Airport Guide
Brits finding their inner-Indiana Jones with new flights
If most media commentators are to be believed, the majority of Britons are now keen to present themselves as eco-conscious travellers, preferring to spend their well-earned breaks in a caravan in north Wales rather than jetting off around the world.
But, while it may well be the case that many consumers do enjoy a sense of smug superiority picking up their children from the school gates in a hybrid car or serving only fair-traded organic tea to visitors, when it comes to holidays, the lure of the exotic is always likely to win out.
And, what's more, the practice of 'one-upmanship' around the dinner party table is likely to be around for some time yet, particularly now that it's possible to fly to some of the most far-flung and off-the-map places on the planet with relatively little fuss these days.
Indeed, it seems a fair bet that a good many adventurous travellers are rubbing their hands with glee and picturing the 'where did you go over Easter?' water cooler conversation now that it has been revealed that daily passenger flights from London to Baghdad may resume in just a few months.
While the British government is still required to give the green light to any such development, UK carrier bmi has confirmed that it is willing to become the first airline to return to the Iraqi capital, claiming that the demand is there from business travellers as well as expatriates and even thrill-seeking tourists and culture vultures.
"We fly to all the places that surround Iraq and a lot of our passengers are Iraqi," bmi chief executive Nigel Turner told the Financial Times.
"Iraq is potentially very prosperous... and desperate for investment," he added.
Though it may seem like a ridiculous idea to the average holidaymaker, who would argue that, while Baghdad may well have the weather, the people may not be as friendly as the locals along the Costa del Sol, developments in the global flights market over recent years show that Britons are increasingly developing an appetite for off-the-wall holiday destinations.
This has been helped in no small part by the boom in cheap flights across Europe.
For example, for the best deals to west Africa, it makes sense to jet out of Belgium or Paris, while the best fares for central or South America can often be found on services leaving out of Madrid.
And, since it's unlikely that anyone would book a trip to Monrovia on a last-minute whim, bargain flights out of the UK to these continental hubs are readily available, helping to open places such as Newcastle and Aberdeen to the whole world.
In fact, probably the most surprising thing about this latest news is that it's bmi who are making the first move, given that their geographical knowledge of the Middle East has just been brought into question after Israel was 'deleted' from its on-board electronic maps.
But, while it may well be the case that many consumers do enjoy a sense of smug superiority picking up their children from the school gates in a hybrid car or serving only fair-traded organic tea to visitors, when it comes to holidays, the lure of the exotic is always likely to win out.
And, what's more, the practice of 'one-upmanship' around the dinner party table is likely to be around for some time yet, particularly now that it's possible to fly to some of the most far-flung and off-the-map places on the planet with relatively little fuss these days.
Indeed, it seems a fair bet that a good many adventurous travellers are rubbing their hands with glee and picturing the 'where did you go over Easter?' water cooler conversation now that it has been revealed that daily passenger flights from London to Baghdad may resume in just a few months.
While the British government is still required to give the green light to any such development, UK carrier bmi has confirmed that it is willing to become the first airline to return to the Iraqi capital, claiming that the demand is there from business travellers as well as expatriates and even thrill-seeking tourists and culture vultures.
"We fly to all the places that surround Iraq and a lot of our passengers are Iraqi," bmi chief executive Nigel Turner told the Financial Times.
"Iraq is potentially very prosperous... and desperate for investment," he added.
Though it may seem like a ridiculous idea to the average holidaymaker, who would argue that, while Baghdad may well have the weather, the people may not be as friendly as the locals along the Costa del Sol, developments in the global flights market over recent years show that Britons are increasingly developing an appetite for off-the-wall holiday destinations.
This has been helped in no small part by the boom in cheap flights across Europe.
For example, for the best deals to west Africa, it makes sense to jet out of Belgium or Paris, while the best fares for central or South America can often be found on services leaving out of Madrid.
And, since it's unlikely that anyone would book a trip to Monrovia on a last-minute whim, bargain flights out of the UK to these continental hubs are readily available, helping to open places such as Newcastle and Aberdeen to the whole world.
In fact, probably the most surprising thing about this latest news is that it's bmi who are making the first move, given that their geographical knowledge of the Middle East has just been brought into question after Israel was 'deleted' from its on-board electronic maps.
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