Included in the airline’s selection of Christmas market cities is Berlin. Customers can visit Berlin, the capital city of Christmas Markets with over 60 to wander around, including the market at Charlottenburg Castle, which boasts over 150 stalls and Winter World at Potzdamer Platz. It also hosts the largest mobile toboggan run in Europe and an ice skating rink for the less daring.

British Airways will also be offering breaks in Vienna this season. Well-known for the Magic of Advent Christmas market by City Hall and the traditional Viennese Christmas market on Freyung, Vienna is also known as a place of nostalgia, romance and music. The aromas of candied fruits, cotton candy and other delicacies like Christmas punch fill the air of Vienna’s Christmas markets with festive aromas.

Prague is another city on the list of British Airway’s Christmas market destinations, with flights to Prague expected to increase in popularity during the holiday season. The Czech capital has a range of tourist attractions and Christmassy treats in what many would call a true winter wonderland setting. The Prague Christmas markets run daily in the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square and feature brightly decorated huts selling traditional Czech handicrafts and local delicacies, making Prague one of British Airway’s top selections for Christmastime city-breaks.

Paris may not be the first city one would associate with Christmas markets; however, the Parisians have their own version of this festive outdoor shopping tradition. The Christmas Market on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées is the largest Christmas market within Paris’ city limits. A cluster of wood chalets, it offers traditional holiday treats including mulled wine, gingerbread, sausages and specialties from various regions of France.

Switzerland is another destination that British Airways has included in its collection of Christmas market city-breaks. This year, Zurich will be hosting a new Christmas lighting display on Bahnhofstrasse, the city’s celebrated shopping high street, and special ‘Night and Sunday Shopping’ hours so visitors can shop late into the evening. Zurich has a packed events calendar over the Christmas period that includes the Lichterschwimmen floating candles display, Christmas circuses, the Live On Ice skating rink and a Singing Christmas Tree.

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A family from Staffordshire were the first to check into the hotel’s luxury presidential suite, which includes a separate lounge and seating area, a complimentary mini bar, bathrobes, slippers, newspapers and breakfast.

Paul Rose, of JPR Group, brought his wife Anna and daughter Roxie Marandi to experience the hotel’s offer in advance of their company’s motor racing championships awards dinner.

Paul said: “The last time I saw the presidential suite I was in a hard hat and wellies. The hotel looks fantastic today and all the staff have been very welcoming and friendly.  I have never used the East Midlands Airport Hotels before for my company but now we have this standard of hotel available, it makes perfect sense for my customers as it’s very easy to reach by road and by air.”

Of all the hotels near East Midlands Airport, this Radisson Blu hotel offers a unique experience. The four-star standard hotel includes luxury leisure and spa facilities, free high-speed wireless and a gourmet restaurant which uses the best of local produce. A feature wine room is available for wine tasting led by the hotel’s in-house experts. A regular shuttle bus provides passenger transfers to East Midlands Airport.

In addition, Radisson Blu Hotel East Midlands Airport is setting environmental standards for new hotel builds across Europe. With an Energy Performance Certification rating of 2, the hotel is the most efficient in Rezidor’s European portfolio of over 400 hotels. Designed to the highest green credentials, its carbon neutral build supports East Midlands Airport’s aspiration for its ground operations to be carbon neutral by 2012.

The 218-roomed hotel includes:

- 9 executive suites
- Full service restaurant and bar with wine cellar
- Conferencing facilities with function suite
- Full leisure and health facilities including swimming pool, sauna and steam rooms.

The hotel’s 195 standard rooms feature a flat-panel television, individual climate control and free high-speed Internet access.

Fourteen business class rooms include extra amenities designed for corporate guests and discerning leisure travellers. Added touches include the Super Breakfast Buffet, espresso coffee machine, free pay-per-view movies, daily newspaper and free high-speed Internet access.

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As a family with young kids, finding a suitable holiday each year to keep both adults and children happy is always something of a challenge. But a couple of years ago, having firstly trawled the car hire comparison sites for a good deal on a five- door hatchback, we took advice from some good friends who for the past four years had been going to Holland and booking a chalet at the Dutch Center Parcs at Zandvoort on the North Sea coast. Now, before you jump to any conclusions, let me say right away that we aren’t your classic Center Parcs sporting fanatics, and neither are our friends. No, the thing that really attracted us to Zandfoort is its brilliant location, only a stone’s throw away from Haarlem, and not much further from Amsterdam. And, of course, its other great attraction is its famous flatness and extensive network of cycle lanes.

