Blog

Miscellaneous

Qatar Airways inflight safety video leads to Messi moments

I’ve seen some excellent inflight safety videos in recent times (Air New Zealand’s Hobbit-themed and All Blacks/Men in Black efforts among the best) but the new edition from Qatar Airways is right up with the best of them. After a turbulent period in 2015 it’s time to sit back, fasten your safety belts and ride into the New Year with Qatar Airways. You may just recognise some of your fellow passengers…

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Miscellaneous

Humming along at Heathrow as Elvis emerges

From The Moodie Report Interim Caffè Nero (what a great coffee outlet by the way) Heathrow T2 bureau this morning, my meeting was interrupted by what sounded like a very loud barrage of Christmas carols and songs coming over the tannoy. But no, it was the real thing as I discovered when I left to catch the tube back to HQ.

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Airlines

Excellence on Etihad but Chanel hits the wrong note

Welcome to The Moodie Report Interim Etihad Airways Bureau. I’m on EY17 en route to London after a successful business trip through the Middle East and beyond. As noted on my outbound journey, Etihad’s superb inflight wi-fi service could well be a clincher in terms of my choice of airline in the future.

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Airlines

A first-class economy experience onboard Etihad Airways

I’m onboard EY12 en route to Abu Dhabi and then onwards, my final business trip of a long year. EY, of course, stands for Etihad, one of the new-generation Middle East carriers that have so disrupted (and improved) the traditional airline industry. My flight today explains some of the reasons why Eithad (and its peers Qatar Airways and Emirates) have been so successful.

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Miscellaneous

Revamp Heathrow’s Arrivals shops and drive off in a Mercedes

London Heathrow Airport should really charge me rent for the amount of time I spend there. Just imagine that as a new non-aeronautical revenue stream – making travellers who ‘overstay’ pay a concession fee! I can only begin to imagine my MAG (Moodie annual guarantee). I’m surprised, frankly, that no-one has thought of it before.

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Miscellaneous

Following the highway to duty free in Japan

News reaches The Moodie Blog that a ‘Shinjuku joint’ in Japan is to offer karaoke alongside duty free shopping. News also reaches The Moodie Blog that Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits has launched a premium cannabis-flavoured vodka in travel retail called Shotka.

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Travel

Desmond storms but Dermot stays calm in Galway bureau

I can tell you my close cohort and fellow shareholder Dermot Davitt really isn’t getting any sleep at all right now. That’s because he’s holed up inside The Moodie Report Galway Bureau amid the worst storm in living memory (and there have been millions down the years I can tell you) on the West Coast of Ireland.

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Miscellaneous

Beautiful mornings, birdies and sartorial sabotage

I’m back in a near-freezing London after a full-on week in the Middle East, starting with the annual MEADFA Conference in Jordan, followed by the Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup. The former was a good event as always, attracting 342 delegates – not bad given some widely held concerns about the choice of Jordan as a venue in a troubled year.

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Travel

From the Dead Sea to dead in the water

It was nice while it lasted but alas The Moodie Report’s Interim Dead Sea Bureau is now closed. What a beautiful setting, not just to run my business from but also for the (excellent) MEADFA Conference 2015. I’ve now set up shop, as it were, in Dubai. I’m staying at the Jumeirah Creekside Hotel, owned by Dubai Duty Free, hosts of the Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup.

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