TOKYO (AFP) ― Struggling Japanese budget carrier Skymark Airlines said Wednesday it was considering asking for help from domestic giant All Nippon Airways, even while eyeing a tie-up with ANA’s rival Japan Airlines.“We are considering asking for assistance” from ANA, Skymark spokesman Hiroyuki Sakata said.Skymark could ask for code-sharing as the main pillar of that assistance, as would be the case if a JAL tie-up is agreed, he told AFP by telephone.Selling flights under JAL or ANA’s codes would

Don’t mourn for Los Angeles International Airport.America’s third-busiest airport has taken its lumps recently. It was ranked the sixth most frustrating airport in the country to use and the fourth most difficult to get to in a Bloomberg study that relied in part on an online survey of more than 3,000 travelers.In addition, LAX was snubbed last year by the annual Skytrax World Airport Awards. LAX ranked 109th among 395 airports worldwide. The ranking was based on a survey of 12.1 million travele

TOKYO (AFP) ― Struggling Japanese budget carrier Skymark Airlines said Wednesday it was considering asking for help from domestic giant All Nippon Airways, even while eyeing a tie-up with ANA’s rival Japan Airlines.“We are considering asking for assistance” from ANA, Skymark spokesman Hiroyuki Sakata said.Skymark could ask for code-sharing as the main pillar of that assistance, as would be the case if a JAL tie-up is agreed, he told AFP by telephone.Selling flights under JAL or ANA’s codes would

A center in the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula, Daegu is a city with abundant historical and cultural heritage. As it is also a geographical hub in the region, the Silla Dynasty once attempted to move its capital to Dalgubeol (currently Daegu) from Gyeongju. During the Joseon Period, the Gyeongsang Provincial Office was located in Daegu, making this location the political, economic, military and transportation center of the Yeongnam area.With such a long history, the cultural and hist

BERLIN (AP) ― German airline Lufthansa has announced plans to launch budget long-haul services at the end of next year in collaboration with SunExpress, a joint venture with Turkish Airlines.Lufthansa’s supervisory board gave the go-ahead to expand the company’s low-cost operations on Wednesday, a meeting that came amid a battle with a union representing pilots at the airline. The union, Vereinigung Cockpit, said it would hit Lufthansa’s long-haul flights on Thursday with its second strike this

MEXICO CITY (AP) ― Federal police and soldiers will take over policing duties in the resort of Acapulco to ensure the safety of tourists amid a wave of violence and protests that has scared away visitors, Mexican authorities said. Troops and federal police will also take over policing in 20 more townships north of Acapulco in a region known as Tierra Caliente, or the Hot Lands, which is plagued by drug cultivation, trafficking and cartels. The region covers parts of the states of Guerrero, Micho

For ski vacations, I often make a beeline for British Columbia, where lots of ski resorts have exactly what I want. Resorts such as Whistler Blackcomb, Sun Peaks and Big White are within a day’s drive of Seattle and offer fun ski villages; ski-in, ski-out lodging; and lots of varied terrain.But I decided to break out of my B.C. rut last spring and try a ski area that, happily, doesn’t involve the often-slow border crossing between the U.S. and Canada. I drove east to Idaho’s Schweitzer Mountain

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ― Skiers and snowboarders traveling to Utah this winter will find the same jagged mounting peaks looming just east of Salt Lake City and many familiar trails at the state’s 15 resorts. But they may also notice a few signs of the significant changes that occurred in the off-season. The most prominent was Vail Resorts Inc.’s purchase of the state’s largest ski area, Park City Mountain Resort. The $182.5 million acquisition resolved a messy legal battle between Vail and Powdr Co

What determines your first impression of a city may be the transportation you use to get from the airport to downtown. Hotels.com Airport and Transportation Insider found out which cities offer the most convenient transportation from the airport to your final destination among 20 destinations around the world.Bangkok offered the cheapest means of transportation for the route. Options are diverse, including shuttle buses, shared rides and limousines, with an average price of 2,103 won ($1.90). Th

South Korea's state-run tourism agency said Wednesday it will work with Chinese Internet giant Baidu Inc. to use its mobile search traffic data on travel to attract more visitors from China.   The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) and Baidu signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly collect and analyze big data derived from China's No. 1 search engine to more accurately gauge market trends and introduce customized tour programs.     South Korea has become one of the most popular destinations

Driven by the rising popularity of K-pop and Korean TV dramas, shopping in Korea has become a special experience for a growing number of foreign tourists.The best season for them is winter, when the annual Korea Grand Sale campaign is held. Bigger discounts and more gifts and events are on offer during the campaign than any other time of the year. “This year’s Korea Grand Sale will present a variety of promotions from December to February, which will heighten the festive year-end mood. The event