Air Travel: the New First Class Dining Experience

With first-class air travel reaching enormous amounts in regards to cost, what are the airlines doing for their first-class passengers in exchange for such hefty dues? For one, they are upping the ante when it comes to the onboard first-class dinging experience. As we all know, airfare has sky rocketed recently as the average first-class round trip flight is around ,000. Yes, a much more comfy seat and more leg room may be worth the price, but airlines are beginning to do away with those pre-determined menus and beginning to go so far as to hiring their very own on-board chefs.

Yes, you heard it correctly. With several airlines, your very own first-class chef is available on your flight. Of course, much of this sort of activity is being done on more foreign flights, but it seems to be quite a popular trend these days. The number one and number two rated best on-board meals currently go to Gulf Air and Cathay Pacific (Gulf Air being the airline with the personal chef aboard, of course.) While this all may be a bit ‘overdone’, like a fresh egg made to order at Cathay Pacific, it really only costs the airlines about -50 per traveler. This all seems like a pretty good deal for the airline, as well as the traveler. That is, if this is what they expect out of a ,000 flight. But it does not end here.

Airlines, such as Singapore Airlines is providing first-class travelers heir choice of beverage, including champagne including Dom Perignon upon boarding the flight. This pleasant experience in accented with a lovely serving of world famous caviar with travelers’ meals. While all of this seems a bit overdone, one may begin to wonder if it is really a bit over the top. In the United States, many of us have not experienced such pleasantries on our flights. We are pretty lucky if we get a free box of snacks, like Southwest Airlines has been so kind as to provide on several flights. Are airlines going to be jockeying for such positions in the future in the US as they have been on foreign airlines? If so, then how far? Today it sounds as if our airlines are really having some trouble dealing with things such as oil prices and rising costs in order to do business.

It is actually a very interesting point in time in regards to the airlines as competition is heating up as well as airfare prices. How high will they go? Who knows? What I wonder about is if the first-class upgrades will really propel the airlines into better profits, ultimately cost them more money, or if they actually have more money than we think? All I know is this is getting very interesting; however, not interesting enough to raise prices for airfare even more just to suit the personal chefs on board. So, what will happen next with the airlines seems to be headed towards raising the bar in terms of quality of experience. But, how will this affect everyone? Hopefully, it will allow airlines to pick themselves up across the board and provide a pleasant flying experience for everyone in the air. For more information about great travel rates for everyone, please visit http://www.eGadCity.com for side-by-side reviews and comparisons on travel packages and rates available now.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 taking off from MDW (Chicago-Midway) headed off to PHL(Philly!).

How to Easily Get a Free Airline Upgrade and Fly First Class

Who wouldn’t want to fly either business class or even first class for the price of an economy ticket? That’s the hope of every passenger who’s crammed into the little seats – especially after seeing the spacious seating and near-instant service of those in first class. Everyone would like to have the increased legroom, increased lounge access and of course, the treat-you-like-a-king service that comes for first class passengers. While the economy seats keep getting smaller and packed closer together, the premium cabins keep getting more spacious and comfortable as airlines pull out all stops in an attempt to get more passengers to pay for these upgrades.

While it doesn’t happen on every flight, occasionally the airlines will upgrade passengers for free when they have specific operational needs. Follow the below tips and you’ll greatly increase your chances of snagging one of these free upgrades and flying in style on your next trip.

1. Frequent Flier Program. When airlines have the need to bump passengers to first class, they often offer this to their frequent flier passengers first. The more points you’ve accumulated and used, the higher your “status” in their frequent flier program, and the more likely you’ll get the upgrades.

2. Fly from smaller airports. When you fly out of the large hub airports, you’re competing against a bunch of other passengers who also are members of the frequent flier program. The smaller the airport, the fewer people you’re competing against. You might be in the top 10% of the program, but if you’re competing against hundreds of people, the odds increase that someone will be higher on the list than you.

3. Choose smaller frequent flier programs. It’s not always possible, but when it makes sense, chose a frequent flier program from one of the smaller airlines – again to have less competition when looking for the upgrades. In Europe, the largest programs are Air France – KLM, British Airways, and Lufthansa which combined have millions of members. In the US, Delta, American Airlines, and United combined could very well have over 100 million members. If you’re flying in a major hub in one of these programs, you’re in some serious competition. Try joining a smaller quality Asian program such as Cathay Pacific or Thai Airlines,or even smaller US based programs such as BMI Diamond Club or Alaska Mileage Plan.

4. Choose a likely full flight. If you choose a flight with a huge wide-body airplane on a well-traveled route, the odds increase that the economy section will be booked and that there will be open seats in business or first class. If you check the online services you can see if there are available seats in the premium sections as well as seeing how full the economy class is. Sometimes checking in towards the end of the boarding period will get you upgraded in these cases. Be aware that sometimes you’ll get bumped (in which case you might even be able to snag a voucher).

5. Don’t book your tickets through a third-party for a discount. When you pay full fare directly through the airline, you have a higher chance of being awarded an upgrade when one is available.

6. Dressing well and being friendly helps. With the heavy reliance on computers as opposed to a few years ago, counter personnel don’t have as much leeway in deciding who gets the upgrades as they did in years past, but by dressing well and acting friendly, you’ll increase your chances if they have a choice.

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First Time Southwest Flyer Facts

Southwest Airlines operates its business in a way that is unique from other airlines.  Don’t worry, unique is a good thing.  It is a leader in the airline industry and has some really good services and a great value.  Still, there is no better way to say it other than to say – they are unique.

