Aerofreaks

The ritual of making sacrifices in order to please Gods has been followed since ages unknown. With the world getting technical day by day, we think that we have lost faith in superstitions and so, the same rituals are neither followed nor are they please us. In a bizarre and true accident, the officials of an airline run by the Nepal government sacrificed two goats to appeal to Akash Bhairab, the Hindu God of skies.

Aviation industry accounts for two percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions and has come under increasing pressure from environmental campaigners. Realizing the environmental impact of flying and their contribution to the greenhouse gas emission, several airlines are taking ardent steps.

In a big blow to Zimbabwe, the British Airways (BA) has decided to stop its flights from UK to the southern African nation next month due to increasing losses on the route in the wake of Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis under the leadership of current president Robert Mugabe.

Air New Zealand’s year-round lead-in fares are now the same as Pacific Blue’s. Yes, you have read it right! To meet competition from newcomer Pacific Blue, Air New Zealand plans to offer never-seen-before deals with $1 domestic fares and turn part of its planes into budget cabins.

Airports across the country will soon get better bag screening equipment to scan carry-on bags at security check-points. In a bid to upgrade security, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) plans to replace the old X-ray machines with new high-powered X-ray machines.

Do you think Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has gone too far in security checks at the airports? If yes, then wait I’ve yet another news for you. TSA now plans to expand its use of screening machines that look under passengers’ clothing for hidden weapons.

New York’s Kennedy and Los Angeles International airports and Phoenix Sky Harbor will test backscatter X-ray machines that create anatomical images using low-intensity millimeter waves to scan passengers’ bodies.

If you are traveling to London, here’s some good news. You won’t have to wait in long lines anymore for a cab to take you to your nearest hotel. The London city airport has launched a service called hotel shuttle service, which will take you to your hotel right away!

Well-known for in-flight entertainment, Australia’s largest airline Qantas plans to expand its operations in New Zealand and offer new business services, as competition for air travel on domestic routes intensifies. It plans to beef up its domestic service by providing free alcohol and food on domestic flights.

If you’ve seen the lines outside you passport offices, you’ll realize that yes, the new passport rules are affecting a lot of people. The new security rules have swamped offices and infuriated the would-be travelers.

Prior to new security laws about one in five U.S. citizens had passports. This year, the figure is already approaching one in four and is expected to increase in the coming years. The surge in applications led to the massive delay in processing passports. The regular passport applications that generally took six weeks to deliver to the applicant were delayed by as much as 12 weeks or more.

To adjust the higher levels of demand and tackle the mountain of paperwork, the State Department is planning to hire 800 new workers (double the current passport staff). Also, changes have been made in wait time for the pricier, faster service. These changes are expected to increase the production of passports in the coming years, which will reduce the wait time for regular passport applications.

The demand for passports is expected to increase by next year with new travel rules. The State Department and travelers are already facing so many problems with new travel rules that went into affect this year. I wonder what will happen with the next wave of travel rules.

Source: MSNBC

There is an increasing number of websites that can help travelers to find the best of cheap flight deals available. Momondo and Sidestep.com are the sites that recently joined the many websites that offer automatic, constant searches of booking engines.