CD Traveller

British Tourism Week & British Airways

adrian — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 09:00:05 +0000

This coming week is the week we should celebrate tourism. Throughout England & Wales (Scotland had theirs this week) it is British Tourism Week. The National Trust throws opens its properties for free entry next weekend and events are staged across the two countries. Events like the illumination of Hadrian’s Wall and any of over hundreds of others are what should be attracting our attention. (www.britishtourismweek.com) But all the media seem to be concentrating on is BA with the tabloids having great fun with their headlines. Little mention will be made of tourism being worth £114 billion to the UK or that it is our fifth largest industry

Now a lot of potential publicity that might have been given to promoting all the tourist attractions that we have to offer will probably get submerged as the media looks for different stories about BA to run. There will be things like a bride whose wedding might get cancelled; the disadvantaged child on the holiday of a lifetime and how an aged couple who have spent the last century saving up to visit their grandchild on the other side of the world. So, in my view, Unite could have picked a better week to have their first tranche of strikes.

For passengers caught up in this it is too early to say how disruptive this will be. BA has trained 1,000 volunteers to replace cabin crew and will try to keep as many flights as possible going. The first strike lasts 3 days and runs from Saturday 20^th March (which coincides with the beginning of the Easter school break in parts of Scotland) and the second, a 4 day strike starts on Saturday, March 27^th. Check the British Airways website for details, www.ba.com and you will need to check every day or so as things get finalised. At present, all flights from London City and all long haul from Gatwick are unaffected. Short haul and domestic flights are likely to be those most affected but BA have hired 23 planes and crews from charter airlines to keep as many flights as possible.

And you never know. The two sides might get together, solve it and we won’t have the strikes at all!

High Speed Rail Charges Ahead

Editor — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:18:07 +0000

Actually it doesn’t.
After all the hype from Lord Adonis, the Transport Secretary, about high speed rail, the long awaited announcement has come that we are going to accelerate to become a nation linked by the fastest trains we have ever had. And to save 20 minutes to an hour or whatever it will be, it will take 7 years before construction can begin and the first phase will be completed in 16 years.
This isn’t so much high-speed rail as tortoise speed government.
If a high speed rail service is so useful or valuable why oh why must it take seven years to decide? That takes us through one and a half parliaments. Two opportunities for potentially different governments to redesign and monkey about with it.
“Experts” say it will bring jobs, generate regional growth and provide opportunities for visitors to have an alternative to flying.
Given the timescale how can anyone be enthusiastic? If there were enthusiasm on behalf of the government, they would implement it faster. That’s why I can’t get any enthusiasm myself. Remembering how long it took for crossrail to be agreed, I will wait to tell you about how it will spread tourism out from London when it happens.
But by that time, I’ll probably be pushing up the daisies!

Come to America, But Pay More

adrian — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:58:20 +0000

Like a lot of countries, the US hasn’t weathered the recession that well. Like most countries it has decided it needs to raise more money. Like some countries it has decided that tourism is a way of generating additional money. But to get additional tourists it has to advertise and promote itself. How does it do this? By slapping a S10 tax on everyone who wants to visit the country. The money this raises will be matched by up to $100 million of private sector contributions and the whole lot will be spent on promoting tourism.

Sorry it’s not a tax, it is a fee that will be charged every two years when you apply for the ESTA form which allows you to enter the US in the first place. The only people who won’t have to pay will be Americans and those who have had to pay $131 for a visa

The good news is that although signed into law, no date for its introduction has been announced yet.

Will it make a difference? Will it stop people going there?

Probably not because although it is yet another fee to add to the masses that have appeared for air travellers over the last few years, we pay visa fees for other countries, Australia, China, Egypt, India and Turkey immediately come to mind so it isn’t unusual. But in the short term might will it cause the opposite effect and reduce tourists as some people resist going there? I don’t think so. A bit of research from a market research agency in the UK, BDRC, recently suggested that about a quarter of us had accepted that we were going to get soaked for baggage charges, seat selection and other costs. It seems as though some people at least are resigned to the fact that there will be no return to the old days of the price you see is the price you pay.

The campaign by the US will be called “Come to America” and it is hoped to generate another 1.6 million visitors per year. The number of visitors has dropped every year since 9/11 and last year was 2.4 million fewer than the year 2000 despite the fact that, over that time, there has been a big increase in international tourism.

