Compo boost for delayed air passengers

Posted by Sophie Morris

At last, a bit of good news for long-suffering travellers: the European Court of Justice has ruled that passengers whose flights are delayed by more than three hours should receive the same compensation as if the flight had been cancelled – up to £535.

Who hasn’t found themselves at the mercy of an unreliable airline as soon as they’ve made it through check-in? You’re told there’s a delay, but get no more information as the hours tick by and your bar bill racks up.

Insurers wise up to nip/tuck tourism boom

Posted by Mark Adams

The restorative effects of travel can now go way beyond raising the spirits and broadening the mind. Increasing numbers of frugal Brits are heading overseas for breaks where, in addition to rest and relaxation, they can enjoy cut-price medical treatment and plastic surgery.

Hard figures on this new phenomenon are scarce but the Department of Health estimates that some 50,000 UK residents travel to Europe for “health reasons” every year. This growth in global health tourism has been fuelled not only by the cheap flights boom but also the clawing back of free NHS treatment for “non essential” procedures such as dental work.

Freddie Starr ate my hotel

Posted by Dan Curley

Have you ever wanted to know what it’s like to be a hamster? No? Then hit the “back” button on your browser and let’s say no more about it.

If you’re still here, you’ll be pleased to know a hotel has opened in France that will let you live like the aforementioned furry critter.

Off-peak train fares prepare to peak

Posted by Dan Curley

There’s more misery inbound for regular users of off-peak trains – greedy choo-choo chiefs are about to fleece you senseless with some ticket prices rising by as much as 15%.

Coming into effect from January 2010, the outrageously over-inflationary prices will hurt tens of thousands of commuters who travel outside rush hour. Announced yesterday by the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc), overall fares went up by just 1.1% – the smallest increase since British Rail was privatised in the mid-‘90s.

An awe-inspiring experience that’s written in the stars

Posted by Sophie Morris

If you can handle the frustratingly unpredictable weather, there are many reasons to take advantage of holidaying in the UK. And now here’s one more – Scotland has been named a go-to destination for stargazing.

At the weekend, Galloway Forest Park won the honour of becoming Britain’s first “Dark Sky Park”. It’s only the fourth place in the world to be given such an accolade by the International Dark Sky Association. The other three are in the US: Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah, Cherry Springs State Park in Pennsylvania and Geauga Park in Ohio.

BA prepares to tie the knot with Iberia

Posted by Sophie Morris

Crikey. Just when we thought British Airways’ fortunes were destined to stay in the doldrums, where they’ve been languishing for the past 18 months, the carrier stuns us with the announcement of a mega-merger deal with Spanish airline Iberia.

The £4.4bn share merger gives BA 55% of the company – which will be Europe’s third biggest airline after Lufthansa and Air France-KLM – while Iberia holds onto 45%.

Ryanair cabin crew bare all for calendar

Posted by Dan Curley

Sexy female members of Ryanair’s cabin crew have stripped off for a charity calendar, with all the proceeds going to charidee. The airline hopes to raise £100,000 for charity Kids, which helps families with disabled children.

After the seemingly endless wave of bad publicity the budget carrier has received this year, it’s no doubt hoping to garner some positive PR for a change.

London hotels get the thumbs down

Posted by Sophie Morris

Think of London hotels and you might imagine a romantic night at The Ritz, top-flight luxury at the Mandarin Oriental or classic charm at The Dorchester.

But if your budget’s not extravagant enough for these top-end hotels, the reality may bear a closer resemblance to Fawlty Towers – a survey from the price comparison website Trivago.co.uk has placed London at the very bottom of 50 cities across Europe in terms of hotel quality.

Pop-up hotels to prop up travel industry?

Posted by Dan Curley

Ever since the recession left 99% of the world’s population (or thereabouts) homeless and starving to death, opportunists from all industries have been striving to meet our new, impoverished demands.

