Travel News

Airbus’s ginormous new ‘BelugaXL’ cargo plane has taken off for its maiden test flight. The newest addition to the manufacturer’s transport fleet took to the air this morning at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport. The launch of the aircraft triggered thunderous applause in an audience of more than 10,000 people, mostly employees and subcontractors of the European aircraft manufacturer.

Prankster Zac Alsop went to the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth and Warwick Castle to see how easy it is to cut in line without people telling him to go to the back of the queue. The 22-year-old tried a number of things in order to get to the front of the line including confusing people, distracting them and even asking for their permission - with a range of reactions.

MailOnline Travel's Sadie Whitelocks (bottom left) visited Ladakh in north India, which is home to the elusive snow leopard (bottom right). It was the wrong time of year to spot big cats but she saw a Tibetan Argali sheep (top left), a species that is very rare. The animal is near-threatened on IUCN's red list of threatened species, with the population as low as 7,000.

Amtrak has announced that it is bringing back the classic glass-dome train to run on routes from Brunswick in Maine to Boston and from Montreal to New York from later this year. The upper level of the glass carriage is currently the only one of its kind that remains in service. It has windows on every side including the ceiling, meaning the passengers can enjoy a panoramic view from their seat.

The Landmark Trust has just finished restoring its latest property, Coed-y-Bleiddiau, in Wales. This quirky holiday cottage comes with tickets for the Ffestiniog Railway line, which delivers you straight to your door.

MailOnline Travel's Sadie Whitelocks (inset with her group) stayed at the Gouter refuge en route to the summit of Mont Blanc. The bizarre cliff-side inn opened in 2013 after a two-year construction project costing more than €6million (£5.3million) and today it welcomes up to 120 mountaineers a night.

The Russian president has one of four lavish £390million IL-96-300PU presidential jets to call upon for travel while Donald Trump relies on his own private airliner - Air Force One. The exterior of Putin's jet looks like a basic model but the cabin is lavishly decorated with tapestries and gold accents and even a gold-plated toilet. Meanwhile the US presidential plane has a cabin area of nearly 4,000-sq-ft and accommodations include a bedroom, bathroom, gym, offices and even a fully functioning medical suite.

Scrap bog-standard pints and sticky late-night shots of liquor. These watering holes take the drinking experience up a notch or two, with complex recipes on offer and refined interiors to boot. Antwerp-based drinks aficionado Jurgen Lijcops researched the world's top drinking joints and details some of his favourites in his new book, 150 Bars You Need To Visit Before You Die. Pictured from top left, clockwise to centre: Jamaica's Blackwell Rum Bar, Hong Kong's J. Boroski bar, Le Bar Botaniste in Paris, Djapa Bar in Hong Kong and The Alchemist in London.

Saved from a watery grave, 11 of Amsterdam's iconic canal watch houses have been transformed into chic hotel suites. The two-person lodges, offered by Sweets hotel from 160 euros (£141), boast contemporary interiors and prime views over the city's quaint waterways. For 100 years Amsterdam’s bridge houses accommodated the city’s many bridge keepers, who were responsible for opening the impressive structures for passing boat traffic.

EXCLUSIVE. These fascinating vintage photos reveal what London's Midland Bank HQ looked like before it was transformed into one of the city's hottest hotel and bar complexes. HSBC, which acquired the bank in 1992, delved into the archives for photos of the head office before its £200million makeover by hotel groups Soho House and Sydell. The images, which date from 1930 through to 1980, show the grand building at 27 Poultry looking sparse and formal - a far cry from the convivial atmosphere it boasts today.

From huge viaducts to stone-built crossings, the world's most incredible bridges have been revealed in a mesmerising new book. Simply titled Bridges, it charts a whole range of crossings, from the ancient to the futuristic. They include the stunning 7.6-mile-long Vasco da Gama bridge in Lisbon (main), Europe's largest crossing, and the eye-popping 35-arch Pont du Gard aqueduct in France (top left) - Roman engineering at its most bombastic. The tome also details a beautiful 17th-century wooden Japanese bridge (bottom left), a bridge in Myanmar made from 1,086 pillars and a bridge in Bordeaux that has a vertical section that can be raised to allow ships to pass through (bottom right). Also included in the book is Slaters' Bridge in Cumbria, top right. The book, by David Ross, also explains how the technology of building bridges over the years has changed and how they have been catalysts for social change. 

