Travel Weekly Blog

We would expect the exclusive Mile High Club to be deluged by new members with the arrival of suites on the new Airbus A380. But not so, according to the Times. Singapore Airlines says that couples engaged in inapproprate behaviour will 'be asked to desisit'.

Can't help feeling they will have their work cut out. The A380 is a flying loving pad - it features 12 suites.

Here's what the Travel Weekly blog said about the A380 launch.

Martib Couzins, online editor

This week Travel Weekly has reported that the over-50s are taking more holidays and that hoteliers need to cash in on the older generation. As the population ages and remains healthier for longer, increasing numbers of older people are becoming more adventuruous with their spare time.

The news that Saga has launched a social networking service should therefore come as no surprise. The Times reports that the over-50s account for nearly one third of the total time spent on the internet in Britain.

13,000 people have signed up in four months and the forums look well used. Check out the travel forum to see what's being talked about.

Martin Couzins, online editor

Thanks to Hotelchatter.com for its selection of favourite haunted hotels - just to get you in the mood for Halloween.

To find haunted hotels in the UK check out hauntedhotelguide.com

Thanks to about.com for these:

The Black Swan Hotel, Devizes

Dale Head Hall, the Lake District

Dalston Hall, the Lake District

Martin Couzins, online editor

UK tourism to the US is going through a funny phase at the moment. On the one hand we're put off by stories of overzealous border guards turning away ex-LSD users and detaining our MPs.

On the other, the pound is strong against the dollar and Christmas is just eight weeks away. This morning the pound briefly hit $2.066, its highest level against the dollar in 26 years.

I've got a week off at the end of November and a US city break is starting to look like just the thing...

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Disney has produced a seven minute film for the US departments of state and homeland security to encourage visitors to the US. The film, entitled Welcome: Portraits of America and which you can view on the Discover America homepage, will be shown in airports and embassies.

However,the Guardian reports a glitch - the water falls pictured are none other than the Horseshoe Falls, which mostly lie inside Canada.

Martin Couzins, online editor

Psst... wanna see five acres of advertising?

Of course you don't. Here it is anyway...

Based in Dubai, this Guinness-certified giant covers 20,000 square metres (five acres) and is the work of UK-based Ad Air, which specialises in placing these near airports.

Hat-tips: Thanks to Kev at Travolution, who pointed me to a post on Happy Dude.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Medical tourism has just taken a distinctly domestic flavour. According to the Observer, the Grange Dental Practice in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, will shortly be offereing visitors to the Lake District the opportunity to mix a leisure trip with a trip to the dentist. And when it is so difficult to get to see a dentist in other parts of the country, who can blame them? The practice is now a member of Cumbria Tourism and will be offering weekend breaks on its website in the next two months.
Martin Couzins, online editor

Oh dear - some more bad PR for US Homeland Security. And it's potentially unsettling news for bloggers and social network users.

It seems a Canadian psychotherapist has been barred from entering the US after a border guard Googled the man's name and found an article of his about some LSD trips he took in the 1960s and 70s.

According to a story in independent Canadian paper The Tyee:

The official said that under the Homeland Security Act, Andrew Feldmar was being denied entry due to "narcotics" use. ... The border guard then escorted him to his car and made sure he did a U-turn and went back to Canada.

Not knowing the specifics of the case, TW Blog isn't going to default to the assumption that Homeland Security was wrong to turn Feldmar away.

But the story has been picked up by several blogs and magazines including Gadling and Wired, and will do little to sway potential vistors who are put off by the idea of heavy security.

Any fast-living TW readers - and having seen some of the 'related groups' on our Facebook page, I have my suspicions about you lot - may want to clean up their profile before heading across the pond.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

From Travel Weekly's Kelly Ranson, just back from an InterContinental Hotels Group conference in Dallas...

Arriving back from a long-haul flight to a gloomy and damp Sutton really wasn’t a great start to yesterday.

By the end of the day the jet lag had kicked in and I was in need of matchsticks to keep my eyes open.

