Hej där. Nu har jag äntligen tagit tag i att ordentligt kolla på att ta mig ner till Nya Zeeland.

Steg ett är att ta sig till London. Planen just nu är att åka den 15:e januari (samma dag min anställning upphör) med Anna dit med Ryanair. Det kostar 79 kronor per skalle (165 extra för väska på 15kg, något jag lär behöva). Efter några dagar tillsammans i London flyger Anna hem, och jag fortsätter min resa.

British Airways kan tisdagen den 19:e januari flyga mig från London till Auckland för 7871 kronor.

Men jag har redan snöat in på att besöka Hong Kong. Så jag måste flyga förbi där. Det kostar 2798 kronor att ta mig dit direkt den 19:e. För att sen komma från Hong Kong direkt till Auckland kostar det 5355 kronor den 25:e januari med Royal Brunei Airlines. Allt som allt runt 8100 kronor. Alltså 250 kronor mer än att flyga raka vägen. Lätt värt stoppet.

Men … flyget till Hong Kong mellanlandar i Peking, som jag alltid velat besöka. Och flyget till Auckland mellanlandar i Kuala Lumpur. Så jag måste så klart kolla även på dessa möjligheter.

London till Peking kostar 3163 kronor tisdagen den 19:e januari. Att några dagar senare den 25:e januari flyga vidare till Hong Kong kostar 2862 med Air China och mellanlandning i Guangzhou knappt en timma från Hong Kong. Den flygresan tar sammanlagt fyra timmar (i luften). Alternativet här är ett direktflyg för 3225 den 21:a eller för 3232 någon av de följande dagarna.

Så, London till Hong Kong direkt 2798 kronor. Att stanna i Peking 6000, eller 6500 om resan till Hong Kong ska kortas ner. Alltså mer än dubbla flygkostnaden. Men, Peking är Peking, med sitt oändliga utbud av historia och kultur.

Att sen ta sig från Hong Kong till Kuala Lumpur till Auckland kostar onsdagen den 25:e januari 2186 kronor eller den 27:e januari 2031 kronor för den första etappen, via Singapore. Den andra etappen kostar den 2:a februari 4831 kronor om man flyger via Brunei, annars 5781 den 4:e februari för ett direktflyg.

Så Hong Kong till Auckland direkt 5355 kronor. Med min lilla rundtur: 7000 kronor (eller 8000 om jag vill korta ner sista resan).

Alltså:
London – Auckland: knappt 7900
London – Hong Kong – Auckland: runt 8100
London – Peking – Hong Kong – Kuala Lumpur – Auckland: 13000 – 14500

På varje stopp tillkommer ungefär 200 kronor i transfer till och från flygplatsen och det hostel jag bokat, samt så klart kostnaden för hostel och mat. Hostel och mat i dessa regioner är dock mycket billigare än att bo och äta i Nya Zeeland, så på det viset gör jag snarare en vinst här. But still, det är snudd på dubbla biljettpriset att göra alla dessa extrastopp. Men å andra sidan, att flyga till dessa platser en annan gång skulle bli ännu dyrare, och jag tänkte redan från början att flygresan ner till Nya Zeeland skulle kosta mig 10 till 15 tusen kronor.

En sak jag dock måste kolla upp är att lägga starten på resan en vecka tidigare (har 7 semesterdagar jag inte tagit ut än på jobbet) så att jag kommer ner lagom till Victor kommer ner den 28:e. Men det tog typ en timma att söka upp alla dessa priser och leta fram billigaste dagarna via flygresor.se så jag tar och går och sover istället. Klockan är faktiskt fyra!

Flights to Florida with British Airways or Virgin are now at unbeatable prices for Autumn and october half term 2010.

Flights alone are from just £449. However, Ocean Florida have put together some amazing packages which include your British Airway or Virgin flights.

The half term and october florida deals include:

* 3 star, two week packages, staying at the Quality Inn Plaza on International Drive for just £539

* Ocean Florida exclusive deals staying at Windsor Hills in one of their amazing villas from just £599pp

* 5 star, yes 5 star, family hotel packages at the brand new Waldorf Astoria Disney World from just £799.

For more information on British Airways and Virgin holiday packages to Florida in 2010 visit ocean-florida.co.uk or call 0800 804 8430.

15 female (former BA) Hong Kong based flight attendants are squaring off with BA legal in England tomorrow on grounds of age discrimination. The flight attendants claim that once they reached the age of 45, they were let go. Meanwhile, other internaitonal crews are allowed to stay with BA well passed 45. The Hong Kong crews are upset at the age discrimination practice and want the anti-age discrimiation laws passed in the UK, to apply to them.

More on the story can be found here: cranky, old HKG BA crews.

Too bad airline gals don’t look like this anymore:

the good old days

TVI Express s’est joint aux plus grands noms de l’industrie du Voyage et du Tourisme.  Cet alignement stratégique a permis à Travel Ventures International de créer une nouvelle catégorie de produits à plusieurs milliards de dollars.

En tant que membre de TVI Express, VOUS pouvez récolter d’importants bénéfices en aidant les  gens qui voyagent à obtenir ce dont ils ont besoin. Pensez à tous ceux qui rêvent de voyager aux quatre coins du monde et d’économiser en même temps des milliers de dollars!!!

Voici les partenaires de TVI Express:

Hilton, Hertz, KLM, Avis, Sheraton, Crystal, Disney, Le Meridien, Carnival, British Airways, Swiss International Air Lines, RoyalCaribbean, Malaysia Airlines, South African Airways, Thai, Lufthansa, Hyatt, Marriott.

TVI Express est indirectement lié aux compagnies mentionnées ci-dessus.

OK, je veux devenir membre de TVI Express

.

Bien amicalement,
Gilles Vitu

I sent this information to a few friends and then realized everyone should hear about it.  I realize you might not need another credit card, but this deal is almost too good to pass up.  If I was working – and therefore had income – I would be all over this!

From my friends at Airfare Watchdog:

British Airways’ Chase Visa: They’re offering 100,000 bonus miles (that’s not a typo), 50,000 upon your first purchase with the card, and another 50,000 if you spend $2,000 or more in the first three months. You also get 1.25 miles rather than the usual one for each dollar charged to the card, and if you spend $30,000 in a single calendar year you get a companion voucher good for any class of service. [This means you and a friend - like ME - could fly business class for the price of one! The companion pass is good for 2 years and I believe you can get this as many times as you qualify] The annual fee is $75. Plus, should you usually only travel domestically, you can spend those miles on BA’s partner American Airlines or other partner airlines. Those 100,000 miles are good for two flights to Europe, assuming seats are available when you wish to travel, or for upgrades. You can apply for the card by visiting THIS LINK

British Airways (London) may be forced to move its Concorde 102 G-BOAB (msn 208) away from London’s Heathrow Airport due to the lack of available space according to this article.

News link:

business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/

article6926923.ece

currently looking at: Mark Power

currently listening to: Don’t Wait for the Needle to Drop by Dosh

Hello there. Europe was the bee’s knees. The only issue about going there was that I wanted to also travel to other countries that I’ve always wanted to go to once I set foot. I have a lot of stories to tell, but I’ll just give the lowdown. The purpose of this trip was to shoot a portfolio on “Modern London.” British Airways ended up giving me an extra ticket for a fellow traveling companion, so I brought my friend Adam. When we arrived, we spent just about 7 hours in London until we flew to Lyon, Paris for 3 days. We visited with my friend Dan and his girlfriend Adele. Dan is an old friend of mine who’s a film scorer and was spending a few months there. He showed us around and I was able to take a lot of good pictures. I shot a lot of street and architecture there.

We ended up getting back to London, which is such a bustling city. It is very populated and everyone is on the go. It is much like New York, except for the accents and the historical factor. I checked out a lot of stuff, but my favorite parts of the city were Camden and Piccadilly Circus. My favorite places that I spent some time were Regent Park, The Portrait Gallery and just the London streets in general; lot of good people watching. I find the best way to get to know any city is to get lost in it. Not have a working cell phone was very good for my creative juices, not needing to answer e-mails or worry about calling someone back, it was such a great feeling. At a quick glance, however, London could be easily mistaken for parts of the U.S., minus the cars and the accents.

Overall, the trip was indeed a success and the people at British Airways were such a delight. I completed my portfolio on Modern London and was very happy with how everything was shot. I did end up losing a flash the last night we were there (!!!!!), but what’s a trip without some form of casualty? I could go on longer about my ventures, but I figure I’ll let my pictures do the talking. I am close to having everything ready to be presented to British Airways, but until I can show the portfolio in it’s entirety, take a look at a few of the images from the trip. Enjoy!

Российская авиация

В прошлый раз я писал про рейтинг безопасности российских авиакомпаний. Неделя началась с ряда публикаций по этому поводу. Вот одна из них на gazeta.ru. Понятно, что любой рейтинг несовершенен и не отражает всего, что творится в той или иной авиакомпании. К тому же, ни один рейтинг не сможет предусмотреть нештатные ситуации.

“Аэрофлот-Норд” всё же переименовывают в “Нордавиа – региональные авиалинии” с 1 декабря. Недавно я с удивлением обнаружил, что “Аэрофлот-Норд” больше не обслуживает дневной рейс Самара-Москва-Самара. Получается, что у “Аэрофлота” осталось лишь два рейса – утренний и вечерний. Напомню, что зимнее расписание полётов через “Курумоч” можно посмотреть здесь.

Третий терминал аэропорта “Шереметьево” всё же начал свою работу по графику 15 ноября с рейсов в Сочи и Магадан. В сети появилось ещё несколько публикаций на эту тему. “Ведомости” предлагают небольшое видео и статью. Отмечается, что автостоянка пока бесплатна, городские автобусы уже ходят до нового терминала (что не может не радовать меня лично), а в стерильной зоне Wi-Fi Интернет может быть бесплатным. В ЖЖ есть и пост с подборкой фотографий нового терминала.

Наконец, новому терминалу посвящён и материал сайта “Транспорт сегодня”. Отмечается, что заинтересованность в использовании нового терминала проявляют некоторые российские компании – “Россия”, “Татарстан”. Это помимо того, что кроме SkyTeam и “Аэрофлота” в терминал D переведут некоторые компании-конкуренты, а часть рейсов “Аэрофлота” вынуждена будет остаться в Терминале 2 (позднее в Терминале Е). Я решительно не понимаю, почему в аэрофлотовский терминал над переводить рейсы всех остальных компаний (не входящих в SkyTeam), когда самому “Аэрофлоту” уже не хватает места. Что это за странная логистика? В конце концов, в Терминал Е можно было бы перевести рейсы конкурентов, у которых с “Аэрофлотом” есть код-шеринговые соглашения, а не тащить их в третий терминал.

