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Gulliver | The Economist
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src="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047im_/http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/images/blog_sites/_0000s_0002_gulliver.png?1328719125"/> <div> <h1><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver">Gulliver</a></h1> <h2>Business travel</h2> </div> </div> <div class="view view-blog-site-attached-view view-id-blog_site_attached_view view-display-id-default view-dom-id-1"> <div class="view-content clearfix"> <div class="item-list"> <ul> <li class="clearfix views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first"><div class="node-blog-tpl" class="clearfix"> <h3 class="ec-blog-fly-title">Airlines and pollution</h3> <h4 class="ec-blog-headline"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/airlines-and-pollution">Europe against the world</a> </h4> <p class="ec-blog-info"> May 16th 2012, 11:10 by J.A. </p> <div class="ec-blog-body"> <p><span> <div class="content-image-full"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047im_/http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/full-width/images/2012/05/blogs/gulliver/20120519_blp503.jpg" alt="" title="" class="imagecache imagecache-full-width" width="595" height="335"/> </div></span></p><p><span>AFTER a lot of noisy cross-fire, on May 15th</span><span> the smoke cleared from the battleground that is the European Union’s policy on airlines and climate change. Twenty-six countries have fiercely opposed a move by the EU to charge airlines using its airports for their carbon emissions. Yet it turns out that only those of </span>China<span> and </span>India<span>, ten carriers in all, are failing to comply with the scheme. <p class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/airlines-and-pollution">Continue reading "Europe against the world" »</a> </p> </div> <ul class="ec-page-tools ec-pt-expanded ec-pt-expanded-teaser clearfix"><li class="pt-recommend first"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21555494/recommend" rel="nofollow" title="Recommend this blog post" data-ec-omniture="recommend_article">Recommend (20)</a></li> <li class="pt-comment even last"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/airlines-and-pollution#comments" class="view-comments" data-ec-omniture="go_to_comments">Comment (28)</a></li> </ul></div> <!-- /#node-blog-tpl --> </li> <li class="clearfix views-row views-row-2 views-row-even"><div class="node-blog-tpl" class="clearfix"> <h3 class="ec-blog-fly-title">Sandwiches in hotels</h3> <h4 class="ec-blog-headline"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/sandwiches-hotels">Club classics</a> </h4> <p class="ec-blog-info"> May 15th 2012, 11:22 by A.B. </p> <div class="ec-blog-body"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/sandwiches-hotels" class="blogs-first-image"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047im_/http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blogs-teaser/images/2012/05/blogs/gulliver/20120519_blp501.jpg" alt="" title="" class="imagecache imagecache-blogs-teaser" width="168" height="95"/></a> <p>WITH a nod, maybe, to a certain newspaper’s <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2012/01/daily-chart-3">Big Mac index</a>, Hotels.com recently launched its own <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://press.hotels.com/en-gb/2012-05-09/cest-combien/">Club Sandwich index</a>. This doesn't explore questions of purchasing-power parity and overvalued currencies so much as the worldwide costs of three slices of toast with some chicken, bacon, egg, lettuce and mayonnaise pinned in the middle. Researchers noted the prices of the sandwich in 750 three- to five-star hotels in 26 cities and found the Parisian average to be highest, ahead of Geneva's. Indeed a club sandwich in one five-star establishment in the French capital would set guests back more than £33 ($53). For that much money, the hungrier among you could buy 11 Big Macs.</p> <p class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/sandwiches-hotels">Continue reading "Club classics" »</a> </p> </div> <ul class="ec-page-tools ec-pt-expanded ec-pt-expanded-teaser clearfix"><li class="pt-recommend first"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21555450/recommend" rel="nofollow" title="Recommend this blog post" data-ec-omniture="recommend_article">Recommend (29)</a></li> <li class="pt-comment even last"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/sandwiches-hotels#comments" class="view-comments" data-ec-omniture="go_to_comments">Comment (8)</a></li> </ul></div> <!