A Luxury Travel Blog

Air travel needn’t be boring any longer! Changi Airport is now home to Singapore’s tallest slide. The 12-metre tall slide can be found at Terminal 3 and riders can look forward to a top speed of 6 metres per second!

Formerly with Skyscanner, Aaron Ritoper is the Vice President of Business Development at Fly.com, a website which scours major airlines, international carriers and online travel sites, and helps people easily sort and refine results by criteria such as number of stops and departure times and traveller class.

What is it that you do exactly?

I’m in charge of developing the Fly.com business across Europe. This means I manage our all commercial relationships, ensure we achieve our targets, and communicate across markets to spread the word on Fly.com (sharing the latest flight deal insights). Travelzoo travel producers are very knowledgeable, so I spend time with them to review the latest bargains.

On the technology side, the flight search experience is constantly developing, and hours are spent with the team to build the flight search product of the future.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

It’s not every day that you get the chance to build a global brand with the talent and resources of a company like Travelzoo. I love the challenge and the reward that we see as people discover how much better Fly.com is at finding cheap flights compared to legacy websites.

What would you say are the 3 best places you’ve ever stayed?

Méribel – Is fantastic place for a ski vacation. The last time we went “hors-piste” with a ski guide, and when he handed out avalanche beacons and put a snow shovel in his backpack that definitely made a lasting impression.

Iceland – Seeing the Northern lights was definitely high on my list. I stayed out in the countryside outside of Reykjavik and around midnight green oscillating light filled the sky.

Hawaii – A wonderful place for a family vacation, we stayed at the Grand Hilton in Waikoloa and found it very family friendly. The dolphin pool in particular was a big hit.

What’s been your most memorable dining experience to date?

Probably the time I ate barbequed buffalo on an Indian reservation in New Mexico. They had the whole animal roasting on a spit and there were demonstrations of traditional dances with rhythmic music – it was very festive!

Have you rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous, either through your work or your travels?

I’m constantly on airplanes so I’ve run across quite a few celebrities along the way. Within the travel world, I enjoyed speaking with Stelios Haji-Ioannou not too long ago just before my easyJet flight from London to Nice, France. I happened to be one of the first people on the plane, so tipped off the flight attendant that an important guest would be following me.

What currently ranks highest on your travel wish list?

It’s about time for a surfing trip, so I’m hoping to spend some time in Biarritz, France soon.

Many thanks, Aaron. Having experienced the Northern Lights in Greenland myself, I can understand how that might be up there as one of your highlights.

Leleshwa Camp is an intimate tented camp situated on the Siana Community Conservation area on the north-eastern ridge of the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Resting along a stream valley, overlooking picturesque hills and rolling plains dotted with resident game, Leleshwa Camp is a peaceful haven. You’ll love the wide range of activities on offer: cultural village and school visits, digital photography workshops, hiking in the Loita Hills, bush meals and even balloon rides.

Taiwanese national carrier, China Airlines and its subsidiary, Mandarin Airlines, have announced plans to fly a larger aircraft between Taipei and mainland China. This move follows growing demand from travellers seeking more cross-strait flights.

China Airlines and Mandarin Airlines will now fly an Airbus A330-300 on all flights from Taoyuan International Airport to Xian, Shenyang, Changsha and Zhengzhou in China. This increased capacity will present further opportunities for UK tourists to enjoy twin holidays between the two destinations in Asia.

As well as providing a fascinating insight into two Asian cultures, travellers will also have the chance to explore the connection between Taiwan’s National Palace Museum and China’s Forbidden City. The National Palace Museum is home to 650,000 treasures and is regularly voted one of the best museums in the world. Many of the museum’s Chinese relics were originally from China’s Forbidden City and were moved to Taiwan when the Kuomintang lost the civil war to the communists in 1949.

