Accor Hotels' 3-Day Super Sale Begins Today

Starting today and lasting just 72 hours, Accor Hotels is discounting hotel rates throughout Asia/Pacific region. Rates start at just $51/night, and valid for bookings between December 1, 2009 and February 28, 2010. Accor properties include Mercure, Novotel, and Pullman Hotels.

Oasis Hong Kong Ends Operations, Passengers Stranded

Low Cost Carrier Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, recently voted "World’s Leading New Airline" at the Annual World Travel Awards 2007, appears to have flown its last flight. Record high fuel prices and stiff competition triggered heavy losses to Oasis Hong Kong.

In its 17 months of operations, the airline flew International routes from its base in Hong Kong, including to Vancouver, BC. It was expected that Oasis Hong Kong was going to introduce flights into Oakland in the coming months.

San Francisco to Hong Kong $598 RT/taxes included

Hot Deal from one of the top airlines in the world - Singapore Airlines
San Francisco to Hong Kong (non-stop) $398+$200 taxes=$598
Purchase tickets by March 19th, and fly between March 24th and April 30th.
Departure travel is permitted Monday-Thursday only.
"V" class fare; typically does not earn frequent flier miles.

Cathay Pacific's 2008 "All Asia" Pass now available

Cathay Pacific has just released the details of their 2008 All Asia Pass. With this pass, you can fly from San Francisco to Hong Kong and two other Asian cities for as little as $1099. The real value of the pass is the diverse network of cities to choose from and generous stopovers permitted. Under the "basic cities" plan, you have 24 destinations to choose from including Denpasar (Bali), Manila, Seoul, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. "Add on" cities include Kathmandu, Bangladesh, Mumbai, Dhaka, and destinations throughout China.

The pass allows up to 21 days of travel, so if three cities doesn't tickle your fancy, you can add other destinations from their listings.

More information on the 2008 All Asia Pass from Cathay Pacific can be found here.

Los Angeles - Vietnam $638 roundtrip w/taxes

Asiana Airlines is offering this great deal from Los Angeles - Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi, Vietnam. The base fare is $469+ tax roundtrip w/taxes. Travel dates are February 8th-April 30th. The airfare from SF-Vietnam can often run $1000 or more, so buying a cheap ticket to L.A on Virgin and connecting to this inexpensive Asiana flight is a great deal. Not to mention Asiana is one of the best airlines in the world. Fare Basis: VLXSP45 (thanks Justchris82 from flyertalk). Asiana is part of the Star Alliance Network.

San Francisco - Hong Kong $662 roundtrip, taxes included. United Airlines.
Fall fare valid through December 7. Minimum stay requirements apply.
Visit united.com fare basis code: SXLAX7

Cathay Pacific 15,000 mile bonus flying SFO-Hong Kong

Likely to promote the additional San Francisco to Hong Kong flights beginning in October, Cathay Pacific is offering a 10,000 Asia miles bonus (economy class) or 15,000 Asia miles bonus (business or first class) for upcoming flights. Click here for more details and to register.
Cathay Pacific has been ranked one of the top airlines in the world for onboard product, cabin service and lounge access, and is part of the OneWorld alliance.

Travel adventure: The Magic 'Fish Spa'

Here's one to consider for your next trip.

Forget the lava rock or seawood treatment or the mineral water body detox - go straight for the what's hot in Asia; the 'Magic Fish Spa.'

"When placed in the spa, these fish can feed themselves on the dead cells of the human body, since they only consume such cells, leaving the healthy skin of the human body to grow. The whole process is reportedly free of pain. It won’t hurt and the bather might feel a pleasant tingling on his or her skin."
From Health-Sky.com More information on Doctor Fish from Wiki

First Airbus 380 Flight to be sold to charity
Singapore Airlines, the first commercial airliner to fly the long awaited double-decker Jumbo Airbus 380 airplane is auctioning off seats for their first flight scheduled for October 2007. Money raised will be donated to charity organizations.

Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Officer, Chew Choon Seng says "the first commercial A380 flight will be a moment in aviation history. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, on an aircraft that will mark a new chapter in air travel"
Click here for more information or to place a bid

Low Cost (International) Carrier - Oasis, coming to Oakland

LCC Oasis Airlines based out of Hong Kong says it will soon be flying the long awaited Oakland - Hong Kong route later this year. Oasis, which began flying just last year, currently operates London-Hong Kong will begin Vancouver to Hong Kong service later this week.

Per their website, service between Oakland and Hong Kong will begin shortly after the Vancouver service commences followed by other worldwide destinations.

What makes Oasis unique is its long-range International flights. Most LCC operate within regions of the world. Oasis, which says it offers basic meal and beverage service in the main cabin, will be utilizing 747-400 aircraft formerly owned by Singapore & ANA Airlines. Their business plan asserts that by flying long range routes, they can save on preset expenses incurred when flying multiple shorter distance cities thereby offering lower fares to its customers.