-- /#node-blog-tpl --> </li> <li class="clearfix views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd"><div class="node-blog-tpl" class="clearfix"> <h3 class="ec-blog-fly-title">The American Airlines bankruptcy</h3> <h4 class="ec-blog-headline"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/american-airlines-bankruptcy">Considering its options</a> </h4> <p class="ec-blog-info"> May 14th 2012, 15:08 by N.B. | WASHINGTON, D.C. </p> <div class="ec-blog-body"> <p>ON FRIDAY, AMR Corp, the parent company of bankrupt American Airlines, announced that it will consider merging with another airline as part of a plan to emerge from bankruptcy. Most outside observers have expected this for some time—United Airlines, which absorbed Continental, and Delta Air Lines, which merged with Northwest, are now significantly larger than American. But Thomas Horton, AA's CEO, had long maintained that he'd like American to emerge from bankruptcy as an independent company. By agreeing with its creditors to consider merger options, AA is acknowledging that such a deal may be more likely than Mr Horton had hoped.</p> <p class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/american-airlines-bankruptcy">Continue reading "Considering its options" »</a> </p> </div> <ul class="ec-page-tools ec-pt-expanded ec-pt-expanded-teaser clearfix"><li class="pt-recommend first"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21554805/recommend" rel="nofollow" title="Recommend this blog post" data-ec-omniture="recommend_article">Recommend (45)</a></li> <li class="pt-comment even last"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/american-airlines-bankruptcy#comments" class="view-comments" data-ec-omniture="go_to_comments">Comment (9)</a></li> </ul></div> <!-- /#node-blog-tpl --> </li> <li class="clearfix views-row views-row-4 views-row-even"><div class="node-blog-tpl" class="clearfix"> <h3 class="ec-blog-fly-title">Busiest airline routes</h3> <h4 class="ec-blog-headline"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/busiest-airline-routes">Top flights</a> </h4> <p class="ec-blog-info"> May 14th 2012, 14:53 by A.B. </p> <div class="ec-blog-body"> <p>TODAY'S daily chart examines the world's busiest commercial airline routes and reveals that no cities share a connection as strong as the one between Seoul and Jeju in South Korea. Do <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2012/05/daily-chart-8">have a look</a>.</p> <p class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/busiest-airline-routes">View full post »</a> </p> </div> <ul class="ec-page-tools ec-pt-expanded ec-pt-expanded-teaser clearfix"><li class="pt-recommend first"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21554831/recommend" rel="nofollow" title="Recommend this blog post" data-ec-omniture="recommend_article">Recommend (46)</a></li> <li class="pt-comment even last"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/busiest-airline-routes#commentForm" class="add-comments" data-ec-omniture="first_to_comment">Be the first to comment</a></li> </ul></div> <!-- /#node-blog-tpl --> </li> <li class="clearfix views-row views-row-5 views-row-odd"><div class="node-blog-tpl" class="clearfix"> <h3 class="ec-blog-fly-title">Lifetime airline passes</h3> <h4 class="ec-blog-headline"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/lifetime-airline-passes">Fly anywhere, any time, for life</a> </h4> <p class="ec-blog-info"> May 13th 2012, 18:52 by N.B. | WASHINGTON, D.C. </p> <div class="ec-blog-body"> <p>IN THE early 1980s, American Airlines, strapped for cash, decided to start selling passes for unlimited first-class travel for life. At the time, the passes cost $250,000 (around $600,000 in today's dollars), with a companion ticket available for an extra $150,000 and discounts for older people. The <em>Los Angeles Times</em> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-0506-golden-ticket-20120506,0,7103119.story" target="_blank">explains what happened next</a>:</p><blockquote><p>"We thought originally it would be something that firms would buy for top employees," said Bob Crandall, American's chairman and chief executive from 1985 to 1998. "It soon became apparent that the public was smarter than we were."</p></blockquote> <p class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/lifetime-airline-passes">Continue reading "Fly anywhere, any time, for life" »</a> </p> </div> <ul class="ec-page-tools ec-pt-expanded ec-pt-expanded-teaser clearfix"><li class="pt-recommend first"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21554804/recommend" rel="nofollow" title="Recommend this blog post" data-ec-omniture="recommend_article">Recommend (71)</a></li> <li class="pt-comment even last"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/lifetime-airline-passes#comments" class="view-comments" data-ec-omniture="go_to_comments">Comment (25)</a></li> </ul></div> <!