Globetrotter Now

The new 747 By Boeing flys

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:25:25 +1030

Boeing’s new jumbo jet

Click for more photos

The new Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental jetliner lands at Le Bourget airport on the eve of the Paris Air Show.

Pic of the day: 24k Gold Cappuccino @ Emirates palace

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:46:59 +1030

If you get a chance to visit Emirates Palace be sure to stop by the Emirates Cafe in the Grand Lobby and try their signature coffee offering and one of their amazing sweets as well, you won’t be dissapointed, the service is golden too.

Pic of the day: Barcelona someting old - something new

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:46:55 +1030

Todays's New Image - View from Joan Miro Gallery

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 01:57:54 +1030

Pic of the day:Barcelona Street Art

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:15:42 +1030

Today's Pic - Sunset over Baghdad

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:16:28 +1030

Downtown.....pic of the day: Abu Dhabi

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:22:06 +1030

Sunrise in Abu Dhabi

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 02:33:06 +1030

picture of the day……

Just got back from Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:21:04 +1030

You can see a whole lot more images right here

The amazing tale of the most travelled Rum

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:56:29 +0930

Benny’s most travelled Rum!

Now here’s a great example of a Globetrotter!

Our friend Ben has spent the last seven years traveling all over the world as a diving instructor and he’s been to some amazing places and seen some amazing sights.

He recently came back home for a couple of weeks and managed to bring back with him what must be the most travelled bottle of rum this side of the equator.

This lovely drop which is cheaper than bottled water where it comes from in Roatan - Bay of Islands has been lovingly carried all the way back to Australia through thick and thin from:

Laceiba - Honduras to

The Grand Cayman Islands

then over to Jamaica

down to Curacoa in the ABC Islands

over to Columbia and all over the Carribian Coast

next stop: Bolivia, then Argentina,

all the back to New Zealand and then home to

Australia!

That’s the mark of a champion and that’s a sweet tasting Rum. Cheers Benny!

These are the kinds of tales we love, filled with passion, adventure and just a little bit of fun! (or Rum)

Have you got a great travel tale?

We’d love to hear it, so get in touch with us and sumbit your story!

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To read more unique travel stories from Paul Blazey have a look at the Urban Globetrotter Blog

Got something to add, please do just drop us an email at: urbanglobetrotter@gmail.com

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Free Flights for expensive muffins!

Tue, 24 May 2011 07:43:58 +0930

JETSTAR chief Bruce Buchanan has revealed the budget carrier is making more from in-flight service than ticket sales such as such as cups of coffee, muffins, baggage and special seat charges which works out to being around $24 a passenger.

Mr Buchanan said ancillary revenues had increased from $2-$3 per ticket to the mid-$20s in the space of a few years and were growing “very fast”. This is the second-best result in the world when benchmarked against other carriers. This money goes straight to the bottom line.

“One way to look at it is that if we didn’t have the ancillary revenue we wouldn’t be making any money. We would be losing money,” Mr Buchanan said, in a likely reference to the hurt caused by the rocketing price of jet fuel.

So what does it cost?

Jetstar passengers are charged $4 for a muffin or a small container of Pringles, and $3 for a small bag of M&M chocolates.

A can of Coke costs $3 in-flight, but costs an average of $1.20 in supermarkets in Sydney and Melbourne. Coffee will set you back around $3 - below the national average of $3.20 - and a hot chocolate $4.

Meanwhile the cost of a window seat in the exit row can cost up to $60, while in-flight entertainment can cost $15 and extras such as blankets and pillow $7.

In other developments yesterday Jetstar parent Qantas rolled out its biggest gun - the 7.5 million member Platinum Frequent Flyer program - opening a new front in its war with arch rival Virgin Australia.

The Qantas loyalty program has been revamped to give Jetstar passengers the ability to earn and burn points, a move designed to appeal to the budget-conscious suits market. A new alliance, like the one Qantas has with Woolworths, has been struck with Optus where its subscribers will be able to generate frequent flyer points.

Qantas chief Alan Joyce said the changes will give the airline a competitive edge on other carriers.

Under the changes Jetstar’s fare structure will change.

StarClass - the carrier’s equivalent of business - will be replaced with a full business product, a move that industry observers say is clearly aimed at Virgin Australia’s attempt to lure small and medium businesses.

And so the Airlines Wars continue.

NEW FEES for checking in with humans!

Beginning in November Jetstar will become the second Australian airline to charge customers to be checked-in by a person behind the counter, rather than doing so online, at self-service kiosks or using SMS boarding passes, according to a report in The Australian.

The move is part of an effort to push all customers to use electronic self-service tools and cut costs, the report said.

Passengers wishing to use staffed counters to check-in will be charged a fee expected to be between $5 and $10 beginning November 1, adding Jetstar to the list of worldwide airlines targeting staffed airport customer service desks as a means to cut costs and reduce congestion.

Tiger Australia, which charges a $20 fee for checking-in with a staff member, became the first Australian airline to introduce such a fee. Virgin Australia and Qantas, which owns Jetstar, say they have no plans to introduce such a fee.

