“The hotel, located at the foot of Emei Mountain, in China’s Sichuan province, is the first panda-themed hotel in the world and will officially open in May with room rates from 300 to 500 yuan ($48 to $80) per night.”

“Dubai shipbuilder Drydocks World has inked a deal with Swiss-based BIG InvestConsult, on behalf of partner Deep Ocean Technology (DOT) to create Water Discus Hotel – a leisure facility with a structure that is partly above water and the rest underneath.”

A few more details from the Deep Ocean Technology site:

Going above and beyond all standards 
Water Discus Hotels comprise two discs – an underwater and above-water one. This combination will allow guests to admire the depths of the ocean while making the most of the warm climate.
The two parts of the structure are connected by five solid legs and a vertical shaft containing a lift and stairway. The size of each disc has been adjusted to local conditions.

The Surroundings
The complex is surrounded by a beautifully vibrant coral reef. This unique location will allow you to enjoy the tropical weather and the colourful underwater world, which is just within your reach and will engage all your senses.

Accommodation
The disc, located up to 30 metres beneath the surface of the sea, is composed of 21 hotel rooms adjacent to the underwater dive centre and a bar. Each room is integrated with the underwater world as closely as possible, offering a surprisingly direct, yet safe contact with the local flora and fauna.
Special lighting system of the area around the room and the miniature underwater vehicles which can be operated from inside will allow you to take a closer look at even the most microscopic underwater creatures using macro photography. We also ensure that our guests can protect their privacy whenever necessary. All rooms are sound-proof and have curtains of different levels of transparency.

“Atlanta (+3.3%) continues to be the world’s busiest airport, while Beijing (+4.1%) maintains second place. London Heathrow (+0.9%) remains in third while Tokyo Haneda (+6.7%) moves into fourth position. Chicago O’Hare (-0.1%) takes fifth place. Only three other airports in the top 30 experienced declines in passenger traffic in 2012, which include Madrid (-9.0%), Houston (-0.4%) and Phoenix (-0.3%).”

Preliminary Ranking for World’s Busiest AirportsI would have thought Frankfurt is among the first 10 airports, and it is impressive the increase for the Istanbul airport.

SUMMARY: PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR 2012 (compared with 2011 figures)

Total Passengers: +4.0%
Total International Passengers: +5.6%
Total Cargo (includes mail): 0.0%
Total International Freight: -0.1%
Total Aircraft Movements: -0.2%

All this data is from Airports Council International that has the site www.aci.aero.

I did not know there was such a domain .aero and sure enough www.delta.aero and www.klm.aero redirect to their respective .com sites.

www.airfrance.aero doesn’t re-direct – there is such a site – and www.aircanada.aero does not exist, they are not afraid someone else will grab this domain ; I suppose they (i.e. the domains) are restricted to the organizations that operate in this field.

One of the them is the photo posted via Twitter that shows the famous US Airways flight that landed in New York City’s Hudson river.

Full list is here

Twitter @curbexcitement

And Antarctica drew my attention:

Exotic 14-night cruises on Celebrity Infinity depart from Buenos Aires, with visits to Ushuaia and Puerto Madryn, Argentina; Cape Horn, Chile; Schollart Channel and Dalhan Bay, Paradise Bay, Gerlache Strait, and Elephant Island, Antarctica; Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, and Montevideo, Uruguay.

I have always wanted to go to Antarctica, I wonder how much it will cost.

You could read about the other itineraries here

Twitter @curbexcitement

I have just read an article Canadian businesses fuming as border guards let shoppers skip fees.

I have not done any cross border shopping, but I wrote a short post about it Cross-border shopping (a sort of travel).

I wonder why Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) does not implement a system of paying the duties online. You declare the goods at the border and you pay online later, lets’ say 72 hours, simple and efficient.