You might have thought that US tourist authorities would object to anything that increases the costs of travelling to US but no, they have been lobbying enthusiastically for this.

Now Visit Britain, the body that attracts visitors to our shores has lost over £9 million from its budget. You can bet they’ll be looking to see if this idea works and if it does, whether it will push for a similar tax on US visitors coming here. But then our government could be looking at it as another way of bolstering it’s tax coffers anyway and jump first keeping all the money for itself.

Alastair Sawday’s top 10 places to stay in Wales: part 2

Editor — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:30:14 +0000

Planning a week-end away in Wales but not sure where to stay? CD Traveller has done the hard work for you. We’ve selected five chic retreats from Alastair Sawday’s new book Special Places to Stay Wales.

Monmouthshire: The Nurtons

Following the glorious Wye valley to Adrian and Elsa’s history-rich home. The facade is Victorian, the interior rambling and intriguing. This is an old house practising eco-friendly techniques; your hosts are professional ecologists. At the back are two basic B&B suites, with private sittings areas inside and out; a double room is in the main part of the house. Bed linen is air dried, toiletries are mostly Ecover. The price reflects the simplicity, the plants man’s garden reflects a passion for all things organic and you breakfast well – not on bacon and eggs, but fresh fruits, home baked bread, muesli, honey from their bees.

Price From £65. Singles from £35
Rooms 3: 1 double. 1 double & sitting room & child bed, 1 twin & sitting room & sofa bed
Meals Evening platter £30 (for 2) with glass of wine. Packed lunch £5. Pub 0.75 miles
Closed Rarely
Directions A466 just north of Tintern village. Drive to house is opposite Old Station Tintern.
Contact
Adrian & Elsa Wood
Tintern NP16 7NX
+44 (0) 1291 689253
www.thenurtons.co.uk

Pembrokeshire: The Schoolroom Cottage

Steps from the famous Lily Ponds is an irresistible bolthole for two – or three: bring your dog or your child. The cottage is attached to the handsome rectory, all contemporary and charming: a fat sofa, easy chair, books, a cosy wood-burner and a pretty pine table. Dreamy colours remind you that the sea is close, eggs from the family’s hen nestle in a basket on the kitchen’s beautiful sycamore worktops. Your bedroom has a fabulous big bed and next door is a stylish bedroom. Chase the sun or the shade in your patch of garden: and, just beyond: a jolly pub, a cafe for teas and a 20 minute walk to a very fine sand beach.

Price £330-£490 per week
Rooms Cottage for 2 (4 with extra bed)
Meals Self catering
Closed Rarely
Directions Given on booking
Contact
Melanie Boissevain
Bosherton, Pembroke SA71 5DN
+44 (0) 1646 661 787
www.schoolroomcottage.co.uk

Powys: The Old Store House

Unbend here with agreeable books, chattering birds, and twinkling Peter, who asks only that you feel at home. Downstairs are a range-warmed kitchen, a sunny conservatory overlooking garden, ducks and canal, and a charmingly ramshackle sitting room with a wood-burner, sofas and a piano – no babbling TV. Bedrooms are large, light and spotless, with more books, soft goose down, new bathrooms, and armchairs facing views. Breakfast, without haste, on toothsome scrambled eggs, local bacon and sausages, blistering coffee. Bliss – but not for those who prefer the comfort of rules. Minimum stay two nights at weekends.

Price £75. Singles £40
Rooms 4: 3 doubles, 1 twin
Meals Packed lunch £4. Pub/restaurant 0.75 miles
Closed Rarely
Directions From Brecon, Abergavenny A40. After 1 mile, left for Llanfryanach B4558. Cross narrow stone bridge. House is 1.3 miles on right.
Contact
Peter Evans
Llanfrynach LD3 7LJ
+44 (0) 1874 665499
www.theoldstorehouse.co.uk

Swansea: Oriel Gwyr

A product designer by trade, John has, quite literally, carved out his first house – in the sought after hamlet of Rhossili. The roof is insulated and grassed over, the odd sun pipe breaks through the turf to funnel light down, and there’s an air-source heat pump for the under floor heating: you’ll like the toasty floors. The whole house is muted, immaculate, curvaceous and double glazed. You are three miles from groceries but a local and organic welcome hamper will get you started. A cliff top restaurant is a two minute stroll and it’s a tumble down the path to the sweeping sands of Rhossili beach – one of Wale’s finest.

