Wizz Air announced new routes from Poland on 4th July, 2007. The new flights, will now take off from Wroclaw to London-Luton and Doncaster Sheffield in February, 2008. In addition to the flight offer, the airline will launch a 7th operating base in Poland, which will be unveiled in the beginning of 2008. The new venture will enable Wizz to further their network expansion.

The flights between Wroclaw and London are supposed to operate 5 times per week and the flight service to Doncaster/Sheffield will take off twice weekly. However, the eager passengers can buy the tickets from the Wizz Air official website. The ticket rates are pocket-friendly at PLN 79, which will include taxes, minimum booking fee and charge. The tickets will be one way and the rates will be the same for all days.

József Váradi, the Chief Executive officer of Wizz air, said that the new route expansion plan would aim towards the over-all development of Poland. The new venture will open ample opportunities for the people of Poland and for all those business opportunists who want to trade in Poland.

Wizz Air, the Polish/Hungarian low-cost airline, announced the launch of its new flights from Budapest to Milan/Bergamo on 9th July 2007. The new venture is set to increase the frequency on the number of its existing routes from its bases in Budapest. Wizz expects a total of 22 percent increase in the capacity over the same period of time last year. The airline also plans to increase frequencies in the routes concerning the bases in Bucharest and Warsaw.        

In a bid to advance its earlier announcement of fleet expansion plans of upto 53 A320s by 2012,  Wizz Air recently acquired the 13th new Airbus A320 aircrafts.  The low-cost airline with its main base in Katowice International Airport (Poland), basically focuses on the markets of Central Europe. Its bases extend to Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport (Poland), Budapest Ferihegy International Airport (Hungary), Poznan Lawica Airport (Poland), Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (Poland), Sofia Airport (Bulgaria) and Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (Bucharest, Romania).         

The readers of pasazer.com - the largest polish travel-news portal, voted Wizz's Airbus A320-200 boarding at Aurel Vlaicu International Airport for London Luton Airport as the best low-fare airline in Poland. In 2007, the CEO and Chairman of the airlines József Váradi, was awarded the Ernst & Young Award of the 'Brave Innovator' for Wizz Air's business model, business conduct and its breakthrough performance in the airline business in Hungary and the region.   

Come winter, Virgin Atlantic Airways would be launching five additional direct flights to Montego Bay as a part of its extra Xmas services. This is in response to the high demand for flights during the peak seasons of Christmas and New Year. The extra services between London Gatwick and Montego Bay   are set to operate on an Airbus A 340-300. 

The additional flights would be scheduled on the 22, 23 and 29 December 2007 and on 5 and 6 January 2008. The flights would depart from Gatwick at 12:30 and arrive at Sangster International Airport at 18.05. The departure of return flights from Sangster International Airport are scheduled on the same dates at 20:05 and arrival at 10:15 into Gatwick, the next morning.  However, during this period Virgin Atlantic would continue its normal 747- 400 flights between Gatwick and Montego Bay every Wednesday and Monday.

The airline had launched its eighth Caribbean route just last year. ''We are thrilled to be able to add extra flights between London and Montego Bay'' said Virgin Atlantic's Chief Executive, Steve Ridgway. According to him, the route seems to be quite popular with the leisure customers and the extra flights are expected to carry over 2000 passengers. This operation is expected to further the region's economy.  

Virgin Atlantic Airline has inaugurated innovative facilities in its new clubhouse at the Narita Airport. After undergoing extensive transformations, the clubhouse was re-opened on 14th July. The refreshing nouveau arrangements include a sunken lounge, new business facilities and a sun deck.   

The sprawling clubhouse now has enhanced facilities, accentuating Japanese style and flair, still reflecting the Virgin brand. This will make the Virgin clubhouse experience, very special and unique. The refurbished clubhouse will now offer more space and opportunities for privacy to the tourists. With more seating capacity and raised sun deck seating facilities, tourists will get the scope of getting the most of the natural light, with distinct view of the airplanes.

