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Rubbing Is Racing

November 14, 2008 at 3:21 PM | 0 Comments

One of our buds on Twitter--you do follow us on Twitter, don't you?--just gave us a heads up about this insane video of "extreme hovercraft racing" in Buckinghamshire, England. We're struggling to come up with a news hook for it, but, you know what, it's always a good time to write about hovercraft derbies.

There's actually a European Hovercraft Federation that sanctions racing events all over the Continent, if you want to go see one of these in person. Winter is the off-season, but the 2009 schedule kicks off with a two-day event in Frieburg, Germany, May 9-10. More races continue through the summer in Germany, as well as in France, Slovakia and Poland.

Related Stories:
· European Hovercraft Federation [Official Site]
· Travel Videos coverage [Jaunted]

Supermarket List: Milk, Bread, Cheap Vacation

November 12, 2008 at 9:00 AM | 0 Comments

While you might be used to picking up cheap groceries in your nearest Aldi, we had never thought you could pick up a vacation while you’re at it. But apparently the no-frills supermarket chain has already made in-roads on the German-speaking travel market and Britain is next in line.

Come January, Aldi Travel plans to sell cheap city breaks, summer vacations and ski deals across Europe through their website. They’ll advertise six different holidays every two weeks through in-store brochures and customers will pick up their package online.

We can see the attractiveness of cheap prices in exchange for total unattractiveness at Aldi supermarkets, but we’re not sure how this transfers to vacations. Will we get cheap prices and totally unattractive hotels? The jury’s still out.

Related Stories:
· Aldi Travel [Official Site]
· Discount Chain Aldi Sets Off On Holiday Market [UK Times]
· Online Travel Agents coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Laura Mary]

Is Ryanair The World's Crassest Airline?

November 3, 2008 at 9:20 AM | 1 Comment

Ryanair still hasn't decided if and when it'll start offering those super-cheap transatlantic fares, but the carrier just announced that it made $275 million in profit over the first half of 2008. Though that number was way down compared to last year's haul, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary was confident enough in his own carrier to say it would outlast the five or six more European airlines he thinks will go bust before Christmas.

He also added that Europe "needed a recession" and predicted that by the end of it the Continent would have just four airlines: British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France and, obviously, Ryanair.

It'd be easy to write this off as the bloviating of a large-than-life CEO--but Ryanair's accountants also signed off on zingers like these:

In the UK we continue to call for the removal of Mr. Harry Bush, the hopeless CAA regulator, as well as the sale of Stansted by the BAA monopoly. Mr. Bush has rubber stamped almost all of the BAA’s cost increases and [capital expenditure] proposals including their crazy plan to waste £4bn on Terminal 2 despite the unanimous opposition of all Stansted airline users to this gold plated Taj Mahal.

After getting slammed like this, Bush might want to sign onto the Facebook group "Ryanair: A Love/Hate Relationship."

Related Stories:
· Ryanair's First Half of 2008 Financial Results [Official Site]
· Ryanair Boss Predicts Airline Slump [PA]
· Blame Ryanair for the Most Annoying Song of 2008 [Jaunted]

[Photo: elward-photography]

Street View Now Available in France, Italy, Spain

October 30, 2008 at 3:05 PM | 0 Comments

The camera-laden vehicles of Google have been tooling around Europe lately, and the company has posted piles of new Street View imagery this week, with cities in Spain and Italy now available. (Shots of France went live earlier this month.)

In Spain, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville and Valencia are all street viewable now. We particularly like the views of the Sagrada Famiglia in Barcelona and the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia.

In Italy, Rome, Florence and Milan are the first to have on-the-street photos available, meaning you can check out stuff like the Colosseum and Milan's epic Piazza del Duomo. Sadly, Google doesn't appear to have any boat-mounted cameras: We're still waiting for "Street" View in Venice.

Related Stories:
· Un Paseo por España [Lat Long Blog]
· La Dolce Vista [Lat Long Blog]

Adventures of Link: The Meltdown's Silver Lining

October 21, 2008 at 5:30 PM | 0 Comments

One perk of the worldwide economic crisis? It's affecting everyone, meaning our European neighbors (and their travel companies) are feeling a bit poorer too. The New York Times says that "relief is in sight" as prices for trans-Atlantic airfare (especially in posh first class), hotels and package deals are starting to fall.

It's specifics you want? Find links to some of the deals mentioned below. But remember: If you find a bargain, book it before it disappears.

Related Stories:
· Europe Returning to Land of In-Reach [NYT]
· Reykjavik Excursions Is Cheap Thanks to the Weak Krona [Official Site]
· Delta Business Class Fares on Sale [Official Site]
· Ireland on Sale with Aer Lingus [Official Site]
· EasyHotels Make Sleeping in Europe Affordable [Official Site]
· Worth Repeating: Icelandair Flights Are Super Cheap [Official Site]

Spending Greenbacks Travel: Who's Laughing Now, Europe?

October 9, 2008 at 10:45 AM | 1 Comment

The government of Iceland has taken over the country's largest bank, after snatching up two others earlier this week. And in London, frightened investors are buying up dollars, the last refuge for Europeans looking to keep their assets at least somewhat safe.

In travel terms, that means going to Europe has just gotten way cheaper for people spending dollars.

more ›

New Train Travel: Fancy Europe Trips on Danube Express

October 1, 2008 at 9:30 AM | 0 Comments

If you're going to cross Europe on a train, you might as well do it properly, and if you've got the budget you can now hit the rail on the Danube Express, the big new rival to the (somewhat decaying) Orient Express.

