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Ten Things To Do Before You Die Man Dies…

August 29th, 2008 Posted in Travel Industry | No Comments »

…before completing his list.

It is rather ironic that the travel writer Dave Freeman, co-writer (with Neil Teplica) of The 100 Things To Do Before You Die who started a publishing phenomenon died Aug. 17 from a head injury caused by a fall in his Venice, Ca. home.

He was only 47.

Freeman was originally an advertising executive who travelled alone to fit more adventures into his schedule but only visited half the places recommended in the best-selling 1999 book. His marketing skills prompted a miriad of literature designed to stimulate readers’ sense of their own mortality and the constraints of time.


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BA: “Terminal 5 is working”!

August 26th, 2008 Posted in Airlines, Airports, Travel Stories | No Comments »

British Airways has been running a campaign to prove that their new Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport in London is working:

A reportage style will be adopted for the campaign, which signals a move away from the airline’s traditional approach. The 24-hour turn-around production times will also be a first for British Airways and unusual in the advertising world.

The campaign focuses on the customer experience. It will demonstrate how the terminal is working through indicators such as the length of time it takes customers to get through security, flight punctuality, baggage arrival times or simply how quickly a person can get from the plane to the arrivals hall. These details will be illustrated through photography of real customers during their journey through Terminal 5 captured the day before the ads appear in print.

The overarching aim of the campaign is to produce an accurate portrayal of how Terminal 5 is performing, demonstrating that it is now working effectively and helping to dispel any remaining negative perceptions.[...]

Katherine Whitton, British Airways’ general manager for marketing communications, said: “This campaign isn’t about making big promises. The terminal has now been open for 131 days, more than six million people have travelled through it and it has been performing very well for some time. We are letting it speak for itself and reflecting genuine customer experiences on the aspects of the journey that research tells us are most important to them.

“The aim of the campaign is to communicate to the travelling public in an open and factual way that Terminal 5 is now working well. The campaign will show that Terminal 5 is a fantastic building that provides a high-quality travel experience and will encourage travellers to try it for themselves.”[...]

Source: British Airways Press Release, dated 4th August 2008

I happened to walk past one of BA’s billboard adverts earlier today and was rather surprised to read that “Terminal 5 is working”, which prompted me to a Google search and submit this post. I don’t fly much these days but I had assumed, like most people, that most if not all of the initial problems had been resolved since the media had stopped reporting any.

In addition, some rather complimentary posts have recently been made on the Professional Pilots Rumour Network (www.pprune.org) among other sites.

So it is a little bizarre that BA felt that they should initiate this rather unusual marketing campaign for a service which after all should by default be “working”. I can’t quite envisage or recall any other quality airlines, such as Virgin Atlantic, advertising something which should be, really, de facto.

Further Reading

What did go wrong with at Terminal 5?, BBC News, 30th March 2008

Bags of Terminal 5 embarrassment for BA, Times Online, April 1st 2008


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Eco Driving Gathering Momentum

August 26th, 2008 Posted in Roads, Travel Stories | No Comments »

‘Eco-safe’ driving will be included in the UK driving test from this autumn as part of the government’s campaign to cut carbon emissions. From September, candidates will be assessed on how green their driving is - including not accelerating or braking sharply, and knowledge of other tips such as checking tyre pressures and avoiding unnecessary baggage in the back.

Nobody will be passed or failed on the issues, but research has shown that ‘eco-driving’ can save between 5 and 17 per cent of fuel - and so emissions - and is safer, too, says the Department for Transport. The DfT estimates that, if all drivers in the UK followed the tips, CO2 emissions from cars could be reduced by 8 per cent - or more than 5.5 million tonnes of CO2 a year, saving motorists more than £2bn a year. In the Netherlands, specialists believe fuel use could be cut by up to one third.

In the EU, the eco-driving campaign is organised and co-ordinated by a consortium of organisations which are partners to the ECODRIVEN project. A total of 9 countries which are members of the European Union take part in the campaign.

