The San Stefano district of Alexandria, Egypt is the site of a newly opened Four Seasons hotel. The location overlooking the Mediterranean was once occupied by the fabled San Stefano Hotel. Now private balconies off of each of the Four Season’s 118 rooms provide views of the sea and the city.

The rooms and suites are decorated with Mediterranean accents and feature Roman-style bathrooms done in marble. Technical amenities include high-speed internet connections in special work areas and the bedside. A 24-hour business center is also available. [Read more…]

Starting November 15th, Cathay Pacific will add a non-stop 9 a.m. departure to its daily service from New York’s JFK International Airport to Hong Kong. The airline’s passengers will have a choice between morning, afternoon, and evening flights from that date forward. The current flights include a daily non-stop and a daily connection through Vancouver.

At the same time, Cathay Pacific will begin New York service with their new Boeing 777-300 ER long-haul aircraft. The new long-haul product features changes to seating, cabin design, and in-flight entertainment in First, Business, and Economy classes. [Read more…]

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways now flies daily to Johannesburg, South Africa, with an addition of five flights from the twice-weekly service it started in December of 2005. The route is served by the Airbus 330-200 carrying 22 business class and 240 economy class passengers. Johannesburg, South Africa’s wealthiest city, serves as a hub for connecting flights to Durban, Capetown, and member states of the Southern African Development Countries (SADC).

The increase in flights reflects demand from the increasing number of South Africans living in the Gulf region. Approximately 20,000 of these 100,000 South Africans are in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). [Read more…]

The Doubletree Hotel at Houston Airport has completed a six million dollar renovation, upgrading its guest rooms, indoor and outdoor event facilities, dining services, and recreation areas.

The hotel’s 313 rooms and suites have been redone with cool colors, textures, and dark wood furniture. The beds’ plush-top mattresses are covered with a down duvet enclosed in triple sheeting, and provided with a generous number of pillows. Bathrooms have new granite-topped vanities, framed mirrors, and a curved shower rod that gives the shower twenty percent more space. [Read more…]

Asian and Middle Eastern Airlines dominated the worldwide award categories in the 2006/7 World Airline Survey conducted by Skytrax. In the survey, Singapore Airlines was named Airline of the Year. Thai Airways came in second, while Cathay Pacific was third. Qatar Airways took fourth, with Qantas following in fifth place.

“The jostle for Airline of the Year title was fairly constant throughout the survey period, and in particular the top five positions fluctuated on quite a regular basis“, according to Edward Plaisted CEO of survey organization, Skytrax.

While Qatar also won Best First Class, Singapore Airlines took a second worldwide award by winning Best Business Class. Korean Air claimed Best Economy Class and another Asian carrier, Malaysian Airlines, won the Best Cabin Staff award. [Read more…]

When the Park Hyatt Shanghai opens its doors in July of 2008, it will be the highest hotel in the world, giving all of its 174 guest rooms an eagle’s eye view of the Huangpu River below. It will be the second Park Hyatt hotel in China. The Park Hyatt Beijing is scheduled to open in late 2007.

The Park Hyatt Shanghai will occupy floors 79 through 93 of the new Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC). The 101 stories and 492 meters (1614 feet) high building is located in the center of the Lujiazui business district in Pudong and will be the tallest roof-top building in the world. [Read more…]

Eleven-year-old budget airline easyJet recently carried its 150-millionth UK passenger, from Bristol International Airport to Barcelona. To honor the occasion, the low-cost airline gave their landmark passenger one year’s unlimited free travel from Bristol with easyJet.

After starting with two leased planes on November 10th, 1995, easyJet has expanded its fleet to 137 aircraft, which carry more than 35 million passengers a year between 83 airports in 22 countries. [Read more…]

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) announced today that Bangkok Airways, Jetstar Asia Airways, Qatar Airways, Siem Reap Airways International and Thai Airways will start providing check-in services at Terminal 2 (T2) over the coming three months. Together with Oasis Hong Kong Airlines and Emirates Airline that are currently operating from T2, the new passenger terminal will soon house seven passenger airlines providing services at HKIA. [Read more…]

The 200-room Crowne Plaza Cincinnati Blue Ash has opened near Kenwood town center. The Crowne Plaza is close to major businesses such as Coca-Cola, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc., Procter & Gamble, GE and Ford Motor Co. Cincinnati’s downtown, the University of Cincinnati, Xavier University, Kings Island and the Cincinnati Zoo are within driving distance. [Read more…]

Singapore Airlines will conduct a charity auction for seats on the first commercial flight of the new double-decker Airbus A380. The auction will be held on e-bay for the October flight, and money from ticket sales will be divided among Singapore’s Community Chest, two children’s hospitals in Sydney, and the Nobel Peace Prize winning Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). [Read more…]