Price £800-£1,600 per week
Rooms House for 8 (3 doubles, 1 twin)
Meals Restaurant 100 yds.
Closed Never.
Directions From Swansea, A4118 to Port Eynon. At Scurlage, right onto B4247 until you reach Rhossili; on right 100m before church.
Contact
John Williams
Rhossili SA3 1AU
+44 (0) 1792 391425
www.orielgwyr.co.uk
Wrexham: Wynnstay Hall

At the end of a beech-line drive is a Grade 11-listed Victorian pile in French Renaissance style. Your share has been adventurously revamped into a 21^st century bolthole; the rest is private apartments. A lift takes you to snug attic bedrooms and large sleek mezzanine suites. Downstairs is the Great Hall, oak panelled with a suit of armour and a vast open-tread staircase. Other sitting areas have huge fireplaces, leather sofas and a bar, a pool table, grand piano and a cinema. City escapees will love it – and the Capability Brown landscaped gardens.

Price £1,500-£3,000 per week
Rooms Hall for 18 (20 with sofa bed): 7 doubles, 2 twins
Meals Self catering
Closed Never
Directions Given on booking
Contact
Alex Roberts
Wynnstay Hall Estate, Overton Road
Ruabon, Wrexham LL14 6LA
+44 (0)1766 780043

Alastair Sawday’s guide, Special Places to Stay Wales, is available to buy online at www.sawdays.co.uk

Lost Anything Lately?

adrian — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:57:44 +0000

It always surprises other people just what gets lost or left in places. I, myself, once left a bag with a brand new pair of shoes inside on a train luggage rack and only realised what I had done when I got home so I am a great one to talk. Nonetheless, it is still fascinating to see odd (odd in the sense of how would you ever forget anything quite so personal) things that have been left.

Airport Parking and Hotels (APH see www.aph.com) have been looking through their lost property that they have collected and found the usual array of clothing and mobile phones. But amongst these, there was a wheelchair and a pair of false teeth, crutches and prams as well as cameras and MP3 players. Some of this isn’t cheap. Some of it is, well, fairly attached to you so how is it that you leave a pair of crutches round ? Or the false teeth?

I have a theory.

If you don’t carry things regularly it is easy to forget them. So umbrellas, different bags, overcoats or macs can easily be forgotten if they are left in the luggage rack on trains, In the old days when trains had string vest type racks, you could see the items reflected in the compartment mirror facing you. Today there are no compartments, no string vest luggage racks and no mirrors so there are no memory aids. In hotels, there are so many places to lose things, wardrobes (under the spare pillows or behind the ironing board), under the bed (or even in it) and anywhere in the public areas. And on planes. There is under the seat in front of you, the overhead lockers that you can’t see into properly u nless you are 7 feet tall or stand on the seat.

But how do you forget false teeth, crutches and wheelchairs? I don’t think it is case of them forgotten. I think people are using trains, airlines and hotels as dumping grounds for unwanted items. How else do you leave false teeth?

Alastair Sawday’s top 10 places to stay in Wales

Editor — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:43:37 +0000

Alastair Sawday has a knack for picking out stylish, well-run places – the sort the CD Traveller team would choose for a short break ourselves. To give you a flavour, we’ve picked five of our favourites from Sawday’s new book Special Places to Stay Wales.

Anglesey: The Seacroft
Big skies, sandy beaches, wheeling gulls, spectacular sunsets – that’s what you find at the top of the Anglesey. The Seacroft stands just inland, its whitewashed walls sparkling in the sun. It’s a very happy place, a pub to some, a restaurant to others. Outside is a decked terrace; inside, New England interiors give an airy seaside feel. Pretty bedrooms are warm and cosy. Two have decked balconies, all come with excellent bathrooms, crisp linen and smart wooden beds. Spin outside to explore and find the wide sands of Trearddur Bay, the coastal path, boats to hire, even a ferry across to Dublin.

Price £90
Rooms 6: 5 doubles, 1 twin
Meals Lunch&dinner £5-£30
Closed Rarely
Directions A55 north onto Anglesey for Holyhead. Exit at junction 2, B4545 into village. Ravenspoint Road signed right after Spar. On right.

