The best ash cloud map with predictions which will help you see at a glance what flights may be affected is available from the met office site here
An alternative and perhaps clearer forecasts are also available here
You’ll see why Germany is suffering airport closures 0800hrs Wednesday and the UK is not.
Also, we suggest that you follow TravelHelps
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Just saved over £600 thanks to the hotel search page on this website. Travelling in July, we found 3 rooms for 7 nights in the Caribbean Village Agador at £600 less than Thomas Cook, Expedia etc.
Be sure to always check hotel prices using our Hotel Search page
I’ve just seen Eurostar for just £109 return from London to Lille including French high speed TGV rail from Lille to Bordeaux travelling in AUGUST! – without all those nasty extras that Ryanair would add.
And the journey itself is enjoyable!
Midweek travel has better availability. I found seats for 2nd August out and 9th August back which is amazing as most French holidays start that week.
Be sure to check on both search engines on our Eurostar Page
Trains arrive into Bordeaux St Jean station at around 5-6pm and if that is a little late to travel on to the beaches and vineyards, why not enjoy a night in this elegant city?
The Hotel Du Faisan Bordeaux is a typical 19th century residence with 62 guest rooms with prices for single or double rooms for under £50
Use our Hotel Search to find the best rates for The Hotel Du Faisan or other hotels
Surf’s up!
Apply for a British Airways AMEX card now and get 3,000 bonus miles.
This offer has been extended until Monday 23 May 2011
Click on the advert to the right of this article to receive 3,000 miles after spending just £500 over the first 3 months and collect future miles at 1 mile per £1 spend
You’ll also earn extra miles if you recommend the card to others
Always use a flight comparison tool.
Even if you know which airline you need to book, you may be offered a cheaper alternative that you didn’t think of. We’ve selected the most accurate and reliable search engine on our Flight Search page.
Use our “Who Flies Where” tool.
Use our impartial tool to check which airlines fly the route. Flight comparison tools may exclude an airline if a) there is no availability or b) if there is a technical communications glitch between systems. (even the best professional systems e.g. Galileo GDS and Sabre GDS occasionally suffer connectivity problems)
Always search for just ONE seat
Even if two or more are travelling. See this article HERE for the reasons why you should do this, and, we guarantee you’ll frequently obtain a lower fare for at least one passenger.
Pay with a credit card that offers cashback or rewards
…If the airline/agent doesn’t charge extra. Expedia for example, never charge credit card charges – and they offer nectar points.
See our article HERE regarding the most rewarding credit cards.
Always book internet airlines e.g. EasyJet, Ryanair, WIZZ, direct with the airline
You will never find a cheaper fare through third party online agents. They will mark-up the fares. The same applies for British Airways short-haul, but it may be worth checking around for long haul and business class.
Use a travel agent if you need a booking to be “held” whilst a passenger decides
Opodo will tell you exactly how many seats are left at each fare and if there’s just one or two seats left, it may be worth using an agent who can normally hold seats at least until 6pm, before having to pay and issue tickets
Sign up your company to the following reward schemes
British Airways On-Business
Star Alliance Company Plus
See our full article HERE
Use TRIPIT to organise itineraries
Forward all your confirmation emails to www.tripit.com and they’ll assemble your flight + hotel + airport parking etc., all in one place
More details HERE
Check health requirements, visa requirements before travel!
More details on our “useful sites” page HERE:
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A study of thousands of fares offered by 20 airlines concludes that the low cost airlines add approximately 44% to the base fare, in fees and charges!
Despite this, the overall savings offered by low cost airlines averaged 33%
The report suggests that domestic flights only offered a 20% saving but that international flights saved 41%
The study was conducted by Kelkoo, the travel comparison website.
The US Justice Dept has cleared Google to proceed with its purchase of ITA for $700 million. Google will have to allow other companies to use ITA’s technology but with Google’s dominant position in search, why will anyone go elsewhere to search for flights if Google provides the answers?
Google in its blog said, “How cool would it be if you could type “flights to somewhere sunny for under $500 in May” into Google and get not just a set of links but also flight times, fares and a link to sites where you can actually buy tickets quickly and easily?”
Google could not conceal its excitement by adding, “We’re confident that by combining ITA’s expertise with Google’s technology we’ll be able to develop exciting new flight search tools for all our users. Up, up and away!”
Click HERE to read Google’s blog
Initially, this will be good for consumers, bringing greater accuracy and transparency to the flight search process. It will however, be to the detriment of companies who currently offer flight comparison. Once they have disappeared, will we live in Google Land?
EasyJet has flexi fares for bookers of business travel which allow changes to tickets free-of-charge, and to date, these fares are only bookable through Travel Management Companies.
By end June however, these fares will be available on the EasyJet.com web site.
See my article, EasyJet flexible fares – are they worth it about the pros and cons of these fare types.
Booking EasyJet online direct rather than through an agent saves you the travel agent’s booking fee of typically £15, plus the agent’s reservation system fee of £3.30 plus any hidden mark-up of up to £50
We recommend that you always research and book EasyJet via our flight search engine
I made the mistake of buying two single Heathrow Express tickets at the station, costing £36.00 round trip! You can discount by £4 by booking online direct with Heathrow Express
UPDATE December 2011
Heathrow Express discount of 25% for bookings in December 2012 and outbound travel up to end January 2012
The normal online fare for Express Class Return is £32 but the sale fare saves £8 at a price of £24.00
To obtain the discount Heathrow Express fare you have to click on a Google advert, otherwise you will be charged the normal fare.
Simply Google “Heathrow Express Sale”
Update January 2012
The Google Advertised Sale has ended.
If you appreciate this advice, please come back BEFORE you book your next trip!
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PS Check out our best hotel search engine CLICK HERE
In a complete reversal of the low cost airlines policy of encouraging you to book direct and online, easyJet has introduced a range of higher priced “flexible fares” starting at £99.99 which are only available via travel agents.
Stated Benefits:
Consider the following:
Booking Business Travel suggests that to buy the cheapest fare on the day is the best policy.