The "Perfect Seat" on a flight

A recent passenger survey conducted by the flight comparison website, Skyscanner, asked 1,000 airlines passengers about their seating preference on board an aircraft. They were given the option of an aisle, window or middle row seat.

And the result from a standard plane....seat 6A.

This finding backs up similar surveys carried out in the past which suggest the popularity of the first six rows due reduced engine noise, quicker exit from the plane on arrival and better selection of food and duty free trolley. The preference though would be for an aisle or window seat as only 1% of those questioned said they would opt for a middle seat.

Some airlines are now preparing to charge people for booking seats and with this data available EasyJet airline plans to charge £8.00 for this sector in the plane and £3.00 elsewhere.
 

First six rows are the preference

And the least popular seat... 31E (middle seat at the back). Presumably this is due to lack of choice on the duty free trolley! 

European Parliament will give the United States access to personal information about airline passengers.

Millions of airline customers’ personal data (PNR - Passenger Name Record) will be handed over to the United States Department of Homeland Security after MEPs of the European parliament voted 409 to 226 for new laws that it is claimed are crucial in tackling terrorism.

The PNR Data includes - names, addresses, ethnic origin, credit cards details and phone numbers, as well as religious meal choices and some sensitive health information. The agreement is applicable between flights between the EU and USA but not only airlines from there but also any carriers that are "incorporated or storing data" in the EU and operating flights to or from the US.

The data will be retained for 10 years under stricter access rules. 

The main concerns are privacy of such data and who will have access to it. Other pressure groups have raised the questions what if Russia or China should ask for the same information.

Duty Free shop purchases are not subject to this bill.

  

The rudest country in the world to visit is.....

 

In a recent poll carried out by Skyscanner, the internet flight comparison and cheap ticket search engine, asked 1,200 of its own site users "which country did they think had the least friendly people".

With 19% of the vote came the French people with a reputation for being curt and rude to visitors. Very close behind though with 17% were the Russians who in the last five years have been able to get to the holiday destinations most Europeans have enjoyed before. 

With the British in third place and the Germans and Chinese taking a place in the top 10 the surprise in the Americans drop from first place last year to seventh this year.

At the other end of the scale the Brazil was voted the most welcoming country, with the Philippines, Caribbean and Thailand all received top marks for their friendliness.

Spanish Airports Authority to put Duty Free Shops out to tender.

The Spanish Airports Authority (AENA Aeropuertos SA) are set to announce the tender to manage the countrywide duty free shops in the country. AENA is the public body which owns the majority of the airports (with the exception of two privately owned airports) and also controls the air traffic control body. Aena is the world's largest airport operator with 47 airports and two heliports in Spain (carrying 193 million passengers in 2010) and participation in airports in Mexico, the USA, Cuba, Colombia, Bolivia, Sweden and the UK.

The current operator Aldeasa, part of the Autogrill owned World Duty Free Group, has had a three year extension to the current contract which expires on 31 December 2012. The new contract is expected to increase revenues in duty free and will attract some of the big names in the duty free world - Dufry, LS travel retail, Gebr Heinemann and The Nuance Group, to name a few.

Consultants to assist in handling the tendering process are expected to soon be appointed.

Calls for Child-Free Flights!

 

According to a recent new poll carried out by JetCost on 1,666 adults nearly two thirds of the respondents claimed their biggest grudge inflight was "loud children" followed by poor food and lack of legroom. The poll then went onto to identify that 53% of respondents would be in favour of child-free flights.

Ongoing issue for airlines - children on flights

Other issues include reclining seating and also seat allocation but even historical surveys still point to the children issue on flights although there is no clear evidence of any airline adopting such a stance.

However, there may be a movement towards this as Malayasian Airlines new Kuala Lumpur - London A380 service will ban all children under 12 years old from its top deck in response to customer complaints about crying children. Kuala Lumpur airport is one of growing number of airports in the Far East offering duty free on arrival to its incoming passengers.

 

Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2012 - will it go ahead?

With the Chinese F1 Grand Prix going ahead this weekend (12-14th April) the subject everyone in the Formula One circuit is talking about is "will the Bahrain Grand Prix go ahead?". 

With the first Bahrain Grand Prix taking place in 2004 even taking the Best Organised Grand Prix by FIA the cracks first started to appear when the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix was cancelled due social unrest within the country. The race was not rescheduled for later on in the season. The same thorny issues of social unrest and civil protests still exists which leaves the 2012 hanging in the balance. 

Bernie Ecclestone, CEO of Formula Management / Administration, is adamant that the teams will be there and there is no security risk to the competitors. He will be meeting all the racing teams principals in Shanghai although officially the issue of Bahrain will not be on the agenda.

While Bahrain gets over 2 million visitors annually, the majority of those coming from other regional Arab countries, there is an increasing number from outside of the region. With the country having duty free on arrival shops the country can ill afford to have negative publicity which will affect the increasing important tourism industry replacing the depleting oil industry.


Only time will tell.....