Your First Class Seat Awaits

First on & first off the plane, complimentary fine foods and alcohol, massage, warm terry cloth socks, down-filled duvets and more are waiting for you (really); come aboard.

The quiet, the relaxation, the temptation...ugh, the price. Business and First Class for international flights can set you back well over $5000-$10,000. But, there are other options. First, consider this sampling of luxuries that await you when flying business or first class on some of these top international airlines:

Forget standing in long lines at the airport. Qatar airlines will have your personal escorted to the plane by way of a ride in a 7 series BMW. Once aboard and relaxed they offer a 10 course meal, "that typically includes caviar, lobster, prawns, Arabic mezzas, fine chocolates, cheese platters, freshly brewed cappuccinos, and the finest wines from the old and new world."

Singapore Airlines rolled out the SkySuite on some of its flights (ya can't just call it a seat), which fully reclines to any angle - right down to a flat bed. Also offered is turn down service, fresh bed linens and a down filled duvet.

Malaysia Airlines features 15" LCD monitors in first class, including video, TV and music on demand and tempting cuisines from around the globe. Malaysia Airlines also offers advanced onboard lighting systems, which replicates outside lighting providing a more natural feel to your journey.

Virgin Atlantic prides itself on having the longest fully flat (79.5") bed in its upper class suites, an upper body massage and mini-manicure.

Emirates Airlines 500 channels of on demand entertainment await their customers, along with Internet access on board for laptop enabled laptops and currently a promotion for 2 complimentary nights at the Ritz-Carlton, Dubai for first class travelers. First class cabin reportably comes with the highest ratio of crew-to-passengers of any airline in the world.

Wake up. Dream is over. These amenities (and really, this is a short list of them) do make hops over the Oceans a lot easier. An alternative to paying cash for these great seats is to redeem frequent flyer miles. For example, United frequent flyer members can redeem points toward business class travel on its partner Singapore Airlines. Another way are operational upgrades (rare), where an airline may be oversold in economy class and "bumps" folks (typically high paying or elite passengers) to business or first class.

Sacramento to Hong Kong $630 roundtrip w/taxes

Air Canada has been offering some great deals to parts of Asia since introducing Sacramento service last week. AC has a fare of $448+ taxes and fees ($630 total) to Hong Kong and Tokyo, and $660 to Shanghai and Beijing. The flights route from Sacramento through Vancouver.

Hint: Visit http://www.aircanada.com/ and choose dates after August 21st (click the 'dates flexible' option) to see what is available at these great fares. I checked this morning and most of September and October is available.

Adding a Low Cost Carrier to your Itenerary

As the world becomes smaller, and more people become interconnected, small regional airlines have rapidly formed over the past few years to get people into remote areas outside main tourist hubs. From this, Low Cost Carriers also began to glow, offering cheap, no frills transportation to cities and villages around the globe.

LCC are cheap, sometimes offering seats as low as a penny + tax each way. But everything else than your body in a seat may cost ya. Some airlines charge for checked luggage, many for food or drinks. Change fees can be steep and restrictive, and flights often packed. But if you play by the rules, LCC offer an inexpensive option for connecting to cities outside major international hubs.

It seems every day there is a new Low Cost Carrier (LCC) opening up shop - last I checked I've counted over 80 on the Internet alone. Rather than listing all these out, i've provided a links to search engines in Europe and Asia offering LCC options. In Australia, I recommend JetStar, and in South America, where the LCC airlines are a bit slower in forming, there are fewer options. One Brazilian carrier, WebJet is provided for reference. Be sure to shop around.

Europe Search engine for city pairs in Europe
Asia Listing by each country in Asia (I recommend Air Asia)
Australia JetStar
Brazil Webjet
Canada WestJet

Wikipedia has a good listing of several other LCC airlines

Cathay Pacific adds additional SFO-Hong Kong Service

Prompted by increased passenger yields, Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific Airlines will be increasing service to 2 flights daily, up from 1 daily, on it's SFO-Hong Kong Route (HKG). The additional passenger capacity will offer passengers more options when flying into or beyond Hong Kong. Asia has been a hot market for the airlines, even as U.S Domestic flight capacity decreases, demand for Asia flights has been increasing. Though no start date for the new service was mentioned, they expect it will begin in the next few months.

Leaving Foreign Currency fees at home during your next vacation

Foreign Currency Transaction fees charged when using your credit card overseas can range from a mere nuisance to a big-fat expense. For example, most Visa cards charge 2-3% on top of any purchase, making a $300.00 purchase cost you $3 bucks more. Nothing more than a cup of coffee (even a Latte) you say? Consider how this cost might pinch the pocketbook over a 2 week vacation in Paris. Flyerguide is one of many sites that have broken down the costs of using plastic overseas, whether it be your debit card, ATM or credit card. Some cards charge NO fees. With this information, consumers can be better decide which cards to take with them on their next overseas adventure.