We’ve done all the hard work, so you don’t have to! Read on for the top ten travel news stories we think you need to know today.
1. Live from NYC it’s Flight Centre & Sunrise
Sunrise’s trip around the world continues & Flight Centre’s Social Media Specialist, Millie Yervantian is right alongside them. Here’s her day three blog from New York City.
We arrived at London’s Heathrow airport at 6am to board our flight to New York, but there were major flight delays, which pushed our flight back 2 hours to 10:30am.
This was probably the tightest leg of our trip in terms of timing, so this was a flight we could not miss. It came down to starting to think of Plan B locations. But we just couldn’t let New York go. Our flight arrived and off we went, using all 7 hours to catch up on some much needed sleep.
2. Calls for ‘crack down’ on unregulated accommodation
Australia’s hotel association continues to urge the government to take actions against unregulated short-term accommodation providers that could be hurting Sydney’s hoteliers.
According to the Tourism Accommodation Association (TAA), there are some 10,000 rooms and apartments available in Sydney operating as commercial businesses without any permits.
These include apartments and rooms sold on sites such as Airbnb, which is particularly popular amongst travellers looking to stay in the heart of a city while saving a couple of dollars.
3. Air France pilot spots potential MH370 debris
The pilot of an Air France commercial plane is believed to have spotted a white object off Reunion Island, close to where the MH370 flaperon was discovered last month.
Air France said in a statement that the pilot had spotted the unidentified object around 70 kilometres off the island on Tuesday morning while flying at an altitude of 3,000 metres.
Local authorities have redirected a ship to the area to collect the object, Nine News reported.
4. Kenya resumes manual visas
Kenyan authorities will continue to offer visa on arrival for Australian travellers while also rolling out the new e-visa system. Both systems will work simultaneously, giving Aussies two options to secure a Kenyan visa.
President Uhuru Kenyatta said though the e-visa was already running, manual application at the entry points to the country will continue concurrently so as not to discourage last minute visitors to the country.
He continued, saying the country has experienced a number of challenges during the e-visa implementation and therefore ordered the continued availability of manual visas.
The resumption of manual visa application which ceased from 1 September 2015, is set to ease concerns from travel agents and tour operators who were anxious around the possibility of a drop in visitation as a result of challenges associated with new system.
5. More & more Aussies are doing this while on holidays
Holidays – they’re an ideal time to get away from the technology that bounds us to our desks, enjoy some sun, absorb new cultures and… eat chocolate?
According to research conducted by Princess Cruises last year, almost half of Australians (40 percent) say they eat more chocolate while on holidays.
Perhaps they’re just trialling chocolate to see how it differs from those made in Australia? Or maybe it’s just because they’re deliriously happy?
6. Etihad joins Amadeus’ Families
Amadeus and Etihad Airways will implement the Amadeus Fare Families tool in the indirect channel, to support its innovative merchandising strategy.
The move to incorporate Amadeus’ cutting-edge technology solution will help the airline achieve its objective of accelerating international growth through differentiation and upsell opportunities, via its extensive sales network.
Through Amadeus Fare Families, Etihad Airways will brand and differentiate its products and services by showing the full value of each packaged fare on all its retailing interfaces for all customer segments and worldwide points of sale. With clear descriptions on service characteristics and terms and conditions, both travellers and travel agents benefit from greater transparency in the shopping process.
In doing so, travel agents will be better equipped to advise their customers and proactively upsell from one fare family to the other, based on the traveller’s needs and preferences.
7. Helloworld pops up at Sydney Airport
First the agency group ‘popped-up’ in Costco Auburn and then it was Costco Crossroads and now helloworld has sent its mini travel agency over to Sydney Airport to capture new clients.
Travellers departing from Sydney International Airport have been passing the set up all month and according to the group, holidaymakers are ‘responding well’.
The self-service kiosk is located at Pier B, which contains Qantas, British Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines. This airline base represents approximately 50 percemt of the departures out of Sydney International Airport and means that the kiosk is visible to approximately 262,000 travellers per month.
“Our kiosk is getting a lot of interest and the prime location further profiles the helloworld brand and our key suppliers to the thousands of travellers that pass through the airport every day.”
Jeremy Reitman, helloworld.com.au CEO
8. Royces roll into the Palazzo
The Palazzo Versace in Gold Coast, Queensland is giving guests that chance to drive around town in one of two bespoke Rolls-Royce Phantom motor cars made exclusively for the world’s first fully fashion-branded hotel.
In creating the motor cars, the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Design Team worked hand in hand with Palazzo Versace Gold Coast to personalise ‘The Best Cars in the World’ for this destination of the rich and famous.
Versace’s dedication to beauty and luxury inspired the regal Diamond Black exterior of the motor cars, which are highlighted with distinctive hand-painted coach lines featuring the world-famous sign of Palazzo Versace Hotel.
Step through the coach-doors and one is instantly enveloped by the softest leather in a warm shade of Moccasin.
Palazzo Versace’s logo is also featured on all four headrests, embroidered in contrast Black satin stitching, in addition to a Gold inlay on the front passenger fascia, set against a Walnut Burr wood veneer.
9. PTMs get the air & fare lowdown
Sydney-based Personal Travel Managers took part in a two-day airline-focused product training organised the company’s NSW Business Partnership Manager, Julie Anderson.
Andreson said PTMs from as far as Wollongong attended the event supported by nine airlines: Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Emirates, Finnair, Thai Airways, Etihad, Qantas and United Airlines.
Over the two days airlines offered comprehensive updates covering everything from on-board product to schedules and fares, and even picked up some unique hints on how to differentiate stopovers.
TravelManagers’ Executive General Manager, Michael Gazal, says the training is a consequence of feedback received from personal travel managers.
10. It’s a Star Wars fan’s ‘Dreamliner’ come true
If you’re definition of cool is travelling to a land ‘far, far away’ with Luke Skywalker, Yoda & the third greatest movie villain in cinema history – then this is aircraft is for you.
Somebody get me on board please!
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has rolled out its highly anticipated R2-D2 ANA jet – the first of three aircraft to be completely decked out in Star Wars-theme.
