Business Travel Guru

Vietnam Airlines Announces Hanoi Osaka Japan Route

ben.hoffman — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:48:00 GMT

Vietnam Airlines have announced it will being to operate the Hanoi to Osaka Japan route from 13 January 2010, funny enough this follows Japan Airlines plans to scrap this route from 12 January 2010 due to the restructuring of its operations. The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will launch direct flights linking the Vietnamese capital Hanoi and the city of Osaka, Japan, on January 13, 2010. Vietnam Airlines reported on October 6 that it will conduct five flights a week, one on every Monday...(read more)

United Airlines Announce New Services into Africa & Europe

ben.hoffman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:23:00 GMT

United Airlines have announced that an expansion of its services, which includes its first ever service to Africa. United Airlines Expansion of flights include: Washington to Accra Washing to Ghana Washington to Lagos Washing to Nigeria Current Washington to Kuwait Service to go onto Bahrain Chicago to Brussels United Airlines announced today the airline will inaugurate its first-ever service to Africa in 2010, with one daily, same-plane service from Washington to Accra , Ghana and Lagos , Nigeria...(read more)

Emirates Increases capacity to Sydney, Bangkok Manila & Jakarta

ben.hoffman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:09:00 GMT

Emirates have announced it will increase capacity to Sydney, Bangkok Manila & Jakarta, increasing flights into the region by 187 per week....(read more)

Fly from Australia to Europe via South America with LAN

ben.hoffman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:02:00 GMT

LAN now offers the option to fly from Australia to Europe via South America, European destinations include Madrid Frankfurt & London. The full media release from LAN can be read below: Travellers from Australia to Europe and the UK now have an exciting new way to get there, flying via South America with LAN . The airline has just announced a range of new Economy and Business Class fares and itineraries from Australia to Madrid, Frankfurt and London , either on its own flights or in conjunction...(read more)

Qantas unveils a new Business Lounge in Hong Kong

ben.hoffman — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:57:00 GMT

Qantas has unveiled a new Qantas Business Lounge at Hong Kong International airport, the new lounge replaces the original Qantas Business lounge which had been in service since 1998. ...(read more)

Air France A380 Seat Map & Seat Plan

ben.hoffman — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:02:00 GMT

The Air France A380 Seat map has now been officially published by Air France. The seat map clearly shows 3 classes, La Premiere (First Class), Affaires (Business Class) and Voyageur (Economy Class) as expected Air France will not offer premium economy product on this their first Airbus A380 aircraft, however it has been confirmed future Air France A380 aircraft will be outfitted with Premium Economy....(read more)

Air France A380 Interior Cabin Revealed with Air France A380 Cabin Photos

ben.hoffman — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:01:00 GMT

Air France has revealed the interior cabin of its just received Airbus A380 Super jumbo. There is no surprises with the details of its cabin configuration, matching very closely with what I have reported here on The Business Travel Guru in the past, however the release by Air France of these cabin pictures give the full picture of what to expect, if you get the chance to fly this aircraft ...(read more)

Continental Airlines Joins Star Alliance as its 25th Member

ben.hoffman — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:22:00 GMT

Continental Airlines has officially joined Start Alliance as its 25 Member, which increases the number of Star Alliance aircraft to 3,740, and a whopping 458,332 employees. The full media release from Star Alliance can be read below: The CEOs of the Star Alliance member carriers today welcomed the alliance’s 25th member: Continental Airlines. Continental’s joining Star Alliance will further enhance the alliance’s three main customer benefits: global reach, worldwide recognition and seamless travel...(read more)

SkyTeam Starts Shared Operations at Barcelona's Terminal 1

ben.hoffman — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:06:00 GMT

SkyTeam has opened a shared facility at Barcelona’s Terminal 1, which will cater for 8 SkyTeam alliance airlines in total and include 28 Check-in desks & 6 self service kiosks. The 8 SkyTeam alliance airlines that will operate from Barcelona’s Terminal 1 include, Air Europa, Air France, Alitalia, CSA Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines and KLM Royal Dutch Airline. The full media release from SkyTeam can be read below: SkyTeam, the global airline alliance, will unveil its brand new state-of-the-art...(read more)

Qantas Moves its operations to London Heathrow’s Terminal 3

ben.hoffman — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:35:00 GMT

Today Qantas moved its London Heathrow operations to Heathrow's Terminal 3, this co-insides with SkyTeam’s move yesterday to Terminal 4 The full Media release from Qantas can be read below: SYDNEY, 29 OCTOBER 2009: Qantas today transferred its London Heathrow operations from Terminal 4 to Terminal 3. Qantas Executive Manager International Sales Stephen Thompson said Qantas services to and from Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Australia have moved from London Heathrow Terminal 4 to Terminal 3. “London...(read more)

