The Hong Kong ferry believed to be carrying more than 120 passengers, including Britons, to a firework display collided with its Kowloon counterpart, which had at least 100 on board.

A huge recovery operation got under way just off Lamma Island, about two miles from Hong Kong, but low visibility in the darkness and floating obstacles hampered the rescue effort.

AirAsia X flights ban under 12s from front row quiet zones
Malaysian airline AirAsia ia launching a new quiet zone on each of its economy ‘X’ flights to spare travellers from the screams of babies and young children.

It will dedicate the first seven rows at the front of its Airbus A330 to the new quiet zone, in which under 12s are not allowed, which will also feature soft lighting.

These seats, which will sit behind the airline’s Premium Flatbeds, will be available to book online at no extra cost.

American Airline passengers in danger as seats become unhinged
American Airlines were forced to make two emergency landings at New York City’s JFK Airport after discovering loose seats on two different flights bound for Miami.

The airline is now carrying out an inspection of eight of its planes amidst fears there’s a problem with certain seats fitting into the tracking of its Boeing 747s.

One of the flights, which took off from Boston, saw a whole row of seats become unhinged and slide around the cabin while passengers were transferred to a safer position.

Brittany Ferries resumes European service
After 10 days of cancelled crossings in September, Brittany Ferries is now finally back at sea.

Service has resumed now that an agreement has been reached between the operator and more than 1,200 crew members who took strike action over a change in allowances and working hours.

The first sailing to mark the end of the strike was the Roscoff to Plymouth journey, on which passengers were thanked for their understanding.

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East Midlands passengers bid Bmibaby farewell for the very last time on 9 September as the budget airline made the final touchdown of its short career on a one-way flight from Malaga.

They landed at 10.45pm at East Midlands airport where the no-frills carrier, which launched ten years ago, was grounded for good as a result of BMI’s BA take-over.

The move has left 450 staff redundant but more opportunity for the likes of Ryanair and Flybe to expand. It’s thought that Jet2 and Monarch will swoop in and pick up the most lucrative routes. In the meantime, passengers are expected to have to travel further to fly.

easyJet finally flies the flag for allocated seating
Britain’s largest budget airline has announced its plans to replace its current free-for-all boarding policy by introducing allocated seating from November.

easyJet has finally bowed to consumer pressure and, after a trial run earlier this year, has confirmed that allocated seating will give its passengers a better boarding experience.

The initial roll-out will take place at Gatwick – easyJet’s largest base – as part of a three-phase launch.

Exposed Ryanair drops its ski fares after false claims

Ryanair has dropped the price of selected ski flights after an investigation by TravelMole exposed its fares as being higher than the likes of easyJet and other low-cost competitors.

The TravelMole probe suggested that the airline had falsely claimed that its ski flights were the cheapest of all the budget airlines despite being more costly.

London 2012 ends on a high as Team GB pound the streets in victory parade

The Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012 have finally drawn to a close after a grand finale which culminated in a victory parade in which thousands of well-wishers turned out to line the streets of London and wave the British flag to support the Team GB athletes.

UK cruise market becomes second largest in the world

More and more British travellers are choosing to cruise, according to official figures which show that last year’s UK cruise market was the second largest in the world – runner up only to North America.

Recent research highlights that nearly two million more people took a cruise last year than in 2010 – representing a 10 per cent increase in the global market.

Body found on British Airways flight from Cape Town

An investigation has been launched after the body of a stowaway was found in the landing gear bay of a British Airways flight after touching down at Heathrow.

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