Latest news with #NickyKelvin
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Airline expert who pays just £500 for flights worth more than £8,000 thanks to his insider tricks. Now NICKY KELVIN reveals exactly how anyone can do it and save themselves a fortune
If there's someone who knows a thing or two about turning left on a plane for little to no money, it's Nicky Kelvin. The Points Guy's travel and points expert, Nicky has saved thousands on plane tickets over the years, by building up points and air miles and then using them to pay for flights.
Daily Mail
24-04-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE HS2 will cut London to Birmingham Airport journey time to less than an hour - quicker than getting to 'London' Stansted!
Birmingham Airport could be a realistic option for flying in and out of London when the High Speed 2 rail line opens, experts said today as journey times will be slashed. Train passengers have been told a trip between the new stations of Old Oak Common in West London and Birmingham Interchange is expected to take just 31 minutes. The fastest trains between the existing London Euston and Birmingham International stations currently take 65 minutes, but this will be significantly cut when HS2 begins. Calculations by MailOnline found HS2 could make it take less than an hour to travel from Tottenham Court Road station in London's West End to Birmingham Airport. Passengers would board the Elizabeth line to Old Oak Common, taking an estimated 11 minutes, followed by a five-minute change onto another platform for an HS2 train. Upon arrival at Birmingham Interchange, they would have another five-minute change before a six-minute journey on the new 'Automated People Mover' to the airport. This gives a total journey time of 58 minutes – roughly in line with the hour it takes to get from Tottenham Court Road station to Luton, Stansted or Southend airports. Heathrow and City would remain the closest airports to Tottenham Court Road by rail, both taking about 35 minutes – while Gatwick can be reached in about 50 minutes. Travel expert Nicky Kelvin told MailOnline that the significantly reduced journey times are 'always going to be a big win for passengers', adding that HS2 could make Birmingham Airport 'a viable addition to some Londoners' when choosing flights. But he warned: 'It isn't quite that simple though. Ease of access to London airports is highly dependent on the location you're travelling from in London. 'For example, those living in Acton will look to Heathrow as just 'down the road' versus a potentially hours-long slog across London to an airport like Stansted. 'This will also apply to those wanting to access airports like Birmingham. For example, trains from London Euston to Birmingham International today take just over an hour, and so for those who can access Euston quickly and easily may already get to Birmingham faster than London Southend - although neither airport is truly located in London!' Mr Kelvin, editor at large at The Points Guy, also pointed out that 'perception and knowledge will stop many from even thinking to check flight options from the Midlands', although HS2 may change this. He added that cost will also be an important issue, saying: 'Most London airports can be reached from all over the city using public transport like the Tube - even if journey times are longer - keeping costs comparatively very low. 'High-speed tickets between London and Birmingham will be far more expensive than a Tube fare, and unless there is incredibly aggressive pricing on flights out of airports like Birmingham, it simply may not be viable for passengers to choose a departure airport outside of the capital.' Former Eurostar director Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, also told MailOnline that any additional high-speed rail options are to be welcomed as 'journey times speed up and passengers get more choice'. He continued: 'Once HS2 is up and running, it will enable all of us to consider new options to connect to the rest of the world via airports such as Birmingham, due to the shorter travel times. 'With Birmingham Airport as quick to get to as current options, such as Stansted and Luton, it will enable airlines to add more flights there, and woo passengers with cheaper fares than Heathrow or Gatwick, due to lower landing fees.' Mr Charles was communications director of Eurostar from 2003 to 2006 and oversaw the opening of the first stretch of High Speed One (HS1) connecting London and Kent in 2003. He added: 'Birmingham effectively has the potential to be considered as another London airport in terms of access, especially if travellers' last stop is in the North London and North West London catchment area, as they can use the new HS2 station at Old Oak Common. 'The key factor will be how reliable the new line is between Birmingham and London. We won't know the answer to that until after it has launched!' HS2 has struggled with delays and spiralling costs, with bosses now expecting the line to open from Old Oak Common to Birmingham Interchange and Curzon Street between 2029 and 2033 with a predicted cost of about £80billion. Work on connecting the line to Euston was paused and the northern leg to Manchester was scrapped in 2023 by former prime minister Rishi Sunak. Journey times for HS2 have not yet been officially confirmed, but the time between Old Oak Common and Birmingham Interchange is expected to be just over half an hour. Mark Wild, chief executive of HS2, told an event last month: 'When we open Old Oak Common station, you will be 31 minutes from Birmingham International, the airport. You'll be 42 minutes from the centre of Birmingham. '(There will be) great connectivity to the West Country, Heathrow airport and, of course, into London on the Elizabeth line. Old Oak Common will become one of the most connected places in the United Kingdom.' And Birmingham Airport chief executive Nick Barton told the Express and Star in February: 'The station box will be here, and that can put you into London with the right connecting time in under 40 minutes. 