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Volume 6, Issue 20, May 21, 2008 |
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This week the name in all sorts of good travel news is Singapore. On May 15, Singapore Airlines launched its all-business-class service to Newark (EWR), with the first Newark departure for Singapore’s Changi Airport (SIN) the following day, marking the first transpacific all-business flights. The new service utilizes a reconfigured Airbus A340-500, fitted with 100 30-inch-wide leather seats, arranged 1-2-1 and converting into full-flat beds. In addition to new menus and restaurant-style meal service, passengers can visit the new Passenger Corner area for socializing, drinks and snacks. Currently flying three times a week, the new service will become daily by the end of June. All five of the airline’s A340-500s are being converted, and daily all-business flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Changi are slated for late September.
The Great Singapore Sale starts Friday, May 23. The annual island-wide shopping extravaganza lasts until July 20. A brochure, available from Singapore Visitors Centres or at most hotels, includes a Tourist Privilege Card that, when presented along with your passport, entitles you to additional discounts. Discount coupons and special offers begin appearing on the sale Web site Friday.
Those taking advantage of the new flights, or timing visits to coincide with the sales, are being courted by the Conrad Centennial Singapore. The 31-story prestige hotel is in the Marina district, near both the conference/exhibition center and more than 1,000 shops. The hotel is offering its Classic rooms at a special rate (from $227) on weekends and certain other days until July 20, including buffet breakfast, shopping discounts in the hotel shop, and two tickets for the Singapore River Cruise.
Singapore Airlines has more news, too. It has upgraded its KrisWorld inflight entertainment system so that passengers can now plug in their iPods, iPhones (for audio and video content only), and USB flash drives and view their content on the system’s 15-inch-screen. The upgraded system debuted on the SIN-EWR all-business flights, and will appear on the carrier’s LAX-SIN flights as of August. 
If you need to fly anytime around Memorial Day (May 26) weekend, here are some airports you might want to avoid. Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Los Angeles International (LAX) and Denver International (DEN) look to be the busiest in terms of flight capacity — and high capacity tends to cause congestion at check-in and security, greater likelihood of baggage problems, and delays. In terms of finding hotels in the U.S. for the coming weekend, be warned that Las Vegas, Orlando, New York City and Honolulu are the most heavily booked, so far, according to data compiled by Orbitz.
Sheraton Hotels are partnering with Microsoft to create a new global approach to the business center. New areas called “The Link” are being created — lobby lounges that will provide not only Internet-connected computer stations but printers, free WiFi, and webcams, as well as food, beverage, newspapers and TV. More than 300 hotels worldwide will be “Link”-equipped by the end of 2008.
The newest card offering airline co-branding and mile benefits is the Bank of America Asiana American Express Card. Among the features are annual rebates of $100 for Asiana tickets purchased; annual 10,000-bonus-mile certificates; 5,000 miles after first purchase; two Asiana lounge passes each year; and two to three miles for every dollar spent on everyday purchases. Cardholders will also have access to members-only golf courses throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Invitations are not required; applications for the card are available online.
Fans of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts have been out of luck when traveling to India — until now. The just-opened Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai is a new, 33-story glass tower enlivening the city’s skyline. Located in the Worli district, the hotel has 202 guestrooms and suites, two restaurants, 20 BMW limousines, a club floor, and meeting space. Opening later in the year will be the spa, yoga studio, pool and gym.
British Airways’ new premium transatlantic division, OpenSkies, has been cleared for flight by both British and U.S. regulators and starts taking bookings this week. Flights will commence on June 19, between New York (JFK) and Paris (ORY). Bookings can also be made through the new airline’s codesharing partners, British Airways and L’Avion (L’Avion’s own flights depart from Newark-EWR).
Restaurant Café Méliès
3540 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal , Quebec H2X 2V1
tel 514 847 9218; fax 514 847 0966
www.cafemelies.com
It is difficult to find a restaurant in Montreal that does not serve inspired cuisine. Even the tiny ethnic shops that sell the ubiquitous shish taouk sandwiches seem to be staffed with highly trained chefs. Quebec, like France, takes its food very seriously, and Montreal’s Restaurant Café Méliès is no exception.
