Travel news: Innovations in airplane cabins, from saunas to sleeping cabins
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(CNN) — Happy 4th of July weekend to our American readers and a wonderful July holiday season to everyone else. Here at CNN Travel, we’re weathering price hikes, flight cancellations and chaos, and we’re just grateful that restrictions are easing and the (rather) open road is ahead of us.
Here are the latest trips from around the world this week.
Cabin interiors
Hidden in jumbo jets well out of sight of passengers, there are secret spaces with bunks and power outlets that look like Japanese-style capsule hotels. These are called crew rest compartments and their location in the aircraft varies. Discover them here.
Also in airplane bunk beds, Air New Zealand has just announced its « Skynest » concept: full-length sleeping cabins available to Economy Class passengers. It will be among the offers included on its new Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which are due to enter service in 2024.
At the higher end of the luxury scale is Germany’s Lufthansa Technik, which recently developed a cabin concept inspired by that must-have item for the ultra-rich, the superyacht. were talking yacht-like luxury down to having a sauna, steam room and retractable veranda.
travel links
Disneyland claims to be the happiest place on Earth, but for Renata and Brian Mehl there was a little more magic in the air than usual when they met at the Anaheim resort in January 2012. A Disney proposal followed, and now the Californian pair are celebrating a decade together.
And here is another encounter caused by an accident of fate. Two women with the same name, Kimberly Pflieger, became friends after finding out about each other online. The two women – one Canadian, one Californian – have been hiking with their partners in Malibu and have other adventures planned together.
Asia News
Porcupines, armadillos, turtles, lizards and snakes were among 109 live animals discovered by X-ray in two pieces of luggage at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport this week. Two women were arrested and charged with smuggling.
The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, another contender for the happiest place on earth, will reopen to international tourists in September for the first time since the pandemic began. Travelers will, however, face a much heavier daily resort fee: it is now $200 per night, up from $65 previously.
It’s not the only Asian destination to raise prices. Borobudur in Indonesia, the largest Buddhist temple in the world, is also expected to see a massive price hike.
Alternative transport
So how will we all get from A to B by the 2050s? Many exciting new vehicle concepts are being developed.
Maybe they will be « flying ferries » that promise to get us to work in half the time.
Australia’s abandoned places
Photographer Brett Patman has spent the last decade documenting Australia’s abandoned places, from industrial sites to hotels. Discover his work here.
In case you missed it
Cancel culture: Even more travel chaos is on the way this summer.
Back by popular demand: Lufthansa will bring the A380 back next year.
Could you land a plane in an emergency?
Here’s what Anthony Bourdain made of it when he visited in 2013 for « Parts Unknown. »
Cool and collected
Holidays should be synonymous with relaxation. But when temperatures rise and you’ve been walking all day from airport hallways to city streets, you need a deodorant you can rely on. Our partners at CNN Underscored, a CNN-owned product review and recommendation guide, have rounded up 16 of the best deodorants and antiperspirants, recommended by personal trainers.
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