Where was I sitting?
October 31, 2008
Care for your kid’s safety with a simple neat little product that can help protect your child from accidents resulting from unexpected air turbulence.
CARES have developed a simple restraint system for children sitting in their own airplane seat. The restraint takes the place of the car seat that you see many parents pushing and struggling to put into the aircraft seats.
Features: The restraint only weighs 1 pound and easily fits in a pocket or purse. The CARES Child Aviation Restraint System has been designed specifically for air travel being portable and light weight and very easy to use. Best of all it only takes one minute to install with the regular lap belts on aircraft. The restraint is FAA approved and has been certified for use in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK.
Case for a quality restraint In August 2008 a Qantas aircraft en route to Perth, Australia was involved in a serious altitude fall accident those on board injured on the aircraft were likely not be restrained in their seats correctly all not restrained at all. Any children that were travelling who were not restrained would have easily been thrown from their seats, hence the importance of such simple restraints like the CARES restraint.
Being a dad and one who is left lugging the bags and kids around the airport this simple, effective and approved device may just be as good as your first G&T after take off!
Find out more about this CARES Child Aviation Restraint System.
Holidays for under $1000
October 30, 2008
THERE’S no doubt the economic doom and gloom is having a major effect on travel.
Airlines fuel surcharges have all but destroyed the mega-cheap airfare, while petrol price hikes are forcing Aussies to holiday at home, literally, rather than hitting the open road.
The cost of living is going up and wages are staying the same, yet we are all working harder. Holidays lounging in resort luxury or exploring new cultures have never been more important than now.
Yet we still believe we have to break the bank for that big overseas adventure… until now
For under $1000, you can experience eight days in the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal, go hard on a nine-day multi-adventure through Sri Lanka or de-stress in a deluxe room at the Shangri-La Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa.
For the price most of us would spend on a long weekend in Australia, you can trek along Vietnam’s mountain valleys, surf Bali breaks or explore New Zealand’s north island.
That’s not to say there are no deals to be had in our own backyard. For just over $800 you can set out on a 4WD outback adventure in the Northern Territory, while sunning it up in the Cable Beach Club Resort in Western Australia costs a little over $550.
Holidays for under $1000 | NEWS.com.au.
Aisle seats to cost extra as airfares take off – again
October 29, 2008
ECONOMY airfares in Australia are set to jump by up to four per cent in 2009 and more airlines will introduce passenger fees for services once considered the norm, even by low-cost carrier standards.
However, fare increases will moderate from the aggressive hikes faced by flyers in 2008, according to a new report from American Express Business Travel.
“Airfare rises in 2009 will have to soften as airlines fight for the corporate customer while enforcing necessary cost containment strategies such as capacity reductions,” American Express vice president advisory services, Kurt Knackstedt told Travel Today.
This means that when added up, the cost of an average trip including flight, car rental and hotel will rise on average by 5.6 per cent. For a domestic trip in Australia, the travel bill will cost $1931 in 2009, while an international trip will tip $5728.
Aisle seats to cost extra as airfares take off – again | NEWS.com.au.
The Family Holiday is off
October 28, 2008
The Holidays at Half-Off no excuse to cancel
The words “discounts” and “holidays” aren’t typically found in the same sentence. But this year, many resorts are feeling the need to slash prices to get travelers to fill rooms.
Travelocity.com is offering what it says is the biggest sale in the company’s history with 5,000 hotels offering anywhere from 25 to 50 percent off for travel through Jan. 15. “Higher gas prices over the summer led to lower occupancy rates,” said Noreen Henry, vice president for hotels at Travelocity. “Hotels are doing all that they can to make up for it during the fall and holiday travel season, and they’re turning to online travel agencies to help them push inventory.”
Season’s Greetings – NYTimes.com.
Earlybird Airfares to Europe
October 28, 2008
Exciting Earlybird Airfares have just landed at Flight Centre for travel in 2009. Whether you’d like to visit family and friends back in Europe, tick off another country or two from your wish list or embark on the trip of a lifetime, our airfares offer something for everyone.
And to compliment these fantastic earlybird flights why not add an Unbeatable touring experience? Flight Centre have highlighted some great options available. All tours include the services of a professional and experienced tour director and prices (which are inclusive of taxes) and savings quoted are per person. Talk to a Flight Centre consultant for the travel best suited to you.
Enquire today and take advantage of these great savings!
Animal Lounge caters to furry frequent fliers
October 28, 2008
Anyone who thinks air travel is a jungle should trek through the Frankfurt Animal Lounge, Europe’s most modern airport site for just about everything from worms and fish to wolves and hippos.
