Category Archives: Sidebar

Fancy a Trip into Space?

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson has signed a £14m agreement which will allow passengers to travel into space.  Branson has commissioned five “spaceliners” built in the US by the team behind the SpaceShipOne vehicle.  The rocket plane will became the first privately developed carrier to go above 100km in June 2005.  It will cost around £100,000 to go on a “Virgin Galactic” spaceliner, and the first flights should begin in about three years' time.

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Electronic Ticketing

Paperless and ticketless bookings made more attractive by incentives, discounts and offers of air miles are fast becoming the way to travel.  Airlines are planning to stop issuing paper tickets in the next three years, a move that could save the industry up to $3 billion a year in running costs, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).  Some carriers are already ahead of the game: In the past year, more than 18 million customers have used e-ticketing services on Continental Airlines.  The move isn’t limited to airlines, hotel chains such as the Hilton, InterContinental, Sheraton, and Hyatt, are starting to automate processes too.  In Malaysia, you can make air ticket enquiries by SMS to a travel agent and in the case of budget carrier AirAsia you can book tickets by SMS.

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French Card Fraud

France has been ranked as the place where British holidaymakers are most likely to become victims of credit card fraud.  Barclaycard’s annual world fraud index shows that France is the top credit card fraud hotspot, accounting for 43% of spending on stolen cards.  Second is the USA, 3rd Spain, 4th Ireland and 5th Germany.

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New Iran Island Resort

Iran is to build a 1.7 billion euro ($2.0 billion) luxury tourism project on the Gulf island of Kish designed to rival nearby tourism hotspot Dubai.  Kish is a small island with relaxed rules on women's dress and mingling of the sexes although women are still required to wear headscarves and cover their bodies when swimming, and alcohol consumption is banned.

The “Flower of the East” project , Iran’s largest tourism project since the 1979 Islamic revolution is aimed at attracting foreign money and diversifying its economy away from oil.  A German company has won the bid to develop a tourism, recreational and residential complex in KishIsland which lies some 125 miles (200 km) away from Dubai to the south. 

The complex will include a 7-star hotel to rival Dubai's 7-star Burj al-Arab, a marina, 27-hole golf course, sports clubs, shopping malls and 4,700 luxury apartments.  The project is largely aimed at Iranian expatriates seeking a holiday home in their native land, will be completed by the end of 2009.

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Fave Website

London Quiz Fancy testing your knowledge of London’s Cockney rhyming slang, or other facts about London, then try these quizzes.

Multilingual Debates in South America

Free of charge multilingual debates in the cafes of Buenos Aires and other cities in Argentina and Uruguay.

Thanks for promoting our activities where globetrotters are kindly invited. This is by no means a tourist trap.

Best regards, Felipe Fliess

THE TALK TIME TEAM www.talktime.com.ar

So You Think You.re Well Travelled?

Here’s a little Beetle quiz based on capital cities. See how many you get right! Go on, have a guess!

What is the capital city of the following countries:

  1. Tonga
  2. Albania
  3. Latvia
  4. Argentina
  5. Ireland

For the answers, see at the end of the eNewsletter.

Airline News

British low-cost airline easyJet will expand further into central Europe in October, adding new routes to Hungary and Poland. EasyJet said in a statement it planned to fly to Krakow and Warsaw in Poland and increase services to Budapest from October 31. The new routes add to the airline’s recently-established services to Budapest and the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, bringing its central European services to 17.

Iberia, Spain’s major airline will stop channelling its Central American flights through Miami and will instead fly direct to a limited number of destinations. From October, it will run direct flights from Spain to Guatemala and Panama and will suspend another five Central American routes it now serves via Miami. The cost of maintaining a hub in Miami is a factor, but Iberia can offer non stop flights by using a long range Airbus. Another factor is that customers have complained about the strict US security measures they are subjected to when they have to fly via Miami.

Air New Zealand is to remove first class and improve economy class on its flights. Air NZ’s existing fleet will be divided into premium, super economy, and economy classes. They are also introducing video screens to every seat, and installing a lie-flat seat in premium class. The seats in super economy and economy will also be replaced, and cabin interiors refurbished.

Singapore Airlines began the world’s longest non-stop commercial flight – an 18-hour trip between Singapore and New York. The 16,600 km (10,310 mile) flight on an Airbus A340-500 aircraft over the Arctic shaves four hours off an existing service and marks the second non-stop flying record this year by Singapore’s flag carrier. The plane is specially fitted with business class seats that can recline into beds measuring 26 inches (66 cm) wide and 78 inches (198.1 cm) long. Economy seats are also slightly roomier than usual at 20 inches (51 cm) wide.

The US government is implementing new tough rules curtailing visits to Cuba. The rules implemented on June 16 means that thousands of Cuban-Americans visiting relatives on the island must return before June 30 or face fines of up to USD$55,000. After that date, US residents and citizens will be allowed to visit Cuba once every three years instead of annually.

Virgin Atlantic Airways is to begin flying from London to Sydney via Hong Kong on December 7, increasing competition with British Airways and its Australian partner Qantas.

Travel Jokes

Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we’ll try to have them fixed before we arrive.

Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Southwest Airlines. Our seat cushions can be used for flotation and, in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments, as you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses.