St Andrews Day - 30th November 2012

Scotland is a fantastic wee country and we celebrate our patron saint of St Andrew on the 30th November every year. 

Scotland has so much to show the world with its wonderful landscapes, amazing castles, challenging golf courses, friendly locals, and great food and drink. 

Our hospitality is well known all over the world with numerous St Andrews Societies spreading and sharing our culture across the globe that help expats get together where they raise a glass and toast our nation.  

St Andrew’s Day is the perfect opportunity to indulge in a few Scottish treats, with our infamous Irn Bru soft drink, our many fine whiskies, eat some great food and of course celebrate with good and new friends with a great ceilidh (pronounced kayley)  (Scottish country dancing where groups of people dance together) to finish the evening before closing with a rowdy version of Auld Lang Syne.  Auld Lang Syne is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song which everyone joins in and sings.

Auld Lang Syne

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!

Chorus.
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint stowp!
And surely I'll be mine!
And we'll tak a cup o'kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
For auld, & chorus

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou'd the gowans fine;
But we've wander'd mony a weary fit,
Sin' auld lang syne.
For auld, & chorus

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin' auld lang syne.
For auld, & chorus

And there's a hand, my trusty fere!
And gie's a hand o' thine!
And we'll tak a right gude-willie waught,
For auld lang syne.
For auld, & chorus

Come and visit Scotland, book a weekend break and prepare yourself for some serious Saint Andrew’s Day hospitality…

How will you be raising a glass to St Andrews this year? Leave us a comment and let us know…

How to get an upgrade when you fly

Everyone likes to get something for nothing, and when others have paid full price.  

Getting an upgrade when you fly is something that most people would like to achieve when they fly, and I wondered if there were any tricks of the trade that we could share to getting upgraded from economy to business class or even first class ?

I used to fly out to Hong Kong a few times a year and never quite managed to get an upgrade. But I have asked some frequent fliers and have searched the internet and come up with a few possibilities, and maybe my readers can help share some of their experiences.

Book with a travel agent:

When you book with a travel agent, it is possible, with a valid reason, to have the agent mark your reservation with a comment, such as OSI (Other Significant Information). The record may indicate that you are a VIP or CEO of a big company. If there is a chance that an important decision maker is flying with them, it could potentially mean extra revenue for the airline as they may want to try to win your company’s account.

OSI - might also be a special occasion - honeymoon, anniversary - ask the travel agent to mark your reservation but take proof if you can when checking in too.

Travel alone:

You are more likely to be upgraded if you are travelling alone, rather than with a group of people. 

Make sure you use your frequent flyer card :

If you are a reasonably frequent flyer, make sure you joint the airlines frequent flyer programme. They are more likely to upgrade someone who flies frequently with them, rather than someone who flies occasionally.

Look the part:

Dress at the very least business casual.  Looking like a business or first class passenger helps. Airlines are more willing to upgrade passengers who look as though they will fit in with those who have paid the extra money. 

Have great luggage:

Make sure your luggage is looking great, and especially your cabin luggage. We might have a few suggestions here: www.TheLuggageandBagShop.co.uk
 
Ask for an upgrade:

If you don't ask, you rarely get it. But ask nicely.

Smile:

It is free, and if you smile and are friendly, then they might been in a good mood and upgrade you. It's all about who you talk to and how you do it, be polite, smiley and flexible.

How do you get your upgrade ? 

Share your experiences with us ?

Reminder to myself for my next holiday

Reminder to myself for next year: 

If I am going on holiday for 14 days, and the villa has a washing machine, I do NOT NEED to take 28kg of luggage with me. Especially when my allowance was only 21kg. 

This little oversight cost me £70 with Jet2. 

Admittedly some of it was food (as I have a food allergy), but that weight was just ridiculous. And I was wearing my heaviest items with me, and my laptops and power cables were all in my hand luggage - so no excuses there.

