Travelography #132: Travel Downturn Hits NZ and A380 comes to LAX

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Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog for the week of 20 October 2008. This podcast is also available at Blubrry.com and Travelgeography.info.

• Gloomy weather on New Zealand's tourist front

  The financial crisis has hit tourism - one of New Zealand's biggest earners - causing visitor numbers to plummet last month. Statistics New Zealand figures show the number of international tourists fell 6.6 per cent...

• Cancelled cruises bring loss to New Zealand and Australia

  Celebrity Cruises, the company which owns the 2038-passenger Celebrity Millennium, has cut Australia and New Zealand from its 2009-10 itinerary, choosing to focus on northern hemisphere destinations. High fuel costs and high airfare costs for passengers were reasons for the cancellations,...

• Recession may mean opportunities to some in the travel industry

  Leading hospitality, timeshare and fractional leaders all across the country express concerns over business during these hard times. However, they believe some sectors will stay afloat and find opportunities in deep recession.

• First A380 service between Australia and the US west coast begins for Qantas

  The Qantas A380 is configured with 450 seats in four cabins – 14 in First Class, 72 in Business Class, 32 in Premium Economy, and 332 in Economy Class – with interiors designed by world renowned Australian industrial designer and Qantas creative director Marc Newson.

• Study reveals what we love, and hate, about flying

  89 per cent of Taiwanese, 87 per cent of Americans, 84 per cent of Thais and 83 per cent of British travellers agreed they would appreciate a seat swap if they were less than thrilled with where they were asked to park their posteriors.

Travelography #125: The Trickle Down Travel Contraction

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Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog

for the week of 1 September 2008. This podcast is also available at Blubrry.com and Travelgeography.info

Hanna-caused detour prompts 'mutiny' on Carnival Miracle

The New York-based ship was supposed to head to the Caribbean... But thanks to Tropical Storm Hanna, the 2,124-passenger vessel ... will be spending Friday more than 1,000 miles off course in -- get this -- Newport, R.I. The drastic change to the ship's itinerary -- no other ship has been forced so far afield by this week's storms -- has cause a virtual mutiny on board, according to passenger posts on cruise-focused websites.

Airline Flight Cuts End Up Hurting Airports and Hotels, Too

The carriers' misery is spreading, or is expected to spread, to virtually every industry they touch in the travel economy: hotels, rental cars, convention centers, websites that book travel, airports and others.

Gas Prices Cause Airline [in Canada] to Remove Life Vests

...all of Jazz's flights operate within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of shore. ... A commercial-style life vest weighs roughly a half-kilogram, meaning 25 kilograms would be saved by removing them from a Dash-8 aircraft with 50 seats.

Australia issues travel advisory warns of high risks for travelers to US

In a fresh travel advisory issued on Sunday, the Australian government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has warmed of "high risks" of terror attacks on domestic and international flights in and to the United States.

Fake Bomb Scare Brings Real $23,000 Fine

She asked an airline employee to make the plane come back with her bag and then asked what would happen if there was a bomb in her bag. Finally, she allegedly said that there was a bomb in the bag.

Somali pirates 'kidnap tourists'

Two French citizens and their sailing boat have been seized by pirates off the Somali coast, French officials say. ... The seas off Somalia have some of the highest rates of piracy in the world. The country has been without a functioning central government for 17 years and has suffered from continual civil strife.

Airbus to extend A380 to accommodate 1,000 passengers

Airbus SAS, the world's largest plane maker, is *considering* an extended 1,000-passenger version of the A380 aircraft...The A380, the world's largest commercial aircraft even in its current form, can carry 555 passengers.

Japan's Mt. Fuji draws record number of summer climbers

Some 247,066 people climbed the mountain in July and August, beating the previous record of 220,277, set in 1987, ... Four people also died from injuries sustained while climbing, marking the first deaths since 2005, ...

Travelography #55: Amtrak Boost, Plane Dreams, and Macau Grows Up

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Amtrak saw its ridership grow this past fiscal year as it became more competitive with short flights in the eastern US. Boeing and Airbus are building more passenger comfort into their next generation of planes. And Macau, the only place in China where gaming is legal, is getting more tourists every month as new resort casinos are built.

Amtrak ridership increases

Aircraft Builders Try to Take Some of the Ordeal Out of Flying

Macau's visitor arrivals hit 2 million in October