“Ведомости-пятница” же пишут о ещё одной новинке шереметьевского аэропортового комплекса – новой штаб-квартире “Аэрофлота” по соседству с третьим терминалом. Я летом проезжал мимо и видел это красивое здание. Вот прекрасный пример того, когда современная архитектура в нужном месте может быть украшением. В новой штаб-квартире рождаются и очередные инициативы по пересаживанию российских чиновников на самолёты российских авиакомпаний.

Но и это не всё. 25 ноября в “Шереметьево” откроется первый у нас “капсульный” отель “Воздушный экспресс”, который разместится в терминале “Аэроэкспресс”. В отличие от Японии, номера будут выполнены в более традиционном виде, нежели знаменитые капсулы, но минимализм сохраняется. Минимальное время пребывания в гостинице – 4 часа. За 4 часа в одноместном экономе нужно будет отдать 1312 рублей, за 2-местный эконом без окна 1600 рублей, а 2-местный эконом с окном 1800 рублей. Имеются также 2 и 3-местные номера бизнес класса, а также 3-местный номер первого класса. По истечении 4 часов оплата взимается по часам. В том же 1-местном экономе пребывание в течение 5 часов обойдётся в 1599 рублей. Во всех номерах есть туалет с душем, кровати, телефон и доступ в Интернет. Постояльцы обеспечиваются набором постельного белья и полотенец. Это может стать удобным решением для тех, кто должен рано вылетать из аэропорта, а приезжает в “Москву” накануне вечером. Можно заселиться в полночь, а в 4-5 утра уже отправиться в терминал на регистрацию.

Тем временем, ОАК всё же получит акции самарского “Авиакора”. Актив этот достаточно проблемный. Долги большие, производство минимально. Сохраняется вероятность того, что самарскому заводу отведут роль производителя запчастей и ремонтные функции. Собственно, ОАК не скрывает своих планов перенести производство самолётов Ан-140 в Воронеж.

Пока же некоторые самолёты хотя бы где-то сохраняют. В пригороде Барнаула открылся авиамузей. Каждый раз, когда читаешь подобные сообщения или открываешь в ЖЖ очередной репортаж из авиамузеев Киева или Ульяновска, становится стыдно и обидно за Самару, где самолёты ржавеют на тренировочной базе СГАУ.

Авиация за рубежом

OAG (Лондон) подвела итоги голосования и представила рейтинг гражданской авиации 2009 года. Этот рейтинг считается одним из самых авторитетных.

Авиакомпания года: Singapore Airlines
Лучшая авиакомпания на трансатлантических маршрутах: Virgin Atlantic
Лучшая авиакомпания на транстихоокеанских маршрутах: Singapore Airlines
Лучший салон первого класса на международных линиях: Singapore Airlines
Лучший салон бизнес-класса: Continental Airlines
Лучший салон экономического класса: British Airways
Лучшая североамериканская авиакомпания: Continental
Лучшая авиакомпания Ближнего Востока и Южной Азии: Emirates
Лучшая бюджетная авиакомпания: Southwest Airlines
Лучшая авиакомпания Латинской Америки: LAN
Лучшая авиакомпания Африки: South African Airlines
Лучшая авиакомпания Западной Европы: Virgin Atlantic
Лучшая авиакомпания Центральной и Восточной Европы: CSA Czech Airlines
Лучшая авиакомпания Австралии и Океании: Qantas
Лучший аэропорт: Singapore Changi

“Аэрофлот”, кстати, попал в число финалистов в категории “лучшая авиакомпания Центральной и Восточной Европы”.

В прошлую пятницу Рик Сини вспомнил о том, что число 13 отсутствует в салонах некоторых компаний. Так, 13-го ряда нет у Continental Airlines, Alaska и AirTran. А в салонах Lufthansa, согласно Рику Сини, нет 13 и 17 рядов, так как в Италии и Бразилии несчастливым считается ещё и число 17. Однако надо понимать, что сидящие в “14” ряду, на самом деле оказываются в 13-м.

Любители авиации могут заинтересоваться видео с компьютерной симуляцией полёта А320 компании US Airways, который в начале года удачно приземлился на реку после столкновения со стаей птиц над Нью-Йорком.

Авиапутешествия

Сергей Доля разместил в своём блоге подборку ссылок на материалы о разных ситуациях, которые могут быть восприняты пассажирами как нештатные. Заметки призваны развенчать некоторые аэрофобные мифы.

Если Вы уже не боитесь (или никогда не боялись), Вас может заинтересовать предложение от Air France. До конца ноября можно забронировать перелёт по маршрутам Москва-Париж-Нью-Йорк или Санкт-Петербург-Париж-Нью-Йорк на период с 23 ноября 2009 по 31 марта 2010 года. В чём изюминка предложения? В том, что шесть раз в неделю, кроме среды, перелёт из Парижа в Нью-Йорк и обратно осуществляется на двухпалубном A380. А билет туда-обратно (со всеми сборами) в экономическом классе обойдётся всего в 20500 рублей (при бронировании через сайт компании).

А ещё у Air France и KLM есть предложение для любителей Европы – билет в три европейских города по цене одного. За 15000 рублей (со всеми сборами) можно выбрать любой европейский город из 13 (Ницца, Тулуза, Женева, Мюнхен, Цюрих, Милан, Рим, Лиссабон, Барселона, Эдинбург, Лондон, Берлин, Вена) помимо Парижа и Амстердама. Например, можно забронировать билет по маршруту Москва-Париж-Лондон-Амстердам-Москва за 15000 рублей. Фактически, Вы платите только за билет до Лондона (или другого города по выбору), а остановки в Париже и Амстердаме совершаете бесплатно. Бронирование до 30 ноября, перелёт до конца марта 2010 года.

Ну, а японская ANA решила модернизировать свои салоны. Увеличенное расстояние между креслами в экономе, разделители и двойные подлокотники в премиум-экономе, горизонтально раскладывающиеся кресла в бизнес-классе и полностью приватные места в первом. Бретт Снайдер предлагает взглянуть на всё это великолепие. Новые кабины появятся в 2010 году на самолётах Boeing-777-300ER, летающих между Японией и Северной Америкой или Европой.

OceanAir tem planos de crescimento 

Fokker 100 da OceanAir em SDU (Foto: Aidan Formigoni / Clique para ampliar)

A OceanAir levará novidades para o Festival de Turismo de Gramado: a incorporação de 4 aeronaves Airbus 319 à sua frota a partir de março de 2010 e como isso deverá beneficiar os passageiros da Região Sul do país . Ainda em 2009, a companhia reforçará sua malha aérea com novos voos (São Paulo/Juazeiro do Norte e São Paulo/Salvador) com a entrada em operação de mais um Fokker Mk 28, reafirmando foco de servir cada vez melhor seus clientes. Segundo Renato Pascowitch, diretor executivo da companhia, a OceanAir, que apresentou crescimento de aproximadamente 50% em 2009. Para 2010 o previsto é um crescimento superior a 30%, passando dos 2,5 milhões de passageiros transportados.

As principais conquistas da OceanAir esse ano foram: Primeira colocada na preferência do passageiro, segundo Ranking Popular da Anac (www.anac.gov.br/passageiro); novos Airbus 319, com capacidade para 132 passageiros cada, passam a integrar a frota OceanAir em 2010; harmonização dos programas de fidelidade Amigo (OceanAir) e Avianca Plus, permitindo ao passageiro das duas empresas acumular pontos e resgatar prêmios; mais de 600 mil participantes do Programa Amigo (Programa de Fidelidade); renovação dos interiores da Frota de MK28; ampliação de code-shares com Avianca para Porto Alegre, Florianópolis, Brasília, Salvador e Belo Horizonte.

British Airways renova parceria com cartão de crédito

A companhia aérea British Airways anunciou uma promoção especial com a operadora de cartão de crédito American Express. Com a renovação do acordo, até o dia 31 de janeiro de 2010, um ponto do programa Membership Rewards se transforma em duas milhas no Executive Club, programa de milhagem da empresa inglesa. Os pontos podem ser trocados por passagens aéreas ou upgrades de classes nos voos diários da Britsh de São Paulo para Londres ou Buenos Aires ou em um dos três voos do Rio de Janeiro para a capital argentina. A transferência automática dos pontos é feita pelo call center da Amex e é válida para os associados Gold e Platinum da operadora de cartão. Outra vantagem é que os pontos transferidos poderão ser utilizados também nas outras companhias integrantes da aliança One World como a American, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Finnair, Qantas e Mexicana, entre outras.

Estrangeiras pontuais no Brasil

Relatório recente da ANAC mostra o desempenho da aviação comercial no Brasil, no passado mês de outubro. Entre as empresas aéreas estrangeiras (que realizam mais de 70 voos por mês no Brasil) as mais pontuais em outubro foram a LANChile (6,8%), Copa Airlines ( 7,6%) e Continental Airlines (7,7%). Os índices de atrasos indicam o percentual de voos que decolaram com defasagem superior a mais de 30 minutos. As menos pontuais em outubro foram a Aerolineas Argentinas (36,2%) Ibéria (33,3%) e TAM Mercosur (31,5%).

A mais pontual das regionais

Entre as principais companhias brasileiras com serviços aéreos regionais a mais pontual, no passado mês de outubro foi, segundo a ANAC, a Pantanal, que registrou apenas 11.6% de suas decolagens com atrasos superiores a 30 minutos.

Melhor visibilidade em “clássicos”

A Hawker Beechcraft está oferecendo uma melhoria notável para seus modelos clássicos “Baron” e “Bonanza”. Trata-se dos equipamentos EVS-100 e EVS-600 (de Enhanced Vision System), que melhora a visibilidade frontal para o piloto mesmo em condições adversas de iluminação. Operando com câmeras térmicas de infra-vermelho, o sistema penetra fumaça, nebulosidade e nevoeiro e garante maior segurança nos pousos e decolagens. Os novos sistemas estarão agora disponíveis para os aviões saídos de fabrica e como “retrofit” para exemplares mais antigos.

Airbags em aviões leves

A Hawker Beechcraft lançou novos Amsafe Seatbelts Airbags para o piloto e o co-piloto de seus aviões “Baron” e “Bonanza”. Essa medida reflete o resultado de pesquisas que mostram que em muitos pousos forçados os ocupantes dos assentos da frente nessas aeronaves sofrem ferimentos na cabeça e pescoço que podem ser evitados pelo uso do novo equipamento.

Novo presidente da ABAG

Tomou posse em São Paulo o novo Presidente da ABAG – Associação Brasileira de Aviação Geral, Francisco Lyra, eleito para o biênio 2010/2011. Ele substitui Ruy Tomas de Aquino.

