A buddy in your plane seat

The new service aims to sit like-minded fliers next to each other. Passengers can choose from three preferred “flight moods” according to whether they want to get on with work, make new business contacts or simply not be bothered by someone’s droning voice for the duration of the flight. The service can also take into account any hobbies or interests fellow-travellers might share. Unfortunately you can’t ban anyone, say, the super-sized or crying-potential child, to sit next to you. – AFP 

 

Foreign crew wanted by Chinese airlines

Chinese airlines are on a recruitment drive for foreign flight attendants as the country's aviation industry continues to enjoy healthy growth. All the major airlines contacted by China Daily have confirmed growing numbers of foreign crew, as they expand their traffic across the country and internationally, and the trend to have a more international feel and look to the Chinese airline cabin is expected to continue. – China Daily/ANN

 

There’s ‘Nothing Like Australia’

Australia launched a multi-million dollar global tourism campaign in Shanghai recently, targeting China's growing affluent classes who are venturing overseas in greater numbers. The country will spend Aus$170 million (Bt5.35 billion) over the next three years to boost tourism with officials choosing the Chinese city to kick-off the “Nothing Like Australia” campaign. China is already Australia's fastest growing and most valuable international tourism market, worth more than Aus$3.8 billion in 2011, but officials have said it could be worth up to Aus$9 billion a year by the end of the decade. – AFP

 

Poland during the Euro

Visitors to Poland are set to find life easier during the Euro 2012 football tournament after organisers launched smartphone applications to help them navigate their way around. The free “Polish Guide 2012” app is now available for smartphone users. It provides practical tips such as where a team’s training ground is, how to get to stadiums on matchdays, where the fanzones with big screen are for supporters without tickets, and up-to-the-minute alerts on transport delays. Within the web portal and smartphone version, fans have the option of buying a “Polish Pass” with pick and mix options. – AFP

 

Pompidou’s ‘Panorama’

Gerhard Richter, one of the world’s top-selling living artists, launched his largest exhibit to date in Paris’s Pompidou Centre last week – a show spanning six decades of a diverse and storied career. “Panorama”, which run s until September 24, sprawls the entire sixth floor of the Pompidou Centre. Richter, whose painting “Strips” is shown above, had auction sales totalling $200 million last year. Visit www.CentrePompidou.fr – AP

 

Singapore launches new cruise terminal

Singapore has opened its second cruise terminal as European cruise-liners seek to tap the region’s growing appetite for travel and make up for slowing demand in Europe. The new terminal, says the terminal operator - SATS-Creuers Services Pte, expects 100,000 passengers in its first year. The centre will receive eight vessels by August, including Royal Caribbean’s 15-deck “Voyager of the Seas”. The new terminal has a cruise-fly service allowing passengers to check-in for flights as they disembark from ships.