Archive for the ‘Travel advice’ CategoryThe Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published an updated guide to inform holidaymakers of what they can and cannot take on board an aircraft and how they should behave during the flight. The document can be found here: www.caa.co.uk/docs/3/TravellingSafelyFinal.pdf Getting to the airport on time to get your flight can be quite a stressful part of your holiday. How long should you leave for your journey, what if there’s a traffic jam or an accident, how early should you arrive and how should you travel to the airport? By planning ahead and getting arrangements in place early you will help alleviate the stress. What time you arrive at the airport will be dependent on whether you are on a domestic or international flight, however, the minimum check-in time varies between airlines and individual routes, so check in advance with your airline. At busier times of the year it may take longer to pass through airport security and you need to take this in to consideration. If you are travelling at weekends or in the school holidays it is advisable to allow extra time, although don’t allow too much extra time as hanging around the airport waiting for your flight can be stressful in itself. Transport options Coach Train Special rail services Bus Car Consider your parking options carefully before booking as there are many different types of parking available, such as on-site: short- or long-stay; off-site airport parking; park and stay options with local hotels; or valet, meet and greet parking. Plan your route in advance with an online route planner, such as the AA or Multimap, and carry a map or use satellite navigation just in case your planned route is disrupted by an accident. Always check the Highways Agency website for advance notice of planned road works that may affect your journey. Taxi Friends and family drop off Whatever your chosen method of transport to the airport, make sure you have organised it in advance to save undue stress on the day. When we plan a holiday we are often conscious of our outward journey preparations, organising as smooth a getaway as possible and keeping airport hassle to a minimum. But, do we give much thought to our return journey? Outbound travel is always made smoother, irrespective of the hassles we may encounter, due to the anticipation and excitement of our holiday. Return travel is always worse, invariably you’re tired, you’ve had to vacate your holiday accommodation early, you’ve had to allow plenty of time to get your hire car back to the airport, then there’s check-in, often in a foreign language, hanging around for your flight, and inevitably delays. Excitement about your holiday is like a painkiller for travel hassle, but on your return, you’re tired, and all you want to do is get home. So how do you make your return journey as hassle-free as possible? Well, with a few pointers, you should be okay. To help you may wish to consider the following: Meet and greet parking Meet and greet valet parking is great on departure days, but it’s even better when you get back and you realise you don’t need to collect your own car from the car park, dragging your luggage, and tired kids, behind you. So for the ultimate hassle-free end to your holiday, organise meet and greet parking. When booking your meet and greet parking the company will take a record of your return date, flight number and expected time of arrival, so they can monitor your return flight to ensure an accurate time to deliver your car back to you at the airport terminal. It is such a wonderful feeling knowing that, no matter how delayed your flight is, your car will be waiting for you the minute you step out of the terminal, and an even better feeling to know that you’re on your way home in a warmed-up before your fellow passengers have even reached their car. Book an airport hotel You can’t insure against flight delays and holiday hassle, but if you are travelling from Gatwick airport consider using Gatwick meet and greet parking or book a Gatwick Hilton park and stay package. to make your journey home as easy and convenient as possible. Even the most placid child can get frustrated by the confined space of an aircraft; they just have too much energy and need to run around. Add to that the excitement of going on holiday plus the tiredness of getting up at an unsociable hour to get to the airport and you have a potential nightmare journey on your hands. If you’re flying with a baby, young child or both this holiday, careful preparations can help to organise them and relieve the boredom of a long flight.
