One stop to peri-peri prawns
MOZAMBIQUE and South Africa have signed a bilateral agreement to open a one-stop border post between the two countries in the frontier town of Ressano Garcia, which is expected to speed up transit times.
A one-stop facility has been mooted for this particular border crossing for some years as the existing facility is prone to congestion and delays. It is not clear when the new facility will open.
APPS MAKE IT EASY
ONLINE accommodation hosting service Airbnb has announced new versions of its iOS and Android apps. According to Travelmole, the startup, which connects travellers to hosts willing to rent out rooms — or couches — to travellers, has designed the new applications to let hosts handle transactions directly from a mobile device. The Airbnb network spans 34 000 cities and 192 countries. For more information, see airbnb.com.
EXPANDING PLANE SEATS
BRITISH design firm Seymourpowell has invented an adjustable airline seat, paving the way for airlines to charge passengers fares based on how much space they need.
According to The Telegraph, the “Morph” seat has two sheets of fabric — one for the seat back and one for the base — stretched across a movable frame that spans the width of a row.
Armrests and dividers hold the fabric in place to form three individual hammock seats. The dividers slide from side to side, allowing the airline to make some seats wider.
EASYJET AND THE VOLCANO
UK BUDGET airline EasyJet has flown an airliner through a fake volcanic-ash cloud to test a system that could help prevent the sort of airline chaos that followed the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in Iceland in 2010.
According to The Telegraph, the Airbus test aircraft released one ton of ash into the sky at an altitude between 3 000m and 4 000m, creating similar conditions to those caused by the eruption that grounded thousands of planes for nearly a week.
A second test plane, fitted with Airborne Volcanic Object Identifier and Detector technology, then flew towards the 250m-deep ash cloud.
The airline said the cloud was visible to the naked eye at first, but dissipated quickly. However, the volcanic sensor successfully detected the cloud and measured its density.
PAARL SPICE ROUTE TAKES HONOURS
THE Spice Route Destination in Paarl has won best new cellar door attraction and overall “Supanova” in the 2013 Klink Wine Tourism Awards. The route’s artisanal chocolate, craft beer, biltong and tasting room proved a strong attraction for many of the 15 000 people who voted in this year’s awards.
The Klink awards recognise the best Winelands attractions in 15 categories, including cellar tasting, fine dining, new attractions, accommodation and wine route events.
“In the old days, everything revolved around the tasting room,” said awards founder Monika Elias. “Today the wine industry is so much more than that — it’s the festivals, rock-star chefs, artisan chocolatiers and celebrity-style accommodation.” For the winners, see winetourismsouthafrica.co.za.
SAA BOOSTS AFRICA NETWORK
SAA is to increase the number of flights on five of its African routes and will also stop using its own aircraft between Joburg and Bujumbura, Burundi, and Kigali, Rwanda. The carrier wants to concentrate on high-volume routes as part of its turnaround strategy.
From December 10, flights between Joburg and Kinshasa will increase from four to six per week and an extra weekly flight each will be added to the Dar es Salaam, Ndola, Lusaka and Windhoek routes.
PROTEA KAMPALA IS AFRICA’S BEST
THE Protea Hotel Kampala has been named the best luxury city hotel in Africa in the World Luxury Hotel Awards. The annual awards are based on votes from hotel guests. The group said the hotel was a “brilliant example of how things should be done everywhere across the continent”.