Welcome to the hot or not travel news of the week, detailing the highs and lows of this weeks headlines.
WHAT WAS HOT?
1. Gate-to-gate great
As of this week, Qantas and Virgin will allow gate-to-gate use of small electronic devices such as smart phones after receiving approval from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASE). Though, do have in mind that the ruling applies to Smart Phones, Tablets and E-Readers so best to keep your laptops stored.
2. Darling Harbour’s Urban Renewal attracts luxe brands
Accor has signed a management agreement to operate its luxury brand Sofitel as the new ICC Hotel when it opens in 2017 in Sydney’s Darling Harbour. Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour is part of the NSW Government’s $2.5 billion transformation of Darling Harbour, which includes the creation of Sydney’s new convention, exhibition and entertainment precinct.
3. Scanning skies for top hotels
Leading global travel search engine, Skyscanner launched their Hotels app this week, which allows users to search hundreds of thousands of hotels, apartments and hostels all over the world. Hotels app puts photos of a hotel, apartment or hostel at the center of the app’s comparison feature, and makes it easy to swipe through images without having to leave the results page. The app also offers tools that can add to a traveller’s decision making process, including a map view that shows lodging options by location and points of interest, a favorites feature allowing users to save options for a later decision, and a side by side comparison component to see how each accommodation measures up.
WHAT WAS NOT?
1. Qantas profits nose dive
Qantas has posted a statutory loss of $2.843 billion for the year, a result even worse than market prediction, pushing the airline into the red.The airline’s CEO, Alan Joyce said the poor result, a decline of $566 million in revenue, was “unacceptable” and “confronting” but represents “the year that is past, and we have now come through the worst” with the airline expecting to see “accelerating benefits” in the coming year.
2. Worst plug for Dior in history
A 27-year-old Frenchman claims he was kicked out of an American Airlines flight because he smelled bad. The Algerian-born man said he was about to board the Dallas-bound plane at Paris’ Charles-de-Gaulle Airport when he was approached by flight attendants.
They claimed, according to Agence France-Presse, that the crew and passengers had complained of his smell. The man in question, outraged, said that he had doused himself in Dior perfume that he bought from the Duty Free shop but to no avail. He was escorted off the flight and told to take a shower.
3. Crisis-striken Malaysian Airlines reports loss
From bad to worse. After experiencing two devastating air disasters, the disappearance of MH370 and the attack on MH17, Malaysian Airlines have reported a $97.2 million dollar loss in the April-June quarter. It appears that the prognosis for the second half of the year is looking bleak with forecasts predicting an even worse outcome for the airline.