Jetstar has also set-up an SMS check-in service that allows passengers to confirm their flight details via text message, according to the Australian Financial Review.

In what the newspaper said was a “world first”, passengers are automatically checked-in 24 hours before their flight leaves and can print out their boarding pass at the terminal simply by scanning their phone at an IBM designed departure kiosk.

Get the latest Aviation News and Airline Wars info!

Wed, 18 May 2011 15:09:21 +0930

The Globetrotter Daily offers you the very latest Aviation News from all over the world.

Featuring the latest developments in cutting edge techologies, future seating concepts, Air fare specials, Frequent Flyer Programs, Airline Business news and ticket price specials all at the one reliable place!

Be sure to check it out today.

GLOBETROTTER DAILY

http://www.globetrotterdaily.com/airline-wars-globetrotterdaily/

AirPad! Inflight streaming on it's way

Wed, 18 May 2011 11:32:45 +0930

THE latest evolution in in-flight entertainment allows you to access movies and TV shows from your iPad.

The brainchild of US carrier American Airlines, the new product will allow customers to purchase and wirelessly stream movies and TV shows from an in-flight library to personal WiFi-enabled devices like iPads and laptops during the flight.

Partnering with airline WiFi providers Aircell, they are currently testing the new in-flight video system on two Boeing 767-200 aircrafts in transcontinental service, with plans to begin customer testing in June.

“We know our customers want to be connected on the ground and in the sky, so we are working hard to stay on the leading edge of connectivity through technology enhancements like this,” the airline’s Vice President of Marketing Rob Friedman said.

The in-flight video system will operate using the airline’s existing WiFi connection, enabled by three small antennas installed outside each aircraft which connect to Aircell’s nationwide mobile broadband network.

American Airlines are the first domestic airline in America to test in-flight streaming video content. They launched in-flight WiFi in 2008, and will continue outfitting their domestic planes with WiFi throughout this year.

The airline has previously developed several mobile applications, including an iPhone app that tells you if your flight is equipped with WiFi, and paper-free mobile boarding passes.

HAVE YOUR SAY: What piece of modern tech could you not do without on your travels? Has new technology changed travel for better or worse?

To read more unique travel stories from Paul Blazey have a look at the Urban Globetrotter Blog

What’s your amazing travel tale? Just drop us an email at: urbanglobetrotter@gmail.com

or Join the conversation over on Twitter!

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Qantas US Australian Walkabout Pass

Wed, 18 May 2011 02:02:09 +0930

In Partnership with American Airlines

A PROPOSED alliance with American Airlines will cut fares to almost two-thirds of US destinations and $700 off the cost of flying to four major ports, Qantas has told the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.

The airline says its proposed joint business arrangement would also allow a “Walkabout Pass” for those travelling to the US from Australasia on joint Qantas/AA flights.

A table included in the airline’s submission to the ACCC shows Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Indianapolis and Detroit as the cities that would benefit from a $700 reduction on current fares but shows Seattle, Washington DC, New Orleans and Boston as destinations that would see lesser price cuts.

“The refined structure will be simpler to manage and communicate to consumers and trade,” the submission says. “It will result in fare reductions for 64 per cent of US destinations and will allow a broader offering of discounted tactical fares to an increased number of destinations as well as expanded stopover options between gateway cities in the US and end destinations.”

The joint business agreement, flagged in January, would be similar to the long-standing joint services agreement Qantas has enjoyed with British Airways and comes a day after Virgin Australia’s alliance with Delta Air Lines received a provisional tick from the US regulator.

As well as more competitive fares and new products, the airline says the joint business arrangement would allow joint strategic planning and management of services across the Pacific as well as in North America and Australia-New Zealand. Other benefits would include improved marketing, flight schedules, frequent flyer offering, frequencies and connection times. Qantas is making its application from a position of competitive strength, with 46 per cent of passenger market between Australia and the US when Jetstar flights to Hawaii are included.

Although Qantas’s market share has fallen from 58 per cent in recent years, it is more than double the 17 per cent expected within two years for the Virgin-Delta alliance and an estimated 22 per cent for United Airlines. According to AA, it has no intention of entering the route and the airlines argue this means it is not a true competitor and there is no detriment to competition from the deal. They argue that an enhanced relationship is needed to reinvigorate competition and say they would continue the existing codeshare if the alliance is rejected, but it would have “inherent limitations”.

They note also that they would be the only direct carriers on trans-Pacific routes that are not part of an immunised alliance.

“Without immunity, the applicants would continue to act independently and duplicate each other’s marketing and sales effort while offering an inferior network, schedule, capacity and frequent flyer offering and a less efficient procurement process,” it said. The airline wants the agreement to apply to services between the US and Australia/New Zealand, within the regions and beyond to third countries such as Canada and Mexico.