-- /#node-blog-tpl --> </li> <li class="clearfix views-row views-row-6 views-row-even"><div class="node-blog-tpl" class="clearfix"> <h3 class="ec-blog-fly-title">Travellers with disabilities</h3> <h4 class="ec-blog-headline"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/travellers-disabilities">Problems at the pool</a> </h4> <p class="ec-blog-info"> May 11th 2012, 11:51 by N.B. | WASHINGTON, D.C. </p> <div class="ec-blog-body"> <p>HOTEL CHAINS are lobbying the American government to delay implementing a rule requiring them to install permanent lifts or ramps for the disabled at all public pools by May 21st. In September 2010, the Department of Justice issued a final rule reinterpreting a provision of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) to mean that such facilities were required; previously, many pools had portable, temporary lifts. The permanent versions cost between $2,500 and $6,500, plus $1,000 to $3,000 in installation costs, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hotel-pools-20120504,0,1230150.story" target="_blank">according to the <em>Los Angeles Times</em></a>.</p><p>Permanent lifts aren't that different from the portable ones. They also involve a seat that slowly lowers disabled people into the water.</p> <p class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/travellers-disabilities">Continue reading "Problems at the pool" »</a> </p> </div> <ul class="ec-page-tools ec-pt-expanded ec-pt-expanded-teaser clearfix"><li class="pt-recommend first"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21554387/recommend" rel="nofollow" title="Recommend this blog post" data-ec-omniture="recommend_article">Recommend (68)</a></li> <li class="pt-comment even last"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/travellers-disabilities#comments" class="view-comments" data-ec-omniture="go_to_comments">Comment (15)</a></li> </ul></div> <!-- /#node-blog-tpl --> </li> <li class="clearfix views-row views-row-7 views-row-odd"><div class="node-blog-tpl" class="clearfix"> <h3 class="ec-blog-fly-title">Itchy uniforms</h3> <h4 class="ec-blog-headline"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/itchy-uniforms">What not to wear</a> </h4> <p class="ec-blog-info"> May 10th 2012, 15:08 by N.B. | WASHINGTON, D.C. </p> <div class="ec-blog-body"> <p>ALASKA AIRLINES' new flight-attendant uniforms look good. There's just one problem: the new clothes made some employees break out in rashes. About 10%of the carrier's flight attendants had issues with the uniforms, the attendants' union wrote to the airline last month. The union believes that Tributyl phosphate, an odourless liquid that is found in some detergents, may be the cause of the problem. One of the employees who had problems spoke to Seattle's NBC affiliate about her uniform:</p><blockquote><p>I've never had a uniform like this. I broke out this week. I broke out on my back first, then on my legs. I don’t know what it is, or whether it’s the uniform.</p></blockquote> <p class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/itchy-uniforms">Continue reading "What not to wear" »</a> </p> </div> <ul class="ec-page-tools ec-pt-expanded ec-pt-expanded-teaser clearfix"><li class="pt-recommend first"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21554386/recommend" rel="nofollow" title="Recommend this blog post" data-ec-omniture="recommend_article">Recommend (55)</a></li> <li class="pt-comment even last"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/itchy-uniforms#comments" class="view-comments" data-ec-omniture="go_to_comments">Comment (4)</a></li> </ul></div> <!-- /#node-blog-tpl --> </li> <li class="clearfix views-row views-row-8 views-row-even"><div class="node-blog-tpl" class="clearfix"> <h3 class="ec-blog-fly-title">Delta Air Lines</h3> <h4 class="ec-blog-headline"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/delta-air-lines">An airline buys an oil refinery</a> </h4> <p class="ec-blog-info"> May 9th 2012, 13:20 by N.B. | WASHINGTON, D.C. </p> <div class="ec-blog-body"> <p>DELTA AIR LINES is getting into the oil-refining business. On April 30th, the company announced that a subsidiary, Monroe Energy LLC, would acquire the Trainer refinery complex near Philadelphia. The state of Pennsylvania is providing $30m in assistance (basically in exchange for saving the jobs at the refinery), and Monroe plans to pour some $100m into retooling the complex to "maximise jet fuel production", <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://news.delta.com/index.php?s=43&item=1601" target="_blank">according to a Delta press release</a>. Here's more from the airline:</p><blockquote><p>"Acquiring the Trainer refinery is an innovative approach to managing our largest expense," said Richard Anderson, Delta's chief executive officer.</p></blockquote> <p class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/delta-air-lines">Continue reading "An airline buys an oil refinery" »</a> </p> </div> <ul class="ec-page-tools ec-pt-expanded ec-pt-expanded-teaser clearfix"><li class="pt-recommend first"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21554385/recommend" rel="nofollow" title="Recommend this blog post" data-ec-omniture="recommend_article">Recommend (80)</a></li> <li class="pt-comment even last"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/delta-air-lines#comments" class="view-comments" data-ec-omniture="go_to_comments">Comment (10)</a></li> </ul></div> <!