British Airways Resumes Flights to Lahore after Four Decades

It was a great day in thee history of aviation, British Airways and Pakistan that British Airways resumed its operation to Lahore, Pakistan after four decades. 

The British Airways flight BA-259 took of from Heathrow airport London with two hundred and fourteen passengers  and touched down at Allama Iqbal International Airport in the morning of 12 October.

To celebrate the landmark occasion, a special ceremony was held in the CIP lounge of Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore and a cake was cut. Christian Turner, the British high commissioner to Pakistan also attended.

Speaking on the occasion, the British High Commissioner remarked: “The first-ever British Airways flights to Lahore is a sign of confidence in Pakistan, and the deepening ties between our two countries. I hope it will open up even more opportunities for business links, people-to-people ties, and tourism.”

Photo | Source |

If you like Imposing Headlines, please follow us on Facebook
Follow@imposingnews

Read more »

India no more safe travel destination for Russians

Russia and India have a history of being very old friends but the latest news come as a surprise to many as Russia removes India from the list of safe travel destinations for its people, reports India Today.

The Russian information centre in Goa, India said that a revised travel advisory had been issued following the blacklisting of Egypt and Turkey. "Both India and Goa were not considered as good destinations for Russian travellers," said Ekaterina Belyakova, head of the Russian information centre.

For India and Goa, the move is likely to affect tourism hugely as the coastal state of Goa is considered to be one of the favourite tourist spots for Russian travellers.

Source | Photo: Reuters

If you like Imposing Headlines, please follow us on Facebook

Read more »

Growing pickpocketing threat leaves Eiffel Tower closed

Eiffel Tower, the darling of tourists vising Paris was shut down for almost six hours as its employees staged a walkout on account of growing menace of pickpocketers.

The pickpocketers are not only a threat to the tourists, but the workers claim the gangs are increasingly threatening them with assault or abuse.

Thousands of tourists visit Eiffel Tower daily - many deprived of their wallets while waiting to get tickets

Although the Tower was opened later on Friday, the tower staff are demanding "formal guarantees" from management to stop pick-pocketing gangs who target numerous tourists every day.

It may be added that A similar closure took place in April 2013 when the Louvre art gallery disappointed hundreds of tourists by closing down after staff complained of being spat at, abused and even assaulted by pickpocketing gangs.

Source

If you like Imposing Headlines, please follow us on Facebook

Read more »

Couple on wedding anniversary trip chased by pod of 20 Killer Whales

When a Florida couple decided to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in open sea in Mexico, they were not aware of some huge unwanted guests that would trail them for miles.

Scroll down for video

Rich and Laura Howard from Lutz, were diving off the coast of La Paz when their dive instructor signaled for them to return to their boat. Obeying his instructions, the keen ocean photographer and his wife discovered to their disbelief that they were fast being approached by a group of 4-5 ft dorsal fins. Mrs Howard filmed the incredible sighting on her Flip Cam. 

At one point, the killer whales were just too close that could have caused a bump to the boat and may have resulted into a horrific accident.

Watch the video below:

Read more about it at: Mail Online
Follow us on Facebook

Read more »

Sleep in Mega-bus from London to Scotland for £15

Good news for tired commuters between London and Scotland!!

Now you can 'sleep' while you travel in the mega-bus from London to Scotland for just £15. The service will begin later in the coming summers.

These Budget buses will link London with eleven major Scottish cities for as little as £15 per ticket, ferrying passengers to Glasgow or Edinburgh in less than eight hours.

Ticket holders can unfold their seats into bunk beds and as well as being provided with a toothbrush, coach company Mega-bus offers up a complimentary onesie to snuggle up in during the journey.

Stagecoach Group Chief Executive who proudly showed off the new Megabus onesie said: ‘It used to be just popstars that had beds on board their tour buses, now everyone can benefit from a comfortable, great value overnight journey.

It may be recalled that Albatross Sleeping Car Co. regularly took 12 passengers at a time between London and Liverpool in 1928, and Land Liners Ltd operated a double-decker night service between London and Manchester in the late 1920s.

