Travel
Cathay Pacific schedules Aria Suite debut
The new business class product will debut on Hong Kong-Beijing from 18 October
Continue reading Cathay Pacific schedules Aria Suite debut at Business Traveller.
Travel
Blow for seaside town airport as holiday flights WON’T return – despite once having Jet2 routes to Spain
HOPES for holiday flights from a seaside town airport in the UK have been dashed.
Blackpool Airport is currently used for flight training as well as business and medical flights.
4
4 4
Just 39,000 flights operated from the airport last year.
But a huge new renovation project led to hopes that commercial flights abroad for passengers could be launched.
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said they would “absolutely look if there is an appetite for commercial flights from Blackpool Airport and there is the demand there”.
However, the airport’s managing director Steve Peters has said this was very unlikely.
He said: “The brutal reality of airport economics doesn’t stack up for Blackpool in terms of the return of large-scale commercial operations.”
He added that their main goal was make the future of the airport secure, after nearly permanently closing just a few years ago.
The airport once had commercial flights – Jet2 operated from Blackpool Airport in 2012 with flights to Lanzarote and Ibiza.
However, the passenger terminal was demolished in 2016 with the Jet2 boss ruling out a return.
The current new upgrades include new admin and security building with an “enhanced arrivals and departures” area.
New security check points would also be introduced.
Mr Peters added: “This new facility will allow us to grow these executive flights by numbers of movements and increased aircraft size by offering more space as well as improved security.
“While a new building will provide a modern and welcoming environment that is more suitable as a first impression for departing or arriving visitors.”
Blackpool Council’s Cabinet Member for Levelling Up (Place) Mark Smith also said: “We’re working hard to make sure that we can support an airport that is commercially successful and a leading transport hub, and one that drives the growth of our Enterprise Zone.”
Brits wanting to travel abroad from Blackpool will need to travel to Liverpool Airport, round 30 miles away.
It comes after new images were revealed of a £300million attraction hoping to open in Blackpool.
First announced in 2021, the plans include two small theme parks, with a 127,000sqft flying theatre, ides, laser tag and arcades.
What is it like to visit Blackpool?
Mum Catherine Lofthouse revealed why a seaside visit to Blackpool is the best for families.
“Whether you love a back-to-basics bucket-and-spade beach break, want a thrill a minute at one of the UK’s oldest theme parks or fancy a night on the tiles, there’s everything you need at Blackpool.
“Everywhere I look, there’s building taking place and existing attractions being spruced up.
“There’s been investment along the seafront, with Merlin, the company behind Alton Towers and Legoland, recently opening its eighth attraction in the town with the arrival of the Gruffalo Clubhouse for little ones.
“I’m hard-pressed to think of another UK seaside resort that has quite such a breadth of attractions for staycationers young and old.
Setting off home loaded with seaside goodies and sandy buckets, I think we had both fallen a little bit in love with this national treasure of a town.”
The complex, on the Golden Mile, will also have restaurants and bars along with an Artisan Food Hall.
New hotels and tram lines are also part of the seaside town’s renovation.
And the current Pleasure Beach theme park will open a new third hotel as well, connected to the casino.
Blackpool is even home to the UK’s largest indoor waterpark.
Sandcastle Waterpark, right by the beach, has the longest indoor water rollercoaster in the UK along with 17 other rides and slides.
Want to stay at Blackpool? We’ve found a hotel with rooms from £18 which makes it the UK’s cheapest hotel.
4
Travel
Huge new £15m indoor attraction opens at Butlin’s with 9 different game zones – including laser tag, escape rooms & VR
BUTLIN’S has opened a new multi-million-pound attraction at its holiday park in Bognor Regis next.
First announced last year, the £15million PLAYXPERIENCE is set across two floors, covering 50,000 square feet.
6
6
Open today, the immersive hub features nine state-of-the-art experiences from Escape Rooms to digital arts and a huge gaming wall, with celebrities Jeff and Freddy Brazier given an exclusive sneak peek ahead of its opening.
In the Escape Rooms, four guests can spend 70 minutes hunting for clues and solving puzzles in a bid to escape.
There are four themed rooms to choose from, including the Sherlock Holmes-inspired 221B Baker Street.
Traditional pastimes like darts have been given a modern-day upgrade thanks to advancements in technology.
During the 60-minute Digi Darts activity, guests will throw digital darts at an AR dartboard.