-- /#node-blog-tpl --> </li> <li class="clearfix views-row views-row-9 views-row-odd"><div class="node-blog-tpl" class="clearfix"> <h3 class="ec-blog-fly-title">Regus</h3> <h4 class="ec-blog-headline"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/regus">Work stations</a> </h4> <p class="ec-blog-info"> May 9th 2012, 11:25 by A.B. </p> <div class="ec-blog-body"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/regus" class="blogs-first-image"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047im_/http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blogs-teaser/images/2012/05/blogs/gulliver/regus290.jpg" alt="" title="" class="imagecache imagecache-blogs-teaser" width="168" height="112"/></a> <p>THE places where we can(not avoid) work are multiplying: office, home, café, airport, plane, train... and soon we'll be able to add railway station to that list. Regus, a provider of managed office space, is rolling out drop-in business centres in stations across the Netherlands. In collaboration with NS, the Dutch railway operator, Regus will open the first such space at Amersfoort station in May before launching them in the likes of Haarlem, Maastricht and Amsterdam Sloterdijk. The offices will be situated right on the platforms, in converted shops and offices, so that passengers with little time to spare will still find it worth their while to use the facilities.</p> <p class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/regus">Continue reading "Work stations" »</a> </p> </div> <ul class="ec-page-tools ec-pt-expanded ec-pt-expanded-teaser clearfix"><li class="pt-recommend first"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21554446/recommend" rel="nofollow" title="Recommend this blog post" data-ec-omniture="recommend_article">Recommend (72)</a></li> <li class="pt-comment even last"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/regus#comments" class="view-comments" data-ec-omniture="go_to_comments">Comment (6)</a></li> </ul></div> <!-- /#node-blog-tpl --> </li> <li class="clearfix views-row views-row-10 views-row-even"><div class="node-blog-tpl" class="clearfix"> <h3 class="ec-blog-fly-title">Underwear bombs</h3> <h4 class="ec-blog-headline"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/underwear-bombs">Not this time</a> </h4> <p class="ec-blog-info"> May 8th 2012, 10:46 by A.B. </p> <div class="ec-blog-body"> <p>AMERICAN officials say they have seized a bomb which could have been used to blow up a plane in an attack similar to the one that <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2009/12/abdul_farouk_abdulmutallab_all">Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab</a> attempted at Christmas 2009.</p><p>The device was recovered as part of an operation by the CIA in Yemen, although the exact location of its seizure has not been revealed. It is currently being examined back in Virginia by the FBI. Reports suggest it lacked metal parts and so would not have been picked up by airport metal detectors, and indeed it might not have been spotted by the full-body scanners in use at several airports.</p> <p class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/underwear-bombs">Continue reading "Not this time" »</a> </p> </div> <ul class="ec-page-tools ec-pt-expanded ec-pt-expanded-teaser clearfix"><li class="pt-recommend first"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21554438/recommend" rel="nofollow" title="Recommend this blog post" data-ec-omniture="recommend_article">Recommend (84)</a></li> <li class="pt-comment even last"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/underwear-bombs#comments" class="view-comments" data-ec-omniture="go_to_comments">Comment (29)</a></li> </ul></div> <!-- /#node-blog-tpl --> </li> <li class="clearfix views-row views-row-11 views-row-odd"><div class="node-blog-tpl" class="clearfix"> <h3 class="ec-blog-fly-title">The $100 carry-on bag fee</h3> <h4 class="ec-blog-headline"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/100-carry-bag-fee">Spirit Airlines' hefty new bag fee</a> </h4> <p class="ec-blog-info"> May 7th 2012, 19:40 by N.B. | WASHINGTON, D.C. </p> <div class="ec-blog-body"> <p>THE <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/spirit-airlines" target="_blank">dying-veteran ticket debacle</a> wasn't the only bad press Spirit Airlines, an American discount carrier, received last week. The airline also announced that it would soon begin charging passengers $100 to bring a carry-on bag aboard a flight. The fee is only $50 if you pay it at a check-in kiosk or ticket counter instead of the boarding gate, but most American airlines don't charge for carry-on bags at all, so Spirit's decision triggered a fair measure of outrage. The <em>Detroit Free-Press</em> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://www.freep.com/article/20120503/COL21/120503031/Spirit-Airlines-100-carry-on-fee-baggage" target="_blank">wrote</a> that the move showed "contempt for novice travelers", and other coverage <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2012/05/spirit_airlines_to_charge_100_dollars_checked_bag_how_to_pack.php" target="_blank">took a similar tone</a>.