Anything but sterling...

Crisis? What crisis? If you look at the ads in today's papers you'd be forgiven for thinking that all is right with the world of travel ... spend a month in Malta for £300 ... go around the world in Business Class for £3,000 ... or take that world cruise you've been promising yourself for a mere £30,000 and come back when the financial community has sorted itself out. But on the Travel Clinic this afternoon we heard from Justin Urquart Stewart of Seven Investment Management that a slogan going around the city at the moment is “ABS” – Anything But Sterling. Online at the Post Office this afternoon you will get LESS than 1.65 dollars to your pound - which has lost one sixth of its value in six months. And Justin warned that things will get worse,
Certainly, airlines are reporting slumping demand for premium cabins, and BA's response is to offer passengers at Heathrow an upgrade ... at a price. The airline has long offered on-the-spot upgrades from Gatwick on European flights; currently £60, £80 or £100, depending on the length of the flight. At Heathrow, the airline's main base, until now the only way of getting a one-way upgrade to Club Europe on a flight to Amsterdam would mean paying a surcharge of up to £357on a £49 economy flight. Now the airline is offering business class for much less. It's offering some travellers the chance to sit in Club Europe for £100 for shorter flights such as Paris or Amsterdam, while the furthest destinations, such as Athens and Istanbul, are priced at £150. And worth pointing out that you cannot ask for one of these upgrades, and they are not on sale at the airport; the airline offers them to economy passengers, by email, for flights that have space available.
Anyway, plenty of you still travelling … John from South Wales wanted to know about Marrakech … great place, stay in a riad (traditional mansion) in the tangled madness of the Medina … but expect to get lost. Almost at once, Max in Wolverhampton emailed to say “It's 2008 - you can buy a TomTom cheaply now - get it loaded with a map of wherever you are going. Hey presto!  You will never get lost again. I have been doing this for two years - the ultimate holiday help. Especially in places like Marrakech.”
And while I recommended Las Vegas as a great winter sun destination – it shares with Phoenix, Arizona, the honour of being the sunniest place on the planet - plenty of people got in touch to warn that it will be sunny but it can get cold.
I hope the financial winter doesn’t hit your travelling plans … and look forward to talking to you once more from the Travel Clinic next Sunday from 2 till 3.