“China has formally opened what it says is the world’s longest sea bridge with a ceremony and fireworks. The 36km (22.5 mile) bridge spans the mouth of Hangzhou Bay in the East China Sea, linking the commercial capital Shanghai and the port city of Ningbo.”
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7377928.stm
“Blog reader Elaine Carson recently left a comment about her experience with Ryanair’s check-in policy. This topic certainly seems worthy of discussion, as it affects every holder of a U.S. passport who plans to use this airline now and in the future.”
Link: http://blogs.stripes.com
“Ryanair launches its first domestic routes in France (Marseilles to Paris) and Germany (Frankfurt (Hahn) to Berlin). The routes will start in May 2008. For too long, French and German passengers have been forced to suffer Air France and Lufthansa’s high fares and fuel surcharges for the ‘privilege’ of air travel within their own countries. These new routes will slash the cost of domestic travel and will save French and German consumers over €26m per annum. ”
Link: http://www.boarding.no
“United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is to launch a new campaign to eliminate deaths from malaria, to mark the first World Malaria Day.
The disease causes over a million deaths a year, with 90% of all cases occurring in Africa.”
Link:
it’s snowing here, i thought it was spring….
“Low-cost airline EasyJet operated its first flight to Malta this morning. (Sunday, 30th March 2008)
The Luton-based airline will be flying 10 times per week from Gatwick to Malta and daily from Manchester during the summer. During the shoulder months, it will service Gatwick daily and Manchester airport four times a week. The first flight arrived from Gatwick at 11.30.
Though it is a budget airline, no subsidies are being provided to EasyJet since it has assumed the slots previously operated by GB Airways, the British Airways franchise which it bought in October.”
Just upgraded to Wordpress 2.5 everything went smoothly, plugins updated semi automatically, i just had to click some buttons.
i just have to get used to the new admin area now…
“EasyJet has flown into trouble with adverts which promised a “double the difference” refund if passengers found a cheaper fare.
The adverts stated: “Book by Friday and if you find it cheaper elsewhere we’ll refund DOUBLE the difference.”"
Link: http://news.sky.coml
“EasyJet, the UK’s leading low-cost airline, has maintained its forecast for a 20 per cent increase in underlying pre-tax profits in its financial year to the end of September, in stark contrast to the profit warning issued this week by rival Ryanair.”
Link: http://www.ft.com
“As an airline, you know you’re in bother when Ryanair accuses you of making misleading adverts…
Rival low-cost operator Easyjet has been forced by the Advertising Standards Agency to withdraw some of its adverts, after Ryanair successfully argued that they were misleading. The ASA said they broke rules on ‘truthfulness, guarantees and substantiation’ and have told Easyjet that they can’t be used again.”
“Tom Ang presents top tips on how to get the most out of your digital camera.”
“A CHEAP air travel bonanza has been signalled by Ryanair, with plans for dozens of new routes from Scotland’s largest airport over the next two years. The news came as the no-frills airline confirmed plans for 12 additional links from Edinburgh, as The Scotsman revealed yesterday.
In one of the largest-ever routes announcements in Scotland, the country will gain its first flights to Bratislava in Slovakia – 40 miles from Vienna – and to Lodz in Poland.
Edinburgh will also gain a further four new routes: to Berlin, Bournemouth, Dusseldorf and Wroclaw in Poland.”
“Ryanair returned to normal business yesterday after completing alterations to its website a day ahead of schedule.
The airline’s reservation system was expected to be closed until late today. Some minor glitches are still expected for the next few days.”
“Further passing on the costs of service directly to the consumer, RyanAir recently altered their check-in model. Whereas online check-in was formerly linked to priority boarding and was a privilege to be purchased for 6 euros, they have turned the tables and made online check-in the free standard, with anyone needing counter service (namely to check in a bag) charged an additional 3 euros per flight. I was surprised this didn’t happen sooner.”
“We’ve all seen the one cent ultra-cheap fares that Ryanair, Easyjet and and other low cost carriers (LCCs) frequently offer from European hubs. It’s a great way to skip around the EU if you’re flexible and haven’t got a lot of cash; it thus has recently become pretty popular with students and vacationers on a limited budget.”
Link: http://www.gadling.com