Read on for the top ten 10 travel news stories you need to know today. Click here and enter for your chance to WIN movie tickets.
1. DFAT issues travel warning for France and Turkey
The world mourns the lives lost in the #CharlieHebdo attack: http://t.co/7q61HxYyyH pic.twitter.com/V8I1bVIhLz
— SpeedReads (@SpeedReads) January 7, 2015
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has issued terror warnings for France and Turkey after the two popular European tourist destinations were hit by deadly attacks.
The government agency is urging Australian travellers to ‘take extra care’ in the Ile de France area and Paris where at least 12 people were killed and several others injured overnight.
DFAT maintained its ‘exercise normal safety precautions’ level, but advised travellers to listen to the security advice of French authorities.
2. Australian passport fees rise
Travellers will need to dig a tiny bit deeper into their pockets if they need to order or renew their Australian passport this year.
When the new year kicked in so too did new passport fees that see travellers paying up to $13 more for official documentation.
The changes actually aren’t too great, but to prepare you for your next client or for your own personal knowledge, here are the passport fee changes you need to know.
3. JQ, QF, VA among the world’s most punctual airlines
Image: Mikhail Starodubov/Shutterstock
Australian airlines tardy? Hardly ever!
Flight schedule analysists, OAG have reviewed airline activity in 2014 and found Australian carriers are among the most prompt in the world.
In the ‘Top Airlines’ category, Virgin Australia and Qantas scraped into the top 20 as the nineteenth and twentieth most on-time carriers.
According to the report, 85.5 percent of Virgin’s flights arrived on schedule last year. That was only 0.1 percent more than Qantas.
airBaltic landed the number one spot on the list, with 94.9 percent of its flights arriving as scheduled.
Hawaiian Airlines came in second, while Air New Zealand was eleventh with 88.3 percent on-time arrivals.
In the low-cost category, Jetstar was the ninth most prompt airline, with an average of 83.1 percent of on-time landings.
Norwegian Air Shuttle was the most punctual of the no-frill brands managing an 89.7 percent average, followed by Thai AirAsia with 88.7 percent.
4. Incentives to book the Cooks
Cook Islands Tourism and Air New Zealand have teamed up to give agents the chance to win return flights to the Cook Islands.
There are 10 tickets to give away. Two lucky winners will be awarded a ticket (educational terms and conditions apply) from each of the following regions: NSW/ACT; QLD; VIC/TAS; SA and WA.
To enter, consultants visit the new trade website http://sale.cookislands.travel/trade/ by 27 January (midnight AEST) and register your details to receive Cook Islands newsletters, special offers, incentives and event invitations.
The winners will be announced in an upcoming AirNotes, Cook Islands’ industry Facebook group KukiRooz and through the Cook Islands newsletter.
To help agents sell the destination Air New Zealand released a sale fare for consumers offering $200 off all return flights to the Cooks.
The offer is valid on bookings between 8 and 27 January for travel 1 February to 27 March, 20 April to 26 June and 25 July to 18 September 2015.
The sale fare applies to either direct services on NZ60 and NZ61 on Saturdays to and from Sydney to Cook Islands (Rarotonga), or services via Auckland from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Cairns, Coolangatta, Adelaide and Perth.
5. AirAsia aircraft tail and one more body located
On the eleventh day of searching, Indonesian officials have confirmed that they have located the tail part of the downed AirAsia aircraft.
The plane’s registration number (PK-AXC) was spotted by the search and rescue team yesterday along with other smaller pieces of wreckage.
The tail part was found in the additional focus search area (approx. 30 kilometres from the primary focus area).
The search continues today, with focus in the same area to see if there are any trapped remains and for the black box.
National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) also confirmed one more body was found in the search area. It is in Pangkalan waiting to be transported to Surabaya where it will go under an identification process.
So far, 40 of the 160 people onboard have been recovered. 24 remains have been identified.
“Today is the eleventh day and the latest finding is indeed an breakthrough for all of us who have been anxiously waiting for further development on the SAR operation.”
Sunu Widyatmoko, AirAsia Indonesia chief executive
6. Ayana Resort and Spa in Bali relaunches
The Villas at AYANA Resort has relaunched 24 ultra-luxurious one-bedroom Ocean View Pool Villas following a complete renovation designed to celebrate Balinese style and maximise the unrivaled ocean and sunset views of this exclusive retreat.
Following the renovation, the one-bedroom Ocean View Pool Villas feature 15 percent extra room; new canopy-style beds; 50 percent larger bathrooms; completely new furniture; and new 55-inch HD-TVs in the living room and bedroom.