Both small and big business entrepreneurs can now enjoy the array of business facilities offered at the clubhouse. The great number of computers, the allotted business areas, wi-fi connectivity with business and international landlines will add to the benefits. The screening facilities will allow the passengers to view different images, while they move on.

Virgin Atlantic has announced attractive incentives for its passengers, to provide the best possible start to their holidays. This is an online offer of £6 off for every £30 spent onboard Virgin Atlantic flights, for passengers traveling from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester Airports, and would last from 1st August to 30th September this year. Virgin Atlantic is well known for its onboard shopping range and Retail Therapy. It was voted as the 'In-flight Retailer of the Year 2006'.   

The vouchers would be available for the passengers online. They need to print off their vouchers from their check-in confirmation email and carry them to the airport on the day of departure.  The passengers will have to produce the Retail Therapy discount voucher to a cabin crewmember onboard to redeem duty free purchase of £30 or more. The passengers can also pick up exclusive vouchers and discounts that can be spend on designated duty free retailers in the South Terminal at Gatwick and departure areas of Terminal 3 at Heathrow. 

Virgin Atlantic also offers two magazines suited to the tastes and style of leisure and business travelers. The latest editions of the magazine include more than 50 new brands, apart from other 180 or more items of top brand names.

"Tenpenny Management" jibe claimed by the House of Commons Select Committee for Ryanair is fervently rejected. It corroborated after amending the record and declared that it has only 'onepenny management'.

Ryanair.com announced the release of 250,000 seats for sale on 26th July for 24 hrs for just 1 penny inclusive of taxes. The reduced travel facility is for a selective period between November and January.

"The Transport Select Committee is a talking shop run by politicians who fly around for free using House of Commons warrants. The British Public attitude to air travel is patently clear. They love Ryanair's low fares which is why Ryanair is growing by 20% p.a. at a time when British Airways is shrinking", speaking on Thursday, Peter Sherrard said.

Europe's largest low fares carrier Ryanair is "likely" to request for a judicial review of a latest verdict by the aviation regulator on charges at Dublin Airport, the carrier's head of legal affairs revealed last night.

Regulator Cathal Guiomard declined the request of the Dublin Airport Authority for higher charges urgently to fund a capital expenditure plan of €1.8bn.

Mr Guiomard, however, also cast aside the appeals of Ryanair for instantaneously lower charges.

After parting ways with the Crispin Porter, BOSTON Virgin Atlantic Airways recapitulated its business strategy. The company selected Havas's McKinney for its creative and strategic chores.

MEC Interaction, a unit of WPP Group's Mediaedge.cia, was assigned communications planning and buying.

The airline re-examined its business in May. Crispin, a unit of MDC partners had worked on the Virgin account since 2003. The shop did not defend its claims.

With the aim of its establishment with time, Gibraltar is back, with the rock, to World Travel Market in four years. The Cordoba Agreement has solved the political problems between Spain and Gibraltar.

Fiona Jeffery, World Travel Market's Managing Director says: "We are delighted to be welcoming back our friends from Gibraltar who clearly will be able to enjoy the global business opportunities that the event offers to exhibitors".

Gibraltar Tourist Office UK lady representative Tracey Poggio says: "Iberia and British Airways have begun flights and the route is already proving a tremendous success. A new Barcelona route is also promised".

Europe's biggest low cost airline, Ryanair, on Wednesday, 25th July made an announcement that it is going to start 13 new routes from its Bristol, East Midlands, Glasgow ad Liverpool bases in October and 3 new routes from the Belfast City Airport. Reopening of five routes to Grenoble and Salzburg was also announced by the carrier for this year's ski season.

Peter Sherrard, airline's Head of Communications, announced the new routes and said, "Today's new routes include the first Ryanair flights between the UK and the Canary Islands and see the arrival of Europe's lowest fares at George Best Belfast City airport, the 136th airport in the Ryanair network".

Sherrard added, "From December, we will also re-open 5 ski routes from East Midlands, Liverpool and Glasgow to Grenoble and Salzburg in response to last year's huge passenger demand for low fares to the slopes".