The airport was officially opened exactly 80 years ago on July 16, 1938, and earned a reputation as being the birthplace of affordable air travel before being named London Luton Airport in 1990. Today, it is the fifth largest airport in the UK and carries 16million passengers each year to destinations across Europe, Africa and Asia. Pictured are passengers clearing customs in 1951, top left, an aerial view of the airport during the Second World War, top right, a Derby Airways flight at Luton in 1962, bottom left, an aerial shot of the airport in the 1990s, bottom right, and Concorde on the tarmac in 1983, inset.

Here Sky TV presenter Kay Burley sings the praises of Tennessee's Music City (bottom left), which British Airways now flies directly to. Her trip included meeting Garry Tallent from the E Street Band in a strip mall parking lot (top right), seeing a jamming session at the legendary Bluebird Cafe and eating at celeb haunt Puckett's (bottom right), which Prince William has also visited. Kay is pictured inset at the entrance of the Grand Ole Opry venue and top left is Nashville's never-sleeps Broadway strip.

Nothing touches the soul quite like a sunset, and we all know it – 286 million images of sunsets were uploaded to Instagram last year worldwide. But some places lend themselves to orange hues better than others – and it seems that nothing quite beats a Californian sunset (bottom right), according to a new study. More sunsets were snapped there and posted to Instagram last year than anywhere else on the planet – 5.7million in total. The top 10 also includes London (top left), Sydney (top right) and Moscow (bottom left).

MailOnline Travel's Colin Thorne checks into the Spicers Potts Point hotel and quickly gets into the groove thanks to his in-room record player (inset) and the hotel's beautifully boutique-y set-up. He writes: 'This is one of Sydney's newest boutique hotels and it's created a very relaxed, open and airy atmosphere inside a classic early 20th century building. Attention to detail has certainly paid off as it's been a finalist for the 'Best Bed' award in the 2018 Gourmet Traveller Australian Hotel Guide Awards.'

EXCLUSIVE. Here British Airways Boeing 777 first officer Sophie Polwin (main, bottom left and inset) reveals her life as an airline pilot to MailOnline Travel - and how it compares to her time with the Canadian Air Force, where she flew fast Hawk 115 jets (top right) and the multi-role CC-150 Polaris (bottom right). She has refueled fighters mid-air and transported the Prime Minister of Canada - but now enjoys flying long-haul for Britain's national carrier. She says: 'The airline is very proud of its people who have served, or continue to serve, and through its "managed path" scheme it bridges the gap for those who are coming out of the forces and looking for a second career with the airline.'

These wonder-homes from around the world have been shortlisted for the HGTV Ultimate House Hunt competition in the 'Waterfront Homes' category, a title that is selected through public voting. The competition is a joint venture from Leading Real Estate Companies of the World and Luxury Portfolio International, which features premium properties. Pictured is a private island in Norwalk, Connecticut, top left, a villa in Laguna Beach, California, top right, a family home in Falmouth, Massachusetts, bottom left, and a tropical escape in Hawaii, bottom right.

There were several purchases that helped people ‘keep up with the Joneses’ in the 1980s – buying SodaStreams, cars with head rests and, of course, cassette players with auto-reverse. And it seems that the latter is still mesmerising people, because a video of an auto-reverse system in action has been creating a stir on the internet. Mind you, it does show one of the best auto-reverse systems available, on the Japanese-made Nakamichi RX-202, which physically flips the cassette around.

The fascinating stories behind over 90 lost worlds have been revealed in a new book laced with incredible pictures. Abandoned Civilisations by author Kieron Connolly reveals how vast societies can rise and fall, leaving behind ruined cities and towns that have been reclaimed by nature. It tells the stories of citadels overgrown by jungle, statues lying half-hidden in the sand and gigantic bizarre sculptures carved into rock faces. Pictured: The fortress at Masada in Israel, top left, Bagan in Myanmar top right, the tombs in the town of Myra in present day Turkey, bottom left, stone circles on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, bottom right, and the circular terraces at Moray in Cuzco, Peru, inset.

