Russia has recently unveiled a new passenger jet which they hope will be a big seller in the commercial aircraft market. The aircraft has 110 seats and has been developed by Sukhoi in conjunction with Boeing. The plane is due to undergo test flights later this year but there are hopes that they will soon be able to make six planes a month for foreign airlines. If the plane is a success it could help Russia in moving away from its current reliance on income form oil and gas.

British Airways has just placed an order for £4.1bn of new planes. They have ordered 12 Airbus A380 superjumbos and 24 Boeing 787s. The new planes will be greener and quieter than current models as well as being more fuel efficient. This order will replace half of BA’s existing long haul fleet. They are likely to be delivered between 2010 and 2014.

Heathrow Airport will test Terminal 5 prior to opening it. They have recruited around 15,000 volunteers to ensure the terminal runs well. The volunteers receive a free lunch and a goody bag for their help. They will go through mock security and baggage procedures to try and help cut down on delays when the terminal opens for business. During the first four weeks of testing groups of 30 to 100 people will test the facilities, rising to groups of up to 2,250 people just before opening which should test the facilities as though they were operating live. It will be interesting to see if the testing does make the new terminal more efficient.

This weeks travel blog of the week is The Ecua Traveler, its goal is to provide as much information as possible for tourists travelling to Ecuador by providing information such as hidden costs, things to watch out for, scams, common problems etc...

One of the articles I enjoyed was 30 Surefire Ways to Stretch your Travel Dollar, which covers 30 points to help back packers stretch their travel budgets with tips such as hooking up with other travellers to get group discounts and making friends with the locals who can also give good advice on saving money.

Another article I can relate to to is 5 Tips for Travelling in Large Groups, I have always found travelling in large groups (while safer) can also be cumbersome especially when it comes to making decisions. This article gives you some good tips on how to make it work out.

Traffic has been banned from certain roads in central London for a day. The ban is to enable people to use a car free cycle route which passes several of London's famous landmarks including the London Eye, Westminster and St Paul's Cathedral. More than 30,000 people are expected to use the route which is open from 11am to 4pm today. The event finishes with a festival which includes bike stunt displays and a cycling circus.

The Communication Workers Union has announced more strikes which will take place in October. These will start with a 48 hour strike on the 5th & 6th October and a 48 hour strike on the 8th & 9th October. From the week commencing the 15th October there will also be a rolling programme of strikes which will continue weekly until the dispute is resolved. During this time PC2Paper cannot guarantee delivery times.

I found this interesting method of folding clothes, which is supposed to mean they don't get creased in the suitcase. It is called bundle wrapping and you can see the diagram here. Not having tried it yet, I don't know if it actually works but it’s certainly interesting.

Easyjet has said it supports imposing green taxes on flights. They say the current passenger duty should be scrapped and replaced with a tax based on the amount of carbon dioxide each flight produces. Under this scheme Easyjet believe their passengers will pay less than they do currently. This is because most of Easyjet’s planes are quite new and the majority of its flights are short.