Contact
Patrick Flynn
Ravenspoint Road, Trearddur Bay, LL65 2YU
+44 (0) 1407 860348
www.theseacroft.com

Cardiff: Jolyon’s Boutique Hotel
Down by the water, the captain’s house stands on the oldest residential street in Cardiff Bay. Bang opposite, is the regenerated quayside. At Jolyon’s, a boutique run in Mediterranean style, you get spotless, light flooded (though not huge) bedrooms with creamy walls and colourful fabrics. Find Moroccan lanterns, the odd armoire, Philippe Starck loos in airy bathrooms – in some you can watch TV while you soak in your Jacuzzi bath. Drop down to the bar for fresh wood-oven baked pizzas. The feel here is that of a Boston coffee shop, so order an espresso, a local beer or a fancy cocktail, then sink into a leather sofa. Live music and tasting evenings.

Price £50-£150
Rooms 8: 6 doubles, 2 twins
Meals Dishes from £2.50. Pizza from £5.50
Closed Never
Directions M4 junc. 29, then A48 (M) for Cardiff. Take exit marked ‘Docks and Bay’. Straight ahead, past Millennium Centre&1st left.

Contact
Jolyon Joseph
5 Bute Crescent, Cardiff CF10 5AN
+44 (0) 2920 488775
www.jolyons.co.uk

Conwy: The Towers
Marvellous to find a house by the beach that sleeps 25! Towers is an ex-harbour master’s house, sporting a gothic style tower with 360 degree views. There are bedrooms galore from four posters to bunks, one with a vivid Lady of Shallot mural, another with a Balinese hessian-clad ceiling. The sitting room, overlooking the car park, is turquoise with a domed ceiling painted with stars; and the kitchen, overlooking the garden (with putting green) guards a large range. There’s a library, a dining room with a vast table, even a private cinema. In short, a comfortable – and unusual – house for a mix of generations.

Price £1,643-£3,419 per week
Rooms House for 20 (25 with annexe): 2 four posters, 5 doubles, 2 twins, 1 bunk room for 2, 1 family room, sofa bed.
Meals Self-catering
Closed Never
Directions Given on booking

Contact
Alex Roberts
Llanfairfechon, LL33 ODA
+44 (0) 1766 780043

Flintshire: Golden Grove
Huge, Elizabethan and intriguing – Golden Grove was built by Sir Edward Morgan in 1580. The Queen Anne staircase, oak panelling, faded fabrics and fine family pieces are enhanced by jewel-like colour schemes: rose-pink, indigo, aqua. In summer the magnificent dining room is in use; in the winter the sitting room fire counters the draughts. The two Anns are charming and amusing, dinners are delicious and the family foursome tend the garden – beautiful, productive and well-kept. They also find time for a nuttery and a sheep farm as well as their relaxed B&B. Many return to this exceptional place.

Price: £100. Singles £60
Rooms: 3: 2 doubles, 1 twin each with separate bath
Meals: Dinner £28. Pubs within 2 miles
Closed: November-February
Directions: Turn off A55 onto A5151 for Prestatyn. At Texaco before Trelawnyd, right. Branch left immed. Over 1st x-roads; right at T-junc. Gates 170 yds on left.

Contact
Ann & Meryn and Ann & Nigel Steele-Mortimer
Llansa, Holywell CH8 9NA
+44 (0) 1745 854452

Gywnedd: Ynys Pandy
It’s beautifully secluded, here in the hills looking into the Snowdonia range. Kind Tomos and Brenda live in one part of the farmhouse, the rest is yours. Cosily furnished, spotlessly clean, you arrive to a warm log burner and fresh scones. In the sitting room are games and books, in the conservatory, comfy chairs and sunshine, in the kitchen, pretty wooden units and crockery – and a scullery with butler’s sink and room for willies. Bathrooms have fluffy towels, bedrooms are colourful with new pine. Children will love the bunks, the grassy garden, climbing frame and swings. Beaches and castles – and Portmerion, are close.

Price £419-£860 per week. Low season discounts
Rooms House for 8: 2 doubles, 1 twin/double, 1 bunk room for 2
Meals Self-catering
Closed Never
Directions Given on booking.

