In a move that is sure to rile up some, Australia is trying a new  133 million dollar advertising campaign to re invigorate its  tourist market. The campaign is built around a bikini clad woman asking “So where the bloody hell are you?” This has raised the ire of some in Australia as bloody hell is considered a mild swear word.

The new campaign, which can be seen on Tourism Australia’s Web site, features a series of Australian backdrops.
It begins with characters saying: “We’ve poured you a beer and we’ve had the camels shampooed, we’ve saved you a spot on the beach … and we’ve got the sharks out of the pool.” A bikini-clad woman then asks: “So where the bloody hell are you?”
Bailey and Prime Minister John Howard both defended the campaign against complaints from some Australian politicians about the use of the word “bloody”, a mild profanity used to express annoyance. The opponents were concerned that the word will not go down well in overseas markets. via MSNBC.com.

To see the advertisements, click here. www.wherethebloodyhellareyou.com

It looks like the Australian government has found a way to keep Singapore Airlines from competing with Qantas. They have allowed the discount Australian Airline Virgin Blue to fly between the USA and Australia.

SINGAPORE Airlines’ bid to fly between Australia and the US could be deferred for another two years, with the Howard Government deciding to buy time by allowing Virgin Blue to compete head-to-head with Qantas on the lucrative route.

After agonising over the decision for more than a year, cabinet will consider a proposal within a month to defer Singapore Airlines’ entry to the Pacific route, The Australian understands.
Transport Minister Warren Truss appears increasingly convinced that a budget Australian-owned carrier - rather than a premium “third-country” brand such as Singapore Airlines - will boost falling tourist numbers in the critically important market between the east coast of Australia and the US.
“If our objective is to have more people come to Australia, tourists and the like, then to achieve that we need a different product than that provided by the current services,” Mr Truss told The Australian yesterday.  via The Australian

The Economist Intelligence Unit, a division of the Economist Magazine,  has released it’s annual survey that ranks the top 130 cities in the world by cost of living, and for 2005 Oslo was the most expensive and surprise, surprise, Tehran was the least expensive city to do business in. New York City was the most expensive city in the United States coming in at 27th position.

Latin America saw inflation hit their currencies and moved up the list while the United States saw a modest increase and most of it’s cities moved down the charts.

The 10 Most Expensive Cities in the World

1 Oslo, Norway
2 Tokyo, Japan
3 Reykjavik, Iceland
4 Osaka Kobe, Japan
4 Paris, France 
6 Copenhagen, Denmark
7 London, UK
8 Zurich, Switzerland
9 Geneva, Switzerland
10 Helsinki, Finland

The Economist  goes on further to explain how the cost of living is determined:

There are two major reasons why a city’s cost of living index will change over time: exchange rate movement and price movement. Since a common currency is required in making a comparative calculation all local prices are converted into dollars, which emphasises the role of currency movement. If, for example, a currency strengthens or inflation pushes the price of goods up, so the relative cost of living in that country will also rise.

 

For years Quantas has been given a near monopoly on the Sydney to Los Angeles route. Singapore Airlines has been actively trying to fly this route for ten years to no avail. But in  an interesting twist, Air Canada has been authorized to start flying this route.

Air Canada has announced plans to launch a daily service on the route with its new fleet of long-range Boeing 777s.
“We believe it’s time to get in there and compete,” said the airline’s Australian general manager, Jeannie Foster. Air Canada said a recent open skies treaty signed between the US and Canada would allow it to fly the previously barred route.
The announcement comes two days after the federal Tourism Minister, Fran Bailey, met Air Canada officials and opened a Tourism Australia office in Toronto. via the Sydney Morning Herald.

The door is still open for the Singapore Airlines to get attain this route, but the odds are severely diminished.

This would be scary, as Quantas flights tend to be very long and over water most of the trip. They also have the best safety record in the industry, having never had a fatality in their history. So when they have engine trouble during a flight, it makes news.

Hundreds of Qantas passengers have been left stranded at Sydney Airport after their flight to Los Angeles was turned around due to engine problems.
Qantas Flight 249 took off around 3:00pm AEDT.
However, it was forced to return to the airport a short time later after the pilot noticed a noise that indicated problems with one of the engines.
The plane landed safely and no-one was injured.
Qantas says the 316 passengers who were on board will leave on a new plane later tonight. via ABC News Online.