What First-Time Southwest Fliers Need to Know
1.  You Don’t Pay for Baggage

While most airlines will charge you anywhere around for a first bag and for a second bag, Southwest lets you check your bags on without any charge.  This is a massive advantage and cost saver associated with Southwest Airlines.  For a family of four you could easily be looking at a savings of 0 if each passenger takes two bags on the vacation.

2.  Cancel and Change Flights Fee Free

Paying to rebook a flight is annoying.

Southwest helps you know that you’ll get the lowest price on every ticket you buy.  Let’s say you buy a ticket from Buffalo to Houston.  That ticket might cost you 5.  However, you later find that same flight for .  Southwest will let you change your flight to the cheaper ticket.  Simply cancel your first flight and make a booking on the cheaper flight (or change your itinerary to the cheaper flight).  In the end you’ll have the difference in Southwest credit.  Thus, you’ll still have tickets, but you’ll also have towards your next flight.  That credit must be used within a year.

Let’s say you need to cancel your flight and take another trip at another time.  No problems.  You’ll get the value of the flights in a credit form that you’ll have one year to use.

3.  No Assigned Seat, but Open Seating Policy

When you fly on SWA you won’t be assigned a seat.   Most airlines give you a boarding pass with something like 14D.   Instead, on SWA you’ll be given a boarding group letter and number.  The A (starting with the smallest numbers) group boards the plane first followed by the B group then C.  When each group gets on the plane they are invited to sit in any unoccupied seat.

This can be a source of irritation when you are flying together with others.  The simplest solution is to check in online 24 hours in advice.  You are given your boarding group and number based on how early you check in for your flight.  Since you can check-in online twenty four hours in advance you should.  If you are in group A you shouldn’t have any troubles sitting together as a group.

If you are traveling as a family with young kids you’ll automatically be allowed to get on the plane at the end of group A.  Before the flight you simply need to present yourself the gate agent and you’ll be given the details.

If you’ve never flown SWA you’ll probably find that the staff is friendly, kind and typically unique (in a good way).

American Airlines Reports First Quarter Losses

American Airlines has had its share of troubles recently.  It has been struggling with the management of the labor unions over new contracts.  Airline traffic is down, meaning less people are using their services.  AA has also had trouble securing credit.  Now, in their first quarter profit reports, AMR Corporation, parent company of AA, indicated that they had lost nearly 5 million (or .35 per share) in the first quarter.

While fuel has been significantly cheaper, this has not helped AA off-set the cost of lower traffic volume.  AMR is the first of the big airline companies to report their earnings after the end of the quarter.  All the other major carriers are expected to show sharp losses in profits as well.

The sharp drop in traffic has also had another effect on the industry, which could be good for consumers.   With the U.S. in a recession, the airlines have not been able to raise their airline prices or fees.  This has caused something of a fare war between the carriers, keeping prices low.  Airlines are also offering unprecedented deals in an effort to lure back consumers.  

But, while the losses seem street, Wall Street analysts were actually expecting AMR to lose closer to .68 per share on revenue of approximately .73 billion.  Many experts are predicting that the airline industry may have hit bottom in the first quarter and that there may be brighter days to come in the future.  AMR just received funding to add two new airplanes to their fleet, which may be a good sign that credit in this industry is opening up.

Plus, with all the airline companies cutting routes or eliminating the number of flights to certain destinations combined with lower fuel costs, many industry experts expect that costs in the second quarter will be much lower than the first quarter.  It’s too early to tell, however, what impact this will have overall.  If the other airline companies’ losses are steeper than AMR, this may spell more trouble for the airline industry.

For more information on the deals that the airlines are offering, check out the FlyHub.

Continental Airlines are going to launch their first ever direct flights to Lagos!!!

Lagos the most sprawling city of Nigeria and is also famed as the “New York of Africa”. Flights to Lagos are operating on regular basis from world wide destinations and reaching at the famous airport of Lagos, named as Murtala Muhammad International airport. The airport is the major gateway for all flights operating from other global destinations. flights to Lagos are operated by the eminent Airlines of the world which are wither directly or indirectly carrying flights to Murtala Muhammad International airport. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, KLM, Lufthansa, Emirates and many other renowned Airlines are carrying lagos flights either directly or indirectly from global location.

Now continental Airlines are also going to launch its service from Texas to Lagos. This airline is going to establish its first ever connection with the Africa by offering flights to the famous and sprawling city of Nigeria, Lagos. With its fleet of air crafts, Boeing 787 which is famed as “Dreamliner” jets, it will operate this service. The flights will operate on daily basis from Texas to Lagos and Lagos to Texas. This daily scheduled services with the Boeing 787 has the capacity to carry 192 passengers in economy class and 36 passengers in first and business class cabins. The flight distance is almost of 6500 miles from Texas to Lagos.

Before this service, the connections between Texas and Lagos are indirect which result in the longer duration of flights because of stopping at some connecting route. But now due to this direct service, travelers would be able to get a reduced traveling duration and thus reaching to their desired destination in short period of time. This upcoming flight will lessen journey duration for flights to Lagos from Texas by more than four hours. Continental airline is the national flag carriers of Houston, Texas. This new route will also add more distinction to the airline services. After this flights service, Houston will stand among the four metropolises in the world, and the single metropolis in the West side of Hemisphere which is offering direct flights to each populated continent on the planet. Thus finally a great transform will be brought as this flight service will start.