(via Mail Online) 
Follow us on Facebook

Read more »

Titanic to be reborn: Australian tycoon Clive Palmer unveils plan to replicate Titanic

100 years later after the tragedy of Titanic, the world's biggest sea liner which ever sailed in its time, the flamboyant Australian tycoon Clive Palmer unveiled his plan Tuesday for building a perfect replica of the Titanic. However, this time the sea liner will have a lot of extra lifeboats.

Palmer says he thinks the time has come to complete the unfinished journey to New York.

"The Titanic was the ship of dreams. Titanic II is the ship where dreams will come true," Palmer said in New York at the project's official launch.

Featuring the same rigid divisions as in 1912 between first, second and third class, passengers will eat either in an ornate dining room or at a long common table. "There'll be no mingling" between classes, Palmer said.

Passengers in the luxury section will enjoy the identical grand staircase and reproductions of the original Titanic's Turkish bath and swimming pool.

One modification that Palmer underlined is a vast improvement in the lifeboats, which were insufficient on the original ship, contributing to the loss of more than 1,500 people when it sank in icy waters.

Palmer said this time the ship would exceed regulatory requirements with top-of-the-range lifeboats that are "very safe."

At 833 feet (269 meters), the ship will be about a finger's length longer than the original, with room for 2,435 passengers and 900 crew.

If all goes according to plan, Titanic II will start by sailing from China to Southampton, England, and from there along the original, ill-fated route to New York. After, the ship would cruise mostly in the North Atlantic.

Read more about it at: The News International
Follow us on Facebook

Read more »

Petition on bad Greyhound bus trip arrangement goes viral on the Web

We more often than not suffer travel glitches but elect to ignore our woes for no good reason.

But one traveler from Minneapolis to Bloomington, Illinois on the famous Greyhound bus service has not. And he has taken up the matter on the web, which has gone viral with 75,000 signatories already.

Ankur Singh, a college freshman  bought ticket from Greyhound Lines sounded miserable enough to begin with: His trip home from Minneapolis to Bloomington, Illinois, left at midnight and included a five-hour layover in Des Moines, Iowa, from 4 a.m. until 9 a.m.

However, when the bus with Mr Singh aboard arrived at the Des Moines stop, he learned that the bus station didn't open until 5 a.m., meaning the connecting passengers would be left out in the cold for a frigid hour. Weather.com reports that the low temperature on Feb. 1 was 6 below zero. Singh says the wind chill factor made it feel even colder.

As Singh describes on his Change.org petition, "Everyone layered on all of the clothes they had with them and huddled for warmth -- they even wrapped t-shirts around their heads to keep their ears from going numb."

Singh has since spoken to Greyhound representatives and understands that the bus station was operated by a partner carrier called Jefferson Lines. Still, he explained over the phone to Yahoo!, "I had bought my ticket from Greyhound. I expected I would be taking care of all the way through and I would be taken care of by them." According to Singh, that was not the case.

The petition continues to gather signatures and hundreds of comments from other travelers claiming to have had similar experiences being stranded at a closed bus station.

Read more about it at: Yahoo News
Follow us on Facebook

Read more »

Sick woman dies in Hungary after not being allowed by airlines for being 'too obese'

Vilma Soltesz, 56, a U.S woman died on holiday in Hungary after being refused a seat on three flights back to New York because she was too heavy to fly, according to her husband.

The airline said it did not have a seat-belt extender for her according to her husband

Vilma from New York, had weighed about 425lbs, had only one leg and used a wheelchair
She died from health complications in Hungary nine days after she was kicked off the first of three flights and now her death could now be the cause of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the airlines.

-->

The Hungary-born couple had traveled to Hungary to stay in their holiday home, a trip they made every year.

Read more about the tragedy at the Daily Mail
Follow us on Facebook

Read more »

Manchester airport to ditch controversial 'naked' scanners

The much controversial naked scanners that have drawn criticism from passengers as these infringe upon passengers' privacy, will be removed from Manchester airport shortly as  the European Commission has not approved them for permanent use.

'Naked Scanners' [left] to be replaced with 'Privacy friendly Scanner' [right]

Manchester airport will ditch these scanners when a trial of their use comes to an end next month.

The machines will be replaced by five next generation ‘privacy-friendly’ scanners because the European Commission has not approved them for permanent use.

Critics said the machines, which display graphic x-ray style images, invaded passenger privacy.

