There had been talk about it for a long time, but when you are not expecting it, these announcements always take your breath away slightly. Airline giant British Airways, which is now part of the combined group IAG along with Iberia, has bought out the loss making operation BMI from Lufthansa. Employees of BMI had always hoped that the sale to current owners Lufthansa would turn the company round as it has been making a loss for some time now.

There will be many people, and that includes me and other colleagues that have used BMI for business, particularly when we used our company’s Diamond Club card, which is one of the world’s most generous frequent flyer programmes. Of course there are tremendous benefits no doubt for BA which will gain a lot of extra slots at Heathrow, but my thoughts at this time of year will go out to the many people at BMI who are going to lose their jobs in the takeover. BMI employs more than 3,600 staff, but it was pretty clear to most people that following a loss in 2010 of £153m something had to give.

However Virgin is not going to take this lying down and has said it will oppose the tie-up, which is still subject to clearance by competition bodies. The world continues to be in turmoil and we can only hope for better things in the coming year.

The parents of my partner were on the ‘phone a couple of nights ago and during the conversation they asked if I could help them find a cruise that would take in a few interesting places, but above all have some sunshine for a break to our long winter. The problem for them being, that although they had looked at brochures from various agents and cruise lines, they could not make up their minds because of the huge choices available. They knew that I had been on a few different cruises and felt that I could find them some cruise deals that would fit their pockets as well as suiting their style of holiday.

I knew what their budget was and set about searching through the internet sites to see what I could do for them. It was not long before I came across a cracking deal from imaginecruises.co.uk that was near perfect for them. Flying out from Heathrow, and then picking up a Costa Cruise ship, the Costa Serena at Savona in the evening, for the first port of call, Barcelona.  The other ports of call include Casablanca, Tenerife, Lanzarote, and Malaga finishing up at Civitavecchia on the coast 80 Kms from Rome for the final leg of the holiday.

The cost of this cruise is a remarkable £439 per person inclusive of flights for an inside cabin. Needless to say they have booked it and fly out in November and I have earned myself some brownie points as well!

At the moment I am in southern Spain and I can reveal, as if you did not know, it is bright and sunny and that daytime temperatures are in the high twenties. When I arrived I had to hire a car and I get more frustrated at some of the hidden charges that the car hire companies seem to add to your final bill. In Spain and most of Europe, at one time the car was filled with fuel and you were instructed to return it to the depot with a full tank. The situation has for the most part completely changed and it seems it is a method of getting the headline price of the car down.

For example, if you go to a car hire comparison site as I do, you will find that there is more competition than ever and it is this that seems to be causing the problem. Most of the majors, to get the headlined price down, now charge you for a full tank of fuel when you come to pay, and tell you to bring the car back empty! One or two things here, dare you run the tank so low that it is running on fumes to get you back to the airport? If the tank is not empty when they get the car back how can they charge for a full tank? Also how many of us know just how many litres a tank holds, so we have to trust the car hire company that they have genuinely charged for the correct amount.

With fuel now at around 1.30 Euros a litre it is not uncommon to find that you can be charged 50 or 60 Euros on top of the hire price. What also if you are not doing a lot a mileage in the car and find you take it back to the airport with a tank that is three-quarter full? The next hirer will still be charged for a full tank of fuel! Another little extra is the extra insurance just in case you damage a tyre or lose the keys! This can be as much as 3 or more Euros per day. What I have done is to take an annual insurance in the UK which covers all these and costs not much more than the hire company charges for a week, but covers me for a full year.

So if you want the freedom of your own car when on holiday or on business it looks as though you end up paying, but there are still companies like the one that I have used for many years malagacar.com that, although they now charge for a half tank of fuel, it means that the charges are still lower than most of the big names.

Spending while abroad can be a hassle for even the savviest traveller, since it is very difficult to compare the different types of product available and there are now many. The traditional high street travel agent is probably not the best place to go, although at one time it was the one that most of us used. To get the best deal you need to get the best exchange rate and the lowest commission rate, also the phrase “commission free” is meaningless in this context so make sure you are getting the best rates by comparing the actual amount of money you’ll get back after the conversion takes place. Above all avoid waiting until you get to the airport to buy your travel money.