I really do not know what came over me, and working in the luggage industry, I ought to know better. I even checked to see if I needed to bring my own beach towel with the villa company incase I did not need to pack one. ( I did )

Admittedly, I was abit rushed when packing, and I had washed and ironed too many clothes, just incase I wanted to take something else with me. I think it was the 'just incase clothing' that finally tipped it over the edge.  

I do not need 7 t-shirts, 4 sundresses, and 5 sirongs for 'daytime around the pool'. In hindsight, I needed a list of of clothes that go together and remember to weigh my case before I leave for the airport.

How do you prepare for packing for your holidays?

 

The real size of Ryanair in ten years time...

RYANAIR will fly a staggering 120 MILLION people a year inside a decade, its Chief executive Michael O'Leary claimed yesterday.

That means Ryanair will be flying 10,000,000 customers a month in 2022 compared to currently approx 6,500,000 (which is approx.12% of Europe's short haul travel market).

I know alot of people get fed up with the whole extra costs added to some of the budget airlines ticketing process - but it gives Mr O'Leary alot of free publicity and business is business.

But - if we compare what Ryanair is aiming to do in the next 10 years, and we look at what British Airways did 2 years ago in 2010. We can have a little bit of a comparison (bare with me on this - I know BA does alot of long haul, and Ryanair is relatively short haul). 

British Airways and Iberia joined forces in 2010 (International Airlines Group), with the group will operate 419 aircraft, flying to more than 200 destinations, and carry a total of 62 MILLION passengers a year (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8608667.stm)

My point being:

IAG (BA & Iberia) flew 62 million passengers in 2010

and Ryanair are going to fly 120 million by 2022

I do not think of Ryanair in the same terms as I do British Airways in terms of size, scale, branding, customer service, or pricing elements (Personally, I prefer the full price ie: what you see is what you get with BA.) however,

Maybe, we should congratulating Mr O'Leary for some great business decisions.

Maybe, we should be thankful that this is another British / Irish company that is doing so well.

Maybe, those grumbling about all the little things like extra charges, might think again......

Leg room on planes? Business Traveller Airline Survey results

With longish legs (36"), leg room is quite important to me when I travel by air. I do not mind for short flights ie: 1 or 2 hrs, but any longer, and I do struggle. Infact, it is not just me, it is the passenger infront who cannot recline their seats without having my two knees in their back as one "lovely" gentleman found out when he tried to recline his seat on a flight from London to Glasgow last month. (think he got out the wrong side of bed or had chewed a wasp, and when we both stood up at the end of the flight, he then believed me about my height!!)

Going on from a previous post about seat choice, and the prefered seat for most flyers, I am still trying to sit in seat 6A whenever I can. Recently I have flown with:

British Airways - seat 6a - plenty of leg room for me

Jet2 - seat 6a - would be very happy to fly round the world in that seat if we were just looking at the leg room side of things. Very spacious indeed. However, it was abit like a dentists chair and not overly comfy.

Fly Thomas Cook - seat 6a - the most uncomfortable so far. Really tight, but the flight time was the most important to me when choosing this carrier and I forgot to pay for extra leg room for the 4.5hr flight. A friend who is 6ft 10" was also travelling on the Thomas Cook flight, and he had paid for extra leg room, and he was quite happy with the results.

You can check out seat plans with the different airlines at www.seatplans.com

http://www.gocomics.com/closetohome/

 

The Business Traveller Airline Survey results released yesterday show:

How much legroom do you get in economy?