The robot, called Care-E, is a bright blue 'self driving trolley' that has been developed by Dutch carrier KLM and comes with AI technology to guide passengers through busy terminals. To use the robot, passengers simply scan their boarding pass and can place luggage up to 85 pounds on the machine. It will then begin to make its way towards the appropriate boarding gate at a speed of three miles per hour. It has been reported that the technology will be rolled out for use at New York's JFK and San Francisco International Airports later this year.

The British north or the British south? North or south of the river? Upper East Side or Upper West Side? Here William Hanson enters the debate on the latter. He checks into the noble Pierre hotel on the Upper East Side and the contemporary Mandarin Oriental on the Upper West Side. The former has elevator attendants, the latter fancy cocktails and celebrity 'fans'. Find out which one gets the etiquette guru's vote.

Most drivers would like to think that they can tell the difference between a real and a fake road sign. But when 2,000 Brits in a study took a new tricky quiz that asked them to differentiate made-up signs from real ones found on Britain's roads - many didn't fare very well and not one scored 100 per cent. And if Brits themselves are unable to spot the difference, then what chance do tourists coming to the UK stand? See how you fare here.

When an enormous Boeing 747 appeared overnight in a muddy field in Thailand earlier this month, locals were left baffled. At first sight, the Queen of the Skies appeared to have landed on the remote patch of grass in Chai Nat, in the north of the country. Villagers flocked to take pictures of the jumbo jet, which has a distinctive purple and gold Thai Airways livery.

This is the ex-hairdressing female pilot whose behind-the-scenes shots of her job and globe-trotting lifestyle have made her an Instagram star. First officer Sara Johansson from Borås, Sweden, has amassed more than 22,000 followers on the social media site thanks to her incredible images. Striking shots show the stunning blonde in her uniform at work in the cockpit or chilling inside an engine, while others show Sara on her days off exploring the exotic locations she gets to fly to. The 33-year-old has worked as a commercial pilot for two and a half years, flying both passengers and cargo on a Boeing 737. She now flies a Falcon 7X on corporate services.

When Eurostar launched a direct service to Amsterdam from London St Pancras on April 4 it's likely that many people thought 'ah, marijuana, beer bikes and the Red Light District - plus canals' - all now within easy reach. Yes, they are. But there are several other very good reasons why Eurostar's new train ride to this watery wonderland is an extremely splendid thing – it means that one of Europe's classiest hotels, the De L'Europe (exterior inset), is under four hours away, along with fabulous wine bars and streets of such quaintness that it beggars belief. These were all on Ted Thornhill's itinerary on a trip to the city by Eurostar recently and he was left desperately yearning to return. Pictured: The hotel's chandelier-laden lobby (top left), one of its marble bathrooms (top right), its terrace dining area (bottom right) and one of its deluxe bedrooms (bottom left).

The Lutetia hotel in Paris, favoured by the likes of Picasso and Hemingway, reopens this week after undergoing a 200million-euro (£177million) refurb that it hopes will win it the 'palace' label reserved for the most opulent of French lodgings. The new five-star Lutetia will re-open on Thursday (July 12) with a spa, indoor pool and jazz bar with a frescoed ceiling. It will offer 184 rooms, including 47 suites, down from its original 233 rooms. The new guests will pay rates starting at 850 euros a night, rising to 19,000 euros for the two-bedroom Presidential suite. Before the revamp the average rate was 300 euros.

It's known as the beautiful game - and sometimes it's played in beautiful places, as these pictures show. From Brazil to Singapore via Norway and Greenland, it's game on for eye-popping pitches. Among the world's most stunning pitches are those in Tasiilaq, Greenland, top left, the Faroe Islands, top right, the Malaysian jungle, bottom left, Singapore, bottom right, and an island in Norway, inset.