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The Lowdown on the Continental Airlines Credit Card

The Continental Airlines World MasterCard from Chase is one of the few cards that truly benefit its cardholders. As long as the applicant has a good credit rating and does not mind an annual fee, they will surely enjoy being a customer of the Continental Airlines credit card. Card users are able to accumulate a great number of points at a faster rate through the use of this credit card as compared to any other travel rewards credit card in the market.

For one thing, you are credited with reward points for just about anything you do with the card. In fact, upon approval of your card and your first purchase, you will receive a 15,000 OnePass miles credited directly into your account within 2 months of your purchase. Apart from that, you will also receive points just for paying your annual fee – 10,000 OnePass Miles for an fee. Plus, you will be able awarded two miles for every dollar that you charge to your Continental Airlines credit card when you dine at any of the 10,000 selected restaurants worldwide.

In addition to point rewards, the Continental Airlines credit card also helps card holders save on their air fares. There is an automatic discount of 5% on all Continental airfares purchased from their online website within the first year of attaining the card. In addition to that, the card also entitles you to a companion ticket once you have made ,000 worth of purchases. Other features worth mentioning are the introductory APR of 7.99% for the first half a year and also no spending limit imposed.

All in all, this card has great benefits for a card user who intends to keep it for only the first year. Sadly, this credit card company makes no attempt to retain their customers after the first year despite the high annual fees year after year.

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Jet Airways Signs an Agreement With United Airlines

Jet Airways and United Airlines signed an agreement for a code-share on the route London-Mumbai-San Francisco, operated with aircraft of the first domestic carrier of India. This partnership follows the cooperation with American Airlines, that through New York- JFK hub which offers many connections to passengers coming from the route India-Europe-Usa.

Meanwhile, the consolidation of Jet Airways is going on also on the domestic market, after the purchase of Air Sahara, now it’s the turn of JetLite, with which the carrier signed a code-share agreement. Passengers have now a better network in India, with easier connections.

During the months October-December 2008, the carrier had a turnover of 628 million dollars,  more than 21 per cent on the same period of 2007, the year in which Jet Airways started its operations in August.

The Indian airline chose Brussels as European hub – an agreement with Belgian carrier, Brussels Airlines, allows to feed the aircraft leaving for Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, New York and Toronto.

Get the latest news on airlines industry only on complete airlines news portal hawaiiyatra.blogspot.com.Get discounts on booking online domestic and international flights. Book cheapest Jetlite flights in India only on hawaiiyatra. Hawaii Yatra is one stop solution for all your travel needs. Book now and get maximum discounts. Hawaii Yatra also facilitates car rentals, bus bookings and hotel bookings.

Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline and ICICI Lombard General Insurance have collaborated to launch a unique overseas and domestic travel insurance product called JetProtect which offers security against possible risks during travel. JetProtect can be purchased solely by visiting Jet Airways’ website – www.jetairways.com. With this recent online offering, Jet Airways has yet again succeeded in launching an innovative product and service by leveraging technology.

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Gold Delta Skymiles From American Express Promotes The Delta Airlines’ Frequent Flyer

The American Express was founded in 1850 and its credit cards are known for providing unmatched customer services, extraordinary benefits to their cardholders and instant purchasing ability.

The Gold Delta Skymiles from American Express gives you the great opportunity of gathering frequent flyer miles with the Delta Airlines. Though the fees are high, the program offers a good point accrual rate.

Card Rewards

As a credit cardholder, you will obtain 1 mile for spending each dollar on the card. As an added advantage, the Always Double Miles program lets you earn 2 miles for spending a dollar at retail shops and stores such as drug stores, gas stations, Delta Airlines and their affiliates as well as the United States Postal Service.

As a new applicant for the Gold Delta Skymiles from American Express, you can avail of 10000 bonus miles on making your first purchase. You can also gain an extra 2500 on the approval of a second card (when the application is being processed). The rewards expire at the end of 3 years and the best thing you can do take advantage of the award miles is keep your account active for three years, i.e., travel on the Delta Airlines at least once in every three years.

The best benefit of the credit card is the frequent flyer miles. However, it will not be a good choice for you if you require carrying a balance quite often. It will benefit you greatly and be a wonderful choice for you if you already hold a low-fee and low rate credit card from the American Express. In this case, the card enables you to enjoy the lower annual fee and provides you the chance to make purchases that will allow you to carry a balance.

Features And Benefits

The credit card has an annual fee of . This annual fee is waived for the first year. Special concession is offered to the already qualified American Express cardholders and they pay an annual fee of .

The regular APR of 18.24% is undoubtedly above the average but the credit card compensates this with its huge range of travel and shopping benefits. As a shopper, you will very much cherish the card features and benefits like the Buyers Assurance Plan, online fraud protection, purchase protection plan and the access to select events via the Ticketmaster.

As a traveler, you will be happy to find that the card offers certain additional benefits that the other American Express cards do not offer. All the more, the Gold Delta Skymiles from American Express lets you save on your car rentals, offers travel and accident insurance, a $ 2000 travel bonus for vacations and a 0 travel bonus for cruises, if booked through the American Express Travel Services.

Additional Perks

The Gold Delta Skymiles from American Express offers you a number of Internet account related services, extended warranty for purchases, zero liability for unauthorized Internet transactions, financial statement at the end of the year.

