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Long-haul leg room
Charter airlines are getting their act together and competing with traditional long haul carriers for leg room on long haul flights. First Choice has offered passengers a 33in seat pitch for the last two years and Thomas Cook/Mytravel will be doing the same shortly when the two airlines merge long-haul flights next May under the Thomas Cook banner. BA & Virgin offer passengers a 31in seat pitch and Singapore Airlines 32in.
Air Fares
Common sense at last and from the EU! All these 'cheap' air fares which increase alarmingly when taxes etc. are added are about to disappear. The EU have declared that all taxes, non-avoidable charges, surcharges and fees known at the time of publication, must be included in the advertised price whether in media or online. This directive does not become law until December but already many web sites selling air fares have been updated inline with this directive.
Monarch Flights.
Monarch has reconfigured the whole of its fleet to create more leg room in the first seven rows of each and every aircraft. This normally gives a total of 42 seats with a 33 inch pitch. There is a catch of course with an extra charge of £15 per person per flight for booking a 'leg-room' seat. At least it gives those tall people who are deemed unsuitable for whatever reason to occupy emergency exit seats a chance to stretch their legs. Upgrades are available once a flight is underway if there are empty leg-room seats available. Cabin crew collect the £15 fee.
There is also a charge for in-flight food but in our experience it has always been good value. British Airways take note, their in-flight catering has taken a nose dive in this last year or two and they could learn lessons from Monarch.
Like most low cost carriers, to get the best prices you need to book early.
Eurozone: A quick reminder of the 15 Eurozone countries where the Euro is the national currency:
Austria; Belgium; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Holland; Ireland; Italy; Luxembourg; Portugal; Spain: Slovenia: Malta and Greek Cyprus
Driving in France?
Enjoy it if you can but if caught speeding it could be more serious than you think! If you are caught speeding the least you can expect is an on-the-spot fine up to 375 euro. If you are exceeding the speed limit by more than 25km/hr, the police have the right to confiscate you licence on the spot and if your speed exceeds to speed limit by 50km/hr or more then you may have your vehicle confiscated.
Under new French laws, foreign-registered vehicles caught speeding on camera will be recorded on a national register. none of this matters a jot if keep within the speed limits so take care!
Car Hire Abroad.
Cars hired abroad may fail to meet the legal requirements for basic safety equipment. In addition there may be other requirements that are not explained . For example, did you know that it is a legal requirement in Portugal for all drivers to carry photographic proof of identity?
Many countries also insist drivers have a high visibility jacket to hand inside the car for use in the event of a breakdown.
It is easy enough to check driving requirements in European countries using the AA site
Car Insurance Abroad
Most car hire rates offered for overseas car hire are stripped down to the bare essentials to keep the price low and competitive. One of the ways which has become widespread amongst car hire companies is to quietly raise the excess to quite hefty levels. With one hire company last year, we were advised the first £500 of any damage was not covered by the insurance and urged to take out further insurance. One way around this is to take out an annual insurance with insurance4carhire.com for around £51 which covers any car or cars you hire for a whole year. Questor Insurance, questor-insurance.co.uk is offering a similar policy for single trips. It is respectful too of older drivers with an age limit of 84.
Holiday Web Scams.
Bogus holiday sites have started to appear on the web offering temptingly cheap holidays to popular destinations. This best way to avoid falling into this trap is to make sure the company is ABTA or ATOL bonded and follow up if in any doubt. Do not accept a statement which says the bond has been applied for and they are just awaiting the rubber stamp. Always pay with a credit card then your money is protected. It is not protected with debit cards, chip and pin payment or cheques. You may be asked to pay a little more with a credit card but just regard this as insurance to protect your money.