The consortium is assisted by an Implementing Expert Committee to which the representatives of multinational and umbrella organisations and associations from the automative industry and the transport sector are nominated. The committee serves as an advisory and supporting body and supports the development and implementation of the campaigning activities and materials.

According to the project workplan the campaign itself will last for one year (between 2007 and 2008). The rest of the time will be used for the preparation, monitoring, and evaluation of the campaign activities and their impacts.

During the campaigning period, end-users will be regularly informed about ecodriving activities within their familiar social environment, which will stimulate them to reflect on and optimise their driving behaviour in a safe and energy-efficient manner.

To achieve this, in each country, the campaign activities will be organised in collaboration with car dealers, fuel stations, touring club consumer stores, drivers’ associations and driving schools as well as local actors such as municipalities, SMEs and hauliers.

In addition to the common campaign format, specific local collaborations in each country may be used to reinforce the common campaign messages.

For this reason, each participating country may use country-specific campaigning activities, tailored to different national audiences, and depending on their current level of ecodriving implementation. Their overview may be found here Country-specific campaigns.

The overall campaign goals are following:

  • At least 2,500,000 drivers of passenger cars, delivery vans, lorries and buses in 9 EU-countries have been stimulated to drive in a safer and more energy-efficient manner.
  • Until 2010, 0.5 Mtons of CO2 emissions have been avoided, as well as significant amounts of other emissions deriving from road transport (e.g. NOx and particulates).
  • ECODRIVEN has led to the establishment of a European-wide network of local and regional collaborations between local actors, relevant local departments and outlets of national and international companies and organisations.
Further Reading

Take the Eco Driving Quiz on the Energy Saving Trust website

BBC News article


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Medical Tourism Boosted by European Directive

July 17th, 2008 Posted in Medical Tourism | No Comments »

The EU Proposal for a Directive on patient’s rights in cross border healthcare provides an added stimulus to the already growing number of medical tourists who seek hospital treatment elsewhere in the European Union.

The Directive will create a formal framework and remove obstacles for UK patients wishing to travel for treatment in other EU countries. In some circumstances, patients will be able to travel to other EU countries for treatment and will be able to reclaim the cost of treatment from the NHS. Patients will have to pay their travel and accommodation costs, plus any top-up fees if charges in the foreign hospitals are higher than the NHS cost.

The Directive proposes the following developments in cross border healthcare:

  • A legal framework for the reimbursement of treatment where it takes place elsewhere in the EU
  • Common principles in terms of guaranteeing patient safety and ensuring quality and continuity of care
  • Stimulating greater European cooperation on healthcare including the establishment of “European Reference Networks” which would create a concentration of expertise, training and resources for specific diseases and health issues
  • Establishment of a European network for the assessment of new medical technology
  • Establishment of standards for e-health, in particular the transfer of patient information and treatment records between member states

Last year, around 100,000 “medical tourists” left the UK for treatment. Their experiences were resoundingly positive with 97 per cent of patients willing to travel abroad for treatment again, according to Treatment Abroad’s recent medical tourist survey.

Read more:

Malaysia in world’s top five medical tourism destinations (eTurboNews)

Medical Tourism: Seeking Affordable Healthcare Overseas (Nuwire)

The Challenges of Medical Tourism (BBC)

Medical Tourism - The Impact (BBC)

Israel Courts Medical Tourists (BBC)


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Escape To Alcatraz

June 27th, 2008 Posted in Accommodation, Visitor Attractions | No Comments »

“The United States National Park Service, which operates ‘The Rock’, is planning to convert part of the prison into a hotel so that visitors can enjoy a fuller experience of the island.

Overnight guests would not, however, sleep in the cell blocks that once housed notorious criminals such as Al Capone, George “Machine Gun” Kelly or “Birdman of Alcatraz” Robert Stroud.

Instead the hotel would probably be housed in another part of the infamous penitentiary, Building 64, which housed the guards and boasts impressive views across the San Francisco bay.

