London has revealed the relay route for the 2012 Olympic torch. It will cover every nation and region in the United Kingdom, including islands.

The next step is to begin the process of searching for 8000 torchbearers - inspirational figures who will have the honour of carrying the torch along its route.

The torch is scheduled to leave Land’s End, Cornwall, on the morning of Saturday 19 May 2012, and will be carried along the relay for 70 days and 12 hours a day. It will pass through well known cities such as Aberdeen, Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Sheffield and Southampton. At the end of the relay it will be used to light a cauldron during the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games.

You can find more details on the 2012 Olympics on the official website: http://www.london2012.com/

Book your flight online with Flylink and witness sporting history.

With the recent turmoil in Egypt and surrounding countries, the travel and tourism industry has taken a hit. Flights to many of these countries have been grounded and governments have rushed to provide means to safely return their citizens home.

Most notable is the tourist hotspot of Egypt, where the local economy relies heavily on tourist traffic and many of the business owners who are participating in the protests are doing so at the cost of their personal income.

But both Egypt and Tunisia have begun plans to recover from these events with plans hailed by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation as welcome news that will help both countries get back on their feet. Egypt is reported to have begun reopening historic sites to visitors, including the great pyramids of Giza, but it will take time for tourist confidence to be restored.

According to Breaking Travel News, revenues from tourism in Egypt surpassed $11 billion and in Tunisia over $3 billion in 2009.

Here's something straight out of a science fiction movie. In the ongoing quest to increase security, Manchester Airport has introduced holograms of two staff members that provide passengers with reminders to have their boarding cards and information on security restrictions. Using a specially designed surface developed by the company Musion, images of the staff are projected and reflected so that they appear in 3D without requiring any special glasses. They images are in such high definition that they reportedly appear to look like real people. In fact, the airport has reported passengers actually attempting to present passports to the holograms!

Rather than require passengers to read a pamphlet on liquid restrictions for flights, or pay staff to repeat the same information over and over, the holograms explain the information in a way that is sure to be memorable. This technology is ideally suited to situations where information needs to be presented to large numbers of people on a regular basis.

"If our holograms help our passengers through the security process even quicker, then it will be a good thing." Said Julie Caper on the airport's website.

Often times the cost of vacation travel is a major concern. Travelers want destinations that are safe and accommodating, provide sights and entertainment, yet are affordable in comparison to major travel destinations like Paris, Rome, or the Caribbean.

It appears as though Eastern Europe is stepping up to offer tourists just that sort of alternative. Ticket sales for affordable yet attractive destinations such as Croatia, Ukraine and the Czech Republic are high and expected to increase in the coming years as these countries overcome historical hurdles to enter a new tourism market.

In the Ukraine, where cities like Kiev and Odessa are already attractions, the opening of previously closed locations near Chernobyl mark the Ukraine as a budding tourist hotspot for 2011. Now that radioactivity near the disaster site has reached safe levels, tours to examine the tragic history of the events of 1986 will be offered.

In Hungary, Budapest offers a wealth of historical sites such as Europe's largest parliament building, extravagantly adorned in neo-gothic detail. Like much of Eastern Europe, the country is full of beautiful churches and statues perfect for the casual observer or anyone studying local art styles.

From Romania's castles and scenic mountains to the beautiful cities of Poland, with welcoming people and an industry keen on attracting new visitors, this part of the world should definitely be considered by anyone seeking an affordable vacation.

Wondering where the best places to hit the slopes in 2011 are?

Enthusiasts will tell you that each year weather effects like El Nino and La Nina (together known as the southern oscillation) can influence the quality and amount of snow in top Skiing locations. On average these oscillations occur once every 5 years, and can cause extreme weather conditions around the globe when they do. When considering skiing, though, we are concerned with the relatively minor snowfall changes that result from heating or cooling of the air. (For more on how El Nino occurs, see here )

The result is that during El Nino, North American ski destinations are dryer and warmer than average, while La Nina means the opposite. In Europe, the effects are less pronounced and may be the opposite of North America (meaning that El Nino may be better for Skiing in Europe but worse in North America).

