Holidaymakers flying off to Dubai, Bangkok and Sydney from London Heathrow with the Emirates airline will soon be doing so aboard the world’s biggest passenger aircraft.

The Dubai airline has announced it will be using the Airbus A380 for all its flights to and from London Heathrow, meaning passengers starting their flights in style with access to more than 1,200 entertainment channels and a personal satellite phone fitted to every seat.

All five of the daily flights from Heathrow will be serviced by the Airbus from February 1 next year, with Emirates already operating a daily A380 flight from Manchester to Dubai.

Salem Obaidalla, the airline’s senior vice president of commercial operations, said: “Due to high customer demand for the A380 product, soon, travellers to and from London Heathrow will be able to enjoy our flagship aircraft on every flight.”

News that Emirates will be exclusively using the Airbus A380 for all its Heathrow flights to Sydney comes as the city topped a list of the world’s best capitals in terms of design and style, with Australia voted top dream destination by readers in US travel magazine Virtuoso Life’s annual Travel Dreams survey, beating New Zealand and Italy to the title.

The double-decked Airbus four-engine jet liner can carry up to 853 passengers depending on how classes are configured and entered commercial service in October 2007 with Singapore Airlines.

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Passengers can once again fly to Iceland from London Stansted after Wow Air and Iceland Express introduced services to Reykjavik – the country’s capital.

Britons who fancy a holiday in the island country – which takes approximately three hours to fly to from the UK – could use one of many bus services to Stansted to ensure they get to the airport on time without having to worry about navigating through traffic.

Stansted’s airline, route and marketing manager, Paul Haynes, said: “We’re delighted Iceland Express has returned to Stansted and welcome Wow Air onto our network.

“Iceland has always been a popular destination and these new services are not only great news for Iceland’s tourist industry but will be a boost for Icelanders looking for convenient connections to London and wider East of England for both business and leisure travel.

“With afternoon and evening departures the services offer flexibility to passengers and we wish both airlines every success with their new Stansted connections.”

For those not in the know, Iceland is situated in the North Atlantic Ocean and is renowned for its geysers, glaciers, whale watching, geothermal Blue Lagoon and erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull.

The news of the new flight service to Iceland comes after it was revealed by BAA that the popularity of southern European countries such as Spain and Greece as holiday destinations is on the decline.

In May, the number of passengers flying from Heathrow to Greece fell by 11.3% compared to a year ago, while passengers to and from Portugal and Italy fell by 11.4% and 9.2% respectively. A 2.5% decline was recorded in passengers flying to and from Spain for a holiday.

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More pensioners travel more often now than they did when they were younger, a study has shown.

Gatwick Airport revealed the holiday trends of over 70s as it launched its bid to find Britain’s Oldest Traveller.

The study revealed that 55% of respondents have started travelling more than ever before, with having extra time (71%) and money (17%) highlighted as the main reasons.

Gatwick found that while most older travellers opt for a ’staycation’ (86%), 48% like to go Spain, 25% enjoy France and 19% go to Italy.

Researchers quizzed 1,000 people for the survey, which also revealed that 30% of ‘OAT’s’ would like to have special assistance to make navigating airports and planes easier.

In 2011, Gatwick helped 381,000 passengers with reduced mobility, which represented a double-digit growth on the previous year.

Gatwick Airport’s Head of Terminal Operations, Paul Fitch, said: “At Gatwick we provide support and special assistance at every step of an airport journey – from the moment people enter our doors to the moment they leave. From customised transport and dedicated seating right through to specially trained staff, we’re dedicated to making the airport journey easier and more enjoyable for everyone.”

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Walking holidays are becoming increasingly common both in the UK and around Europe.

The London to Stansted bus can provide an easy route out of the country before the hike begins, dealing with all the necessary airport transfers.

Two locations in Europe are particularly popular for that holiday stroll: Amalfi in Italy and the Lycian Way in Turkey.

Those in Italy tend towards the Amalfi-Sorrento coastline of wild mountains, old fishing towns which tumble to the water’s edge and the spectacular paths with views for miles.

At the Lycian Way on Turkey’s south coast, a popular hike is from Ovacik to Kilidonya lighthouse.

Demand is also high for routes in France where visitors like to sample local food. A seven-night trip around the Luberon, for example, will set you back £840, although that also covers the return journey to Avignon.

One firm popular with those looking for walking tours is On Foot Holidays, which helps plan routes and the little details to ensure customers need only worry about their legs. It promises to take people “into the heart of a real Europe: local hotels, local food and wine, scenery, culture, history”.

Mark Knowles, of Hampshire-based Walks Worldwide, said Albania is also popular this summer, especially the so-called Accursed Mountain trek. He said he has had to add two extra departure dates to satisfy demand.