Contact
Tomos & Brenda Jenkins
Golan, Garndolbenmaen LL51 9YU
+44 (0)1766 530256
www.ynyspandy.co.uk

Log on to CD Traveller tomorrow for five more fabulous places to stay in Wales.

Alastair Sawday’s guide is available to buy online at www.sawdays.co.uk

Britain’s Attractions in 2009

Editor — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:37:19 +0000

The figures for what we visited last year have been released by ALVA, the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions. Between their 42 members, they are responsible for nearly 1,600 different attractions. But not every attraction is a member and not every member provides figures so there could be more popular places around.
Last year more of us visited their attractions than ever before. The figures were up by nearly 11% over 2009 which may not be that surprising given that 2009 was a year when more of us holidayed at home.
Rather obviously, those that didn’t make an entry charge filled the top 5 positions with the British Museum being the leading attraction in the country with over 5.5 million visits. This was down on 2009 but figures go up and down depending on the appeal of new exhibitions and improvements. The other four were the National Gallery, Tate Modern, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum all of which are in London. The first attraction which charges was the Tower of London with 2,389,000 visitors, less than half that of the British Museum.
Outside London, the leading attraction was the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow (again, free entry). It was followed by Chester Zoo, (because of all the TV exposure?) Edinburgh Castle, the Baths and Pump Room in Bath and the Eden Project in Cornwall. Apart from Kelvingrove the others all charge for entry. The first Welsh entry is St Fagans just outside Cardiff.( also free)
One place that did showa decline in visitors is Liverpool. After being one of the two European Cities of Culture in 2008, it had a large increase in visitors in 2008. Having seen it then, many decided to stay away in 2009. So the Mersey Maritime Museum saw numbers drop by 7%, the World Museum by 23% , the Walker Art gallery by 46% and the Tate by 50%. Just to confuse my logic, the Lady Lever Art Gallery increased numbers by almost a quarter!
Overall, 21 attractions each had more than 1 million visitors and Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire managed to attract an extra 40%. Still if it attracted 10 times as many visitors it would still only match those of the British Museum and that would really please its owner, the Duke of Marlborough.

What’s hot

Editor — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:56:33 +0000

Whether you’re staycation-ing or vacationing, CD Traveller tells you what’s happening in the travel world

WHAT’S HOT

The staycation
Thought you’d seen the last of the staycation? Think again. New travel research by BRC Continental has shown that a staggering 70 per cent of people are likely to book a UK holiday during 2010. The continuing strength of the euro and a growing feeling of disillusion with air travel are being cited as reasons for increased interest.

Rock n Roll
Fancy laying down you own track at the ultra exclusive Wendyhouse Production studio before retreating to the K West Hotel in London for a night of pampering? It’s all part of their new Rock ‘n’ Roll package. Prices start at £529 for two people. Visit www.k-west.co.uk to find out more.

Chic sleeps
Not content to stick to clothes, Missoni has turned its attention to hotels. The Italian fashion label has already raised the fashion stakes in Edinburgh: Kuwait, Cape Town, Ilha de Cajaiba in Brazil and Oman are to follow. See www.hotelmissoni.com for more.

Make for Marrakech
Marrakech looks set to be the holiday spot of 2010 since Carrie and co decamped to there to film the Sex and The City sequel (out May 28). And where the SATC girls lead, the rest of us follow: get the Red City while it’s hot.

Holiday and help
Sense, the national charity for deaf and blind people, is offering free volunteering holidays in the British countryside for those willing to spend time helping children and adults who have a combination of sight and hearing impediments. To find out more or sign up, see sense.org.uk.

Saying hello to Honduras
Following an ease of political tensions in Honduras, the Foreign Office has withdrawn its warning against travel to the Central American country and the CD Traveller team are celebrating for along with Mayan ruins, tropical jungle and great beaches, Honduras boasts a chain of reefs second in size only to the Great Barrier Reef.

