Firstly, congratulations to Wilma who won our “recreate your travel experience at home” competition! Sadly as Wilma lives in the Channel Islands, she couldn’t get the caviar delivered but we gave her an extra bottle of fizz instead!
In case you missed it, here is her winning entry:
In this post:
Oktoberfest cancelled
“It is the biggest and most beautiful beer festival in the world”, said Bavaria’s Minister-President Markus Söder. But yesterday Oktoberfest was cancelled for 2020 due to the Corona Pandemic. Söder announced this in a joint press conference with Munich’s Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter. After a long debate, both parties agreed that the risk is simply too high. When you look at the photo above you can see why. Hopefully, by October, we will be getting back to some semblance of normality, but it would be madness to hold an event of this size until you are sure the virus no longer poses a threat.
The Oktoberfest 2020 should have taken place from 19 September to 4 October this year. About six million visitors from all over the world were expected. The danger of infection in the crowded beer tents and the many people in the streets and alleys on the Theresienwiese would be too high. Events are also postponing as the cost of cancelling at the last minute is very high, so it makes sense to err on the side of caution now.
If you want to think about planning a trip to Munich when travel returns, find out why it is now one of my favourite cities in Europe in this article.
Etihad offers a big bribe for rebooking and status extension improvements
Etihad is potentially offering one of the most generous “bribes” to get you to take a voucher or credit instead of a refund. They will reward you with up to 5,000 Etihad Guest Miles and up to $400 when you save your trip for later with Etihad Credit.
Etihad will add the value of your credit to a Travel Bank account, which you can use in the next 12 months to pay for flights, upgrades and extras. You must be an Etihad Guest member to be eligible for a Travel Bank account. If you’re not already member, Etihad will use the details you enter to enrol you. Then, when you want to book a trip, simply quote your Etihad Guest number.
If more than one guest is travelling on your booking, they will issue Etihad Credit to the lead guest. If you’d prefer to split the credit, you can still request this via their Contact Centre. You should receive your bonus miles and Etihad Credit within 30 days.
Etihad have also announced that Etihad Guest Miles that were due to expire in March, April and May will be extended, and you’ll be able to retain your Tier Status even if you haven’t quite earned enough miles yet. In addition to the monthly bonus Tier Miles gift, they will extend your Tier Status for 12 months if you’ve earned 80% of the required miles, or for 3 months if you’ve earned less than 80% of the required miles.
For rewards flights, if you book a GuestSeat and you can make as many changes as you like for free before 31 December 2020.
Emirates suspends all flights from 15 May until the end of June and enhances safety
Emirates are currently operating a very limited number of flights from Dubai to help repatriate people. Once these have concluded, they are not currently selling tickets for any flights between 15 May 20 and 30 June 2020. From 1 July 2020, they currently have a fairly extensive schedule with multiple daily flights to the UK.
Emirates is also stepping up precautionary measures at the airport and onboard. All cabin crew, boarding agents and ground staff in direct contact with passengers will now don personal protective equipment (PPE) which includes a protective disposable gown over their uniforms, and a safety visor, in addition to masks and gloves.
At Dubai International airport, gloves and masks are mandatory for all customers and employees. Thermal scanners monitor the temperatures of all passengers and employees stepping into the airport. Physical distancing indicators have been placed on the ground and at waiting areas to help travellers maintain the necessary distance during check-in and boarding.
The airport team has also installed protective barriers at each check-in desk to provide additional safety reassurance to passengers and employees during interaction over the counter.
Onboard Emirates’ flights, seats are pre-allocated with vacant seats placed between individual passengers or family groups in observance of physical distancing protocols.
Emirates has also modified its inflight services. Food and drinks are still offered in the form of bento-styled boxes to reduce contact between the crew and customers during meal service and minimise the risk of interaction. The personal box has sandwiches, drinks, snacks and desserts.
Similarly, to reduce risk of spreading the virus by touch, magazines and other print reading material are temporarily unavailable. Cabin baggage is currently not accepted on flights. Carry-on items allowed in the cabin are limited to laptop, handbag, briefcase or baby items. All other items have to be checked in, and Emirates will add the cabin baggage allowance to customers’ check-in baggage allowance. Customers have to wear their masks and gloves throughout their journey from check-in until they disembark.
All Emirates aircraft will go through enhanced cleaning and disinfection processes in Dubai, after each journey.
2 comments
We are trying to book flights for 2 for early next year using my voucher refund (for a cancelled May flight). On line it offers the use of vouchers but our vouchers start 125-87(& 8 digits) whereas it says enter the next six digits of your voucher which starts 125-82. It therefore does not accept trying to enter our voucher numbers.
We can’t get through to the only number available of 0800 7278000- it says its busy and cuts us off.
Is there any way to make a booking?
We are trying to use the vouchers which include a companion ticket and additional avios.
They will shortly be able to accept vouchers online. I would expect this by the end of the month, although I have not seen a firm date announced. So hang fire and you should be able to book soon.
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