Buying your travel size toiletries online makes even more sense according to the latest study by Kelkoo. Online goods were found to be 12% cheaper than high street stores and are even 6% cheaper than the so called tax free shops in Europe’s 10 busiest airports.

With the summer holiday season underway, many UK travellers will be taking advantage of tax free shopping at the airport. More than half of UK consumers believe that tax free airport shops offer average savings of 20% or more compared to recommended retail prices on the high street, but a new report released by shopping comparison website Kelkoo, reveals that airport shops may not be offering the bargains you expect.

Contrary to popular belief, tax free goods in European airports are on average just 6.2% cheaper than those in local high street stores, with Heathrow Airport offering the worst overall discounts out of any major European airport (3.1%).

Tax free shopping across Europe is big business, with consumers spending over €2.8 billion last year alone, making savings of 6.2% (€185 million) compared to standard high street prices. However, by shopping online for the same goods, consumers could have saved a further 6.1% (€171 million) which would have equated to a total saving of 12% (€355 million) over high street stores.

The report, commissioned by Kelkoo, and produced by the Centre for Retail Research, examines the difference in prices between high street stores, tax free shops in airports and online retailers across Europe.

Save more on health and beauty products
Health & beauty (39%) along with luxury, fashion & electricals (31%) account for 70% of all tax free retail sales in Europe. While Europe’s airport tax free outlets offer savings against high street prices in these categories ranging from 6% to 10%, online discounts are typically higher at 12% and 13% respectively. In fact, Europe’s online retailers offer consistently higher savings on all categories except for tobacco!
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Ryanair has launched a £99/€99 one way rescue fare (including taxes and charges) for Eurostar passengers stranded in London and Paris.

Although Eurostar are struggling to try and transport the thousands of passengers stranded by the recent breakdowns, Ryanair will operate special flights between London and Paris on 23rd December to help passengers return home for Christmas.

The Eurostar rescue flights will operate between London (Stansted) and Paris (Beauvais) airports and can be booked via www.ryanair.com.

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said “Seats are limited so passengers should book as soon as possible as these seats are likely to be snapped up”.

Always remember that in order to avoid additional charges on Ryanair you should check in online and print your boarding pass to take with you to the airport. To avoid paying additional charges for  putting baggage in the hold ensure that all of your travel size toiletries are less than 100ml so that your hand luggage will pass through the airport security checks for carry on luggage.

The High Court have just ruled that the 12 days of strikes called by the Unite union cannot go ahead.

The decision comes as a welcome relief for the million or so people who were set to have their Christmas travel plans ruined by such a lengthy strike.

Unite have condemned the ruling and say that they will hold a fresh ballot and seek support for a further strike. However, given the timescales involved it is unlikely that they will be able to disrupt the Christmas period.

British Airways have announced that they are to take legal action and try to prevent the cabin crew strikes set to begin on 22nd December.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh said “We do not want to see a million Christmases ruined”.

“Irregularities” had been highlighted by BA in the strike ballot which it believes makes the outcome of the vote invalid, including sending ballot papers to staff who had already left or were in the process of leaving the airline’s employment, and therefore should not have been balloted.

BA said it hoped the legal action would “protect customers from the massive stress and disruption” threatened by the 12-day stoppage.

British Airways staff have voted for a series of strikes over the next 2 weeks hitting thousands of Christmas flights and New Year flights. This will affect hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers and people flying home to be with their families and loved ones for Christmas and the New Year.

BA have expressed their “urgent need to reduce costs” as the airline industry continues to perform badly. The company reported a pre tax loss of £292m for the six months to the end of September and the trustees of its two pension schemes have just announced that there is a combined deficit of £3.7bn.

Last month, BA announced plans to cut a further 1,700 jobs, in addition to cutting the numbers of cabin crew on long-haul flights and freezing staff pay for two years. BA cabin crew are still said to be the best paid in Britain, with an average salary of £29,000 compared with £14,000 at Virgin Atlantic.

However, the Unite union has condemned the move and balloted its 12,500 cabin crew members in support of industrial action as part of the dispute over job losses and changes to working practices. The strikes will run from 22nd December until 2nd January.