SkyTeam moves to Heathrow's Terminal 4

ben.hoffman — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:19:00 GMT

SkyTeam the world’s largest global airline alliance revealed its new shared facilities at London Heathrow’s Terminal 4. Today 4 of the alliances airlines (Delta, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Kenya Airways) are operating out of the facility, with the remaining (Aeroflot, Air France, Alitalia, Czech Airlines and Korean Air) to move on 4 November. The full media release from SkyTeam can be read below: Today SkyTeam, the global airline alliance, unveiled its spacious, customer-focused facility at Terminal...(read more)

Singapore Airlines introduce Future Proof Fares

ben.hoffman — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:11:00 GMT

Singapore Airlines are introducing Future Proof Fares for their 2010 early bird campaign, in that if a passenger purchases an early bird fare for Europe and later in the year a cheaper fare is releases Singapore Airlines will refund the difference in the fare cost to the passenger....(read more)

Emirates Skywards Frequent Flyer Program Changes

ben.hoffman — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:14:00 GMT

Emirates is totally re-vamping its frequent flyer program from 1 January 2010, and introducing an earning model that varies depending on the type of ticket purchased, i.e Full paid ticket or Discount Ticket....(read more)

Emirates named best Middle East & Business Class Airline

ben.hoffman — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:35:00 GMT

Emirates has again been named the best Middle East & Business Class airline at the recent Business Traveller Awards 2009. The Business Traveller Awards is a yearly award voted by the readers of Business Traveller magazine. The full media release from Emirates can be read below: DUBAI, U.A.E., 12th October 2009 - Emirates airline has picked up three prestigious accolades at the London and Hong Kong editions of the distinguished Business Traveller Awards, 2009. Readers of the monthly magazine,...(read more)

Singapore Airlines Celebrate 2 years of Singapore Airlines A380 with Special Fares

ben.hoffman — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:44:00 GMT

Singapore Airline are celebrating 2 years since their history making first commercial flight of the Airbus A380 with special fares on flights between Sydney and Asia....(read more)

Air France A380 First Flight & Cabin Configuration

ben.hoffman — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:47:00 GMT

Air France has released details of the first flight of it Airbus A380 aircraft along with some basic cabin configuration details. The first Air France A380 will service the Paris to New York route with the maiden flight taking place Friday 20 November 2009, and the return leg New York to Paris departing Saturday 21 November 2009....(read more)

Virgin Blue & the Black Eyed Peas Break Guinness World Record

ben.hoffman — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:10:00 GMT

Virgin Blue & the Black Eyed Peas have broken a world record for jamming at 41,000 feet, the Peas snatched the Guinness Record from Jamairoquai who had previously set the record back in 2007. The full press release from Virgin Blue can be read below: Internationally acclaimed three time Grammy winners THE BLACK EYED PEAS have added a ‘world record’ to their long list of achievements after rocking out at 41,000 feet on a special “Mile High Karaoke’ Virgin Blue flight from Melbourne to Perth on...(read more)

V Australia named Best Business Class & In-flight Entertainment

ben.hoffman — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:05:00 GMT

V Australia has been named as having the best in-flight entertainment in the small airline category at this year’s World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) Avion Awards & best Business Class in the e-Travel Black Board 2009 Readers Choice Awards....(read more)

United Airlines Introduce United Premier Baggage Option

ben.hoffman — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:01:00 GMT

United Airlines have introduced United Premier Baggage Option which gives its customers the option to check two standard bags (on both Domestic & International flights) for a fixed yearly subscription fee....(read more)

Sennheiser PXC 450 Noise Cancelling Headphone Review

ben.hoffman — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:25:00 GMT

Not being someone shy of technology, I decided to take up an offer to review a set of Sennheiser PXC 450 Noise Cancelling Headphones. My previous experience with noise cancelling headphones includes owning the following sets, Sennheiser PXC 250, PlaneQuiet Platinum, and Bose QuietComfort2 Noise Cancelling Headphones.

How noise cancelling technology work?

Noise cancelling technology works by detecting low frequency repeating ambient noise via microphone/s built into the headset, this noise is then electronically processed to generate an inverse of the noise thru the headphone which in effect cancels out your unwanted background noise.

Don’t buy a set of noise cancelling headphones expecting it will eliminate all unwanted noise, because as mentioned above this technology only works effectively on repeating low frequency sound, for example the noise of a jet engine, air noise heard in the cabin.

