Skyparksecure Travel Blog - THE TRAVEL BLOG by Skyparksecure

Below average temperatures, with a notable higher than average rainfall

You may have heard the pessimistic forecasts for this Summer’s weather so we decided to do a little research and find out what was in store.
The UK Weather Forecast site paints a mixed but fairly depressing picture.
‘The main concern at present would be for a slight shift Westwards in the pattern, which may leave the UK open to another very wet summer as the rainfall anomaly across Europe ends up a little closer to the UK’

It does conclude that this Summer could be slightly better than 2012, but last year was hardly worthy of note being the worst Summer in a century according to ITV.com

Maybe the best way of guaranteeing the sun is to book a holiday in sunnier climes and take away the unpredictability of the British Summer.

Doncaster Robin Hood Airport Parking provider, Blue Sky Parking has launched a brand new fully responsive website for customers to book their car parking through.

As well as offering the only park and ride service at Robin Hood Airport, the Blue Sky Parking website also offers customers a special “Unique Vehicle Check Service” which allows them to view their car whilst away.

The fully secure car park boasts 24 hour security and prides itself on being the cheapest parking option available at the airport. The new website allows customers from the Sheffield, Doncaster and the South Yorkshire areas to benefit from cheaper parking and is the first website to offer park and ride parking at the airport.

The “Unique Vehicle Check Service” is an entirely free extra that customers can add to their parking package for peace of mind whilst on holiday. Any worries of vehicle security can be left at the airport, something which enables customers to enjoy their time away from home.

Blue Sky Parking will also be introducing wash and valet services as an extra in the future so that travellers can arrange for their vehicle to be cleaned during their absence. Blue Sky Parking prides itself on going the extra mile with customers and by offering these add-ons, customers can get great value for their money.

Blue Sky Parking’s carpark is located 1.5 miles from the airport terminal entrance and customers can hop on a luxury shuttle bus which gets them to the airport in 3 minutes. By offering different parking options at Doncaster Robin Hood Airport, it allows travellers to get value for money and enriches the airport’s facilities further.

St Patrick’s Day is celebrated all over the world, but think about how fantastic it would be to celebrate it in Ireland itself! St Patrick’s Day in Dublin is a huge deal and can be an amazing opportunity for a last minute getaway. If you’re stumped for something to do this weekend and fancy treating yourself then why not hop over the water to the home of Guinness and join in the celebrations in one of these fantastic pubs?

The Guinness Storehouse

Whether you’re partial to a stout or you’re a newcomer to the silky smooth beverage, this place is definitely worth a visit! The Paddy’s day celebrations start today and run until Sunday with live music, food sampling and plenty of dancing being the order of the day. Adult tickets start at €14.85 (online price) and the last admission is 7pm. Get down there and sample Guinness infused foods, washed down with a perfectly chilled pint of the ‘black stuff’.

Sample the pleasantries of Dublin nightlife and find out more about how the Guinness Storehouse is celebrating this legendary holiday on the website.

Bruxelles

It brands itself as ‘Dublin’s cosmopolitan pub’ and is renowned for attracting a rather varied crowd to its three different bars, all under one roof. As popular with tourists as it is with locals, this pub draws in a huge variety of people, from all kinds of backgrounds. It takes its music very seriously and has seen some of music’s finest talents drop by for a visit. If music isn’t your thing then the Saloon bar is where everything happens. With all the biggest sporting events available on the big screen, the Saloon bar is perfect for relaxing Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

If you’re a fan of heavy metal then the Flanders bar is perfect for you, with rock legends Iron Maiden being one of its most famous visitors. On the other hand, you’ve got the Zodiac bar upstairs which features alternative rock tunes and a young crowd of trendsetters.

There’s always something happening at Bruxelles; check out the website http://www.bruxelles.ie/ to see what’s happening for each of 3 bars and spend St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin!

Getting to Dublin

Flights to Dublin from the UK are frequent, short and very affordable! Many UK airports operate flights to Dublin, making it a perfect destination for a last minute weekend break. If you’re a 9-5 worker you may not even need to take a day off (unless of course you need time to recover). Don’t forget to check out reviews of hotels, restaurants and bars on Trip Advisor to pack your weekend with some of the best Paddy’s Day haunts!

As you pull down your food table, hesitate at passing over a £5 note for a glass of lukewarm coke and settle your down into your restricted aeroplane seat, take a deep breath, think of your holidays and relieve yourself that there is hope for the airline future.

