CD Traveller talks travel with Wendy Wu – founder and principal of Wendy Wu Tours: the UK’s leading China specialist tour operator

UPDATE: Air France-KLM have announced that as from 28 March that they have extended their policy on hold baggage so now you can carry up to 3 hold bags at no additional charge. Each can weigh up to 23kgs.
In the last couple of years, putting your luggage in the hold has begun to be charged. On charter and no-frills flights it is not unusual to pay anything between £8 and £14 or so for a case and maybe more for a second case. And that is for each part of the journey. In America even the traditional carriers such as American, United, Delta, Continental and US Air charge for the first bag (and any other bags) on domestic routes. Over here, BA, Virgin Atlantic, Aer Lingus, Aer Arann, Air Southwest, Eastern Airways, Logonair and BMI haven’t reached that stage though flybe charges.
The obvious way to avoid paying hold luggage charges is to only carry hand luggage, the result being that some hand luggage is beginning to resemble the size of the kitchen sink. Some airlines limit hand baggage to 5, 7 or 10 kilos, others go by size. Some airlines turn a blind eye to the size of a bag and if you can lift it and place it in the overhead bin, that’s acceptable. But will that continue?

[ March 19, 2010 9:30 am to March 20, 2010 5:00 pm. March 19, 2010 9:30 am to March 20, 2010 5:00 pm. ] http://www.britainandirelandevent.co.uk/consumer
at Olympia, London; coincides with British Tourism Week
£10 or 2 adults for £15, children free
watch out for free and discounted offers in the press

[ March 15, 2010 to March 21, 2010. March 15, 2010 to March 21, 2010. ] www.britishtourismweek.com 15th-21st March

Over 200 events throughout England and Wales. The website is searchable on a regional and daily basis so you can find your nearest event.

Just one of the events is free entry to National Trust properties on 20/21st March; Not all events are free.

[ March 15, 2010 to March 19, 2010. March 15, 2010 to March 19, 2010. ] www.fallasfromvalencia.com, Valencia, Spain.

The huge cadboard statues called “ninots,” some 700 of them appear throughout the city.  there are firweork dispalys every afternoon in the Town Hall Square at 2pm. This culminates on the 19th of March when they are all burnt except 1

[ March 11, 2010 to March 20, 2010. March 11, 2010 to March 20, 2010. ] held throughout County Cavan,
see www.cavanmusic.com/nyah.html for a list of all events and their location