The ACI annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award has been won by Incheon International Airport once again and voted the world’s best airport for 5 consecutive years. Repeating its first place finish in the previous years, Incheon International Airport (IIAC) once again scored the highest marks in the ACI’s ASQ survey in three categories to become the Best Airport Worldwide, Best Airport in Asia-Pacific and also Best Airport with annual passenger traffic between 25 and 40 million.

The rankings are based on 250,000 questionnaires asking passengers to rate the service quality of 34 airport service factors. Receiving an outstanding score of 4.99 points with 5 denoting a perfect score, Incheon International Airport garnered the top spot with the highest points ever awarded in the survey’s history.

Incheon International Airport successfully completed the second phase of its construction project by building a new concourse and adding 3 runways in 2008.

Qatar Airways, the 5-star airline, offers a private premium terminal for its First and Business class passengers at its hub at Doha International Airport. Qatar Airways’ Premium Terminal offers fine dining with specially selected wines and champagnes, some exclusive to Qatar Airways. Business travelers may utilize free wireless internet as well as meeting rooms that can be used for phone or video conferences, or even a simple face-to-face meeting. The center is staffed 24 hours a day with staff ready to provide assistance.

The Premium Terminal offers an extensive duty free shop featuring everything from electronics and clothing to fragrances and spirits. A multi-lingual staff is available to help you find that perfect gift for someone at home…or something for yourself. As long as you’re taking care of yourself, the Premium Terminal Spa offers full facilities to indulge prior to or between your Qatar Airways flights. The spa offers facials, massages and other treatments provided by professionals. If those aren’t for you, perhaps a Jacuzzi is just the way to unwind before your flight.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, is expanding the range of services it offers business and leisure travellers with the launch of a new destination management company – Hala Abu Dhabi. The new company will be based in the nation’s capital but offer travel products, services and activities throughout all seven Emirates of the UAE.

Flying hotels… the future of luxury travel?  Who knows? But an aircruise concept from Seymourpowell in association with Samsung looks to be little more than a publicity stunt to us here at A Luxury Travel Blog.  Not only does it look an unlikely shape for such a vessel but the choice of hydrogen gas to get it airborne leaves us wondering whether the people behind it have ever even heard of the Hindenburg disaster.  Still, it did manage to ’suck in’ all kinds of media interest, including the likes of CNN and The Independent who you would hope might have known better than to take the bait.  Enjoy the video but don’t expect to see one of these things any time soon!

Ever dreamed of experiencing the excitement of heli-skiing, but weren’t sure if you had the skills, or even how to go about it? This coming February Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole presents the How-to-Heli Ski Camp, a special three-day, four-night camp offered in partnership with Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and High Mountain Heli-Skiing.

Recommended for the strong, intermediate or expert skier, the on-snow experience focuses on powder techniques and off-piste etiquette, and introduces snow safety education – all necessary preparation for big-mountain heli adventures. The camp culminates with participants having the opportunity to test their new skills on a privately guided heli-skiing adventure with High Mountain Heli-Skiing, where they will experience stunning scenery and breathtaking runs on virgin snow.

Individually tailored expert instruction is provided by Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s Professional Alpine Guides on their premier training grounds to give skiers the skills and confidence they need to fulfill their powder fantasies. Combined with the best on-mountain environment and the world renowned Four Seasons service, How-to-Heli Camp is an unmatched elite skiing experience.

In addition to two days of on-mountain instruction, two days of lift tickets and the final day of heli-skiing, the How-to-Heli Camp includes four nights’ accommodation at Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole, a welcome reception including cocktails and canapés, two mountaintop lunches at Couloir Restaurant during instruction, a gift bag and a closing dinner at the Resort for all participants.

How-to-Heli Camp rates are from £1,782 per person and £2,889 based on double occupancy. The camp runs from 3rd to 7th February 2010.

Blink has recently opened a base in Geneva to allow those in central Europe to benefit from its low prices, and has launched an advance purchase scheme – Blink Foresight. The Foresight scheme is much like jetcards that are offered by private jet firms such as NetJets. However, they differ in that Blink charges per mile and landing fees are passed on at cost.