Nova proposta sueca ao Brasil

Numa dura disputa para obter para seu caça “Gripen” o contrato brasileiro de compra para 36 exemplares para a FAB, a sueca Saab, com o apoio do Reino Unido, sugeriu novas vantagens ao Brasil. Uma delas seria qualificar a Embraer como sua representante de vendas da aeronave a outros países da América Latina e outra envolveria a compra, para a Força Aérea da Suécia, do novo avião tanque KC-390 e do treinador “Super Tucano”. Sabe-se que os suecos precisarão substituir seus atuais treinadores Saab 105 e os transportes Lockheed “Hercules” na próxima década.

Lufthansa lança jogo virtual 

A Lufthansa acaba de lançar um quiz premiado para agentes de viagem. É o eXperts Knowledge, um jogo online em que os agentes podem testar seus conhecimentos sobre a Lufthansa, a Swiss e sobre aviação de maneira geral. Não basta apenas saber as respostas, é preciso ser rápido para acumular prêmios. A grande vantagem é poder jogar quantas vezes quiser e melhorar a performance a cada partida.

Os dez melhores jogadores levarão para casa diversos prêmios. O primeiro colocado vai ganhar um porta retrato digital, um DVD duplo Índia Exótica, uma bolsa courier e um kit de escritório com pen drive. O eXperts é uma plataforma da Lufthansa e da Swiss para agentes de viagens, com informações para reservas e diversas promoções e ofertas.

Informações: www.lufthansaexperts.com .

United e Continental oferecem novas vantagens 

A United Airlines e a Continental Airlines fizeram um acordo para beneficiar os membros dos seus planos com status elite. Na ocasião, seus passageiros ganharão upgrades automáticos na outra empresa nos voos internos dos Estados Unidos, caso haja disponibilidade.

Além disso, os clientes da Continental com status elite poderão ocupar lugares na Economy Plus da United, a área dianteira da parte econômica, com maior espaço entre as poltronas. Os clientes frequentes da United com status elite, por sua vez, poderão usar automaticamente o setor Premium Seating nos voos da Continental.

As decisões fazem parte de uma série de benefícios obtidos pelos clientes das duas empresas depois que ambas anunciaram um acordo de parceria global. Esses benefícios incluem facilidades para o acesso às cidades servidas pelas duas empresas, reconhecimento comum do status elite dos planos de fidelidade das duas empresas e possibilidade de os planos de milhagem das duas empresas serem usados para acumular e usar milhas em viagens pela outra.

Embraer vende 20 aviões para Argentina

A Embraer vai vender 20 aviões modelo 190 AR para o governo argentino. A compra envolve cerca de US$ 700 milhões. Parte do financiamento, cerca de 85%, será realizado via Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES) e o restante por meio do Banco de la Nación Argentina. As nove primeiras aeronaves serão entregues em junho de 2010 e as demais em 2011.

O acordo para a venda das aeronaves foi firmado dia 18 de novembro durante reunião dos presidentes Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva e Cristina Kirchner. No encontro, a presidente argentina elogiou a iniciativa. “Os aviões farão parte da nova frota de aeronaves e envolve um grande investimento”, disse Cristina. “É um tema de questão econômica e política.”

De acordo com Lula, o BNDES é um “parceiro entusiasta” da integração da parceria Brasil e Argentina. Segundo ele, desde 2005, foi desembolsado US$ 1,2 bilhão para projetos de ampliação e modernização da infraestrutura da Argentina e seu parque produtivo.

TAM tem novo integrante no Conselho de Administração

Em Assembléia Geral Extraordinária realizada hoje, a TAM S/A aceitou o pedido de renúncia da conselheira Flávia Turci e aprovou a eleição de Emilio Romano como o novo integrante do Conselho de Administração da companhia. Emilio Romano é presidente do Grupo Puerta Alameda (GPA), que atua com desenvolvimento imobiliário no México, e presidiu, de 2004 a 2007, a companhia aérea Mexicana. Maria Cláudia Oliveira Amaro permanece na presidência do Conselho e Mauricio Rolim Amaro, na vice-presidência, cargos que ambos ocupam desde abril de 2007.

Lean and Agile principles help drive the business and IT sides of an organization to effectively work together and foster mutual responsibility for meeting business goals.  But it’s important to note that the adoption of Lean principles is best achieved when it is done as an iterative exercise itself.  Creating a blueprint for broader rollout based on practical knowledge and planning is critical for understanding how to bring its benefits to the entire organization’s landscape.

This week, we’re talking publicly about the success one of emergn’s clients, British Airways (BA), has had with adopting Agile, and how we’re working collaboratively with them to build a blueprint for broader rollout across their organization.  BA began their Agile journey by seeding a few choice back-office project teams with emergn Agile coaches to build a foundation of Lean and Agile expert knowledge. With this initial effort, BA was able to learn how their teams would react and adopt to Agile, and use that knowledge as the basis for fostering adoption across more parts of the IT landscape. After successfully implementing methods for faster, higher-quality web site software development, BA is continuing to work with emergn to design and enable a set of program-wide operating processes to rationalize all of the airline giant’s global back-office functions.

Through emergn’s training of BA’s business and technology team members on using Lean and Agile principles like user story creation, continuous improvement, and retrospective planning, BA has realized significant productivity gains, higher quality, and much shorter ROI lifecycles that they want to spread throughout the rest of the organization.  BA has found an approach for Agile adoption that works for their people.  That they see emergn’s approach to Lean enablement as a way to make their entire IT landscape more efficient is indeed the crux of what emergn aims to accomplish with all its engagements.

British Airways Boeing 747-436 G-BNLO (msn 24057) (Face to Face) SFO, originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

British Airways (London) is promoting the importance of “face to face” meetings rather than electronic communications. It recently added “Face to Face” sub-titles to its Boeing 747-436 G-BNLO (msn 24057).

Press release:

finance.yahoo.com/news/British-Airways-FacetoFace-prnews-1188231913.html?x=0&.v=1

Copyright Photo: Mark Durbin.

Please click on photo or link below for full view, information, prints for sale and other photos:

http://airlinersgallery.com/2/2516a35/#/gallery/british-airways/british-airways-747-400-g-bnlo-97-union-flag-tko-sfo-db-lr-903921/

as per 18NOV09 GDS timetable display, British Airways plans to operate 2 Daily Boeing 777 service on the London Heathrow – Toronto route during Summer 2010 season.

In Summer 2009, service was 1 Daily 747 and 1 Daily 777

WHILE budget carriers Tiger Airways and JetStar Asia reported profitable performances, Singapore Airlines (SIA) continued to slide into the red, incurring a second quarterly loss amounting to $159 million for the three months July to September. However, analysts generally agree that emerging signs of the global economy recovering augur well for SIA, but will the airline return to its pre-recession glory?

Clearly, the recession has favoured low-cost operators over mainstream airlines. At no other time has air-travel become more price-sensitive than now. While overall the market has shrunk, more people are travelling the short haul, which is less influenced by frills, thus boosting the popularity of regional budget carriers.

When full-service airlines begin to trim or do away with frills to reduce costs in order to compete with low-cost operators, product differentiation diminishes. For example, British Airways (BA) stops serving free meals on short flights. Or, when they levy separate charges for what hitherto has been free, such as a fee for checked baggage introduced by United Airlines.

Even for the long-haul, travellers are becoming less adverse to more affordable mix-and-match itineraries connecting different airlines to get to their destinations, trading schedule convenience for lower costs.

The worst may be over, but it will take a long time to repair the damage wrought by the crisis. Low-cost operators will continue to exert pressure on mainstream airlines. Travellers who have become used to travelling without frills may be reluctant so soon after to forego the savings they have experienced thus far.

However, SIA has often reiterated that it neither fears competition from low-cost operators nor does it consider them the real competitor. Even as the long-haul arm of AirAsia and Jetstar Airlines Australia threaten to draw away some of its erstwhile customers, the low-end product is far from being the Holy Grail it is after.

What really hurts an airline like SIA is the reduced demand for premium travel, which in better days made up at least 40 per cent of its revenue.

It is a double whammy. While corporations are cutting back executive travel, underlying this is the trend of business travellers downgrading and shifting to cheaper modes. The costs of maintaining an empty front cabin are not sustainable by the paying load in cattle class considering how even the fares at the back have dipped considerably.

While SIA is reputed for excellent service across the cabins, its biggest strength lies in its premium class offering. Its future level of profitability will depend on its ability to recapture lost clientele and attract new customers as increased business travel looks set to return.

However, as the reduced pie caused by the financial meltdown has intensified the competition among the major airlines, this will demand a rethink of the game plan. Airlines – hungry for too long and apt to become more aggressive as the economy recovers – will have to develop new and unique formulae to reclaim their prior standing.

Already in Europe, BA hopes to be a step ahead of the competition. Even as the bad times are far from being completely over, the British carrier inaugurated all-business class flights across the Atlantic in September, more than a year after SIA first introduced that configuration, unfazed by the rough patch subsequently experienced by SIA and the earlier failure of three airlines – Eos, MaxJet and Silverjet.

It looks like BA is making up for lost time, but timing a strategy right can bring success where others have failed. It has also modified the product.

Said BA chief executive Willie Walsh, who expected the new service to be profitable within a year: “In the harshest trading environment airlines have experienced, we believe it is more important than ever to embrace the future and innovate.”

BA’s immediate target is clearly rival Virgin Atlantic, which has increased its market share at the expense of BA. Whether its new all-business class flights will help claw back that loss, it is something yet to be seen.

In the same way, SIA too will have to look more closely at what its competitors are doing and review its premium product strategy to address changing preferences. Forced to adjust their travel habits by the recent crisis, today’s business travellers claim they are travelling smart, not cheap, even as they switch from mainstream airlines to budget carriers. That may be a cry for a new business class product.

Como continuación de un post anterior me ha parecido interesante hablar del posicionamiento de la marca basándome en la misma fuente   —The Blake Project— y una publicación en su blog, dedicada al taller de un día que ofrecen a sus clientes para conseguir el consenso entre el equipo de gerencia de la empresa y el de marketing, en solamente cuatro aspectos de la marca, que consideran esenciales: consumidores target, esencia, promesa y personalidad. Y también en las definiciones que sus expertos tienen de los conceptos de marketing (mucho de ellos nuevos) que se usan en su estructura.

Estas definiciones pasan por identificar, analizar y seleccionar las audiencias target de la marca, el marco de referencia competitivo, y los beneficios clave para el consumidor (funcionales u operativos, emotivos, experimentales y auto-expresivos —o de expresión de la personalidad—) y se centran en el desarrollo de la esencia de la marca, de su promesa y de su personalidad. Se aseguran al mismo tiempo que se haya escogido adueñarse(1) de los beneficios mas poderosos y que se han desarrollado los “proof points” o puntos de prueba y las “reasons to believe” o razones para creer (lo que P&G llamó siempre “reason why”) para respaldar esos beneficios.

