Are you travelling overseas soon? Do you know what the current currency exchange rate is for the main countries you’ll be visiting? Do you know what your dollar/euro/pound will buy you in Thai Bhat, Mexico pesos or Aussie dollars?

Foreign exchange trading is a big-boys game – but the average traveller can still have a little fun with it and save a bit of holiday cash. The trick is to know what your up-to-date conversion rate is and monitor it for a few months before you leave home. It sounds like a lot of work – but its not really – its surprising how quickly you will get a feel for the currency movements.

If you think your currency as strong as its going to get – then take the punt and lock in your foreign exchange rate by buying foreign cash, pre-paying expenses such as hotels and tours or by buying travellers cheques.

If on the other hand you think the exchange rate is low and may get better – try to delay your foreign exchange costs as long as possible. Put as much of your holiday expenses on your credit card giving you that extra month to pay when you get home – but don’t try this with a card that you don’t clear each month, otherwise your foreign exchange gains will be consumed by credit charge interest rate charges!

Knowing the the high/low points of your currency against the your holiday destination’s currency is important because then you guage where you are in the currency rate cycle – don’t believe the news reports which claim, “The Dollar Has Crashed” or “The Pound At XX Year Low” – the reality is that rarely does a major currency collapse against all players – sterling may be doing bad but the Indian Rupee may be doing a lot worse  – check the explicit figures for your specific currency by using an online currency converter.

No Comments » Posted by mary / Uncategorized

Hamdi Yazici, a Turkish man, has been sentenced to 4 months in prison after he walked towards the front of a plane chanting 'Allah' and carrying a bag.

The Turkish Airlines Airbus 321 was flying from Istanbul to Stansted Airport in October last year when the Turkish man, who was drunk at the time, frightened passengers by walking up to the front chanting 'Allah'. In court, the judge was told how it took 6 members of the cabin crew to restrain the man until the plane could land and the police take over.

Laura Harris, the judge at the court said: “I am quite sure it was extremely distressing and alarming for those passengers.

“They didn’t know what you were planning to do when you started to walk down to the front. For all they knew you could have been a very dangerous man.”

The man admitted that he was drunk on the plane and he has now been sentenced to 4 months in prison.

So this got me wondering, what are the top 10 things that you shouldn't say on a plane? After some Googling and some chuckling, here is my top 10 list of things you shouldn’t say on a plane:

1. It’s not like I have a bomb.
2. Allah.
3. Hi Jack! (ensure you say ‘Hello Jack’ if you’re travelling with jack)
4. Is it time yet? (repeatedly)
5. That’s not my bag beeping, it’s me
6. You may not want to drop my bag
7. Will Osama be proud of me?
8. Explode
9. 3…2…1…boom
10. Go..GO..Go!! (while yelling)

So, that’s my top ten list of things not to say on a plane, that Turkish guy should have done some Googling to know he shouldn’t have said that. Just ensure you don't uetter any of those words next time you fly, it could land you in some trouble.

For cheap airport parking, visit Gosimply.com for Stansted Airport Parking.

No Comments » Posted by mary / Best Airfare Deals

As a regular flyer I find myself talking regular to fellow flyers about the best place to get airfare deals. The price of airline tickets can vary greatly at different locations around the world. However, if you do research on the internet you will find that some great deals can be found for most destinations around the world.

One of the key factors to finding a cheap flight deal is flexibility in departure dates. Airlines are always wanting to fill empty seats at a cheap price, so if you can be ready to go at a moments notice you may find some exceptional deals. Quite a hefty charge will be levied by the airline if you want to change the dates after booking.

If you have access to the internet you will be able to find some amazing deals online. Search for a flight review site online like Virgin Cheap Travel. There are many airfare reviews of the major airlines helping you find the deal and pice of mind you need when booking.

You are more likely to find the best deals on airfares if you are a frequent flyer. Incentives are offered by the airlines to customers that are frequent flyers with them. Usually you will earn points as a regular flyer which can be exchanged for flight tickets of other goods.