I’ve talked previously about innovative ways the travel industry is embracing Twitter and one of the latest comes courtesy of Lufthansa. With MySkyStatus they are allowing users to update their Twitter (or Facebook) accounts with their whereabouts whilst in flight.  While you’re in the air, MySkyStatus automatically sends altitude, location, departure and arrival updates.  And the service isn’t just limited to Lufthansa – it can be used for any commercial airline. The idea has lots of potential (with the ability to update loved ones of your progress) and it’ll no doubt prove a big coup for Lufthansa to have got there first.

Whether travelling for business or pleasure, take the time to indulge in some serious retail therapy at Heathrow this Autumn. Catering for your every want and desire, the airport is home to a wide collection of premium brands including Paul Smith, Prada, Harrods, Gucci and Sony – all at airport prices. Here are their picks for the ultimate in luxury and opulence this season.

Enjoy travelling through time with the elegant Cartier Ballon Bleu watch. Available to purchase from Harrods Heathrow stores for £23,000, the 18 carat white gold timepiece features a case set with round-cut diamonds and Cartier calibre 057 quartz movement.

Put pen to paper with the limited edition Montblanc Skeleton A380. Made with 750 white gold and adorned with 42 diamonds, this investment scribe is available to purchase from The Pen Shop and costs £11,086.95.

Add the colourful characters of The Dalmore (home to the oldest maturing stocks of any single Highland malt) to your drinks cupboard with the The Dalmore Sirius 1951 available exclusively from the World Duty Free store in Terminal 5 for £10,000. Relish the aromas of intense citrus and honeyed chocolate followed by roasted coffee, crushed walnuts and hints of liquorice spice. With just twelve bottles made, and five already sold, ensure you don’t miss out by going online to World of Whiskies where a limited number are available to pre-order.

With thigh-high boots remaining the must-have footwear for Autumn, be sure to check out the sumptuous Paulitta boots from Bally. A step above the rest, these black stretch suede and leather boots cost £1,435 and feature a 130mm brass lace ‘cage’ heel and gilt edge platform.

For state of the art eyewear, look no further than the new Pit Boss sunglasses from The Oakley Elite Collection. Available exclusively from the World Duty Free store in Terminal 5, these shades have taken four years to develop and seamlessly blend the world’s most advanced optical technologies with truly unique aesthetics. There are three lens and frame colour combinations to choose from each costing £425 per pair.

As I’m sure you are aware, there are a number of flight comparison sites out there.  You would think they would all essentially do the same job, but they do have notable differences.  Many airline tariffs – particularly those of the budget airlines – are complicated by extra charges. This makes it very difficult for comparisons to be made, particularly since different travellers have different requirements.

The moral of the story?  Try out a few comparison sites – and even visit the websites of the airlines themselves (and sign up to their newsletters). You would think it does but a flight comparison site does not, unfortunately, negate the need to shop around for the best price.

Tell us what sites you use and why.  What are your tips for finding the best fares?

IHG’s (InterContinental Hotels Group) Priority Club® Rewards has unveiled a new reward option: Flights Anywhere™. This new program lets members redeem Priority Club® points, or combine points and cash, to book flights on more than 400 airline carriers worldwide without restrictions on availability.

It’s the first and only hotel loyalty program to offer the flexibility to redeem points and cash for flights, and there are no blackout dates or limits on available tickets whatsoever. It is available to consumers in nearly 20 countries, including the U.S., Canada and most countries in Europe.

There have been some interesting uses of Twitter within the travel industry. Whilst JetBlue and United have used the medium to offer discounted flights, Hyatt have been using it as a concierge desk to answer questions from past, present or future guests.  That said, there are still many in the industry who aren’t using it, and many members of the public just don’t ‘get it’.  It’s some way from being mainstream within the industry. Does travel have a future on Twitter?

Watch the video and tell us what you think of US taxpayers’ money being spent on private jets that will be used, at least in part, to fly members of Congress in luxury. Are you concerned by this? Post a comment and let us know!