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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: , , , , , , , , , , , , — 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!

May all United Airlines flights to Rome land safely tonight

Filed under: General Travel (non-flights) — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — ja @ 2:35 am

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

    • May 18, 2009

    Google launches Street view bike

    Filed under: General Travel (non-flights) — Tags: , , , , — 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?

    Hellenic confirm Birmingham to Athens flights launch

    Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , — 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?

    May 1, 2009

    New flights to Athens from Birmingham?

    Filed under: Routes & News — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — 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.

    I’m waiting for my Electron Platinum Card

    Filed under: Budget airlines, Budget flights, Flybe, Ryanair, Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — 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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