Travel News | Travel Advice

BusinessFirst Passengers with Continental Airlines will soon be feeling the benefits of lie flat beds on certain flights. Continental has announced it has plans to launch the beds in its Boeing 767, Boeing 777 and Boeing 757 aircraft, which operate the transatlantic and transpacific routes.

Installation will begin on the 757 aircraft in 2010 and the beds will already be installed when Continental takes delivery of its 787’s.

According to the airline the lie flat beds will allow passengers to lie completely flat. Each will provide 6.5ft of flat sleeping space in the sully extended position. It will be one of the widest seats in the air and 25 inches, or 63 cm and will allow passengers to sleep more comfortably.

The airline also plans to provide more storage space for personal items and will include laptop power, USB plugs and iPod connectivity.

Passengers flying with Korean Air and buying a First Class ticket are being rated to an enhanced service, which aims to have a more personal touch.

A dedicated staff member accompanies each departure passenger from the check-in counter to the boarding gate where other airline representatives will then take care of their seat assignment, checked luggage, departure cards (for non Koreans) and help them to the lounge.

If they so desire, the passenger can be collected at a pre-arranged time to be taken to the boarding gate.

During the flight they are briefed about the flight’s expected arrival time, weather conditions at destination and other in flight information.

Mayanmar Airways have resumed flights and a normal service after its McDonnell Douglas MD-82 aircraft was banned from flying after safety concerns were raised in Thailand.

The Airline have leased a new Boeing 737-400 aircraft from Thai based NOK Airlines, which means normal service can be resumed immediately.

The carrier is a joint venture between the state run Mayanmar Airways and Region Air of Singapore. The airline links the country with Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Travellers going to New Zealand and planning to travel by air internally within NZ will benefit from improved baggage policies, if travelling with Air New Zealand.
Weight allowance for passengers is now increased from 20KG to 25KG. Second bags weighing up to 25KG will only incur a fee of NZ$15, compared with the current system of charging NZ$5 per extra kilo for excess luggage.
The changes are part of Air New Zealand’s overhaul of its domestic flights. Earlier this year it introduced “Koru Hour” food and beverage services on peak hour flights.
The carrier will shortly complete the refit of its Boeing 737 fleet to include a seat pitch of up to 35inches in the front section of the cabin – a move designed to benefit frequent flyers.

Low cost airline FlyBe is celebrating again, having won two awards during the month of November ’08.

The Scottish Passenger Agents Association (SPAA) has named the airline Best Domestic Airline at their 16th annual awards ceremony.

And in London FlyBe was officially named at the Most Environmentally Responsible Budget Airline at the British Travel Awards ceremony.

The award presented at the British Travel Awards is particularly important as it voted for by tens of thousands of consumers and travel agents. The SPAA Awards are voted for by leading industry professionals.

The profile of FlyBe is increasing to rise with the addition of such awards.

The two latest Awards won by Flybe follow hard on the heels of the airline being recognised earlier this month as the number one mid-market private company in Britain in the Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 250 league table; and beating off well-known global airline giants to secure the 2008 Brussels Airport Environmental Award.

FlyBe offer cheap flights from the UK, operating over 170 routes to 55 destinations in 12 European countries.