It said the deal would result in significant benefits to consumers and allow the airlines to maximise the benefits of Qantas services to AA’s major hub at Dallas Fort Worth. Four services a week start from Monday. Qantas has filed an application for authorisation of the joint business arrangement with the ACCC and will file an application with the New Zealand Minister of Transport. The US Department of Transportation will review the agreement.

At present, Qantas offers 41 scheduled round trip flights a week between Australia-New Zealand and the US.

These include 33 weekly flights to Los Angeles, four weekly flights to Honolulu and the four weekly flights starting next week to Dallas Fort Worth. Qantas also offers six weekly flights to New York via Los Angeles.

To read more unique travel stories from Paul Blazey go to: Urban Globetrotter http://dld.bz/ZrBK

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Flight of fancy? A close look at the new Virgin Australia

Tue, 17 May 2011 18:53:11 +0930

A week on from the fan fare and hype in Australia for the re-branding launch of Virgin Australia. Urban Globetrotter takes an in depth look at the Virgin Australia outlook.

SIR Richard Branson landed last week with a pocket full of notes which he believes are the secret to becoming Australia’s best airline. His personal assistant has the unenviable task of making sense of the scribbles Sir Richard takes when talking to his staff on flights around the world.

This pocket full of scraps has led him to installing new premium economy seats across the fleet which he believes to be “the most comfortable in the world”, food designed by celebrity chef Luke Mangan and in-flight gadgets galore. All of which can be found on the airlines new A330-200 and Boeing 737-800.

“I flew in from America this morning and I have a pocket full of notes on little things like the new uniform and how we made it more comfortable,” Mr Branson said at the launch of Virgin Australia. “We make sure all these little things are right for the staff and to make sure they are 100 per cent happy.”

Virgin Australia CEO, John Borghetti, said it is the airline’s crew who decide ultimately what passengers will experience. “We have consumer feedback, emails, random surveys but one of the most important elements of information is the crew because they see things every day and they know what works and doesn’t and what should be changed,” he said.

“The majority of the changes we have made have come from the crew. “We talk about the cabin interior and making seats bigger and more comfortable, but above all I think what the people want apart from a smooth operation is service – a friendly, genuine, engaging service and that’s something we have got and will continue to provide as we have but step up one more level, which we will,” he said.

Virgin’s much touted new service and “luxury” additions have raised questions about another increase in the cost of airline tickets, but Sir Richard counters with the belief that a better business class offering is the secret to keeping economy travellers happy.

“By capturing the business traveller on Virgin Australia, that will enable us to afford better seats in economy and it we can then also address the fare problem and be more competitive,” he said. So it seems that a premium economy will offset a normal economy when it comes to flight tickets in this very crowded airline market.

John Borghetti has had something of a bumpy journey since he took the helm of Virgin Blue last year, with Queensland’s floods and cyclone, stratospheric jet fuel prices, flight delays and regulatory rejections making for a challenging start to his tenure. It does seem that finally the pieces of his strategy are falling into place.

A key plank of the Borghetti strategy of shifting his airline – rebranded Virgin Australia last week – slightly up-market to compete with Qantas for business travellers has been to create a virtual international network through alliances with other, bigger carriers. There are a number of rationales for the strategy, which is broadly aimed at boosting the volumes and importantly the yields of passengers carried on its domestic network, which today is too heavily oriented to the leisure end of the market in massive competition with Tiger Airways and badly over-exposed to the Queensland market. Virgin needs premium airlines in Asia so that it can provide corporate travellers with a network that links Australia to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.

ASIAN FOCUS

Its plans for Asia could include tie-ups with several airlines. The Virgin Australia chief executive John Borghetti said the deal’s approval allowed Virgin to focus on the last plank of its international strategy aimed at cementing alliance partners in Asia by the end of this year.

VIRGIN Australia will step up efforts to find airline partners in Asia after finally securing the rights to form an alliance with Delta Air Lines on the Australia-US route. In a timely boost for the Australian airline, the US air regulator has reversed its decision to block the joint venture with Delta because the airlines had made ”substantial changes” to their initial application. Virgin made a ”very small profit” on the Australia-US route in the first half of this financial year, but Mr Borghetti hinted that it had fallen back into the red since fuel prices soared early this year.

The deal is part of Virgin’s strategy to snare a bigger share of the corporate travel market from Qantas.

There is a gap in Virgin Australia’s coverage, which Borghetti freely acknowledges. He needs at least one more alliance of some kind in Asia. He says there will be something in place before the end of this calendar year. ”Right now what we are focused on is bilateral alliances. The only part missing is Asia,” he said.

Industry insiders consider Malaysia Airlines or Japan’s All Nippon Airways as likely alliance partners. Singapore Airlines would be the best bedfellow but is less likely, especially with the new announcement of Qantas’ intentions to set up a rival premium Asian Airline.

Qantas, of course, through its Jetstar brands, has a big head-start on Virgin Blue in Asia, with one of the bigger and faster-growing networks in the region. At the very least Borghetti would want to be able to shadow some of Jetstar and Qantas’s more important routes into and within Asia.