Alcatraz Prison, San FranciscoAlcatraz Island is one of San Francisco’s most popular draws, attracting more than 1.4 million tourists a year to its cellblock tours. But the National Park Service is keen to let visitors explore the rest of the 12-acre island, with its unusual scenery and wildlife, as well as areas currently closed to the public, such as the prison cinema.

“People are constantly saying they want to see more of the island,” said Rich Weideman, a National Park Service spokesman. “A hotel would be the ultimate experience in visitor access.”

Alcatraz, which became a military prison in 1861 at the start of the Civil War, was a federal prison from 1933 until 1963. Officials claimed escape was impossible because of the strong tides and cold temperatures of the surrounding waters – and there were no successful breakouts.

Alcatraz has featured in several films including 1979’s Escape From Alcatraz starring Clint Eastwood and The Rock, with Sean Connery, which was released in 1996.”

Source: Daily Telegraph

Alcatraz Island, sometimes informally referred to as simply Alcatraz or by its pop-culture name, The Rock, is a small island located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California, United States. It served as a lighthouse, then a military fortification, then a military prison followed by a federal prison until 1963. It became a national recreation area in 1972 and received landmarking designations in 1976 and 1986.

Today, the island is a historic site operated by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is open to tours. Visitors can reach the island by ferry ride from Pier 33, near Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.


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Fancy Trekking in Nepal for Unicef in 2009?

June 26th, 2008 Posted in Adventure Holidays, Destinations | No Comments »

Following the incredible response from participants on our 2008 Peru trek, Unicef are organising a second trek, this time to Nepal in May 2009.

The Pike Peak Trek takes those prepared to take on the challenge through one of the most beautiful, remote parts of the Himalayas. The route is off the tourist track, and allows access to hidden monastery’s and a chance to experience some of the renowned Nepali hospitality and culture. You will ascend to just over 4,000 metres so will require a moderate level of fitness. For all those taking part, it will prove to be a very rewarding adventure as we reach the summit of the Pike Peak, with views of Everest’s celebrated peak.

Unicef’s website adds:

This is a great opportunity to fundraise for UNICEF, to set yourself a physical challenge and to learn more about our work in the field as well as to visit an amazing part of the world!
UNICEF’s work

At the end of the trek, you will get to see UNICEF’s work in Nepal first hand. You will be taken to visit a UNICEF project in the Kathmandu area and will have a chance to see just how much of a difference your support makes to the children of Nepal.

UNICEF is working in a number of areas to improve the lives of children in Nepal. For example, we are helping children like eight year old Usha attend school. In the past, people in Usha’s remote village were not happy sending their daughters to school. “We are poor people, we work in others’ fields, so it is only natural that we need our daughter’s help at home,” says Usha’s mother. In 2004, however, UNICEF initiated the Welcome to School campaign to increase the enrolment of girls in school. “The teachers told us that the schooling was free and that Usha would receive books and a scholarship of 350 rupees,” Usha’s mother says. Projects like this go a long way towards ensuring that more children in Nepal get the education they deserve.

For more information about how to join and what is involved please visit Unicef’s site.

Further reading: Mark’s story of a seven-day Nepalese trek through the Everest region to raise money for the Leeds-based education charity, Learning Partnerships (BBC website)


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Transatlantic Tunnels - possible?

June 22nd, 2008 Posted in Railways | No Comments »

Imagine boarding a train in London and riding it all the way to New York!

This theoretical rail route would involve a magnetically levitated train travelling from 300 to 5,000 mph (500 to 8,000 km/h) in an airless tunnel floating above the seabed in just under an hour.

No surprisingly, plans for such a tunnel have not progressed beyond the conceptual stage, and no one is actively pursuing such a project. The main barriers to constructing such a tunnel are costs—as much as $12 trillion— and the current scientific and technological limits. Moreover, existing major tunnels, such as the Channel Tunnel and Seikan Tunnel, despite using less expensive technology than proposed for the Transatlantic tunnel, struggle financially. It has been estimated that a Transatlantic Tunnel would be 215 times longer than the longest current tunnel and would cost perhaps 3000 times as much!