St. Andrew feast in Pescara got disrupted. A Boeing airplane operated by the Irish airline Ryanair suddenly got face-to-face with the fireworks which quickly altered its course.

The airplane was heading towards the "D'Abruzzo" air station with 50 people on board. A gathering of thousands of people in the celebration fireworks struck frightened.

Matteo Silvestri, captain of Pescara fire brigade says, "A disaster could have happened- When fireworks are being shot, the airport should be informed in time and I don't know whether this was done or not in this case".

Marsans Group is attentively looking for a promising membership in the Star Alliance for its subsidiaries Aerolineas Argentinas and Air Comet and a long distance operation for acquisition target Spanair.

Gonzalo Pascual Arias, owner of the Spain's group says he would be interested to see Spanair reappear in the long distance market if he makes out the acquisition of the airline from SAS Group.

In June, SAS uncovered its plans to sell off its 94.9% share in Spanair and as a beginning to the sale, purchased the remaining 5.1% stake from Marsans.

Air France, a unit of Air France-KLM revealed that it is still in discussions with Delta Air Lines Inc about the possibility of making a joint venture, following a statement in the newspaper Les Echos, which stated that an agreement would be signed shortly between the two air carriers.

A spokesman for the carrier said that the airline is still in talks with Delta and nothing is finalized at the moment.

The newspaper Les Echos said that a deal could be finalised in autumn. It also said that the anticipated joint venture would permit both airlines to go along their ongoing partnership and add a fifty-fifty split of profits on the main trans-Atlantic routes operated by the carriers.

Futura and Boeing, International Airways, has ordered three Boeing 737-800s, The Next Generation air carriers. The Charter airline, which has its base at Palma de Mallorca has also placed three other purchase orders for their airline. The estimated cost for the new fleets will be at an approximately between 166 million Euros to 210 million Euros. The delivery dates for the fleets are due by 2009 and 2010.

The airline has always preferred the 737 fleets because of their outstanding performance at a very low operating cost. The 737-800, 737-400 and 737-300 - are the cornerstones of the airline. Roman Pane, the Chairman and CEO of Futura International airways, claimed that the 737-800 boasts the most advanced flight safety system in the history of the civil aviation. It's advanced technology and the flawless operation of the machines, have fetched immense popularity to the airline in the recent past.

Flipping through the pages of History, Futura airline was established in 1989 by Aer Lingus, Banco Satander and Belton Air. It first started its operation on 17th February, 1990 from Palma de Mallorca to Manchester. The decade of the 1990s witnessed the development of the airline and its expansion in the entire European region. When CEO Roman Pane took over the leadership of the airline, it started operating flights on behalf of tour operators and airlines in North and South America, Europe and South East Asia.

The German Airline, Hapag Lloyd Express is withdrawing a number of flights. Some flights that do not have many passengers are being withdrawn by this low-cost airline. The flights from Newcastle Airport to Cologne/Bonn, Munich and Shannon will be ended in October. Flights from the German capital, Berlin to Olbia, Naples, Palermo and Pisa in Italy are also ceasing to exist.

Hapag Lloyd Express flights to Spain are also being scaled back by axing the routes to Bilbao and Valencia from Hanover and Stuttgart. The flights from Newcastle to the northern German city, Hanover and from Cologne/Bonn to Bilbao and Valencia will however be continued. The existing flights between UK and its German destinations will be starting from £9.69 tickets each-way.

This declaration is part of the German airline's major re-organization operations. The airline will also be introducing to its passengers a number of new Central European routes on the later part of this year. The airline also has plans to take over the flights from Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, and Munich to Zurich that were formerly operated by the Swiss Air.

Flyglobespan Airline is about to offer an extravagant winter program for the 2007/2008 season. The aim is to make great expansion from the Aberdeen airport.  The special program is going to incorporate new routes to many attractive destinations, such as Palma, Alicante, Malaga, Paphos, Geneva, Madeira and Prague. The ticket price would be pocket- friendly starting from GBP39.99, inclusive of all taxes. This is going to be a bonanza offer in addition to the Tenerife service, which commenced its Aberdeen program last winter.