ALLIANCES

From its original launch Virgin Blue’s strategy has been to try to have a presence on as many of Qantas’ profitable or strategically valuable routes as it can across the pacific.

The alliance with Air New Zealand, however, (an alliance initially opposed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which subsequently changed its stance) also allows the allies to co-operate to manage capacity better and improve the economics of an over-serviced route.

A similar relationship, for similar reasons, with Delta Air Lines on the trans-Pacific route was also rejected by the US Department of Transportation on anti-trust grounds, before it, too, changed its mind. Today Virgin Blue announced the department planned to grant the allies anti-trust immunity.

Yet another alliance with Etihad Airways, has had a smoother passage, perhaps because Virgin had no capacity on the Australia-Middle East-Europe routes that Etihad flies.

With its three alliances now approved (the US approval needs a final confirmation) Borghetti ought to get some synergies from the trans-Tasman and trans-Pacific co-operation but he now has alliances that connect his business to both Europe and North America – the deal with Delta will give him access to more than 200 destinations in the Americas.

Virgin Australia will be able to connect its passengers with Delta and Etihad’s and Air NZ’s networks and enable them to earn frequent flyer point, and vice verse. Now that it has the right to use the Virgin brand for its international services, Virgin Australia has significantly increased the potential of its trans-Pacific operations and can really step up the fight against its bigger and financially more powerful competitor Qantas as Virgin is a highly recognised brand in North America. Borghetti it should be remembered is a Qantas veteran and knows his competitor inside out. By seeking to add another dimension to the basic strategy and use an up-market international product he is hitting Qantas right where it hurts.

The Qantas international frequent flyer program is highly profitable and if Virgin can offer a similar program across its new alliances and a re-worked domestic product to boost his volumes of business class travellers it will undermine the yield premium Qantas enjoys because of its dominance of the business segment.

It may take some time, but even relatively modest shifts in business travel market share could have quite material effects on Virgin Blue, and Qantas. Which as promised, will ultimately lead to better Airline ticket prices for all Virgin Australia customers.

The New Virgin Australia at a glance:

New look Aircraft Inside and out.

Upgraded Premium Seating, Gourmet Menu, Uniforms and In-flight Entertainment.

Remodelled Premium Lounges and Limousine services.

New Expanded International Routes through Alliances.

Improved customer services and ammenities.

So how does this fit with you? Some have called this latest move the last throw of the dice for Virgin in Australia, who have been in financial trouble for some time. Will you be tempted back to Virgin Australia for extra amenities even if you have to pay a little more?

What are your thoughts? Just drop us an email at: urbanglobetrotter@gmail.com

To read more unique travel stories from Paul Blazey have a look at the Urban Globetrotter Blog http://dld.bz/ZrBK

or Join the conversation over on Twitter!

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Qantas launches new Platinum Frequent Flyer Program

Tue, 17 May 2011 13:52:16 +0930

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Qantas Airways has announced a new partnership Singapore Telecommunications Ltd subsidiary Optus as part of a revamp of the national carrier’s frequent flyer loyalty program.

Under the agreement, customers will be able to earn frequent flyer points through purchasing Optus products and services.

A number of Optus products and services will also be purchasable though redeeming Qantas frequent flyer points.

The expansion of the frequent flyer program will also see more points made available through Jetstar services, and the addition of a new, highest tier of frequent flyer recognition, “Platinum One”.

“We are delighted with the prospect of welcoming Optus to our stable of partners and are excited about the opportunities this presents…,” Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said.

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The actual launch date and details of the rate at which customers will acquire points remains under wraps but Optus will be a key Frequent Flyer partner, alongside companies such as Woolworths. Four hundred brands in total are part of the program.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said the company’s research had shown its Frequent Flyer members were looking for new ways to earn additional points.

“We think this will once again set our program apart from the rest,” Mr Joyce said.

The company also announced a new level of platinum membership, Platinum One, targeting ultra-frequent flyers of the ilk of the Ryan Bingham character played by actor George Clooney in the film Up in the Air, who fly at least three times as often as the Platinum average, or as much as 60 times a year.

Optus chief executive Paul O’Sullivan said Frequent Flyer members would be able to redeem Optus products for points as part of the alliance.

Marketing chief Mike Smith said the program was an extension of other transactional rewards arrangements the telco has in place, such as offering movie tickets.

“We believe that it’s vital that we find ourselves differentiated in the area of customer experience,” Mr Smith said.

Both Qantas, which has 8 million Frequent Flyer members, and Optus, which has 9 million customers, are expecting the alliance will attract new customers and well as encourage additional spending from existing customers.

“I think this will be one of the cornerstone pieces of work we’ll do this year in terms of talking about reasons you should come and join Optus,” Mr Smith said.

Others include marketing the FetchTV alliance to provide an internet protocol television service, which was announced last week.

Qantas' Secret New Asian Airline?

Tue, 17 May 2011 10:53:54 +0930

Qantas Asian expansion plans on a crash course with unions

In what has come as a surprise recent development and cost cutting measure Qantas Airways is planning to launch a premium airline based in Singapore. The move is aimed at boosting Asian growth and circumventing staff costs putting the airline on a crash course with its Australian employment unions, according to a news report released by the Australian Financial Review on Friday.