Back in 2003, the Discovery Channel’s show Extreme Engineering aired a program entitled “Transatlantic Tunnel” which discusses the proposed tunnel concept in detail. The following video is an adaptation of that documentary:

A 1960s proposal had a 3,100-mile (5,000-km) long near-vacuum tube with vactrains, a theoretical type of maglev train, that could travel at speeds up to 5,000 mph (8,000 km/h). At this speed, the travel time between New York and London would be less than one hour. Another modern variation intended to reduce cost is a submerged tunnel floating about fifteen stories below the ocean surface to avoid ships, bad weather, and high pressure. It would consist of 54,000 prefabricated sections held in place by 100,000 tethering cables. Each section would consist of a layer of foam sandwiched between steel. It too would have reduced air pressure.

An alternative route suggests a tunnel north from Newfoundland over the ice sheet of Greenland and across Iceland to the Faroe Islands and then Scotland. This route is cheaper to build, not least because it can have multiple tunnel heads, but more difficult due to adverse weather conditions in Greenland and the difficulty of maintaining the system near the ice sheet, though lessons learned from the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System might mitigate such difficulties.

There are also some issues with what the purpose of such a tunnel would be. If was intended for passengers, then the journey might be too slow to make it competitive with aircraft. If it was intended for freight, then a Bering Strait bridge or tunnel could present fewer problems.

Currently, the longest undersea tunnel is under construction in Norway, Called Atlanterhavstunnelen (Norwegian name) or the Atlantic Ocean tunnel, this is a road tunnel located southwest of Kristiansund in Møre og Romsdal county, and it will be 5 735 meters long and 250 meters deep, one of the deepest undersea tunnels in the world. The construction was started in 2006 and it will be opened in late 2008 or early 2009. The name comes from the fact that it will connect two islands located directly at the open sea, and that it will extend the Atlanterhavsveien road, a popular tourist attraction. The Atlanterhavsveien road goes over small islands with both an open sea view, fjord view, and a view of the mountains.

Source: Wikipedia


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Air Atlantique Forced to Ground Dakotas

June 14th, 2008 Posted in Airlines | No Comments »

Air Atlantique, who operate a number of historic aircraft out of Coventry Airport, have announced the premature retirement of their fleet of Douglas DC-3 Dakota aircraft due to the prohibitive expenses needed to make them compliant with new EU legislation.

Their website states:

On July 15th 2008, our faithful Dakotas will end their long and flawless passenger carrying duties. But this isn’t the comfortable retirement of respected old ladies; we know they have it in them to outlive us all - as anyone who’s flown in them will confirm.

Sadly, but not surprisingly, it’s spiralling regulations that have achieved what time couldn’t. European legislation has decreed that all passenger-carrying aircraft must comply with certain criteria - whatever their age. Some of these modifications would be prohibitively expensive; some are actually impossible to carry out on the DC-3.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has been immensely supportive and helpful, and we’re grateful for the help they’ve given us. But time is passing, and it looks ever more certain that 16th July - the implementation date for the EU-OPS legislation - will see our Daks no longer allowed to carry passengers.

Dakotas have been synonymous with the Air Atlantique for a fair few years now, and hundreds of people have heard those Pratt & Whitneys making their unique music outside. We want to give as many people as possible this last chance to fly in the greatest airliner in history - the airliner that made flying profitable for the airlines, and safe and dependable for passengers.

The tour will see us bringing the Daks to airports throughout Britain. We’ll be asking you to join us for a commemorative flight, to hear the thunder of those great engines for what could be the last time.

It’s worth stressing at this point that we’re fully committed to anything that makes flying safer - as our safety record demonstrates. The EU-OPS legislation is well-intentioned, but it lays down requirements that are impossible or impractical for vintage aircraft.

Fitting oxygen masks to an aircraft that never flies high enough to use them, or equipping it with chutes to deliver passengers to the ground four feet below the exit door would be prohibitively expensive - even if the items were available.