However just before leaving the office I was brightened up hugely with a massive bunch of roses and a marriage proposal (!) from Princess Cruises.

Ok, so I won’t actually be walking down the aisle with a 3000 passenger cruise ship - it was actually a plug for the company’s Weddings and Honeymoon brochure.

Three other ladies in the office also received flowers, so TW Towers was a happy place to be yesterday.

Very nice touch.

Kelly Ranson, reporter

Here, inevitably, is some YouTube footage of the first commercial Airbus A380 flight landing at Sydney. You can't put a price on the coverage Singapore Airlines has got out of being the first to operate one of these, can you?

Don't even think about commenting "$300 million". You know what I mean.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

The House of Commons heard a brief exchange on Heathrow's security woes on Tuesday.

Several members ganged up on Secretary of State for transport Ruth Kelly. Among the complaints:

Intolerable third-world queues at immigration ... Seeing the businessmen of the world queuing up to enter Britain, as if they were in some third-world country, is shaming
Denis McShane, Labour

We [travellers from Scotland] have to wait for up to three quarters of an hour to go through security
Brian H Donohoe, Labour

The CBI has warned that Heathrow hassle is an increasing threat to inward investment in the UK. When is the Secretary of State going to start knocking heads together to get something done to improve the quality of service at an airport that is rapidly becoming a national embarrassment?
Theresa Villiers, Conservative

Angrier than all of the above, however, was a member of the public who commented on the debate on theyworkforyou.com.

Incensed by Denis McShane's observation about queuing businessmen, she countered that "I would like to remind MPs that a business man and a poor man have all the same rights."

Nathan Midgley, web producer

We'll have the story on Travel Weekly shortly, but here is the Easyjet news release.

Update: We've now posted a more complete story on easyJet's purchase of GB Airways

Our front page poll this week is on mobile phone use on aircraft. Ofcom gave the technology the thumbs-up last week, though it will be up to airlines whether or not to implement it.

Either way, there is a lot of strong feeling about this - a Yougov poll found that the majority are opposed to it, and the Telegraph is running a petition against mobile use in the air.

Those in favour are making less noise (isn't it always the way?) but I'm sure they're out there.

It'd be interesting to know how opinion is divided among Travel Weekly readers, so cast your vote on the homepage...

Nathan Midgley, web producer

The wildfires in southern California are swiftly becoming a disaster. Latest reports on the BBC say 500,000 have been evacuated (19:00 - the figure is now closer to one million). Here's the view from NASA's satellites:

Image: NASA’s Earth Observatory

As we reported yesterday, tourists heading to the region are advised to keep up with media reports and check with their tour operator where relevant.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

This is from TW's Kelly Ranson at the InterContinental Hotels Groups Americas Investors and Leaderships conference in Dallas, Texas...

You know that you are in America when there is Starbucks on every corner and when you finish your meal it looks like you haven’t even touched it.

But I definitely realised I was in across the pond when I entered the ‘Holiday Inn Experience’ at the Dallas Convention Centre this week.

Only in America can they put together a massive mock up of its re-branded hotels (complete with beds, baths and exteriors and even the new smell of the hotels) to show to delegates.

Throughout the 40 minute ‘journey’ you are guided through what can only be described as a museum of Holiday Inn.

Kevin, editor of our sister title Travolution, predicted in his current editorial that Travo's 'Power Edition' - listing the 50 most powerful people in online travel - would attract some controversy.

Guess what?

An open thread on the topic attracted over 20 comments in one day - some by the dreaded 'anonymous'. Worth a read.

Darren from Travel Rants has left a comment on our photos from the Suites Class of Singapore Airlines' Airbus A380 'Superjumbo'. How much, he wonders, will a 'seat' on this service cost?

(They're actually more like diddy hotel rooms with fold-out beds - go to one minute 40 in the vid below to see more.)

Anyway, a quick flight search on Singapore Airlines' website reveals how much you can expect to pay.

Based on flights from Singapore to Sydney departing November 22 and returning November 28, Singapore Airlines charges...