You can also take advantage of its insurance and security schemes in the form of auto rental insurance, purchase protection, legal referral services, emergency cash replacement, access to the Offer Zone for various discounts at participating merchants and retailers, medical referral services, a maximum of 0,000 travel accident insurance. The card also makes provision for many travel and emergency assistant services.

It’s great to travel with southwest airlines

Air southwest was incorporated on the March 15 of 1967 by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher and has received this recent name in the year 1971 with its headquarters located in Dallas, Texas. Traveling is much easier and fun because of the facilities provided by Southwest airlines.

Southwest airlines special

1. The fares offered by southwest airlines are much less because it uses Boeing 737 aircraft that uses low maintenance costs and enables quick turnaround times for flights.

2. It provides service with frequent flights through short routes.

3. Many of the cities across America get the benefit of the air service by southwest airlines that provide discounted frequent air flights.

4. It has an open seating arrangement where passengers are boarded with cards A first, followed by B and then the C.

5. There are facilities such as infants under the age of 2 are allowed to travel for free if they are on the adults lap. The fares for youth between the age of 12 and 22 and can be booked at the reservation centers. Children who are between the ages of 5 to 11 those who are not accompanied by their elders could travel after a form is being filled which is available both online and at the reservation center.

6. There are special senior citizen fares for those above the age of 65. These prices could vary from city to city and are easily refundable or exchangeable.

7. Refunds can be made online where you need to cancel the reservation or you can do so by calling the reservation number.

8. There are several flights that are at least of two hours long whereby you are served with peanuts and pretzels. If you are on a non stop flight, then a packaged snack will be served. Other complimentary tea, coffee, non alcoholic drinks are also available but some product such as beer, wine may be charged.

For more information visit our recommended website southwest-airlines-guide.info

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Where to be at When in Thailand

What follows is various information about some of the most popular tourist destinations in Thailand, as well as a number of other places. I have tried to give a summary of information about each area, as well as mention some of the most interesting things to do there, basically listing all of the sort of info that I think may be useful in making the vacation worthwhile.First of all,communicating is a huge concern in this part of the world, so, here are a few common terminologies for you to start off…..

Baht – 1). The unit of currency in Thailand.

2). The unit used in measuring the weight of gold in Thailand.

Khao Sarn – It is the name of the main road in the backpacker infested neighbourhood of Bangkok, but did you know that in Thai it actually means “un-husked rice”.

Ko – Thai for island.

Kop khun – Thai for thank you!

Ta – Thai for port or pier.

Teeruk- Thai for darling.

Wat – Thai for temple.

The cities elaborated with different places and events here include:Bangkok , Phuket, Pattaya, Ko Samui , Chang Mai, Udon Thani, Cha am All the above

locations have airports except for pattaya and cha am (there’s one in Hua hin)

Bangkok

Bangkok is truly a city that never sleeps, a city with a real energy that can induce you in, take a firm hold of you and in some cases, refuse to let go! Bangkok is not a city of endless tourist attractions and must see museums, but a city you visit to feel the vibe. Bangkok has an energy seldom found elsewhere.To the uninitiated, it can appear to be another big, drab grey city but if you persevere, exploring the city can be a rewarding experience.

Before you decide to go all out on the exploring stuff, I am sure its agreeable to get a suitable accommodation. Some of the Hotels/resorts giving best value for oney can be found here As far as attractions and interesting things to see and do in Bangkok go, there are a handful. The old part of town, that is the area down near the river, not far from the Khao San Road area, is where you’ll find a lot of the more culturally and historically significant building and temples. That is one part of the city that is actually quite pretty. For many the highlight of the area is the Grand Palace (Wat Pra Kaew), the most culturally important of all of Thailand’s 40,000+ Buddhist temples. The dress code for entry is strictly enforced – you shouldn’t wear anything to brief or a sleeveless shirt.Sort of over and behind the Grand Palace is Wat Po, which is preferable to the Grand Palace. The other major temple in this area is Wat Arun, most probably the most photographed temple, or for that matter, location, in all of Bangkok. Wat Arun is the fascinating temple just over the Chao Praya River from the Grand Palace and Wat Po.The tallest building in Bangkok is the Baiyoke 2 Tower which towers above everything else. It’s located a few hundred metres up from the Central World Plaza in a busy parks of the Pratunam Market. The tower soars around 300 metres into the sky and from the top, on a clear day at least, you get good views of Bangkok There’s a somewhat dated but still interesting

SNAKE FARM right in the heart of the city. Located on Rama 4 Road, within the Red Cross compound, it features a show that is presented in both English and Thai.Also in the Lumpini area is one of the city’s two major Thai boxing stadiums, Lumpini Stadium. Rather than go for ringside seats, I think it is a lot more fun to sit up in the main stand with the Thais and watch them gambling. Heaps of fun!The Ancient City, known as Meuang Boran in Thai, located a fair distance from the centre of Bangkok, is another excellent attraction, in fact the word excellent really doesn’t do it justice. It truly is a photographer’s dream. There are a number of different companies offering dinner cruises on the Chao Praya river. Some of the deals are for a buffet dinner and some are a la carte.

Pros: The Thai capital is less about tourist attractions – although there are many, but more about the vibe. Friendly people who are easily excited like to have fun – and their attitude and zest for life can be infectious.

Cons: It’s a drab, grey city with awful traffic problems. It is also home to many people who prey on tourists with various scams. You won’t get hit on the head, but you might get tricked out of your money.