Nada de esto es nuevo ni espectacular. Pero encuentro que está muy bien organizado y puntualizado, y por lo tanto puede ser una buena guía para algún lector que esté enfrascado en la determinación del posicionamiento de su marca. Lo voy a complementar, además, con una serie de definiciones de conceptos que a veces solo son lo mismo definido de distinta manera para darle el sello de quien lo definió: casi siempre una consultora.

El beneficio primario de la marca debe cumplir los siguientes requisitos:

• ser extremadamente importante para la(s) audiencia(s) target.
• que la organización tenga competencias o capacidades únicas, sostenibles (e intención estratégica de mantener dichas competencias).
• que los competidores no estén explotando ese beneficio o no les resulte fácil hacerlo en el futuro.
• cualquiera que sea el beneficio escogido, debe ser único, convincente, motivador, comprensible y creíble.

No es fácil cumplir con todos estos requisitos, y menos en un mundo de competencia desbordante en el que la ventaja tecnológica es rápidamente alcanzada, cuando no superada, por alguno de los competidores. Pero ese es el reto y el riesgo. Y hay que acercarse lo mas posible a cumplirlo: el premio es grande.

Los de The Blake Project dicen que para hacer la comunicación fluida entre los participantes al taller —muchos de los cuales no son gente de marketing— se les envía información por adelantado y antes del seminario se les hace llegar un cuestionario diseñado para provocar la reflexión sobre los elementos del posicionamiento de una marca, además de invitar a otras personas que no irán al taller a enviar su colaboración. Esto permite ayudar a que los que manejan el taller a entender la manera de pensar del personal clave, antes de empezar.

Los elementos que utilizan para lograr que los participantes usen el mismo lenguaje durante el taller son:

• asegurarse de que entienden los cinco elementos impulsores de la brand insistence(2) o insistencia de marca; es decir, la lealtad absoluta a la marca y objetivo final y definitivo, que son: awareness, relevant differentiation, value, accessibility y emotional connection (todos definidos en el post anterior)
• asegurarse de que conocen la diferencia (a veces sutil y a veces inexistente) entre términos tales como unique value proposition, essence, mantra, promise, personality, associations y position. Términos que definiré inmediatamente.

Unique Value Proposition: la proposición de value que se le haga al consumidor, que si está correctamente establecida será evidente para el consumidor, fácil de establecer y única o en cualquier caso muy difícil de copiar.

La definición de value la hemos dado en distintos posts. Por ejemplo en el pie de página Nº 1 de éste post anterior. Es, dicen algunos autores explicando lo que es value, una definición concisa, en el lenguaje de la audiencia, totalmente enfocada en sus necesidades, sus problemas (y, agrego yo, en el cubrimiento o solución de los mismos). Es también, el análisis y estipulación cuantificada de los beneficios, costos y value que una organización le propone a sus clientes.

Brand Essence: es la promesa de la marca sintetizada en una palabra según Ries o Trout (ver 1) o, alternativamente, es en una corta expresión de dos o tres palabras que, de acuerdo con Derrick Daye de The Blake Project, captura el corazón y el alma de la marca. Es simple concisa, un deseo realizable, intemporal, resistente y extensible. No es un tag line o un slogan sino más bien lo primero que un empleado podría decirle a otro, en una conversación “de ascensor”, para describir la marca “Todo lo que esta marca es …” .

Mientras que el posicionamiento de una marca puede cambiar de un país al otro, y mientras que las campañas de publicidad cambian a lo largo del tiempo, como el carácter de una persona, la esencia de la marca será, básicamente, siempre la misma.

Ejemplos de brand essence:

Nike: performance atlética auténtica (Authentic Athletic Performance)

Hallmark: Afecto compartido (Caring Shared)

Disney: entretenimiento divertido para la familia (Fun Family Entertainment)

Disneyworld: Diversión Mágica (Magical Fun)

Red Bull: una bebida energética (An energy drink)

Starbucks:  Recompensando los momentos de cada día  (Rewarding Everyday Moments)

Volvo: un auto seguro (The safest car).

BMW: un auto divertido de conducir (A car that’s fun to drive).

Barilla: La pasta Nº1 de Italia  (Italy’s No. 1 pasta).

Rolex: Un reloj caro (An expensive watch).

La esencia de la marca ni es, ni necesariamente hace parte del slogan o tag line (aunque a veces sí), pero es absolutamente crucial para hacerse camino y quedar sembrada en la mente del consumidor estableciendo un posicionamiento para la marca.

Brand mantra: con este término entramos al terreno resbaladizo de la semántica cuando no, en el mas resbaladizo aún de las definiciones propias de algunas agencias y empresas asesoras, que cada una le llama de manera distinta a lo que es esencialmente lo mismo, dándole una descripción ligeramente distinta y un matiz personal, para ponerle su sello corporativo particular.

Dicen de que es el código genético de la marca (¿otra forma de llamarle al ”corazón y el alma de la marca” y que se trata de las tres palabras (por lo menos en inglés) que definen la idea central de lo que la marca representa, resumiendo con precisión la esencia de la marca ( la esencia que de por sí parece ser lo mismo).

Lo mismo se llama además de distintas formas según el buen saber y entender de cada autor. Por ejemplo, además de Mantra y  Essence, Print o Core Promise.

Kevin Keller, experto en marcas y autor de Strategic Brand Management, fue el autor del término mantra. Acudamos a sus palabras para tener la definición exacta que de camino y por lo completa, servirá para las demás palabras que implican esencialmente lo mismo:

“El mantra refuerza el rol de la esencia de la marca en la comunicación interna y “debe definir la categoría de negocio para la marca y establecer sus límites. También debe establecer claramente qué cosa de la marca, es único. Debe ser memorable. Como resultado debe transmitir un significado corto, nítido/claro y vívido. Idealmente el mantra debería también ser personalmente significativo y relevante (o pertinente) para tantos empleados de la empresa como sea posible”.

Keller es incluso mas preciso y da la función que debe cumplir cada una de las palabras que conforman un mantra. Y pone un ejemplo que usaré para explicarlo.

Propone tres palabras, cada una con una función distinta.

Dejo el cuadro sin traducir porque son palabras muy comúnmente usadas y los dos ejemplos ya los di cuando explicaba Brand Essence:

Dice Keller que la Brand Function describe el tipo de servicio o beneficio de la misma. El Descriptive Modifier es la respuesta a “no solo de cualquier tipo” y que el Emotional Modifier describe la naturaleza cualitativa de cómo es que la marca proporciona el beneficio.

Nike ha descrito su marca como Authentic Athletic Performance a modo de barreras de protección (como las que existen en las curvas para evitar que los autos derrapen y se salgan de la pista) para mantener a la marca por buen rumbo. Cuando lanzaron  el concepto en Europa, descubrieron que el mantra tenía un significado diferente para las audiencias europeas: tenía que involucrar de manera significativa al fútbol.

Disney, por su parte, declinó colaborar con su marca en un fondo mutuo europeo diseñado para las familias a pesar de la asociación tan consistente con el término familia, porque le faltaba el modificador emocional “fun” / diversión, del que los fondos mutuos tienen muy poco.

Las razones para tener un mantra (o como quiera llamársele, realmente):

• que todo el mundo esté “en la misma onda” habida cuenta de que se evidencia lo poco que  los responsables (incluida la gerencia) saben de la marca, cuando se les pide ponerlo en claro por escrito
• Nos obliga a expresar o plantear los lineamientos claros de la marca. Si no podemos hacerlo ¿cómo vamos a esperar que los consumidores lo hagan?
• Nos permite tener una base sobre la cual estructurar un diálogo con nuestros consumidores en las investigaciones que llevemos a cabo, como Guía de Discusión para los focus groups — ¿sobre qué es que deberíamos hablar?.
• Facilita el desarrollo de nuevos productos al definir las fronteras (o parámetros) establecidas para la marca. Aún cuando una extensión de marca puede entrar en conflicto con el mantra, por lo menos se podrá saber qué efecto tiene en sus percepciones.
• Asegura continuidad si la marca la toma personal nuevo.
• Guía la comunicación: si algo resulta discordante es con frecuencia porque hay algo conflictivo con la esencia.
• Ayuda a darle profundidad a la marca, mostrándole a las partes implicadas (stakeholders) que hay mas detrás de la marca de lo que ellos ven.

Brand promise: es, según Brad VanAuken, de The Blake Project, una frase que comunica aquello de lo que la marca intenta hacerse dueña en la mente del consumidor target. VanAuken prefiere explicarlo con una fórmula “Solamente (la marca) proporciona (el beneficio único) al (consumidor target)”. La promesa de una marca debe ser comprensible, creíble, unica/diferenciadora, convincente/persuasiva, admirable/digna de elogio y atractiva.

El beneficio ideal a reivindicar en una promesa de marca debe tener las siguientes calidades: (1) ser extremadamente importante para el consumidor target,(2) la organización detrás de la marca, ser idónea para estar a la altura de la misma y (3) los competidores no estar en esa posición (ni resultarles fácil estar en ella en el futuro).

El proceso que siguen en The Blake Project para identificar el beneficio óptimo de la marca es:

• Revisar toda la investigación previa existente sobre el producto y la marca
• Llevar a cabo investigación cualitativa (focus groups, etc.) para entender mejor las actitudes, valores, necesidades, deseos, temores y preocupaciones del consumidor target, especialmente en lo relacionado con la categoría de la marca del producto / servicio.
• En el proceso de la investigación, se desarrollan varios enunciados de beneficios y se les presentan reiterativamente a los consumidores target para tener una impresión de cuales son los mas convincentes.
• Se hace una lista con 20-40 posibles beneficios.
• Se lleva a cabo una investigación cuantitativa para darle orden de magnitud a cada uno de los posibles beneficios de cara al consumidor target al mismo tiempo que se miden las percepciones del consumidor respecto a cómo responden tanto la marca en cuestión, como la de cada uno de los competidores frente a estos beneficios (para identificar los beneficios mas importantes de los que la marca puede ser dueña).

Brand personality: Cada marca debería escoger intencionalmente una personalidad basada en las aspiraciones de la misma y en las percepciones actuales de sus usuarios. La personalidad se comunica usualmente en siete a nueve adjetivos que describen a la marca como si se tratase de una persona. La personalidad de la marca puede estar relacionada con la personalidad y valores del fundador de la organización, del actual líder o de los clientes/miembros/usuarios más entusiastas de la misma. También puede responder a un bien urdido diseño del posicionamiento y hasta a una combinación de todo o parte de lo anterior.

Algunos atributos usualmente utilizados (dependiendo de las categorías) que poseen las marcas mas sólidas son: fidedigna, auténtica, confiable (siempre puedo contar con [la marca]), admirable, honesta, sirve de soporte a algo (específicamente algo importante para el consumidor), agradable, popular, única, creíble, relevante, prodiga alta calidad, productos que funcionan bien y servicios, orientada al servicio, innovadora.

