The perfect family adventure… travel cheaply to Myrtle Beach It’s not quite the Caribbean, but South Carolina is warmer than other snowy states in the country, so we fully support taking a winter sun weekend within its fun-filled borders. Whether you travel with family or friends, there is plenty to do in Myrtle Beach. Golfers can enjoy over 120 acres of fantastic courses, and shoppers can take refuge in the many malls and outlet stores around town. Amusement parks and more than 60 miles of beaches make Myrtle Beach a perfectly affordable outdoor destination on the Atlantic Coast. What’s even better than picking the perfect place? Getting the perfect freebies to go along with it: Staying at the oceanfront Bay View Resort not only lands you directly on the boardwalk, but also offers free parking, access to indoor and outdoor pools, and a daily $10 Starbucks card to fuel your caffeine addiction – or your packed itinerary of fun adventures. The best part? When you book through bookit.com, nights at the Bay View Resort start at $39 per night. Search and compare cheap flights to Myrtle Beach.
Posted on: 25 Jan 2011 at 11:10 AM Qantas, once dubbed the world’s safest airline, has been rocked by another safety scare after a fault led to one of its planes plummeting 25,000ft mid-flight. Passengers grabbed oxygen masks as the cabin became depressurized due to a faulty air conditioning system. The airline said the crew made a “rapid but controlled descent”. The Boeing 737, carrying 100 passengers six crew, landed safely at Melbourne Airport. There were no reported injuries and Qantas said that there was no flight safety issue. A spokesperson for the airline said: “Emergency services, I believe, were on standby but were not required. Engineers are now assessing the aircraft. One passenger told the Herald Sun newspaper: “All of the oxygen masks dropped down. The captain came across and said: ‘This is an emergency!’”. Passengers were ordered to keep the oxygen masks on for about five minutes. The incident comes after a series of emergencies that have rocked the Australian flag carrier’s reputation as one of the world’s safest airlines. Last November it had to ground its entire fleet of six A380 superjumbos after one of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines exploded in mid-air short after take-off from Singapore. The total cost of grounding the fleet and replacing 16 of the A380 engines has been estimated to be £50million. The day after a Qantas 747-400 aircraft had a mid-air crisis when flames burst from an engine shortly after take-off from Singapore.
Search and you shall fly… check out Cheapflights’ new tools Cheapflights.com has launched a new feature on its site providing inspiration to travelers who are open to suggestions, or maybe haven’t made up their minds about where to visit – and rolled out a site specifically designed for users of smartphones. The new “Be Inspired” search tab helps travelers find the perfect destination and type of holiday at a cost and time that’s right for them. With one click, travelers can now look for a deal in the same way they would describe a trip they want to take. Opt for an adventure, beach, ski and snow, family, city or “any” break and let Cheapflights find the best deals to match the requested time frame and departure point. Once the deals appear, users can filter their search with special sliders to revise budget, continent – and even the preferred average temperature. In a further development, to boost convenience and fast access to travel deals anytime and anywhere, Cheapflights is offering a mobile site that brings this new style of inspirational search, as well as traditional deals search, to smartphone users, via m.cheapflights.com. “We want travel search to reflect how people think and talk about planning a trip,” says Chris Cuddy, CEO of Cheapflights Media (USA) Inc. “The most important points for coming up with a travel plan are when, where and how much. We’ve designed our new search tools to be a natural extension of a trip planning conversation, delivering mobile as well as our desktop, so that whenever or wherever a travel discussion breaks out, we are there to deliver the right destinations and deals.” Going MobileWith the launch of the new mobile site, m.cheapflights.com, users on the go can access Cheapflights’ inventory of deals on flights departing within the next 90 days. The streamlined mobile site offers three user paths, selected by icons across the top: • Deals Search – the plane icon on the left takes users directly to a mobile-optimized version of Cheapflights’ popular deals search, where they can plug in a departure and a destination and see a selection of flight deals from our airline and online travel agent partners. • Inspiration Search – the globe icon in the middle links to the inspiration search, which maps a range of deals and destinations available to help would-be travelers see all their trip possibilities in a glance. Users can simply select or use the phone’s GPS location finder to auto-locate a departure point. They then choose their preferred departure time frame and have the option to select price range and trip type, such as ski and snow, beach or family. Deal options show up on a map, and users have the power to edit the search and learn more about the chosen destination to find just the right trip. They can then share the deal they have found with other would-be travelers via email, Twitter and Facebook. • My Suitcase – the luggage icon on the right provides a new packing and planning guide. It includes helpful “don’t forget” lists to prepare for the trip, what to consider on the day of travel and further information on the chosen destination while travelers are there, such as shopping and restaurant details, and more insider tips.
