All posts by The Beetle

The End of Concorde

British Airways and Air France have both announced that Concorde will be grounded permanently as from the end of November 2003. Passenger demand has fallen significantly since the Concorde crash near Paris in 2000. BA justified their decision by saying that maintenance costs have become too high for them to continue the service and the global downturn in demand for all forms of premium travel in the airline industry. France said “the deterioration of business results from the transatlantic service”, the aircraft’s only scheduled route.

Airline News

Air Canada, the world’s 11th largest carrier has filed for bankruptcyprotection. They say they will continue to fly while it reorganises its operations. The company says that Air Canada customers around the world can continue booking with confidence that their travel plans will not be disrupted.

Want to fly to Kuwait? While most of the world’s large carriers are reducing their services in line with a down turn in demand, mainly due to the Iraq conflict, Dubai-based carrier Emirates is introducing extra flights between now and July. They plan to increase services to the Middle East by increasing frequency of flights to Doha, Tehran, Sanaa, Dammam and Kuwait.

Air Wales are planning to start a 50 seat daily flight between south Wales and London, the first for 40 years on April 28^th. The service will run up to three times a day between Swansea and London City Airport, stopping off in Cardiff. The journey time will be 80 minutes – half the time of the train and will cost as little as £19 each way.

Singapore Airlines, who are celebrating their 21st birthday this year, have been named Airline of the Year at the prestigious OAG Awards. Changi airport also won the best airport title for the eighth year running.

US budget carrier Southwest Airlines topped the Best Low Cost Airline category, a title it has held for three years.

Midwest Airlines was named Best Airline based in North America and Canada.

A Czech woman, Hana Peskova of CSA Czech Airlines won the Outstanding Service Award an award given to airline or airport staff who have acted above and beyond the call of duty for her efforts to help the people of Prague during the floods of August last year.

Discount for Globetrotters In Mallorca

We have been contacted by Felisa Forteza who tells us about her new small and charming hotel in the very heart of Mallorca. Sa Rota d´en Palerm is an 18^th Century house that has been lovingly restored and converted into a countryside hotel. They are offering a special 10% discount to readers of this e-newsletter on stays with them in Mallorca. For more details, take a look at: Sa-Rota website

Similarly, a French barge company approached the Globetrotters Club with some large discounts available on hiring luxury French barge boats. See www.bargefrance.com for more info.

Charity Cycle Ride, Sri Lanka, September 2003

International Childcare Trust (ICT) is organising a coast to coast cycle across Sri Lanka 19-28 September 2003 to raise funds to help support programmes in Africa and Asia with some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable children.

ICT is taking advantage of the long held peace process in Sri Lanka and cycling up into the north of the tropical island, an area which only very recently opened to tourism. As far as we know, ICT will be the first charity to cycle up into this virtually unexplored part of the island, where elephants roam free! We will unwind after the cycle by snorkelling near Trincomalee, at one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

The cycle offers keen travellers the chance to tour Sri Lanka whilst keeping fit. Those who sign up will also be granted the opportunity to meet other travellers and visit two of ICT’s projects to see how the money raised will benefit some of the world’s most disadvantaged children.

Since the north of the island has opened to tourism, Sri Lanka is being written up in all the UK national papers as the new ‘hot spot’ to travel before it becomes too tourist driven. Over the next couple of years, it is anticipated that the tourist industry will grow and that the prices for travel in Sri Lanka will rise considerably.

Therefore, an entry fee of £250 for the cycle (which covers flight on Sri Lankan Airlines, hotel accommodation, provision of bike, etc) seems to good to be true.

The challenge for people is: can you get fit enough? And can you raise enough for ICT? We think that every individual is capable and it is a memory that you will have with you for the rest of your life.

If you have any further queries or questions please visit http://www.international-childcare-trust.org/cycle-and-trek-challenges

Currency Conversion

A recent UK survey for the Department for Education found that of over 1,000 adults, 30% felt unable to compare rates in exchange bureaux. A similar proportion said they were not comfortable converting foreign currency into sterling. Over a fifth of those surveyed admitted they had wrongly calculated how much they spent on holiday, with 12% saying they had run out of money.

