Skill up on all you need to know with bite sized travel news to help you be your best today and tomorrow.
1. Fellow travel professional among Orlando victims
A profile picture taken at 32,000-feet, snaps of the many ancient sites visited and even a few fun candids with colleagues taken on recent work trips. They’re the tell-tale signs that you’re flicking through the Facebook page of a travel professional…
… and they’re exactly what you’ll find on Edward Sotomayor’s page.
The National Brand Manager at AlAndChuck.travel – an online agency specialising in LGBT travel – has a social media presence that looks like it could be any of ours, except his adventures came to a tragic end over the weekend when he was named one of the 49 victims in the Orlando club shooting.
2. The crash jokes you never want to hear in a pilot’s conversation
Thailand’s budget carrier, Nok Air, has issued an apology for inappropriate crash jokes made during a pilot’s text conversation with friends.
The screenshot of the group chat was somehow leaked online (as everything does these days), and shows the pilot’s friends encouraging him to crash the plane he was going to fly, which was carrying Thailand’s former Prime Minister.
Over the weekend, the first officer took a photo of Yingluck Shinawatra as she was walking on the tarmac and sent it to friends through a text message. It wrote accompanied the picture with the text: “there’s a prey on board”.
3. Teresia Fors sails away from Viking
When you think of Viking Cruises in Australia, you think of the contagiously enthusiastic, bright and funny, Teresia Fors.
For eight years, she’s been the face of the cruise line in the country and the go-to person for anything Viking.
She established the local sales and marketing office back in 2008, she helped grow the business from one to now 35 staff members, she promoted the line’s transition into ocean cruising and she was even the driving force behind bringing one of those new ocean vessels down to Australia.
4. Virgin Australia scraps select aircraft to improve cash flow
Virgin Australia has a new three-year plan to raise some $852 million to repay debt, improve earnings and cash flow as well as support new opportunities for growth.
The plan, unveiled this morning after a structural review, will see the carrier sell stock at 0.21 cents a piece – a discount of 16.8 percent to the Theoretical Ex Rights Price (TERP).
Shareholders, including Singapore Airlines, Nanshan Group, HNA Group and Air New Zealand, will take up their pro-rate entitlements, while Singapore Airlines, HNA and the Virgin Group have signed agreements to contribute to the sub-underwriting of entitlements not taken up by other shareholders.
5. Why is Hamish is walking around the Carnival Spirit in balloon thongs?
Image: HamishandAndy.com
What happens when you send two of Australia’s biggest comedians out to sea? You get a whole lot of laughs, exposure and a few wardrobe concerns…
Hamish & Andy were invited to broadcast their show live from Carnival Cruise Line‘s Carnival Spirit this week, and it’s already resulted in a few hilarious stunts.
For example, Hamish decided he’d join the cruise with only the clothes on his back. Thankfully generous guests have donated wardrobe including balloon thongs to the comedian.
They’ve also taken time out to try a few of the line’s cocktails out of the novelty puffer fish cups AND scoped out of the Green Thunder.
Click here for more pictures.
6. Globus takes Agents on a Supertour
Thirty top-selling travel agents from across Australia and New Zealand have just returned from a European adventure in Spain and Portugal thanks to Globus and its 2016 Supertour.
This year’s Supertour involved an 11-day itinerary through some of the most colourful destinations on the Iberian peninsula, including Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Seville, Setúbal and Lisbon.
As special surprise, the group was taken to a football game between Barcelona and RCD Espanyol, wearing personalised jerseys made especially for the agents. Barcelona won the day 5-0.
7. Infinity’s top NSW Agents indulge in an ‘Epic Mexican Fiesta’
Ay, Infinity Holidays’ top amigos from NSW were given the opportunity to experience three nights in Cancun and three nights in Playa del Carmen during an ‘Epic Mexican Fiesta‘.
Consultants invited were treated to the most luxurious all-inclusive resorts on the Riviera Maya – such as Paradisus Cancun Resort, Paradisus La Perla and Paradisus La Esmeralda – while also enjoying some of the famous sites in the region including the Chichen Itza, Tulum and Xel Ha and a ‘Jungle Maya’.
Other highlights of the trip included trialling United Airlines’ Dreamliner from Sydney to Los Angeles and dining at the unique party venue, Xoximilco, where a traditional Mexican feast is served.
Click here for more pictures.
8. WIN back the cost of a flight
Etihad is giving agents and their customers the chance to win back the cost of their flights.
The incentive was launched last week in celebration of the carrier’s new A380 operations from Melbourne and 787 services to Perth.
Over the next few weeks, any Travel Agents who book their clients an Etihad flight will have the chance to win the cost of the flights back for both themselves and their customer.
