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Some new changes creeping in with the airlines – been around for a while however just wanted to highlight it for you. When you have lets say a year return ticket and your departure date comes up, you have to change it however do not know the date, well be sure to change it as in the rules most airlines if you do a no show on your ticket you loose it. Now also be aware that you have to have a new date , the ticket reissued or re validated which ever is the case, here is an extract of the rules for your info.

ONE DATE CHANGE IS PERMITTED FREE OF CHARGE.
CHARGE DOES NOT APPLY TO INFANTS UNDER 2 YEARS OF
AGE NOT OCCUPYING A SEAT.
CHANGES PERMITTED TO DATE OF TRAVEL OR CONNECTING
POINT ONLY.
NO CHANGE PERMITTED TO ORIGIN/DESTINATION/STOPOVER
POINTS. CHANGES MUST BE MADE IN THE ORIGINAL PNR.
RESERVATIONS MUST BE CHANGED ON OR BEFORE THE
ORIGINAL TRAVEL DATE SHOWN ON THE FLIGHT COUPON
CONCERNED. CHANGES MADE AFTER THAT DATE ARE NOT
PERMITTED AND THE TICKET HAS NO VALUE.

Naturally the free date change is ust for this specific ticket, now even if you do not know your date you need to change your ticket and yes you guessed it use your free change or pay for it which ever is the case and then pay when you want to change it for the real date that you want to fly. Be aware as you cannot cancel, leave it open and then book it when you want as it will be worthless and unusable!

Air Tanzania nosedives in Mwanza

Well one thing that certainly is topical at the moment is the World Cup 2010 – if you plan renting out your house or leasing you car please confirm with your insurance company for what you are covered for and where you are not to safe gaurd yourself, family and your properties. Here are some snippets as an example from Out Surance:

Contents and Building cover
Theft from your house
•    If you lease your house to tenants, you are covered for theft if it is burgled as long as there are visible signs of forced entry that the house was broken into. There is no cover if the tenants steal your goods.
•    If you have guests staying with you in the house, their personal possessions are covered under the Contents section if they are stolen from your home. Their possessions are covered to a maximum amount of R5000.
•    Your guests should ideally have their own cover though. They would need All Risks cover that they have arranged with insurers in their own countries. All Risks covers their personal possessions (e.g. their clothing, luggage, cameras and other valuables) which they have with them anywhere in the world.
Liability cover
If my guest or tenant is injured while staying at my property, can I be held legally liable?
Your standard liability cover ensures that you are covered if you are legally responsible for the death of or injury to your guests. However this liability cover does not apply to your tenants and you will need our Business Liability cover so call us on 08600 70 000 to find out more.
What is the difference between a guest and a tenant ?
Guests are those who stay with you and are not paying you for their stay whereas tenants are those who pay you an agreed amount for the accommodation or living expenses; typically you will have entered into a lease agreement or contract with them for the duration of their stay in your property.
World Cup Tickets
Am I covered if I lose my World Cup tickets?
Tickets and personal documents are not covered.
If you do lose your tickets log on to www.fifa.com to read about FIFA’s ticket-replacement policy.
Vehicle cover
Am I covered if I lend or lease my car to one of my foreign guests or tenants?
Yes you are covered if the driver has a valid licence in the country of issue or an International Driving Permit (IDP).
There are specific requirements in place that govern foreign drivers and the validity of their licences for the duration of the World Cup. Foreign drivers need an IDP if they are visiting SA for more than 3 consecutive months.
If your visitor is staying here for a shorter time period, their driver’s licence must:
•    be valid in the country of issue and comply with the minimum requirements in terms of the road traffic laws of that country
•    be printed in English or a translated copy certified by the driver’s Embassy / Consulate in English will be accepted
•    the licence holder’s photo must be on the licence
•    all licences will be accepted to operate equivalent vehicles on SA’s roads
•    no professional driving – i.e, transporting fair paying passengers, unless a Professional Driving permit is issued in SA
If they will have exclusive use of your car for more than one month over the duration of the World Cup they will have to be noted as the regular driver of that car on your OUTsurance facility. If they will drive the car occasionally or for a shorter period, there is no need to change the regular driver details.

Not this will vary from policy to policy and company to company – so double check!

Here is the latest:

You will be aware that the British Airways Cabin Crew voted in favour of a strike. Here is the latest update. I would be grateful if you would pass this information to all of your managers and consultants.