The industrial action and disruption will be hugely damaging for British Airways in terms of both reputation and finances as it continues to struggle and lose money.

Ultimately the action could drive more and more customers into the arms of the budget airlines such as easyJet and Ryanair who will no doubt capitalise on the malaise suffered by BA.

However, when flying with the budget airlines be aware of the additional charges for placing baggage in the hold. In order to avoid these charges ensure that your travel size toiletries are all under 100ml so that they will pass through the airport security checks.

PATENT INFRINGEMENT LAWSUIT INVOLVING AIRPORT SECURITY (TSA) LUGGAGE INSPECTION METHODS

Last week, Roetzel & Andress filed a Complaint under Section 337 of the Tariff Act with the United States International Trade Commission on behalf of David Tropp and Safe Skies, LLC for patent infringement against 24 foreign luggage lock manufacturers.

The investigation, conducted by the United States government, is based on the unlawful importation into the U.S., sale for importation, and/or sale after importation of airport security-friendly luggage locks which infringe Mr. Tropp’s patents. The Complaint supports Safe Skies’ global intellectual property enforcement strategy against infringers.

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Swine Flu is a highly contagious infection spreading from person to person with potentially deadly results. So what precautions can you easily take to prevent being infected by swine flu?

Swine flu is now widespread in the UK and spreading rapidly, with the number of new cases doubling every seven days. Most of these are because people are catching swine flu in their local community and not as the result of foreign travel.

To be able to prevent against being infected by swine flu you will need to know a little about the influenza virus itself in order to take effective precautions against catching swine flu.

So what is swine flu (or influenza A H1N1)?
Normal flu is an illness caused by an infection of the influenza virus. However, a new highly contagious strain of influenza, known as A (H1N1) or more commonly as swine flu, was confirmed in the UK in April and has spread to more than 100 countries around the world.

How does swine flu spread?
Swine flu appears to be transmitted through respiratory droplets in the same fashion as the common cold. The flu virus can live on a hard surface for up to 24 hours and a soft surface for around 20 minutes.

How to prevent swine flu?
There are a set of guidelines issued by the Government with a simple way to remember them as – CATCH IT. BIN IT. KILL IT. (Download the Swine Flu Information Leaflet)

There are two key elements in containing the spread of swine flu:

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This brand new fragrance for men from Calvin Klein is called ck free and is described as aromatic, warm and woody.

ck free Mens Fragrance

The ck free range for men will be launched in September and will consist of 30ml, 50ml and 100ml EDT sprays, a 100ml after shave and a 150ml after shave balm.

There is also a 200ml hair and body wash and a 75g deodorant stick to complete the ck free range.

The slim bevelled edge EDT bottle will make it an ideal travel size fragrance for packing as part of your carry on hand luggage for flights.

View a further selection of  Mens Travel Size Fragrances in the Travel Size Toiletries shop!

Severe Weather Flood Warning for the South West of England issued by the Met Office.

While the UK basks in the sunshine there are two extremes of weather on display in the South of England today. While the South East has been declared a Level 3 Heatwave by the Met Office the South West has been issued with a Severe Weather Warning for Flooding.

Thunderstorms are forecast to affect parts of South West England during the day with more than 15 mm of rainfall in 3 hours in some places. The heavy rain is expected to hit Cornwall, Devon, Plymouth and Torbay.

The rain is likely to have a dramatic impact with travel disruption on motorways and other road travel. Motorists are advised to take extra care and refer to the Highways Agency for further advice on traffic disruption on motorways and trunk roads.

London Mayor Boris Johnson this afternoon unveiled emergency measures to keep London moving as the 48-hour London Tube strike looks set to go ahead.

The strike is due to begin at 7pm on Tuesday 9th June and will bring the London Underground to a halt on Wednesday and Thursday, with normal service due to be restored on Friday 12th June.

The London Underground, affectionately known as the Tube, is used by around 3.5 million passengers a day and its closure will have a huge impact on the whole of public transport services across London.

The Mayor has unveiled plans to cope with the additional “surge” in passenger numbers for the rest of the network as follows:

Buses – London buses operate around 700 routes with services being boosted by up to 100 extra buses on key routes on strike days.

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