'The train time from the main interchange to Old Oak Common which is the main contact point, will be 32 minutes from us which is extraordinary. We think we'll be in Zone 5 of the Tube map - Heathrow is in Zone 6.' It has been suggested that it could be quicker for passengers to get to London from Birmingham than from Heathrow on the Underground, which takes 36 minutes on the Piccadilly line from Leicester Square. Mr Barton also told The Independent earlier this month: 'Having that connectivity into London is going to be extraordinary. So we're preparing for it now. Passengers at Old Oak Common will be able to switch platforms in 'three to four minutes' 'The link will be attached to our terminal building, and it will allow passengers to get to London in extraordinarily fast times.' Birmingham is currently the UK's seventh busiest airport, behind Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Manchester and Edinburgh. It was impacted by airlines Monarch and Flybe collapsing in 2017 and 2020 respectively, while daily flights to New York also stopped in 2017 – but bosses hope that HS2 could revitalise the hub. Mr Barton added: 'It gives choice, doesn't it? Ultimately, that's what we want: for passengers to be able to choose which airport they go from and when.' Passengers arriving at Birmingham Interchange will be able to travel to the airport on the 'Automated People Mover' (APM) system which will run on a 1.4-mile long viaduct. It will transfer passengers between HS2 Interchange station, the National Exhibition Centre, the existing Birmingham International rail station and Birmingham Airport. Services every three minutes on the APM will transport 2,100 passengers between Interchange station and the airport in six minutes. Passengers arriving on the Elizabeth line at Old Oak Common - a major new station currently under construction between Paddington and Acton Main Line - will also benefit from a transfer time to the HS2 platforms of 'three to four minutes'. An artist's impression of a early visualisation of a train running on the HS2 network The Commons Public Accounts Committee warned in February that the cost of building the railway 'might be close to £80billion', and described HS2 as an example of 'how not to run a major project'. But Mr Wild said last month that HS2 will 'prove its worth' and the project has 'great value, intrinsic value'. A spokesperson for HS2 told MailOnline today: 'HS2 is a vital investment in Britain's economic future and will play a key role in renewing our railways - putting passengers first with fast and reliable journeys. 'By improving rail connections between London and Birmingham, HS2 creates a corridor of economic opportunity for our regions to trade, grow and thrive.'
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The Independent
05-03-2025
- Health
- The Independent
How likely are you to get ill on a cruise as norovirus cases rise?
Stomach bugs and norovirus are a regular health issue on land and sea but cruise lines seem to unfairly gain most of the attention when it comes to an outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classified 2024 as the worst year for stomach illness outbreaks on cruise ships. It recorded 16 outbreaks last year, with norovirus or sickness bugs the cause for 11. Other causes include food poisoning. High profile outbreaks recently include Holland America Line's Zuiderdam, Princess Cruises' Ruby Princess and Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2. These figures only cover ships that visit a US port. P&O Cruises also faced a suspected norovirus outbreak aboard Iona in the North Sea last month. But the 30 million or so passengers that go on a cruise each year actually face a small chance of getting ill, and you may be more at risk of catching a sickness bug on land. In fact, data from the CDC actually shows occurrences of gastrointestinal illnesses are rare on cruise ships with a 1 in 5,500 chance compared to one in 15 on land. Here is what you need to know about your chances of getting sick at sea. Will you get ill on a cruise? With often thousands of people congregating in sometimes confined spaces, it is no surprise that people can get ill on a cruise. This has created an unfortunate negative stereotype of cruising, which was compounded by the pandemic when coronavirus cases escalated among hundreds of passengers on Diamond Princess and the ship ended up quarantined in Japan for two weeks. There have also been negative media portrayals in programmes such as HBO's The Last Cruise documentary, which can create fear and discomfort for potential passengers – perpetuating the myth of a cruise ship being a floating petri-dish. This term has become a bugbear for cruise YouTuber Emma Le Teace, who runs Emma Cruises. She told The Independent: 'Cruise ships are held to extremely high cleanliness standards, higher than most places on land. I used to commute to work on the train and sit in an office all day and I got sick far more often than I do now cruising once a month. They certainly don't clean offices or public transport to the same degree as cruise ships. 