Most bank accounts have a debit card which you can, theoretically, stick into any hole in the wall abroad, or put down in any restaurant as a payment method. Before you do this always check with your bank before you go what charges they are likely to impose. The rate that you get will usually be better than anything that you can get in the high street, but you may be charged a cash withdrawal fee which could be a percentage of the amount you withdraw from a foreign ATM and in other cases it will be a percentage plus a fixed fee.

Using a credit card such as Visa or MasterCard for purchases is ok but never for cash you will be clobbered! Nonetheless you can expect a fee of around 3pc that most cards add. Better to get a specialist card such as a Halifax Clarity which has no foreign exchange fee anywhere in the world. However if you fancy a bit of currency speculation, you might want to consider a prepaid card. Unlike credit cards for spending abroad, these don’t require any credit checks and you can buy them in euro or dollar denominations, or as a global card for use in any country. These FX prepaid cards charges no spending or foreign ‘loading’ fees, and can be topped up online or by ‘phone for free by debit card or bank transfer.

Although I do get to see lots of foreign countries through my job, this really is work related. It may sound glamorous, but I do not get a lot of time to have a look around and soak up the culture and relax amongst the locals. And so, with quite a few days of holiday due to me, I have decided to check the web pages and see what flights are available to some faraway places, many with strange sounding names, as the song goes.

Europe is on our doorstep and with low cost flights going from just about every regional airport, often two or three times a day, most people that I talk to seem to regard it as almost a commute to work! No I want to get the taste of something different and so it will be another long-haul destination for me. As you may remember, we took a three week trip to Canada in June so I shall be looking away from North America this time and searching what is around in Asia or the sub-continent. I have relations in Australia so this is a possibility as it could mean spending some time in perhaps Singapore or Thailand as a stopover to break the journey.

However, it is the sub-continent that beckons and so I am going to search through my contact web sites for some cheap flights to India, a country that I have always wanted to visit. It is a vast country and so I will have to decide which region to visit and after discussing it with colleagues Mumbai is to be my choice of initial destination. With a staggering 16 million people all living in a city the size of London, you might expect this to be somewhat unwelcoming, but under its tough exterior lays a fascinating city rich in history and culture. The advice given to me is to begin touring the colonial city is at the Gateway of India which was built in 1911 to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary. From there most tourists take boat trips following that to Elephanta Island, where holy temples were carved out of rock between 450 and 740 AD.

I shall have to decide upon the best dates to travel and then the all-important search for suitable flights will begin. When that is completed, planning the rest of my trip will start in earnest. It looks as though I shall be busy over the next few weeks.

Safely back home after our trip to Canada and whilst it is always great to be on holiday, there is something special about getting home, back into your own bed and the familiar things around you like your kitchen and home plumbing! If you remember me commenting that I loved the experience of the ski resort of Whistler and intended to see what was available for next year, well I can tell you I just did that. I was absolutely amazed that Fast Track Ski could offer me a holiday in the same hotel as we stayed in, The Crystal Lodge, including flights from Manchester and all transfers for only £493, you cannot fly the Atlantic for this!

I noticed on the BBC website when I was looking something up recently that they are to carry out a survey on the UK’s mobile coverage. Over the course of the next month, the project will attempt to chart the availability of 3G and 2G services up and down the country. Mobile operators offer their own coverage maps but no independent survey has yet been carried out. As I have mentioned before, mobile coverage in this country, in my opinion and I am not on my own, is pretty poor when you compare what is offered in Spain, Portugal and France for example. The same can be said from my experience in Canada and the U.S.A., where even in the remotest place or up a mountain full coverage is available. The results will be interesting, but no doubt will reveal nothing that we do not already know!

Following on from our trip to Vancouver Island we are now on our way from Vancouver city the 85 miles to the place that I have been eagerly waiting for, the mountain resort of Whistler. Considered by many ski buffs to be the top winter sports resort, Whistler lies in the West Canadian province of British Columbia in the Blackcomb Mountains, the ski resort is in fact known as Whistler Blackcomb.

Arriving in “The Village” we are soon settled in our hotel, time to explore the Village itself, which the friendly person on the hotel desk told me was originally designed to be a focal point for visitors, featuring direct pedestrian access to Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. Having skied a lot in Europe I found the Village a delight and we took the “Village Stroll” which is a walkway which is designed specifically for pedestrians, enabling them to wander freely while exploring local shops, restaurants, and cafés. The Stroll also provides direct access to patios, parks and water features along the way. This vehicle-free pathway is an integral part of the self-contained Whistler Village, which features a fire and police station, medical clinics, grocery stores, movie theatre, museum, art galleries, library, parks, and more.

