Tuesday, 9 February 2010
First airline to offer full phone/wi-fi connection
The airline said it hoped the move will give passengers in First, Business and Economy classes the opportunity to make and receive mobile phone calls and SMS messages, use email and the internet and keep up to date with social networking media, such as Facebook and Twitter.
Launching the new service, Oman Air's chief executive officer, Peter Hill, said: "We are delighted to be leading the field by bringing the digital age to in-flight passenger communications. From mid-February we will be unrolling full connectivity across our Airbus A330 fleet, completing the task in the summer. This great new service will enrich the passenger experience and complement the stunning new interiors we are offering in all three classes of travel.
"For many travellers, the ability to communicate via phone, SMS, email or internet is a vital part of everyday life and staying in contact with friends, family or colleagues will constitute huge benefits for Oman Air's customers. People are increasingly expecting internet and mobile connectivity 'anywhere, anytime' and what better place is there than on an Oman Air A330, when you have a few quiet hours to catch up on your email, browse the internet or return that quick phone call."
Availability of the service will be controlled by the crew to ensure a minimum of disturbance to passengers during, for example, the quietest periods of overnight flights.
Don’t forget your holiday insurance!
You should buy your holiday insurance before you leave home, just in case you have an accident or fall ill on your travels. If you’re planning to take part in an activity on holiday, please ensure you check the policy wording to make sure you have cover for your chosen activity. 24/7 travel insurance automatically covers 70 activities as standard.
A Worldwide excluding USA, Canada & Caribbean cover for 7-days costs only £19.14† - a small price to pay for peace of mind to really enjoy your holiday! Click here for an instant quote.
† Premium £19.14 includes Insurance Premium Tax; based on an individual traveller aged under 55 taking out a Standard single-trip policy for 7 days Worldwide excluding USA, Canada & Caribbean cover and purchased within 14 days of departure date. Premium excludes personal possessions. Cover details and prices are correct at time of going to press (February 2010) and are subject to change.
Labels: Airline services
Monday, 8 February 2010
Theft of Ski/Snowboard Equipment
Skis and snowboards are popular targets for thieves, especially at busy ski areas (mountain restaurants, bars, après ski) where people continually drop off and pick up their equipment. Skis and snowboards become even easier targets when they are left unattended with no precautions taken to safeguard them.
Many insurance policies will not pay out if your equipment has been left 'unattended' so read your policy and make absolutely sure what they mean by unattended. If your gear is stolen, don't delay in reporting it to the police, as some insurers will refuse your claim otherwise.
Top tips for looking after your ski gear:
Swap it
- Never leave your equipment unattended. Swap one ski with a fellow traveller or partner. No thief will want to steal odd skis!
- Use the buddy system and ask a friend to watch your skis or snowboard while you're gone.
Lock it
- Lock up your equipment whenever possible. Many locations now offer lockable racks at many communal areas for a small charge.
- Secure your valuables in the lockers or check-in services provided.
- Lock your skis / snowboard with a purpose made ski lock - these devices are small, lightweight, reasonably priced (approx. £10) and can be purchased in most ski shops / resorts.
Mark it
- Make sure your equipment is clearly identified (invisible marker) with your name, address and mobile number or another type of identifiable mark to assist police in identifying you as the owner.
If your ski / snowboard equipment is stolen
- Report it to the police or appropriate authority within 24 hours of discovery and obtain a written report.
- Make sure you inform the police about any identifying marks on your skis or snowboard. If your equipment is found, these marks will help police identify you as the owner.
- Re-visit the theft location and check with all local bar, restaurant or shop owners – ask around for any helpful information.
Remember your 24/7 wintersports travel insurance...
It is not just medical emergencies that wintersports travel insurance can protect you from financially - policies may include:
cover for stolen or damaged ski equipment
baggage loss
piste closure
personal liability
loss of ski passes
medical repatriation
So check your wintersports travel insurance cover carefully to avoid being left out of pocket!
