we didn’t experience at least some level of discomfort at being seated next to a nursing mom. It’s not necessarily her baby, which we fear could projectile-burp the contents of its stomach on us, but the fact that she’ll probably expose herself at some point during the flight. There have been incidents involving breastfeeding moms, including one lawsuit against Delta by a mother who was kicked off a Delta flight a few years ago (sound familiar?).

The smelly or chatty adult. If you’ve ever been stuck next to the proselytizer pitching anything from a religion to insurance, you know how unbearable the flight can be. I’ve been there. But sometimes, a passenger doesn’t have to say anything in order to irritate you. She could have slathered half a bottle of retch-inducing gardenia perfume on her, pre-flight; or he could have simply refused to bathe the month before his trip, or downed a quart of vodka and inhaled a pack of unfiltered cigarettes to calm the nerves.

Bedbugs. Maybe the worst seatmates are the ones you can’t see. Here’s a woman on another Delta flight who says she was eaten by bedbugs on a recent flight. Delta again, huh? I would add to that list insects or rodents or — God forbid — snakes that come aboard and pester you during your trip. Highly annoying.

Hard decision, isn’t it? Air travelers are so easily annoyed by one another, and don’t even get me started with the things flight attendants do. But that’s another story.

Christopher Elliot writes for consumertraveler.com

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