Carry On: News for business travellers

Cheap fares to Europe -- but be quick
Etihad Airways is celebrating its 10th birthday with cheap fares for immediate travel to nine European destinations plus Istanbul in October and November. But you have to be quick, as the promotion runs out next Friday.

Round-trip economy flights from Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington through Australia to the Abu Dhabi hub and then onward start at $1677 for Istanbul with the most expensive being $1925 for London. The other destinations start at $1711 for Milan and are only a few dollars more to Amsterdam (pictured), Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Manchester, Munich and Paris.

The sale runs until October 4 for travel from October 1 to November 30. All flights use Air New Zealand or Virgin Australia from the New Zealand departures through three Australian gateways -- Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

Rotorua-Sydney changes
Air New Zealand will suspend its twice-weekly Rotorua-Sydney service during the off-peak winter season between May and August next year. From September 2014, it will move the flights to Monday and Thursday, from the existing Tuesday and Saturday departures. Rotorua International Airport will also reduce its international departure tax from $25 to $15 from late October to encourage traffic.

Tigerair adds Sydney-Perth
A fourth carrier, Tigerair, has entered the tightly contested market between Sydney and Perth. Up to six weekly A320 flights will operate from December 19. The route will complement Tigerair’s existing twice daily Melbourne-Perth services and will provide 2160 weekly additional seats. Tigerair is 60% owned by Virgin Australia, another operator on the Sydney-Perth run.

Telecom wifi moves will please visitors
Telecom’s move to ccommercialise its hotspot wifi service on public telephone booths may be unwelcome to locals on other networks but will be a boon for tourists, the industry says. Tourism Industry Association chief executive Martin Snedden says free wifi is popular with travellers and improves their overall visitor experience.

“It enables them to check their itineraries, research attractions, look up local events and load maps," he says. "Wifi also helps visitors stay connected to friends and work colleagues while they travel around the country. They can immediately blog and brag about their holiday adventures, uploading videos and photos to social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram, which in turn helps promote New Zealand.”

Telecom is extending the wifi network to 2000 hotspots by mid-2014, providing a free service to those on its network. Non-subscribers can pay for less than $10 a month.