• £2519.28 inc taxes and fees for First Class (on a B747-300)
• £3622.47 inc taxes and fees for Suites Class (on the A380)

Still: if you were prepared to pay two and a half grand in the first place, money may not be an object.

Those based in the UK will have to wait a while before they can step aboard the aircraft at all. SA won't start flying the Airbus A380 from Heathrow until spring 2008.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Our first agent reporter assignment is currently under way.

Audrey Singh, a Hays Travel homeworker, is currently in Puerto Rico at the 30th Annual Caribbean Tourism Conference. We'll be hearing from Audrey on her return.

(Regular readers will know that Agent Reporter has attracted some controversy - read TW Blog's response.)

Martin Couzins, online editor

According to the BBC, a quarter of a million people have been evacuated from California as fierce winds fan wildfires in the Los Angeles region from San Diego up to Santa Barbara.

Thanks to Royal Caribbean International for this footage of Independence of the Seas, the last of the cruiseline's three Freedom Class ships to be built, in production at Aker Yards' Turku site in Finland.

Expect to see IotS cruising into Southampton in May 2008.

Today's Daily Mirror has a story from the British Model Flying Association show which took place at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, Somerset, at the weekend. Visitors saw Chris Gold fly and crash his 9ft model of Concorde.

I've taken a picture of the story as I can't find it on the Mirror's web site.

The Global Language Monitor has published the top 10 Most Confusing (yet widely used) High Tech Buzzwords for 2007.

And here they are:

iPOD
Flash (as in Flash Memory)
Nano
Cookie
Kernel
Megahertz
Cell (as in Cell Phone)
Plasma (as in Plasma Television)De-duplication
De-duplication
Blu-Ray

Martin Couzins, online editor

The Travelocity gnome has been OMG KIDNAPPED while on a visit to Northwestern University, in what is either a careless prank by students or a carefully constructed narrative by marketers.

Don't you long for the days when you could tell the two apart by sight?

Trendhunter speculates that "the Roaming Gnome may travel the world and return safely to Travelocity with photos and travel stories from around the world."

TW Blog speculates that the gnome has gone into hiding after competition from Roaming Travolution got too much for him.

Any other theories?

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Don't worry: travel media hasn't succumbed to mergermania. I mean Travel Weekly Blog is now one year old...

In a week or so it'll also be a year since Travel Weekly redesigned.

Back then TW Blog posted photos of the production team putting the first new issue to bed; and of media legend Trevor Harding handing out copies in the TW Towers foyer the following morning.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Is your drinks trolley dull and tired?

Have you ever looked at one of the refreshment trolleys on an aircraft and thought, "Now if that was pink with flowers on..."?

Then you're weird in luck. Springwise reports that German company bordbar is selling customised - pimped, to readers of a youthful disposition - trolleys for home use.

It's all genuine ex-airline stock, complete with dents and scratches. Bordbar offers a range of existing designs, but can also use a logo or pattern of your choice.

Now you know what Travel Weekly wants for Christmas...

Nathan Midgley, web producer

This morning Radio 4's Today ran an item on the UK's poor visitor figures for August (down 13% year-on-year) and VisitBritain's desire for more Government funding.

"It wants more money to make advertising like this," began business reporter Greg Wood, sounding as if he was holding something malodorous at arm's length.

Cue a VisitBritain promo. "Next stop, Liverpool!" it announced jauntily. "European Capital of Culture for 2008. No need to tell you who these lads are: The Beatles are definitely Liverpool's biggest export..."

VisitBritain chairman Christopher Rodrigues came on to discuss visitor numbers, and fairly pointed out that 1) performance for the rest of 2007 has not been as bad as August's figures suggest; and 2) the weak dollar and competitors with bigger marketing budgets are both major factors.

"Americans are still travelling," he said, "but they're travelling to other places. If you look at the amount of money spent on marketing in America top of the list are places like Mexico, Puerto Rico and Bahamas, which are close by."

But Wood hadn't finished with the advert.

Wood: So you want to spend more on advertising... I hesitate to say it, but from the clip we played there, you obviously need to spend a bit more.

