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In addition to the Machester to Copenhagen flight announced here, easyJet will launch two additional new routes from Manchester this winter. From the end of October 2009 they will begin flying from Manchester to Marrakech and from 06 November they will also add flights from Manchester to Munich. These flights are already on sale. Copenhagen and Munich flights will depart on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday; whilst Marrakech flights will depart on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Following in the footsteps of British Airways who recently announced cutbacks in its winter schedule, Virgin Atalantic have also announced cutbacks in its winter schedule, scrapping all flights to Chicago and scaling back on its Hong Kong service from two to one daily flight.
AirAsia X's low cost London Stansted to Kuala Lumpur service has got off to a flying start since its launch in March of its five times weekly service. Following strong forward sales and tickets as low as £150 return, the carrier has announced that it will now become a daily service.
SkyEurope filed for bankruptcy protection last week as it tries to find new investors for the ailing company. With 4 of its 14 aircarft already grounded, the low cost operator continues to operate and has some good deals on offer - if you are willing to take the chance.
Summer is up and cities across Europe have planted palms trees and trucked in tons of sand to urban riverfronts to create the feeling of a lazy day at the shore. Urban beaches are a hit and Momondo guides you to our favourites.
Paris Plages
Paris Tourist Office/Amélie Dupont
Written by David Rich Momondo
Take thousand tons of sand, palm trees, deckchairs, glistering torsos and ubiquitous ice cream sellers - and you have the Paris Plages. The ‘Parisian Riviera’ spans 3 km along the right bank of the Seine from Louvre to Pont Sully.
During the summer, parts of the riverside are closed off from traffic and you can join the thousands of Parisians and tourists that enjoy the rather surreal experience lying in middle of the street wearing only bikini or speedos and a top hat. Beware, no g-strings, topless or nudist beachgoers allowed unless you want a 38 € fine!
Paris Tourist Office/Amélie Dupont
The Paris Plages is a highly popular, free 'event' instituted by the City Fathers in 2002. Originally it was thought of as a getaway for the thousand of Parisians who can’t afford to go on holiday, but the project was immediately adopted by the whole city and now millions of people visit the beach next to the city hall every summer.
On hot summer days Paris Plages is packed with sun-craving citizens and it is THE place in Paris to show the world your newest tattoo and the result of a long winter's hard work in the gym.
Beyond the stretch from Louvre to Pont Sully there is also a beach on the left bank of the Seine at the foot of the François Mitterrand National Library (13 arr.). Here is a floating swimming pool (Piscine Josephine Baker) filled with recycled water from the river for those seeking some relief from the summer sun, especially as the dirty water of the Seine itself is not a welcome thought. Since 2007, a third beach next to Bassin de la Villette, in the 19th arrondissement, has become extremely popular.
The Paris Plages run from 20 July to 20 August 2009.
Go further:
Beach life in Berlin
Beach Life in Prague
Beach Life in Stockholm
Beach Life in New York
Beach Life in Madrid
Beach Life in Amsterdam
Beach Life in London
If you need to rent a car in the US, be prepared to to pay more. The average price to rent a standard car for one week has risen by 73% to USD 346 during the past 12 months according to an analysis from Abrams Consulting. Given the current economic crisis and falling flight, hotel and cruise prices, it's difficult to understand why car prices are increasing.
According to Abrams Consulting, the main reason is that car rental firms have cut back in the number of cars available for rental. Many of the car rental companies have at sold out of their fleet and stopped purchasing new cars, so they fact have fewer cars than they actually need, despite a 15% fall in rentals. The average age of a US rental car is today 11 months, up from 9 months a year ago.
Despite the price hike, all the best rates can be found on Momondo.
Finding an available hotel room isn't a problem in Copenhagen these days. The number of hotel nights in Copenhagen are down almost 20% compared to the first five months last year, with an average occupation of 52%. Added to that Copenhagen will be adding an additional 2.800 rooms during the next 24 months, which will set additional pressure on the hotel market.
So, looking for a good deal, search for hotels in Copenhagen on Momondo.
British Airways will be cutting back flights on it's winter schedule from Gatwick and Heathrow. Heathrow to Nice and Berlin will be cut-back fom 6 to 5 daily flights, Brussels from 7 to 6, Paris Charles de Gaulle from 10 to 9, and Edinburgh from 11 to 10. In addition, Gatwick to Rome will be cut from 2 to 1 daily flight.
In additon, flights will be increased from Heathrow to Istanbul and Warsaw, from 2 to 3 daily flights.
Believe it or not, it's not from RyanAir, but China's first private airline, Spring Air. They are pushing the concept of no-frills travel to the extreme, announcing plans to strip its aircraft of seats.
Speaking on Chinese CCTV, a spokesman proposed that standing-room-only cabins could accommodate up to 40 per cent more passengers, and follows on from comments by China's vice premier, Zhang Dejiang, who argued that citizens "should be able to get on a plane like catching a bus".
With a fleet of 13 aircraft, Spring Air has experienced a massive demand for its low-cost flights and has already placed an order for 14 new jets. The spokesman continued that in addition to increasing capacity, the airline's costs would be cut by 20 per cent if passenger seats were removed, propping passengers against a padded backboard secured by a harness.
Have a nice flight!
Starting in November, EasyJet have announced their 5th route out of Copenhagen, this time with six weekly flights to Manchester. EasyJet already operates between Copenhagen and Berlin, London Gatwick, London Stansted and Milano. EasyJet operates 175 flights, 420 routes between 110 airports in 27 countries and has transported 44 million passengers over the past 12 months.
Turkish Airlines have kicked off their 3 times weekly Göteborg (Gothenburg)-Istanbul using an Airbus 320 with room for 159 passengers. Their 116th destination and 2nd in Sweden, will operate on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Photo by Thomas Vilhelm
I used to live in a small flat at La Barceloneta. During the recurrent heat waves of the Spanish summer it often got so hot that I had to sleep with my head out on the balcony to be able to breath. On nights like that the best idea was to get out of ‘bed’ and walk down to the nearby beach.
A smooth sea breeze would embrace me and I would sit down in the sand with a beer watching the anglers with their long poles or reading a book in the light from the lampposts until it got cold enough to sleep.
Photo by Thomas Vilhelm
Some people still mourn the traditional stall restaurants that covered the Barceloneta beach before the Olympic Games of 1992. I’m sure they were great but so are the four kilometres of playas left by the reforms and unmatched by any other European city.
Photo by Thomas Vilhelm
Also because beach life in Barcelona includes a lot more than the obvious swimming, sunbathing and ‘girlspotting’. You’ll see old men play domino, cards or a local variety of tennis hitting the ball directly with their hands. Others work out, fly kites, surf or play volleyball. And yet others prefer to watch it all from one of the many beach bars.
If you like swimming but hate sand try the sea baths at the northern end of the beaches.
Metro: Any station on the yellow line from Barceloneta to Selva de Mar.
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