South Africa's decision to host the World Cup appears to have resulted in a surge in tourism.
Figures show that there was a 22.3 per cent increase in visitor numbers in March 2010 compared to the March 2009; overall the number of tourists rose from 493,559 to 603,479.
There was a 5.5 per cent rise in Brits taking flights to South Africa, while the build-up to the football event was highlighted as a likely reason for the 24.2 per cent rise in German visitors and the 12.4 per cent increase in travellers from Holland.
News Source for South Africa 'benefits from World Cup'
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Hurricane Earl – A Review
Hurricane Earl, which was classified as a Category four hurricane and registered howling winds of 140 miles an hour gradually let down on its fury as it tore along its course and finally made landfall at Nova Scotia, Canada on 4th September. During its journey, Earl was eventually downgraded to Category 2. Of the 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season, Earl is supposedly the third hurricane, second major hurricane, fifth tropical storm, and seventh tropical depression. Here is an account of the effects of Earl on the different areas that came under its sway.
North Carolina
Earl hit the North Carolina coastline on 2nd September and swept the state with heavy rains and raging winds. In Cape Hatteras, the wind speed was recorded at 67 miles per hour, which was the highest in the state. Many of the roads witnessed flooding and North Carolina Highway 12 had to be shut down. Numerous homes also experienced flooding and thousands of residents had to go without power. Offshore waves reportedly swelled to heights of 25 to 36 ft. Tumultuous Seas also damaged a pier at Atlantic Beach.
New England
New England escaped most of Earl’s fury. On 3rd September, Cape Cod was grazed by Earl with the centre of the hurricane about 90 miles from Nantucket. Although, winds reached the strength of tropical storms, there was no major damage, except a few minor floods. Reports indicated that less than a thousand suffered from power outages. The highest recorded wind force was 58 miles per hour, while the highest recorded rainfall was about 5.07 inches.
Mid Atlantic
Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey in the Mid Atlantic experienced low to average effects of the hurricane. Large waves and tropical storms lashed areas along the coastline. The Delmarva Peninsula only suffered from some outer rainbands and gales.
Canada
On 4th September, Hurricane Earl reached ashore in Lunenberg County near Western Head, Nova Scotia at about 11 am. It came as a category 1 storm accompanied by unrelenting winds blowing at speeds of about 75 miles an hour. Waves as high as up to 82 ft and winds with hurricane like intensity were recorded in the areas just offshore. Among the onshore areas, Atlantic Canada bore the brunt of the hurricane. In Edmundston, New Brunswick, about 76.5 mm rainfall was recorded, while in Quebec, the reported rainfall was around 48.2 mm. The supposedly strongest onshore winds were recorded in Beaver Island, where winds reportedly reached the speed of 84 miles an hour. Roughly, almost all of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, pockets of western New Brunswick, most of Newfoundland, and extreme Quebec and Labrador experienced winds that raged at speeds of at least 39 miles per hour.
Earl wreaked havoc with the power sector. Overall, hundreds of thousands of residents across the breadth of Canada had to go without electricity.
North Carolina
Earl hit the North Carolina coastline on 2nd September and swept the state with heavy rains and raging winds. In Cape Hatteras, the wind speed was recorded at 67 miles per hour, which was the highest in the state. Many of the roads witnessed flooding and North Carolina Highway 12 had to be shut down. Numerous homes also experienced flooding and thousands of residents had to go without power. Offshore waves reportedly swelled to heights of 25 to 36 ft. Tumultuous Seas also damaged a pier at Atlantic Beach.
New England
New England escaped most of Earl’s fury. On 3rd September, Cape Cod was grazed by Earl with the centre of the hurricane about 90 miles from Nantucket. Although, winds reached the strength of tropical storms, there was no major damage, except a few minor floods. Reports indicated that less than a thousand suffered from power outages. The highest recorded wind force was 58 miles per hour, while the highest recorded rainfall was about 5.07 inches.
Mid Atlantic
Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey in the Mid Atlantic experienced low to average effects of the hurricane. Large waves and tropical storms lashed areas along the coastline. The Delmarva Peninsula only suffered from some outer rainbands and gales.