The internet is the number one source for finding online deals. Beware of the internet sites that are specializing in selling airline tickets at a discount, they could be legitimate but it is always best to book your flight with known discount agents. {The problem is that people often have a hard time in confirming the legitimacy of these sites before they are committed to making a payment.It is very difficult to tell whether these sites are legitimate or not.} Try telephoning the booking of your flight or even visit their offices if they are local. If the company if of good standing they should have a telephone number on the site. Find out which airline you will be flying on immediately and check that it is a one you are happy with.

On a daily basis the number of airline deals are on the increase as competition in the skies increases.

No Comments » Posted by mary / Uncategorized

Pros and Cons of Air Travel

As the decades have passed air travel has continually grown in popularity.  There are a wide variety of reasons that have contributed to the increase in popularity including convenience and safety.  The following are some of the positive and negative factors involving air travel.

Disadvantage: Airplanes Cause Pollution.

Pollution is the biggest problem caused by air travel.  Airplanes are responsible for sending greenhouse gases into our atmosphere and these gases contribute for things like global warming.  This is considered as a serious drawback by people who are keen to limit the effect of global warming on the universe.  Many airlines are becoming friendlier to the environment to prevent the effect of global warming. Many airlines take action for retrofitting winglet that is usually intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft thereby reducing greenhouse gas emission. Apart from this the airlines invest a large sum of money to replace their old aircraft by fuel efficient aircraft.

Disadvantage: High Cost

One major disadvantage in traveling by air is its cost. It is frequently much less expensive to fuel up the car and drive to where you need to go instead of flying.  One way of solving the high cost air travel problem is to take advantage of discount
airline travel.  If you can find a good deal for airfare it can be the deciding factor for many people whether they will fly or drive.

Disadvantage: Fear of Flying

Many people avoid flying for specific reasons. This is mainly because of the fact that they were on a flight that has experienced extreme turbulence or some type of other event and this has been rather terrifying. 

Advantage: Speed of Travel

One of the major advantages in air travel is that it is able to take you to any of the places where airports are available at a much faster rate than any other forms of transportation.  While it can take days to drive across the United States, a person can fly the same distance in a number of hours.  This gives you extra days for enjoying your vacations because you save a number of days by traveling by air.

Advantage: Easy to Travel Long Distances

Air travel also allows us to travel to faraway places that would otherwise be too difficult to travel to.  traveling to any destination in the world is possible if you travel by air. Some of these flights might prove to be quite long but they are still much shorter than if you had to rely on alternative means of transportation.

Advantage:  Safety

One of safest mode of travels out of all the forms of travel available is air travel.  Car accidents wherein people die happen in thousands every year. Similarly, there is no dearth of train accidents. As regards to air travel related accidents you will find that the frequency of occurrences is relatively minimal. For many people this makes it an easy decision to choose air travel over any other form of transportation.

Choosing air travel is a personal decision, based on the factors discussed above along with a multitude factors not discussed here.  For most travelers safety, speed of travel and cost are the over riding factors.  As long as cost remains affordable air travel will continue to grow in popularity.

No Comments » Posted by mary / Best Airfare Deals

Airport car parking is a funny beast; we all take car parking for granted, but is this wise when you are travelling to an airport on your way to a flight departure. If you are not a regular visitor to the airport it may take you time to find an airport. I nearly had the problem of missing a flight at Stansted Airport once simply because I had not pre-booked my airport parking.

In fact a member of staff of the Stansted transport team was issued a warning for picking me up as a passenger. Why on earth did this happen? Well I am wheelchair bound and was told that special transport was 25 minutes away; the coach driver who was performing pick-ups from the car park allowed me on to his vehicle.

When reaching the terminal one of his superiors saw me disembarking from the bus and issued the driver a warning. How did I get to know about this? Well on my return to the airport, the transport team arranged a special vehicle to pick me up and the driver of that vehicle informed me of the fate of the driver.

Incredible to believe an airport worker would receive a warning for helping someone in a wheelchair catch a flight. I could not believe how much the car parking costs were; when comparing to costs when booking online there is a vast difference.