According to the secretive plans, Qantas would base as many as 20 aircraft in Singapore to secure a lucrative Singaporean airline licence. The nature of the aircraft are said to be narrow body A320’s which suggests that the plan is to focus on servicing the short haul Asian market pitting the airline directly against Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific who currently dominate the premium sector. It is understood that the new venture is not allowed to be called Qantas but will have the same look and premium feel as the current International services operated by the Airline.

Qantas has denied reports it had applied for an air operator’s certificate in Malaysia but said a range of options were on the table to try and recover its dwindling international market share.

However it has been confirmed that an internal team of employees has been set up to focus on how to reverse the airliner’s recent struggles, and have sought ways to duplicate the successes experienced by the low-cost carrier, Jetstar, that Qantas launched in 2003.

The new Asian airline would take direct aim at Singapore Airlines and Cathay for premium Asian market share, and risks inflaming strained relations between Qantas and its unions over the company’s plans to develop a lower-cost offshore base in Singapore with a local partner to increase flights to underserviced Australian hubs, such as Adelaide and Perth according to the AFR. The base could also be used to lunch an expanded European network.

“A project team has been established to look at Qantas’ international product and service, possible new routes and ways to reinvigorate our offering,” an airline spokesman said. “The team is considering a range of options but no decisions have been made about the direction Qantas will be taking at this stage. Recent media stories are purely speculation and based on rumour.”

The rationale behind the new offshoot is clear: Qantas needs to cut costs and expand into Asia without losing its high quality profile by damaging its brand. By moving its major International operations to Singapore it will be able to dramatically cuts costs, most notably in the area of staff where it is suggested that it will employ rotational regional crews. Flights for instance from Singapore to Bangkok would be staffed by Thai crew, where as a flight to Australia would be serviced by a Singaporean crew. This sets up an enormous battle with Australian unions and has even drawn the Prime Minister into the discussion.

The move has angered unions which were already threatening industrial action at the carrier. Aircraft engineers on Thursday called off plans to strike on Friday but there are plans for further industrial action next week.

Qantas says its international business has not been meeting expectations and market share had fallen in recent years but says it is too early to offer any details on what a taskforce has recommended to fix the airline’s ailing international operations “severe structural challenges”.

Qantas has a low-cost subsidiary Jetstar Asia which operates out of Singapore.

Look out for a more detailed report in the coming days.

To read more unique travel stories from Paul Blazey go to: Urban Globetrotter http://dld.bz/ZrBK

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Tiger's wings about to be clipped?

Sat, 07 May 2011 16:54:00 +0930

What’s going on with Tiger?

A Special Report by Urban Globetrotter

After bursting onto the Australian domestic air travel scene just a few short years ago, budget Airline Tiger Airways has never been too far away from controversy and always elicits a love or hate response from travellers.

From the beginning and especially in more recent times, Airline industry sources have claimed the sector has been rife with rumours about Tiger which is owned by Singapore Airlines.

The low-cost airline has triggered a price war with Qantas and Virgin forcing them to drop their domestic fares by 30 per cent. Since its 2007 entry to Australia, Tiger has targeted the tourism market and undercut its rivals with a range of “special” fares including 1c flights. This has been a boon for the local market and is a far cry from the completely and totally uncompetitive duopoly of the 1980’s when the choice was either Qantas or TAA.

However, Tigers introduction has also raised concerns that its profitability was taking priority over passenger safety and pilot training. Tiger has consistently ranked as the worst of the major airlines and had just a 72 per cent “on time” record for last year.

READ THE WHOLE REPORT AFTER THE JUMP

Just a few weeks ago it faced serious allegations over its commitment to maintenance and flight operations, when in a shock move and for the first time in a decade, CASA (the Civil Aviation Safety Authority) launched a major action against the airline, known as a ‘Show-Cause’. It seems that the notice was traced back to a final straw incident last year and has accused TIGER Airways of flying a jet for eight months with a faulty wing before the problem was reported.

A report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau says the fault was reported only after the Airbus A320, carrying 125 passengers, began to shake continuously during a Melbourne-bound flight in May last year.

The report says the problem should have been reported eight months earlier, when another pilot was forced to turn back to Melbourne. Investigators found Tiger failed to comply with the Transport Safety Investigation Act by not reporting the earlier incident. The report into the second incident attributed the fault to a valve controlling the movement of the flaps on the trailing edge of the left wing.

Investigators said the valve was adjusted incorrectly when the plane was built in 2007, causing undue wear in the flap-control mechanism. The wing flaps, known as ailerons, are hinged surfaces that move up and down on the wings in flight to increase or reduce the varying degrees of lift required by the pilot.

In its report, the safety bureau gave a detailed picture of the incident, telling how the Tiger aircraft left Mackay for Melbourne on May 18 last year with 125 passengers and six crew. During the flight, a cautionary message appeared in the cockpit, warning of a flight control problem. The crew said there appeared to be no problem.