Although travelling with young children or a baby can seem daunting, being prepared, planning ahead and following the tips above should help make the journey less stressful leaving you relaxed enough to enjoy your holiday. The current economic climate is turning us into a cost-conscious society. We are all looking to trim the cost of everything: the supermarket bills, utilities bills and, of course, this year’s summer holiday. There are several ways to save money when booking your holiday. If you are planning to fly with a budget airline this year, one way to cut costs is to familiarise yourself with your airline’s added extras, or ancillary charges. Many budget airlines focus on low-cost tickets to attract customers and then make a large proportion of their money by offering optional, added extras, such as checked-in baggage, airport check-in and onboard food and drink. If you are aware of where they make their money, a bit of forward planning should help you to avoid most of these charges. Here’s a list of dos and don’ts that will help: Don’t travel with checked in luggage If you do need to carry hold luggage, pay for it online before checking in as the fees charged online are generally less than at the airport. Don’t exceed your permitted weight allowance Don’t arrive at the airport too early Do book your airport parking in advance Do purchase travel insurance Travelling without travel insurance is a false economy, is something goes wrong on holiday it could cost you significantly more money than an insurance policy. It’s not worth the financial risk, so make sure you’re covered. Have you any other tips to save money on this year’s holiday. If so, please feel free to add them in the comments section. I’d love to hear them. The great summer getaway is nearly upon us, and as we shop for new holiday items and draw up packing lists, take heed of the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) reminder about dangerous goods which must not be carried on aircraft. Dangerous goods include items such as culinary blowtorches, fireworks and other explosives as well as substances such as petrol, lighter fuel and weed killer that must not be carried in either hand luggage or checked in baggage. Geoff Leach, Manager of the Dangerous Goods Office at the CAA, said: “The majority of passengers are very careful when packing their luggage and know which items can and cannot be taken on board. Whilst we are all made aware of the security restrictions imposed, passengers still need to be reminded that some items, which are relatively innocuous in everyday use, are capable of posing a serious risk to the occupants of an aircraft, no matter where they are carried on the aircraft.” The CAA draws passengers’ attention to the risks of fire from inappropriately packed batteries and battery powered devices, which if accidentally activated could cause a fire. In February 2007, a fire in an overhead locker in an aircraft that had just taken off from New York JFK Airport was believed to have been caused by a battery which had short-circuited and overheated. Dangerous goods that must NOT be taken on board are:
For more information on prohibited items check out www.caa.co.uk/dangerousgoods In the wake of yet another airline collapse, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is again warning travellers of the dangers of DIY holidays. DIY holidaymakers could be putting their holidays at risk by booking individual components of their holiday independently of each other – flights, accommodation, car hire etc. booked separately as part of a DIY holiday are unconnected and are not covered by the CAA’s Air Travel Organiser’s Licensing (ATOL) financial protection scheme. Should an airline or another provider of part of your holiday cease trading you are responsible for finding an alternative, often more expensive, replacement – if you cannot purchase a replacement, you may be unable to claim back money already paid for the unused components of your holiday and could run the risk of being stranded abroad if the airline you flew with went bankrupt during your holiday. For peace of mind, the CAA is highlighting the benefits of booking all the elements of a holiday with the same ATOL protected company. ATOL spokesman David Clover said: “Our research shows that although millions of holidaymakers will build DIY breaks this summer, they don’t realise they are at risk. Holiday purchases are still a significant household purchase so we want consumers to make informed choices about financial protection. We must also emphasise to those building their own holidays that they may not be protected against the risks of travel company insolvency.” He continued: “Booking an entire holiday with one travel company does not mean that consumers have to compromise flexibility for protection. Many of the major online holiday operators allow holidaymakers to build their own tailored ATOL-protected break. “If consumers are booking DIY holidays this summer, we urge them to take out their own financial protection measures such as buying with their credit card, rather than a debit card, or taking out insurance which covers against the dangers of insolvency.” ATOL (Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing) is managed by the CAA, and provides repatriation costs if a tour operator fails. In the year to March 2008, ATOL enabled more than 2,000 customers of failed tour operators to complete their holidays and return to the UK, a further 21,000 received refunds of advance payments. For the year, total expenditure on repatriations and refunds was £7.5 million. For more information