The new routes are going to offer weekly services, except Alicante and Prague. The routes to these two destinations would join the existing route, Tenerife, which is to offer twice weekly flights. The Aberdeen winter program will stretch from 1st November to March, the next year.

In details, the program shows that the flights to Alicante will be scheduled every Thursday and Sunday, with ticket price at GBP39.99. The flights to Prague will be taking off every Monday and Friday, with ticket prices at GBP39.99. To Malga, it will be flying on Saturday at GBP44.99 price ticket. To Palma, it will be flying every Saturday at GBP44.99 and to Paphos every Wednesday with price ticket at GBP59.99. All the tickets are inclusive of taxes.

Triggering a notable improvement in airline development, Belavia has started Electronic Ticketing (ET) through its network of BSP agents in Italy, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Cyprus, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic in the "Amadeus" GDS. This advanced standard in passenger handling is in operation from July 2006-07.

The advanced IT capabilities in the field of air transport made the transition to ET possible. The world airline community by resolution has decided to cease paper tickets 2008 onwards.

At the current moment, Belavia is to issue ET to all of its international flights. Belavia's Minsk-London-Minsk air service has over 55% passengers E-ticketed on this flight. Within half a year, the Belavia Electronic Ticket has become a usual component of air travel. ET is now the most suitable form of air ticket that has been adopted by the majority of the world airlines.

Virgin Atlantic's Clubhouse at London Heathrow Airport that covers over 2,500 square meters with its articulated interior designs has been awarded the Best Business Class Lounge. The second goes to Cathay Pacific's Hong Kong Business class lounges.

"This is a hotly contested section of the Awards, and our congratulations go to Virgin Atlantic for securing this win. Business class passengers are a demanding lot, and with the extensive range of high quality business lounges around the world, it is a great accolade for Virgin to get this vote of approval and satisfaction", commenting on the award, Edward Plaisted (CEO of Skytrax) said.

The clubhouse provides the ultimate pre-flight experience and impressive display of exciting new and unique areas to its passengers. They can enjoy a stylish haircut in the salon from Bumble and bumble. Water lovers can relax in the spa pool or sauna;  choose from a range of Cowshed treatments; enjoy a game of pool in the Den. Youngsters can look blockbuster film in the cinema; taster can enjoy a delicious cocktail at the 14 meter long bar; and choose from the extensive Brasserie menu for a richer dining experience before their flight.

Indian airline SpiceJet Ltd attracts the attention of Ryanair. Europe's biggest low-cost carrier is focusing to expand its services in the East. An account of the information is reported in columns of The Times of India that the authorities are diligently planning collaboration with Ryanair.

The paper says that the present strength of the SpiceJet fleet is 11 and it proposes to raise it to 18 in the proposed times. SpiceJet is consciously planning to raise 40 mln USD to finance the current expansion plans. It will also facilitate the company to launch overseas services.

Indian rules prohibit foreign airlines to invest directly in an Indian carrier. Shares can be purchased in its individual capacity by the promoters under conditions specified therein. The prevalent rules provide 51 pct stake is must for Indians.

The rain-soaked summer has not spoiled the UK hotel business this year, and London is enjoying the highest occupancy of any European city.

According to a survey by the consultancy Deloitte, during the first half of this year ending June 30 the UK hotel industry has maintained high levels of growth, despite fears about the dreadful summer weather.

The room revenue per available room-the benchmark measure for the hotel industry across the UK-has grown 8.3 per cent. Hoteliers in the capital have increased their rates due to high demand.

Hundreds of independent hotels in the UK are struggling for their existence, as brand hotel chains are rising in the country by leaps and bounds.

Nearly half of the owners surveyed are facing a direct competition with chains, and over a quarter of them reported a decline in bookings, according to a latest survey conducted by Hotel Reservation Service for about 300 owners. Big boys are criticized for their failure in contributing to the local communities.

James Bowie, owner of the Belmont House Hotel, said, "We used to have an active hotels association in Leicester. We would put on citywide promotions and share information. But in recent years the chains have become much more reluctant to share any information".