Currently we are in a phase of La Nina. It is unclear how long this phase will last but it will likely last more than a year so this news may be relevant in 2012 and 2013.

The end result are expected great years for skiing in the Northwest. So if you'd like to stay in North America, get packing before the next El Nino hits and melts all the snow.

Of course, there will always be Europe. If expectations aren't met in North America, it may be a safer bet to try the mountain ranges of Germany, Italy, Austria, and Switzerland.

Recent and ongoing disputes between American Airlines and many booking agencies has escalated yet again when Sabre Holdings Corp. declared that it will drop American Airlines from its service. ( read full article )

Sabre is a former American unit and a major provider of airfare data to travel agencies, especially large online booking agencies such as FlyLink. Sabre will end discounts for the airline and change the display of its listings until their contract with AA expires one month from this announcement.

This announcement follows a series of disputes with well known online travel agencies that have resulted in agencies removing or otherwise hiding American Airlines flights from their search results. American Airlines, which previously received much negative publicity and complaints from consumers when it raised fees on everything from checked bags to phone reservations, has been changing its model with selling companies in an attempt to reduce or eliminate commissions and wants to generate new revenue by using their own distribution to sell tickets.

The irony of this situation is that Sabre was created by American, which invested in its service (called a GDS or global distribution system) to help sales. Now American wants to cut out the middleman but according to many this will be bad for consumers as well as the travel industry. Consumers could end up paying more because it would become more difficult to compare fees and schedules with other airlines.

According to a recent Globe and Mail article, a pilot's spilt coffee was the cause of a recent emergency landing at Pearson Airport, Toronto.

Followers of local news may have red in the morning paper that an aircraft had to perform an emergency landing in Toronto due to "communication difficulties" encountered aboard the aircraft. It turns out that the captain spilled a caffeinated beverage onto the radio and inadvertently triggered a transponder code 7500 which is used to signal a hijacking alert. This no doubt caused a stir among dispatchers on the ground, who worked with the aircraft personnel to clarify the problem and then arranged an emergency landing to fix the communications problem.

Adding to the controversy reported in an earlier post on rampant passenger complaints due to snowfall at Heathrow Airport, more delays and now apparent favoritism to Madonna over regular passengers is making the news.

A Virgin flight that was headed to Heathrow Aiport from New York was diverted to Stanstead Airport because of continued heavy snowfall and passengers were asked to wait for 3 hours on board the plane before being allowed to disembark... All except for the famous singer Madonna and her 15 member entourage, who were given special priviledge to leave the plane.

According to one passenger, "it was bad enough having to wait but then she started doing her yoga in the aisles."

Virgin has stated that it is common practice for first-class members to be allowed to disembark first, but did not address the issue of Madonna's entourage being treated above even other first class passengers.

Amid the flurry of snow related travel disruptions that have hit Europe early this winter, London's Heathrow Airport management is coming under harsh criticism for its handling of the situation. Many travelers say they are not being adequately or accurately informed about delays, and that the delays are out of proportion with the amount of snow the airport received. And it's not just grumpy travelers – government officials, including Prime Minister David Cameron, have expressed frustration that may result in a review of the airport's performance.

As a result of the situation, the chief executive of airport operator BAA, Colin Matthews, has announced that he will give up his bonus this year and devote his time to helping passengers.

Europe's snow woes have begun to ease today, but much of the continent is still under stress from a recent heavy snowfall that has clogged both air and ground transportation.

Indias aviation sector continued its notable growth trend this November, led by the Mumbai based Jet Airways which reported just over 19% of India's domestic market share for the month.

This may come as no surprise following Jet Airways' recent positive reviews, including the coveted award for "Airline with the Best Business Class Service in the World" at the Business Traveller Awards 2010. The airline specializes in business class travel, and offers a sister airline, Jet Lite, for economy travel.

Data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation shows that air travel in India has serviced over 48 million passengers so far in 2010, up 18.9% from the same time last year. India and Asia's fast growing economies will likely continue to carry this trend.

You can check out our list of partner airlines to learn more about Jet Airways and other airlines we carry.