I have to admit here that I hadn’t actually sat on a bicycle for some considerable time, so the idea of cycling did at first fill me with a little trepidation. But as a role model I clearly had an important job here to set a good example to my nine-year-old son who had only just learnt to propel himself on two wheels without stabilisers.

Center Parcs at Zandfoort is a perfectly good place to stay. It’s not exactly the height of luxury but it’s certainly good enough. The chalets were clean and had all the facilities you’d expect. In fact, I think the chalets may well have been upgraded recently, judging from the latest pictures on its website. There is a good indoor swimming pool with slides, which is free to use and a decent bakery too. But our intention was to just use the place as a base from which to drive, walk and, yes, cycle.

You can hire bicycles from the centre. Being Dutch, they have a strange system of breaking; instead of using the handlebars you have to cycle backwards. It sounds very Heath Robinson, but believe me, it works pretty well. So having parked in the car park, we ventured out on our bikes and discovered the joys of Dutch cycle ways. These are, in fact, more than just cycleways, they are separate road systems, often with two lanes, and not always running adjacent to those used by cars. So you really do feel safe, even if, like me, you’re a bit wobbly to start with.

From the centre you can cycle along the coast for miles, and like us, park at one of the many smart cafes overlooking the beach and sit with a good book while the children play on the beach.

Of course, when not cycling, there are the local cities to take in. Haarlem is a little gem of a place, with its intricate network of beautiful canals, stately canal houses and charming cobbled streets. And the Franz Hals Museum is a must. Then there’s Amsterdam with so many wonderful attractions. We just confined ourselves to the Vincent Van Gough museum and Anne Frank’s house, which is an incredibly moving experience.

The combination of cycling, sightseeing and swimming meant that the kids didn’t moan too much about being dragged around museums when they knew that we’d soon be on our bikes, quite literally.

Alex Pearl is a freelance copywriter and author of ‘Sleeping with the Blackbirds’.

http://sleepingwiththeblackbirds.co.uk http://alexpearlmini.carbonmade.com

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Feeling a little itchy-footed? In need of a swift, rejuvenating city-break, seeking some creative or cultural inspiration? Then consider the possibility of booking some cheap flights to Amsterdam this autumn-winter period – a sure cure for any of the above ailments. With flights going at a snip and many of the city’s hostels, guesthouses, hotels and attractions offering end-of-season deals, this could be the perfect way to see out 2011. Whether travelling solo, with family or friends, Amsterdam will have something to fit your needs. Adaptability, after all, is one of the city’s key traits.

The first-time visitor will be in awe of the capital’s wealth of cultural offerings. In terms of art galleries there’s the Van Gogh Museum, which boasts the largest collection of the artist’s work in the world (displayed chronologically across five ‘period’ rooms) and contains works by other renowned nineteenth-century painters. As the name suggests, it’s also a museum so you can expect a healthy dose of art history alongside the eye candy.

Alternatively, you might fancy exploring some of the creative pursuits of Amsterdam’s ever-experimental youth. In this field, there is certainly no shortage of choices. ArTicks underground contemporary art gallery specialises in urban ‘street art’, graffiti reaching into the realms of aesthetic beauty.

If the notion of ‘street art’ propels you more towards architecture, Amsterdam will impress. The city itself has been referred to as ‘a work of art’ with styles and ambiences that differ from one district to the next. Most of its sites of architectural interest date back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, such as the canals and the narrow, quirky houses which line them; or Jacob Otten’s feat of classicism, Felix Meritis. Once again, as with the city’s art galleries, the modern is always making an appearance: seamlessly entwined with the old.

Where would art and architecture – you could even say ideas and development in general – be without the historical site for great minds to meet and ponder: the coffeehouse. Cafès in Amsterdam are far from simply ‘coffee and cake’ affairs. Yes, they serve a variety of other – shall we say – ‘delicacies’, towards which Amsterdam is known for taking a relaxed attitude; but I’m thinking more along the lines of each one’s individuality and eccentricity. Some are visually pleasing, doubling as galleries or situated in bizarre buildings. Others are thematically designed and decorated, such as the reggae-themed Rasta Baby; whilst some are straight-up tributes to bands or famed personnel, including The Blues Brothers and The Doors. In an age where high streets – especially those of large cities – are lined with chain-corporation coffee shops, Amsterdam provides a refreshing alternative; as refreshing as the beverages they serve.

