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May 27, 2009

If all roads lead to Rome, do all flights fly from Friedrichshafen?

Filed under: Just get me there, Uncategorized — Tags: Barbados, Barcelona, champions league, final., flights to Friedrichshafen, Flights to Rome, football, Germany, Hindenburg, led Zeppelin, links, Turin, Zeppelin — ja @ 9:40 am

Okay, a slightly surreal question, but here’s a few thoughts: –

Of course all roads lead to Rome today, it’s the Champions League Final featuring Manchester United and Barcelona. Rome might be famous for St Peter’s Square, whereas Manchester just has to make do with shouts of Judas at the Free Trade Hall (now the Radisson SAS Hotel), which indicentally is on St Peter’s Street. At least we do actually finish our cathedrals, which is more than can be said for Barcelona. Hopefully their finishing will be just as bad as Gaudi tonight! Then they call in Norman Foster of Wembley Fiasco and Wobbly Thames bridge fame to redesign the Nou Camp, have they learnt nothing? And speaking of new camp, I think Canal Street offers a different version of that in Manchester.
Do all bikes lead to Barcelona? (The Catalan capital is one of many European cities which has an excellent free bike rental scheme).
Do all trains go to Turin (TRN)? No, but that is where Virgin’s Pendolini (which operate to and from Manchester) come from, so let’s hope Man-U complete a successful Italian Job (filmed in Turin) tonight.
How many ships are heading to the Ship Inn in Barbados this summer? (Where there’s a famous plaque celebrating the draining of all beer stocks by Australian cricket fans and a visiting Royal Navy crew.)
And yes, all flights do emanate from Friedrichshafen in Germany — that is where the (Led) Zeppelins were built. It was only after the Hindenburg disaster that flights in fixed wing aircraft became more popular. However, that’s got no relevance for today, let’s get back to work. What’s this got to do with Flightmapping? Flightmapping is all about showing physical links between two places. Sometimes conceptual links are much more fun More on our new map concept to follow shortly. In the meantime, enjoy the game tonight!

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May all United Airlines flights to Rome land safely tonight

So tonight, Rome is playing host to two of the finest cities in Europe, and I couldn’t help resist coming up with a few very lame puns to celebrate the occasion:

All roads may lead to Rome, but where will one champions league trophy end up tonight?

I don’t think I’ll hear this being chanted at the ref — Amo, Amas, Amat, you are El Prat (from my early attempts to learn Latin at school — a phrase my dad always told me, changed to ‘El Prat’, which is the airport and Barcelona)

Title hopes Ruined In A Day (New Order song)

Ball of Frustration (after James — Born of Frustration)

Don’t Look Back In Anger (Oasis)

He’s Not The Messiah, He’s A Very Naughty Boy (Ian Brown - Resurrection / Life of Brian)

Biggus Dickus (Life of Brian) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K8_jgiNqUc

Threw him to the Floor, I mean he threw himself to the floor (after Biggus Dickus speech)

Friends, Romans, City Fans?

Veni, vidi, left empty handed from Da Vinci

Young Offender (New Order)

We Hate It When Our Enemies Become Succesful (Morrissey)

Manchester United airlines — fly the unfriendly skies

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May 18, 2009

Google launches Street view bike

Filed under: General Travel (non-flights) — Tags: bikes, Google, maps, Street view, UK tourism — ja @ 6:30 pm

It looks like Google are extending their Street map service to include famous landmarks which aren’t easily accessible directly from the road.

There will always be privacy whingers, but I think the reality these days is that if you go out in public, you are always going to be photographed by something, and Google Street view has to be a lot more open about the information it divulges, compared to all those CCTV cameras that are always watching us from on high.

Getting in this close could enable virtual tours of all kinds of different buildings, but the question I have to ask is — with so much viewing technology available on the Internet, will people just want to stay at home and stare at their computer screens, or will people be more encouraged to actually go out and see things for real?

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Hellenic confirm Birmingham to Athens flights launch

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: Athens, Birmingham, Boeing 747, cheap flights to Athens, flights from Birmingham, Greece, Hellenic Imperial Airways — ja @ 6:20 pm

New flights to the Greek capital Athens from Birmingham airport have been confirmed by Hellenic Imperial Airways.

Well, I’ll still maintain my concerns about the long term viability of this route, but it is at least official that these flights will be operating. The first departure date will be 27th May - just 9 days away, an astonishingly quick turn around from putting seats on sale to route launch. It all smacks of a rushed-job, but let’s see.

And if Birmingham can now get flights to Athens launched, how about all those other European capitals still missing off the route map. Madrid? Rome? Berlin?