Up to eight people can play against each other in one lane, all players will need to be aged 10 and over.
The PLAYXPERIENCE also has an AI-powered Batting Cage where holidaymakers can compete in sports like baseball, tennis, lacrosse, and cricket.
Each batting cage can hold up to 10 players, with players aged four and over given 60 minutes to try out the sports.
A TechPutt Zone features three different nine-hole courses, including a Music Course, a Vegas Course and a Neon Course.
Each course takes roughly 40 minutes to complete – depending on your putting skills.
There will also be a Laser Tag venue where players, armed with their phasers, will be given a mission to complete.
Laser Tag will last for 60 minutes, with only players aged eight and over allowed to take part.
The PLAYXPERIENCE also features a space called Neo Games, a huge interactive wall covered in video games as well as a VR-cade.
Other entertainment zones include Glow Pong and Shuffleboard Zone.
Meanwhile, in the evening, older guests can experience interactive bar games.
The PLAYXPERIENCE also has a cafe and a bar on site.
Holidaymakers will need to pay for the new games using Activity Tokens, which can be purchased digitally.
Activities can cost anything from one token per person to six tokens for a course.
6
6
Butlin’s says it has introduced Activity Tokens to help give holidaymakers “flexibility” and “keep track of their budgets”.
Jon Hendry Pickup, CEO at Butlin’s said: “As the Home of Entertainment, we’re immensely proud to be the first UK holiday resort to open something as spectacular as PLAYXPERIENCE.
“There’s nothing else like it in the holiday market and we know families visiting Bognor Regis and friends coming down on a Big Weekender break will love the range of activities on offer.
“PLAYXPERIENCE was designed with something for everyone in mind – whether visiting with family, a partner or a group of friends on a Big Weekender. No matter what break you’re on, everyone loves a bit of friendly competition while having fun in the process!”
BIG WEEKENDER HEADLINERS 2025
Meanwhile, the Butlin’s Big Weekenders are already set to make a return next year.
Next year, Butlin’s will host 15 different Big Weekender themed breaks, featuring a choice of musical eras from the 80s, 90s and 00s.
Pop legends like Matt Goss and Busted‘s Charlie Simpson will be performing on set weekends in 2025.
Platinum-selling artist Matt Goss will be headlining an “Ultimate 80s” break, while Charlie Simpson will perform a DJ set straight from the 00s.
Other artists are also slated to perform throughout the year, including Peter Andre, Blue and Boyzlife.
NEW ADDITIONS AT BUTLIN’S
Meanwhile, there are lots of exciting upcoming additions at the holiday parks.
The new £12million Maple Walk lodges are opening at the Skegness holiday park, with 128 premium accommodation options a short walk from the main park.
My View: How Butlin’s has Changed Over the Years
TRAVEL writer Catherine Lofthouse has been visiting the Butlin’s parks for 40 years – here’s her verdict:
“When I was little, my family would head to Butlin’s every July for a week by the sea, and I even worked at the Minehead resort as a lifeguard in my teens.
“One thing that’s always set Butlin’s apart from its rivals are the photo opportunities that you have during your break, including Teletubbies and TV star Stephen Mulhern.
“There’s also lots of sports and activities to choose from, like football, archery, crafts and soft play.
“One of the things I miss from holidays gone by are the monorails that ran at Skegness and Minehead from the 1960s for forty years.
“I think Butlin’s lost its way a bit in the 2000s when it seemed to become a mecca for stag and hen dos, but in the last decade, there’s been a bit of a turnaround in terms of rebranding and investment.
“I would say that anyone who hasn’t been for a while or who has written Butlin’s off as not for them might be wise to give it another go.”
And the new indoor activity centre PLAYXPERIENCE is to open at Bognor Regis after summer.
The £15million attraction will have two floors of games and activities, including escape rooms and VR experiences.
6
6
The first property under the midscale extended stay brand is expected to open in 2025
Continue reading Hyatt Studios pipeline reaches 4,000 rooms at Business Traveller.
Eligible riders can now earn two Avios for every £1 spent when they link their British Airways Executive Club account
Continue reading Uber for Business offers riders double Avios at Business Traveller.
Singapore Airlines and SBI Card have launched two super-premium co-branded credit cards, KrisFlyer SBI Card and KrisFlyer SBI Card Apex.
Continue reading SBI & Singapore Airlines co-branded cards at Business Traveller.
The Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay, located on the Mediterranean coast in northern Morocco, has opened its doors to the public, with 55 suites and villas, four restaurants, a Médispa, and an expansive beach with multiple water sports offered
Continue reading Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay, Morocco, opens to guests at Business Traveller.
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks ago3 Day Full Body Women’s Dumbbell Only Workout
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoHow to unsnarl a tangle of threads, according to physics
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoHyperelastic gel is one of the stretchiest materials known to science
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoMaxwell’s demon charges quantum batteries inside of a quantum computer
-
Technology3 weeks agoWould-be reality TV contestants ‘not looking real’
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago‘Running of the bulls’ festival crowds move like charged particles
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoHow to wrap your mind around the real multiverse
-
News2 weeks agoOur millionaire neighbour blocks us from using public footpath & screams at us in street.. it’s like living in a WARZONE – WordupNews
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoSunlight-trapping device can generate temperatures over 1000°C
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoQuantum ‘supersolid’ matter stirred using magnets
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoITER: Is the world’s biggest fusion experiment dead after new delay to 2035?
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoLiquid crystals could improve quantum communication devices
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoQuantum forces used to automatically assemble tiny device
-
News3 weeks ago
the pick of new debut fiction
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoPhysicists are grappling with their own reproducibility crisis
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoWhy this is a golden age for life to thrive across the universe
-
News3 weeks agoYou’re a Hypocrite, And So Am I
-
Sport3 weeks agoJoshua vs Dubois: Chris Eubank Jr says ‘AJ’ could beat Tyson Fury and any other heavyweight in the world
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoTime travel sci-fi novel is a rip-roaringly good thought experiment
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoLaser helps turn an electron into a coil of mass and charge
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoCaroline Ellison aims to duck prison sentence for role in FTX collapse
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoNuclear fusion experiment overcomes two key operating hurdles
-
Technology1 week ago‘From a toaster to a server’: UK startup promises 5x ‘speed up without changing a line of code’ as it plans to take on Nvidia, AMD in the generative AI battlefield
-
Football1 week agoFootball Focus: Martin Keown on Liverpool’s Alisson Becker
-
Business1 week ago
Eurosceptic Andrej Babiš eyes return to power in Czech Republic
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoRethinking space and time could let us do away with dark matter
-
MMA1 week agoConor McGregor challenges ‘woeful’ Belal Muhammad, tells Ilia Topuria it’s ‘on sight’
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoNerve fibres in the brain could generate quantum entanglement
-
News3 weeks ago▶️ Hamas in the West Bank: Rising Support and Deadly Attacks You Might Not Know About
-
Business1 week ago
Should London’s tax exiles head for Spain, Italy . . . or Wales?
-
News3 weeks ago▶️ Media Bias: How They Spin Attack on Hezbollah and Ignore the Reality
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoFuture of fusion: How the UK’s JET reactor paved the way for ITER
-
Science & Environment2 weeks agoX-rays reveal half-billion-year-old insect ancestor
-
News3 weeks ago
Israel strikes Lebanese targets as Hizbollah chief warns of ‘red lines’ crossed
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoA new kind of experiment at the Large Hadron Collider could unravel quantum reality
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoA slight curve helps rocks make the biggest splash
-
News3 weeks agoNew investigation ordered into ‘doorstep murder’ of Alistair Wilson
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoUK spurns European invitation to join ITER nuclear fusion project
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks agoCardano founder to meet Argentina president Javier Milei
-
News2 weeks agoWhy Is Everyone Excited About These Smart Insoles?
-
Science & Environment2 weeks agoMeet the world's first female male model | 7.30
-
Technology2 weeks agoRobo-tuna reveals how foldable fins help the speedy fish manoeuvre
-
Technology2 weeks agoGet ready for Meta Connect
-
Business3 weeks ago
JPMorgan in talks to take over Apple credit card from Goldman Sachs
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks agoBitcoin bulls target $64K BTC price hurdle as US stocks eye new record
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks agoBest Exercises if You Want to Build a Great Physique
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks agoEverything a Beginner Needs to Know About Squatting
-
News2 weeks agoFour dead & 18 injured in horror mass shooting with victims ‘caught in crossfire’ as cops hunt multiple gunmen
-
Servers computers2 weeks agoWhat are the benefits of Blade servers compared to rack servers?