</p><p>Over at <em>The Atlantic</em>, though, Jordan Weissmann <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/05/in-defense-of-spirit-airlines-100-bag-fee/256752/" target="_blank">posted a defence of Spirit's new fee</a>.</p> <p class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/100-carry-bag-fee">Continue reading "Spirit Airlines' hefty new bag fee" »</a> </p> </div> <ul class="ec-page-tools ec-pt-expanded ec-pt-expanded-teaser clearfix"><li class="pt-recommend first"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21554384/recommend" rel="nofollow" title="Recommend this blog post" data-ec-omniture="recommend_article">Recommend (96)</a></li> <li class="pt-comment even last"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/100-carry-bag-fee#comments" class="view-comments" data-ec-omniture="go_to_comments">Comment (30)</a></li> </ul></div> <!-- /#node-blog-tpl --> </li> <li class="clearfix views-row views-row-12 views-row-even"><div class="node-blog-tpl" class="clearfix"> <h3 class="ec-blog-fly-title">Spirit Airlines</h3> <h4 class="ec-blog-headline"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/spirit-airlines">The words "dying veteran" should have tipped him off</a> </h4> <p class="ec-blog-info"> May 7th 2012, 9:11 by N.B. | WASHINGTON, D.C. </p> <div class="ec-blog-body"> <p>IT'S only a few days old, but May hasn't been very good to Spirit Airlines. The discount carrier's business model centres on offering dirt-cheap base fares combined with sometimes hefty fees for things like baggage and "<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21542298" target="_blank">passenger usage</a>". It also has a strict no-refund policy—something that got it into trouble on Thursday, when Ben Baldanza, the CEO, released a statement explaining why the company wasn't refunding the ticket of Jerry Meekins, a veteran whose doctor had advised him that his terminal cancer made it impossible for him to fly. "We feel very badly for Mr Meekins, however, this is a country and society where we kind of play by the rules," Mr Baldanza told Fox News.</p> <p class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/spirit-airlines">Continue reading "The words "dying veteran" should have tipped him off" »</a> </p> </div> <ul class="ec-page-tools ec-pt-expanded ec-pt-expanded-teaser clearfix"><li class="pt-recommend first"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21554383/recommend" rel="nofollow" title="Recommend this blog post" data-ec-omniture="recommend_article">Recommend (85)</a></li> <li class="pt-comment even last"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/spirit-airlines#comments" class="view-comments" data-ec-omniture="go_to_comments">Comment (27)</a></li> </ul></div> <!-- /#node-blog-tpl --> </li> <li class="clearfix views-row views-row-13 views-row-odd"><div class="node-blog-tpl" class="clearfix"> <h3 class="ec-blog-fly-title">Underwater hotels</h3> <h4 class="ec-blog-headline"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/underwater-hotels">Sleep with the fishes</a> </h4> <p class="ec-blog-info"> May 4th 2012, 16:04 by A.B. </p> <div class="ec-blog-body"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/underwater-hotels" class="blogs-first-image"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047im_/http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blogs-teaser/images/2012/05/blogs/gulliver/20120505_blp508.jpg" alt="" title="" class="imagecache imagecache-blogs-teaser" width="168" height="95"/></a> <p>A COUPLE of weeks ago Gulliver <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/04/chinese-hotels">got excited</a> by designs for a hotel in a disused Chinese quarry. This week it’s a futuristic underwater hotel off Dubai that is whetting the appetite. Drydocks World, an arm of the state-owned holding company Dubai World, has <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://www.drydocks.gov.ae/en/news/signs.big.invest.aspx" target="_blank">signed</a> a memorandum of understanding with BIG InvestConsult, a Swiss company, to build Water Discus Hotel. The technology for the hotel belongs to a Polish company called <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://www.deep-ocean-technology.com/" target="_blank">Deep Ocean Technology</a>, which is being represented by BIG InvestConsult. Its structure comprises two massive discs, one above the water—and apparently out of tsunami reach—and the other below.