If you are in need of a holiday as the summer season gets into full swing, then you’ll be pleased to hear there are still great deals to be had – especially in Europe. The British weather has taken a turn for the worse over the past month and the bleak outlook for August has led to many (including myself) to look for a cheap getaway before the autumn sets in.

I have booked a cheapish flight to New York in September, but for those looking for a bargain closer to home the situation looks promising.

Despite news from the OAG that up to 140 routes serving Britain and mainland Europe have disappeared this year, there are still flight deals out there – but you need to be quick.

In fact, a website I champion regularly, Moneysavingexpert.com has been announcing cheap flight deals for the past month. These deals included £1 flights to Europe, although this particular promotion has now ended. Use their flight checker to get a deal while you still can.

This is the last blog post on the subject.

Continental Airlines
an official three-Star Airline

Again, this airline is made for the budget economy traveller. A lot of people on the flights from the UK seemed to have problems sitting with their fellow traveller, but as I was travelling alone, did not experience any of these issues. The service was what you’d expect for the price you pay, average. These days there is a lot of choice so I’d recommend looking around and possibly paying a little extra when on an eight hour plus flight.

There are many different airlines to choose from, mostly with mixed reviews, however, that old adage ‘you get what you pay for’ still stands true with regards to long haul flights.

You don’t necessarily need to pay for the First, Business Class or even Premium Economy upgrades to have a relaxing and enjoyable flight, but you should possibly consider economy flight sales from the ‘big players’ in the industry.

In the last blog post I was looking at the two big airlines in the UK, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. Now I will be looking at three airlines I have flown with in the past.

Air France
A Skytrax four-star airline

When I flew with Air France to the US a few years back, I must say it was one of the cheapest flights I have been on. The only issue was that I had to sit close to the toilets on the way to America and the smell was particularly bad at times. Also, most flights transfer in Paris and the time they allowed to get from one plane to another was ridiculous. The walkway was like a cattle grid to get to customs and it was so slow we almost missed the connection. The food was ok, and like I said, it was very cheap, but I think I’d rather pay more for the comfort factor.

American Airlines
an official three-Star Airline

I have flown with AA on a number of occasions to the US and on internal American Eagle flight and have always found them to be well-priced and efficient. There are a lot of mixed reviews on the site and these experiences are nothing like my own.

As I said in the previous article, this is not a definitive airline list, just a selection of five of the better know airlines and ones I have travelled on previously.

British Airways
A Skytrax four-star airline

I have flown with BA on a number of occasions including once on World Traveller Plus. I was very happy with the food, service and in-flight entertainment received and would use them again – although they are not the cheapest flights.

Virgin Atlantic
A Skytrax four-star airline

I have not flown with Virgin yet, and have generally heard good reviews regarding their service from friends, despite some bad reviews on the Skytrax website. The entertainment on offer is said to be top class but the flight prices are generally higher than BA, which itself is not cheap.

Let me start by stating that I’m not really a seasoned traveller but have been on a number of different flights with various airline carriers over the years, especially to the United States.

I have found a good website called www.airlinequality.com (Skytrax) that has a rating system for each airline carrier and also includes reviews from travellers themselves. This website was a really good source of information as in many cases it confirmed what I had already generally thought about certain airlines.

If you have got a cheapish long haul flight you don’t usually expect to be offered the most luxurious of journeys, but it can help to alleviate the boredom if you have a decent in-flight entertainment system.

In the next few posts I will look at five carriers and offer my experience of each, as well as the Airline Quality view.

Many people are still undecided this year as to whether they can afford to splash out on a summer holiday abroad or just to stay in the UK. I have been considering a holiday abroad as I haven’t travelled out of the country now for a couple of years.

Continue Reading…

If you are going on holiday in the near future but wondering how to get the best deal on currency then you should consider the following pointers;

• If you have time to apply before you go abroad, there are some specialised credit and debit cards that beat bureau de change rates.
• Don’t leave it to the last minute – if you try and buy currency at the airport before you fly than it can be even more costly and you probably won’t get a good rate for your money. If you have pre-ordered the currency online then this can lock in the price and you will get better rates. You can then pick the money up at the airport.