-
Technology1 week agoQuantum computers may work better when they ignore causality
-
Technology1 week agoThe best robot vacuum cleaners of 2024
-
Health & fitness1 week agoThe 7 lifestyle habits you can stop now for a slimmer face by next week
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks agoEthereum is a 'contrarian bet' into 2025, says Bitwise exec
-
Health & fitness3 weeks agoThe secret to a six pack – and how to keep your washboard abs in 2022
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoQuantum time travel: The experiment to ‘send a particle into the past’
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoWhy we need to invoke philosophy to judge bizarre concepts in science
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks agoBitcoin miners steamrolled after electricity thefts, exchange ‘closure’ scam: Asia Express
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks agoDorsey’s ‘marketplace of algorithms’ could fix social media… so why hasn’t it?
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks agoDZ Bank partners with Boerse Stuttgart for crypto trading
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks agoLow users, sex predators kill Korean metaverses, 3AC sues Terra: Asia Express
-
Politics2 weeks ago
UK consumer confidence falls sharply amid fears of ‘painful’ budget | Economics
-
Science & Environment2 weeks agoCNN TÜRK – 🔴 Canlı Yayın ᴴᴰ – Canlı TV izle
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks ago3 Day Full Body Toning Workout for Women
-
Travel2 weeks agoDelta signs codeshare agreement with SAS
-
Politics2 weeks agoHope, finally? Keir Starmer’s first conference in power – podcast | News
-
News2 weeks agoUS Newspapers Diluting Democratic Discourse with Political Bias
-
Sport1 week agoWatch UFC star deliver ‘one of the most brutal knockouts ever’ that left opponent laid spark out on the canvas
-
Sport3 weeks agoUFC Edmonton fight card revealed, including Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi headliner
-
Technology3 weeks agoiPhone 15 Pro Max Camera Review: Depth and Reach
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoHow one theory ties together everything we know about the universe
-
News3 weeks agoBrian Tyree Henry on voicing young Megatron, his love for villain roles
-
Health & fitness3 weeks agoThe maps that could hold the secret to curing cancer
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoBeing in two places at once could make a quantum battery charge faster
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoTiny magnet could help measure gravity on the quantum scale
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoA tale of two mysteries: ghostly neutrinos and the proton decay puzzle
-
Science & Environment3 weeks agoHow do you recycle a nuclear fusion reactor? We’re about to find out
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks agoRedStone integrates first oracle price feeds on TON blockchain
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks agoBlockdaemon mulls 2026 IPO: Report
-
Politics3 weeks ago
‘Appalling’ rows over Sue Gray must stop, senior ministers say | Sue Gray
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks agoCoinbase’s cbBTC surges to third-largest wrapped BTC token in just one week
-
MMA2 weeks agoRankings Show: Is Umar Nurmagomedov a lock to become UFC champion?
-
TV2 weeks agoCNN TÜRK – 🔴 Canlı Yayın ᴴᴰ – Canlı TV izle
-
Technology3 weeks agoThe ‘superfood’ taking over fields in northern India
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks agoCrypto scammers orchestrate massive hack on X but barely made $8K
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks agoDecentraland X account hacked, phishing scam targets MANA airdrop
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks agoTelegram bot Banana Gun’s users drained of over $1.9M
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks agoVonMises bought 60 CryptoPunks in a month before the price spiked: NFT Collector
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks agoSEC asks court for four months to produce documents for Coinbase
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago‘Silly’ to shade Ethereum, the ‘Microsoft of blockchains’ — Bitwise exec
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks agoVitalik tells Ethereum L2s ‘Stage 1 or GTFO’ — Who makes the cut?
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago‘No matter how bad it gets, there’s a lot going on with NFTs’: 24 Hours of Art, NFT Creator
-
Business3 weeks ago
Thames Water seeks extension on debt terms to avoid renationalisation
-
Business3 weeks ago
How Labour donor’s largesse tarnished government’s squeaky clean image
-
News3 weeks ago
Brian Tyree Henry on voicing young Megatron, his love for villain roles
-
News2 weeks ago
The Project Censored Newsletter – May 2024
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks agoHow Heat Affects Your Body During Exercise
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks agoKeep Your Goals on Track This Season
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks agoWhich Squat Load Position is Right For You?
-
MMA1 week agoRoberto Satoshi compares losses to Francis Ngannou’s boxing run as he finally defends RIZIN title
-
Business6 days ago
Ukraine faces its darkest hour
You must be logged in to post a comment Login