The Bottom Line: Worth a few days of your time!

Phuket

It was the beautiful island of Phuket that first lured me to the Kingdom Of Thailand. In fact when I first moved to Thailand my plan was to go to Phuket and secure a job teaching English down there but for whatever reason, it never happened and I ended up in Bangkok.Phuket is one of the world’s premier beach holiday destinations and ranks alongside the French Riviera, the Mediterranean and Hawaii as places where people will happily endure up to 24 hours discomfort on a plane for the promise of the quintessential beach holiday.

Phuket is an island connected to the Thai mainland by a bridge, and is located about 1,000 km from Bangkok There are many beaches around the island province of Phuket but by far and away the most developed is Patong Beach. Patong Beach is tourist central where all of the nations of the world come together. Here you will find far, far, far more Indian and Italian restaurants than you will Thai restaurants, proving just how touristed Patong place has become.Patong is the nightlife capital of the island, not that much different to Pattaya, only smaller. For Phuket nightlife, Patong is the centre.South of Patpong Beach is Karon Beach, my favourite of Phuket’s beaches. 3 km of soft white sand lead gently down to the beautiful Andaman Sea. While accommodation prices have moved in a similar manner to those at Patong, the prices at Karon are more attractive than Patong.South of Karon Beach is Kata Beach, a somewhat smaller beach that is NOT a private beach for Club Med as some people believe.This, like Karon, is another really lovely beach and a great place to wile away the days and baste yourself under the hot Thai sun.Accommodation and restaurants are a little cheaper there than the other beaches. It is certainly much quieter and less hustle and bustle than Patong. .

There are many day trip options available from Phuket.Two of these in particular are well worthwhile. The first recommended day trip is the one that takes you to Phanga Bay and the so called James Bond Island. The second day trip that is well worthwhile is over to the small paradise like island, Phi Phi.

Pros: Beautiful, diverse island with a little something for most people. Some beautiful beaches. Some SUPERB day trips available including Phi Phi Island and Phanga Bay.

Cons:Phuket isn’t cheap. A lot of very jaded Thais work the Phuket tourist scene. Local transport is far too expensive. Food prices, especially some of the restaurants in big hotels targeting Westerners, are expensive.

The Bottom Line: If you want a comfortable beach holiday with Western comforts, Phuket is the place for you.

Pattaya

Nowhere on earth can you find such a well developed tourism industry where sex is such a big part of it, as you can in Pattaya. It is located 150 km south east of Bangkok.Once you’ve reached Pattaya you’ll have to find somewhere to stay and if there is one area where Pattaya really excels in a huge choice of very affordable accommodation, like the Dusit Resort, the Marriott and the Sheraton. But it is in the mid-range where Pattaya accommodation represents the best value for money.There are a few beaches in the Pattaya area. The first and most popular beach is Pattaya beach. Over the hill to the south is Jomtien Beach which is very popular with Thais, especially at the weekend, and to the north of Pattaya are Nagleua and Wongamart beaches, both of which are popular with older Europeans, particularly German speakers (meaning not just Germany, but Austria and Switzerland too.)Naglua Beach, just north of Pattaya Beach: Pattaya Beach. Well, what can I say? It’s your typical crescent shaped beach, perhaps 3 km long, and is one of those beaches that is just long enough that you can walk from one end to the other without taking a break and without getting bored or tired.There are numerous fishing vessels moored relatively close to the beach and while one understands that they have a living to make, they can be quite an eyesore. Over the hill from Pattaya, is Jomtien Beach, a nicer beach than Pattaya Beach, and a quieter area.Being next to the sea and home to a lot of fisherman, the seafood is obviously pretty good in Pattaya although I have to say that I much prefer Hua Hin for good, inexpensive seafood.

The sun sets at Pattaya: There is a reasonable shopping centre in Pattaya called Royal Plaza and another mediocre one called Mikes Department Store. On the top floor of Royal Plaza is a cinema multiplex, various amusement and fair style games and a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum. It’s a good place to spend an hour wandering around in air-conditioned comfort away from the heat.

Pros: Close to Bangkok and therefore both cheap and easy to get to. Very reasonably priced accommodation and easy to get around. Good level of English due to high tourist numbers. Most reasonably priced of the popular Thai beaches. Good seafood as well as many very good, reasonably priced restaurants.

Cons: Prostitutes are everywhere – though this will appeal to some. Beaches are far from the best in Thailand. The British lager louts as well as the Russians have discovered Pattaya – and there can be some tension at times as some people consume way too much alcohol – and prove they can’t handle it by getting into fights.

The Bottom Line: It really depends on what you want in a holiday but frankly, if you are not interested in going on a holiday and meeting a local to have as your travel companion, amongst other things, Pattaya may not be for you. While reasonably priced, the beach really is nothing special at all. Still, there is a very pleasant atmosphere about Pattaya.

Ko Samui

Ko Samui, once known as an affordable destination and a backpacker’s paradise, is the second largest island in Thailand. You can reach Ko Samui on Thai Airways in a flight that is a little under an hour.There are several flights between Bangkok and Samui every day. You can reach the island overland by travelling by Bangkok to Surat Thani by road and then taking a boat across.Samui is dominated by two beaches, Chaweng Beach which is the largest and most popular beach and Lamai Beach which is a few kilometres south and also very popular, although perhaps a little quieter as it is smaller and has less places to stay than the heavily developed Chaweng. There are other locations all over the island including Big Buddha and Bophut The infrastructure on Samui is still coming along and for many that it is one of the big appeals about the place.