Tucked in a corner of the city’s sprawling airport, the lounge covers 3,750 square metres, or the size of a professional soccer pitch, and is one of four European hubs for getting your pet from Shanghai to Chicago.
For some, Frankfurt is the final destination however, and “it is always rewarding for us when owners pick up their animals after a long separation,” director Alex Heitmann said.
Heitmann, who grew up on a farm, also noted the trust placed by owners in the centre and in Lufthansa, the German airline that runs it.
That was clearly the case when Goldfever, the mount of Olympic gold medalist Ludger Beerbaum, flew in early one recent morning from a horse show in Sao Paolo.
Goldfever travels with a personal groom, but like all animals at the centre, was inspected by one of the 25 vets working for the German border control authority.
Another 60 airline staff also tend to furry travellers — feeding, watering, walking and cleaning up after them.
Lufthansa did not say exactly how much the facility cost, but spokesman Nils Haupt put the sum in double digit millions of euros.
It has separate import and export wings, and a range of cages, stalls and boxes to accommodate the menagerie that has tramped, swum, slithered and flown through since it opened in February.
“Incoming mice,” a loudspeaker called during a visit to the site.
Lufthansa, which accounts for around 70 per cent of all animal traffic, said it transports 14,000 dogs and cats, 1500 horses, two million baby chicks and about 4000 tonnes of tropical fish per year.
Not to mention the masses of Chinese lugworms that European fishermen are hooked on, the 13 wolves that dropped by on their round trip from Calgary to Siberia, the hippopotamuses that schlepped from Tel Aviv to Manila, or the Red River Hog.
Also known as African Bush Pigs, one flew from Los Angeles to Poland as part of a zoo breeding programme that is a major reason why animals take to the skies.
Another is that some pet owners cannot leave their best friends behind.
Two golden retrievers, a German shepherd from which visitors were warned to keep their distance, and a scared mutt heading to Vienna from Johannesburg were waiting more or less patiently to change planes at Frankfurt.
Airport’s ‘Animal Lounge’ caters to furry frequent fliers – News – Travel.
iPhone hotel, has great service
October 27, 2008
Grab the kids iphone and get some service!
Forget filling in room service forms or hanging do not disturbs signs on the door – hotels in the US are communicating with guests using iPods and iPhones, a practice that could soon spread to Australia.
Guests at the Malibu Beach Inn and the Sky Hotel, both in California, can order food, drinks, wake-up calls, spa treatments, concierge services and transportation, all from a special application on their iPhone or iPod Touch.
Service 2.0 at the iPhone hotel – Smart Phone – Digital Life – smh.com.au.
Best valued destinations for Americans
October 24, 2008
Break the Economy with a Family Holiday.
Is the doom and gloom of the economy starting to get you down, or are you just sick and tired of reading, hearing and watching the media paint gloomy news on TV. Well it might be time to take a break from the grey clouds and take that holiday you were going to have. Read more
$125 Paradise Resort Gold Coast
October 23, 2008
Hot Deal at Paradise Resort Gold Coast
Hot deal at Paradise Resort Gold Coast. Stay between 1 November and 19 December from just $125 per room per night – Kids Stay and Play FREE. With 4 pools, restaurants, day spa and the Million dollar Zone 4 Kids, parents can relax knowing the kids are having a ball.
Normal price is $145. Hurry – bookings must be made before 23 November 08.
Adventurer Pete Goss to sail from UK to Australia
October 22, 2008
Family Adventure like no other. A BRITISH adventurer and his three-man crew have set sail for Australia in an 11-metre wooden boat that he built himself, in a bid to re-create a 150-year-old voyage.
In November 1854, a wooden boat called Mystery set sail from Cornwall, southwest England, bound for Australia with seven Cornishmen hoping to escape their lives of poverty and dig for gold in the colonies, a trip that eventually took 116 days.
“After the long months of building, training and preparation it is great to be finally underway,” said Pete Goss, a former royal marine, who has said the Spirit of Mystery project began “with an idea and a chainsaw.”
His crew of four is made up of his 14-year-old son Eliot, brother Andy and brother-in-law Mark Maidment, while the boat has been built from wood taken from the area around Cornwall.
They will navigate using only the stars, just as the original Mystery did, on their 17,700km journey, and the boat is fitted with a satellite tracking device so others can view its progress on Mr Goss’s website.
Adventurer Pete Goss to sail from UK to Australia | NEWS.com.au.
