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BBC Radio Newcastle, Simon Logan

Today was a big day when i had the pleasure of joining Simon on his afternoon radio show to talk about my new website and various topical travel issues that affect the people of the North East.

This was a fantastic opportunity to talk about the new website and how it can help people in the North East and beyond when booking any kind of holiday. With a bit of luck i may be invited back to talk about topical travel issues again and assist those people looking to uncover the best holiday deals available before they book their next holiday.

An important thing to remember when making any travel arrangements is to shop around. Just because you have used the same travel agent for years they are not necessarily going to give you the best deal, discount or service each time.

The inflight meal. Save money and your tummy.

£15 in total or £7.5o each way does not sound a lot of money but if you really knew the cost and nutritional value of your next meal at 35,000 feet, would you just buy a meal deal before you get on the aeroplane.

Marked up by the charter airline operators by over 700% you really should think twice before paying in advance for a meal you would send back if served in your local restaurant. Just because you are on holiday it does not mean that you should be ripped off before you land.

Tescos, www.tesco.com, announced today that you can buy the ingredients for Christmas dinner for less than £2 per head, all of which will be fresh ingredients, should maybe move into airline catering as well.

Easyjet 15th Birthday sale, up to 30% off every route, every seat, every day.

How exciting is this. Easyjet, http://www.easyjet.com/ have now announced a weekend sale no sooner than i had finished typing the ryanair, http://www.ryanair.com/, weekend sale.

All deals are available to book online at http://www.easyjet.com/. The sale ends at midnight on the 10th November 2010 so you will have to be quick

The strap line for the sale is up to 30% off every route, every seat, every day. Even in these credit crunch times with a weeks flight to Geneva from Newcastle will cost £33 plus baggage per person. Now surely this is a reason to take up skiing.

Ryanair Weekend Sale

A late Friday email has just arrived in our office. http://www.ryanair.com/ are offering flights from only £8 including taxes to selected destinations but they must be booked by midnight on the 8th November 2010.

We have had a look on the site and actually found flights for less than the £8 with fares to Cork on the 1st december 2010 at only £6. Remember Ryanair charge for absolutely everything that they can on top of the original fare but if you travel light it could be as cheap as chips.

Our example was based on Luton to Cork on 1st December flying out in the morning returning in the evening. With online check in it worked out at £19.99 per person return. Now that is a good deal.

50% off Disney Ultimate & Eat for Free with Disney meal plans

This deal is a must for anyone taking their kids to Florida. We all know just how expensive it can be when you cost in all of the park passes etc. A lot of these deals are directly produced by Disney and not specific to any one particular tour operator or travel agent. It is worth ringing around for deals to Florida.

The deal is available direct with Disney.

Always try http://www.virgin.co.uk/ as they can have various special offers but shop around as i have heard recently of a family of 6 being quoted over £42,000 by Virgin and eventually finding virtually the same with long time Florida Mainstreet USA in Durham for £12,000, they dont have a very good website but the service is excellent 08705 526 900.

Cosmos Holidays Free Excursions and Transfers

Cosmos holidays, http://www.cosmosholidays.co.uk/, have today released a range of holidays and cruises within Egypt from only £429 that include free transfers and some free excursions. On two of their ships they also have included free board basis upgrades to All Inclusive as well.

Now transfers within Egypt are generally quite cheap anyway, maybe worth having a look at some transfer company websites on http://www.holidaytaxis.co.uk/ or http://www.resorthoppa.com/, to see what free actually means. The excursions could well be a good deal as they can prove to be expensive when buying in resort.

The Increase in APD (Airport Passenger Duty).

The 1st November saw the second increase in APD since new legislation laid down by the government in 2008. This means an increase in the outbound tax per passenger by between £1 and £30 pounds per person.

There have been calls for a per plane tax, but to make the potential government potential tax take easier to calculate i have done an easy reckoner on a destination / common plane type.

Band A (e.g. Greece, France, Cyprus, Spain)

0-2000 miles from London, Boeing 737-700 commonly used

Average Seats 180

APD per passenger £12.

Average load factor (number of seats used) on the aircraft 90%

APD £1,944 per flight

Band B (e.g. USA, Egypt, United Arab Emirates)

2001-4000 miles from London, Boeing 747-400 commonly used

Average Seats 170 standard, 115 business/first

APD per standard passenger £60

APD per business/first class passenger £120

Average load factor of the aircraft 80%

APD £26,000 per flight

Band C (e.g. Caribbean, Maldives, Thailand)

4001-6000 miles from London, Boeing 777-200 commonly used

Average seats 127 standard, 102 business/first

APD per standard passenger £75

APD per business/first class passenger £150

Average load factor of the aircraft 80%

APD £24,825 per flight

Band D (e.g. Australia, Argentina)

Over 6000 miles from London, Boeing 777-300 commonly used

Average seats 304 standard, 54 business/first

APD per standard passenger £85

APD per business/first class passenger £170

Average load factor of the aircraft 80%

APD £35,020 per flight

Heathrow Airport handles approx 1200 outbound flights per day, assuming:

20% uk flights, 0 tax

30% Area A flights 180 flights x £1944 = £349920

20% Area B flights 120 flights x £26000 = £3120000

20% Area C flights 120 flights x £24825 = £2979000

10% Area D 60 flights x £35020 = £2101200

Total Tax Take = £6448920 per day from flights departing Heathrow Airport.

The figures are just my best guess estimates but illustrate why the APD will only rise in the future. It is an amazing income generator for the treasury.

So remember when booking and paying for a flight:

The APD is not due to be paid by the airline until the flight takes off, which means the airlines sit holding all of that tax often up to 1 year in advance of departure.

If the airlines are fighting the introduction of APD on behalf of the consumer why not collect the tax element 6 weeks before departure?