'The cruise industry is held to far higher standards than equivalent facilities on land, yet the media loves to make a big deal out of it whenever something happens, mostly because it is unusual.' Despite the media coverage, CDC data suggests the most common settings for gastrointestinal illnesses are actually healthcare facilities followed by restaurants or catered events, schools and day care centres, Nicky Kelvin, editor at large of travel tips website The Points Guy, said: 'Passengers are not highly likely to become sick from hygiene related causes on a cruise due to high standards of cleanliness, as well as rigorous inspections which have been implemented since 1970. 'Concerns about norovirus on cruises are a result of ships being required to report all cases of norovirus to authorities, compared with schools or nursing homes where norovirus is rampant but do not require reports.' Jenni Murray, better known as CruiseMummy, is a regular passenger in her job as a cruise blogger and influencer. She has been on more than 40 cruises and has only been ill once. Murray told The Independent: 'Cruise ships are kept spotlessly clean – much cleaner than hotels. 'You'd be hard-pressed to find a speck of dust, let alone anything grimy. I have dust mite allergies and often feel stuffy in hotels or other people's houses, but on a cruise ship I can always breathe easily. That alone speaks volumes about how thorough the cleaning is. I've never seen dust or mould anywhere. 'Of course, with thousands of people in one place, some guests inevitably bring illnesses on board – norovirus being one of the most common.' How clean are cruise ships? When it comes to health and safety, many argue that you won't get much cleaner than a cruise ship. Passengers need to complete health questionnaires before boarding and disclose if they have had Covid recently, something that you are not asked when getting on a plane or going to a hotel. Cruise lines follow the International Health Regulations of the World Health Organisation and the CDC's Vessel Sanitisation Program (VSP). These require that cruise ships provide health declarations detailing illnesses of individuals on board to port authorities around the globe prior to a ship's entry. Every cruise ship receives multiple inspections each year – announced and unannounced – to support implementation of strict environmental and safety regulations. Under the VSP, ships must get 86 out of 100 points to pass, covering cleanliness of areas such as cabins, galleys and dining rooms, swimming pools and kids' clubs. To comply with this, cruise ships are routinely cleaned, with crew regularly sanitising surfaces such as tables, handrails, door handles and taps. Cruise passengers are reminded to wash their hands when entering the buffet and restaurants, while hand sanitisers are readily available in public locations on a cruise ship such as by the lifts. Members of industry trade body the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) also follow guidelines specifying that cruise ships must have at least one qualified medical professional available 24/7 for medical bay visits or cabin 'house calls'. CLIA managing director Andy Harmer said: 'The cruise industry's first priority is the health and safety of passengers, crew, and the communities that we visit. 'Thanks to robust and rigorous protocols that cruise lines have put in place, cruise is one of the safest forms of travel. From cleaning practices that are often unparalleled in other settings to passenger screenings, cruise lines take extensive measures to keep their guests healthy.' What happens when there is a norovirus outbreak on a cruise? If a passenger is hit with norovirus or other contagious illnesses, they are usually quarantined in their cabin to prevent further spread of the illness. Murray added that things change quickly on a cruise if there is an outbreak. She said: 'I've experienced this on about 10 per cent of my cruises. When it happens, things like salt and pepper shakers disappear, replaced by individual sachets. 'You won't be allowed to serve your own drinks in the buffet; crew members will do it for you. You'll also see crew with buckets of disinfectant, scrubbing every surface between guests. If you do get sick, you'll be ordered to stay in your cabin until you've been symptom-free for 24 hours – and don't worry, room service is free.' To prevent illness, she advises avoiding touching handrails unless absolutely necessary and pressing elevator buttons with your knuckles. She said: 'Little things like this help reduce the risk of catching anything. 'Since the pandemic, new cruise ships have been designed with extra hygiene measures in mind. Every restaurant now has handwashing sinks at the entrance, and some even have automatic hand-washing machines. Many cruise lines are also moving away from self-service buffets, with crew members plating up food instead. 'When Covid first hit, the idea of people being stuck on ships made for dramatic headlines - who could forget the Diamond Princess? But that doesn't mean you're more likely to catch Covid or anything else on a cruise ship. Quite the opposite. I've never stayed in a hotel or eaten in a restaurant where someone ensures every single person has clean hands before entering. On a cruise ship, that's just standard practice.'