Travel Insurance with wintersports cover can be purchased for just £11.82* at 24/7 travel insurance – a small price to pay to be able to really enjoy your wintersports holiday on the slopes!
* Premium £11.82 includes Insurance Premium Tax, Personal Possessions cover and Wintersports cover. Based on a ‘standard’ single trip 24/7 travel insurance policy for one adult aged under 55 travelling to Europe for 3 days. Policy purchased within 14 days of departure date. Cover details and prices are correct at time of going to press (February 2010) and are subject to change.
Labels: wintersports travel insurance
Friday, 5 February 2010
'Staycationers' may not be getting best deal
The Office of National Statistics reported trips abroad by Britons dropped 17% in the past year. In their place “staycations” have increased in popularity as UK residents try to save money during the credit crunch.
Flight Centre, however, reports that holidaying in the UK may not be the best deal. Countries such as Spain and Portugal are often cheaper substitutes to staying in the UK as accommodation is inexpensive enough to compensate for the cost of flying.
According to the Flight Centre, a package holiday in the Costa del Sol costs from £255 including seven nights in a hotel, return flights out of Gatwick Airport and eight days’ car hire. A comparable holiday in Devon costs about £450.
Flight Centre UK marketing manager, David Forder, said: “In many cases it can work out significantly cheaper than a holiday at home and gives holidaymakers the chance to experience a new place, people and cultures,” He added: “The warmer climate is also a big bonus.”
Another featured holiday is the beach holiday destination in the Algarve, Portugal. Travel packages start at £255 which also includes flights, car hire and hotel. Flight Centre offers this as an alternative to Cornwall where holidays are priced around £700.
Don’t forget your cheap holiday insurance!
You can purchase great value holiday insurance direct at 24/7 travel insurance, click here for an instant quote. For a 3-day break in Europe, it will cost you only £5.32* - a small price to pay so you can enjoy your holiday all the more!
*Premium £5.32 includes Insurance Premium Tax based on an adult aged under 55 taking out a “Standard” Single-trip 24/7 travel insurance policy for 3-days in Europe excluding personal possessions cover and purchased within 14 days of departure date. Cover details and prices are correct at time of going to press (February 2010) and are subject to change.
Labels: Staycationers
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
The best places to see the Northern Lights
Iceland
Located high above the Arctic Circle, the remote location of western Iceland, with sweeping lava fields and with uninterrupted views out to the ocean, makes the area a perfect base for seeing the Northern Lights. This is the perfect place to unwind and explore this beautiful area of the country during the day and hopefully view the northern lights at night.
Finland
The hotel and igloo village resort of Kakslauttanen in Finnish Lapland is the perfect place for seeing the magical Northern lights because there is minimal light pollution. Its location is in the northern region of Lapland which is almost entirely located within the realm of the Arctic Circle. During the dark winter months, when the sun rarely rises over the horizon, the best time to see the Northern Lights is between late September to early March.
Sweden
Visit the new Aurora Sky Station, which claims to be the best place on earth for a 'northern light experience', and you're almost guaranteed a view of the lights. The lights are created by particles from space exploding on impact with the earth's atmosphere. The station is in the village of Abisko, in the Swedish mountains 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle, between Kiruna in Sweden and Narvik in Norway. From the village, a cable-car takes visitors 900m up to the station. Guests can stay in the Abisko Mountain Station, which is open three nights a week from September to March.
Canada
The best view of the beautiful Northern Lights can be found throughout Canada’s wilderness and mountains especially within the Nunavut, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. The further north you travel the more spectacular the lights become. The Northern Lights can best be seen once the nights have turned long. Autumn and winter are the best seasons to see the phenomena. Late September through to March are the typical winter months in Canada in which you can view the Northern Lights.
Don’t forget your cheap travel insurance!
You can purchase great value travel insurance direct at 24/7 travel insurance, click here for a quote. For a 3-day break in Europe, it will cost you only £5.32* - a small price to pay so you can enjoy your northern lights holiday all the more!