Otra manera de verlo es “lo que diría de sí misma la marca, si pudiese hablar”. Es decir una guía o documento que personifique las características distinguibles de la marca que sean consistentes y únicas. La marca terminará por representar un conjunto de beneficios funcionales en las mentes de los consumidores reales y potenciales. Por lo tanto durante la definición de la personalidad, se debe integrar el conjunto de beneficios, el value que representa para los consumidores. Hay que tener en cuenta que la marca está respaldada, además de por los beneficios funcionales, por aquellos que son estrictamente emocionales y que ambos terminan siendo la base del posicionamiento de la misma.

Brand associations: Mas que “asociaciones de la marca” (o a la marca) este tema podría llamarse “consistencia y coherencia” porque tiene que ver con mantener la consistencia del posicionamiento a lo largo del tiempo y que todo lo que se asocie con la marca mantenga la coherencia con él. Se entiende que en las marcas globales esto es mucho mas difícil de manejar porque hay que cuidar desde la coherencia entre lo que se ofrece y lo que se le entrega finalmente al consumidor, hasta la selección de los personajes que eventualmente serán símbolo de la marca.

Lo primero es una tarea previa: no se puede organizar una campaña de marketing que comunique algo que la marca no puede dar. Hay un caso clásico en este aspecto: British Airways montó una campaña alrededor del concepto “bringing families together” (uniendo a las familias), pero la realidad les probó que miles de pasajeros pasaban muchas horas en terminales abarrotados de gente, lejos de sus destinos y sometidos a importantes retrasos. Lo segundo tiene que ver no solamente con escoger correctamente al personaje sino además con reaccionar rápidamente a cualquier desliz del personaje. Michael Phelps, ganador de 8 medallas de oro en los Juegos Olímpicos de Pekín y de 6 en los de Atenas, tenía un contrato de imagen con Kellogg y otro con Subway. El tabloide “News of the World”  lo fotografió fumando marihuana. Eso causó la cancelación de su contrato por parte de Kellogg, por comportamiento no consistente con la imagen de la marca”, mientras que Subway lo perdonó aceptando sus disculpas y declarándose decepcionado “como el pueblo norteamericano y el propio Phelps”.

Por otro lado, ciertas empresas, P&G entre ellas, tienen un código muy estricto y no participan en programas en los que considere que el léxico, la gesticulación o el tema son inapropiados para que sean asociados a cualquiera de sus marcas. Ese incluye no solo no patrocinarlos sino ni siquiera dejar que algún comercial ingrese en sus tandas.

Brand position No es otra cosa que Brand Positioning.

Personalmente pienso que esos pasos (que son de la misma fuente: el blog de The Blake Project) son arbitrarios. En cualquier caso los pasos siempre van desde el desconocimiento de la marca hasta no aceptar otra ni siquiera en ausencia de ésta, pasando previamente por awareness (o conocimiento, percepción y recordación), la prueba (trial), la repetición de compra y la adopción como marca regular o preferida (regular usage) . Y que se dan en distinto nivel dependiendo de las marcas y de los individuos.

—————————–

(1) adueñarse de una palabra (o adueñarse de un concepto simplemente expresado: dos o tres palabras) es una expresión de Ries y de Trout que implica ser el primero en explotar esa palabra-concepto y seguir explotándola con coherencia y perseverancia para mantenerse como su dueño en la mente del consumidor. Lo decían ya en la serie de artículos que publicaron en 1972 en Advertising Age y que dieron nacimiento al concepto de Positioning en 1972: “The Positioning Era Cometh”.

Es mas, la quinta ley inmutable del branding según Ries es “La ley de la palabra (o el concepto)” que dice que “una marca debe ser dueña de una palabra (o un concepto) en la mente del consumidor”. The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or Service into a World-Class Brand. A esa palabra se le llama también Brand Essence o esencia de la marca.

(2) brand insistence: es la meta final. La marca es percibida como la única solución viable para las necesidades del consumidor. No busca ni desea sustituirla con ninguna otra, si la marca no está disponible. Son siete los pasos hasta alcanzar la brand insistente:

–         Nunca escogería esa marca.

–         No he oído jamás mencionar esa marca.

–         He oído mencionar esa marca pero no sé mucho de ella.

–         No es una de mis marcas preferidas pero la probaría bajo ciertas circunstancias.

–         No es una de mis marcas preferidas pero por lo que he oído recientemente de ella me gustaría probarla / probarla nuevamente.

–         Es una de mis marcas favoritas.

–         Es la única marca que consideraría comprar.

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A weekly AngloFiles round-up of U.K. news – sober, stylish, sentimental, sporty, or outright silly.

• “Deeply Sorry” Brown Apologizes to Exiled Orphans Gordon Brown said he was sorry again this week but, unlike in the case of the Jamie Janes condolence letter, the error this time wasn’t his own. Brown and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd both apologized on behalf of their governments for the shipping off of British orphans and children of single or impoverished parents to what were essentially penal colonies in Australia and other Commonwealth lands. In yet another case of mid-20th-century monastic brutality, perhaps the most bestial mistreatment came at the hands of Catholic devouts.

• 
• BA-h Humbug? Should Santa leave coal in British Airways’s stocking? The 90-year-old airline’s flight crews think so! Some 14,000 of them are voting whether to strike during Christmas week, in an action against pay freezes, lay-offs, shortened holidays and cuts in long-haul flight bonuses.

• Marmite Pops Up on Regent Street Yeast extract — yum! Fill those Christmas stockings now: A temporary, or “pop-up,” Marmite store on Regent street sells the viscous black stuff by the jar on the ground floor (not “the first floor” — this is England, remember) and serves it on crackers in a 1950s-style tea room upstairs. Related news coverage looks to finally wear out the phrase “love it or hate it.” One can only hope. Either way, the store exists only through December.

• Christmas Lights Shine on Reality-TV Has-Beens There’s something about TV-contest also-rans and downtown holiday displays this year. The Liverpool Echo said twinkling lights in Warrington (like Liverpool, part of the Merseyside district) were switched on by Lucie Jones, whose own lights were snuffed on ITV’s X-Factor when “Simon Cowell refused to back her over twins John and Edward.” And in nearby St. Helens, the honor went to Aidan Davies, a 12-year-old dancer who failed to go the distance on Britain’s Got Talent, the show that inspired American Idol. Meanwhile, scores were injured in Birmingham when 20,000 enthusiasts crowded downtown to see acts including  — you guessed it — X-Factor runners-up JLS, a boy band.

• New AngloFiles TGIF Coming Friday Don’t miss the latest installment of our bi-weekly party feature on the Anglotopia blog. Like your weekend, it’s just 3 days away!

Marmite photo by Ajuorio on Flickr.
Fireworks photo by Axel Rouvin on Wikimedia.

“…would really be delighted if you could publish this one…

Thanks a lot !!
Paolo Tron

NIGHTMARE TRIP WITH BRITISH AIRWAYS

Before going on with my “travel story” a couple of simple considerations:

1) I am perfectly aware that as no human being in this planet can be sympathetic to every other human beings, too an overseas flight can be very pleasant or very unpleasant…

2) what happened to my son and me is very common, tragically common, but considering how facts happened, I am really keen of sparing this with you:

British Airways Flight # BA0279 London Los Angeles June 28^th 2007.

With my son, Massimiliano, we arrive in L.A.X. at 1.30 pm – one hour wait for our luggages – when no more luggages go around in the tapis roulant a B.A. guy arrived and told us: “luggages did not get here but on the external B.A. office…you need to go out and ask at the desk”.

About 20 people follow his advise, step outside that area and, with another 20 people, start the line at this B.A. office/desk, with only two employees taking care of over 40 people involved with the problem – after another two hours wait they gave us:

a) a sheet with printed a code and a 1-800 number to contact B.A. and the website to check with the future situation …of the luggages….

b) in that very moment we understand the luggages did not made it through…

c) they assure us the luggages will be consigned within 48 hours…

d) they gave us a VISA Debit Card for the amount of 150.00$ (4008 3800 1504 9620) in order to buy the very first necessary items (underwear, toothpaste etc)

We are out of LAX at 5.20 pm…

We soon find a first shop and the mentioned card is declined….oh well ….surprise surprise….with the second we spend 78.00$ and it’s ok…from that point onwards the

Card is dead….always declined…

Of course I check every day the situation of the luggages in the B.A. website with the code they gave me….no news….never ever …..

I try to call the 1-800 number, expressly indicated to us ….it’s an automatic number…

with in the end “press 3” to talk to an agent…..NO WAY !! Never !!

NEVER EVER …..one day I have been waiting 68 mins….uselessly….and that was

during B.A. office opening hours….

In our luggages, besides the usual stuff, antibiotics that my son had to take for an epidermic infection under his left armpit …(he is 17) and he got very nervous when he understood he could not continue his cure – I could not find similar antibiotics around there… none with the same charachteristics….

Apart from that, in the luggages, 800 flyers, expressly realized for the San Diego Fitness Convention I had to attend…..

At the B.A. desk, fortunately (considering the complete lack of contacts) I gave a Hotel address near San Diego where they could, eventually, deliver the four luggages. This happened the 9^th day of our stay in California.

I rushed to this Hotel in Solana Beach to get my luggages.

They were all totally wet – most probably they were left in London under heave rain.

Nothing inside was usable. Not clothes. Not the antibiotics.

Not the flyers…all destined to the garbish and the clothes to a laundry….

The day of our return arrives.

When approaching the B.A. Check-In desk in LA, I ask, nervously, some informations regarding all I went through… my vehemence was not appreciated.

I did not like that, either…..

My frustration was really to the limit.

A couple of B.A. guys made an effort to listen to me and said:

“ohu….you were very lucky…only 8 eight days, some other travellers got their luggages after three weeks….oh oh ah ah uh uh“….

Not nice to see someone laughing at you after all that….what do you think?

These persons at the B.A. check-in desk were unkind (not me), they never apologized to me, none of them tried to give me some information regarding a possible refund, they probably all forgot THEY made the mistakes and that I was the customer … it seemed I was asking for an ice-cream in the Sahara…

In the end, the manager of the check-in B.A. area, very upset for my frustrated attitude, handed me a card and said: “write to the Customers Service in London”….point !!

I must confess I was waiting for another behaviour from B.A….

In the end, I am a bit ashamed to share with you this “common” story….but I needed to write this, for future travellers who need to be a lot more careful than me and need to insure their luggages…..above all if they fly with B.A. …

Apart from that, I would like to know if there is a specialized lawyer among you, who could help me out for some refund….and some excuses….

In case please contact me to: info@tronpaolo.it

I thank you so much for your kind attention and I apologize for my poor English and for robbing some of your precious time for such un-interesting things.”

Paolo Tron – Milano

…would be really deligthed….if you could publish this one….Many thanks !!