That was back in 2002; since then airport parking has become a lot easier to organise and book via the web. Thankfully, there are now many websites that offer pre-booking for airport car parking at reduced rates.

My favourite site from a wheelchair perspective is GoSimply, simply because they cater for the disabled travelers. Good airport parking sites should clearly identify if a car park has good wheelchair facilities, and this is certainly the case with GoSimply. The other excellent feature on the GoSimply site is the amount of reviews from other travellers

Booking airport parking in advance makes sense for the following reasons:

• It gives peace of mind
• You can reduce costs
• You can park closer to the airport
• Take the worry out of finding a suitable parking
• Major car parks are monitored 24/7

My subsequent travels to Stansted airport have all resulted in me pre-booking my Stansted Airport Parking in advance. as all disabled travellers should.

Not booking airport car parking in advance is foolish! Think about it, if you are stuck in traffic and have no car park place guaranteed you could well be stuck at an outer car park and face a longer transfer time.

No Comments » Posted by mary / Best Airfare Deals

After being delayed at an airport for 5 hours recently, it made me wonder, what are the most delayed airports in the world.

All data used to build the list below is taken from the Flightstats 2008 data.com site which records flight information from every airport around the world.

Most delayed departures airports

1. Beijing Capital International, Beijing, China – percentage of on-time departures: 47.86%
2. Manchester Airport, Manchester, UK – percentage of on-time departures: 49.11%
3. Venice Marco Polo Airport, Venice, Italy – percentage of on-time departures: 53.59%
4. Nice Côte d’Azur Airport, Nice, France – percentage of on-time departures: 56.31%
5. Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino, Rome, Italy – percentage of on-time departures; 57.83%

So currently, it doesn’t look very good for Italy, having two of it’s airports in the most delayed list.

Most punctual airports

1. Haneda Airport, Tokyo, Japan – punctual percentage: 90.0%

Being the worlds fourth largest airport in the world and handling mainly domestic flights, Haneda holds the record for on-time departures at 93.3%, the airports on-time arrivals were 87% for 2007, giving it a overall score of 90.0%

2. New Tokyo International Airport, Narita, Japan – punctual percentage: 84.2%

This airport is the Haneda’s sister airport and was built to manage most of the international flights in and out of Japan. It has an on-time arrivals score of 82% and an on-time departures rate of 86% giving it an overall grade of 84.2%

3. Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei – punctual percentage: 80.3%

Taipei’s airport opened it’s second terminal in 2000 allowing it to handle 22 million customers in 2006. Taoyuan has an on-time departure score of 82% and an on-time arrivals score of 78% giving it an overall score of 80.3%.

4. Kingsford Smith International Airport, Sydney, Austrailia – punctual percentage: 80.1%

Handling over 30 million passengers in 2006, the Kingsford Smith airport is the biggest and oldest airport in all of Australia, and this was where I had my 5 hour delay. It's on-time departures and on-time arrivals have very similar percentage rates. With an on-time departure rate of 79.3% and an on-time score of 81% giving it a total of 80.1%. Making it almost matched with Taoyuan airport.

5. Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong – punctual percentage: 79.7%

This airport is the busiest in Asia and was voted airport of the year in 2007 by UK company Skytrax. It has an on-time departure score of 81.1% and a on-time arrivals score of 79.3%, giving it a total grade of 79.7%

It looks like Tokyo airports take the crown for most punctual airports, seeing as they pinched the top 2 spots, but overall, it looks like if you want a delay free holiday, you will have to visit Asia.

For a great price on airport parking, visit Gosimply.com for Stansted Airport Parking.

No Comments » Posted by mary / Best Airfare Deals

Jet lag, for those who don’t know, is the effect of travelling between time zones upsetting the bodies biological clock. It is defined as:

“A physiological condition which is a consequence of alterations to circadian rhythms”

The effects of jet lag can vary. Some people experience few days of restless sleep whereas others may experience loss in appetite, headaches, constipation, anxiety and dizziness. Luckiliy there are things you can try which will alleviate jet lag and the effects lessened. Here are a few ideas:

Tasimelteon: This is a new drug developed by Elizabeth Klerman of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston along with researchers from Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Maryland. Tests have shown that those taking the drug found it easier to get to sleep than those who had not taken the drug. It is thought that Tasimeteon stimulates the effects of Melatonin, the hormone responsible for regulating sleep.