*Premium £5.32 includes Insurance Premium Tax based on an adult aged under 55 taking out a “Standard” Single-trip 24/7 travel insurance policy for 3-days in Europe excluding personal possessions cover and purchased within 14 days of departure date. Cover details and prices are correct at time of going to press (February 2010) and are subject to change.
Labels: Northern Lights
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Do you have adequate travel insurance?
The events of the past couple of weeks over the festive period have highlighted how important it is to have travel insurance when heading abroad.
Thousands of holidaymakers have had their Christmas trips jeopardised by heavy snowfall, closed airports, cancelled Eurostar trains, the collapse of the Globespan airline and, at one point, the threat of 12 days of industrial action by British Airways.
But this ‘peace of mind’ cover does not fully protect holidaymakers in many of these circumstances. That's why it is important to know what is covered, and more importantly, what is excluded when buying travel insurance.
If you have had your travel plans disrupted, your first port of call is to claim a refund from the travel company, be it an airline, train operator, or travel agent. Provided the agent is covered by either ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) or Atol-bonded (the Air Travel Organiser's Licence), you should be entitled to a refund or rearrange your trip.
Those who have bought a ‘packaged holiday’, where travel and accommodation are purchased together, should have the costs reimbursed by the tour operator.
But independent travellers, who have booked flights and accommodation separately, may find themselves out of pocket if their travel insurance policy is not comprehensive enough to cover them. 24/7 travel insurance automatically includes BONDPLUS Financial Failure cover on all ‘Premier’ policies.
It is also worth remembering that booking trips on a credit card offers additional protection. Under the Consumer Credit Act a credit card issuer should be jointly liable for any goods or services paid for which do not materialise.
Travel insurance is a must!
When buying your travel insurance, don’t assume that every policy is the same. Your needs may be different from others, so make sure the policy you buy provides the cover that you require.
Read the small print, check the level of cover and ensure you are covered for any activities that you want to undertake.
Carry your travel insurance documentation with you whilst abroad and keep the 24-hour emergency medical assistance number on you at all times along with your policy number.
Click here for an instant 24/7 travel insurance quote, for just £7.33* 24/7 travel insurance will cover you for a 3-day trip to Europe including Financial Failure Protection!
*Premium £7.33 includes Insurance Premium Tax; based on an individual traveller aged under 55 taking out a ‘Premier’ single-trip policy for 3 days in Europe excluding personal possessions cover and purchased within 14 days of departure date. Cover details and prices are correct at time of going to press (February 2010) and are subject to change.
Labels: Adequate travel insurance
Monday, 1 February 2010
Top 10 African Safari Destinations
1. Masai Mara National Reserve (Kenya)
Kenya is Africa's most popular safari destination and the Masai Mara Reserve is the most popular wildlife park in Kenya. From July - October you can witness the incredible migration of millions of wildebeest and zebra.
2. Chobe National Park (Botswana)
Chobe National park lies in Botswana's Okavango Delta and covers four distinct Eco-systems. The Savuti marsh in particular offers some of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Africa year round. Chobe boasts around 120,000 elephants, you're unlikely to miss them when you enjoy a safari here. The best time to visit Chobe is between May and September, the dry, cooler winter months. Herds of zebra, eland, buffalo, giraffe and wildebeest congregate around the Savuti marsh this time of year. Chobe is accessible by car which makes it a little less expensive than some other Botswana Parks. There's a wide variety of accommodation available to suit all budgets, you can even rent a houseboat.
3. Kruger National Park (South Africa)
Kruger National Park in South Africa boasts the highest variety of wildlife in Africa which includes the Big Five, hippos, crocodiles, cheetah and more. Kruger is one of the best maintained parks in Africa which means it's ideal for a self-drive safari.