The travel industry is no exception: at this week’s World Travel Market in London, industry insiders predicted that the future of tourism in this country could lie in pop-up hotels – pre-built steel-frame units that will “pop up” at the snap of a finger (almost).

BA battles bump in lost baggage compensation

Posted by Dan Curley

As anyone who’s ever suffered the misery of lost luggage already knows, it can be a deeply upsetting and traumatic experience. Not only does it virtually destroy your holiday and wipe out your wardrobe, it can be a costly experience, bleeding you of most of your holiday spending cash as your frantically replace clothing and miscellaneous travelling accessories.

Financial compensation goes some way to soften the blow. At the moment, passengers are theoretically entitled to claim back up to £972 in damages, but plans drawn up by the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organisation would see this figure rise to £1,100 next year.

Blunderland: the sequel?

Posted by Darren Lee

I know what you’re thinking: wouldn’t it be great if there was a festive theme park which could recreate the snow-covered winter wonderland that is Lapland, without all the hassle and expense of actually having to fly out there?

Well, you’re in luck! A new multi-million-pound venture called Lapland UK is set to open in Lamberhurst, Kent, replete with ice skating, husky dogs and reindeer as well as an audience with Father Christmas for each family. The catch? It could set you back up to £87.50 a head for anyone over the age of 18 months – and an extra tenner if you want a picture with Santa. Bah humbug!

Iraq to become the next Ibiza?

Posted by Dan Curley

Iraq, once the single most lethal country on Earth (until Afghanistan took over) is attempting to make its mark as a holiday destination for British holidaymakers.

Next week a band of officials from the tourist board of Iraq, led by its chairman Hammoud Al-Yaqoubi, is attending the World Travel Market, the travel industry’s major exhibition in London. It’s been more than a decade since the country attended any such show in Europe.

Mickey Mouse heads East

Posted by Sophie Morris

Top-secret talks have been going on between China and the US for at least a decade now. And they’re nothing to do with trade agreements, environmental policy or political prisoners.

Absolutely not – Beijing has been wrangling with none other than Mickey Mouse, over opening a Walt Disney theme park in mainland China.

London: cheap as chips?

Posted by Dan Curley

Our nation’s capital, once notorious for being one of the most over-priced cities on Earth, has made it into Lonely Planet’s Top 10 of the world’s best-value destinations.

It comes as no surprise that the pound – which is now second only to Monopoly money on the list of the most worthless currencies – has played a part in London becoming more affordable to visit. Two years ago £1 was worth €1.47 – it’s now worth a miserable €1.10.

Three cheers for the M1!

Posted by Sophie Morris

When the M1 motorway first opened 50 years ago today, it was supposed to link North and South by providing a quick route for motorists to travel from London, through the Midlands and beyond.

So why have the Roadchef officials organising the celebrations of the iconic motorway’s birthday decided to emphasise the North-South divide by erecting a sign at the Watford Gap, making it the unofficial midpoint between the two?

Ticket prices rise as new flight tax takes off

Posted by Tom Murphy

If you’re travelling by air from today, you’ll find a hefty extra whack on your ticket price: the Government has increased the amount of Air Passenger Duty (APD) we have to pay to get off the ground.

Before today’s rise, cattle-class passengers paid £10 for flights within Europe and £40 to other destinations, with those in comfier seats paying for the pleasure by being taxed at double those rates.

The new regime introduces a complex four-band system, based on the distance from London to the destination. Journeys of up to 2,000 miles, covered by Band A, incur a basic charge of £11, while a Band D flight (more than 6,000 miles) will cost you £55. And the rates will increase further in November 2010.

Brits give ski helmets the cold shoulder

Posted by Dan Curley

A recent poll has shown that more than half of British skiers don’t plan on wearing a ski helmet this coming season. The survey, carried out by the Ski Club of Great Britain (SCGB) and Ski Republic, reveals that only a shockingly low 42% of us plan on giving our heads any protection before sloping off on the piste.