Some highlights of the article:

The Revenue Canada policy adopted in 1999 allows border guards to waive-through travellers if the goods they’ve purchased would yield less than $3 in federal taxes and duties. Fees on larger purchases can be waived if it’s believed that pulling the traveller over to collect would cause “unacceptable” border delays or if “interdiction activities are in progress.” The policy leaves it open to managers to use their discretion in other situations. Things to consider, according to a fact sheet, include the level of traffic at secondary inspection and the number of parking spaces that are available.

The documents, however, suggest there are “instances even under ideal traffic and staffing conditions” in which “relatively large amounts of revenue goes uncollected.” Finance Canada, which appears to take a harder line on waive-throughs says it’s “difficult” to determine the economic impact since CBSA doesn’t track the amount and type of goods that are being waived-through.

However, it appears from the documents that the CBSA nonetheless recognizes that inconsistency can “seriously erode” its “credibility and public image.” It also admits it could undermine NEXUS, its “trusted traveller” programs, since border guards often take a “hard line” with them for minor infractions.

“The same travellers could very much anticipate being waived with significantly higher value purchases were he/she not using he program,” briefing notes argue.

The CBSA seems to conclude that while some discretion is necessary, a “clear statement” is also needed to ensure waive-throughs are only conducted under specific circumstances and that they aren’t applied to individuals who go well over the allowable limits.

Twitter @curbexcitement

I logged into my Aeroplan account to select ‘my privileges’ for the Air Canada Altitude program and there a message:

“Now you can vote for Air Canada Altitude as the Best Airline Elite Program for the Americas. …”

So why not, I thought, and I submitted my ballot choosing Air Canada and Aeroplan wherever I could.

So why I say the voting is flawed as it is now. I have mostly flown Air Canada so my vote should not be very relevant, someone who has been flying different airlines during the year (and a few times for each airline) would be more qualified than me to vote. Also, I have stayed most of the time at a Marriott, but someone who stayed at different hotels chains would again be more qualified than me to vote.
For example, my wife said that United Airlines was worse than Air Canada or British Airways for a transatlantic flight but she is not a frequent flier so again her vote would not be relevant (not that she cared to vote).

The voting should be only for qualified travelers, the super-voters, if I might call them like that, travelers who have been using different airlines and hotels.

So these are my suggestions for a better voting system – not that anyone asked for my opinion – but I cannot help it:

• The user registers on a website, enters the membership cards and allows the website to retrieve information from their loyalty programs (in exchange for their time they get an entry in a draw for some prizes).

• Based on a certain algorithm (for example at least 20 flights with 3 different airlines and at least 50 nights with 3 different hotel chains) the ‘qualified’ voters are selected.

• “All users are equal but some are more equal than others”; someone’s ballot who spent at least 150 nights at different hotels would be more important than of a traveller who spent 70 nights only, etc.

I know it would be more complicated and it take some work to set-up this system but it will be fairer for all parties involved and the awards will be more meaningful.

Twitter @curbexcitement

I have just read the following:

“Now Europeans can access the newly-launched Cuba Cruise breaking new ground with its circumnavigation of Cuba. Finally Cuba’s fascinating but otherwise hard to reach ports are accessible to all. Each cruise includes the opportunity to visit world famous beaches, six UNESCO world heritage sites and four National Parks & Preserves, as well as in-depth exploration of Cuba’s dynamic culture.

Prices start at EU€437 double occupancy for a seven-night cruise. The upcoming season will run from December 16, 2013 to March 31, 2014 with a total of 15 departures

Quality Imported Food Meets Cuban Entertainment

Each cruise will feature the company’s signatures of impeccable service and delicious meals served onboard. All dining aboard Cuba Cruise will feature quality imported produce (mainly from Canada), beef and other food products and specialty Cuban dishes.”

I like this one about the quality imported food, so passengers should not be worried that they might get sick from the local food.

This article (you can read it fully here) reminded me that I should have a post about my cycling tour in Cuba from a few years ago.