But the report says once the jet reached 35,000ft, a “light, continuous shaking became evident within the aircraft”. Ten minutes into the flight, the flight manager reported to the pilot the left wing was “moving up and down”. A subsequent check by the co-pilot confirmed the flight manager’s report.

“He identified to the pilot in charge that the left aileron was moving up and down continuously and that the left wing was moving up and down through about one metre,” the report says. The pilot decided to divert to the Gold Coast.

Tiger has denied the jet flew for eight months with a faulty wing. A spokeswoman said the first incident was not safety related and it was considered inappropriate to report the event. The regulator noted that Airbus had found a new way to adjust the hydraulic valve.

CASA has said it “does not comment on show-cause notices”. But it has given Tiger 21 days from the time it served the notice to respond to the log of claims. A Show Cause Notice is essentially a please explain and can form the basis of suspending an airlines ability to fly in Australia.

The explosive revelations come at a bad time for a sector battling soaring fuel costs and forecasts of reduced profits. A high Australian Dollar, Queensland’s deadly floods and Cyclone Yasi have also triggered a slump in tourism numbers, adding to the sombre outlook for the airline industry and Destination Australia in a greater sense.

The tough market has forced Tiger to defer new aircraft to bolster its fleet of 10 planes flying between the major capital cities and tourism havens such as Cairns and the Sunshine Coast.

The revelations mean Tiger’s management will almost certainly be dragged before a parliamentary inquiry into pilot training and airline safety. The Senate committee has heard serious allegations of cost-cutting by airlines, many of which are struggling to stay afloat.

Tiger has described the airline’s approach as “getting a customer from A to B with the lowest possible fare we can get them at, doing it efficiently, getting them there on time”. But for the past two years, it was last in the CHOICE survey of domestic airlines. It has about 100 flights a week in Australia but many customers have complained of lengthy delays and regular cancellations, which culminated in a disastrous Easter period where 1000’s of passengers were left stranded across the country, with little explanation.

Tiger spokeswoman Vanessa Regan has told ABC Local Radio there is no safety risk.

“Where there is a not a serious and imminent risk to safety, one action that CASA can take is to issue a show cause notice,” she said. “Basically what they’ve done is they’ve asked for a few corrective measures - those were implemented. “There is no cause for concern. CASA has taken no action.

“We continue to operate and we want to reassure our customers that there is no risk to safety and we continue as normal.” “If CASA had any concerns they would certainly shut us down. That hasn’t occurred. We continue to operate with CASA’s approval.”

Meanwhile, CASA is reviewing Tiger’s response.

Cutting Corners

Captain Richard Woodward from the Australian and International Pilots Association says there are concerns about standards slipping across the industry.

“Pilot training is quite expensive and like all these things, when you’re cutting costs or building a low-cost carrier, you look at every cost,” he said. “These days, training is pitched at the minimum necessary to meet the regulatory compliance, not necessarily at the level where a pilot would feel comfortable or that will develop their skills.”

It has also be claimed that Jet Star has been cutting corners with its pilot training and ground crew in a bid to reduce costs as well. Recently, Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam had slammed unsafe practices by Jetstar Pacific Airlines, part-owned by Qantas. According to the report, maintenance staff were not supervised properly due to cost-cutting and often took shortcuts with repairs and other maintenance tasks. Three senior staff were suspended in the wake of the report.

The airline told the Herald it “remains confident of its engineering and safety record”, but having travelled in Vietnam on a Jetstar flight it was obvious that the planes were old, dirty and certainly not as well looked after as one would expect. The plane made huge shaking movements and noises on take-off and landing and the customer service was dismal, oh and when was the last time you saw cigarettes in ash trays on the arm rests on your flight?

Is Discounting good for us?

It seems that the introduction of Tiger has sparked a race to the bottom in Australia’s Airline Wars. Tiger Airways took to our skies offering seats for less than a can of beer and Jet star often floods the market with extra cheap seats. All of this is great for us travellers with ticket prices plummeting but its ultimately unsustainable, something has to give and it seems safety it the something. Let’s hope not.

All of this comes on the back of new announcements from Virgin changing its name, cutting routes and even pulling out of an under-performing New Zealand domestic market altogether due to financial concerns. Air New Zealand said it will take over carrying Virgin’s disrupted passengers.

After numerous problems, Virgin Australia has seen its bleak future and has decided to overhaul its entire operation in a bid to get away from the Tiger and Jet star battle by focussing on cutting into Qantas’ business travel market. This implies that it’s future as a discount or Low Cost Carrier are numbered.

In Aisa where Tiger has a major foot hold on the market, it now faces very stiff competition from Air Asia, who arguably offer better service, new aircraft as well as great prices. Jet Star has also increased its presence in the region putting even more pressure on Tiger to continue cutting costs.

So what’s the solution? It seems that with increasing fuel costs, lower passenger numbers it’s only a matter of time that there some consolidation in the market.