The restaurant is located on one of Montreal’s nicest shopping streets, lined with small restaurants, clothing and furniture boutiques, funky art galleries, antique shops, and wonderful pâtisseries. Café Méliès is situated adjacent to the stylish Cinema Ex-Centris, an architecturally stunning mini-multiplex theater space that is nothing like an American mall cinema. The restaurant has a front door on Boulevard St-Laurent, but also a back door that leads into the theater lobby, hence the restaurant’s name – Georges Méliès was a pioneer in early French cinema who made over 500 films, and his technical innovations are legendary in the industry.
Not only is the restaurant connected physically to the theater, which shows mostly French-language films old and new, but a flat-screen TV above the restaurant bar runs loops of coming attractions, thankfully without audio. Méliès’ interior is sleek and Euro-styled, with modern chrome and glass furniture, nicely designed tableware, colorful chair fabrics, attractive French-speaking clientele, and large windows facing Boulevard St-Laurent. For single dinner guests like myself, there were really two competing shows going on, either watching the short-skirted Québécoise leisurely strolling outside in the warm spring night, or eyeing the handsome couples at other tables as I tried to translate their rapid French conversations into a few generalizations – Dating? Married? Just friends? I felt like I was sitting in a trendy café in Lyon or Limoges, which is not a bad feeling considering I was less than a one-hour drive from New York State.
I ordered the table d'hôte, the prix-fixe menu that included a salad (endive, feta cheese, pistachios and dried raisins, mustard vinaigrette), main course (pan-seared halibut, mashed potatoes, and beet salad with hazelnut oil), and dessert (sticky toffee pudding, caramel sauce, and vanilla ice cream). The food was excellent, service was surprisingly fast, and I was happy that my waiter suggested the Canadian apple ice wine for an after-dinner drink.
Locals come in for a plate of pomme frites and a beer or wine before heading to a film next door, returning after the movie for coffee and dessert, which could include a wonderful tartelette au citron meringuée. For visitors to Montreal, Restaurant Café Méliès is a nice and relatively inexpensive place for dinner with excellent cuisine and lots of French ambience.
Score: •••••Ron Bernthal
Here are some new ways to earn extra AAdvantage miles. Book and travel American between New York (JFK) and London (STN or LHR) by June 30 and you’ll earn double miles in first, business, or full-fare economy (use promotion code NYL08). Also, BeGreen, a carbon offsets company, now participates in AAdvantage. Purchase any of BeGreen’s offset products at BeGreenNow.com — not just for flying but also for car and home — and you’ll earn five miles for each dollar spent. Buy BeGreen biodegradable gifts and earn 10 miles to the dollar.
Austrian Airlines has three new packages it’s calling Business Class City Steals. Each package includes round-trip business-class airfare from New York (JFK), Washington (IAD) or Chicago (ORD), three nights in a 5-star hotel, private airport transfers in Europe, daily buffet breakfast, and all taxes and service charges, starting at $4,799. The packages are, respectively, for Vienna (VIE), Prague (PRG) and Budapest (BUD), and require at least 14 days’ advance purchase.
In what United Vacations is calling its biggest sweepstakes ever, nine vacation packages with a total value of $40,000 are up for grabs when you enter by June 30. Each vacation has a separate entry, and no restrictions on the number of entries is posted. All trips include airfare and hotel for two; there are four different Canada destination prizes with three-night stays, four different Hawaii destinations with five-night stays, and one Hawaii family vacation for five nights that includes airfare for four.
Hilton’s guest loyalty program, HHonors, is celebrating a new alliance with Budget Rent a Car by offering up to 2,000 bonus HHonors points for Budget rentals in the United States or Canada through June 30; program members can also get up to 20 percent off Budget rentals. After June 30, qualifying rentals will accrue 250 points.
Earn up to 20,000 bonus Priority Club Rewards points this summer for even short stays at InterContinental Hotels. Through August 31, every qualifying second-night stay earns you 2,000 bonus points, 500 bonus miles, or 50 bonus Air Miles. Every InterContinental, Crown Plaza, Holiday Inn and other IHG property worldwide is participating in the offer, and you can collect up to 10 bonuses during the qualifying period. To participate yourself, preregister online or by calling 888 560 5660.