British Airways este cea mai mare companie aerina din Regatul Unit si a 3 a in Europa. Compania are baza principala pe Aeroportul Londra Heathrow.

Pizza. Wine. Gelato. Bruschetta. Crostini. Caprese Salad. Sangria.

I’m back in London taking a break in between classes after three delicious and action-packed days in Roma. First, let me say that Rome has got to be one of the most amazing cities in the world – so much to see in a relatively small area, amazingly friendly people, and delicious eateries. From start to finish, our trip was stress-free. Despite having to wake up at 345A on Friday morning to grab our 445A cab to Paddington Station, I was pumped and ready to go for Friday’s action-packed day in Rome.  We arrived in Italy at about 11A (Roman time) and got settled into our super cute hotel, Hotel D’Este, by 1P. The hotels was perfect — we had a huge room and a decent-sized bathroom, plus pretty amazing views of Santa Maria Maggiore church.

Day one, we decided to do a hop-on, hop-off bus tour (€19) to familiarize ourselves with the area and see as much as possible in a single afternoon. Our first stop? The Colosseum!

The Colosseum was breathtaking! We had to pay to get inside (€16 including audio guide), but the views were worth every euro. Check out these views of the surrounding area from the top:

I know this arch is a big deal… Arch of Constantine, perhaps? Beautiful.

After leaving the Colosseum, we hopped on the bus to head over to Piazza Navona for lunch and gelato!

On the way, we saw this amazingness, Palatine Hill – the place where Romulus and Remus were taken in by the She Wolf, according to legend. Pretty awesome sight!

We also caught a glimpse of this amazing building. I’m not 100% sure what it is, although I’m sure the audio guide told us! The backside has a staircase that was designed by Michaelangelo!

We ended up in Piazza Navona for lunch with an incredible view of this fountain that was sculpted by Bernini. His work is incredible! After our jaunt in Piazza Navona, we headed back to get ready for the evening, dinner in Trastevere and meeting the locals. We had a brilliant time practicing/learning Italian while we were there and the people were so amazing.

Stay tuned for Day 2, where we got to see the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and enjoy liters of sangria. Mmmm!

Lots of love,

To check out the rest of the pictures, see my album on facebook here. I have about 150 loaded!

British Airways-BA CityFlyer Embraer ERJ 170-100ST G-LCYE (msn 17000296) SEN, originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton.

Please click on photo or link below for full view, information, prints for sales and other photos:

http://airlinersgallery.com/2/2603dcd/#/gallery/british-airways-ba-cityflyer/british-airways-ba-cityflyer-erj-170-100-g-lcye-97-union-flag-tko-sen-kd-lr-904171/

New York City: November 2009

MOZZIE BYTE (Editor): A warm welcome back to all our Daily Explorer readers and greetings to those of you who are joining us for the first time. To our regulars, many thanks for viewing our online publication and for giving us your feedback. Over 24,000 visitors have been to see our site since the beginning of 2008. For new readers, Ray has been living nomadically for four years since he left England in November 2005. In that time, he has visited or lived in 16 countries and we have been publishing news and stories about his journey throughout that period. You can find all of these in our Previous Issues archive. We always aim to maintain our high standards of journalism and presentation, so please keep sending us your comments and suggestions as to how we can improve what we are doing. You can use the comments box on this site, or email Ray (ray@thedailyexplorer.com) or ‘Mozzie’ or any of our correspondents at mozzie@thedailyexplorer.com

Our latest issue has been compiled for us by our US correspondent Nick Elandimer (above), who made his first appearance in The Daily Explorer in November 2007. Over the last six months, Ray has been preparing for his latest challenge – running in the 40th New York Marathon on 1st November. We have the full, exciting story of the race itself and some highlights from Ray’s eight day visit to the ‘Big Apple’.

In our last issue, Ray was getting ready to depart Chiang Mai for New York and the big race. Since our global nomad started training there in mid April, he had clocked up well over 800 miles on the road and running track! Our Asian correspondent, Me So Fit discovered that Ray had been battling a series of injuries which could have potentially ruined his chances of running the New York marathon in his goal time of under four hours. Ivana Getachek updated us about Ray’s recent fundraising event in Chiang Mai, which was a runaway success. And we took a brief look at some highlights from his social calendar during his last few days there. If you missed it, you can read it now at: Cheerio Chiang Mai

Above: Our global traveller, who celebrated his 49th birthday this year, leaves Chiang Mai to take part in his first ever marathon. He has been training hard for six months, during which time he has completed two half-marathons and three 10k races. His goal – to finish the gruelling 26.2 mile marathon course in New York in under four hours - was undertaken to raise money for three worthy causes. In our last issue, we revealed how Ray had been battling a series of injuries which could have potentially ruined his chances of running the marathon and how he organised a hugely successful fundraising event in Chiang Mai before his departure. If you missed it, you can read it now at: Cheerio Chiang Mai

Stopping for a few days in London on his way to New York, I contacted Ray to find out how his final preparations for the big race were going. “Well Nick, I am very concerned about the injury to my left calf muscle, to say the least” he told me. “I had to miss a 12k race I had planned to do in Bangkok with my coach, Matt Campbell. With only about ten days to go until the big race, I am starting to wonder if the calf muscle will have recovered enough for me to run the whole distance. It is a major blow and would be extremely cruel if I had to miss out after all the training I have done” he added. “Having said that, I am being treated by an excellent physio in London who has done some massage, given me a bit of ultrasound treatment and I am stretching/icing the leg regularly to assist its recovery” he explained. “After all is said and done, it is a bit out of my hands. If I cannot run the whole distance, I am sure I will enjoy the experience, although it will be disappointing” said Ray.

A few days later, I discovered that Ray had managed to complete a ten mile run in London just three days before his departure, which was a good sign that his recovery was happening as rapidly as he had hoped. “I had planned to run twelve miles, but I could feel my calf tightening after about ten so decided to leave it there and wait until I got to New York” said our cautious runner. Over the last five or six weeks, I have hardly been able to train so I have probably lost a bit of fitness. But I believe I can still achieve my four hour goal, as long as my leg holds out” he said optimistically.

Above: Our injured runner models his running vest for our photographer in London - “All runners are advised to print their names in large letters on the front and back of their vest so that people in the crowd can shout your name out when you go past” explained Ray. “Having been a spectator in New York at the marathon back in 2007, I can really appreciate how valuable this could be in the closing stages, when your body is really tired and you are running out of steam” he told me

Ray and Nikki had booked tickets with British Airways from London to New York. “We were able to get a pretty good deal on the fares, partly because of the general slump in the industry and partly because my brother Paul works for the airline” Ray told me. “He is a Captain on their long haul fleet and sometimes flies the New York route, although he was actually taking some time off work when we were due to leave London, so we knew he would not be on our flight with us. A couple of days before, he notified the Captain in charge of our flight that we would be on board, just in case it might be possible for us to select more comfortable seats for the seven hour journey” added Ray. What happened after this is the stuff of legend. “Nikki and I packed our bags and said goodbye to Paul and his wife Kitty at their house in London, and set off for Heathrow airport on the train. We thought the next time we would see them would be eight days later upon our return. But we had a bit of a surprise in store” revealed Ray.

Above: During his few days in London, Ray received many messages from supporters and well wishers, including this card from Nikki – “I wonder if it is a subtle recommendation that I should run around the New York course with nothing on?” joked our traveller

Below: The kids from Namaste Childrens House, the orphanage in Nepal which Ray has been raising money for. sent him this wonderful photograph a couple of days before the race. It reads: “Dear Uncle Ray Martin. Good luck for upcoming New York marathon ‘Calling Angel” – “It was really unexpected and so lovely of them to do this for me – I nearly cried when I saw it. It made me feel very connected to them and determined to do the very best I could in the race” recalled Ray

So what was the surprise that Ray was referring to? I was intrigued to find out. “Upon our arrival at the gate to board our aircraft, we were asked by the agent to step aside and wait for the flight dispatcher who wanted to have a word with us” recalled Ray. “This did not concern me, because I have been lucky enough to be ‘upgraded’ before on British Airways and this is usually how it happens. After a couple of minutes, he turned up and asked if it would be OK with us if we were moved to two ‘different seats’ – which we knew meant we were going to be upgraded to business class for the seven hour flight. I never expect this to happen, although I always hope it will, as the journey is so much more comfortable than in economy” Ray told me. “We had not realised, until we were shown to our seats, that we had actually been upgraded to first class” said our stunned, but very happy traveller. “Many years ago, my brother recommended that should an upgrade be offered, I should take a couple of minutes to thank the Captain and crew for this privilege. So when I was approached by one of the cabin crew saying that the Captain wanted to come and meet me to say hello, I was only too pleased to accept” recalled Ray. “About a minute or so later, the Captain arrived at my seat – it was my brother Paul!” said our stunned traveller. “It was one of the best surprises I have ever been on the receiving end of – and brilliantly concealed and executed by him and the rest of my family. I think I will be telling this story for years to come” he told me.

Above: Ray arrives at the gate inside the British Airways Terminal (5) at Heathrow for his flight to New York – “Once we were spoken to by the agent at the gate, we knew we were going to be upgraded but had no idea what was about to happen…..

Below: “Your Captain for this British Airways flight BA179 to New York will be Paul Martin”; something which came as a shock and a welcome surprise to our global explorer after he boarded the aircraft and was shown to his first class seat – “Apparently, Paul had agreed to swap trips with the scheduled Captain several weeks before. Although I had stayed at his house for a week, he never let on about it and was even in his jeans, working in the garden as we left for the airport, completely concealing the amazing secret!” said Ray

Above: Captain Paul Martin leaves the flight deck for a few moments (left, centre) to see how our travellers are enjoying their journey – “It was really kind of Paul to arrange this for us” said a very grateful Nikki, who was invited with Ray to sit at the controls of the huge Boeing 777 aircraft (right) after it had landed and been parked at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport

Below: The sight of the iconic Empire State Building (left) confirms that Ray and Nikki and have arrived in Manhattan – “Fortunately for us, we were able to go straight to the front of the line at immigration because we were with my brother and the rest of the crew (right) from our flight” said Ray

Whilst in New York, our two travellers had made arrangements to stay in Brooklyn Heights. “It’s amazing how things work out” said Ray. “The first time I visited the Elephant Nature Park, over a year and half ago, Nikki and I met a wonderful girl called Angela (below, left), from New York” said Ray. “Even though we only spent a few hours together, we really hit it off straight away” said Ray.

“In July, when I launched my “Calling All Angels” campaign on the internet, Angela got in touch and said that we were both welcome to stay at her apartment whilst we were in town for the marathon, which really blew us away. Not only was it a really generous offer, it saved me having to spend a few hundred dollars on a hotel, which would have depleted the money we have been able to raise. Her kindness has meant that we will be able to donate much more to the organisations I am doing this for” explained Ray.

