Exchanging Currency - Check Your Bills!

There are a lot of considerations when exchanging currency internationally. Whether or not to exchange cash or rely on credit cards? Should you withdraw money from an ATM abroad or ask for a bank withdrawal? Today, I would like to focus on exchanging cash currency abroad, and there is one incredibly important, yet easy-to-forget step in exchanging your currency: inspecting the bills!

It is incredibly easy to overlook a slightly damaged banknote, namely because, unless they are mutilated beyond recognition, damaged banknotes are generally still legal tender in their home countries.

The situation changes drastically overseas. In many countries, bureaus de change and even banks themselves will not accept banknotes or bills that have any kind of damage at all. Rips, tears, stains and sometimes even wrinkles (though less so) can be cause for rejection of the bill or refusal to change it.

Case in point: in preparation for my most recent trip abroad, I withdrew a rather large sum of cash from my bank account, as I prefer to carry cash and exchange it abroad than incur the fees associated with using my credit/debit cards internationally. In a frenzy of packing fervor, I failed to look at each bill carefully.

Now, I am stuck with one gimp $50 bill that has a small tear off one of its corners! While no one would bat an eye at this bill in the US, abroad it is a totally different story. I even tried to use the bill as payment for a service in the US Embassy and they refused it, as well!

The moral of the story: when withdrawing cash to be exchanged abroad, always, always inspect each bill carefully before you leave the country. If there are any questionable bills with stains, tears or bad wrinkles, ask your bank at home to exchange them for crisper or newer bills (which they should do, no questions asked)!

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Etihad Airways Launches 3-Day Promotion

Etihad Airways has launched a limited-time "Fantastic Falling Fares" promotion, which includes fares to destinations around the world slashed by as much as 50%.

The sale will take place from 1 November to 3 November 2011 for travel from 5 November to 14 December 2011.

Passengers in the United Arab Emirates will be able to fly to London for as little as AED2,050, inclusive of taxes and surcharges. Flights to Manila will be available for AED1, 240 and Paris for 1,520.

Economy return flights to Thailand will be available for AED1,590.

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Royal Jordanian to Launch Flights to Lagos and Nairobi

Royal Jordanian is to launch flights to Lagos and Nairobi in December.

 The airline will operate direct regular flights to Lagos, the economic and financial capital of Nigeria, starting 3 December 2011. It will start operating to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, on the 16th of the same month.

Royal Jordanian will operate two weekly flights with its wide-bodied, 280-seat Airbus A330s to Lagos. The flight will depart from Amman on Wednesdays at 12:40 after midnight, and reach Lagos at 06:30; it comes back from Lagos the same day, leaving at 8am and reaching Amman at 15:15.

A second weekly flight to Lagos will be on Saturdays. It will leave Amman at 14:45, reach Lagos at 20:35 and come back from Lagos at 10pm the same day, reaching Amman the next morning at 05:15.

The narrower-bodied A319 will operate four weekly flights between Amman and Nairobi. The flights will operate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, departing from Amman at 20:30 and reaching Nairobi at 02:55 the next day. The flight back from Nairobi is on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 03:50, reaching Amman at 8am the same day.

RJ President/CEO Hussein Dabbas said the company?s effort to inaugurate these two routes comes in line with the expansion strategy RJ in undertaking in an attempt to find new tourism and travel markets, given the decline in tourism movement from the traditional markets of Europe and North America.

Connecting Amman with these African cities is expected to attract large numbers of tourists to the Kingdom, particularly Muslim pilgrims who wish to continue their flights to Mecca and Medina, in Saudi Arabia, and Christians, who come to Jordan to visit the Baptism site and other Christian holy sites. Moreover, transit travelers can use Queen Alia International Airport as a hub for their travel to the east.

The airline is conducting studies to see whether it is feasible to inaugurate routes to Accra, capital of Ghana, and Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

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Strong Demand for Self Service Systems @ Abu Dhabi Airport

