Airlines
Blame tax rises No-one likes paying tax. Let’s face it, we live in an economy that splutters along based on massive, widespread corporate tax avoidance. And when a tax goes up, it’s an easy whipping boy. The general line, it seems, is that if you make a business pay taxes, it can’t possibly be profitable. [...]
Continue reading about Time to start asking questions about tax
2012 should be a big year in travel – so I thought I’d join everyone else by making predictions for the forthcoming twelve months in the travel industry. These are based, naturally, on extensive research. 1. QR codes to catch on in a big way. Office watercoolers are likely to buzz with talk of [...]
Misery at Orlando Airport Last Saturday afternoon, I touched down at Orlando International Airport. Two hours and fifteen minutes later, I was still on the plane. We weren’t allowed off because the immigration hall was full. Eventually, we were allowed in for the privilege of standing in the snaking queue for another hour and fifteen [...]
NB. This is one of three related pieces. Go here for an analysis of where to get the best Air Miles/ Avios value and here for a full destination-by-destination comparison table. Air Miles to disappear Late last week, it was announced that the Air Miles frequent flyer scheme was to undergo significant changes. From 16 [...]
Continue reading about The end of free flights – the massive devaluation of Air Miles
Virgin Vouchers and Flying Club miles Earlier today, I tried to book two flights to Orlando. I got married in April, and part of our wedding present stash was made up of Virgin vouchers. That’s vouchers created by the Virgin group that can be used on Virgin group products – such as Virgin Atlantic flights [...]
Continue reading about Terms and conditions of endearment: Virgin Atlantic’s self-harming stupidity
Fair tax on flying campaign Yesterday, and with much fanfare, a travel industry campaign for a ‘fair tax on flying’ was launched. The consortium behind it is demanding that Chancellor George Osborne doesn’t include any increases in Airport Departure Tax in his next budget. Problems with Airport Departure Tax It’s fair to say that Airport [...]
Continue reading about Does the travel industry REALLY want a fair tax on flying?
Tomorrow, I am flying to Australia via Taiwan with China Airlines. After booking this, I was prompted to look at what you get when you put “China Airlines” into a Google image search. It is mighty encouraging… But the experience got me thinking. How do other airlines come across in pictures? So I put their [...]
British Airways fuel surcharge increase British Airways has announced that it is going to put up the fuel surcharge by £10 for each leg of a long haul flight. This takes the fuel surcharge up to a total of £… Actually, you know what? I couldn’t care less what the fuel surcharge is. For airlines, [...]
Being connected Last week, I ranted about one of the topics that frequently makes me angry – the appalling public transport connections to UK airports. As part of it, I said Heathrow airport shouldn’t be the end of the line – it should be between somewhere and somewhere else. Obviously, people will go there anyway [...]
Budget airline add-on fees When it comes to budget airlines, Ryanair is the traditional whipping boy. People love to hate Ryanair, and automatically assume that it is the worst airline for underhand practices and add-on fees. The truth, however, is that Ryanair has largely eliminated many of its naughtiest habits. Yes, it charges a fortune [...]
Continue reading about Is Flybe’s web booking system fair – or even legal?