What’s more concerning is that the report shows that, of the 17,500 head injuries suffered last season, 7,700 could have been avoided had the proper headgear been donned. It also indicated 11 deaths could have been avoided – highlighting the high-profile death of actress Natasha Richardson who died in March at Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec. She wasn’t wearing a helmet.

A spokeswomen for SCGB warned: “We urge people to take the risks very seriously. We advise that all children under 13 wear ski helmets this winter and adults do so at their own discretion.”

Studies carried out in Sweden and Canada show that snowboarders are at the greatest risk and up to 400% more likely to get injured than skiers. Men are also at bigger risk than women, probably due to men being more likely to show off with ill-advised trickery.

This is all disconcerting stuff, and it’s a shame the majority of skiers are apparently more concerned about their head being in their holiday snaps than they are about ending up with their neck in a splint.

Do you have a skiing holiday planned? Are you intending to keep your skull safe from shattering? Or do you think helmets are a waste of money and just make you look like a ponce in the holiday pics? Post your comments below

SEE ALSO:

NEXT: Cheap ski destinations >>
NEXT: Or catch some winter sun instead >>
NEXT: Get the best deal on flights >>

The Top 10 tackiest tourist trinkets

Posted by Dan Curley

A survey has just been carried out by Holidaylettings.co.uk showing what tasteless, crappy souvenirs holidaymakers most frequently pick up

Top of the list came a gravy boat featuring Thérèse de Lisieux, a 19th-century saint who’s said to be “popular”. Well, apparently so.

The other nine bits of popular travel tat are…

Swine flu fears don’t fly with US passengers

Posted by Sophie Morris

After 9/11, the number of Americans travelling by plane fell dramatically. So how are they reacting to the current crisis, swine flu, which President Obama termed a “national emergency” just last week?

Will they stay indoors and away from other people if any flu-like symptoms turn up? Hell no! In a poll conducted by TripAdvisor.com more than half say they’ll be taking any planned flights no matter how they feel, simply because the cost of changing bookings – normally around $50 to $150 (£30 to £90) – is too much money to waste.

Lucky escape as pilots log off

Posted by Dan Curley

Two airline pilots currently have their unmentionables on a BBQ after missing their landing destination by 150 miles. Their excuse? They said they were checking their crew schedules on their personal laptops and lost track of time. As you do when flying 144 passengers at 37,000ft.

For more than an hour, air traffic controllers were unable to contact the Northwest Airlines flight from San Diego to Minneapolis. Original reports suggested the two experienced pilots had fallen asleep mid-flight, something they rigorously denied, insisting they were just distracted by their computers.

Rowdy flyers: it’s all the rage

Posted by Sophie Morris

Most people slip into holiday mode the moment they sit down on the plane. You’ve got through the frustrating security queues, grabbed your last-minute toiletries and magazines, so “a large gin and tonic, please” seems like the appropriate way to signal the start to a blissful break.

Yet more and more of us are drumming up the holiday spirit with a little too much enthusiasm, according to a new report on air rage from the Department of Transport. The number of disruptive incidents on British planes has shot up in the past year, from 2,702 to 3,485 – and 37% of them involved alcohol.

Honeymoon’s over for litigation madness

Posted by Darren Lee

The silly season should really be over by now, but reports that a Scottish couple are taking legal action against Thomas Cook, after they became ill while on honeymoon in Turkey, prove it’s enoying a modest revival.

Ewan and Leah Gurr from Dundee say they contracted a gastric illness while on holiday at the Hotel Tuana in Side, near Antalya. Their symptoms were so severe that they spent three days in hospital and spent £2,000 on medical bills. The Gurrs have instructed legal firm Irwin Mitchell to investigate their claim against the operator.

Time to get tough on in-term holiday-goers?