Nearby Samui is Ko Phangnan and not far from Ko Phangnan is Ko Tao. Ko Phangnan is where a lot of the backpackers end up these days, a smaller island that is a short boat ride north of Samui. There is nothing on this page at this stage as I have never been there. It happens to be the home of the Full Moon Party when everyone parties all night and gets silly on dope and all sorts of other illicit and dangerous substances – not really my idea of fun but many seem to have a real blast there. Ko Tao is said to be one of the best places in Thailand for diving, although again, I have never been there.

Pros: Nice beaches. Has a nice atmosphere, not too quiet but not too developed. Still affordable – but for how much longer?

Cons: Getting there from Bangkok is a little pricey. Too many backpackers arguing over who has paid the least for this or that.

The Bottom Line: A nice alternative to Phuket. It is not as developed as Phuket, which may or may not be to your taste.

Chiang Mai

Tourism is a huge part of the local economy and the city of Chiang Mai is set up very well for visitors. Accommodation is available in all price ranges, though there are not that many flash places in the centre of the city. If you are looking for lots of 5 star options, you won’t have anything like the range of properties that are available to you in Bangkok.In Chiang Mai there is heaps to see and do. The city itself is pleasant with a lot of temples and there are a couple of very impressive temples outside the city including Doi Suthep which to me is probably the most impressive temple complex I have ever visited. It is in my mind a MUST visit attraction if you make it up to Chiang Mai. Another of the popular trips is to Doi Inthanon, which is the highest point in Thailand.

First of all, the weather is much more pleasant, it is cooler (though this depends on the time of year), has less pollution and at night it was genuinely cool. Secondly, the food up in Chiang Mai is a little different to what is available in Bangkok. Apart from the khao soi, sort of crispy noodles in a mild curry. The people in Chiang Mai are noticeably friendlier, more polite and generally a whole lo nicer than people from any other part of the country.The north of Thailand, of which Chiang Mai is the centre, has done a much better job preserving the culture of the country, and indeed the region, than any other parts of the country and Chiang Mai is THE place to go to celebrate the major Thai festivals like Songkran and Loy Kratong.It is ironic that it took 7 years living in Thailand before I made it to Chiang Mai for the first time. It is something I want to fix and an extended stay up there is well in order! I have only spent two days up there and thus my report on that part of the country is relatively short.

Pros: Very well set up for tourism, affordable, pleasant people, pleasant environment and heaps to see and do! It is much more a cultural visit than is Bangkok.

Cons:I can’t think of any but some might consider it a bit quiet compared to Bangkok.

The Bottom Line: Very much worth visiting!

UDON THANI

Another 100 or so kilometres up the road from Khon Kaen is Udon Thani, a smaller provincial capital which has proven to be popular with Westerners in recent years and even has a thriving farang bar scene. The city of Udon doesn’t have any major tourist attractions, or at least none that I am aware of. The provinces attractions are well outside the provincial capital and include national parks and Ban Chiang, a site where a lot of old fossils and relics were found and a spot said to be of archaeological significance. A friend who has visited was not that impressed but that said, I have not been there myself. In downtown Udon there is a large shopping centre with a greater vibrancy than any of the other shopping centres in the major centres of Udon. Here you will see far more Westerners than anywhere else in Isaan, some are tourists and some are locally based. I guess most make it to Udon with their teeruk.This shopping centre is where many of the more well to do Udonites venture at the weekend and I cannot imagine what they think of establishments opening that target farangs directly, bars and restaurants.Food in Udon Thani is very good. Westerners rave about the Irish Clock, a small Irish bar which I have yet to try. There is also a very, very good Italian restaurant called Roma Piccolo which is superb. It is located a bit outside the city centre, out on the road past Big C. It is well worth going out of your way for!

Cha Am

About 25 km north of Hua Hin on the way to Bangkok is Cha Am, a beach that curiously you’ll read much less about in the guides and brochures than Hua Hin, but which at the weekend seems to be almost as busy, if not busier than its more well-known neighbour, Hua Hin itself.Cha Am is a long beach which is very popular with Thais and becoming increasingly popular with Westerners. It is very popular with Bangkok Thais, as well as upcountry Thais, who flock their in droves at the weekend.The big advantage of Cha Am over Hua Hin is that generally speaking, Cha Am attracts Thai tourists who are a bit more sensitive to price than Westerners. That means that things are cheaper. So, if you are sensitive to price, then Cha Am offers you nice Thai beach resort at very reasonable prices.

Pros:Cheaper than Hua Hin, especially in the case of lower end accommodation.

Cons:The beach really is not that special.

The Bottom Line: An alternative to Hua Hin.

Ko Samet

Ko Samet is located about 200 km from Bangkok and as the word “Ko” designates, it is an island. If you’re coming from Bangkok you will need to make your way to Bahn Pe where most of the ferries leave the mainland from, bound for Ko Samet, or Samet Island as it should technically be called in English.Ko Samet can be reached from Bangkok in about four hours and there are a couple of different ways of getting there. Once at Bahn Pe, you take a boat over to the mainland. There are a number of different piers with ferry boats going to the different bays on the island – so you need to know which part of the island you wish to go to.Samet is small in size and there is very little industry on it apart from tourism, fishing and basic services offered for both tourists and the island’s residents.With this in mind, a lot of what is sold on the island has to be brought over from the mainland and this means the prices of basic goods can be much higher on the island than on the mainland.Samet can get quite busy at the weekend, especially long weekends, when Bangkokians escape the madness of the capital and rooms can be hard to come by. Samet is one of few places in Thailand I would not head to without making a reservation first as there is only a limited number of places to stay, and there are even less in Bahn Pe, on the mainland.