So LA… or not Palm Springs is its own little corner of California. It may be a playground for celebs recovering from glamorous plastic surgery, or a catwalk for spring breaker college students, but Palm Springs is always one thing: fun. Hit the desert at the Marriott in Palm Springs, and be one step further from Los Angeles, but closer to all the golf, tennis, and lounging that you can handle. The hotel boast luxurious amenities, a hip location close to the Palm Springs Film Festival, and lavish rooms. It also has wireless internet and updated modern accommodations throughout the hotel. Get free breakfast every day through any Marriott hotel in California through Dec. 31, 2011. A Friday or Saturday night stay is required. Search and compare cheap flights to Palm Springs. Photo credit: smittenkittenorig
Posted on: 21 Jan 2011 at 04:01 PM British Airways has ended almost a quarter of a century of trading on the stock exchange ahead of its merger with Spain’s Iberia. From Monday, the shares will trade as International Airlines Group, the new trading name after the all-share merger between the two carriers. BA and Iberia will retain their brands as part of the £5.3bn merger, which is expected to make synergy saving of around €400 million a year within five years. The combined group will operate 419 aircraft flying to 205 destinations and will be Europe’s second biggest airline by market value after Lufthansa. The group plans to aggressively expand through further acquisitions and has already drawn up a wish list of 12 companies it is interested in buying. Willie Walsh will step down as chief executive of BA to take up the same role at IAG in a move that will see his basic pay increase 12 percent from £735,000 to £825,000 a year. BA chairman Sir Martin Broughton will remain in the post after the tie-up, but will also become deputy chairman of IAG and will earn €350,000 and an extra €175,000 due to extra responsibilities of merging the two firms. BA shares made their stock market debut on 11 February 1987 at 125p a share – the IPO was ten times oversubscribed. However the shares have performed poorly, and now stand just over 126 percent higher than in 1987. Meanwhile the FTSE 100 has risen 213 percent over the same period. Shares closed on Friday at 282.5p. Their all time high was reached in 1997 when they hit 760p – but have never recovered from subsequent shocks including 9/11 and the global downturn.
New PhoCusWright report examines key trends in technology, procurement and spend management that are dramatically reshaping a hobbled corporate meetings landscape. A new report from PhoCusWright finds that the U.S. corporate groups and meetings market suffered an astounding 29% decline in gross bookings in 2009, as a result of the recession and financial crisis. A new PhoCusWright report indicates that a moderate resumption of growth, underway since late 2009, will finally begin to impact the industry’s bottom line in 2011. PhoCusWright’s Groups and Meetings: Driving Success in Business Travel’s Most Complex Segment goes in-depth to examine the full impact of the recession and the outlook through 2012. While the market has clearly begun to recover, total gross travel bookings in 2012 will still be well below even 2006 levels. “If 2009 was a difficult year for the travel industry, it was disastrous for the corporate groups and meetings marketplace,” says Douglas Quinby, senior director, research at PhoCusWright. “But the story in this market is not just about decline and recovery – which is underway – but really about transformation. Early developments in strategic meetings management and procurement, virtual meetings technology, and the application of social media and mobile services are now clearly established. These trends are reshaping how organizers are managing meetings, delivering content, engaging attendees, and ultimately realizing ROI.” PhoCusWright’s Groups and Meetings: Driving Success in Business Travel’s Most Complex Segment provides a robust picture of the U.S. groups and meetings market, based in part on data collected through a survey conducted with more than 600 meeting buyers, including meeting managers, planners, coordinators and procurement professionals. To supplement this extensive data, PhoCusWright interviewed more than 30 suppliers and intermediaries that service the industry – hotels, cruise lines, virtual meeting providers, TMCs, GDSs, technology providers and others. Key areas of focus in the report include:
* Market sizing and forecasts for 2008-2012, with analysis of meeting size and types, travel vs. non-travel spend, online bookings, use of intermediaries and more * Trends in meeting management, including reporting and oversight, the influence of procurement, centralization, outsourcing and SMMP (Strategic Meetings Management Program) implementation * Impact of virtual/video conferencing, with data and discussion on the extent to which virtual elements are displacing and/or supplementing physical meetings * Social and mobile technology trends, including how emerging technologies influence the quality of the meeting experience and extend the meeting lifecycle Despite the significant downturn, the U.S. corporate groups and meetings market is now on track to achieve double-digit growth by 2012. PhoCusWright’s Groups and Meetings: Driving Success in Business Travel’s Most Complex Segment delivers the numbers and know-how necessary for success in this volatile, but extremely promising segment. Introductory pricing – save US$150 off the regular price of $995 – is available through January 31… order today.
Southern hospitality…. and a lot more Atlanta is the perfect mix of southern hospitality and modern cosmopolitan flair. From the up-and-coming art scene to the grandeur of old money, Atlanta is more diverse than most people give it credit for. Plus, the winters aren’t half bad, either. Now you can pair fun and luxury with the Omni Hotel at the CNN Center’s Figure 8 Escape package. The hotel, located in the Luckie Marietta District, is offering a special deal that includes accommodations in a deluxe room with one king or two double beds for $163 per night, and free buffet breakfasts each morning. Along with sleeping in the four-diamond swank space, travelers will also get two 90-minute tickets for the ice skating rink at Centennial Olympic Park – Atlanta’s only outdoor skating rink. The tickets also include skate rentals. Don’t worry about traveling before the holidays, this deal is available through the end of January, 2011. Now all you need is a cheap flight to Atlanta.