The Airbus A380 will be entering airlines fleets in 2006, and the impact will be felt initially on the long haul internation routes before they impact domestic routes. These double decker planes are the largest passenger airplanes to go into service. An interesting article from the New Zealand Herald discusses the impact that will be felt on this hard to reach nation with the coming of the A380.

In 2005 the Airbus A380 finally took to the skies. Singapore Airlines will be the first to fly the new plane - it hopes later this year, barring any more delays in testing.

And the giant jet - while not expected to be a regular visitor to Auckland, will be flying not too far from us, with Singapore Airlines first deploying it on the Sydney-Singapore-London route.

There is a total of 159 “orders and commitments” for the massive new plane, though not all are for the passenger model, with the world’s cargo operators keen to start using the freighter version, which is yet to fly.

The impact of the plane on world aviation has been debated for years. Airbus says it may have the same kind of effect as the introduction of the Boeing 747 in the late 1960s - dramatically lowering the cost of air travel.

Emirates, the Dubai-based airline that has been flying to New Zealand for just over two years, may again shake up the local aviation scene with its anticipated Auckland-Dubai direct flights.

Aviation sector awaits A380 effect - 09 Jan 2006 - Business.

The Sidney International Airport is having a horrible time the last 3 weeks with their baggage system. Almost 7,000 Bags have missed their flights and delays have been caused as airport tries to introduce a new automated system by January 1st.

Flights were delayed again yesterday, and frustrated airlines have warned the situation could get worse as the airport tries to introduce automated bag-screening technology on January 1.

Transport Workers Union spokesman Nimrod Nyols said a two-hour glitch with the system meant 132 bags missed an Air New Zealand flight and 147 bags failed to make a Vietnam Airlines flight.

The union estimated about 6800 bags had missed flights in the past 20 days. The airport disputes the figure.

(more…)

The New York Times has a list of the Cruise Ships serving Asia, the newest hot spot for Cruising.

Cruise Lines

The number of cruise lines sending ships to Asia has increased markedly in the past couple of years, making it easier to travel in the Far East. All prices below are per person double occupancy and do not include air fare unless noted.

Holland America, www.hollandamerica.com, (877) 724-5425, has three 14-day cruises aboard the 1,258-passenger Statendam. On March 20 and April 17, 2006, the ship departs from Hong Kong and travels north with overnight stays in Shanghai and Xingang, from which passengers can reach Beijing and the Great Wall. The boat also visits Dalian, China; Pusan, South Korea; and Nagasaki, Japan, where onshore trips tour Shimabara castle and a samurai village, before reaching Osaka. It does the reverse route on April 3. Prices start at $2,199.

Princess Cruises’ 670-passenger Pacific Princess, www.princess.com, (800) 774-6237, leaves Bangkok on Aug. 17, 2006, for Mumbai, India. The 16-day trip stops at Sihanoukville, Cambodia; Phu My, Vietnam - where passengers can reach Ho Chi Minh City; Singapore; Kuala Lumpur and Penang in Malaysia; Phuket, Thailand; Colombo, Sri Lanka; and the port of Mormugao on the west coast of India. It does the reverse route on Sept. 1, 2006. Prices start at $2,995.

The 14-night segment of a world cruise on Radisson Seven Seas Cruises’ 700-passenger Seven Seas Voyager, www.rssc.com, (877) 505-5370, departs Feb. 24, 2006, out of Hong Kong and includes overnight stays in the Vietnamese ports of Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Gai, where travelers can visit Halong Bay or Hanoi. The ship also stops in Bangkok before arriving in Singapore. Until Oct. 15, fares start at $9,296, including air fare, but if you book flights separately you can get a $1,400 credit against the cost of the cruise.

The small-ship operator Cruise West, www.cruisewest.com, (888) 851-8133, is offering its inaugural tour of Japan aboard the 120-passenger Spirit of Oceanus. It is sold out for 2006, but space on all of its seven 2007 voyages remains. The trip lasts 14 days and includes two nights at hotels at the start and end of the 10-night cruise. It leaves from Kobe or Niigata and stops in eight Japanese ports including Okayama, home to the 17th-century Korakuen Garden, and Izumo, site of the country’s oldest Shinto shrine, as well as Pusan, South Korea. The 2007 cruises start at $5,699, and depart Niigata on March 28, April 17 and Oct. 18, and leave from Kobe on April 7 and 27, Oct. 8 and 28.