READY FOR TAKE-OFF

Flights ++ Airports ++ New routes

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).