Sadly, from July 15th, we have to withdraw the Daks from passenger flying

About the Douglas DC-3 Dakota

The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing, propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Because of its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II, it is generally regarded as one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made.

The DC-3 was engineered by a team led by chief engineer Arthur E. Raymond, and first flew on December 17, 1935 (the 32nd anniversary of the Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk). The aircraft was the result of a marathon phone call from American Airlines CEO Cyrus Smith to Donald Douglas requesting the design of an improved successor to the DC-2. The amenities of the DC-3 (including sleeping berths on early “DST” — Douglas Sleeper Transport — models and an in-flight kitchen) popularized air travel in the United States. With only three refueling stops, eastbound transcontinental flights across the US taking approximately 15 hours became possible. Westbound trips took 17 hours 30 minutes due to typical prevailing headwinds - still a significant improvement over the competing Boeing 247. Before the arrival of the DC-3, such a trip would entail short hops in commuter aircraft, during the day, coupled with train travel overnight.


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SilverJet Rescue Bid Fails

June 13th, 2008 Posted in Airlines, Travel Stories | No Comments »

Silverjet logoSilverjet, the business class-only UK based airline which went in receivership last month has failed in a latch ditch attempt to secure a takeover deal resulting in the loss of 300 jobs, administrators said Friday.

Kingplace, an Ireland-based company managed by Heritage Cie SA, a Geneva-based investment firm, had agreed Wednesday to buy Silverjet for an undisclosed price.

“We now understand that, as a result of the unusually complex negotiations with third parties, Kingplace is no longer in a position to acquire Silverjet as a going concern,” administrators Begbies Traynor said in a statement on Friday, when the Swiss deal was due to complete.

“As a consequence, we have today had to make the entire workforce formally redundant, in line with our legal obligations as administrator.”

The failed airline’s 300 employees were made redundant earlier Friday, according to a spokesman for the administrator.

The proposed Swiss takeover had sparked hope that the airline would take to the skies once more.

Source: AFP

Silverjet follows US carriers Maxjet and Eos, which have also collapsed in recent months because of rocketing fuel prices, intense competition and slowing consumer demand amid a weakening global economy.


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Silverjet on Brink of Recovery?

June 12th, 2008 Posted in Travel Stories | No Comments »

We previously reported the demise of Silverjet - the business class only UK based airline that used to fly between Luton, New York and Dubai until it was forced to ground itself due to lack of funds. The media have recently been reporting a possible resurgence for the airline:

ArabJet, a Dubai-based business-class airline, has launched a bid to buy the London-based Silverjet PLC, a government-owned business daily reported Tuesday.

Emirates Business 24/7 reported that ArabJet “has allocated sufficient funds to purchase” Silverjet, a business-class airline that suspended operations in late May after a key funding deal fell through.

When contacted by The Associated Press, ArabJet’s CEO Mohammed el-Shanti said the company is interested in SilverJet’s survival but would not confirm the Emirates Business 24/7 report.

ArabJet “had discussions with Silverjet administrators … and we remain interested in Silverjet’s survival,” he said in an e-mail.

“We have great believe in the viability of (Silverjet’s) business model, confirmed by its positive customer satisfaction,” he said.

On Monday, the administrator of Silverjet, Begbies Traynor, said that the airline has received a formal offer from a Swiss investment firm to buy and relaunch the airline. Begbies Traynor also said two other parties have expressed an interest in the carrier.

ArabJet Airlines plans to begin service in 2009, with a focus on the Middle East market, according to the company’s Web site.

Source: The International Herald Tribune

About Arabjet:

ArabJet is proposed as a niche-market, independently (private) operated premium class airline set to capitalize on a significant shortfall in servicing high demands (current and projected) for business class travel within the Middle East region. Comprehensive research has been carried out by a select team of industry and management professionals, to present this solid proposition to key investors and authorities to both compliment and compete on a strong profit-driven platform. The proposition is backed by a sound business plan and strict schedule, with its first operations commencing in 2009.


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