It's a matter of proud to introduce the launch of the Crowne Plaza Gatwick-Crawley, in October 2007, by IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) and Crimson Hotels. Moreover, it is promoting the IHG's file of hotels at Gatwick Airport. It was presently functioning as a Clarion, but from now on will work as a franchise.

Crimson Hotels believed that the Crowne Plaza brand was exactly suitable for the property. It is also believed that it will entertain the visitors in a perfect manner. The process of restoration to all public areas, visitors' rooms, modernizing of the rooms, addition of flat screen LCD TVs, power showers in the bathrooms etc is making the visitors undergo a better feeling and was offering a dashing product at the hotel. A Club Lounge with eight visitor rooms, three meeting rooms, and 50 Club rooms will be supplementary to the main building.

Alykhan Kassam, Director of Crimson Hotels, says: "It is a pleasure for us to be re-branding this hotel as a Crowne Plaza property and to be working with the staff and management of IHG. We have undertaken a great deal of work over the past couple of years to improve and develop this hotel so that it is a natural fit for the discerning Crowne Plaza guest. We have no doubt that it will prove exceptionally popular with travellers using London Gatwick Airport, as well as those doing business in and around the local area".

Europe's largest budget airline, Ryanair Holdings Plc, may post the slowest rise in its quarterly profit in a year after the airline cut down its fares.

According to the median estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News, in the first quarter of this fiscal ended June 30, the net income probably grew to 125 million euros from last year's 115.7 million euros-an increase of 8 percent.

The carrier has cut prices and offered free tickets as it witnessed a decline in the percentage of seats filled in the last 10 months.

Wales' new five-star hotel will be a part of the carbon neutral development amounting £450m. It will be the ninth five-star hotel in Wales.

The new twenty-four storey hotel will be close to over 2,000 flats and a space of around 480,000 sq ft of offices-a site near Cardiff city centre.

At present, Cardiff has two luxury hotels: The Hilton Cardiff having a twenty-metre pool, a spa and gym in the city centre, and St David's Hotel and Spa in Cardiff Bay-the first purpose-built five-star facility in Wales.

First to fly from London to Australia has kicked off a strong competition between the two rivals-the British Airways and The Virgin Atlantic. Both contend to offer regular, non-stop flights on the route.

Only a few aircrafts are competent to cover the 9,200 nautical-mile journey, one of the last "Holy Grails", in 20 hours.

An officer at Airbus's headquarters in Toulouse last week was to be briefed on its proposed new aircraft, the A350xwb.

The companies in UK are offering its customers the most prized attractions of families for free child places and exclusive savings this summer. They provide an opportunity to avail and enjoy from theme parks to dungeons. The Carrentals.co.uk Family Active 2007 campaign is so designed that families can download their relevant voucher from the website. 

The Carrentals.co.uk grants entry to three for two thrill seekers to Camelot and Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Camelot's new attraction is 'Knightmare' the world's longest rollercoasters, and Blackpool Pleasure Beach introduced- the world's first suspended, looping rollercoaster completely over water.

Lovers of history can avail one child free with one paying adult at JORVIK Viking centre. The Dungeons in London, York or Edinburgh and at the historic Bircham Windmill also grants similar discounts.

UK culture has a distinctive character. A new tour program has been set up by a travel company to provide an opportunity to help Asian minorities living in the UK to know and discover more about the nation. The tour of England will make people aware how our cultural history was molded by Moorish culture.

Step in Time Tour proposes to take Asians living in the UK to major historical cities, including Cambridge, Stratford upon Avon, Oxford, Ely, Kings Lynn and London and other important monuments so as to win their appreciation for our culture.

"Our message is all about learning. Many Asians may not be aware of the beauty of England today and have no knowledge of its credence in historical development, especially how it was influenced by the Moors", Mohammed Nawaz, Director of Step in Time Tours, said. "The best way for people to get on is to find out more about each other. The recent terrorist tensions have re-invigorated the debate of cultural differences in Britain".