Rodrigues: [Laughs] the interesting thing is, I was talking to the people in Italy [and] the Liverpool Captial of Culture thing has really caught on overseas-

Wood:That was hardly a cutting-edge ad for the city of Liverpool, though, was it?

Rodrigues: Well...it got the basic message over about what things attract people to Liverpool.

Rodrigues wisely steered the conversation on to more solid ground, namely the importance of the tourism industry making them most of London 2012.

Entertaining stuff. So should the Government dig deep? And does VisitBritain need to improve its advertising, or did Wood just get up on the wrong side of the bed?

Listen to the encounter on this audio stream - it's about 15 minutes in.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

TW Blog is in the process of failing to buy a house, and £150,000 would be no end of help.

So good on Travelodge for offering big cash rewards to anyone who finds the company a new hotel site.

If the company builds on the land you suggest, you'll get £500 for every room in the finished property.

As well as being generous, this ticks some very modern boxes: inviting consumers into the decision-making process, using local knowledge and so forth.

Travelodge is very vocal about being the fastest-growing UK hotel company of its kind, and aims to build 500 new properties by 2020. So there's plenty of scope to cash in.

Perhaps if we knocked down part of TW Towers...

Shorter-term goals include 200 new hotels and a refit of existing properties in preparation for the 2012 Olympics.

Our stablemate Flight International has been out at the delivery of the first of Airbus's A380 'Superjumbos' to Singapore Airlines in Toulouse - and they've got pictures from the 'Suites' class.

Says Flight:

The Suites class consists of 10 private cabins behind sliding doors. Inside each private cabin are 35in-wide leather seats that convert into 1.98m-long single beds and, in two cases, double beds

Very swish...

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Some sceptical responses to Travel Weekly's Agent Reporter scheme have come in. I think it's worth dealing with each of the objections raised in turn…

- Travel agents don’t have journalism skills

To be accepted as an Agent Reporter, agents will have to show specialist training, knowledge and experience, as well as reasonable writing ability.

We - like all comparable media - have long commissioned industry columnists on the same criteria. If an agent fulfils them too, why shouldn’t he or she produce the odd bit of content?

- Travel Weekly's content will suffer

ARs will be reporting back from trade events and fam trips, not covering news beats. We won’t cut back on professional content.

As for quality of writing, AR work will go through the editorial process (sub-editors, desk heads and the rest) like any other article.

- Agents have nothing to say

There are more than 10,000 agent reviews on Travel Weekly's sister online service Gazetteers.com.

Not every one of those reviewers is an expert. But many agents know their stuff. All we are doing is giving a few talented individuals the chance to demonstrate their product knowledge to clients and colleagues.

- Agent Reporters will neglect their jobs

It’s up to managers whether or not they allow their staff to apply. While the scheme will not suit every business, we think some managers will see AR work as potentially beneficial to both agent and agency.

Not only will published work prove an agent’s knowledge of their specialism, it will also earn them points on the ABTA/ITT Accredited Travel Professional scheme.

I hope that clears a few things up. Comments?

A few weeks ago we carried the story that TransIndus, an operator that goes to Burma, has pledged to continue tours to the troubled country despited being placed on a boycott list. Reporter Edward Robertson followed up with a post about how tourism can help the political situation there.

Not so, says Labour member for Ilford South Mike Gapes. Gapes spoke on the issue in Parliament yesterday afternoon:

When an individual in this country makes a decision to go on a package holiday, and they choose a country where a repressive regime uses the foreign currency that is spent, there are consequences.

I was recently involved in an altercation about Burma with a figure from the travel industry. His claim that people who went on holiday to Burma might be able to report on what was going on there struck me as one of the most bizarre arguments that I had heard for a long time. I can hardly imagine the Burmese military regime allowing people to go up to the north of the country where the monks have been taken in chains and locked up.

I wonder who this 'figure from the travel industry' might have been. Does anyone know?