about ATOL and to check an ATOL number click on the link Do you reclaim the tax and duty paid on cancelled airline tickets? Did you know you can claim the money back? Well, you are not alone. According to a poll of 2070 people conducted by YouGov for InsureandGo, 48% of travellers are unaware they can claim their money back, and 3% were put off by high administration charges. Perry Wilson, Managing Director of InsureandGo said, “The amount of tax and duty paid on each flight people take has increased dramatically and it can now be as much as £150 of the cost of a long haul journey. “Passengers are estimated to pay £972 million in Air Passenger Duty for 2006/07 and £2.117 billion in 2007/08. If you cancel your ticket, it really does pay to claim back the tax and duty you have paid on it.” The summer getaway will soon be upon us as thousands of drivers hit the road in an attempt to reach the airport and head off in to the sun. As your holiday approaches, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the whole thing and overlook one important factor of a safe getaway – sleep! Did you know that approximately 300 people die each year as a result of a driver falling asleep when driving? Sleeping at the wheel accounts for up to 20% of crashes on motorway and similar roads, and you are more likely to fall asleep at the wheel between the hours of midnight and 6am, and 2-4pm. Leisure drivers are at risk because they are likely to drive further distances during holiday times than they are used to. It’s a natural instinct to want to reach your destination as soon as possible, particularly when going on holiday, but it is better to factor in some breaks and plan your journey properly so that you arrive alive. Sleepy drivers are aware of their tiredness – common symptoms of tiredness are a drowsy, relaxed feeling, difficulty keeping your eyes open, difficulty focusing, frequent blinking, nodding head, excessive yawning and repeatedly drifting out of your lane. It’s a fallacy to think that turning up the radio and opening the window for some fresh air will wake you up. The following tips will help you avoid that tired feeling when going on holiday and help you arrive safely at your destination: · Plan your journey to include a 15 minute break every two hours of driving · Drink 2 cups of coffee or other high caffeine drink before resting to allow time for the caffeine to take effect · Have a good night’s sleep prior to setting out on a long journey · Be aware that you are more likely to feel tired if you have an unusually early start – ideally avoid making long trips between midnight- 6am and 2-4pm when your natural alertness is low · If possible, share the driving · If you start to feel sleepy find a safe place to stop as soon as possible – not the hard shoulder of a motorway · If you are flying away on holiday, try to book a local hotel either for the outward journey – this will enable you to drive at a time when you are less likely to feel sleepy – or for the return journey – great after a long flight – you can ensure you have a good night’s sleep prior to setting off home. Just think of it as another day’s holiday! If you are flying from London Gatwick this summer, why not book a room at the Gatwick Hilton Hotel with Hilton Valet Parking – an upgrade on their park and stay package. The Hilton Valet Parking package in association with Help-Me-Park.co.uk offers a convenient parking service – your car is collected from the entrance to the Hilton Hotel when you arrive and is returned to you at the Hilton when you get back from your holiday. You can either stay at the Hilton prior to your departure, or after you arrive back from holiday and have your car returned to you at the Hilton the next day when you are refreshed and ready to drive home. If like me, you like to take total control for your holiday, mixing and matching components such as purchasing flights from one company, accommodation from another and car hire from another…beware! You, like me, and 18 million other people could be putting your holiday at risk in the event of bankruptcy of any one of the companies that sold you part of your holiday. Flights and accommodation booked separately as part of a DIY holiday are unconnected, so if an airline or accommodation provider ceases trading you could be forced to buy alternative, often more expensive, replacements – if you cannot purchase replacements, you may be unable to claim back money already paid for the unused components of your holiday. You could even run the risk of being stranded abroad if the airline you flew with went bankrupt during your holiday. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which operates the ATOL financial protection scheme, is highlighting to holidaymakers the benefits of booking all elements of a holiday together with a single, ATOL-protected travel company, and urging travellers to check that their summer holidays are financially protected. ATOL is the UK’s only licensing scheme for travel companies selling air holiday packages, protecting around 27 million people each year from losing money or being stranded abroad if their travel company goes bankrupt. Travel companies are also responsible for all aspects of the holiday, so if one element goes wrong, the company will make alternative arrangements. The CAA has issued the following advice to consumers on how to check for ATOL holiday protection:
DIY package holidays are not protected under the ATOL scheme so consumers should consider:
For more information and advice about ATOL and holiday protection, consumers should visit www.atol.org.uk or call 0207 453 6430. |