Amsterdam could entertain the tourist for months on end: it has so much to offer and the prices, when compared to other European capital cities, are relatively low. And of course, you’re not restricted to Amsterdam either. Once you’re there, rail fares are low, so why not explore some other areas and cities? Rotterdam, Utrecht, The Hague, the list goes on…

Carl Stevens loves to travel at every given opportunity and to record his adventures and impressions. He is particularly interested in islands, culture and ecology, and interweaves his writing with these subjects. Carl writes this blog: www.voodoobunkbed.blogspot.com

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Since it was launched on September 29, 2009, 97 per cent of the service’s flights to New York have departed on time from London City, while 90 per cent of flights to London have departed on time from New York.

And now British Airways is using the very latest technology by providing customers with their own 64GB iPads to watch the service’s bespoke in-flight entertainment options.

Richard Tams, British Airways’ head of UK&I sales and marketing, said: “Despite the economic downturn, there is no doubt that the service has become a firm favourite with many of our customers on the important London to New York route.

“With easy access from the City and Canary Wharf, a 15-minute check-in to departure, in-flight texting and internet access, it has been tailor-made to provide them with the most productive way to fly across the Atlantic. We’re very pleased to be marking the two-year anniversary of this exclusive service and will continue with more innovations to meet our customer’s needs.”

In addition to iPads loaded with specially chosen content to give customers a bespoke in-flight entertainment experience, British Airways is also trialling the use of iPads with pursers on the route to bring a new dimension to customer service in the air.

Each iPad is specially loaded with British Airways apps designed to give cabin crew information on customers, from their previous travel arrangements, to connecting flights and special meal requests, enabling them to offer a truly personalised service.

They also give cabin crew a library of information at their fingertips, including timetables, safety manuals and customer service updates. Thanks to the service’s OnAir connectivity, updates can also be delivered to the crew during the flight, which can then be given to customers.

It is expected that the new technology will be appreciated by customers who have already rated the service with consistently high customer satisfaction scores since the double daily business-class only route began.

The Airbus A318 aircraft operates with a maximum of 32 fully flat seats onboard and offers customers 15-minute check-in to departure and US customs clearance in Shannon, Ireland, where the flight stops westward for a brief refuelling.

The London – New York route is an important market for British Airways, which flies eight times daily to JFK from Heathrow and three times a day to Newark. British Airways offer a range of business and luxury hotels in New York which can be booked on ba.com together with business flights from London City for guaranteed savings than if booking separately.

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In fact, it has never been easier to get a flight as all you need are a set of dates and the ability to use a search engine since you can enter your requirements and then watch as your ticket options appear in front of you. One of the perks of choosing to book your flights online is the fact that you will instantly get to see every option from the airport of your choosing, instead of just the top options that your booking agent or the flight company wants you to see.

This way you can choose both your departure time and your arrival time so that you can make sure they are as convenient as possible without spending more than you have to or giving up comfort for the mere savings of just a few pounds.

Often flight time differences are only separated by a few pounds, but if you ask an airline for the cheapest flight they will not give this information to you over the phone, instead they will simply telling you the cheapest way to fly.  When you factor in the time you get to spend at your chosen destination paying a few pounds more when you have the options in front of you can really make it easier to make sure that you optimise your holiday and get the most out of it that you possibly can.

Other reasons to consider booking online include the fact that you do not have to worry about booking fees at many of the major online travel agencies anymore, with some doing away with extra fees altogether.  In addition, if you bundle your flight with your hotel accommodation or car hire in many cases you can even save more on the total price that you pay for your holiday making it worth your time to spend a few minutes online scouting out all of your options before you pay.

This way you can use your savings to make sure that your holiday is actually the best part of your trip.

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Available from Europcar’s Heathrow, Gatwick and Edinburgh Airport locations, TEP devices will be available during the trial which runs until 3rd October 2011. The device offers 1GB internet usage, fits in a pocket and acts like a WiFi hotspot, providing the facility to connect to up to 5 devices simultaneously. Compatible with all devices that access the internet, from tablets and laptops to Smartphones, it is the ultimate way to keep travellers connected.

“Through our innovative new WiFi hire service, which we are trialling at several key airports, we are giving travellers wireless internet access wherever they go, as an added value service with their car hire.”

Europcar’s mobile WiFi service allows travellers to remain connected and use Smartphones and tablets to access invaluable tools such as GPS, maps and guides. It also gives Europcar customers visiting the UK the chance to save on roaming charges and hotel WiFi charges, providing genuine added value on and off the road.

The trial takes place at Europcar’s Heathrow, Gatwick and Edinburgh Airport locations with WiFi devices available to hire on all vehicle bookings, excluding one-way car hires for £9 per day. There is no deposit but a replacement fee of £100 inc. VAT will be charged if the device isn’t returned with the hire car.