1 = Cathay Pacific 32”
1 = Singapore Airlines 32”
3 ANA 31”-38”
4 = Korean Air 31”-35”
4 = Etihad 31”-35”
6 = Thai Airways 31”-34”
6 = Japan Airlines 31”-34”
6 = Emirates 31”-34”
9 American Airlines 31”-33”
10 = Kenya Airways 31”-32”
10 = United 31”-32”
10 = Virgin Atlantic 31”-32”
13 KLM 31”
14 Qatar Airways 30”-36”
15 ANZ 30”-35”
16 = Air Canada 30”-34”
16 = Malaysia Airlines 30”-34”
16 = Oman Air 30”-34”
19 Delta Air Lines 30”-33”
20 Swiss 30”-32”
21 = British Airways 30”-31”
21 = Qantas 30”-31”
21 = Lufthansa 30”-31”
24 Ryanair 30”
25 Turkish Airlines 29”-34”
26 = Jet Airways 29”-33”
26 = Finnair 29”-33”
28 = TAM 29”-32”
28 = Air France 29”-32”
30 Air Berlin 29”-30”
31 Easyjet 29”
32 Iberia 28”-32”

How much width do you get in economy? (* this list has been amended - please see comment below)

1. AIR CANADA 18”-18.5
2. SINGAPORE AIRLINES 17.9”-18.6”
3. VIRGIN ATLANTIC 17.5”-19”
4. AIR FRANCE 17.5”-18.5”
5. EASYJET 17.5”
6. CATHAY PACIFIC 17.4”-18.5”
7. BRITISH AIRWAYS 17.3”-18.1”
8. SWISS 17.3”-18”
9. LUFTHANSA 17”-19.3”
10. ETIHAD AIRWAYS 17”-19”
11 = TAM 17”-19”
12 = FINNAIR 17”-19”
13 = EMIRATES 17”-18.5”
13 = AMERICAN AIRLINES 17”-18.5”
13 = JAPAN AIRLINES 17”-18.5”
13 = KENYA AIRWAYS 17”-18.5”
13 = OMAN AIR 17”-18.5”
18 = DELTA AIR LINES 17”-18”
18 = IBERIA 17”-18”
18 = QANTAS 17”-18”
18 = KLM 17”-18”
18 = KOREAN AIR 17”-18”
18 = MALAYSIA AIRLINES 17”-18”
18 = TURKISH AIRLINES 17”-18”
18 = UNITED 17”-18”
26. AIR BERLIN 16.8”-18”
27. ANA 16.5”-20”
28 = AIR NEW ZEALAND 16.5”-18”
29 = QATAR AIRWAYS 16.5”-18”
30. JET AIRWAYS 16.1”-19.3”
31. THAI AIRWAYS 16”-20.5”
32. RYANAIR 16”

Which airlines have premium economy class and how much legroom do you get?

1 Turkish Airlines 46”
2 = Japan Airlines 38”-42”
2 = Qantas 38”-42”
3 = Air France 38”
3 = ANA 38”
3 = British Airways 38”
3 = Cathay Pacific 38”
3 = Virgin Atlantic 38”
9. Air New Zealand 33”-42”

Which airlines have premium economy class and how much width do you get?

1 = Cathay Pacific 19.5”
1 = Qantas 19.5”
1 = Turkish Airlines 19.5”
4. Air New Zealand 19”-20”
5. Air France 19”
6. British Airways 18.5”
7. ANA 18”-19.3”
8. Japan Airlines 17.5”-21.2”
9. Virgin Atlantic 17.5”-21”

Which airlines have fully flat beds – with a recline of 180 degrees – in business class and how long are they? (On some or all aircraft)

1. Cathay Pacific 81”-82
2. Lufthansa 80.3”-81.5”
3 = Qantas 80”
3 = Finnair 80”
4. Virgin Atlantic 79.5”-87”
5. Air New Zealand 79.5”-81”
6. Swiss 79”
7. Oman Air 77.5”
8. Qatar Airways 76.5”-80”
9. Delta Air Lines 76”-81.5”
10 = Singapore Airlines 76”-78”
10 = United 76”-78”
12 = Turkish Airlines 75”
12 = Iberia 75”
14 = Korean Air 74”
14 = Japan Airlines 74”
15. Etihad Airways 73”-74”
16. British Airways 72”-78”
17. Malaysia Airlines 72”-76”
18. Emirates 70”-80”
19 = Jet Airways 63.5”
19 = Thai Airways 63.5”