Pros: Not too far from Bangkok and relatively easy to get to. Beautiful beaches on a paradise island. Low level of development – comparatively.

Cons: Not a huge amount to do there – but some would consider that a bonus. Accommodation is expensive for what you get. It can get busy during the high season and the beach can get over run.

The Bottom Line: Paradise is only four hours from Bangkok. A little pricey given the poor infrastructure but a nice place that appeals to some, and not to others.

Royal First Class service on Thai Airways International, Boeing 747-400, from Bangkok to Hong Kong. Breakfast service. Landing in rain showers in Hong Kong. Filmed in December 2009. Visit my blog dazz81.blogspot.com

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Details of the Continental Airlines Credit Card Application

If you are a frequent traveler with Continental Airlines and have a great credit history behind you than this is the credit card that will be suit your needs. When you become a card holder you will begin earning 1air mile per every dollar that you spend using your Continental Airlines credit card. These air miles can accumulate quickly!

Continental Airlines also offers their cardholders the chance to earn double the air miles when they make purchases at any restaurants or merchants partnered with Continental and even when you purchase tickets through Continental. With your very first purchase Continental Airlines credit card gives you a bonus 15,000 air miles to get you started. The great aspect about this card is that your miles can never expire and there is no limit on how many miles you can earn in a year. There are some other air miles cards which place limits on your air miles; this is a great benefit of this card.

This card does however have a high annual fee of as well as above average interest rates. In the first 6months of owning this credit card you are rewarded with lower interest rates on general purchases and transfers.

As like many of the competitor air miles cards, you can expect that the Continental Airlines credit card offers a great deal of other travel necessities as added bonuses. Including:

• Up to ,000,000 in travel insurance

• Auto rental insurance

• Purchase protection and security

These benefits are great necessities for anyone on their travels and they can be earned just by using your Continental Airline credit card. The final benefit that sets this card aside from any other card, including any platinum card is that is has no pre-set spending limit for first time approvals. This is a feature that many people look for before applying for any credit card as credit card with spending limits can become a bit of a hassle, especially if you use your card on a regular basis. The Continental Airlines credit card has the benefits to satisfy any customer.

Continental Airlines merges with United Airlines October 1st, 2010

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The Benefits Of Traveling Business Class In United Airlines

People would want to avoid the hullabaloos of traveling in economic class and they would go for business class for obvious reasons. The executive class airlines ensure comfort and luxury for the travelers in a reasonable price. If the passengers put in a little time to do proper research, it would be easy to book seats in cheap business class flights. But it is essentially important that the passengers should get the services that they pay for. International carriers like United Airlines offer services for making business travel more comfortable.

United Airlines has been constantly expanding services to convert many of the long haul aircrafts with new business class seats and services. The seats are the most significant factor that determines the comfort level of a journey. The business class seats in United Airline are lay-flat and they mean it to the word. The seats would recline completely to a full 180 degree for giving the passengers a good sleep. The airline provides the customers with cozy blankets and pillows for encouraging a sound sleep. Moreover there would be a six-way adjustable head rest for the travelers and this would create the whole ambience of a luxury suite room. For avoiding problems of backache, the seats have a four-way lumbar support function available. The meal tray is comparatively large and you can even a keep a laptop computer inside.

The next important service is the in-flight entertainment options. There are endless options available for the air passengers. The entertainment system consists of a 15 inch screen placed at just the right distance. The screen gives perfect picture quality for the viewers in all possible lighting conditions. Passengers are given noise reducing headsets and have excellent qualities giving super music and voice reproduction. If the travelers need to recharge their iPods, then there are iPod ports with 110 volt power points available on board. In addition, there is USD connection too.

The airline food has been constantly under criticism for many years. But United Airlines have designed a novel and healthy menu. For long haul flights, the meals are extremely important. If the food is not satisfying, then the whole journey would be spoiled. United Airline offers local and international cuisine for business class passengers. Adding to this, the wine list is also interesting which greatly satisfies the customers.

If you are taking a long flight, you would surely want to get good sleep and good food. Moreover you don’t want to experience stress during the journey. Lighting plays an important role in giving a stress free journey. In long haul flights, the cabin lights would be generally dimmed. But the flight would have two major lighting sources which would be sufficient enough to give lighting. The overhead light is fixed but the light behind the seat is flexible. This would help in getting enough light whenever needed.

The airline would also give extra privilege to the business class passengers while boarding and deplaning. They are given priority at check in positions too. Some other perks include luxurious lounge facility at airports with shower rooms, nap rooms etc.