Arriving in New York five days ahead of the marathon, Ray and Nikki had plenty of time to acclimatise. “Having spent a few days in London, my body clock was already fairly well adjusted from Asian time” said Ray. “Of course, when I am running the marathon, the last thing I want is to have to stop for the toilet during the race so I have allowed myself plenty of time for my daily routines to adjust” he explained. “All runners arriving in the city have to report to the ‘Marathon Expo’ to register and collect their race number and electric tag for timing purposes, so we will be headed there soon” added our runner. “In the meantime, we can enjoy being in the city and hanging out. Nikki and Angela are planning to make a banner so I will be able to spot them more easily in the crowd on race day, and two more of my friends are coming into town for the race later in the week” added Ray.

Above: Uptown or downtown? Nikki familiarises herself with New York’s subway system – “It’s just like it looks in all the movies” she said

Below: Ray and Nikki purchased a seven-day Metro pass, providing unlimited travel on the subway and bus system for $27 – “The weekly pass is excellent value” she told me. The subway was plastered with ads for the marathon, as our entrant quickly discovered (right)

Above: Nikki (left) and Angela (right) take a walk through the Brooklyn Heights neighbourhood – “With three or four days to go to the big race, I was looking for places where I could load up with lots of carbs and found a couple of fantastic restaurants nearby serving massive plates of pasta and vegetables” said our runner. “I expect to burn over 3,000 calories in the 26 mile race, so will be looking to consume at least 4,000 calories per day for the two days before the race” he told me

Below: The world famous Brooklyn Bridge is only a few blocks away from Angela’s apartment

Above: The view across the Hudson river from Brooklyn is of the financial district at the south end of Manhattan (left). Angela took Nikki and Ray to the local bagel shop on Court Street for breakfast (right) - “New York and bagels go together like smoked salmon and cream cheese” said Ray

Below: Our two travellers were in the Big Apple for Halloween – “They really go over the top in their celebrations here” said Ray as he passed this house on Henry Street

Above: Our very excited marathon runner arrives at the Expo, held at the huge Jacob Javits Convention Centre on Manhattan’s ‘west side’

Below: We’ve got your number!” Ray receives his official race number and electronic tag for his shoe – “My bib number is 32548, which will give you an idea of how far back I will be amongst the 40,000 or so runners at the start!” he told me

Above: All race entrants collecting their electronic race tags have to pass through a scanner to ensure they work properly, as Ray does with his (left). Then its off to the information point (right) – “Can you tell me if I have any chance of winning on Sunday?” jokes Ray

Below: For people looking for 15 seconds of fame, one of the exhibitors at the Expo was taking pictures of marathon runners so they could be continuously broadcast on the big screen in Times Square

Above: Nikki shares a big, warm hug with Regina Meredith in the Soho area of Manhattan – “I was absolutely delighted that Regina and her husband Nic, who came to visit us in Chiang Mai whilst I was training, were able to join us in New York to watch the race” said Ray

Below: Our runner and his friends headed for Washington Square Park, near Greenwich Village, for a bit of fun!

Above: If you are lucky, you can find some marvellous entertainment in the park, like the singing group in this short video clip

Below: A street artist completes another beautiful creation for passers by

0

The 40th ING New York Marathon

Speaking to Ray a day before the race, I asked him how he was feeling about the huge challenge he was about to face. “Well Nick, I am about as excited as anyone could be – this is easily one of the biggest days of my life so far” he told me. “I don’t think I could have prepared any better than I have done, and injuries aside, I feel absolutely ready for it. And knowing that we have raised over $15,000, which equates to $575 for every single one of the 26 miles I am going to run, is a huge motivator. I believe I am doing something really worthwhile which gives me a tremendously deep feeling of satisfaction, whatever the outcome of the race” he told me.

Ray’s coach was also in contact the day before. “His knowledge and experience has been so valuable at every stage. Like many other experienced runners, he made sure that my race strategy was right for my goal and warned me about going off too fast at the beginning, which is the major reason that most runners fail to reach their goal time. I arrived at the start on Staten Island at around 7.30 am, well hydrated, fully fuelled up and buzzing with adrenalin. I was in the second start wave, going at 10am so there was plenty of time to get myself warmed up and mentally prepared” recalled our athlete. “Even though I had taken part in a couple of competitive half-marathons in Thailand, it was impossible for me to be totally prepared for or make any meaningful comparison with the start of the New York marathon, as the size and scale of it was just mind bogglingly huge” said Ray.

Above: There are so many people wanting to run in the New York marathon that there are three ‘waves’ of starts, at twenty minute intervals. Each wave comprises of three different corrals (left) which are moved into position on the south side of the Verazzano Bridge (left). After the start gun has been fired, the three corral’s then converge into one heaving mass of runners (centre) and it is very difficult to move past anyone at this stage (right). This is why the organisers ask people to state their target times on their applications, as they try to ensure that the runners who are trying for a faster time start nearer the front. Each runner has an electronic tag attached to their shoe and as they cross the start line, it registers on the computer system and starts their official race time. The same system is used to keep nominated friends and family members updated throughout the race via the internet – “I joined a four hour pace group at the start and ran a slightly slow first mile, as the first half of the bridge is quite a steep uphill climb and it is crowded. The second mile, which took me over the bridge into Brooklyn was slightly faster” said Ray

Below: Nikki displays the colourful poster that she created with Angela that Ray could use to locate them in the crowd – “The night before, we looked at the route and they wrote down the times I would arrive at each checkpoint if my race was going according to plan, which it did for the first half of the race” explained Ray. “When I reached the eight mile mark, after about one hour and ten minutes, I saw the poster in the distance and headed towards it. Both Nikki and Angela were so surprised to see me eyeballing them for a second as I passed, they almost fainted” he recalled, “but it was great to have found them in amongst the thousands of spectators that turned out” added Ray

Above: The final three and a half miles of the New York marathon take runners along and eventually inside Central Park, finishing at the ‘Tavern on the Green’ near Columbus Circle – “I was slowing up considerably by this stage of the race” said our athlete. “I reached the halfway mark in exactly two hours, which meant I was on pace for my four hour finish. By the time we crossed the Queensborough Bridge, at mile 16, my calf muscles had started to tighten and I was fatiguing. I struggled to stay in contact with my race pacer and eventually had to let him go. Knowing I wasn’t going to make the four hour finish, I re-planned my objective to make sure I ran the whole race rather than walked it, despite the growing tightness in my legs” he told me

Below: This sign was a really welcome sight for Ray – “I am so glad I had my name printed on my running vest” said Ray. “As I ran the final mile, I was feeling very tired and slightly faint, as if I had literally no energy left. The crowd were fantastic and as I pushed myself towards the finish, I could hear people shouting “Good job Ray!” and “Come on Ray, you can do it” and other words of encouragement. Just thinking about it makes me feel very emotional as it is such an amazing part of the whole experience” he said

Above: Waiting in the bleacher seats at the finish line were Nikki and Angela on one side, and Nic and Regina Meredith on the other – “One of my friends works for ING, who sponsor the marathon, and he managed to get me two VIP tickets for the finish area for the girls, which meant I knew I would see them just before I crossed the line” said Ray

Below: Only a few metres to go as Nikki captures this wonderful picture of Ray as he spots her in the crowd – “She had no idea how tired I was as” said Ray, who was pretty well exhausted as he crossed the line, in an official time of 4:16:29 seconds. Not bad for a first marathon at 49! – “All I could think about at this point was the chance to stop running in a few seconds time and get some food and drink inside me” he recalled. “It was a great relief to have completed the marathon and a great feeling of satisfaction after six months of training in which I had run a total of about 820 miles to be fully fit and ready” he told me

Above: Although he desperately tried to get Ray’s attention as he ran towards the finishing line, as you will see in this short video clip, his friend Nic was unable to!

Above: About half an hour after crossing the line, a very tired Ray is re-united with Nikki and his friends on Central Park West – “I was so pleased to see her as she rushed to congratulate me. It was appropriate that she was the first person to do so as she has supported me at every step on this incredible journey, through thick and thin” said Ray

Below: After the race, Nic very quickly gave his coat and cap to Ray to keep him warm – “It is incredible how quickly my body temperature started dropping after I finished” said Ray. “We had to make our way to my friend’s apartment a few blocks away and I could hardly move my legs” recalled our marathon man

Above: For those readers who are interested in some of Ray’s statistics, these screenshots show the key performance data. The data is collected in a GPS device worn on the wrist and uploaded to the internet after the run – “Eagle eyed readers will spot that my own time differs from my official time by a few seconds and the total distance covered is also different. That is because the official distance of 26.2 miles is measured taking every corner at the tightest possible angle, which is impossible to do in the race itself as there are just too many people” explained Ray, who consumed nearly 3,200 calories in the four and a quarter hours he was running. The red line, starting at the green arrow, traces Ray’s actual route through the five boroughs of New York. For more detailed information and a closer look, click here

Below: Long distance runners might appreciate a look at Rays ’split’ times i.e. the times for each individual mile for all 26 miles. You will see that mile 16 (crossing the Queensborough bridge) was slower than all previous miles, due to the steep uphill climb,  and although he was able to recover in mile 17, from that point Ray was unable to maintain the pace required for a sub four hour finish. Mile 24 was particularly tough and the improvement beyond this point can be largely attributed to the tremendous energy of the crowd who turn out to cheer all the runners on in the final stages and enthusiastically shout out their names - “Maybe I will have another go at doing a four hour marathon at some point” said Ray afterwards, “but for now, I am just glad to have done it and would not be too upset if I never had to do the training again” he told me

Above: Ray gets a huge hug from friend and fan Libby Turnock (right) as he arrives at her apartment on Cathedral Parkway at the northern end of Central Park – “I met Libby just a couple of months ago in Chiang Mai” said Ray. “She was doing some voluntary work at the Elephant Nature Park and when I told her I was raising money for the park by running the New York marathon, she instantly befriended me. I discovered that Libby had run the marathon five times! She also very kindly donated the use of her apartment for an after race party for me and my friends – she is a great lady and I am very grateful to her for being so generous!” said Ray

Below: Ray celebrates his accomplishment – “I had not been drinking alcohol for ages because of my training, so that first glass of champagne tasted and felt very good indeed” he told me

Above: Finishing the New York marathon was not the only reason to celebrate. It was also Nic’s birthday – “He is one of my best friends and I am so happy that he was there to share this very special day with me” said Ray

Below: At the party, Nikki kindly presented Ray with his very own, limited edition, commemorative ‘Finishers Cap’ which she secretly acquired for Ray to mark the occasion

Above: Been there, done that, got the T Shirt, er… I mean got the cap! Ray can now tick one more thing off his bucket list!

