Travel Industry

David on July 17th, 2009

What does a double room mean to you? I’m fairly sure that by any reasonable definition, it means a room with one bed big enough for two people. What it most certainly isn’t is a room with two beds pushed together. That is a twin room for people who have a peculiar attitude towards physical [...]

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Continue reading about Hotels: Two singles do not equal one double

David on July 5th, 2009

There are few things that get me angrier than wireless internet access (or lack of it) in hotels. There are some hotels that have an admirable policy on WiFi, but by and large, accommodation providers behave disgracefully when it comes to getting online. Suffice to say, this is likely to be the first of many [...]

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Continue reading about Why hotels don’t get WiFi: 1 – Ambivalence

David on July 3rd, 2009

A common complaint amongst air stewards and stewardesses is that passengers keep their headphones on whilst trying to communicate. This is an absolutely understandable gripe – it’s incredibly rude, and forces the crew member to try and bellow over the top of a film when they’re trying to ask what drink you’d like.   Anti [...]

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Continue reading about Should flight crews be wearing masks?

On Monday, I posted about receiving what I thought was the world’s most shameless press release: a company trying to sell tours to LA as an opportunity to pay tribute to Michael Jackson.   Right to respond Just to prove that I can be even-handed, I offered them a right to respond to criticisms. I [...]

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Continue reading about World’s most shameless press release: the response

David on June 29th, 2009

Well, that didn’t take long, did it? Just three days after Michael Jackson’s death, and a tour company is already trying to cash in. A few minutes ago, I received perhaps the most shameless press release I have ever received. I suspect other journalists and publications did as well.   Michael Jackson’s star On Saturday, [...]

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Continue reading about The world’s most shameless press release

David on June 26th, 2009

I have never had much love for Jetstar at the best of times, and I will usually happily pay more to avoid flying with them. But when I was booking my flight from Sydney to Cairns a few months ago, the Jetstar flight worked out as the best deal. It wasn’t quite the cheapest, but [...]

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Continue reading about Rescheduling flights: when airlines take the piss

A few weeks ago, I was in Queensland, Australia. I had a spare day and picked up a leaflet for an Aboriginal guided tour in the rainforest. It sounded pretty good – promising plenty of explanation about traditional uses of flora and fauna, plus a cultural aspect.   Demand for Aboriginal tourism It’s exactly the [...]

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Continue reading about Overplaying the indigenous card – why the demand for ‘Aboriginal’ tourism is not being met

David on June 20th, 2009

As was entirely predictable, the knives are already out for Ben Southall, winner of Tourism Queensland’s ingenious ‘Best Job In The World’ competition. The Sun and its Murdoch-owned Australian counterparts have already laid into the 34-year-old lamb to the slaughter. He’s been billed as a “whingeing pom” because he said he’ll miss the English summer [...]

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Continue reading about Best job in the world? I don’t think so.

Major airlines and sale prices There are some absurdly cheap long-haul airfares dotted around at the moment. Major airlines seem desperate to fill their planes, and as a result prices have fallen to astonishingly low levels. Most eye-catching of all is the current Singapore Airlines sale, with return flights to Singapore costing from £295 and [...]

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Continue reading about Cheap long-haul airfares – if the seats are available

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