</p> <p class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/underwater-hotels">Continue reading "Sleep with the fishes" »</a> </p> </div> <ul class="ec-page-tools ec-pt-expanded ec-pt-expanded-teaser clearfix"><li class="pt-recommend first"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21554356/recommend" rel="nofollow" title="Recommend this blog post" data-ec-omniture="recommend_article">Recommend (128)</a></li> <li class="pt-comment even last"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/underwater-hotels#comments" class="view-comments" data-ec-omniture="go_to_comments">Comment (13)</a></li> </ul></div> <!-- /#node-blog-tpl --> </li> <li class="clearfix views-row views-row-14 views-row-even"><div class="node-blog-tpl" class="clearfix"> <h3 class="ec-blog-fly-title">From The Economist</h3> <h4 class="ec-blog-headline"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/economist">Of Reagan National, Heathrow and the Tube</a> </h4> <p class="ec-blog-info"> May 3rd 2012, 15:56 by A.B. </p> <div class="ec-blog-body"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/economist" class="blogs-first-image"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047im_/http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blogs-teaser/images/2012/05/blogs/gulliver/20120505_usd001.jpg" alt="" title="" class="imagecache imagecache-blogs-teaser" width="168" height="179"/></a> <p>SEVERAL items in this week's <em>Economist</em> relate to the bright-eyed world of business travel. I would draw your attention to a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21554235">piece</a> in the United States section about Reagan National airport in Washington, DC, where a change to the "perimeter rule" has increased the number of long-distance flights that can use the airport. You could read our <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21554256">report</a> on the latest shenanigans disrupting immigration at Heathrow airport. And finally we have <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21554260">news</a> of alterations to London's Tube map, which for the first time now shows stations that carry the name of a corporate sponsor.</p> <p class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/economist">View full post »</a> </p> </div> <ul class="ec-page-tools ec-pt-expanded ec-pt-expanded-teaser clearfix"><li class="pt-recommend first"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21554278/recommend" rel="nofollow" title="Recommend this blog post" data-ec-omniture="recommend_article">Recommend (110)</a></li> <li class="pt-comment even last"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/economist#commentForm" class="add-comments" data-ec-omniture="first_to_comment">Be the first to comment</a></li> </ul></div> <!-- /#node-blog-tpl --> </li> <li class="clearfix views-row views-row-15 views-row-odd views-row-last"><div class="node-blog-tpl" class="clearfix"> <h3 class="ec-blog-fly-title">Ancillaries</h3> <h4 class="ec-blog-headline"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/ancillaries">You know they make sense</a> </h4> <p class="ec-blog-info"> May 2nd 2012, 13:31 by A.B. </p> <div class="ec-blog-body"> <p>À-LA-CARTE pricing is good for air passengers, says a new <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/http://ideaworkscompany.com/press/2012/A-la-Carte-Pricing-is-Good-for-Consumers.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> from IdeaWorks, a consultancy. Its conclusion rests on three rather unsurprising reasons: with the money they earn from ancillary products airlines are able to offer a better service; paying for ancillaries allows passengers to tailor their style of travel to their needs; and paid-for services often end up being better than free ones.</p><p>The report’s author, Jay Sorensen, points out that though total airline revenue for the years 2000 to 2010 was $4.3 trillion, the industry actually ended up losing over $36 billion during that period.</p> <p class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/ancillaries">Continue reading "You know they make sense" »</a> </p> </div> <ul class="ec-page-tools ec-pt-expanded ec-pt-expanded-teaser clearfix"><li class="pt-recommend first"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/node/21553906/recommend" rel="nofollow" title="Recommend this blog post" data-ec-omniture="recommend_article">Recommend (123)</a></li> <li class="pt-comment even last"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/ancillaries#comments" class="view-comments" data-ec-omniture="go_to_comments">Comment (25)</a></li> </ul></div> <!