The Globetrotters Club has just teamed up with Oanda.com to provide people with information about currency conversions and cheat sheets. To translate currency or make a cheat sheet, visit:

The Globetrotters Currency Converter — get the exchange rates for 164 currencies The Globetrotters Currency Cheat Sheet — create and print a currency converter table for your next trip.

TV Appeal for Help

RDF Media are producing a documentary for Channel 4 in the UK about people who go travelling and do not return to the UK. We are looking for stories of British people who find alternative lifestyles, jobs, identities and relationships whilst travelling and resolve not to return home. We would particularly like to speak to travellers who can articulate why they have rejected UK lifestyle, and what qualities their new life can offer that Britain can not. We are also looking into stories of UK travellers that have gone missing whilst abroad. We would like to speak to the friends and family that are searching for them. If you would like to contact Kelly, you may e-mail her at: kelly.close@rdfmedia.com or phone her on 0207 013 4316.

Mutual Aid

Felicity would like help on staying in the Hawaiian Islands. She says she would like to stay and work on one of the Hawaiian islands for say a period of about 4 to 5 months after her exams. Can anyone help her with some info about visa’s, jobs, accommodation, weather, when it’s best to go, etc. Felicity can be contacted on: felicitybishop@hotmail.com

David from PA, USA says: “I have a small boat (850 LBS) in Van Nuys California at my brother’s house. I live in Pittsburgh, PA. I am willing to pay someone’s gas expenses if they are travelling across country and are willing to bring my boat east. What newsgroups would I post something like this on? I am new to newsgroups and would appreciate any help you could give me in getting my boat east”. If you can help David, please e-mail him on: dave43pa2003@yahoo.com

Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid

So You Think You.re Well Travelled?

Here’s a little Beetle quiz based on airport codes. See how many you get right! Go on, have a guess!

Which cities are served by airports with the following codes:

For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.

Have you got a tale to tell??

If you have a travellers tale that your aching to tell. Then why not visit the “Travel Sized Bites” section of the Website and share it with the world. Travel Sized Bites

Travel Quiz

Win a Frommer’s guidebook on Seattle 2003. See www.frommers.com for info on Frommer’s guidebooks.

Some people have said the quiz is difficult, we say do some research; try google.com or Ask Jeeves, if you need help with the answers.

The winner of last month’s Moon guide is Andrew Hindley.

Rampaging Beast in Malawi

Reports of a “rampaging beast” in the Dowa district, about 100 km from the capital Lilongwe, has sent at least 4,000 people fleeing four villages to seek refuge at a community hall at the district headquarters. Parks and Wildlife Officer Leonard Sefu said his department believed the mysterious beast could be a rabid hyena but said it was strange for a hyena to terrorise whole villages without being cornered. Dr Matius Joshua, the Dowa District Health Officer said that two old women and a three-year-old baby died when the beast crushed their skulls and ate their intestines and private parts. He said his department was examining the maimed people to establish what the animal could be. All efforts to shoot and kill the animal have so far failed. Dr Joshua said the 16 victims admitted into hospital following the latest attacks sustained various appalling injuries – some of them lost both legs and hands while two have lost both ears and eyes to the beast. One woman lost her mouth and nose.

Source: BBC News

Help for Afghanistan.s Donkeys and Horses

The Brooke Hospital for Animals (BHA) and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) have joined forces to provide free veterinary care for working horses and donkeys in Jalalabad in southern Afghanistan. The two charities hope their work will help to transform the lives of the thousands of people in the city, who depend on equines for their livelihood. The project, which is being helped by an Afghan agency, Committee for Rehabilitation Aid to Afghanistan (Craa), plans also to install fresh piped water at carriage stands. This will benefit both animals and people, as the nearest water supply at the moment is three miles (five kilometres) away. The Jalalabad project is being supported by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association through funds collected by the North Carolina Zoological Society.

So You Think You.re Well Travelled?

Here’s a little Beetle quiz based on airport codes. See how many you get right! Go on, have a guess!

