beat the brochure

This week it’s all been about the cost of our holidays, from yet more increases in Air Passenger Duty, the poor Caribbean must crying into their malibu’s, to the final realisation we are paying too much for our own money in a different currency. A suspicious package delayed flights in Manchester and it was announced the Coalition Government’s aviation policy is failing and Heathrow is failing from grace as a top European hub. All doom and gloom it seems but here are the stories in this week’s travel news that may put a smile on your face.

1. – To Fly To Serve.

This week British Airways launched their new advert in an exclusive preview on their Facebook Page. If you didn’t catch the premiere or haven’t seen it yet, here it is. It’s not quite the Virgin girls but let us know what you think:

2. – Go out in style!

Travel doesn’t have to stop once this lifetime has ended. In Japan, whilst you are resting in peace you can check in to a luxury hotel and relax until it is time to burn your body. With 18 lavishly designed rooms complete with air conditioning, all you need is roughly £150 per night to wait in pleasant surroundings. Japan currently have a backlog when it comes to cremations with families often having to keep bodies in the family home, so Mr Teramura has opened his hotel to accommodate this. In fact, the need has become so desperate he is also expanding with a new 40 room hotel to be opened in the near future.

3. – Popular airline boarding configurations.

Yawn. Yes don’t blame you. Amazingly a scientist has been spending his time devising the most efficient way to board passengers on a plane. Most flights use a back to front system, United Airliens use a Window, Middle, Aisles system and good old Ryanair offer a free for all, and won’t let some of your party book priority boarding in order to save seats.

Jason Steffen reckons the best procedure is to fill every other row from the back of the plane, filling windows on one side first and then the other. Thankfully, this brainbox does concede their is a limitation to this method, which further begs the question why he even suggested it in the first place. What Mr Steffen doesn’t realise is that in some cultures, there is no such thing as a queue, and universally it is irrelevant how many times the flight attendant asks for certain row numbers, someone will always just get in line anyway. There will also always be someone who cannot get their luggage in the overhead compartment in time either.

What do you reckon is the best procedure to board a plane? Let us know your thoughts below or on our Facebook page.

Beat the Brochure Travel Tip of the week: