READY FOR TAKE-OFF

CANADA SALE

AIR Transat has a ‘Boxing Week’ sale running until December 31, with fares from the UK to Canada as low as £308 return. The airline flies from Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow to Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. Savings are available on selected flights from January to October 2020 ( airtransat.co.uk).

ITALY ROUTE

BRITISH Airways will operate summer season flights from Heathrow to Perugia starting on July 2, 2020 ( ba. com). The thrice-weekly service continues until August 31, with oneway fares from £40. The Umbrian capital has a well-preserved historic centre. Hotel Locanda Della Posta has doubles from £69 including breakfast ( locandadellapostahotel.it).

BOTS RULE

LOW-COST carrier AirAsia is doing away with its human-operated call centres. Passengers will now interact with a chatbot called Ava, which is powered by artificial intelligence. The Malaysian airline has also pioneered biometric facial recognition at airport security gates, where ‘your face is your passport’ ( airasia.com).

BARGAIN BREAKS

ONLINE flight specialist Skyscanner has tipped Bratislava (above) as its ‘best value’ destination for 2020 — average flight prices to the Slovakian capital have dropped 71 per cent in the last year. Other cheaper destinations include Jersey, Malaga and Tenerife ( skyscanner.net).

CROATIA CALLING

RYANAIR will start flights from Liverpool to Zadar in Croatia on May 3, 2020 ( ryanair.com). Less crowded than Dubrovnik, the Dalmatian coast city is close to beaches and national parks. Falkensteiner Hotel & Spa Iadera is a sporty five-star resort by the sea with B&B doubles from £94 ( falkensteiner.com).

BAGS FOR GOOD

NORWEGIAN is launching a range of toiletry and silk clutch bags upcycled from staff uniforms, with all profits going to Unicef. The accessories will be available on selected flights to and from Oslo ( norwegian.com).

ANTARCTICA IN STYLE

BOOKINGS have opened for Antarctica Bridge, a new business-class service flying from the Chilean port of Puntas Arenas to King George Island on the Antarctic Peninsula. Launched by luxury cruise operator Silversea, the connection cuts out a four-day return sea crossing so guests can spend more time exploring. Departures are from December 2021 ( silversea.com).