Which cities are served by airports with the following codes:

For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.

Earthquake Predicted for Istanbul

New research on seismic events conducted by scientists indicates that a massive earthquake could hit Istanbul in the near future. This warning is being taken seriously by the Turkish government who are now taking action to minimise damage if the prediction turns out to be true. The seismic team predicted a quake in the coastal city of Izmit in 1999 – but the specific warnings were ignored and some 25,000 people were killed. The latest thinking is that earthquakes are connected and can trigger each other and that fault lines close to the Turkish city are under severe stress and will lead to a large quake sooner rather than later.

Holidaying in SW France?

Latest figures show that reservations for the summer season in south-western France are down by on average 50% compared with those made last year following the Prestige oil disaster and the ensuing pollution. Foreign tourists are also said to be shunning the area, according to the report, in particular German visitors who are said to be particularly sensitive to the impact of environmental disasters such as that caused by the Prestige. Most beaches in the area remain closed except those in the Gironde area around Bordeaux, but are expected to be re-opened in time for the Easter holidays. Many local industries, such as the spa centres the region is famous for, have also been affected because of unfounded fears over polluted water, local reports say. Oyster producers have seen their sales drop by almost 40% during the Christmas period, while fish prices have plummeted by between 20% and 40% – even though their products remain unaffected by the oil pollution.

Airline News

While the Middle East conflict continues to hit air travel badly, Asian carriers are also feeling the effects of a mystery respiratory illness, similar to flu that originated in the region. Already some 50 deaths have occurred worldwide. The feeling is that the illness has been spread by air travel. Singapore Airlines has admitted it continues to see cancellations and a fall in bookings because of fears about the disease.

Italy’s national airline, Alitalia, is the latest major carrier to raise the price of its fares because of a 30% increase in fuel costs in the last 6 months. From March 15, Alitalia will charge an additional EUR6 (USD$6.60) on domestic tickets; EUR8 on international flights and EUR12 for inter-continental services.

Fares at Air Canada are to cost more. The airline is raising its fuel surcharge on domestic long haul flights from March 11. The new charges will also apply to services flown by Air Canada subsidiaries Jazz and Tango. The price of tickets on flights over 300 miles is go up by CAD$10 to CAD$25 (USD$17) each way. The surcharges will not apply to short haul services where the charge remains at CAD$15.

The European Parliament voted to overturn an agreement made between European airlines and US Customs officials. The agreement was to allow European airlines to give data on passengers flying to the US to US Customs. The European Parliament felt that this agreement infringed data protection rules.

Paris based French airline Air Jet, started in the 1980s has been put into receivership after filing for bankruptcy earlier this week. Jet used to fly charter services and code-share flights on behalf of Air France, and has suspended services from Paris to La Rochelle and St Etienne.

In response to military action in the Middle East, Delta has just announced capacity cuts of around 12 percent to both domestic and international routes (but not Delta Connection.) Delta is to postpone indefinitely the start of seasonal service between Boston and Rome and daily service between Cincinnati and Rome. Both were set to start on May 1.

With passenger numbers falling because of the Middle East conflict, British Airways has cut flights and trimmed staff as have US Airways, Alitalia, Japan Airlines System and Air France.

Currency Conversion

The Globetrotters Club has just teamed up with Oanda.com to provide people with information about currency conversions and cheat sheets. To translate currency or make a cheat sheet, visit:

The Globetrotters Currency Converter — get the exchange rates for 164 currencies

The Globetrotters Currency Cheat Sheet — create and print a currency converter table for your next trip.

Mutual Aid

Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid

Have you got a tale to tell??

If you have a travellers tale that your aching to tell. Then why not visit the “Travel Sized Bites” section of the Website and share it with the world. Travel Sized Bites

Travel Quiz

Win a Moon Handbook on Guadalajara. See www.moon.com for info on Moon guidebooks.

Some people have said the quiz is difficult, we say do some research, try google.com or Ask Jeeves, if you need help with the answers.

The winner of last month’s Moon guide of Guadalajara is Gavin Fernandes, so please let us have your postal address, Gavin.