All aboard the Trans-Sib
Hands up who has dreamed of riding the Trans-Siberian but never had the cash or time to actually get on board? That’s all of us then.
Thankfully the world’s most famous train journey just got that little bit more accessible thanks to Google Russia and Russian railways, who have launched a new website that takes you on a virtual tour of the 5752 mile route from Moscow to Vladivostok.
The multi platform portal features six days of video footage of the view out of the window as the train pushes steadily eastward.You can also choose your own sounds – from the clattering of train wheels to the dulcet tones of a balalaika or even listen to Russian readings of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. All this while watching the locomotive’s progress on a Google map, a satellite view or tracking the terrain and mountains. See google.ru/int/ru/landing/transsib/en.html.

WHAT’S NOT

Holidays being hit by strikes
After the dark, dismal weather of the past few months you’d be forgiven for wanting to escape to sunnier climes. But with BA planning to strike and Lufthansa already on strike combined with French air traffic control action and a nationwide halt to business in Greece and international travel isn’t easy.

Moscow
Moscow has the most expensive rooms in the world for business travellers, according to the annual hotel survey by corporate travel services company, Hogg Robinson Group. British business travellers paid an average of £266.56 for a hotel room in the Russian capital in 2009 compared to £151.56 in London.

Machu Picchu
In the wake of the severe rain and mudslides that killed 20 people last month, the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu are likely to remain closed until April.

Selling off Greek Islands

Editor — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:26:48 +0000

In Greece, there have been cries of outrage at the suggestion by some German parliamentarians that they sell off some of the Greek islands. The money raised from the sale, goes the suggestion, would reduce the large economic deficit that the country has. As there are about 6,000 Greek islands and only about 80 are inhabited, there remain a huge number which make no contribution to the Greek economy.
Is this such a bad idea?
There are islands in the Caribbean that have been sold and then developed for tourism. In the Maldives, islands are co-developed for tourism with the locals and the state receiving taxation. And there seems to be a ready market for people to buy islands so here is a slight alteration to the idea. The attraction of the Greek islands for tourists has existed for centuries.
Why shouldn’t the Greek government consider the idea of leasing the islands for say 25 years to hotel groups, tour operators or indeed anyone who will develop the island for its tourism potential? After 25 years the companies leasing the islands can then join in a 50:50 partnership with the state or return the islands to the Greek government. In the meantime it will have made a profit on its investment, the Greek government won’t have to pay for infrastructure costs, jobs will have been created which will help to reduce unemployment and there will have been medical and payroll taxes paid during those years. But the incentive for the companies will be that they pay no other taxation during the life of the lease. For the Greek government it will mean the initial revenue from the leasing of the islands can go straight to reduce the deficit. Think of it like privatising G3 bandwidths for mobile telephones which raised huge sums for governments a decade or so ago.
Now how many islands are there around Ireland and the UK where something similar might be considered?

What do you do about a problem called Heathrow?

adrian — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:14:12 +0000

Does anybody like Heathrow? Not the people who live around it. Not many of the people who fly from it. But after half a century it is still there. Surrounded by houses and sprawling industrial estates wrapped, around by motorways and dual carriageways, Heathrow seems always to be straining to get out if its little straightjacket of land.

I confess I don’t like it. As a regular user, it can be still confusing to me. You take endless walkways to get anywhere whether it to be to get out or to get to your plane’s gate. It seems overcrowded in the older terminals and in the sky. I won’t even begin to contemplate how long I have spent being stacked in the air because there are trying to cram so many landings and take-offs into what seems a pint pot when they need a quart or even a gallon.

Boris Johnson, mayor of London announced some time ago that he didn’t favour expansion but an entire new airport which, he suggested, should be built in the Thames estuary. At the moment only the Labour government seems committed to Heathrow expansion. Now Medway Council in Kent, the council most affected if a new airport was constructed in the estuary, says it objects. The Board of Airline Representatives says it objects as well. BA, Virgin Atlantic and KLM-Air France object. Probably Mrs Smith in Acacia Avenue objects as does the London Institute of Dodgy Decisions Interacting with Transport to Europe. (Luddite)

Having interviewed countless people about airports, I can say there will always be objectors. Whether Johnson’s ideas is praiseworthy or lamentable is only one issue. That Heathrow cannot continue as it is, is the one that must be faced. Vertical take-off passenger aircraft would maximise the use of the existing space but is that practical? Planes that use shorter take-off lengths might be an answer if that is practical. We seem to spend so much time looking at reducing fuel and noise that I wonder sometimes whether there is anybody looking at making better use of the limitations of land and rethinking how planes and airports may work.