Below: Ray appreciates how lucky he is to have the loving support of Nikki (left). Later that evening, Nikki and Angela put their extensive knowledge of yoga to extremely good use, helping Ray to stretch off his very tight muscles! (right)

Above: The day after the race, and a very stiff Ray and Nikki (left) head to Manhattan for a bit of sight-seeing – “We were very fortunate to meet up with our friend Bharat whilst we were in town (right, with Nikki), who we first met in Ko Samui” said Ray. “He is a very experienced palm reader and gave Nic a reading for his birthday” added our recovering runner

Below: The spectacular main hall in Grand Central Station, which has been featured in hundreds of movies, is well worth a view for first time visitors to the city

Above: Nikki and Bharat stand on the sidewalk on 5th Avenue (right) and admire the tower at the Rockefeller Centre (left)

Below: If you cannot find the book you want at this store in Chinatown, you are probably looking in the wrong place!

Above: What a load of balls! Nikki admires the Christmas decorations that are hanging in the entrance to Macy’s on 34th Street

Editors Note: First of all, our sincere thanks to Nick Elandimer for bringing us the news and pictures from Ray’s visit to New York and the marathon itself. And our congratulations to Ray, both for completing the race and for raising over $15,000 for all of the worthy causes supported by his “Calling All Angels” campaign.

This is not the first time that Ray has been in New York. He has made several previous visits here, with the most recent in November 2007, which we covered in our “A Bite of the Big Apple” issue.

Ray is now in London, recovering from the marathon and planning his itinerary for next year. We hope to go online with our next issue of The Daily Explorer in a few weeks. We always aim to maintain our high standards of journalism and presentation, so please keep sending us your comments and suggestions as to how we can improve what we are doing. You can use the comments box on this site, or email Ray (ray@thedailyexplorer.com) or ‘Mozzie’ or any of our correspondents at mozzie@thedailyexplorer.com

MOZZIE BYTE

Above: Congratulations from everyone at The Daily Explorer to Karla Portch (right), who recently tied the knot with her Australian fiancée Mike. Karla was Ray and Nikki’s teacher when they studied for their Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate at the Chiang Mai University in 2006. We wish them both a long and happy marriage!

British Airways e Iberia anunciam acordo de fusão

As companhias aéreas européias British Airways e Iberia anunciaram ter chegado a um acordo preliminar para uma futura fusão, que criaria uma das maiores organizações do mundo. O acordo determina que os acionistas da companhia espanhola Iberia ficam com 45% da nova empresa, enquanto os acionistas da companhia britânica British detém 55% do capital. Também está previsto a manutenção das duas marcas e as operações atuais. A nova organização apresenta uma frota em operação de mais de 400 aviões, que voam para cerca de 200 destinos ao redor do mundo. A Comissão Europeia deve avaliar e aprovar a fusão até o início do próximo ano.

OceanAir lança promoção relâmpago hoje (dia 14)

A OceanAir, a partir de hoje (sábado, dia 14), lança uma promoção de tarifas para compras neste final de semana, com embarque previsto até o dia 30. Com parcelas a partir de R$ 4,50, o passageiro poderá adquirir o bilhete em 12 parcelas sem juros pelo cartão Mastercard. Mais informações pelo site www.oceanair.com.br , ou pelos tels. 4004-4040 e 0300-789-8160.

US Airways recebe autorização oficial para operar no País

Foi publicado na última quarta-feira, no Diário Oficial da União, a decisão da Agencia Nacional e Aviação Civil (Anac) que autoriza a empresa US Airways, de nacionalidade norte-americana, a operar, no território nacional prestando serviço aéreo de transporte regular internacional de passageiro, carga e mala postal. A empresa começa a operar entre o Rio de Janeiro e Charlotte, na Carolina do Norte (EUA), a partir de 16 de dezembro. O voo diário e direto será a bordo de um Boeing 767 e terá duração de 8h45. A empresa já tem planos, inclusive de estabelecer um novo voo no País já em 2010.

Em SP, Star Alliance discute estratégias para 2010

Ontem (quinta, dia 12), líderes de 11 companhias que compõem a Star Alliance reuniram-se no escritório da Tap, na capital paulista, para discutir estratégias para o mercado brasileiro. O encontro contou com a presença da diretora regional da Star Alliance, Nanci Cheberenchick, e com os representantes da Air Canada, Air China, BMI, Continental, Tam, Lufthansa, Swiss, South African Airways, Turkish e United. Na oportunidade, foram discutidas formas diferenciadas de divulgação dos produtos Star, benefícios e melhor adequação às necessidades do trade. Também foram tratados projetos comuns, ficando em destaque o produto “RTW – Round the World Fare”, onde o passageiro pode viajar para qualquer destino operado pela aliança a um preço especial e com flexibilidade no planejamento do itinerário.

Governadora do RN cobra da Infraero melhorias em Natal

O presidente da Infraero, Murilo Marques Barboza, recebeu a governadora do Rio Grande do Norte, Wilma de Faria, na sede da empresa, em Brasília, na última terça (dia 10). A governadora solicitou melhorias para o Aeroporto Internacional de Natal/Augusto Severo. “Estou preocupada com o aumento de demanda e as melhorias prometidas. Também temos muita necessidade de ampliação da área internacional”, alertou a governadora.

Barboza lembrou à governadora que, com a definição do modelo de desenvolvimento do Aeroporto de São Gonçalo do Amarante – já incluído no Programa de Desestatização do Governo Federal – será possível planejar melhor os investimentos para o Aeroporto Augusto Severo a longo prazo. “A Infraero está finalizando, em São Gonçalo do Amarante, as obras de infraestrutura das pistas de pouso e decolagem e de taxiamento, além dos sistemas de auxílio e proteção ao voo. Ao todo, até 2010, os investimentos chegam a R$ 114 milhões”, disse. As pistas do São Gonçalo do Amarante terão capacidade para receber aviões como o cargueiro 747-400, o MD-11 e o A380.

Anac publica relatório sobre tarifas cobradas na venda de passagens 

A Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (Anac) publicou hoje em sua página na Internet o Relatório Yield Tarifa relativo ao mês de outubro de 2009. O documento faz o acompanhamento econômico das tarifas públicas que foram cobradas na venda de passagens.

O Yield Tarifa não considera as tarifas especiais para o mercado corporativo  (negociadas diretamente entre as companhias aéreas e empresas públicas e privadas), de fretamento (acertadas com as agências de turismo) e os assentos oferecidos gratuitamente ou com desconto diferenciado (para tripulantes, funcionários, crianças que não ocupam assentos, programas de milhagem e endosso de passagem).

O Relatório é feito com base nas informações fornecidas pelas companhias aéreas nacionais e informa os valores nominais por setor. Além disso, a Anac atualiza mensalmente esses dados com base no Índice de Preços ao Consumidor Amplo (IPCA / IBGE)  e, por isso, a cada mês as tabelas serão recalculadas por esse  indicador.

Turkish anuncia data de voo direto entre GRU e IST

A Turkish Airlines anunciou a data de seu voo sem escalas entre São Paulo e Istambul. A partir de 28 de março próximo, a companhia aérea retira da rota a escala em Dacar, no Senegal. A empresa já havia anunciado a mudança, embora a data de início do voo direto não tivesse sido confirmada. Em março, o voo completa um ano. A companhia, que chegou ao Brasil com duas frequências semanais, opera três voos atualmente. O TK 016 sai de São Paulo (GRU) às 23h25, às quartas, sextas e domingos. Sem a escala, a chegada em Istambul será às 18h05. O retorno de Istambul tem saída às 10h45, também às quartas, sextas e domingos, chegando no Brasil às 18h55 – já sem a escala.

Infraero quer incentivar setor de logística de carga no Maranhão 

A Infraero pretende fomentar a atividade de logística de carga aérea e o crescimento da movimentação de cargas internacionais e nacionais no Estado do Maranhão. Com esse objetivo, foi realizado na última quinta-feira (12/11), em São Luís, o I Workshop de Logística Modal Aéreo do Maranhão.

Segundo o diretor comercial da Infraero, Fernando Nicácio, a instituição pretende intensificar as ações de preparação para absorção da iminente demanda proveniente dos novos empreendimentos industriais em andamento no Estado. O evento reuniu representantes do poder público local, de companhias aéreas, de empresas importadoras e exportadoras, da Receita Federal e da Infraero.

No workshop foi apresentado o Plano de Desenvolvimento Industrial do Maranhão (PDI), que inclui a questão da logística entre os projetos prioritários para a indústria, a fim de que sejam criadas condições para a melhoria da competitividade, redução de custo e aumento da velocidade de transporte.

Sudoeste do Paraná vai ter voos diários para Curitiba em 2010 com a Sol Linhas Aéreas

A ponte aérea entre o Sudoeste do Paraná e Curitiba vai ser uma realidade no ano que vem. Foi celebrado em Cascavel, um acordo entre a deputada estadual Luciana Rafagnin (PT), os prefeitos de Pato Branco, Roberto Viganó (PDT), e de Francisco Beltrão, Wilmar Reichembach (PSDB), com o presidente da Sol Linhas Aéreas, o empresário Marcos Solano, que vai possibilitar que a empresa aérea paranaense de aviação regional coloque em operação rotas diárias e regulares, interligando as cidades de Cascavel e Curitiba, passando pela região Sudoeste.

A previsão é de que isso aconteça ainda no primeiro trimestre do ano. Resta adequar a infraestrutura dos dois aeroportos daquela região, para que a ANAC – Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil – autorize os voos.

“O Sudoeste precisa estar ligado com Curitiba e com os demais estados do Brasil por meio de um transporte aéreo regular e é por isso que estamos apostando no potencial de desenvolvimento da região”, disse Solano. A deputada Luciana, principal articuladora da proposta, comemorou o acordo entre os municípios e a empresa de aviação de Cascavel, lembrando que além de beneficiar as duas cidades-pólo do Sudoeste do Paraná, ele fez com que a região se unisse em torno de um objetivo comum. “Há um ano estamos discutindo e analisando cada detalhe do projeto. Ao sair unido, o Sudoeste só ganha com isso”, afirmou.

Cargueiros em contrato na Austrália

A empresa Cobham Aviation Services Austrália adquiriu três jatos BAe 146 QT da BAe Systems num contrato de A$ 100 milhões. As aeronaves operavam sob a forma de leasing desde os anos de 1990 e a Cobham garantia tripulantes e manutenção. Nesse período os aviões tem voado com regularidade de quase 100% transportando 20 mil toneladas de carga aérea por ano.

Motor do Phenom 300 é homologado

A Pratt Witney Canadá recebeu da autoridade Transport Canadá o certificado de homologação do motor PW535E, selecionado para impulsionar o jato executivo “Phenom 300″ da Embraer. Isso aconteceu 26 meses do início dos ensaios do novo motor e sua certificação vai permitir que a Embraer obtenha a homologação da aeronave no prazo previsto.