Melatonin: The hormone Melatonin is now a popular remedy for sleep related problems. Melatonin supplements can be purchased (in the United States) without a prescription. Melatonin research has presented a clear association with sleep and supplements that provide 0.1 to 0.5 milligrams of the hormone can be all that is required to help get off to sleep.

Fasting: Minimising the amount of food you consume before embarking on your flight can help lessen the effects of jet lag. Studies have shown that, when food is scarce, the normal biological clock may be overridden. It has been proposed that a period of fasting, for about 16 hours before taking a flight, should be enough to switch the new biological clock into action.

Orange Tinted Sun-glasses: It has long been known that Melatonin secretion in humans can be stimulated by light. Blue light has been found to provoke a decrease in Melatonin production. It is therefore likely that wearing orange tinted sunglasses will encourage Melatonin secretion.

Toe Scrunching: Some travellers have reported that spending a few minutes tightly curling their toes while standing on a carpet or towel, just before going to bed, has a beneficial effect on jet lag. Some travellers have reported that spending between 2 and 5 minutes carrying out this exercise has had an immediate beneficial effect on their ability to get off to sleep.

If you are flying from Cardiff be certain to check out the excellent Cardiff Airport Parking and Cardiff Airport Hotels options available from gosimply.com

No Comments » Posted by mary / Best Airfare Deals

Cardiff Airport Landing in a Robin Light Aircraft

Today, Cardiff airport handles around 1.9 million passengers who are able to travel from Cardiff airport to over 60 destinations. The airport provides everything one might expect from a popular international travel hub.

The history of Cardiff International airport extends back over 6 years. From 1931 to 1954 the original Cardiff airport operated at Pengam Moors in Cardiff bay but, in 1941, the wartime Air Ministry acquired land in the rural Vale of Glamorgan and work began to establish a fully operational wartime airfield and training base for RAF Spitfire pilots.

It wasn't until after the war that the commercial potential of Cardiff was recognised. Aer lingus started a service flying to and from Dublin in 1952 and this was followed by further airport development in the form of a new airport building. As the holiday charter market developed in the early 1960s additional destinations were added including France, Belfast and Cork and so the passenger figures increased.

During the first half of the 1960s the airport was still under the control of the Ministry of Defence. It wasn't until 1965 that control was transferred from the MOD to Glamorgan County Council. Local government reorganisation during the 1970s resulted in transfer of airport ownership to the three local county councils of South, Mid and West Glamorgan. In 1995, local government reorganisation led to the privatisation of the Cardiff Airport Company with shares sold to TBI Plc., a Welsh property and development firm.

1971 Saw the first transatlantic flight from Cardiff and this was followed by further development including the current airport terminal building and control tower. The single airport runway was extended to 7,000 feet to accommodate larger bodied aircraft. New routes were being established all the time including regular flights from Cardiff to Canada. These transatlantic links were further developed during the 1980s with charter flights to Florida as well as Canada.

Another runway extension of 750 feet, carried out in the 1980s, enabled the airport to handle 747 jumbo jets. This attracted the British Airways maintenance facility to be located at Cardiff International Airport. Their hangar is one of the largest of its kind in the world supporting aircraft engineering maintenance for British Airways and other airlines.

Passenger figures at Cardiff International Airport have continued to rise and a number of further development projects have been completed, designed to increase capacity and efficiency at the airport terminal. In 2007 figures showed that Cardiff airport had exceeded 2 million annual passengers. The annual growth rate of 14% makes Cardiff the UKs fastest growing regional airport.

For great deals on Cardiff Airport Parking or Cardiff Airport Hotels I recommend that you take a look at gosimply.com.

No Comments » Posted by mary / Best Airfare Deals