New Moon has such a hold on the world right now that even Martha Stewart admitted to having dreams about Robert Pattinson. The movie's cast hasn't been helping matters either with a media blitz that has taken them around the world, but let's not forget where it all started, in Vancouver.
The "New Moon" movie was filmed in Vancity last spring and its stars seemed to make the most of their time there. Check out a few of their favorite spots and find out how you can see them all for yourself: ]]>
Air Canada has been busy spending lots of cash on stuff like iPhone Apps, in-flight WiFi, and snazzy software for your Blackberry. This stuff all costs money, and like all other airlines, the money probably isn’t just pouring in up in Canada. So the country’s flagship carrier is opening up the fee and charge toolbox in hopes of finding a good way to boost revenue.
The airline will begin to charge for seats with more room to stretch out your legs. That means scoring an exit row or bulkhead seat with the online seat selector has become a thing of the past. It will set you back at least $14 each way to reserve one of those seats. We do love getting an exit seat, but it’s kind of sad that we are willing to pay for an upgrade—after all, it’s still coach. ]]>
Have you been watching the Olympic countdown on Vancouver2010.com? With less than three months to go before the Winter Olympics, we've already seen promos for the "Today" show's trip to Vancouver in February, but Tourism Vancouver wants to make sure that Matt, Meredith and Al aren't the only ones in town for the games.
Tourism Vancouver's Olympic Sweepstakes is offering up three prizes for people who sign up for their monthly newsletter. The gold prize—relating to Olympics medals, of course—is a deluxe Olympic package including tickets to alpine skiing and the closing ceremony, plus plane tickets and a hotel room. Not that Silver and Bronze are too shabby either, with hockey qualifying tickets and a Wii up for grabs.
While you plan your trip to Vancouver, you can follow along on the torch's journey with an interactive map. It's in Prince Edward Island now but may be coming to your town soon, if you're lucky enough to be in Canada.
Related Stories:
· Sign up for the Tourism Vancouver monthly newsletter here. [TourismVancouver.com]
· Is It Time To Start Booking Rooms For the Vancouver Olympics? (YES.) [HC]
· LGet Thee To The Jetty: A Perfect Plane Spotting In Vancouver [Jaunted]
[Photo of the Olympic Village under construction: roland] ]]>
There was a little scare in the air over the weekend for passengers and crew aboard a Porter Airlines flight from Halifax, Nova Scotia to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The pilot of the plane apparently passed out and lost consciousness shortly after the plane took off. The plane made an in-flight U-turn and headed back to Halifax with the copilot at the controls.
It isn’t known what exactly caused the pilot’s medical situation, but he was able to leave the plane and walk into an ambulance upon landing. He was of course taken to the hospital to check things out. All of the passengers remained on the plane until a replacement crew reported for duty—hopefully they gave out lots of their complimentary wine—and the plane later made it to its final destination. ]]>
For one reason or another, Canadian low cost carrier WestJet flies planes to Hawaii at less than full capacity. Being an airline, and an LCC at that, they've naturally come up with a way to use that reality to charge passengers. Customers who prefer to have an empty seat next to them - and who doesn't - will now be able to pay to lock in that privilege:
WestJet’s simple solution is to leave the middle seat empty in the first eight to ten rows of its Boeing 737-700s flying between Calgary and Hawaii. The company says there will be a small price increase for passengers wanting the extra elbow room... The empty seats are actually necessary to make the flight to Hawaii... The company’s 737-700s have been flying the shorter non-stop route between Vancouver and Hawaii for several years now. But the airplane... can’t make the longer flight from Calgary to Hawaii with a full passenger load because of range limitations based on the fuel it can carry.
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Like the real Amelia Earhart, Hilary Swank traveled around the world while shooting the film Amelia, in theaters today. They even spent a few very notable days in picturesque Halifax, Nova Scotia where they recreated Earhart's departure on the plane "Friendship," which landed in Wales less than a day later, making Amelia the first woman to cross the Atlantic by plane.
In honor of Amelia, here are a few tips to having a high-flying getaway of your own in Nova Scotia:
You don't need a pilot's license, to see the sights of Halifax from above. Air Vision Services provides custom helicopter tours of Halifax and Nova Scotia year round. Tours can be 30 minutes, 60 minutes or as long as you would like to charter the aircraft. They will take you over the city or along the coastline, you get to call the shots and choose what you want to see. You can email Air Vision at info@visionairhelicopters.ca for rates and availability. ]]>
It's official; filming of Eclipse in Vancouver is coming to a close. On Tuesday, the movie's director, David Slade tweeted, "Just one week and a few days to go to complete principle photography, the finish line seems still so far." It probably can't come soon enough for Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart who get stalked daily by fans and paparazzi. A higher up at Summit (the film's production company) told E!, "Civilians are flying in all over the world to hunt down whoever they can find. It's bad. Literally [Rob and Kristen] have no choice but to stay inside."
It's gotten so bad, the couple has reportedly holed up together at the Sheraton Wall Centre and spends most of their time watching movies or listening to music when they aren't filming. It sounds like they have a pretty sweet set up though so we don't feel too bad for them. Apparently, they have two separate hotels rooms joined by a door plus a third suite on the same floor where they can watch TV on a huge flat screen. ]]>