Nannies in the air

 Identified by a bright orange apron, the Flying Nanny provides a helping hand to families and unaccompanied minors. They will introduce children to the exciting collectable Etihad characters – Zoe the bee, Jamool the camel, Kundai the lion, and Boo the panda – who accompany them on their trip. More than 300 Etihad Airways cabin crew have completed enhanced training for the role. A further 60 will be trained in September and 500 Flying Nannies will be working on Etihad Airways long haul flights by the end of 2013.

 

Paul Klee works will be on show

The Tate Gallery of Modern Art in London will be showing the works of Paul Klee next month through the winter. The exhibition, which runs from October 16 to March 9, is the largest Klee showing in Great Britain in more than 10 years, according to the museum. “The EY Exhibition – Paul Klee: Making Visible” features drawings, watercolours and oil paintings from international collections. It looks back at three decades of creativity, starting in Munich in 1910, his work as a teacher at the Bauhaus in the 1920s and his late work. The exhibition is open daily from 10 to 6 and on Friday and Saturday until 10pm. Visit www.Tate.org.uk.

 

Nights in the pipe

Tourists looking for the ultimate no-frills overnight accommodation should try Leukerbad, where they can pay to sleep in concrete pipes in the Swiss canton of Wallis. Three 2.5-metre-diameter pipes on the Sportarena camping ground are furnished with wooden boards to sleep on in sleeping bags, plus a table and bench. An upgrade is on the way: Leukerbad tourism officials say electric lighting will soon be installed. Being Switzerland, even this is not quite cheap. An overnight stay costs 50 Swiss francs (about Bt1,600) per person. Visit http://dpaq.de/CTclH – DPA

 

Connecting castles

A road-train route recently opened connecting the three castles of Bellinzona in Switzerland. The trackless train, which carries up to 36 passengers in its trailers, drives the circuit from 10 am to 7pm between the Castelgrande, Castello Montebello and Sasso Corbaro castles. The three castles, which once defended the Ticino Valley, have been recognised as a Unesco World Culture Heritage site. Visit www.BellinzonaTurismo.ch.

 

More baggage on the plane

Qatar Airways has increased its free baggage allowance. Instead of the previous limit of 23 kilograms, Economy Class passengers have been able since September 1 to submit a piece of luggage weighing up to 30 kilograms. The permitted amount for business and first-class fliers increased by 10 kilograms, moving from 40 to now 50 kilograms, according to the airline. – DPA

 

A Blue way to fly

Singapore Airlines is expanding its co-operation with the US airline JetBlue Airways through numerous new connections. Flights leave from New York's JFK Airport with stopovers heading to Washington, Jacksonville, Tampa, Sarasota, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Orlando, Denver and Phoenix, according to the airline. In addition, destinations are being planned in the Caribbean region, such as Santiago and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and San Juan, Puerto Rico.