-- /#node-blog-tpl --> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="pager clearfix"><div class="item-list"><ul class="pager"><li class="pager-current first">1</li> <li class="pager-item even"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver?page=1" title="Go to page 2" class="active">2</a></li> <li class="pager-item"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver?page=2" title="Go to page 3" class="active">3</a></li> <li class="pager-item even"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver?page=3" title="Go to page 4" class="active">4</a></li> <li class="pager-item"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver?page=4" title="Go to page 5" class="active">5</a></li> <li class="pager-item even"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver?page=5" title="Go to page 6" class="active">6</a></li> <li class="pager-item"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver?page=6" title="Go to page 7" class="active">7</a></li> <li class="pager-item even"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver?page=7" title="Go to page 8" class="active">8</a></li> <li class="pager-item"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver?page=8" title="Go to page 9" class="active">9</a></li> <li class="pager-ellipsis even">…</li> <li class="pager-next"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver?page=1" title="Go to next page" class="active">next ›</a></li> <li class="pager-last even last"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver?page=121" title="Go to last page" class="active">last »</a></li> </ul></div></div> </div> </div> </div> <!-- /#column-content --> <div id="column-right" class="grid-6 clearfix"> <div id="block-ec_blogs-ec_blogs_block_bloginfo" class="block block-ec_blogs"> <div class="content clearfix"> <div class="title"> About Gulliver</div> <div class="about"><p>In this blog, our correspondents inform and entertain business travellers with news, views and reviews that help them make the most of life on the road. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/https://www.economist.com/newsletters" rel="nofollow">Sign up for our weekly "Gulliver's best" newsletter to have the blog's highlights delivered to your inbox »</a></p> </div> <div class="links"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120516170047/https://twitter.com/EconBizTravel" class="twitter-follow-button">Follow us on Twitter @EconBizTravel</a> <a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/index.xml" class="rss" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS 2.0">RSS feed</a></div> </div> </div><div id="block-ec_ads-top_mpu_ad" class="block block-ec_ads"> <div class="content clearfix"> <div class="ec-ads ec-ads-remove-if-empty"><p>Advertisement</p><!-- Site: Lifestyle. 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News is to be construed broadly; politics, finance, geography, language, fine art—all are fair game, in no particular order. We chose the name, which means "things gathered up" or "literary fragments" (and alludes to the title of a Confucian classic), to that end.">Analects<span class="description"> | China</span></a></li> <li class="even"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview" title="In this blog, our correspondents provide reporting, analysis and opinion on politics, economics, society and culture in Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada.">Americas view<span class="description"> | The Americas</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage" title="In this blog, our correspondents report on the intersections between science, technology, culture and policy. The blog takes its name from Charles Babbage, a Victorian mathematician and engineer who designed a mechanical computer.">Babbage<span class="description"> | Science and technology</span></a></li> <li class="even"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/bagehot" title="In this blog, our Bagehot columnist surveys the politics of Britain, British life and Britain's place in the world. The column and blog are named after Walter Bagehot, an English journalist who was the editor of The Economist from 1861 to 1877">Bagehot's notebook<span class="description"> | British politics</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan" title="In this blog, our Asia correspondents and our Banyan columnist provide comment and analysis on Asia's political and cultural landscape. The blog takes its name from the Banyan tree, under which Buddha attained enlightenment and Gujarati merchants used to conduct business.">Banyan<span class="description"> | Asia</span></a></li> <li class="even"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab" title="On this blog our correspondents delve into the politics, economics and culture of the continent of Africa, from Cairo to the Cape. The blog takes its name from the baobab, a massive tree that grows throughout much of Africa. It stores water, provides food and is often called the tree of life.">Baobab<span class="description"> | Africa</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/blighty" title="On this blog, our correspondents ponder political, cultural, business and scientific developments in Britain, the spiritual and geographical home of The Economist. It takes its name from a fond but faintly derogatory name for the mother country often used among British expats.">Blighty<span class="description"> | Britain</span></a></li> <li class="even"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood" title="In this blog, our Buttonwood