Comedy Air Stewards, Dogs in First Class, What $1 Buys
Welcome to the inaugural edition of World of Travel, where we'll be rounding up our favourite stories from the farthest reaches of the travelsphere. Some of it will be useful, some of it won't, but it will always (we hope) be entertaining. You can expect everything from hints and tips sourced from the world's leading travel bloggers, to pictures and videos of incredible destinations you might not have known existed, plus loads of other stuff. You may even see a few travelling animals here and there.
Make a note - from now on, we'll be publishing a new one of these every Friday. This is a quite deliberate move, designed to ensure that you have something to read/watch while easing into the weekend. Just make sure the boss isn't watching.
This week we have stories from (among others) @TelegraphTravel, @geekdotcom, @CNNTravel, @JohnnyJet, @MoneySavingExp and @Adventurecom.
Good Week For...
Passengers on Canadian airline WestJet, who were treated to what might be the most entertaining safety demonstration of all time by flight attendant Michael McAdams. Take it away, Michael...
Bored billionaires. As we all know, flying first class can be just a little pedestrian, so how about a trip on the Four Seasons-branded private jet? The Boeing 757, which accommodates just 52 passengers, will take you on a round-the-world journey like no other, with stopovers at a selection of lavish Four Seasons properties along the way. All for just £80,000 per person. See you all at check-in!
Head over to Telegraph Travel for the full story.
People who really, really like long-haul travel. Here's one for the masochists of the world – Emirates has just announced a new route between Dubai and Panama City. At 8,589 miles, this will become the longest non-stop flight the world has ever seen. Total flying time? Seventeen hours and 35 minutes. By our reckoning, that's roughly eight movies' worth (or two seasons of "Game of Thrones"). Ouch.
Find out more at Geek.com
Residents of Melbourne, whose city was once again named as the world's most liveable by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Apparently, among other things, it's got a lot to do with how great their coffee is. In case you were wondering, London came 53rd.
CNN has the full story.
Bad Week For...
Americans, more than half of whom have not had a holiday in the last year, it has emerged. That's 135 million people not going on holiday. If you know an American, do them a favour and point them in the direction of our US site. Travel blogger Johnny Jet has the full story.
David Cameron, who was filmed on an easyJet flight (nothing wrong with that), looking a little sorry for himself and eating Pringles (paprika flavour), while heading out to join his family on holiday in the Algarve.
Pity the poor PM and his public eating habits. Remember, just few months ago, when he was pictured eating a hot dog with a knife and fork?
Travelling Animal of the Week
Meet Chico the dog, who just became the first animal to test out American Airlines' new first-class pet cabin. It looks like he enjoyed himself too.
This new service – called Cuddle Class naturally enough – is available on select flights between New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX), and JFK and San Francisco (SFO).
For $125 (actually quite reasonable, we thnk), your pampered pooch gets his or her very own cabin, providing they can fit in the 19inch x 13inch container.
Daily Mail has the full story.
Did You Know…?
If you've been on a flight that was delayed by three hours or more (at any point since 2009), you could be eligible for a refund of up to £420. Think you're affected? Head over to MoneySavingExpert.com where you'll find all the details, including a handy reclaim tool.
From the Blogs & Beyond
- What does $1 buy you in different destinations around the world? In the UK, you won't get much more than few slices of bread; in the Philippines you'll get a foot massage. Lonely Planet Facebookers have their say.
- Ever fantasized about dropping everything, going travelling and somehow becoming insanely rich in the progress? Yes, we know, that sounds ridiculously implausible. But hang on, here's a young man from Northern Ireland who did just that. No wonder he looks quite so pleased with himself. (Story via Elite Daily).
This Week We're Dreaming About...
...Raratonga in the Cook Islands, mostly thanks to this frankly insane drone-shot video that we found on Adventure.com:
Instagrammer of the Week
Herbert Schröer, from Utrecht in the Netherlands, specialises in dreamy-looking shots of European landscapes (and animals). Of course, plenty of other people do that, but Herbert uses nothing but an iPhone and gets spectacular results. Not sure about you, but there is nothing like this on our smartphones:
Twitter Hero of the Week
Meet Geraldine DeRuiter, the woman behind the excellent Everywhereist blog. Like the blog itself, her Twitter account is incisive, inspiring and always funny. Don't take our word for it though - follow her and find out for yourself.
Do you have a travel story that you think the world needs to hear? Email rbatho@travelzoo.com with the details or tweet us (we're on @Travelzoo_UK) using the hashtag #TravelzooWoT.