Business Traveller March 2018

Airline wines generate a lot of interest. If you travel frequently, you may have already watched much of the on-board entertainment and, exhausted overachiever that you undoubtedly are, there will be long periods where you are neither able to sleep nor willing to slave over a hot laptop. Assuming you are lucky enough to travel in business or first, a good meal will be offered to pass some of the time, and with it, a choice of wines. In this issue, following a tradition we have conducted almost annually since 1985, we assess the best airline wines, or – as we now call the tasting and subsequent awards – Cellars in the Sky. Which airlines serve the best wines is a question that, it seems to us, is worth asking and…

MINTY CLINCH Minty Clinch is a travel journalist specialising in global adventure. Previous assignments include a camping trip in Tajikistan and Afghanistan on horseback, and off-piste skiing in Japan, Iran and Argentina. She has been writing about destination golf for Business Traveller since the mid-1990s and has played in more than 50 countries. In this issue, she explores golf around Tokyo, an area as rich in business protocol as it is in historic courses. Her feature is on page 40. CHRIS HALL Chris Hall is digital editor at SalonQP, and a contributor to publications including the Daily Telegraph, Wired and the Evening Standard. Previously science and technology editor at Yahoo UK, he now spends most of his time explaining the eccentric world of luxury watches. In this issue, he looks at how an…

AFTER CONSIDERING more than 800 designs, Lufthansa has unveiled a new livery. The airline has kept its distinctive crane motif, created 100 years ago by graphic artist Otto Firle, though this is a streamlined design, with a thinner ring to make the crane “look more elegant, bringing it into the foreground and granting it more space”. Lufthansa said the reaction to the new livery has been “predominantly positive”. To read a selection of our readers’ comments on the new design, turn to pages 22-23. You can learn more about the new design at explorethenew.com.…

THE FLEMING After a year-long transformation, The Fleming in Wan Chai reopened in October 2017. This boutique hotel comprises 66 guestrooms, from HK$1,588 (£145) a double, with interiors inspired by the Star Ferry. Wooden floors, brass fixtures and works from local artists are hallmarks of the design. thefleming.com HOTEL EASE Located 30 minutes from the airport in the Tsuen Wan district, Hotel Ease opened its doors last month. Its 160 rooms, from a mere HK$540 (£50) a double, have complimentary wifi and Handy phones. Industrial-chic all-day restaurant Eat@ease offers craft beers and a menu of international cuisine. hotelease.hk THE MURRAY Opened in January, The Murray is set in a high-rise building that dates back to 1969. There are 336 guestrooms and suites across 25 floors, from HK$3,500 (£320) a king, with high-end wellness facilities, four…

EUROSTAR’S NEW SERVICE to Amsterdam will launch on April 4, 2018, with prices starting from £35 each way. The journey from St Pancras International to Amsterdam Centraal will take three hours 41 minutes, with a morning service leaving at 0831, and a late afternoon departure at 1731. Customers travelling between London and Rotterdam will benefit from a direct service of just over three hours. However, as the Netherlands lacks the means to check rail travellers’ passports before boarding, the return journey requires taking a Thalys train from Amsterdam (or Rotterdam) and changing at Brussels-Midi/Zuid to go through border security. Eurostar says that the UK and Netherlands governments are working on a solution that will allow passports to be checked before departure in the Netherlands, and this should happen “by the…

NICK MATTHEW IS ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST SQUASH PLAYERS. Three times winner of the World Open and former world number one, he flies up to 40 times a year to compete in professional tournaments and exhibition matches, and to attend coaching camps. Economy class is the norm. He lives in Sheffield with his wife and daughter. Is it tricky to fly with rackets and other sports equipment? I try to choose airlines with whom I have air miles and that don’t charge for an additional bag. It’s a pet hate of mine when you have to pay another £75 for extra luggage. I also often travel with an ice machine for compressing my muscles after hard matches. It has a habit of throwing airport security into meltdown due to all the…