Canada
On 4th September, Hurricane Earl reached ashore in Lunenberg County near Western Head, Nova Scotia at about 11 am. It came as a category 1 storm accompanied by unrelenting winds blowing at speeds of about 75 miles an hour. Waves as high as up to 82 ft and winds with hurricane like intensity were recorded in the areas just offshore. Among the onshore areas, Atlantic Canada bore the brunt of the hurricane. In Edmundston, New Brunswick, about 76.5 mm rainfall was recorded, while in Quebec, the reported rainfall was around 48.2 mm. The supposedly strongest onshore winds were recorded in Beaver Island, where winds reportedly reached the speed of 84 miles an hour. Roughly, almost all of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, pockets of western New Brunswick, most of Newfoundland, and extreme Quebec and Labrador experienced winds that raged at speeds of at least 39 miles per hour.
Earl wreaked havoc with the power sector. Overall, hundreds of thousands of residents across the breadth of Canada had to go without electricity.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Six Excuses to Book Flights to New York from UK
The empire state as New York is called catches the fancy of many who plan to leave behind merry old England for a long haul holiday. After all, with its exquisite sightseeing, overwhelmingly satiating shopping, countless culinary delights, and electrifying nightlife, the big apple makes for a juicy holiday destination. Here one gets to find an eclectic mix of the old and new where quaint charming villages co-exist with ubermodern cities and gleaming skyscrapers. New York has so many attractions that listing them out is like trying to drain the ocean into a tea cup. However, here are some of the most popular hot spots.
Empire State Building
This grand architectural specimen ruled as the tallest building in the world before the World Trade Center came up. Today, it still remains the tallest building in the US. The observation decks on the 86th and 102nd floors of the building give sweeping views of the city for miles.
News Source for Six Excuses to Book Flights to New York from UK
Monday, September 6, 2010
United and Continental Airlines Set to Merge
The aviation industry is to reach a major milestone with the merger of the United Airlines and Continental Airlines. The proposed merger received the go ahead from the US Justice Department (DOJ). All antitrust concerns have been addressed by DOJ and the overall review is also complete. Voting by the shareholders remains the final step before the deal falls through. The voting is likely to be carried out on 17th September. After that it would be a matter of receiving the approval of the US Transportation Department. It is expected that the entire event would be wrapped up by 1st October, 2010. Here are some of the major highlights of the merger.
Financial Perspective
The all stock merger is reported to be worth about $US 3 billion and would create the biggest airline in the world. Airline sources indicated that some $1 billion to $1.2 billion is projected to be realised from annual synergies by 2013. It includes about $200 million to $300 million in annual cost synergies.
Scope of the Merger
A look at the current operations of Continental and United reveals the immense dimensions of the merger. Continental handles over 2,700 departures serving about 170 points throughout the world and has about 40,000 employees. United, on the other hand, is the founder of the Star Alliance and employs nearly 40,000 personnel. The company operates some 3,400 flights a day to over 230 destinations. The coming together of these two giant entities clearly spells as the creation of a mammoth in the aviation industry.
Future Leadership
Leadership positions would be filled in from the talent pool of both the companies. Both United and Continental are expected to contribute about the same number of members to the new management team. Other than Glenn Tilton and Jeff Smisek from United and Continental respectively, the new Board of Directors will be comprised of two union directors and an equal number of independent directors of both companies.
Benefits for Customers
The merger blends award winning customer service with industry leading network carrier. The merged company would fly the latest fuel efficient fleet (adjusted for cabin mix) and will also have the finest order book amongst the leading network carriers of the US. Customers will get to access the services of the number one frequent flyer programme in the industry. Earning and redeeming endless miles spread across a plethora of destinations with more and more partners will benefit the passengers immensely. Attractive new features will be added besides combining the features of Mileage and OnePass (the loyalty programmes of Continental and United).
Employee Benefits
A performance oriented incentive programme would be awarded to employees and there would be focus upon goal sharing. Another thrust area would be the creation of cooperative labour relations, which would include negotiating contracts with collective bargaining units that would work both for the employees and the company. Both airlines have stated that frontline employees would hardly be affected. Reductions would come in mainly from retirements, attritions, and voluntary programmes.
Source: Southall Travel News
Financial Perspective
The all stock merger is reported to be worth about $US 3 billion and would create the biggest airline in the world. Airline sources indicated that some $1 billion to $1.2 billion is projected to be realised from annual synergies by 2013. It includes about $200 million to $300 million in annual cost synergies.
Scope of the Merger
A look at the current operations of Continental and United reveals the immense dimensions of the merger. Continental handles over 2,700 departures serving about 170 points throughout the world and has about 40,000 employees. United, on the other hand, is the founder of the Star Alliance and employs nearly 40,000 personnel. The company operates some 3,400 flights a day to over 230 destinations. The coming together of these two giant entities clearly spells as the creation of a mammoth in the aviation industry.