The Danube Express is basically a five-star hotel on wheels--and there are quite a few routes that this rolling hotel travels. The main route runs all the way from Brussels down to Istanbul but you can also head from Budapest up to Berlin, for example.

But as we said, budget is a factor. One night on the train can cost around $2,700; if you can put up with a nostalgically old carriage instead, things get a bit cheaper. Then again, you could always fly for a fraction of the cost and time.

Related Stories:
· Danube Express [Official Site]
· Europe's New Luxury Rail Route [UK Times]

[Photo: Train Chartering]

European Low Cost Carriers: Blue Air Flies the Blue Skies

September 25, 2008 at 9:35 AM | 0 Comments

Up there, where the air is blue, that's where Romanian low-cost carrier Blue Air flies. Despite flying since 2006, they've only just popped up on our radar because of a rumor they're starting London Stansted to Brussels flights--a slightly odd route for a Romanian-based airline.

But it's cheap: For the launch of the London route, they're offering some €1 tickets (plus taxes, of course). Other routes are also going cheap--if not for a euro.

Blue Air have got just eight aircraft at the moment with at least two more on order, and passenger numbers are up over 20 percent on the same time last year. But we don't have any personal experience yet, so all we can hope is that flying on Blue Air doesn't leave you feelin' blue.

Related Stories:
· Blue Air [Official Site]
· Blue Air Reports 49 Million Euros in Turnover [Financialrul.ro]
· Low Cost Carriers coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Andrei Dimofte]

Itchy Travel: Bedbugs Now In Planes, Tranes and Automobiles Too

September 23, 2008 at 9:00 AM | 0 Comments

While we thought bedbugs were something that only worried our sister blog, apparently our jet-set lifestyle--especially thanks to budget airlines--is spreading bedbugs to places you might not have expected to catch them. In western Europe, pest controllers Rentokil report a 40% increase in the incidence of bedbugs in planes, trains and buses. Ew!

Apparently as well as nestling in seats that aren't cleaned adequately between passengers, the bedbugs also party on in the luggage hold and hop between bags. This summer the bedbugs have been especially active in Spain, with pretty much every hostel along the Santiago de Compostela pilgrim trail infested--they're hoping to close them all down in winter and clean them up until the next Ryanair or Easyjet load of bugs (we mean, tourists) lands.

Related Stories:
· Bedbugs Make a Return Through Low Cost Flights [Guardian]
· Bedbug Plague Strikes Santiago de Compostela Pilgrim Route [Telegraph]

[Photo: Alaina B]

Ryanair Has €10 Tickets and a Fight Against Scraper Sites

August 18, 2008 at 9:33 AM | 0 Comments

The miracle budget airline that is Ryanair continues to buck the trend of low cost carriers across the world by actually decreasing prices, with a promise to cut fares by five percent--and with a huge sale on now with five million seats going for €10 (including taxes and charges) for September and October travel.

Anyone would think that Ryanair had a mystery supply of cheap fuel, but no, CEO Michael O'Leary has admitted he's messed up on the oil price front already; that's why Ryanair will probably only just break even this year. Even so, he's sticking with the price decrease promise anyway.

The other big drama for Ryanair these days is the crackdown on "scraper" websites that have been selling the carrier's flights. Any customer who buys one of these fares (which, ironically, often end up more expensive anyway) will have their booking canceled, so there's definitely no benefit in going to third-party sites. We're keen on picking up a few €10 fares ourselves, but we'll book direct. Promise.

Related Stories:
· I Screwed Up, Ryanair Boss Admits [Belfast Telegraph]
· Ryanair Clamps Down on Internet Ticket Touts [Reuters]
· Ryanair coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: fabbriciuse]

German LCCs Aim to Confuse Us Completely

July 14, 2008 at 9:15 AM | 0 Comments

European low cost airlines are getting pretty incestuous lately. First Germanwings started sharing flight bookings with Clickair, which then merged with Vueling. The news this week is that Germanwings is in serious talks to merge with TuiFly and Condor, two other German based LCCs.

But we'll have to wait on the legalities of it all: Condor tried to merge with Air Berlin last year but the German cartel office nixed the idea.

If you can sort all that out, you're doing well. We have a simpler suggestion: Just merge the lot of them and call it Cheap German Airlines.

Related Stories:
· Condor Joins TuiFly/Germanwings Tie-Up Talks [Reuters]
· Germanwings and Clickair Get Into Bed [Jaunted]
· Airline Mergers, Spanish Style [Jaunted]

[Photo: Andrei Dimofte]

Airline Mergers, Spanish Style

July 9, 2008 at 9:00 AM | 0 Comments

It's definitely trendy these days for airlines to do a bit of merging. The latest one's taking place over the Spanish skies, and we highly approve because it's bringing together two low cost carriers that we actually like.

Spanish LCCs Clickair and Vueling Airlines have agreed to shack up together--with Vueling taking the top bunk. (Sadly, that means Clickair's cool name will disappear.) The two airlines have been negotiating details of the merger for months but just this week agreed that it's the best way to deal with rising costs.

The deal's not a sure thing quite yet: The Spanish authorities have to decide whether this merger goes against competition guidelines. We say go for it, in the hope that we'll get the perfect LCC with on-time flights and luxury leg room.

Related Stories:
· Spain's Vueling Says to Merge with Clickair [Reuters]
· From Barcelona With Love [Jaunted]
· Luxury on a Budget [Jaunted]

[Photo: carthesian]

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