When it comes to air travel, is the discount option always the best? With all these issues the average traveller has a right to be a little concerned about the Tiger situation. Whilst it should be noted that Tiger continues to operate normally with CASA’s approval, the fact that your life for any given flight rests in the hands of the airline you choose is it a worry that there might be some major corner cutting going on or are the costs saved elsewhere?

Or is this just an indication that the other ”non-budget” airlines have been over-charging for so long? How can there be such a huge disparity between costs to the same destination?

You do have to ask yourself does a free muffin and a pair of headphones really make up the cost difference?

Ultimately it’s up to all of us to make an informed decision on who we choose to fly with weighing up the pros and cons of comfort, convenience and price but when it comes to safety you only get one life and it’s hard to put a price on that.

So what’s your take, have you had any problems flying Tiger?

What’s your favourite low cost airline?

Got something to add? Then please do! Just drop us an email at: urbanglobetrotter@gmail.com

or Join the conversation over on Twitter!

Top 20 Smart Travel Tech Tips and Apps.

Thu, 05 May 2011 22:12:01 +0930

For the Computer / Smartphone savvy traveller.

With the popularity of the Smartphone on the rise, there is an increasing array of tech travel tools to use to make things easier while out and about, on the road or in the air. From booking flights to reserving a table to finding a clean bathroom, travel apps have the potential to make any vacation easier and more affordable. But with hundreds of thousands of options out there, it’s hard to distinguish the essential downloads from the clutter. Not to worry. We’ve scoured the market and tested hundreds of travel apps to come up with the ultimate tool kit for the vacation-bound!

Needless to say, the explosion in popularity of Apple’s gadgets, applications for Apple’s iPhone and iPad are probably high on most lists, but there are still plenty of great tools out there for other Smartphone users and even those with just regular cell phones.

Travel Tech Tip 1: Check the Airline’s Website for Schedules.

Whether flying for work or to visit family, you want a flight that will be on time. That’s why it’s a great idea to check the websites of the larger airlines to find the on-time record of each of the flights when considering purchasing a ticket. You can learn how often that flight arrives on time — within 15 minutes of schedule — as well as how often it arrives more than 30 minutes late. You also can find out if a flight has been cancelled 5 percent or more of the time.

Travel Tech Tip 2: TripAdvisor.com Unbiased hotel reviews, photos and travel advice for hotels and vacations - Compare prices with just one click.

Travel Tech Tip 3: Kayak.com. Find and book cheap flights, hotels, vacations and rental cars with Kayak.com. Hotel, flight and travel deals. Search hundreds of travel sites at once.

Travel Tech Tip 4: SeatGuru.com. By Trip Advisor. The ultimate source for airplane seating, in-flight amenities, and airline information.

Travel Tech Tip 5: Yapta.com Track flight prices and save money before and after you buy! Yapta aims to help travellers get a better handle on pricing by providing easy-to-use tools and information that assures they get the best value from their travel spending.

Travel Tech Tip 6: GateGuru. Consider it Yelp for airports. It’s an app contains searchable directories for 98 U.S. airports (124 airports overall) and more than 25 international hubs. They take the guesswork out of finding an ATM, a decent cup of coffee, or a 10-minute massage station — wherever you happen to be delayed. Some locations even have user reviews, rankings, and photos.

Travel Tech Tip 7: Slingbox. One of the most ingenious ideas around for the international traveller. Essentially thru a box and a program, your laptop becomes a home TV so no matter where you are in the world you can watch your favourite DVRed shows! The Slingbox is a TV streaming device made by Sling Media that encodes video into the VC-1 format for transmission over the Internet and provides an infrared blaster. The video encoding and IR blaster can both be operated remotely over the Internet. These features allow users to remotely view and control their home’s cable, satellite, or personal video recorder (PVR) system from an Internet-enabled computer with a broadband Internet connection.

Travel Tech Tip 8: Yelp When travelling around the U.S. use Yelp. It helps you quickly find almost any amenity and has reviews and additional information.

Travel Tech Tip 9: Open Table. Restaurant Reservations – Free, Instant, Confirmed. With Open Table for iPhone you can make free restaurant reservations at more than 15,000 Open Table-enabled restaurants in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom.

Travel Tech Tip 10: INRIX Traffic .An App that helps get you to the airport on time by showing traffic speeds and delays, and can even predict traffic speeds at certain times.

Travel Tech Tip 11: Weather.com See what the forecast is!

Travel Tech Tip 12: AirWX. Is an App that pilots use to get detailed aviation weather reports and forecasts, but it’s also useful for the general public to check weather at departure and arrival airports because the reports are decoded into plain language.

Travel Tech Tip 13: FlightAware.com. Flight Aware provides live flight data, airport information, weather maps, flight planning, and navigation charts, as well as aviation news and photos to over two million users a month.

Travel Tech Tip 14: iTranslate.com. For the Business flyer, offers translation services in all the major European languages and in Japanese and Chinese. Accurate and rapid translation of all types of tender/bid documents (RFI, RFP, RFQ, RFB, etc.), technical manuals, contracts, websites, standards, specifications, marketing copy and press releases.