From in-flight wireless internet and mobile/online check-ins to smart new planes and refreshed first-class airport lounges, the major airlines are spending some serious amount of money to keep us happy and occupied in the air. British airways have found themselves to be one of the biggest spenders with more than £5bn of investment over the next five years on new aircraft, including the enormous Airbus A380 and the fuel-efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliner, while Virgin Atlantic is spending £100m on refurbishing its already luxurious, Upper Class cabins.

According to the latest figured from the International Air Transport Association, it may seem an odd time for major airlines to spend huge amounts of money on luxuries for passengers, especially with fuel prices rising and European aerolines set to record a £375m loss.

Apps at the airport

Before getting to your plane the signs of massive investment won’t be immediately obvious, but there are many apps and new features trying to improve your airport experience. New check-in apps from British airways, Easy Jet, BMI, Virgin Atlantic and others have lead up to 6 percent of passengers now check in and board their flight via their Smartphones without a paper boarding pass in sight. The Dutch airline KLM has taken this technology to a whole new level with their Meet and Seat app, which will soon allow you to choose who you would like to sit next to based on Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.

Once you’re onboard, the technical changes are more obvious. American carriers are leading the online flight development as the cross-country commuter flights between tech hubs such as San Francisco and Boston has seen airline cash bin with nearly 2,000 Wi-fi equipped aircrafts with the wi-fi being available at 26,000 ft by using either hotspots linked to the ground by a network of antennas or a faster, satellite-based system.

Virgin Atlantic’s new in-flight entertainment system is set to offer wi-fi capability, Emirates’ system already does and British Airways is looking at connectivity for its fleet, so it won’t be long before you are inboxing and tweeting the flight attendant for another glass of wine instead of pressing the overhead call button.

“Darling, I’m on the plane”

Thankfully for most of us, one area where technical progress seems to have stalled is that of in-flight mobile-phone calls. Ryanair became the first European airline to allow passengers to use mobiles in-flight in 2009 and charged its customers £3 a minute for the privilege of possibly irritating their fellow passengers. For now, there are no plans the change the current rules on phone access, so your frequent flyers can take a sigh of relief.

(Image source: rekha6 – Flickr)

British engineers at a company called Reaction Engines, have recently been testing their new jet engine, named Sabre. They are claiming that long distance flights could be halved, or even quartered.

New Jet Engine breakthrough to revolutionize air travel

In articles published by Orange News and The Mail Online, claims are made that the London to Sydney route could take less than four hours!. Not only that but the new engines will be cleaner, more efficient and less harmful to the environment.

ESA Approval

According to the FT, tests of the engine were overseen by the European Space Agency who have given their backing to the project. The engine works by supercooling the air to a few hundred degrees below zero meaning that the engine can run faster without breaking apart.

Extended R&D

The engine has been in development at Reaction for 30 years, so it is no overnight invention. The company claim that speeds of over 20,000 miles an hour could be reached once the engine reaches the commercial production stage.

SkyparkSecure have been advocating the benefits of airport lounges for some time now. What better way to relax before your flight than a comfy lounge, entertainment, complimentary drinks and snacks plus the chance to freshen up ahead of your flight. This handy infographic explains all the benefits of booking an airport lounge. Head over to our airport lounges quote page to see how affordable an airport lounge can be.


Airport lounges – the travel industry’s best kept secret – An infographic by the flight comparison site Cheapflights

Red Bull Stratos is a mission to the edge of space that will try to surpass human limits that have existed for more than 50 years. Supported by a team of experts Felix Baumgartner embarked on the scary jump that started almost 130,000 ft above the earth’s surface. As well as conquering the fear of launching himself from that height, Felix broke the speed of sound on the descent. The dive wasn’t without problems as Felix experienced a wild spin before correcting himself to make the perfect landing.

Dominican Republic

The onset of Winter can be quite depressing. Waking up to cold dark mornings, defrosting the windscreen, trying to get the car warmed up and never seeing much daylight.
Many of us choose this time of year to book a winter break to recharge the batteries and soak up some rays.

This year has been particularly poor for weather and so many of us having tightened our belts over the summer are now looking to escape to sunnier climes.

Sophie Butler of the Telegraph recently posted a blog with her top 5 winter sun destinations, which we’ve analysed to see which airports service these countries and resorts.

Dominican Republic
Flights From: Birmingham, Dundee, Edinburgh, London City, Manchester, Newcastle, Southampton, Glasgow, Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester.