Nathan Midgley, web producer

What was he thinking of? Ok, so Sir Richard Branson is the king of publicity but this was not good. Metro today has snaps of the Virgin America boss jumping off the top of the Fantasy Tower at the Palms hotel and casino in Las Vegas to publicise Virgin America's inaugral San Francisco to Las vegas flight.

And here is some coverage of the launch party from Jaunted.com.

Martin Couzins, online editor

The Guardian has an article on 'Personal Rapid Transport' systems - an approach to public transport based on networks of private, driverless pods that you use rather like taxis.

The ULtra PRT system, developed by Advanced Transport Systems, will be piloted at Heathrow, where it will ferry users between the car park and Terminal 5 when the latter opens next year.

BAA signed an agreement with ATS back in 2005, and if the system comes together the airport operator could end up with a £7.5 million equity investment in the company - so if this works at Heathrow it could well be introduced at other BAA airports.

Here are some mock-ups from the ATS site:

Advanced Transport Systems Ltd | atsltd.co.uk

Nathan Midgley, web producer

An interesting discussion point from the message board of Travel Weekly's Facebook group (Facebook member? Come join us). Select World Travel's Lee Harrison writes:

Recently we were quoted a price of £1945.00 for a Queen Mary Cruise. The price included a 45% discount. Then we're told by the client she's been quoted a price of £1395.00 by XYZ Cruise Club. Why discount a premium product that's already been given a good discount by the cruise pperator? We all know what happened to Cruise Control!

Are we changing the cruise product too much? Will more capacity on superliners be encouraging a " Benidorm" at Sea, especially with cruise clubs discounting to such ridiculous levels?

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Ready for some name-dropping?

Watch your toes.

Yes, it's Travel Weekly editor Sarah Longbottom getting pally with Ruby Wax at the launch of Norwegian Gem last week.

There are more photos in our flickr galleries, and a video tour of the ship - which seems to have made a good impression on the thousand-or-so agents who visited - elsewhere on the site.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

If you get a bit ooooo! aaaaah! about cruise ships, check out this time-lapse film showing NCL vessels Norwegian Jewel, Pride of Hawaii, Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Gem in production...

The finished Norwegian Gem - she of the 'It Girl' PR campaign - was officially launched in Dover last Friday. Watch out for a video tour of it later today. (UPDATE: Here's the vid.)

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Select World Travel's Lee Harrison contacts TW Blog to say that one of his consultant's travel videos a video featuring one of his consutants is up for an award on Weshow.com.

Karen Wratten filmed was at Beachcomber's 18th Birthday Party held in Mauritius, and a very well put together video it is too.

(It transpires the video is actually the work of Enigma FX - Select World Travel just attended the fam and posted the video on its blog. Apols for the confusion.)

Looks like everyone had a great time, if not a relaxing one - if anyone suffers from the delusion that agent fams are an excuse to put your feet up for a few days, they should give it a watch.

Anyway, it's good to see an independent agency producing this kind of content. If you like the video go and vote for it (requires registration). Good luck to Karen, Lee & co.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Thought this might be of interest. Here is a report on the numbers of passengers travelling through BAA airports for September 2007.

Here is the full text of the Chancellor's statement to the House of Commons outlining the Government's Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review.

The important bit reads...

Mr Speaker, air travel accounts for a growing share of carbon emissions. So it is right aircraft emissions should be part of the EU emissions trading scheme.

I also propose that aviation makes a greater contribution in respect of its environmental impact.

And for this to be as environmentally effective as possible, from 2009, I intend to levy the duty not on individual passengers but on flights, to encourager more efficient use of planes.

So from 2009 we will be able to get cheaper seats closer to departure . . . but the pressure will be on to fill planes. Surely, this will mean a scaling down of less popular routes.

Thump.

The Smith brand's latest book hits TW Blog's desk, and it's a beauty.

Smith 52: The Game Plan is at heart a very sexy things-to-do list - and one that has the delicacy not to urge you to do said things 'before you die'.

It's a good area to expand into. Smith has always been good at picking the right hotels, but holidaymakers increasingly want to get out and do something original as well as staying somewhere chi-chi.

