Etihad bound for Tokyo

ETIHAD Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who recently increased flights from Dublin to Adu Dhabi to ten a week, continues to expand with the announcement of new services from the Middle Eastern hub to Tokyo.

Etihad will operate five non-stop flights per week to Tokyo, in addition to its five flights per week to Nagoya. The flights will be operated by three-class Airbus A330-200 aircraft, and will feature in-flight services dedicated to the Japanese market, including a tailored menu, local entertainment content and cabin crew consisting of Japanese speakers and nationals.

That’s not to say European clients will be forgotten; an Etihad spokesman said the service would attract “a significant number of new Irish clients” on the current Dublin services, and beyond, on both economy- and business-class sectors

- AMERICAN Holidays have special offers for car rental in the US and Canada, which they claim are the most cost-effective.

That’s, of course, for the consumer to find out, although the rates do look pretty competitive by any stretch of the imagination. In co-operation with Alamo, the company is quoting prices of anything from €18 (Florida), to €20 (California) and €34 (Canada) per day.

American include unlimited mileage, collision damage waiver, minimum liability cover, taxes and airport surcharges in the prices they quote. Details from: www.americanholidays.ie; call 01-6733840 or contact any local travel agent.

- IT might be short notice, but the five-star Castlemartyr Resort is offering a last-ditch chance for people to round off the Easter weekend in memorable fashion.

On Monday, the hotel has a jazz band between 1pm and 3.30pm, when, for €55 (adult) or €25 (child), one can enjoy a four-course brunch that includes a drinks reception and an extensive menu with wine. The John Boyle Jazz Duo promise to perform a lively set throughout lunch, and guests left with any energy afterwards can apply to take the resident dogs from the resort for a walk, after which non-drinkers might still be required to ferry revellers home. To book, call Castlemartyr Resort at 021-4219000.

- LATER this month (April 16 to 19), the Waterford Festival of Food comes to Dungarvan to bring people together for a colourful weekend of food, wine and a wealth of events.

The Park Hotel, situated just a five-minute stroll from the town, has put together packages that embrace events on offer during the festival, as well as a two-night bed-and-breakfast deal.

For €169 a person sharing, clients can enjoy the stay, as well as tickets to the launch of the festival, and entry to cookery and wine-tasting demonstrations.

For more information, visit www.flynnhotels.com/Park_Hotel/ or call [phone].