Egypt
Flights From: Bristol, Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle

Sri Lanka
Flights From: Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle

Mexico
Flights From: Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle

Jamaica
Direct Flights From: Birmingham, Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester (connecting flights from most other UK airports)

In addition to Sophie’s choices you may want to consider the Canary Islands. A relatively short flight, great weather and serviced by nearly every UK airport.
View the original article for some great deals to these destinations – and don’t forget Skyparksecure for your airport parking!

European airlines are soon to introduce new fees to customers carrying larger items of hand luggage on board the plane. This new system is reported to be due to the increased number of overcrowded aircraft cabins experience in recent years caused by excessive cabin bags taken on board. The new system is said to combat this unpleasant experience, as well as the significant delays and inconveniences caused by the problems excessive hand luggage can cause.

Airline ‘ Wizz Air’ is the first to step forward in an unspecified number of airlines, having put the new luggage fee of £9.00 into place last week. Their new system starts at the booking stage; during online booking travellers are required to choose from a smaller free hand luggage option (25x42x32cm) such as a backpack, or a larger luggage option (25x56x45cm) such as a small travel suitcase.

What many customers are unhappy about, is the way the prices rise as the traveller proceeds through the airport without having booked in advance. For travellers who don’t pay the fee until reaching the airport, the fee will come in at an even larger £17 at the check-in desk or £26 at the gate. For the lucky ones who booked their flights before the 4^th October, the new fees do not apply.

A trial run on Wizz Air’s London-Katowice route during August showed a substantial improvement in the on board environment, with passengers bringing 20% fewer large bags and cases into the cabin. Wizz Air also say they are now able to offer all customers savings of 5 euros per flight due to the fees that were introduced last week.

There is no weight limit on the larger bags, so travellers who are contributing to the additional fuel used to propel the extra weight on board are essentially paying for their extra share.

Wizz Air are encouraging travellers to give some extra thought towards packing lighter. Dropping a few extra shirts or taking smaller books away with you could save you that extra space to pack in other essentials, and eliminate the need to take larger cases into the cabin, saving space for other travellers and bypassing the need to pay for hand luggage altogether.

Let’s hope the new system is for the good of all travellers, and not just another ploy to increase revenue from new sources after budget airlines have been clamped down on for misleading travellers with cheap prices, only to add on extra amounts later in the booking process.

Yesterday, a historic ruling in the European Court of Justice will allow you to claim compensation for long flight delays. This means that you will now be able to claim up to £488 in compensation for flight delays of three hours or more.

What are the Conditions

To qualify for flight delay compensation, you will have to meet four conditions. Firstly, and most obviously, your flight will have to have arrived at its destination three hours or more than its scheduled time. Secondly, the claim that you are making cannot date back further than 17 February 2005. Thirdly, the flight must have departed from an EU airport, or you must be on an EU-based airline when the airline departs from or arrives at an EU airport. Finally, the delay must be deemed to be the fault of the airline and not that of passengers, other airlines, the airport etc.

Compensation Prices

Whilst the price of compensation can go as high as £488, this is only for the worst delays. For shorter hold ups, there are differing price brackets depending on your specific situation.

If your flight length is up to 1500km and your arrival delay was three hours or more, you can claim compensation of £204.

If your flight length is between 1500km-3500km and your arrival delay was three hours or more, you can claim compensation of £326.

If your flight length is 3500km or more and your arrival delay was three hours to four hours long, you can claim compensation of £244.

If your flight length is 3500km or more and your arrival delay was four hours or more, you can claim compensation of £488.

Flights Delayed By Five Hours or More

If your flight is cancelled, or delayed by five hours or more, you are entitled to claim back the cost of your ticket/re-routing, means and sometimes even accommodation. You will also be entitled to the £488 top bracket compensation package, although if you choose the refund option, this will not be available to you.

How to Claim

To claim your compensation, you will need to contact the airline that you travelled with. To do this, you can either check on its website to see if they have their own specific compensation page, or alternatively, you can call a customer service help line. When making this claim, you will have to prove that it is valid, so make sure to send them all of your paper evidence.

Valid Evidence

Airlines will accept your ticket, boarding pass, e-ticket or itinerary from your travel agency as acceptable proof. So that you don’t lose them, make sure when you book your holiday to put all of your paper travel documents in a safe place and to save all e-mails received into a folder in your account. If you can’t find these, it’s a good idea to tell them as much of the travel information that you can remember and hope the airline will be understanding. Giving as much evidence as possible is the best and most reliable way to make a successful compensation claim.