Fascination for the National Parks remains as dominant as earlier in the minds of Brits. The latest survey manifests that budget flights and comfortably arranged package holidays binds them not to escape from the UK.

Celebration of National Parks Week is to be held between July 30th and August 5th this year. Presently the research conducted in advance depicts the inclination of 93 per cent towards parks is fairly strong for them.

Participation of 70 per cent respondents presents that the Lake District is currently the preferred National Park in the UK. It again represents a substantial improvement from 2001, when it was just 64 per cent.

Bristol is on its way to promote its profile as a European-class travel destination.

It is for the first time that the worth of tourism to Bristol's economy has touched the US$6/8 billion mark, according to figures released today by Destination Bristol.

A region-wide survey by South West Tourism discovered that in 2005, visitors to the South West region spent around US$18 billion.

It becomes much easier for those who wish to visit Cumbria's tourist attractions, as an online shop is being rolled out to 100 businesses in the county.

With the help of the newly launched e-shop at www.golakes.co.uk, which had been run as a pilot project in the county, the attractions can sell tickets to people before their arrival. It is for the first time such an option has been introduced in Cumbria.

An increasing number of people are looking for such an option that can help them in planning their holidays online without waiting in long queues.

The British Foreign Office Minister Meg Munn has announced that the Foreign Office is amending its travel advice for countries to add a grade scale of the risk of terrorism.

She said, "We are now introducing four generic threat descriptors, intended to clarify the scale of the terrorist threat to the travelling public".

"Drawing from our experience of what our customers need from travel advice, we consider that these descriptions are the most helpful to the travelling public given the innate difficulty of describing the threat", the Foreign Office Minister told the MPs on Thursday.

Lufthansa announced the launch of low-cost Rail&Fly tickets, which will offer the passengers on carrier's flights a hassle-free journey to the airport.

These low-cost tickets are available for the passengers booked on an international flight of the carrier. Passengers will be allowed to travel from more than 5,600 railway stations in Germany to almost all the airports in the country where the airline is offering its services.

A single, second class ticket is available at a price of €19, while for a first class option the passengers have to pay €39. Passengers can book their special tickets on the carrier's website after booking their international ticket.

In order to guard Deutsche Lufthansa AG against non-European peers' competition, the German government may try to put cap on the number of incoming flights from the Gulf region, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported, quoting an internal progress report by the Transport Ministry.

The newspaper said that the Emirates Airlines has asked the German government for granting permission to the airline to add Berlin and Stuttgart to its Deutsche destinations. It could provide long-haul passengers the option to leave the country without first going for a domestic flight with Lufthansa, for instance, to major hubs such as Munich and Frankfurt.

According to the newspaper, the report of the Ministry said, "Emirates Airlines is clearly planning to turn the Gulf region into a hub for a global, continuously growing traffic network, thereby diverting traditionally direct connections between Europe and the Far East or Africa to the Middle East".

Iberia, the largest airline of Spain, is about to embark the no-frills subsidiary airline within two years.   A venture alike Ryanair and Easyjet, Iberia is set to present the anonymous budget entity, which will enable the British travelers to fly to Spain at a pocket-friendly budget. However, the flight-slots of the low cost airline have not yet been decided.  

In response to stiff competition from the budget airlines, Iberia has taken on this new venture. The airline is expected to pull almost 17 percent of the domestic routes of the rival counterparts. However, it is keen on bearing a minor stake of the whole budget, in order to avoid any unexpected circumstances. The largest saving bank of Spain has therefore, agreed to help Iberia in their new venture.

Iberia reckons to be the most popular and largest airline in Spain and has its network wings spread to seven UK airports. Its main base lies in Madrid Barajas international airport and Barcelona International airport. For 10 consecutive years, the airline has witnessed remarkable profit margin compared to its counterparts.

The 2007 Hong Kong Shopping Festival (30th June 2007 to 31st August 2007) organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is the perfect shoppers bonanza - especially for the visitors. The visitors are offered special shopping experiences, summer promotions and exclusive dining deals. The Hong Kong festival put forwards a range of quality products at amazing prices (tax-exempted) during this time of the year. It is a perfect time for a diverse shopping experience in booming markets of Hong Kong.     