The best piece of advice I can give is to check out the “Cheap Travel Money Guide” on Martin Lewis’ website – www.moneysavingexpert.com.

The “Travel Money Maximiser” works like a shopbot and can trawl through currency sites and get you the best deal around. Test this out at: http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/.

One of the easiest things to do when you are at the airport, waiting to fly back home after a relaxing long holiday, is forget about your luggage allowance. It is only when you are waiting in the queue and it suddenly dawns on you that all the shopping and gifts (possibly!) you have bought may have made your baggage overweight, you then start to panic. You can possibly attempt to stuff some of your overflowing suitcase items into your hand luggage, but as you reach the check-in desk it is with some trepidation you just know the clerk will notice that you there is ‘excess baggage’ to check in. The clerk then asks you to lift the suitcases and bags onto the scales and looks at you before asking that you either take some of the items out of the cases or cough up more money to take them home with you. It is only when this is sorted to their satisfaction that the roller conveyors start to whirl and your luggage disappears down a chute and is then only seen again (maybe) when you get back home.

I’m sure many of you will have holiday stories of your own where things didn’t go according to plan. Once, I even had my sunglasses stolen between the moment I checked my luggage in and when I retrieved the rucksack once I had arrived in Milan. Now, I hope you have better luck…

Most single people will be glad that Valentine’s Day is out of the way and the end to all the questions about what you are planning for that ‘special day.’ You have to explain to all your colleagues that you are happy being single or think of a reason why you have nothing special planned. You may have tried dating sites, but what about taking a holiday? If all your mates have settled down and you are looking to get away from it all what can you do?

Well, you are not alone. Actually you are, but what I was going to say was that Mintel have predicted that almost 19 million Britons will go on holiday abroad on their own by 2011. That is one holiday in three and the travel industry is only just waking up to the fact that solo travellers are big business.

So, what are the options for singles? Why not try speed-breaking? Don’t know what a speed-break is? Everyone has heard of speeddating - singles events where each person has three minutes to talk to each potential partner before filling in a report card of whom they’d like their details emailed to. Now one of the companies that organises such events has taken the concept to the next level with the speed-break - a dating holiday.

Holidays for single travellers include skiing, snowboarding, tennis, sailing, diving, activity and adventure. The travel company arranges everything to cater to the needs of a solo traveller. They offer activities as well as fun ice breaking sessions for those looking to socialise with like minded people.

Have you ever gone on holiday and remembered you had forgotten to bring something, or even lost an item when you got there? Maybe you forgot to take some sunglasses. Ok, well you probably decided to buy a cheap pair to tide you over for your holiday. Or, possibly you mislaid your flip flops when on the beach? Again, that’s not a huge problem.

But, what if you lost say, your passport, or your important travel documents? This is an entirely different proposition altogether. The situation can be made even worse if you do not speak the language of the native country you are visiting.

I would suggest that you take copies and engage in a bit of document scanning to ensure that your dream holiday doesn’t turn into your worst nightmare.

Obviously you cannot copy (or shouldn’t copy) items such as your money, credit card or travellers cheques, but you should certainly make sure you have taken a copy of all your important travel documents: flight details, destination hotels, emergency addresses/phone numbers and most importantly your passport.

You should take a photocopy of both the passport details pages at the back – this is very useful if you lose the original and you can carry this around rather than the original when sightseeing.

You could scan all your documents into a pdf format; then print and even email them to your secure email account so you can access them anywhere (with an internet location and printing facilities).

Accidents and illness can happen on holiday and in stressful situations it is easy to panic. You cannot prepare for every eventuality, but preparing for the worst when travelling abroad is prudent.

So, remember to take a copy of all your documents. But don’t forget to take the originals as well, of course…..