Posted by Dan Curley

Taking your kids on holiday during school term is a subject we’ve discussed before. The pros and cons are pretty black and white – do you pull your kids out of school and bring the cost of the holiday down considerably, or go during the school holidays and let your bank balance take the strain as opposed to your child’s education?

Recently, a law was passed that allowed local authorities to fine parents £100 if they pulled their kids out of school, but only recently has the law been put into practice. Matthew Luck from Crewe took his two five-year-old daughters to Turkey for a fortnight between 2 and 14 September.

A new lease of life for Gatwick?

Posted by Sophie Morris

What will £1.5bn buy you? Gatwick Airport, if you’re the canny investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) which has just confirmed it’s purchasing the south London airport from BAA.

The move will break BAA’s 40-year monopoly over the south of England’s main airports, Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted, so in principal the sale should introduce a little healthy competition to the market and improve conditions for travellers in the future.

BA execs provide Christmas stuffing for workforce

Posted by Dan Curley

Things aren’t looking good for passengers who’ve booked a Christmas holiday flying with British Airways.

Recent talks between the operator and cabin crew union chiefs dissolved without any progression, leaving the threat of industrial action looming large and smack bang in the middle of the busiest period of the year.

BA chief exec Willie Walsh held talks with Derek Simpson, joint general secretary of cabin crew union Unite, and both left the table empty-handed. The problems start with Willie’s plans to restructure each plane’s crew in a bid to cut £140m from the carrier’s annual wage bill.

Carbon offsetting – a convenient myth?

Posted by Sophie Morris

Finally, a travel company has held its hands up and admitted that carbon offsetting is just an expensive way of making us feel better about flying.

For the uninitiated, carbon offsetting is a process whereby travellers can choose to pay a little extra when booking their flight or holiday, on the promise the money will go towards green projects, thus “offsetting” the impact of their flight on the environment. If you were flying to Malaga, for example, you could pay £3.82 to ClimateCare for the return flight, and they might invest it in a wind farm in China or green stoves in Uganda.

Master chefs hit the high seas

Posted by Sophie Morris

Most celebrity chefs have a number of outposts bearing their name – Gordon Ramsay has a global empire – but finding them sweating over a hot stove in one of their own restaurants is incredibly unlikely.

So three cheers for Gary Rhodes, Marco Pierre White and Atul Kochar, who have all agreed to visit their restaurants on P&O Cruise ships next year. If you’re lucky enough to bag a berth on one of these departures, you’ll find them giving cooking demonstrations and doing Q&A sessions and book signings (ah – there had to be something in it for them!) as well as coaching their teams in the kitchens and hobnobbing with customers.

Ryanair: the PR war continues

Posted by Darren Lee

Question: who is described as “a kind and gentle, caring and thoughtful, sensitive and saintly human being widely beloved by all” on a press release issued yesterday?

If you answered the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela or Dame Vera Lynn, then close, but sadly no cigar. The correct answer is, improbably, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary, who issued the bizarre statement in response to what he describes as a “hatchet job” against his airline by the BBC on Monday night’s Panorama.

New airport scanner can see you naked

Posted by Dan Curley

Manchester Airport has rolled out a new X-ray machine which does a full-body scan for weapons and explosives – the only problem is it reveals more than most people would prefer. Not only will it show up breast implants, piercings and false limbs, but your most private of parts will be clearly outlined.

The image will then be checked by one officer before being removed from the computer. It’s not compulsory yet, and passengers can forgo it in favour of the more conventional pat down.

Heathrow expansion plans hit turbulence

Posted by Amanda Welsh

Just when it seemed like a done deal, plans for a third runway at Heathrow have been scrapped before next year’s general election – because the Tories have said they will oppose expansion should they win power.

BAA has not ruled out submitting an application to build another runway altogether, but claim the planning proposal will not be ready before the election. Yet, seeing as the Conservative party has said it will not support expansion, it looks like BAA will have to change tack next year if, as expected, the Tories seize power.