The shops and restaurants carrying Hong Kong Shopping Festival participating merchant logo are the best places for the visitors in order to relish the real taste of the summer promotions. Hong Kong retail stocks present the latest gadgets of well-known brands like Samsung, ELectrolux, Panasonic, Ninki Denki, DoPod, Shure, HTC, JVC etc, apart from the newest PDA, mobile phone and digital camera.  Most of the shops shut down after 10:00 PM, providing an opportunity to spend adequate time exploring the various attractions in Hong Kong.   

Moreover, this year the Shopping Festival celebrations mark the 10th anniversary of the historic establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The HKSAR Government in coordination with non-government institutions, companies and organizations, has staged a number of special events and activities to celebrate this special event. This time the proud hosts of the 6th Hong Kong Shopping Festival would be the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB). 

Finnair has taken the delivery of Airbus A340, its first new long-haul aircraft. These airbuses reveal modern and advanced technology that is to be used on the long distance flights of Finnair, flying between Europe and Asia. Airbus A340 has the capacity to seat 269 passengers. The first commercial flight of this new aircraft had been on June 2, from Helsinki to Tokyo.

Finnair had ordered for three A340 aircrafts in December, 2005 and it had just received its first A340 airbus. The second aircraft of this modern technology was also received by Finnair in mid-June, which had arrived from Toulouse. Finnair has plans to replace the Boeing MD-11, its present aircraft with the technologically advanced aircrafts, Airbus A340s and A330s. By the end of 2010, the airline will be having a long-haul fleet of these modern aircrafts.

The new aircrafts have engines that are based on the most recent technology and it decreases emissions and fuel consumptions considerably. The aircrafts also offer the passengers of Finnair a comfortable journey. The passengers will be having the option of selecting from the wide range of entertainment and communications offered in the aircrafts. In the Economy Class, all the passenger seats are equipped with numerous TV and audio channels, 20 films, satellite phones, a 60 CD collection permitting the passenger to compile his own play lists.

The city of Dubai is all set to become the world's most prolific shopping destination. The endeavors from city's malls and Dubai Shopping Festival office to promote Dubai as finest shopping and entertainment center has received the much needed hike, as explained by Fareed Abdel Rahman, Vice-President of Deira City Centre. According to Rahman, the mall's in Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) 2007 and the Dubai shopping festival had a tremendous impact on Dubai's shopping trends.

One of the most popular shopping centers in the region - Deira City Centre is a perfect destination for leisure and entertainment. Throughout the year, the center brags for its footfall generation and sales figures. Established in 1998, the Dubai Summer Surprises is a booming season for the malls extending across 10 weeks. DSS is known to have boosted the footfall figures enormously.

Deira City Centre has received a significant growth in footfall that has reciprocated the sales figures. The figures depict expected footfall growth to be 8 per cent, complemented by 10 per cent sales growth. The Centre witnessed around 8% increase in the footfall traffic as compared to the same time last year.

Budget airline Jet2.com has flatly denied their latest TV campaign takes a rise out of Salford for being uninteresting. The company's adverts appear to mark the city as 'dullsville' alongside locations like Ramsbottom and Ashton.

John Merry, leader of the Salford City Council said, "I hope their pilots are better at geography than their advertising company. If they had actually bothered to visit Salford they wouldn't have been so dismissive".

Merry continued saying, "This is the city which has everything from a world-class cultural centre to a five-star hotel and great nightlife to miles of open space and waterways, and everything in between".

A new, free and risk-less, pre-pay chip and PIN card has been launched by Barclays. The card can be used at cash machines and places where VISA is accepted anywhere in the world.

The new Travel Money Card is available free of charges. The money can be loaded from the equivalent of £100 to £2,500. The new card is available in British pounds, Euros and US dollars.

Barclays Current and Savings Account Director, Andrew Jones, said, "The Barclays travel card is the most convenient and safest way to carry foreign currency: it's safer than cash and more flexible than travellers' cheques.