There are also more and more boutique festivals popping up in the UK, as well as increasing interest in those abroad - thanks in part to low-cost carriers making them accessible.

Here's where the folks at Smith reckon you should be this time next year:

• Nuit Blanche, street art festival in Paris, October 4
• Iceland Airwaves, music festival in Reykjavik, October 15 - 19
• Salone del Gusto, food festival in Turin, October 23 - 27

Practical tips (what to pack, where to stay, what it costs etc) and insider information go some way to justifying the £22 price tag, with the rest of the distance made up by the usual: nice stock, solid binding and great photography.

As a calendar of very desirable short breaks, it could work for some in the trade too - upmarket travel agents might find this the most useful book Smith has ever produced.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Our colleagues on Gazetteers have provided us with a list of the most searched on and viewed destinations for the last week.

Interesting to see Bulgaria sneaking in at number 10. Is this a reflection of Bulgaria as a ski destination?

1. Spain
2. Greece
3. United States
4. Italy
5. Turkey
6. Egypt
7. Cyprus
8. Cuba
9. Dominican Republic
10. Bulgaria

Martin Couzins, online editor

Only days after they sold the Lonely Planet Guides, Tony and Maureen Wheeler tell The Guardian the 25 most amazing places they think we should all see.
I've only got 24 more to see.
Martin Couzins, online editor

Well not quite, but the 12-week overland bus journey from London to Sydney isn't going so well, The Guardian reports today.
Martin Couzins, online editor

I have always taken the stance that even though Burma is ruled by an oppressive military junta, tour operators with ethical policies should continue to run programmes in this country.

Not only does tourism allow the population to earn money and priceless foreign currency but it also ensures the reality of their day-to-day existence under such conditions can be understood by a potentially global audience.

It is to this end I chose to highlight in this week’s Travel Weekly TransIndus managing director Amrit Singh’s decision to continue running tours to the country.

This is despite being blacklisted by the Burma Campaign UK which accuses the operator of using hotels and transport infrastructure built by slave labour as well as financially aiding the regime.

The question is currently particularly pertinent thanks to last month’s pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks but which have now been brutally suppressed at the cost of perhaps thousands of lives.

Singh denies the accusations vehemently stating she only uses private, smaller guest houses while private drivers are used to ferry her customers around the country, thereby avoiding the need to use the railways which she admits have been built under horrific conditions.

Her reasons for doing so? She believes only by revealing the plight of the country’s people to the wider world will the country’s dictators be persuaded to embrace change while the fact that only 2% of a tour’s cost ends up going to the Burmese government means she can sleep soundly at night.

In this sense it is heartening to see The Times’ former travel editor Cath Urquhart today arguing that if change is to be effected, westerners must continue to visit the country to understand just how much change is needed.

Despite having stood down, Urquhart continues to have considerable clout and we should be pleased she has chosen to highlight to a wider audience the good that the travel industry can do if the intentions are pure and the methods as ethical as possible.

by Edward Robertson

If you travel on the London Underground you may find the results of this survey from Tripadvisor a little hard to stomach.

A report in today's Independent says that the world travellers polled found London's public transport system to be one of the safest and efficient networks. The tube and cabbies came in for particularly high praise.

OK, so this is good news for domestic tourism and Visit London will be delighted overseas travellers think this of London transport (and so will London Mayor Ken Livingstone).

But I'd counter that it is a system that is creaking under the sheer volume of passengers. And why do we still not have a properly integrated river bus service?

Martin Couzins, online editor

Great stuff from British Airways - a series of recruitment promos featuring air hostess comedian Pam Ann.

Here's the first:

Minor update - I posted this in a hurry and it was remiss not to credit Darren at Travel Rants for sending me the link.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Forget social networking sites where travellers can share experiences, a group of six 22-year-olds have set up an online diary which they hope will raise enough cash to pay for them all to go back to their beloved island of Ibiza.

According to Metro, 200 people have already paid £1 a pop to download the diary.

Be warned, this is a diary of six lads going large in Ibiza, so Samuel Pepys it isn't.