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Falling car hire and villa rental prices across Europe could convince more people to opt for self-catering holidays, a survey has suggested.

It is thought that because it can now cost up to 40% less to rent a car in some European destinations than it did two years ago, an increasing number of people will opt for self-catering holidays rather than expensive hotel breaks.

A study by TravelSupermarket revealed that car hire rates across popular European holiday destinations such as Malaga, Alicante, Murcia, Palma, Tenerife and Faro have fallen considerably since 2010, with bargains to be had this Easter, Whit week and in August.

Holidaymakers can save up to 26% on car hire during Whit week across eight European destinations, while prices have fallen by 34% in Spain since 2010. In Malaga, for example, it costs £63.89 to rent a small car for eight days, which equates to less than £8 per day.

Self-catering holidays in Greece could become considerably cheaper as villa rental prices could fall by as much as 20%.

Holidaymakers can save even more money by leaving the car at home prior to departure and taking a bus to the airport, before hiring a car when they get to their destination.

Experts say that prices have fallen considerably because people are booking their holidays later than usual to get the best deals and because of economic uncertainty in eurozone countries such as Spain, Portugal and Italy.

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This winter’s quiet skiing holiday season in Europe seems to have been given a new lease of life thanks to recent huge snowfalls across the continent.

Just two weeks ago travel companies had almost halved their prices for some package deals because of the hitherto mild winter.

But large volumes of snow falling across the Alps may well indicate the rescue that many tour operators have been waiting for, and is likely to also increase business for airport transfer firms.

Crystal Ski’s Marion Telsnig said: “If your lifestyle lets you drop everything to head for the slopes, it’s the perfect scenario now.

“Prices have fallen because of weak demand in January, so you can get last-minute seven-night breaks in Arinsal, Andorra from £129; Cervinia, Italy from £196 (B&B) and Ruka, Finland from £190 (self-catering).

Travelsupermarket’s Bob Atkinson said: “For weeks, the big grumble was: Not enough snow – full stop.

“In many households, dropping the ski holiday seemed an obvious and easy economy to make.

“Now many resorts have enough snow to last the season, with Ischgl in Austria cut off at times by a freak 5ft snowfall in four days.

“While big operators have cut capacity significantly, the accommodation is still there and so are cheap flights.

“On living costs, the big downside is Switzerland: astronomically expensive for lift passes, meals out, and bars. France, Italy and Austria are more realistic as the pound edges towards 1.20 euro.

“Half-term is showing some ridiculous prices but there is decent value available on either side of that.”

Beleaguered eurozone countries with struggling economies are likely to benefit from the high numbers of British tourists this year, a survey has shown.

Flights are likely to embark from Stansted, Luton and Heathrow airports for destinations such as Spain, where 11% of Britons will spend their holidays this year, and Italy and Portugal, to where 3% and 2% of British tourists will travel respectively.

However, the research from TravelSupermarket shows that there has not been a sharp rise in the number of visitors from the UK to North African countries following the Arab Spring in 2011. And this trend looks set to continue throughout this year, as most Britons remain reluctant to take a holiday to the potentially volatile region.

Of the 5,000 British adults questioned in the poll, just 2% went to Egypt in 2011. This drops to just 1% when respondents were asked whether they would be going there in 2012. Holidays to places like Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey taken by Britons are also set to decrease over the next 12 months.

Other destinations around the world are likely to benefit from the drop off of UK visitors to North Africa, such as Sri Lanka, Mexico, Malaysia and Argentina. Meanwhile, 30% of Britons are planning a domestic holiday this year, compared with 40% who holidayed at home in 2011.

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More Britons could be heading abroad this month after a survey revealed that October is the most popular time of year for family holidays. 

A quarter of families said they preferred to travel overseas in October than any other month, thanks to lower prices and cooler temperatures.

Some 60% of people said they liked to go away in October because it offered better value than the busiest summer months, while 23% admitted they preferred the weather at this time of year.

The findings suggest that the UK’s busiest airports such as Luton and Stansted could see a rise in passengers numbers over the next few weeks.

Spain remains the most searched-for holiday destination this month followed by the USA and Italy, according to the research by travel site Skyscanner.

But the number of people searching for breaks to destinations such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi has also doubled over the last two weeks, suggesting that holidaymakers are keen to avoid the high temperatures and humidity of the summer season.

When respondents were asked about their best ever family holiday, the USA topped the list followed by Spain.

And the USA was also named the dream getaway for families, with 31% saying Florida’s famous theme parks would be their ideal break.

This was compared with 30% who said they would opt for a beach holiday, and 21% who wanted to go on a safari trip.

Copyright © Press Association 2011