MailOnline Travel's Sadie Whitelocks visited artisans (inset and top right) in the Kashmiri city of Srinagar. Cottage industries in the region are dying out with the rise of new technology, with youngsters just not having the patience to work in them, Sadie writes. Pictured: An intricate scarf being worked on during Sadie's visit (top left), a carpet-making studio (bottom right) and a worker weaving colourful silk (bottom left).

 A Ukrainian acrobatic duo has been criticised for posing underneath a low-flying aircraft and ‘risking their lives and hundreds of others’. Yuliia Nos did a one-handed handstand on the head of her partner, Oleg Kolisnichenko, on Maho Beach on the Caribbean island of St Maarten-St Martin as a cargo plane passed right overhead. It seems that she was just mere feet away from the plane’s wheels as it came into land at the adjacent Princess Juliana International Airport. But instead of being impressed, some people reacted with fury when Mr Kolisnichenko posted the striking image to his Instagram page.

A couple who dreamed of a simpler life on the open road with their pet dog, Milo, have spent $40,000 (£30,000) converting a vintage school bus into a solar powered mobile home. Nicholas Underwood from Atlanta and his partner Heather Yandziak of Ashburn, Virginia, wanted to travel across the US and decided on a bus conversion. The adventurous pair wanted the ability to stay out in the wilderness for long periods of time so made a 1998 Thomas Vista 3600 School Bus fully solar powered.

A new book called 50 Airliners That Changed Flying has detailed the aircraft that have each been pivotal in changing aviation since 1914 when the first passenger planes were developed. It shows how aircraft moved from early piston planes with open cockpits to luxury airliners with sleeping berths, pressurised cabins and faster engines. Pictured are a Boeing 707, top left, an Imperial Airways boat plane, top right, Concorde, bottom left and a BEA Viscount 800, bottom right.

Vintage images have shown how Manchester Airport has been developed over the past 80 years to become one of the world's major hubs welcoming almost 28 million passengers a year. Originally called Ringway, Manchester Airport opened in June 1938 with the first flight taking place two days later. It was operated by KLM on a Douglas DC2 aircraft and it carried up to 14 passengers to Amsterdam's Schipol Airport. Today around 107,000 travellers pass through the airport a day and the A380 flies from hub three times a day.

The Lexington Hotel Autograph Collection on Manhattan's Lexington Avenue has unveiled its Norma Jeane Suite, in honour of Monroe's real name where stays cost from $1,200-a-night. As guests enter the suite, they are greeted with a marble entry foyer with pictures of both Monroe and DiMaggio dotted around the room. It has a subtle colour palate of black, white and pink with only flashes of red honouring the actress's love of bright lipstick. Guests in the suite can enjoy a spacious living room with huge sofas where they could watch Monroe's movies on the 55-inch high-definition flat-screen TV.

Italian artist Pietro Cataudella started his project called CityLiveSketch in Sicily in 2014 and it sees him sketch the landmarks before taking snaps of them. He then merges them together to create the unusual images, which he likes to refer to as postcards. Among the 3D illusions he has created, they include images of the Santa Maria della Salute in Venice, top left, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, top right, the Houses of Parliament in London, bottom left and the Duomo Cathedral in Milan, bottom right.

These wacky watering holes take the art of swimming pool design to a whole new level. MailOnline has scoured the world for some of the kookiest places to dip, with a number of gems floating to the surface. At the Sweet Escape vacation home near Orlando, there is an ice cream-shaped swimming pool which follows the resort's candy theme. Meanwhile, at the Apartelle de Francesca apartment rental in the Philippines, there is a pool shaped like a foot, after the owner's fashion brand logo.

It is an extraordinary thing to holiday on a volcano. The beaches are black (bottom right), you can swim in hot springs and eat stews cooked by burial in volcanic earth (top right). Welcome to the Azores (main), writes Jake Wallis Simons, an archipelago of Portuguese islands marooned in the North Atlantic. He took his three kids (eight-year-old twins and a 10-year-old) there for an adventure that would give them memories that definitely won't blur into all the others when they are older.