All posts by Tom

Tom is the Founder and Chief Blogger of LateDeparture.com. He is a very keen traveller and (obviously) loves to explore airports around the globe. He also enjoys feedback on his posts, so don't be shy and write a comment!

Long-haul flights: a survival guide


Many cattle class travellers dread long-haul flights. It doesn’t have to be that way though. With good preparation and some clever choices even a 14-hour-trip can become very bearable if not even enjoyable. The following “survival” guide – split into two sections, before and during the flight – will help you overcome some of that anxiety. Let’s get right into it:

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This week: smoking competition, literature and a stogie

This week’s news has it all: two celebrities – one in a controversial fight with a European lobby, the other on a literature adventure (can you say it 10 times?) – and then two rival airports that finally start competing properly. Now if that’s not proper headline stuff, we rest our pencils.

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Surprise, surprise: Heathrow named London 2012 airport

Tomorrow in one year will be London Heathrow’s busiest day in its history. That day, the 13th August 2012 is the day after the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic games. Unsurprisingly today now Heathrow (IATA: LHR; LD hub page) was announced as “host airport” of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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This week: worst airport named, new arrival service & all lights out

This week we received airport news from around the world. Well, surely you would expect that but it isn’t always the case as the US is by far the most dominant source of (juicy) airport news. Actually, let’s start with the US and then make our way eastwards: The Wall Street Journal this week published a report compiled by the Transportation Department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics about the timeliness of US airports. Of the 100 most-delayed flights over the past year, 40 come and go from Newark Liberty International Airport (IATA: EWR) making it the worst airport for punctuality.

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What’s to come

At LateDeparture we always strive to bring you fresh airport reviews as this clearly is the essence of the site. But no reviews without travels. We also embrace strict guidelines not to write desk based reviews. So definitely no reviews without travels. Don’t worry though as we’re now embarking on a little trip around the globe and cover many new airports and revisit others. Here’s what’s to come:

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This week: out of cash, sick pilots and strange smells

Yes, we admit it, we’re one day late with our weekly airport round-up. So without further ado, let’s get right into it: This week, dozens of airport construction projects across the USA have been put on hold as the government failed to pass legislation to keep the Federal Aviation Administration running, wrote Passenger Terminal Today. According to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the FAA’s operating authority expired, forcing a partial shutdown of the agency. This has meant dozens of stop-work orders were issued last weekend on projects throughout the country.

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A different kind of aerial show at Changi airport

Aerial displays are something all airports are good at, well, at least if you classify the graceful starts and landings of aircraft as such. Now Changi Airport in Singapore (IATA: SIN; LD reviewed) put up a whole different kind of aerial show: To publicise their Changi Millionaire draw, the airport invited Strange Fruit, a world-renowned Australian performing arts company, to perform at Changi Airport’s Terminal 3 last Friday.

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This week: a birthday, several blockades and a selling order

Let’s start with some good news and let us congratulate Vancouver Airport (IATA: YVR) as the Canadian airport celebrated its 80th birthday this week. According to the Vancouver Sun, it drew delegations from airports around the world to admire its public art and West Coast decoration.

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Interview with NACO’s managing director about Beijing New International Airport

In 2017 the Beijing New International Airport (BNIA) will open for business and will then become the world’s largest airport in terms of aircraft movements. Clearly such a large airport needs an extraordinary master plan. NACO, a Dutch airport planning company recently won the design for the master plan – we wrote about it in our weekly news. We now have the chance to speak to NACO’s managing director, Rik Krabbendam to ask him a few more questions.
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