Future Leadership
Leadership positions would be filled in from the talent pool of both the companies. Both United and Continental are expected to contribute about the same number of members to the new management team. Other than Glenn Tilton and Jeff Smisek from United and Continental respectively, the new Board of Directors will be comprised of two union directors and an equal number of independent directors of both companies.
Benefits for Customers
The merger blends award winning customer service with industry leading network carrier. The merged company would fly the latest fuel efficient fleet (adjusted for cabin mix) and will also have the finest order book amongst the leading network carriers of the US. Customers will get to access the services of the number one frequent flyer programme in the industry. Earning and redeeming endless miles spread across a plethora of destinations with more and more partners will benefit the passengers immensely. Attractive new features will be added besides combining the features of Mileage and OnePass (the loyalty programmes of Continental and United).
Employee Benefits
A performance oriented incentive programme would be awarded to employees and there would be focus upon goal sharing. Another thrust area would be the creation of cooperative labour relations, which would include negotiating contracts with collective bargaining units that would work both for the employees and the company. Both airlines have stated that frontline employees would hardly be affected. Reductions would come in mainly from retirements, attritions, and voluntary programmes.
Source: Southall Travel News
Manchester Airport welcomes Emirates A380
The new Emirates A380 touched down at Manchester Airport as the airline launched a new service to Dubai.
Over 10,000 people turned out last Friday to see the twin-deck airliner arrive and take-off from the city's airport. The plane will be used on one of the airline's twice daily flights to Dubai and offers an increased capacity as well as stunning onboard facilities such as an in-flight entertainment system with more than 1,200 channels.
Maurice Flanagan, executive vice chairman of Emirates, said: "This is a historic moment for Emirates as we bring our 21st century superjumbo to the north west twenty years after our first flight from the region."
News Source for Manchester Airport welcomes Emirates A380
Over 10,000 people turned out last Friday to see the twin-deck airliner arrive and take-off from the city's airport. The plane will be used on one of the airline's twice daily flights to Dubai and offers an increased capacity as well as stunning onboard facilities such as an in-flight entertainment system with more than 1,200 channels.
Maurice Flanagan, executive vice chairman of Emirates, said: "This is a historic moment for Emirates as we bring our 21st century superjumbo to the north west twenty years after our first flight from the region."
News Source for Manchester Airport welcomes Emirates A380
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Delhi continues Commonwealth Games build-up
A new website has been launched to ensure that travellers to Delhi for the Commonwealth Games will be able to get around easily.
The Games will involve 11 venues across the city and it is hoped that the re-launched site for the Dubai Metro will provide vital information to visitors. As well as details about the event, the new website will have a host of information about stations and other attractions in the national capital. The website will be hosted by the government's servers rather than the current private one.
It is expected that there will be a surge in people looking for cheap flights to Delhi for the start of the Games in October.
News Source for Delhi continues Commonwealth Games build-up
The Games will involve 11 venues across the city and it is hoped that the re-launched site for the Dubai Metro will provide vital information to visitors. As well as details about the event, the new website will have a host of information about stations and other attractions in the national capital. The website will be hosted by the government's servers rather than the current private one.
It is expected that there will be a surge in people looking for cheap flights to Delhi for the start of the Games in October.
News Source for Delhi continues Commonwealth Games build-up
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Luxury Thai resort launches flight service
When stepping off cheap flights to Bangkok as part of a holiday to Thailand, visitors may find that their inflight experience is not over should they decide to take a new flying service offered by a luxurious hotel in the city.
The high-end InterContinental Hua Hin Resort has become the first hotel in the area to launch a private jet service to take customers from Bangkok to Hua Hin. The new flying service takes discerning guests from Suvarnabhumi International Airport or Don Muaeng Airport before they are taken away by a limousine.
General manager of the resort Pattama Yoshimura said: "Right from the conceptualisation stage of this resort, we have always strived to set new benchmarks in services we can offer to guests and we think that a private plane service is very hard to beat."
News Source for Luxury Thai resort launches flight service
The high-end InterContinental Hua Hin Resort has become the first hotel in the area to launch a private jet service to take customers from Bangkok to Hua Hin. The new flying service takes discerning guests from Suvarnabhumi International Airport or Don Muaeng Airport before they are taken away by a limousine.
General manager of the resort Pattama Yoshimura said: "Right from the conceptualisation stage of this resort, we have always strived to set new benchmarks in services we can offer to guests and we think that a private plane service is very hard to beat."
News Source for Luxury Thai resort launches flight service
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