An apoplectic older man at the check-in counter muttered away not so merrily in what sounded like a whole lexicon of Finnish curse language to an unamused check-in assistant, culminating in the universally understandable “No more Finnair!”
People
Frontline excellence at Changi and Helsinki airports
As I went to set up my Interim Helsinki Bureau in the Finnair lounge I realised I had left my mouse (as in laptop accessory not rodent) on the plane. But help was close at hand,
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Airports
Stocking up in Hong Kong and making a return to Taipei
It looks like a full flight for the 70-minute journey to Taipei. Just the way it used to be. And the way, hopefully it will be for a long time to come.
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Travel
Humming in Hong Kong and riding the waves in Wanning
I have written so many words about this beautiful island province since the pandemic began and to be unable to visit due to the crisis has been an immense professional frustration. Now the waiting is over.
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Airports
‘Pura vida’ – A captivating Costa Rican experience
I have not just been on location here but have undergone a full immersion in the culture and tourism highlights of Costa Rica.
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Events
Rum, food and music – a cultural tour of discovery in Jamaica
On an extraordinary evening, each food course – typically Jamaican of course – was paired with an Appleton rum.
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Travel
Eating fush and chups and riding a giant canoe in the sky in Aotearoa
Fush? Let me explain. Foreigners like to mimic the way we Kiwis pronounce the letter ‘I’ as a ‘U’, so that to the non-Kiwi ear ‘Fish and Chips’ sounds like ‘Fush and Chups’.
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Airports
Back in the land of the long white cloud
As if by provenance to prove Raoul Spanger’s sentiments on the renewed desire for travel, a Singapore Airlines A380 loomed magnificently behind him. It was coincidental but the symbolism was ripe and the choreography perfect.
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Food
Take the Toblerone test for your next flight upgrade
So here’s a way to save your company expense on that next long-haul flight and support the travel retail industry’s recovery. Simply fly economy and buy loads of chocolate at duty free before you board.
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Travel
Opening for business once more: Get ready for the China travel surge
Despite the fact that large swathes of the world aren’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat and COVID rates across the Mainland remain very high, make no mistake, the Chinese are coming.
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Travel
A feast of unfestive bile
Of course, the exchange didn’t end there. The said dander was by now scaling the upper face of the Matterhorn in full anti-China rant mode.
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Travel
I’ve been everywhere, man; I’ve crossed the deserts bare, man
Talking Heads and talking points. Road to Nowhere and Flights to Nowhere. I’ve been everywhere, man and it’s a long journey home. There are some great contenders for a travel retail anthem.
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Travel
If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane – In search of a travel retail anthem
I think we have all felt that lonesomeness. I sometimes think I have lost my way in life through leaving on too many jet planes. Failure on so many personal levels dressed up in a tinsel-thin costume as professional success.