Ryanair Allows Smoking!

OK - not strictly true but an eyecatching headline!

Ryanair - smoking does not get in your eyes

Fancy a cigarette when you fly? You can on a Ryanair flight.

21 September 2009

Michael O'Leary is up to his money-making antics again, this time going against the grain of public opinion by allowing passengers to smoke on his airplanes.

Passengers over the age of 18 years will be offered the airline's new Similar Smokeless Cigarettes. They are sold in packs of ten on board Ryanair flights for £6 a packet.

Similar Smokeless Cigarettes contain no toxins or chemicals and are claimed to be harmless to the user and to those around them.

In a recent survey, a tiny proportion (24,000 v a claimed 60m) of Ryanair passengers said they would like to smoke during flights. How the complaints are dealt with remains to be seen.

In March 2004 eight passengers were banned for life by Ryanair for smoking on flights.

Top Pick For a Smoking Holiday

This is one of my favourite places in the world!

NEW ORLEANS

I was lucky enough to go there prior to Katrina and it was truly an unforgettable experience. New Orleans is unlike anywhere else in the US - it is truly unique. There is nowhere else in the US where you can drink in the street. AND you can still smoke in the bars and clubs.

In June this year The State of Louisiana voted against any more smoking bans.
You can read about it here: fairtobaccoreform

Here is my list of must-do New Orleans experiences:

1. Hang out in the French Quarter, especially Bourbon Street, 'where the party never stops!


2. Ride the steamboat
I thoroughly recommend the dinner jazz cruise. Make sure you are hungry!
Dinner/Jazz Cruise Highlights:

• Breathtaking view of the city
• Enjoy casual buffet-style dining
• Meals prepared fresh on board
• Indoor and Outdoor seating
• Featuring live jazz by the world renowned "Dukes of Dixieland"
• Museum quality Engine Room
• Group Rates available for 10 or more passengers
• Children under 6 years have the cruise portion of their ticket free with a paid adult. Food & Beverage costs may apply
• Departs from the Toulouse Street Wharf behind Jax Brewery
• Reservations recommended

3. Visit the zoo

I'm really pleased to say that many of the animals I saw on my trip are still there and have survived Katrina - the elephants Jean and Panya, Spots the 'albino' alligator, the Komodo dragon and the white tiger brothers from California, named King Rex and King Zulu.


4. Ride the oldest operating streetcar in the world.

The St. Charles Line

All aboard for a trip into New Orleans' past on the oldest continuously operating streetcar in the world! The mahogany seats, brass fittings and exposed ceiling light bulbs are from a day when plastic seats and aluminum rails were not even a thought. Rumbling around the ''neutral ground'' of St. Charles and Carrollton avenues for more than 150 years, the streetcar symbolizes the charm and romance of the City of New Orleans.

The route traditionally forms a 13.2-mile crescent from Carondelet at Canal Street in the Central Business District through the oldest and most majestic section of uptown New Orleans, around the Riverbend to Carrollton at Claiborne Avenue. Swaying along St. Charles Avenue through a tunnel Live Oaks, the streetcar passes dozens of antebellum mansions, historic monuments, Loyola and Tulane universities, the sweeping grounds of the Audubon Zoological Gardens, shopping centers, fine restaurants and hotels.

5. Eat.

If you're going to New Orleans - forget the diet. The locals live to eat, not the other way round and you will find a tantalising array of truly amazing and delicious food.

Don't forget to try a po'boy - a massive french stick stuffed with roast beef or shrimp.
Seafood here is to die for - soft shell crab, crawfish,






Recommended Hotel

Best Western Landmark

Half of the rooms are for smokers.

Introduction

Hi everyone - welcome to Travel and Smoke!

This blog is for anyone who is a member of that much maligned and discriminated group called smokers. Heaven forbid that we may want to travel! What a nightmare. However, with diligent research it is still possible to travel and smoke, albeit in a somewhat restricted fashion. AND there are still some places in the world where freedom is a reality rather than an abstract concept that is interpreted according to what suits the powers that be.

I don't intend to enter into debates about smoking here, or the freedom of individuals to be smoke-free. If you smoke you are welcome here. If you want to travel I will gather as much information as I can find to help you plan your trip - I will even organise your trip for you!

You are welcome to add your own personal stories or any information that I may have missed.

Enjoy!