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In-flight robots and spewbags
Provider of ‘Helpful Banking’, NatWest, has launched a handy travel calculator for those planning a trip away and trying to estimate budgets. The nifty little tool allows holidaymakers to compare the cost of typical purchases across 25 top destinations across the world. You can search by product to find out, for example, that the most expensive place to buy a cappuccino is Shanghai, where you’ll fork out £2.85, or for a bargain meal for two you should head to Bangkok where you’ll snap one up for just £12.00.
Love a weekend away? Hate packing? This week, the helpful folk at Mashable have designed a template to help alleviate the pain of fitting everything into one case. Tips include – wearing your biggest items when travelling (saving all important carry-on space), always packing an extra bag, be it nylon or plastic (you never know when it will come in handy) and keep all electronics and liquids in a convenient place (remember you’ll need to show these at any security stop). Finally, it’s important to know how to bundle…watch the video for a quick guide on this clever packing technique!
Easyjet is developing flying robots to inspect its planes it has been announced this week. The new drones will be used to inspect the fleet of Airbus aircraft, scanning planes and reporting back any problems to engineers, using technology developed at the University of Bristol. Helping it to run its fleet of aircraft more effectively and safely, the flying maintenance robots may be introduced as early as next year.
Australians are known for their twisted sense of humour and Qantas Airlines’ latest campaign does not steer far from the stereotype. The airline is challenging passengers to get creative with their "spewbags" – that’s a sick bag to you and me – and thankfully only on the outside. In their #qantasblankcanvas campaign, passengers are urged to create pen and ink in-flight masterpieces on the blank bags and upload a picture of the finished product to social media using the official hashtag. The campaign was inspired by the tumblr of typographer Gemma O’Brien who wowed the airline when she used the in-flight bag as a canvas for her designs on a Qantas flight in 2012 from Sydney to Wellington. She has previously shown her work in an aptly titled exhibition: "You Make me Sick".
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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