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May 1, 2009

New flights to Athens from Birmingham?

Filed under: Routes & News — Tags: Asia, Birmingham airport, Boeing 74 --200, Embraer E195, flights from Birmingham, Flights to Athens, flights to Jeddah, flights to Riyadh, Flybe, Greece, Haj flights, Hellenic Imperial Airways, Manchester, Middle East, Saudi Arabia — ja @ 8:47 pm

According to the Travel Trade Gazette, the Greek charter airline Hellenic Imperial Airways is in discussion with Birmingham Airport about starting flights from the West Midlands to Athens, with onward connections to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

These flights would be the airline’s first foray into the scheduled market, and will be operated using Boeing 747 — 200 aircraft. Prices have been quoted at £199 plus unspecified taxes for Athens flights, and £350 plus taxes for return flights to Jeddah.
Quite frankly, I don’t think this is really something to get that excited about at this stage. I’m also sceptical about the proposed choice of aircraft for this route.

Flights are touted as operating to Athens up to 4 times each week, with a continuation on to Jeddah twice each week. I can’t think of any flights from Birmingham to European destinations which operate with anything other than narrowbodied aircraft (up to a maximum size of a Boeing 757 or Airbus A321), so filling a Boeing 747 on this route strikes me as a highly ambitious project. Granted, there has to be reasonable demand for direct flights from Birmingham to Athens, but I’m sure that the other airlines based at Birmingham, in addition to the Greek national airline Olympic, who by comparison operate a similar frequency of flights from Manchester to Athens using Boeing 737 aircraft, will have already looked at this.

I would imagine that one of Flybe’s Embraer E195 jets would be far more suitable for this route, and considerably more economic in terms of fuel usage. However, there are several other major European capitals which aren’t yet served from Birmingham — Berlin and Madrid being the obvious two, and I’m sure that however obvious Athens might seem as both a destination in its own right and as a connecting point for other destinations in Greece and beyond, Flybe’s bean counters have done their sums.

In terms of pricing, I’ve taken a quick look at flights to Athens from Birmingham in mid-October, and found availability for just under £170 with Swiss via Zürich. For a new route to work within Europe, I would expect it to come on stream at a much lower price than a compatible connecting flight, especially as we’re talking about a totally unknown airline here, using very old aircraft.

As for flights to Jeddah, the biggest demand here is during the annual Haj season, and this must surely be best met with ad hoc charter services, rather than year-round flights? Granted, Saudi Arabia is a growth market, and flights to both Jeddah and Riyadh from London can be prohibitively expensive, but there must be many more destinations in the Middle East and Asia which are a higher priority to get served from Birmingham.

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I’m waiting for my Electron Platinum Card

Filed under: Budget airlines, Budget flights, Flybe, Ryanair, Uncategorized — Tags: American Express, charges, credit cards, debit card, Easyjet, Electron, Flybe, rip-offs, Ryanair, Visa — ja @ 7:52 pm

Reading through another airline forum, I have just seen another poster describe the Electron Debit Card, the budget flyer’s most flexible friend, as being ‘hard to get’.

Nothing could be further from the truth! The Electron card was designed for people with little or no credit history, and as such can only be used in electronic terminals where authorisation is included with every transaction, so that the user does not become overdrawn. Naturally, this includes the online booking systems of the low cost airlines, who appreciate the lower handling charges this card attracts. Or, they just appreciate the opportunity to apply extra charges to everyone who doesn’t use an electron card - it doesn’t really matter which way you look at it, the fact is simple - if you want really cheap flights, you must have an Electron Card.

A few years ago, I signed up to the American Express Platinum card, which claimed to offer all kinds of rewards to the frequent traveller. I found that I used very few of them, and when it came to claiming on their insurance, they were a total nightmare to deal with - but that piece of plastic certainly shined nicely in my wallet (and it stayed in good condition too, as so many retailers don’t take Amex). The reality for me is that even though I do travel quite a bit through running this website, most of my flights are within Europe, and as I want to use my local airports as much as possible, most of my flights are from Birmingham or East Midlands, and they therefore tend to be with airlines which don’t reward loyalty with air miles or fancy points.

With the new breed of no frills airline, who needs loyalty points anyway? Why should I need to fly around the world three times to collect enough points for a return trip to Scotland, when I’ve just got back from a wonderful trip to Italy which set me back a mere £9 for the flight, all-in?