The link below will be updated, to the minute, on any further developments:-

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/strike-ballot/public/en_za?refevent=home_urgent_centre

“It’s our policy to rather add more flights than to rely on pushing prices up. If you compare the prices of domestic flights during the tournament, our prices are the lowest, finished and klaar. We invite consumers to compare fares for themselves and we challenge all airlines to reduce their prices,” said kulula executive Heidi Brauer. (She’s the big cheese in marketing). Most of the additional seats have been added to our Lanseria schedule. These flights have proven to be a popular choice for World Cup travellers for its ease of use and low cost flights. kulula flights from that airport during June 2010 are being sold from as little as R519.

Well done Kulula! You certainly Proudly South African!

How is this for amazing!

Banyan Tree Bintan

Discover true peace, tranquility and rejuvenation while being spoilt in the comfort of your own luxurious resort villa. Experience the finest facilities in a serene environment, be it a massage at the Banyan Tree Bintan Spa or a round of golf at the championship Laguna Bintan Golf Club. Be mesmerized by the sights and sounds of the Banyan Tree Bintan resort’s natural habitat – its tropical forest, hillside terrain and secluded beach create an unforgettable & romantic setting.

If you have a ticket on hold and need a reason to pay – now is your time – save a few pennies – BA fares to the UK are increasing Monday:

Please be advised that British Airways will increase fares ex South Africa to UK / I  and UK domestic points on Monday 22nd February 2010 by the following.

World Traveller:         ZAR 200.00
World Traveller Plus:  ZAR 500.00
Club World and First:: ZAR 1 000.00

Due to a strike which has been announced by the pilots’ union “Vereinigung Cockpit” (VC) between 22 and 25 February 2010, Lufthansa is expecting disturbances to flight operations.

Lufthansa regrets any inconvenience to Lufthansa passengers caused by possible strike action and will do its utmost to reduce the impact for travellers. If you have booked a Lufthansa Flight between 22 and 25 February 2010, but prefer to change your travel plans, Lufthansa offers one free of charge rebooking to another Lufthansa flight before 31 March 2010 under the condition that origin and destination remain unchanged.

You may reach your Lufthansa team during normal working hours, and on the following number: 0861 842 538.

JOHANNESBURG – As reported in other media, Monday 15 Feb 2010, the South African Civil Aviation Authority has issued a formal notice (NOTAM) in terms of large aircraft (over 5,700kg in mass) operated by commercial airlines and their ability to land at George airport when the runway is ‘wet*’.

The effect of this notice is that when the runway is ‘wet*’ as a consequence of rain commercial airlines will not be allowed to land at George and the airport will be closed until the runway dries out. Consequently airlines en-route to George will have no other option but to divert to an alternate airport or return to their point of original departure.

Airlink would therefore like to advise all Travel Agents and passengers of this limitation, which could impact passenger itineraries. The SACAA have advised that this is a temporary restriction which will remain in effect until such time that, after further testing or remedial work, the airport is again declared safe for ‘wet’ operations.

Should passengers on Airlink flights to George experience diversion because of a wet runway, Airlink will provide assistance in re-accommodating the passenger on the next available flight. Airlink will not assume responsibility for land arrangements.

Whilst the Western Cape is currently experiencing its worst drought in 132 years and therefore the probability of rain and associated flight diversions remains low in the short term, the winter rains usually start from around early April. Therefore the program for testing is urgent, and any remediation required to the runway by ACSA and its contractors will need to be accomplished by the time the winter rains commence.

NOTE: ‘Wet’ is defined as “WHEN MORE THAN 25 PERCENT OF THE RUNWAY SURFACE APPEARS REFLECTIVE DUE TO WATER OR IS COVERED WITH WATER”

Email from Airlink

Well I must say how impressed I am with the about turn home affairs have done since my last dealings with them. Did an application earlier this year – 28 jan 2010 – really took me less than an hour from filling in the form to thumb prints. Recieved an sms on 08 Feb 2010 – to say passport is ready. Went today to collect and I was inand out in 15 minutes with passport in hand. Added to this great new efficiency is the awesome new looking passport. To mention a few things I picked up on:

• Hologram
• Engraved details page
• Watermark
• Passport number punched on all the pages

So the question is now are the UK going to revert their visa status and change the visa requirements to suit the new securer South African passports or do you think the UK enjoy milking the SA public to revoke the visa requirements for their country?