4. South Luangwa National Park (Zambia)
Home of the "walking safari" South Luangwa National Park in Zambia offers a true African experience. There's plenty of wildlife and over 400 species of birds. The Luangwa River is filled to the brim with hippos and if you're lucky you'll spot prides of over 30 lions at a time. There are 60 different animal species and over 400 different bird species living in the National Park. South Luangwa offers both budget and luxury safari lodging. The best time to visit is during the dry season from April to October. Near the end of the dry season, the animals really concentrate around the remaining waterholes, which make for a great safari.
5. Serengeti National Park (Tanzania)
The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania offers the absolute classic African safari setting. The grasslands make the Serengeti fantastic for spotting lion kills because you can see the whole spectacle clearly. The migration of millions of wildebeest and zebra starts here and because it's much larger than the Mara, it is also less touristy.
More about the Serengeti and Tanzania's Northern Parks
6. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (Uganda)
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda is home to almost half of the world's population of mountain gorillas. Besides offering a wonderful backdrop to Gorilla tracking, you can also see chimpanzees, and many other mammals. Bwindi has been designated a World Heritage Site.
7. Etosha Natonal Park (Namibia)
Etosha National Park is Namibia's top wildlife destination. Etosha is home to Africa's tallest elephants, the endangered black rhino, and 91 other species of mammal. Etosha is especially popular with photographers in the dry season who flock to the waterholes (along with the wildlife).
8. Loango National Park (Gabon)
Loango National Park in Gabon is less well known but it's only a matter of time before it's discovered. Loango is the only place in Africa where you can see whales, chimps, gorillas and elephants in one park. In Loango you get to enjoy watching wildlife on the beach, savannah, swamp and forest in a single day.
9. Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Tanzania)
The Ngorongoro Conservation area in Tanzania includes the world's largest crater which acts as a natural enclosure for almost every species of wildlife found in East Africa. The Maasai still live within the conservation area, and it's also home to Olduvai where some of man's earliest remains have been found.
10. Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe)
Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe has an abundance of giraffes, elephants, and lions as well as 105 other mammal species. Hwange also has one of the largest populations of wild dogs left in Africa. There are several comfortable lodges to stay at for reasonable prices. The park is close to one of the world's greatest natural wonders - the Victoria Falls.
Don’t forget your travel insurance!
You can purchase great value holiday insurance direct at 24/7 travel insurance, click here for an instant quote. For a 1-week break in Africa, it will cost you only £19.14* - a small price to pay so you can enjoy your safari all the more!
*Premium £19.14 includes Insurance Premium Tax based on an adult aged under 55 taking out a “Standard” Single-trip 24/7 travel insurance policy for 7-days in Africa excluding personal possessions cover and purchased within 14 days of departure date. Cover details and prices are correct at time of going to press (February 2010) and are subject to change.
Labels: Safari's
Friday, 29 January 2010
Beware of pickpockets on flights
Passengers woke to find large sums of cash missing. The captain alerted police who met the Boeing 777 jet as it landed at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport on Tuesday morning, but they were unable to identify the thief.
One passenger told police that about £3,000 in mixed currencies had vanished from her handbag. Five others, who had paid up to £5,000 pounds each for their tickets, said they had also lost thousands in cash.
One passenger told the French news website Le Post: "Most long-haul travellers sleep on overnight flights like this. But at the prices we pay for tickets, you would expect the cabin crew to be watching over us and making sure are belongings are safe."
Air France said it could not comment on this particular incident. But a spokesman added: "As a general rule a passengers' belongings in the cabin are their responsibility, while luggage in the hold is the airline's responsibility."
Don’t forget your cheap holiday insurance!
You can purchase great value holiday insurance direct at 24/7 travel insurance, click here for an instant quote. For a 3-day break in Europe, it will cost you only £5.32* - a small price to pay so you can enjoy your holiday all the more!
*Premium £5.32 includes Insurance Premium Tax based on an adult aged under 55 taking out a “Standard” Single-trip 24/7 travel insurance policy for 3-days in Europe excluding personal possessions cover and purchased within 14 days of departure date. Cover details and prices are correct at time of going to press (January 2010) and are subject to change.
Labels: cheap holiday insurance
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
<< Home