As I’ve said before, anyone can get an Electron Card, and you don’t need an MP’s expense account to qualify. Banks aren’t particularly keen to push the basic accounts which come with Electron cards as they aren’t going to make much profit from them, but they won’t stop you from opening the account. I use a Cashminder account from the Co-op bank, which can be topped up in any Post Office. I might not be able to get an Electron Platinum Card just yet, but when it comes to the no frills airlines, putting snobbery to one side is the way forward.

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April 17, 2009

The cheapest flights to Switzerland involve flying to an airport in a neighbouring country, and we’re not talking about France

Filed under: British Airways, Budget flights, Easyjet, Ryanair — Tags: Aer Lingus, Easyjet, flights to Basel, flights to Swizterland, Friedrichshafen, Ryanair, Zurich flights — ja @ 1:38 pm

Switzerland might have much more a reputation as a tax haven than as a bargain basement paradise, but here is a little-known option of finding the cheapest flights to Switzerland, and enjoying the scenery along the way. It is well-known that cheap flights to Geneva are available from a huge range of different airports throughout the UK, and that you can also get cheap flights to Basel, whose airport is technically in neighbouring France, from Stansted and Dublin courtesy of Ryanair, and Liverpool courtesy of Easyjet.

So what’s my little secret? Cheap flights to Zürich — that bastion of palatial airport facilities? Surely not? Well, with Aer Lingus and Easyjet now fighting it out amongst each other to offer cheap flights from London Gatwick to Zürich, Easyjet also offering Zürich flights from Luton, so you might well be able to bag a bargain, but if you’re prepared to travel with only hand luggage and if you have got yourself one of those otherwise pointless Visa Electron cards then you should probably know that the very cheapest fares on flights to Europe are still offered by Ryanair. We looked at cheap flights to Switzerland for April 2009, and Ryanair’s prices on flights to Basel were very compatible with what Easyjet and Aer Lingus had to offer on flights to Zürich. The real bargain was on flights to Friedrichshafen in neighbouring Germany, which are available for £20 return “all-in”

All very well you might say, but you asked the cheap flights to Switzerland, not cheap flights to Germany. Well, as it happens, Friedrichshafen is a mere 45 minutes away from Romanshorn in Switzerland, on the other side of Lake Constance by ferry (hourly service). From here, there are regular trains throughout Switzerland via Zürich. Trains connect from Friedrichshafen airport (Flughafen) to downtown (Stadt) Friedrichshafen in just six minutes, and there are at least four services each hour. And the cost of this ferry transfer is a mere €7. So next time you are thinking of cheap flights to Switzerland, why not give this route a try?

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April 2, 2009

How many of the UK world Heritage sites have you visited?

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: Blenheim Palace, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Stonehenge, three Graces, UK, world Heritage sites — ja @ 4:57 pm

As the weaker sterling makes European holidays more expensive and interest rises in staying at home within the UK, how many of the UK world Heritage sites have you managed to visit? Did you know that there are currently 26 sites designated by UNESCO as being of world Heritage standards within the UK. These are:

Bath (city)*
Blaenavon Industrial Landscape
Blenheim Palace *
Canterbury Cathedral, St. Augustine’s Abbey and St. Martin’s Church
Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape* (the Eden project is part of this, surely this must make future lists)
Derwent Valley Mills*
Dorset and East Devon Coast*
Durham Castle and Cathedral*
Edinburgh, New Town*
Edinburgh, Old Town*
Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast*
Greenwich (Maritime Heritage)*
Gwynedd - Castles and Town Walls of King Edward
Hadrian’s Wall*
Ironbridge Gorge*
Kew, Royal Botanic Gardens of
Liverpool (surely The Three Graces?)*
London, Tower of*
London, Westminster Abbey*
London, Westminster Palace and Saint Margaret’s Church*
New Lanark
Orkney (Neolithic heart)
Saltaire
St. Kilda
Stonehenge (plus Avebury and associated sites)
Studley Royal Park, including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey

I have put a star by the ones I’ve managed to get to so far (16 down, ten to go), and hope that I can make it to a few more this year. How I’ve never been to Stonehenge is thoroughly unforgiveable, I’ll have to admit, and I will also be honest and say that it took me four years of study at Edinburgh University before I finally went inside the castle.

What are your local tourism ‘not seen yet’ confessions?

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Why is the UK world Heritage website so confusing and inaccurate?

Filed under: Just get me there — Tags: annoying websites, Bermuda, Blenheim Palace, Edinburgh, Stonehenge, UK, world Heritage sites — ja @ 4:52 pm

Why are simple lists sometime so difficult to clarify? Back from my visit to Blenheim Palace earlier on today, I remembered the information board which said it was one of 26 world Heritage sites in the UK. How many of these had I visited, I wondered, and how many more do I still have to explore?