Martin Couzins, online editor

Good analysis of last night's BBC 1 programme Watchdog by Kev on the Travolution blog.

It was not a good advert for Expedia but credit to Dermot Halpin, the company's Europe president, for going on the show to explain the rotten customer service.

From an agent point of view, my eyes nearly popped out of my head when Watchdog presenter Julia Bradbury followed a comment on the dangers of booking online with a reference to the 'good old days' when holidays were sold through travel agents and tour operators.

And there was me thinking that agents and operators were still a key part of the industry.

Here's the report (in brief) from Watchdog.

Martin Couzins, online editor

Some news just published on TW - the Institute of Travel and Tourism has chosen not to go ahead with a Zimbabwe Tourism Authority session at World Travel Market.

As you can imagine, it was the country's dire political situation that led to the decision. The ITT would surely have faced considerable disapproval if the session had gone ahead.

How do readers feel? Is it the right decision, or could some good have come out of what was planned as an educational session for new entrants to the trade?

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Springwise has news of an interesting US start-up. DayJet has been given authorisation to launch its pay-per-seat, on-demand short-haul carrier service.

DayJet uses techie voodoo to synch bookings, crew and machines, challenging the inflexible cost model of traditional air taxi operations, in which all passengers tend to have to muck in for the cost of a round trip.

The market for this is business travellers, obviously. While no jet service is ever going to be cheap, DayJet argues that its costs ("priced at a modest premium to full-fare coach airfare") will be attractive to those who would otherwise have opted to drive to their destination and stay overnight.

What does the environmental lobby think of it? Take a guess. The Daily Green has a post entitled "DayJet: An SUV in the sky", but the company points to the environmental credentials of the Eclipse 500 aircraft it uses.

It all depends on complex proprietary technology, so don't expect to see anything comparable happen in the UK anytime soon. Worth keeping an eye on though.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Interesting piece on Chloe Berman's blog on the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions creating an office in Second Life. Could this be the start of tourist boards taking control of destination branding in an online world? Has any tourist board actually had any input into the creation of Second Life 'countries'?

Erick van Egeraat architects have presented Vladimir Putin with plans for Federation Island, a Russia-shaped archipelago in the Russian Black Sea.

Says worldarchitecturenews.com:

The archipelago offers residences, hotels, cultural, leisure and recreational facilities ... The Russian river network is used as a reference for the island's waterways; the high mountains inspire the island relief.

Thinks: your move, Dubai.

It's hard to shake the suspicion that architects are now ending pitches with the words, "Dude, this will look so cool in Google Earth."

Spotted on Gadling.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Today the UK's minimum annual leave entitlement for people who work five days a week rose from 20 days to 24. Bally good show!

Employment relations minister Pat McFadden told the BBC that up to six million workers will benefit from the extra holiday - and it will rise to 28 days in April 2009.

So... does the change affect you, and if so what are you going to do with those extra four days?

For the benefit of readers who don't regularly pass through London Victoria, here are some pics of the odd sculpture that has been installed to promote tattoo parlour reality TV show London Ink.

TW Blog is all in favour of a bit of visual interest (or, to use the language of creative agencies, 'magic') in our frequently dreary and predictable transport hubs. It certainly made a welcome distraction from waiting 20 minutes for the last train home.

Creative Review blog has the detail:

The sculptures’ tattoos feature classic tattoo iconography, with a London twist: the girl at Victoria Station has a tattoo of a “glorious pigeon”, a stylised pigeon made to look like a classic “war eagle” tattoo, complete with tattered feathers and a gimpy foot

There's also a giant swimmer ploughing through the south bank of the Thames by Tower Bridge.

Nice work by ad agency Mother, from whom one expects nothing less.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Well it could be says Khasuka Demilkhanov, head of local government in the Shatoy region of Chechnya. According to a report in The Guardian, Demilkhanov believes tourism is the answer to the region's ills. And ill it currently is with poverty, lack of roads and war torn buildings. That said, the Caucasus mountains look stunning - what a treat if this part of the world could be opened up to visitors.
Martin Couzins, online editor