The rooms are designed using warm palettes and textures, hand-crafted artworks, plush bedding and decor, and the seamless indoor to outdoor living that reflects the island’s iconic style. The gardens are a hive of colours and fragrances leading to koi ponds, bridges and streams, and connecting with a jogging track to the private white-sand beach.
The Villas at AYANA Resort also include 38 one-bedroom Cliff Pool Villas with a more modern minimalist design, as well as 10 two-bedroom villas and the jewel in the crown: the three-bedroom AYANA Villa, the island’s most exclusive escape for a wedding, honeymoon or private event.
7. Anantara opens doors to luxury Qatar resort
Banana Island Resort Doha by Anantara has opened its doors to offer guests a taste of traditional Qatari hospitality and a unique resort experience with the first and only over water villas in Qatar.
The 141 luxury guest rooms, suites and villas property is a 20 minute ferry ride away from the city’s downtown area or a 10 minute helicopter ride from the airport.
It has 54 Premier Sea View Rooms, 16 Deluxe Sea View Rooms, eight Sea View Suites, 18 Anantara Suites and 34 spacious Sea View Pool Villas featuring a personal pool and poolside cabana.
The eight two-bedroom Over Water Villas and trio of prestigious three-bedroom Anantara Over Water Villas offer 360 square metres of luxurious space and a 62 square metre personal pool, ideal for families and groups of friends.
The resort boasts its own marina with 30 berths and a fully equipped dive centre with a practice pool, ideal for beginners. Water sports range from kayaking, pedalos and stand up paddle boarding to wakeboarding, banana boat, triple tube and donut rides.
On land recreational activities include tennis, beach volleyball, a fitness centre, entertainment centre and a nine-hole putting golf.
The resort has its own dedicated Balance Wellness Centre – the first of its kind in the Middle East. It features detox, de-stress and radiance, fitness, weight management, yoga and alternative therapy, as well as pre- and post-natal and anti-ageing journeys.
Eight dining options offer a mouthwatering choice of Middle Eastern, Italian and international cuisines at spectacular locations all around the island from the marina, poolside, by the shoreline and on over water decks with tranquil views and soft sea breezes.
8. All about Bali
A group of Mobile Travel Agents participated in a recent exclusive Bali study tour hosted by Viva Holidays and Garuda Indonesia.
The MTA team – Deanne Scanlan, Rosemary Davie, Julie Evans, Melissa Donovan, Margy Stimson, Sue Basedow and Sarah Bateman – are pictured with their hosts outside their accommodation venue for the event, the Kuta Paradiso Hotel Bali.
In between inspecting hotels and resorts, updating on local tour activities and brushing up on their overall Bali product knowledge, the group also had an opportunity to experience parascending off nearby Nusa Lembongan Island.
9. ‘Nutty’ Korean Air exec faces 15 years
The Korean Air executive that made headlines late last year for chucking a tantrum over a packet of nuts is facing up to 15 years in prison after being charged by Seoul prosecutors for violation of aviation safety regulations.
Cho Hyun-ah, who is also the daughter of the airline’s chairman, stepped down from her role with the airline in December when she lost her temper at flight attendants for serving her macadamia nuts in a bag – not a dish. She allegedly also forced the plane to return to New York causing an 11 minute delay in flight scheduling.
Prosecutors announced this week that she has been charged for her alleged interference with flight plan – an offence that has a minimum of one year and a maximum sentence of 15 years.
10. Some of the weirdest items hotel guests have left behind
Image: Javier Brosch/Shutterstock
A one-way first class ticket; prosthetic hand; a pug dog; a three-foot rubber duck; and a six-foot children’s bouncy castle.
They’re just some of the weirdest items Travelodge Hotels say holidaymakers have left behind last year across the group’s 500 properties across the UK.
The list of interesting items also includes a suitcase full of pound coins to the value of £3,000 (AU$5,616); a Feng Shui fish tank; and a golden Genie lamp (somebody call Major Nelson!).
A cleaner at Travelodge in Newcastle Central found a black book of exclusive cocktail recipes (not so exclusive anymore) and in Southampton a couple left behind their wedding certificate (no, it wasn’t intentional).
Somehow, someway, one person forgot to take his/her jukebox and a pinball machine.
Oh and don’t forget those storm trooper suits that would have racked up a pretty large postage bill when they were shipped back to the US.
The sweetest thing left behind was a love letter from 40 years ago – the gentleman that left it behind returned to the Aberdeen Central property from Kent to pick it up because he didn’t want it mailed out. Awww!