Our weekly ‘Hot or Not’ series brings you some of the highs and lows in this week’s travel news headlines.
HOT, HOT, HOT!
1. Helloworld expands across the Tasman
Travel group, helloworld, is moving across the Tasman with the acquisition of up to 10 retail travel stores from Air New Zealand.
The announcement comes ahead of the launch of the helloworld brand in New Zealand early 2016.
Subject to certain pre-completion conditions, CEO Elizabeth Gaines said the acquisition would support the strategic growth of HLO’s operations in New Zealand.
2. A PTM meets Branson
He’s travel’s biggest celebrity and a Personal Travel Manager had the pleasure of not only meeting Sir Richard Branson but snapping a selfie with him too.
Josie Puglia, representative for Geelong, Victoria was one of ten travel agents invited as a guest of Virgin Australia to the Adelaide Crows VS Western Bulldogs game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which Branson also happened to be at.
Puglia said she noticed Branson sitting a couple of rows behind her sporting a Bulldogs jersey.
She said she was so excited that she asked Virgin’s Industry Sales Manager for VIC/TAS to introduce her.
“I couldn’t resist the opportunity to ask for a selfie together.”
Josie Puglia, PTM
Branson was in Australia earlier this month to help launch Virgin Australia’s new domestic terminal at Brisbane Airport. Read on
3. 22 US states in 24 hours
Somebody call the Guiness Book of Records because I think these guys just set a new one.
A group of three friends took multi-destination travel to the next level earlier this month when they travelled to 22 US states in 24 hours.
Norwegian adventurer, Gunnar Garfors and his two buddies started the journey on 20 September in Maine and completed it using three rental cars and three scheduled flights.
The trio beat the previous record of 19 states in one day and night.
Although beating their original target (20 states), the group says they were slowed down by two flight delays.
The route taken started in Maine and travelled to New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Alabama, North Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky and Illinois.
NOT, NOT, NOT!
1. A pukable air tale
Cringe! Cringe! Cringe!
If you have sensitive stomach you may want to avoid this.
A couple returning home from a holiday in the US receiving a shocking surprise when they discovered a sickness bag full of vomit, wrapped in a blanket and shoved in the seat back pocket in front of them.
The woman, Jane Masters, said it was one of the grossest things she’d ever come across, particularly because it was ‘someone’s bodily fluids that I’m being exposed to’.
But that’s not all.
After discovering the ‘package’ Masters called over the flight attendant who agreed to take it, but as Masters handed the bag over vomit spilled out and onto her clothes. EW!
Apologising, the flight attendant offered for the couple to sit elsewhere but they couldn’t get the smell of vomit out of their clothes for the entire flight home.
Did we mention? EW!
2. Flights to Melbourne go sky high
Thanks to the long weekend, end of school holidays and two major sporting events, fares to Melbourne reached an all-time high this week.
According to reports, flights from Perth to Melbourne we selling for as much as $2,500 – one way!
The figure was more than double the usual rate and pricier than the cost of flying internationally.
3. Who would do this to chocolate?
It’s not exactly what you’d expect when you open a golden Ferrero Rocher wrapper – a ball of methamphetamine in place of the hazelnut chocolate goodness.
That’s exactly what police found at Darwin Airport when two women tried to travel with the faux chocolate to Sydney.
According to reports, the pair was carrying 1.665 kilograms or around $2 million worth of ice.
Detective Superintendent Kris Evans said the bust was the result of a three-month long case involving Northern Territory Police, Australian Federal Police, Australian Crime Commission and Australian Border Force.