columnist grapples with the ever-changing financial markets and the motley crew who earn their living by attempting to master them. The blog is named after the 1792 agreement that regulated the informal brokerage conducted under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street.">Buttonwood's notebook<span class="description"> | Financial markets</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/charlemagne" title="In this blog, our Charlemagne columnist considers the ideas and events that shape Europe, while dealing with the quirks of life in the Euro-bubble. An archive of print columns can be found here.">Charlemagne's notebook<span class="description"> | European politics</span></a></li> <li class="even"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/clausewitz" title="In this blog, our correspondents provide reporting and analysis on the subjects of defence, security and diplomacy, covering weapons and warfare, spooks and cyber-attacks, diplomats and dead-drops. The blog is named after Carl von Clausewitz, the Prussian soldier and military theorist whose classic work, "On War", is still widely studied today.">Clausewitz<span class="description"> | Defence, security and diplomacy</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica" title="In this blog, our correspondents share their thoughts and opinions on America's kinetic brand of politics and the policy it produces. The blog is named after the study of American politics and society written by Alexis de Tocqueville, a French political scientist, in the 1830s">Democracy in America<span class="description"> | American politics</span></a></li> <li class="even"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches" title="Eastern approaches deals with the economic, political, security and cultural aspects of the eastern half of the European continent. It incorporates the long-running "Europe.view" weekly column. The blog is named after the wartime memoirs of the British soldier Sir Fitzroy Maclean.">Eastern approaches<span class="description"> | Ex-communist Europe</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/elysee" title="In this blog our Paris bureau chief reports and comments on the race for the French presidency. The blog is named after the official residence of the French president, an 18th-century palace in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. Our election coverage is collected here.">Elysée<span class="description"> | France’s presidential election</span></a></li> <li class="even"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange" title="In this blog, our correspondents consider the fluctuations in the world economy and the policies intended to produce more booms than busts. Adam Smith argued that in a free exchange both parties benefit, and this blog's aim is to encourage a free exchange of views on economic matters. ">Free exchange<span class="description"> | Economics</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gametheory" title="On this blog, our correspondents analyse and report on sports minor and major, addressing the politics, economics, science and statistics of the games we play and watch. Send story ideas to gametheory@economist.com">Game theory<span class="description"> | Sports</span></a></li> <li class="even"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail" title="On this blog we publish a new chart or map every working day, highlight our interactive-data features and provide links to interesting sources of data around the web. The Big Mac index, house-price index and other regular features can be found on our Markets &amp; data page">Graphic detail<span class="description"> | Charts, maps and infographics</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver" title="In this blog, our correspondents inform and entertain business travellers with news, views and reviews that help them make the most of life on the road. Sign up for our weekly "Gulliver's best" newsletter to have the blog's highlights delivered to your inbox &raquo;">Gulliver<span class="description"> | Business travel</span></a></li> <li class="even"><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson" title="In this blog, named after the dictionary-maker Samuel Johnson, our correspondents write about the effects that the use (and sometimes abuse) of language have on politics, society and culture around the world ">Johnson<span class="description"> | Language</span></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20120516170047/http://www.economist.com/blogs/leviathan" title="In this blog, our public policy editor reports on how governments in Britain and beyond are rethinking and reforming the state's role in public services, the arts and life in general. The blog takes its name from Thomas Hobbes's book of 1651, which remains one of the most influential examinations of the relationship between government and society. 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