Read more: Daily Mail

Read more »

What Recession? 1.7m Britons took a cruise holiday last year

Has Europe recession any impact on travel or holiday lovers lately? Well not to any estimated reckoning as nearly two million Britons went on holiday cruises last year.

What recession? Record numbers of Brits went on cruises last year, research has revealed [Photo: Alamy / Daily Mail]

The UK market, which grew 9 per cent to a record 1.7million in 2011, is now second only to North America’s.

Worldwide nearly two million more people took a cruise holiday last year than in 2010, representing an increase in the global market of 10 per cent.

The figures go against predictions that less people would opt for cruise holidays following poor publicity over mishaps such as Novovirus outbreaks.

Read more: Daily Mail

Read more »

Travel News: Trendy Pop-Up Restaurant opens in a Mine

Inspired by the modern urban trend for temporary ‘pop-up’ shops and eateries,  an underground restaurant has been opened in a mine in the southern Finnish town of Lohja this week.

The 'Mined' restaurant [Photo: AP]

Guests who pay a visit will be able to feast on a four-course menu that continues the off-beat theme by including snail flambéed in Pernod and served with a fennel risotto.

This below-ground banquet is a little on the pricey side – costing just over £100 per head – but will appeal to gourmets, as it also features smoked vendace (a type of fish common in northern Europe) in lemon oil, roast veal tenderloin and hanger steak in herb stock.

Read more: Daily Mail

Read more »

What do travelers want from Airlines? Tech and Mobile Services!!

The use of mobile phones has affected our daily lives and travel so much that we do not want to go to places, airports and even travel by an airlines unless unless we are provided with the mobile and wi-fi facilities.

A recent survey shows that more than 80% people would like to fly with an airlines that offer smartphone facilities and another 38% would like laptop facilities.

-->

The above stats is just part of a whole Infographic that I came across at Mashable. For details, click here for the complete Infographic and see what are the emerging trends by travelers around the world.

Read more »

Cheerleaders Entertain Stranded Passengers At China's Dalian International Airport

Airport delays have long marred air travel, yet rarely have they been turned into an opportunity to put on a show.

But that's exactly what happened when a thick fog stranded 5,000 travelers in Dalian, China last week.

The airport brought in a group of college cheerleaders to perk up passengers, reports ChinaSmack.

Sporting matching blue uniforms and white pom poms, the trio gave an entertaining performance filled with jumps, kicks and splits according to CNN.

[ via Huffington Post / Travel ]

Read more »

Gilgit Baltistan - a Heaven on earth as captured by a photographer

Gilgit-Baltistan, formerly known as the Northern Areas is a region that attracts the world  of mountaineers, trekkers, holidaymakers and fun lovers. The region is home to five of the fourteen eight  thousanders and dozens of peaks above 7,000 metres besides the unbelievable and beautiful  Deosai Plains. The region is also home to the near extinct Snow Leopard, the Brown Bears of  Deosai and Marcopolo sheep, besides many other species of beautiful animals and birds.

Spread over an area of some 72,971 square kilometres, Gilgit-Baltistan borders Pakistan's Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province to the west, Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor to the north, China  to the east and northeast, Azad Kashmir to the southwest, and Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir to the southeast. The region is a meeting point of three great mountain ranges; namely the Himalayas, the Karakoram and the Pamir. 

Explore more and see more photographs: Jaho Jalal [ A photographer's capture of Gilgit Baltistan]

Also Read:

The Eight Thousanders

Virgin lakes of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Read more »

Business Express - A luxury train for people who mean 'Business' in Pakistan

Pakistan Railway has recently started a posh and lavish exclusive train for the businessmen between Lahore and Karachi. The thirteen-carriage train will ply over a distance of 1,200 kilometers in 18 hours - as compared to usual 30 hours journey. The train will provide a workable and budgetary solution to businessmen frequenting the two cities regularly in comfort and luxury.

A passenger boards the Business Express [Photo AP]

For 5,000 rupees one way ($55), or 9,000 rupees return, passengers are waited on by a bevy of attentive stewards, as they settle down to watch films on flat-screen TVs or power up laptops.

Afternoon tea and piping hot dinner – courtesy of chefs at five-star hotels are borne into cabins. Then as night falls, stewards come round with crisp bed linen to turn slightly hard green bunks into inviting beds.