Travel Tech Tip 15:MileBlaster.com. A frequent flyer miles and points tracker is the ultimate frequent flier tool. Available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch as well as on the web.

Travel Tech Tip 16: Star Walk. An App that allows you to recognize constellations, even on the other side of the world because the night sky looks quite different depending on where you are!

Travel Tech Tip 17: Skype. Stay in touch and stay connected with friends and business associates around the world cheaply.

Travel Tech Tip 18: Facebook. Stay in touch with family and friends on the web.

Travel Tech Tip 19: Dopplr. Is a service for sharing personal and business travel plans privately with the people you trust. Find city tips and travel advice on it’s own Social Media website.

Travel Tech Tip 20: Urban Globetrotter! Your source of daily unique travel stories and tips from people that have been there and bought the T-Shirt!

Missed anything, got any more?

What’s your favourite travel app?

Got something to add? Then please do! Just drop us an email at: urbanglobetrotter@gmail.com

or Join the conversation over on Twitter!

You can see more Travel Tips right here, and here!

World's Travel Industry gets ready for new wave of Chinese tourists

Thu, 05 May 2011 11:29:45 +0930

China’s growing middle class is leading to a scramble among airlines, airports and tour operators keen to cash in on this trend.

This year, China’s outbound departures are predicted to top 65 million after reaching over 57 million in 2010, according to a report from the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI). The UN World Travel Organization (UNWTO) estimates that there will be 100 million Chinese outbound trips by 2020.

International airlines that haven’t already established direct routes to China are rushing to do so such as Air Mauritius and South African Airlines which will become the latest to set up links with direct flights to Shanghai and Beijing respectively, as early as July.

But airlines are not just targeting China’s major cities for direct routes. Australia and New Zealand are trying to encourage airlines to establish new links between tourist destinations in those countries and some of the China’s tier 2 cities.

China’s largest carrier, China Southern Airlines, launched its first direct flight between the bustling business city of Guangzhou in the Pearl River delta and Auckland, New Zealand earlier this month. Australian cities Perth and Cairns are also in talks with airlines to create direct flights.

Speaking from the China-Australian Business Summit in Beijing, Tourism Australia Managing Director Andrew McEvoy told CNBC.com that Australian airports are actively seeking out new capacity to get more direct access to the fastest growing travel market in the world.

“It’s an important market, because there’s a lot of mix here — 167,000 students, a whole bunch of visitors, and business people,” McEvoy says. “We’re in the time zone, so it’s terrific to be in a region that’s growing like that.”

In 2010, over 450,000 Chinese visitors spent $3 billion in Australia, which was 20 percent more than the year before.

Growing Travel Demand

Pacific Asia Travel Association’s (PATA) Director of Strategy Management, Kris Lim, says that in spite of a number of negative global events such SARS, the global recession, and H1N1 in the past decade, the demand for air travel to and from China has continued to grow at a rapid pace.

“What we’re seeing here is that for any destinations within Asia-Pacific, and outside of the region that is intending to build their tourism sector, the connection to China will be a very important element,” Lim says. “Inbound is equally important — China has become a centre of commerce and business. There should be more capacities into China as their economy continues to improve.”

Globally, China has increased its travel market share to over 4 percent in the past decade. With some Chinese airlines betting big on Destination Australia.

Some airlines are testing the waters with charter flights before launching direct routes. Earlier this year, China Eastern Airlines launched the first-ever chartered flight to Hawaii. Two months, and three chartered flights later, the airline is now seeking approval from China’s aviation regulator for regular direct flights to Honolulu.

Europe and the Middle East are also trying to lure Chinese tourists with the promise of fashion, art and culture.

Dubai has become a hot spot for Chinese tourists after the emirate received “approved destination” status from the Chinese government in 2009. Hotels such as the world-renowned Burj Al Arab have hired a number of Chinese speaking staff, created brochures and programs in Mandarin and added Chinese cuisine to their menus. During this year’s Chinese New Year, almost 80 percent of the hotel’s guests were from China, says Burj Al Arab operator Jumeirah Group.

While last week, Air China announced the launch of a direct flight between Beijing and Milan starting June 15, along with a new service to Athens in May.

Large-Scale Group Travel

Executive Chairman of the Centre of Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) Peter Harbison says the industry has never seen group travel on the scale in which Chinese tourism operates.

“Some of those groups that go to Europe are 12,000 strong, and when you’re sending a group of 12,000 — you have tremendous buying power,” he says.

Tour operators can only send groups to countries that fall under China’s Approved Destination Status (ADS).

Meanwhile in Europe, academic institutions are offering courses on Chinese culture for tour guides and travel agents, Lim says. But, he says it will take a bit more time before countries are better able to cater for Chinese tourists, like the Japanese before them.

So how will Destination Australia cope with this influx of visitors, are we ready?

What’s your take?

Got something to add? Then please do…just drop us an email at: urbanglobetrotter@gmail.com

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