Fly Cruises to North America and the Caribbean
Cruises are available all over the world from those that take you into inland waterways to those that sail around the world. But if you are looking to get some more time so you can enjoy the cruise more, then a Fly-Cruise just may be what you are looking for.
Traditional cruises will take you a few days between destinations. For example if you voyage on your Caribbean cruise from Florida to Jamaica to Puerto Rico and back, you will save a huge amount of time over originating the sailing from the UK.
A fly cruise takes you straight to your destination of choice and then you jump on a cruise ship. And after you have completed your cruise you can fly straight back home. The benefits to this are many but the most important is that you are able to have more time exploring the area you are visiting on the cruise rather than waiting two days or more for the ship to arrive in port to start the best part of your holiday.
There are many fly cruise options and many are available in North America and can even include a transatlantic cruise if you have the time available. There are many options for people that want to fly off to a remote location and enjoy the sun, sand and sea. One great place to start is Florida where cruises leave daily out of Fort Lauderdale and Miami with destinations to the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. What is great is you step off the plane, onto a shuttle and are whisked to the port and board the ship, all in a very short time frame.
If the Caribbean is not to your liking you may try a flight to New York and from there a cruise south east to the lovely island of Bermuda for a stay there, or a cruise of the east coast of the US that includes stops in Boston, Massachusetts and Newport, Rhode Island even up as far North as Canada to see the picturesque area of Nova Scotia and when you return you can enter the New York harbour that is guarded by the Statue of Liberty, disembark from the ship head to the airport and fly back to the UK.
The future of Flying
Overcrowded skies, planes passing within a few feet of each other and fuel emissions that have reached critical levels and is the stuff of nightmares, but it is happening right this minute in the airspace over Europe. A joint initiative between the aviation sector, the European Commission and Euro Central has been created with 110 partners and over 2000 experts, with just one aim, to ensure the future of flying over Europe.
The statistics make scary reading, and many of us will have no idea at all that this crisis even exists. There are currently 440 airports in Europe, which each year deal with 1.4bn passengers. Whether they are travelling for business or pleasure is irrelevant, these passengers happily board their planes and take off, completely unaware that they are adding to the congestion in the skies over Europe.
Thankfully, this problem is now being addressed by the Sesar Initiative. Their plans are in place and things are starting to happen already. They have 4 main objectives, which must be implemented sooner rather than later, and the first one is to increase the airspace. There is currently a huge chunk of sky over Europe that is empty; no planes pass through it. By just using a portion of this, the available airspace in Europe will triple.
The archaic system that is currently being used for air traffic management was developed over 50 years ago, so is well overdue an overhaul. The cutting edge technology will ultimately cost a lot less to run and maintain than the present one, and pilots will finally stop having to use VHF radios to converse with their controllers. Safety is another major point, and Sesar has promised that changes will take place to increase safety tenfold.
Last, but certainly not least, is C02 emissions. There will be 10% less emissions thanks to the changes that Sesar are implementing, which is great news for the environment. Once these actions have become reality, the expected 16.9m flights a year that are expected to be taking off in 20 years time will be a lot safer and a lot more pleasurable for all of us.
Ethiad Airways launch on Facebook with Maldives Competition
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has officially launched its Facebook fan page with a major competition promoting new services to Malé, capital of the Maldives.
The winner of the promotion, titled ‘Escape to Paradise‘, will receive round-trip airfares for two on the inaugural Abu Dhabi to Malé flight, transfers and four nights’ villa accommodation at SixSenses Laamu Maldives with full board.
The ‘Escape to Paradise’ promotion involves fans completing a Facebook quiz to determine how romantic they are. Users will receive fun, instant feedback from the quiz, as well as be entered to win the grand prize trip. The competition will be available for participation and entry through to July 31, 2011 exclusively on Etihad Airways’ Facebook page.
Peter Baumgartner, Etihad’s Chief Commercial Officer said: “Social media channels are allowing companies to become increasingly creative and innovative with their marketing and communications approach. We are thrilled to officially launch this exciting campaign promoting Etihad’s services to the Maldives, one of the most romantic places in the world and a top honeymoon destination for our guests.
“This is just the beginning for Etihad. We are focused on creating compelling and exciting content and promotions for our fan base and will look for innovative ways to tell the Etihad story and further encourage people to fly on the world’s leading airline.”
Etihad’s facebook page includes images, videos and updates of the airline’s news, announcements and promotions, as well as content showcasing the airline’s fleet, cabins, destinations and sponsorships. It also features a dedicated careers page and flight search tab. Users can currently participate in discussions, take polls and ask the airline questions about a range of topics and events.
Etihad will commence operations to Malé, the capital city of the Republic of Maldives, on November 1, subject to government approval. The airline will operate a daily return service from its home base in Abu Dhabi to Malé International Airport, operating Airbus A320 aircraft on the route.
Malé will become the 67th destination on Etihad’s global network.
Phone and internet costs on flights
Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) has put together a table outlining the costs of using phone and internet services when in flight. This technology is still relatively new but demand is at an all-time high and airlines are responding quickly. With the world becoming more accessible through smart-phone technology, it has now become a necessity to be able to access online and cellular services even while 35000ft in the air!
The research found there are 3 main service providers that airlines use in order to have the phone and internet access on their aircrafts, with charges starting from £3.00. These are OnAir, Aeromobile and Gogo by Aircell. Airlines that use the Gogo service are mainly American such as Continental and American Airlines and it is only available on domestic flights. Providing a service that allows passengers to make calls and use the internet via Wi-Fi with the charges that passengers face set at the international roaming costs associated with the mobile network provider.
Unsurprisingly, budget airlines including BMI Baby, easyJet, Flybe and Monarch do not offer a form of mobile and internet connection aboard their aircrafts. However, from February 2009 to March 2010 Ryanair ran a trial where they introduced the phone and internet service provided by OnAir however this trial was never fully launched following the trial period.
The table of research, which can be found on the APH website, reflects the fact that this technology is still very new and continues to be developed. Most airlines are looking to run this service for their passengers in the very near future. Make sure to visit www.aph.com for the most updated news.
Head to www.aph.com/skyhigh where you will be able to see a full table of the results.
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