At first sight the Sennheiser PXC 450 Noise Cancelling Headphones are comparable in size to Bose QuietComfort2 Noise Cancelling Headphones, yet much larger than the Sennheiser PXC 250. Sound quality & noise cancelling wise all three of my previous sets have nothing on the Sennheiser PXC 450’s. Simply put its sound quality is superb & its noise cancelling abilities are second to none.

Picture 1: PXC 450 (top) compared in size with the PXC 250, both folded

The Noise cancelling technology which Sennheiser has implemented in it PXC 450s is referred to as NoiseGard™ 2.0 and claims to eliminate up to 90% of unwanted background noise, this is achieved thru both the headphones superior noise cancelling electronics & also passively thru the headphones well designed earpads.

Picture 2: Sennheiser PXC 450 folded in its soft carry case

Most of the controls for the PXC 450 are located on right side headphone, these being the power on/of, Volume +/- and the talk through buttons. On first use I found these controls a little hard to find (now are the controls on the right or left side and which button was Volume -) this is especially true if you are used to noise cancelling headphones with controls on the audio cable, however after my second flight I knew the exact positions for each button.

A neat feature I love about the Sennheiser PXC 450 noise cancelling headphones is the Talk Through feature which allows the wearer at the press of a button to listen & talk to someone without having to take off their headphones, this is achieved by using the same built-in microphones, used for noise cancelling to pass the conversation thru to your headphones.

Picture 2: The controls on the right hand side headphone

Even though the Sennheiser PXC 450 Noise Cancelling Headphones are a tough and durable set of foldable, they are a little larger than what I am used to after owning Sennheiser’s PXC 250 for many years, initially it was hard to travel with this larger set, however I do take my music & in-flight comfort seriously and in my opinion the larger set was a small trade off for the superior sound quality and noise cancelling abilities of the Sennheiser PXC 450.

What comes in the Sennheiser PXC 450 box:

Sennheiser PXC450 Noise Cancelling headphones
Set of AAA batteries
Soft protective case
2 plug adaptors (1 X Airline plug & 1 X 6,3 plug adaptor)
Instruction Manual

Score 8.5/10

Pros

Outstanding Sound and Noise Cancellation quality
Detachable audio cable Long 1.4 meter cable length
Talk through feature allowing you to hear someone/take part in a conversation without taking off your headphones.

Cons

Large size (Well larger than my set of Sennheiser PXC 250s)
Cost - A fair bit more expensive than an average set of Noise Cancelling headphones

Jetstar Increases International Services for Australian Summer Holiday Period

ben.hoffman — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:12:00 GMT

Jetstar has just announced that it intends to expand services on its international routes for summer. The majority of services being expanded run in/out of the national hub in Sydney. The expansion will see: Sydney Bali increased from 4 times a week to daily flights Melbourne to Bali increased from 2 times a week to 3 times a week Sydney to Phuket Thailand increased from 3 times a week to 5 times a week Sydney to Honolulu increased from 4 times a week to 5 times a week The full media release from...(read more)

Sydney Dust Storms Jetstar Flight Delays and Cancellations

ben.hoffman — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:26:00 GMT

Jetstar has just released the below media statement in relation to the dust storms which blanketed Sydney (and still blanket Sydney at the writing of this post). Domestic and International flights arriving and departing Sydney have affected and there is expected to be a knock on affect to services running out of other Jetstar & Qantas destinations....(read more)

Qantas Honour New Zealand’s Icons with Naming of new Trans-Tasman Fleet

ben.hoffman — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:59:00 GMT

Qantas the national carrier of Australia have honoured three New Zealand Icons with the Naming of it new fleet which will service the Australia to New Zealand route (Trans-Tasman). ...(read more)

Airbus Predict Strong Future for Aircraft Manufactures

ben.hoffman — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:40:00 GMT

Airbus is suggesting that demand for larger passenger and freight aircraft will rise significantly over the next 20 years with, in addition Airbus predict around 25,000 aircraft with a value of US$3.1 trillion will be sold/replaced in this same time frame....(read more)

Sydney Airports Terminal 2 Passenger Pickup Area Change

ben.hoffman — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:57:00 GMT

Sydney Airport Corporation have announced that the passenger pickup area at Sydney Airport’s Terminal 2 (Budget Domestic - Jetstar & Virgin Blue) will be relocated from Saturday 26 September 2009 which will provide an additional 44 pickup car spaces (up from 7 to 51 spaces) and increase the amount of time from 2 to 10 minutes a vehicle may remain standing in this area & waiting for an arriving passenger. In addition the vehicle may remain unattended, while assisting passengers with their baggage....(read more)