The price includes 1GB Internet usage per day and each mobile WiFi includes a Charger, USB lead to connect to PC, Instruction cards and carrying pouch. Up to 5 devices can be connected simultaneously and there’s no need for installation, cables or software.

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Scandinavian Airlines set a punctuality record last month and thereby became the world’s most punctual airline for the second month in a row. In August 2011, nearly 94 per cent of  of all SAS flights arrived on time, the highest rate of all within the “major airlines” category, which comprise airlines of more than 30,000 departures a year.

“SAS continues to uphold our brand promise that we take care of our customers’ time. We are extremely proud of this record, which contributes to our continuous position as Europe’s most punctual airline. It is also an important factor to why our customer satisfaction is the highest in 11 years,” says Rickard Gustafson, CEO.

The punctuality of all European airlines was 81.2 per cent  for August. All statistics are provided by the independent Flightstats.

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Most of safety rankings are based on one single criteria which is accident statistics. This approach is very limited because accident rates are fortunately extremely low in commercial aviation and unable to derive any valid statistical interpretations beyond simple descriptive information. Indeed, the analysis of air disasters very often shows an accumulation of technical, human, organizational and external causes.

“Highly experienced pilots can handle technical and external problems very well; conversely flights without technical or external problems can go very well with very inexperienced pilots. However, the combination of technical or external problems and inexperienced pilots can be disastrous.” explains Jean-Pierre Otelli, aviation safety expert, author of reference books in Air disasters and Pilot errors.

Unfortunately, conjunction of very rare factors can occurred with any carriers and one single accident significantly impact company reputations. The innovative approach of the ATRA holistic safety rating takes into account airlines organizational parameters which contribute to general safety, without being necessarily directly attributed to safety management.

Using publicly available data sources, Air Transport Rating Agency has selected 15 criteria directly or indirectly contributing to flight safety. Quantitative parameters (such as the average age of the fleet) or qualitative parameters (such as the homogeneity of the fleet) were subjected to a multi-criteria mathematical analysis in order to generate a synthetic indicator and to present a meaningful holistic safety rating.

Like any unsolicited rating agencies, full detailed rating and competitive data report are available for professionals (airlines, insurance companies, financial analysts, etc.) from Air Transport Rating Agency. Technical report includes Airlines cluster analyses, correlations between selected parameters, multi-criteria rating calculations, etc. Special requests for ad hoc analyses are also possible such as advanced multi-criteria analyses of internal databases, sub-ratings by type of airlines, market or geographical area, experts’ reports, etc.

From a dataset of the 100 most important airlines44 airlines met the inclusion criteria for the multi-criteria analysis.

The top ten airlines 2011 (2009 data) from the holistic safety profiles are (by alphabetic order): Air France-KLM, AMR Corporation (American Airlines and American Eagles), British Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways.

The top 10 airlines of the “ATRA holistic safety rating” will be released to the general public every year thru the website www.ATRA.aero.

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ATAB estimates that since the tax was first introduced in 1994 some airlines have withheld tens of millions of pounds from their customers.

ATAB Chairman, Tony White said “It is a scandal that some airlines hang on to this money. It never belonged to them. It’s a tax collected on the behalf of the Government. With a couple of exceptions, most of the UK airlines make it as difficult as possible to get your money back. If you don’t actually fly, for whatever reason, you are entitled to get the APD refunded. The airlines already have your credit card details, they should refund your card immediately. They make it difficult or expensive in the hope that you’ll go away – and most people do just that”.

Over the past few months ATAB has been closely monitoring how different airlines behave when it comes to APD refunds.

“It is truly shocking, we’ve found some airlines that will charge an “administration fee” greater than the value of the refund. This is a complete rip-off and it’s our intention to put an end to it. If you have booked an airline ticket out of the UK anytime since 1994, and not flown, then we want to hear from you” said White.

ATAB has joined forces with London law firm Barker Gillette LLP in preparing for action. Partner Steven Barker said “Our primary aim will be to ensure that all claims are valid and properly made out. We hope and expect that Airlines will co-operate with us in agreeing and refunding valid claims and that claimants need only seek the assistance of the Courts in respect of legal issues that might not be agreed”

The original Air Travel Advisory Bureau (ATAB) was established in 1982 by Tony White. It was one of the first flight comparison organisations. With more than forty years of experience in the travel business, he decided to re-launch ATAB last year with the aim of informing travellers of their rights, lobbying for a fairer deal for air travellers and demanding transparency in the cost of airline tickets.

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