Read more about the train and facilities: The Express Tribune

Read more »

The Eight Thousanders of Pakistan

Pakistan is one of those countries which are on the most favourite list of the mountaineers from all over the world. It has 108 peaks over 7,000 metres and as many over 6,000 metres, while there is no count for peaks over 5,000 and 4,000 meters. Most of the highest peaks in Pakistan lie in Karakoram Range (which lies almost entirely in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, and is considered to be a part of the greater Himalayan range) but some peaks above 7,000 m are included in the Himalayan and Hindu Kush ranges.

Five of the fourteen 'Eight Thousanders' are located in Pakistan

But what makes Pakistan exclusive is that it has five out of the fourteen eight thousanders (peaks over 8,000 meters) in the world. Of these five, four lie in the surroundings of Concordia; the confluence of Baltoro Glacier and Godwin Austen Glacier. 

The Five Eight Thousanders of Pakistan include:

1. K2 or the Godwin Austen (second highest after the Everest)
2. Nanga Parbat - the Naked Mountain
3. Gasherbrum I or the Hidden Peak
4. Broad Peak
5. Gasherbrum II

Read more about the Five Eight Thousanders of Pakistan: Jaho Jalal

If you like Imposing Headlines, please join us on Facebook

Read more »

Rani Kot Fort - the missed out wonder of the world

Great Wall of China (left) - Ranikot Fort Pakistan (right)

The mention of seven wonders of world abounds all search engines as these have been there for quite a long without ever being updated. But if one goes around the world, one would find amazing places obscured by the unreachable tracts or hidden in the history books, being baked under the scorching sun and withering away by the fast blowing whistling winds of the deserts. 

Almost similar to the Great Wall of China, there lies a unique fort in the desolate deserts of the Sind province of Pakistan that qualifies itself for an addition into the list of the wonders of the world.

Located out in nowhere in the Lakki mountain of the Kirthar Mountain Ranges, some 30 kilometres southwest of Sann in the Jamshoro district, there lies the Ranikot Fort. Spread over an area of 26 kilometers in circumference with fortification walls of approximately 35 kilometers in length, no one is really very sure why and how this fort was built as apparently it does not seem to be defending anything.

Read more: Jaho Jalal

Please join us on Facebook

Read more »

The Best Time To Purchase Airfare

As travel shopping season kicks into high gear, a new report from the Airlines Reporting Corporation brings exciting news: The best time to purchase your airfare is about six weeks prior to travel. 

Photo: Air Travel International

Yep, only six weeks. 

It took examining close to $80 billion worth of airline tickets, spread over 144 million transactions for the ARC to come up with that answer, but we're certainly glad they did. 

Read more: Business Insider

Please join us on Facebook

Read more »

Your future home for $3 million Only!!

How would you like to have a modern, futuristic and luxurious 'home', in which you can live, travel and even sail? 

Well, if you have $3 million to spare, let me tell you how !!

The German company Marchi Mobile has a novel idea of modern house that moves and even sails with you. Palazzo is a motorhome – on wheels.

Palazzo: For 'paltry' $3 million, you can live, travel and sail in your technology intensive future home

With extravagant bedrooms, full-size bathrooms, a sitting area, and a roof deck, the Palazzo could be a serious replacement for every place that you live.

There are even different versions that can be used as shuttles or promotional vehicles. The home version featured here starts at the discount price of $3 million. But with only five built per year, you will not have to worry about pulling up next to another one at a stop light.

Read more / view slide show for details on Palazzo: Business Insider

Please join us on Facebook
[ via Jaho Jalal ]

Read more »

20 Biggest Yachts Likely in the High Seas In 2012 [ Slide Show ]

2012 has only just begun, but there are already many, specially at Superyachts.com, making forecasts about the largest yachts of the new year - some have not been built yet, while others have existed since the 19th century.

Some of the biggest yachts you may like to travel in 2012

These vessels are surely impressive for their size--and their features--but what is perhaps more intriguing about them is how they are shrouded in the opaque and mysterious world of some of the most affluent people on the planet, from Russian oligarchs to Arab princes.

View the slide show: Business Insider

Like Imposing Headlines? Please join us on Facebook

Read more »