Twitter @curbexcitement

Air Canada is so excited by the promise that I have received the email announcing this twice .“If, within 24 hours after completing a purchase on aircanada.com or aircanada.com/agent, you find a price for the exact same Air Canada flight that’s at least $5 less with another Canadian online travel retailer, Air Canada will offer you a credit of $50 plus the price difference, per passenger.”

As usual lots of exclusions:

• Must be available through a Canadian third-party online travel retailer* within 24 hours after completing your purchase;
• Must be displayed and sold in Canadian Dollars (CAD);
• Must be at least $5 less than your original price;
• Must be for the exact same Air Canada flight number, for travel marketed and operated by Air Canada, Air Canada rouge or by Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz, Aviation LP or Sky Regional. – codeshare flights marketed or operated by another carrier are not eligible;
• etc.  -  full list here

What in fact I would like to see is insurance. I buy the ticket now, I purchase insurance $7 for 1 week, $20 – 2 weeks, $50 – 3 months (made up numbers) and if the price goes down I get the difference. This would offer me peace of mind. I think there was a site/airline that offered this for 7 days only, if I recall properly, can’t remember which.

https://twitter.com/curbexcitement

Europe’s Airbus is considering whether to drop lithium-ion batteries and switch back to traditional ones on its A350 passenger jet.

I like it how this safety official put it:

“It is a classic risk-management problem. If you don’t know the cause of something you can’t quantify the risk that it will happen again,” an international safety official told Reuters. “In that case, you have little choice but to take a temporary step back and rely on something better understood.”

“There is an increasing doubt over the technology,” said a person familiar with industry-wide discussions on the issue. “It may well be the future but for now it is a question of maturity. The information on the two incidents is not reassuring.”

“The A350 is due to be delivered in the second half of 2014, around two years behind its original schedule. Reverting to nickel-cadmium would mean sacrificing the lighter weight of lithium-ion, equivalent on the A350 to one adult male passenger out of between 270 and 350 passengers. “The penalty in weight compared with the risks associated with ‘li-ion’ is minimal,” said Nick Cunningham, an aerospace analyst at Agency Partners in London.”

“Lithium-ion batteries have been on the insurance industry’s radar for quite some time. The industry’s biggest fear has been the costs when batteries are stored in bulk and one catches fire, leading to a conflagration that destroys inventories.

“The industry maybe never thought this was going to end up in an airliner,” the insurance executive said.” Full article here

http://twitter/curbexcitement

“OTTAWA – The federal government needs to launch a comprehensive review of its tariff policy to help bridge a yawning price gap between Canadian and American retail prices, a Senate committee said Wednesday.” Senators call for less tariffs to help close the Canada-U.S. price gap

However, I don’t get the following: “The senators said some of the fault lies with shoppers. Canadians are not price-savvy enough, and don’t bargain enough,”

How can you bargain? A price is a price, you don’t go to the bookstore and say, “I am not paying the CAD price, I am paying the USD price!” As far as I know the books are the only product where both prices in CAD and USD are displayed so it is easy to compare.

As a matter of fact when we were in the States my wife always tried to buy clothes and shoes – that we heard should have been cheaper – but she could not find anything, that was worth buying as she said she could have bought cheaper back home. The truth is that she mostly buys what’s on sale.

However, we did not go to the famous outlets where again we heard the prices are very good. With regard to outlets, I found this comment on internet, don’t know how accurate it is: “What I notice is that ppl mistakenly believe that if they buy something in an outlet store in the US it is the same quality as the original product in the higher priced stores. Nope, this is not the case. Most often, the designers come out with an inferior knock off for the outlet stores, which is just cheap garbage. The reason that the masses don’t know the difference is that they are not high end shoppers to begin with. They compare outlet quality to Walmart #$%$, so they don’t really know that they are buying garbage or that they did not get a good deal on it at all”

I still remember once we came back from the States and at the border they asked us what we bought: “Nothing”, we said. It seemed so suspicious not to have bought anything that they searched our baggage.

http://twitter/curbexcitement