Although the height of summer here with the sun blazing down, we could see the snow covered peaks and although there is still skiing on the glacier, the activities do not end when the snow disappears from the runs down, now it’s the turn of the cyclists. Literally hundreds of them took their bikes in the gondolas and up the mountain to mountain bike their way down the runs, wonderful to watch, but not for me.

Tomorrow we are going on the spectacular transverse cable car which connects the two mountain, the Peak to Peak, which has the distinction of holding the world records for the longest free span between ropeway towers at 1.88 miles and highest point above the ground 1,430 feet. Having had a taste of this ski resort, I intend to contact Fast Track ski when I get back to see what can be offered for a winter sports holiday here next year.

We arrived safely in Canada a few days ago and although we had up graded the long flight took it out of us and we suffered from jet lag for about two to three days. The problem when flying the Atlantic is not the discomfort of the aeroplane, no way could we complain on that score, it is the time difference. Having set off from Manchester at 1.30 in the afternoon we arrived some 9 hours later which meant that it was 10.30 in the evening and nearly time for us to take to our beds! Of course Canadian time was 2.30 in the afternoon and going to bed then was out of the question, so we stuck it out until about 9.30 or put another way half past five in the morning!

The weather here has been a bit like an English summer; occasional cloud some rain and periods of sunshine. The locals are really complaining as it has been a poor start with no spring, unlike the weather back home which has been dry and hot. The weather has been good for driving as it has not been too hot and when we did have some rain luckily we were in our hotel rooms so we could take part in a few sessions of online bingo and I got to play a few hands of poker. Most of the hotels provide broadband for their guests, although at one particular hotel, which happened to be the most expensive on Vancouver Island, they asked for $6 per hour, needless to say we did not pay that and would certainly not recommend the hotel. It is one of the most famous hotels in the world and we have been asked by friends to tell them what it was like, we have done so!

Well it’s time to catch the ferry back to mainland Canada and Horseshoe Bay in Vancouver and then we are on our way up to the famous Whistler ski resort home to the 2010 winter Olympics.

We will shortly be away on a three week trip to Canada, Vancouver to be precise where it is our intention to visit relatives for just a couple of days and then to motor around the province of British Columbia. Planning the trip has been like a military operation but it has, at last all come together. It was only during the planning stages that we began to realise just how vast the country is and in the three weeks that we will be there, we shall have just touched a very small portion of B.C. in the south western corner.

The flight is going to be another matter of just under ten hours, but we are travelling in the front part, you know the part of the aeroplane where you turn left when entering. All this sounds rather grand, but it is a “Transac” flight and they use the Thomas Cook scheduled aircraft so the upgrade was not a lot extra, in fact I have paid more for a return trip to Spain! The thing that I shall miss during the flight is not being able to connect with the internet, which is no bad thing except I will not be able to have a few hands of online poker to pass away the time. One good thing about going to Canada, I will not be restricted when I want to access my favourite online poker site when we are on our travels.

Well folks the packing is definitely calling and this will be my last message from the UK for a while, but I promise that I will let you have some details about my trip during the time we are away. See you in July!

The romance of the Mediterranean and Greek Isles is truly special, and many of those who’ve been on Mediterranean cruises would go so far as to say they’re magical. The reason that I ask concerns what I have been reading about some problems that the Greek economy is finding itself in, but you should not be put off by this, as on board your cruise liner “Splendour of the Seas” you will not be affected in any way.

Just one of the many Mediterranean cruises that are currently being offered by Virgin Holidays Cruises sees you will fly out to Italy and Venice. As anyone will say who has experienced it, you will never forget the first time you cruise into Venice; that magical moment when their ship passes St Mark`s Square, affording the same timeless view seafarers have enjoyed for centuries. To give you a taste, the 11 night cruise takes in Venice, Kotor in Montenegro, Athens, Kusadasi and Bodrum in Turkey, back to Greece calling at Santorini and Mykonos, Split in Croatia, returning to Venice on the last day. In this part of the Mediterranean, you’ll find one magical moment after another. Let the scenery and sights unfold and you will find culture-rich cities extending before you day after day. Even better, it is wonderfully accessible from the UK.