UBG Song#3 is released! www.davecarrollmusic.com/song3 There is now a video response: www.youtube.com Full Story: www.davecarrollmusic.com – In the spring of 2008, Sons of Maxwell were traveling to Nebraska for a one-week tour and my Taylor guitar was witnessed being thrown by United Airlines baggage handlers in Chicago. I discovered later that the 00 guitar was severely damaged. They didnt deny the experience occurred but for nine months the various people I communicated with put the responsibility for dealing with the damage on everyone other than themselves and finally said they would do nothing to compensate me for my loss. So I promised the last person to finally say no to compensation (Ms. Irlweg) that I would write and produce three songs about my experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be viewed online by anyone in the world. United: Song 1 is the first of those songs. United: Song 2 has been written and video production is underway. United: Song 3 is coming. I promise. Follow me at twitter.com . Video Produced by Curve Productions of Halifax, www.curveproductionsinc.com.

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Irresistibly Low Price Airline Ticket: Book Now

Indian airways is new name in Indian aviation industry, which has revolutionized low price airline ticket experience, and redefined cheap India air ticket reservation facility. Indian airway is proving its mettle with its luxurious and outstanding travel facilities and services to its customers. There are many sites listed which can be found with simple search on Google for Indian airways low price airline ticket. Low price airline ticket has been designed professionally to find you the best expert travel solution for cheap India air ticket. With the coming of low price airline ticket sites, travellers don’t have to go hither thither for low price airline ticket, now they can book airtickets India anytime they want, at just one click. In addition to this, as we know Indian airways has made air travel easy for Indians, now low price airline ticket for Indian airways on cheap India air ticket sites has become more irresistible with lot of offerings and incentives with every purchase of airtickets India.

Low Price Airline ticket sites have been putting there best endeavor to provide best opportunities to first-time flying Indian travellers for air travel. If you think that you want change and want to switch to air travel from train travel then log onto low price airline ticket to grab the best offer for cheap India air ticket to make your travelling more remunerative. Low price airline ticket sites have packages designed with expertise to for your comprehensive travel solutions. There are romantic, sports, spiritual, shopping etc packages for making your desired destination travel wonderful and memorable. At low price airline ticket sites you have packages which also arrange other facilities for your destination with your airtickets India. You can also go for the train travel or car rentals at low price airline ticket sites, just think of any facility, cheap India air ticket sites have everything related to your travel solutions at hand.

If you are not able to find airtickets India anywhere, then low price airline ticket sites have airtickets India readily available to you at just one click. All you need to do is to log onto low price airline ticket and browse through cheap India air ticket, and eventually choose Indian airways best airtickets India.

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Shady Business with United Airlines Merchant Accounts

Travel agencies have typically relied upon acting as a merchant of record under the merchant accounts of airlines for ticket sales because of the costs involved in disputes regarding these high value transactions when airlines cannot deliver on the service offered due to flight cancellations, et cetera. However, United Airlines has made a move to break with this tradition by notifying several low-volume agents that they will no longer have the ability to make sales using United’s merchant account. The 28 affected travel agencies were first notified of this action by United on June 19, 2009, and were told that their access would be cut off by July 20, 2009. As a result of protests, United has since extended the cutoff date an additional 60 days. This would mean that the affected travel agencies would have to absorb the costs of using their own merchant accounts, if they could even qualify for them, or pass the costs onto customers in the form of higher service fees.

The protest lodged by the affected agencies claims that United’s action would undermine the Fair Credit Billing Act and is simply an attempt to shift operating costs to travel agents, and ultimately on to customers. United asserts that consumers would still be protected under the Fair Credit Billing Act which offers protection in the event that the airline would declare bankruptcy, and analysts point out that the amount of costs that United would be passing on to so few a number of agencies would not be significant. So why would United do this?

Speculation is that this is simply a trial for a much broader action by United to shift operating costs to agents. But the implications of this are much broader than cost shifting when considering how this would affect online travel services which allow for easy comparison between the price of tickets offered buy different airlines, forcing consumers to deal directly with United. Without access to airline merchant accounts, online travel agents would not be able to offer such easy comparison between airlines.

For more details: http://www.thetransactiongroup.net

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History of Southwest Airlines

Before 34 years back, Rollin King and Herb Kelleher got together and decided to start a different sort of airlines. They started it off with a simple notion that if you get your passenger to their destination on time and at the lowest possible fares then people are sure to fly through your airlines and this hold very true.

Therefore a small Texas Airlines turned to become one of the largest airlines in America. Today, Southwest Airlines flies more than 70 million passengers in a year to 60 great cities all across the country and that too 3,000 times in a day.

Southwest airlines have 436 of new jets in the nation with an average age of 9 years. Included in the same fleet are three flying killer whales, Shamu One, two and three, Lone Star One, Arizona One, California One, Silver One, Triple Crown One, Nevada One, New Mexico One and the newest addition Maryland One. Out of these Lone Star One is painted like the Texas flag to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Southwest Airlines, Arizona One symbolizes the importance of the state of Arizona to Southwest airlines, California One that is a high flying tribute to the state of California, Silver One is dedicated to the 25th Anniversary plane, Triple Crown One being dedicated to the Employees of Southwest airlines for their marvelous achievement of the five consecutive annual triple crown awards, Nevada One being a tribute to the state of Nevada, New Mexico One also known as Zia is painted in the bright yellow of the New Mexico flag and Maryland One with an artistic rendering of the Maryland flag.

During May 1988, Southwest airlines was the first airline to win the coveted Triple Crown for a month- Best on time Record, Best baggage handling and fewest customer complaints that has been won more than 30 times along with five annual triple crowns for the year 1992, 1993,1994,1995 and 1996 and no other airlines contributed more than the Southwest airlines.

For detailed information, visit southwest-airlines-guide.info

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