Passengers at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) have the highest demand for Self Service options of all six major airport hubs included in this year?s SITA/Air Transport World Passenger Self Service Survey, which also found high rates of smartphone adoption among premium travelers. It is the first time that AUH has featured in the survey.
The demand for Self Service is partly fuelled by smartphone adoption rates of 78% for frequent flyers (over ten trips per year) and 35% among business/first class travelers. The survey reveals a clear opportunity for airlines to increase the use of mobile check-in, which had only been used by 12% of survey respondents compared to 38% who had used online check-in.
In AUH, 33% of the passengers surveyed had a smartphone and a further 50% had ordinary mobile phones. The Blackberry was the most popular with 41% of smartphone holders having one, followed by 26% having an iPhone. Globally, 35% of respondents preferred the iPhone compared to 28% who used the Blackberry.
The rising influence of the smartphone globally is a key finding from the 6th annual SITA/Air Transport World Passenger Self Service Survey carried out with a representative sample of the 283.5 million passengers who pass through six of the world?s leading airport hubs: Abu Dhabi International Airport, Beijing International Airport; Frankfurt International Airport; Hartsfield-Jackson, Atlanta; Mumbai International; and Sao Paulo Guarulhos.
Interest in mobile applications is high at AUH where 30% of respondents would be willing to pay for information updates sent directly to their mobile phones. Interest is highest in flight-related information such as gate changes, flight delays, and boarding status, which 80% of survey respondents would use if available. This is followed by wait time at security, 50%; time to reach departure gate, 42%; information on airport parking, 35%; and location of closest lounge, 33%.
And 73% of AUH smartphone users would access a free Wi-Fi network compared to 66% globally. At AUH 15% would be willing to pay for Wi-Fi access compared to 10% globally.
AUH passenger interest in Self Service is underlined by the fact that it has the highest success rate in the survey when it comes to encouraging passengers to use remote bag-drop facilities, which was an option used by 13% of passengers with a bag to check-in compared with a rate of just 1% in the survey overall.
On the other hand, only 4% reported using a bag-drop counter compared to a global rate of 42%. A higher proportion of passengers had a bag to check-in than at any other airport in the survey, 81% compared to an overall survey rate of 67%.
The appetite for Self Service options is high at AUH. Self-bag tag (81%), Self Service bag drop (76%), and self-boarding (74%) were the three most popular Self Service options sought by AUH survey respondents, followed by tracking of bag location from a mobile device (67%), transfer kiosks (63%), and reporting missing bag from kiosks (63%).
Retail travel agencies are still more popular with AUH travelers than elsewhere with 44% of respondents using them for bookings compared to 17% overall but, interestingly, the overwhelming majority, a massive 99% of those who choose to book their flights online did so through an airline website compared to the global survey figure of 52%.
There is a clear opportunity here for airlines to target AUH passengers with improved non-air offers on their websites as actual usage rates for modifying reservations on-line and purchasing other services are 32% or lower.
Hani El Assaad, SITA Regional Vice-President, Middle East and North Africa, said, ?It is exciting to see Abu Dhabi International Airport feature in the Passenger Self Service Survey for the first time and to be able to provide the airport and airlines with this unprecedented insight into the behaviors and attitudes of their customers. The survey reveals many opportunities to provide services to passengers which will generate revenue, increase efficiency and improve passenger satisfaction.?

Munich Airport Partners Beijing Int. Airport

The airports in Munich and Beijing are forging closer ties. At an official signing ceremony last week, the heads of the two air transportation hubs, Dr. Dong Zhiyi, the president and CEO of Capital Airports Holding Company, and Dr. Michael Kerkloh, the president and CEO of FMG, the Munich Airport operating company, finalized a new cooperation agreement.

 The objective of the partnership is a systematic knowledge transfer for employees and managers of the two airports. Among the arrangements for achieving this goal, the contract provides for a management exchange program, in which visiting managers will gain detailed insights into the operations and processes of the partner airport.

Beijing International Airport is China?s biggest airport, and handles nearly 80 million passengers per year. When the new Beijing Daxing International Airport opens in the Chinese capital in 2015, it will handle about 370,000 passengers per day, making it the world?s busiest aviation hub. Beijing joins Denver, Nagoya, Bangkok and Singapore as Munich?s fifth sister airport.

Passenger traffic at Munich Airport increased 10% in the first three quarters of 2011. From January through the end of September 2011, more travelers used Munich Airport than ever before in the first three quarters of a calendar year. The approximately 28.6 million arriving and departing passengers represented a 10% increase as compared with the same period a year earlier. Moreover, the last day of this traffic period ? 30 September 2011 ? produced yet another all-time high of just under 140,000 passengers, some 10,000 more than the record set last year. The number of aircraft movements increased by more than 6% in the first three quarters to 310,730.

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Cathay Pacific Reduces Flights to Bangkok

Cathay Pacific has confirmed that one of its five daily scheduled flights between Hong Kong and Bangkok (CX701/CX702) will be cancelled on 28 October, 30 October, 1 November and 2 November due to weaker demand on the route.

Despite the cancellation Cathay Pacific still operates four flights per day between the two cities.

The airline has also issued special ticketing guidelines for flights with confirmed bookings involving Bangkok.

With immediate effect, rebooking charges will be waived for all tickets issued worldwide on/before 25 October with confirmed bookings involving Bangkok between 25 October and 2 November. Such requests must be made on/before 2 November and the revised travel date must be on/before 30 November 2011. There is no waiver on cancellation, refund or rerouting charges.

Cathay Pacific also advises passengers who have booked flights to and from Bangkok to check the latest flight information on Cathay Pacific?s website before departing for the airport. 

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What Makes London Such A Great City To Visit?

London is a massive city, it is at the forefront of modern culture. It leads the way in fashion, art and entertainment. The city also has charming traditional elements from double deck red buses to old, beautifully designed buildings. It is a city for everyone: children marvel at their favorite pop stars in Madam Tussauds. Young adults enjoy the bright lights and cutting edge nightlife of Picadilly Circus and the West End. More mature visitors love to take in the rich culture by visiting the likes of Buckingham Palace.

You can get around the city in one of the iconic black cabs which provide a very spacious and comfortable ride, or take a city tour on a double deck bus. The London Underground subway system is a very convenient mode of transport too, there are day passes which make long tours very inexpensive. The weather is milder than much of the UK, so it is often pleasant enough for a stroll around the streets too. The charming architecture of the old buildings combines with lively street performers in Covent Gardens for a perfect afternoon stroll.

Although a busy city, London has an excellent tourist infrastructure. A fantastic way to start the day is by riding on the London Eye. Located just south of the river Thames, it gives an amazing view of the whole city. It is centrally located and close to many more tourist attractions, in the summer why not continue by taking a walk over London Bridge towards the Houses Of Parliament. In winter you could take refuge in a traditional English pub.

A trip to London wouldn't be complete without a visit to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards. Nearby Hyde Park is an excellent place for a stroll and an escape from the crowds elsewhere. There are literally hundreds of attractions which make London one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.