I googled ‘world Heritage UK’, and landed on the UK world Heritage sites Portal, part of that wonderful Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Here is one of my pet hates — drop down menus which might give you the opportunity to visit websites one by one, but which don’t let you cut and paste the whole list. Granted, those in the know can do a ‘ view source ‘, but aren’t these government websites supposed to be accessible to all, not just cyber geeks? Besides, stripping down a list from a drop-down menu still takes a bit of fiddly find find and replace work.

By that stage, I’d already clicked on the supposedly interactive map of world Heritage sites in the UK, but this was very messy, with the Cornwall and West Devon mining landscape being represented by a whole sequence of dots, but just one dot being used to represent all the landmarks in central London, sorry I correct myself — all of London, that’s how confusing the map is!

Below the map is a tiny link to a text version, which is what should be offered in the first place, but I’m still confused. According to world Heritage UK, there are 28 sites administered by the British government, and according to Blenheim Palace there are 26 — this difference being made up by outlying territories, but why is there no distinction in this list to pick out Gough Island wildlife reserve (230 miles south-east of Tristan de Cunha, in case you’re interested), or Henderson Island in the Pitcairns? The list actually has 29 sites in it — to add to the confusion Avebury is counted as part of Stonehenge and associated sites, and the Derwent Valley Mills are listed together with the Dorset and east Devon coast for some reason. Then I check through again and see that I have missed the obvious historic town of St George, Bermuda, so now I’m down to 25. Avebury might be listed twice, but it clearly says it is part of the Stonehenge complex, so I can only assume that is meant to be counted once.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh old and new towns are counted as one entity, but as anyone who has visited Auld Reekie will know, there is the small matter of the old Nor Loch, now Princes Street Gardens and Waverley Station, which separates the two from each other. Thankfully, I think I’m back to 26 again.

And when it comes to making the list, they can’t even organise it in proper alphabetical order — i.e. city of Bath should be listed under Bath, city of, surely?

Anyway, now I have finished my rant, and worked out which sites do indeed make up the list of 26 world Heritage sites which are actually in the UK, I can write my blog article about visiting them (at least they won’t be able to make any claim against me for taking Crown copyright information — true plagiarists take all the mistakes with them):

How many UK World Heritage Sites have you visited?

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March 30, 2009

Are British Airways always more expensive when they are the only airline offering direct flights?

In our news section, we’ve just looked at long haul routes where British Airways is the only airline offering non-stop point-to-point service.

The expectation might be that they would be able to get away with charging a premium for providing such a service - this has always been the way with the traditional airlines. However farcical it might sound, the logic has always been that the punter should be charged more for the direct routing, even though it costs the airlines much less to service such a route.

The article looked at flights to 10 different destinations across Africa, the Americas and Asia. Generally, the rule does still apply - regardless of the cost to the airline, consumers are prepared to pay more for the convenience of a direct routing, and the market is still driven by what the consumer is prepared to pay, rather than what it costs the airline to provide the service.

Infact, the main exceptions to the rule were where you might expect them - on flights to Bermuda, where British Airways were 18% cheaper than the nearest alternative, the non-direct routing would mean taking flights to New York, and then doubling back again to Bermuda - a route which hardly makes any sense at all, considering that Zoom Airlines used to offer flights from Gatwick to New York via Bermuda.

BA were also cheaper on flights to St Kitts and flights to Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands - again, these were niche destinations where the alternative option would have been an unwieldy flight via the USA. However, BA weren’t always cheaper when it came to Caribbean flights where they were the sole direct provider - on flights to the Cayman Islands, it was cheaper to slug it via New York with Continental. Meanwhile, for flights to Trinidad (Port of Spain), BA were effectively competing against themselves, as the cheaper option was to fly with BA to neighbouring Tobago, and then take a short hop from there with Caribbean Airlines. However, the competition here is simply down to the fact that flights to Tobago are also available from airlines like Virgin and Monarch - therefore BA have to be competitive on that sector, making them competitive on the whole route through to Trinidad, providing you take the hop via Tobago.

On all the other routes we looked at, BA were still able to charge a premium for providing the non-stop service. In many cases, the difference was only a few percent, but when it came to flights to Entebbe / Kampala, the difference rose to 41% over the alternative of flying with KLM and Kenya Airways via Amsterdam. We can only assume that this is down as much to the perceived differences in service between British Aiways and their African rivals as much as it is down to the fact that BA serve the route non-stop.

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