Cathay Pacific Airways, the elite Hong Kong-based carrier which made downtown check-in an art form (leaving passengers luggage-free to squeeze the maximum out of departure day before heading for the airport) has added a new dimension self-service function for its customers.

Mobile Check-In helps to further simplify the travel experience, giving passengers greater control over managing each stage of their journey.

It allows passengers with a web-enabled mobile phone or other hand-held device to check in for their flight at any time and from any location where there is wireless access to the internet.

The new facility allows them to check in, select their preferred seats on the aircraft, and send a barcode to their mobile device. This barcode can then be scanned at Self Check-In Kiosks at the airport, where available, to print their boarding pass.

To enjoy the new service, passengers should open the web browser on their mobile device and type m.cathaypacific.com as the URL; then click on the “Check-in” link to launch Mobile Check-In.

Marco Polo Club and Asia Miles members can also log in under “Personal Itinerar” to begin the check-in process.

Mobile Check-In is Cathay's latest addition to its mission of providing more convenience for their customers. It joins Online Check-In, Self Check-In Kiosks at Hong Kong and other destinations, and the Self-Print Boarding Pass facility in Hong Kong and 11 destinations overseas.

Together they allow passengers to check-in at any time, from anywhere. When they get to the airport, passengers without check-in baggage go directly through Immigration, bypassing queues at the regular check-in counters. Self Check-In Bag Drop counters at Hong Kong International Airport are available for people with check-in baggage.

Cathay Pacific's e-Business manager Lawrence Fong said it had become clear passengers wanted more control over their own journeys.

“We have seen an exponential growth in our online and mobile services in recent months and will continue to ease the travel experience for our passengers by rolling out more self-service functions in the coming year,'' he said.

Belfast’s a hot spot but not the way it used to be

Given the Irish prepondency for a leg-pull I was understandably guarded when a note arrived from their national tourist board that Belfast had become a “hot spot”.

I had, after all, grown up close to people who had some pretty strong views one way or the other about circumstances euphemistically-labelled “The Troubles” and had, later, written thousands of words proclaiming Belfast as a changed place worthy of repeated visits, exuding the very Irishness a Europeanised Dublin had been forced to relinquish in the name of progress.

This earned me some odd looks in some quarters but many who bothered to check it out, came back extolling the virtues of Belfast.

Now, it seems, the acclaimed guidebook people, Frommers, have decreed that “in little more than a decade, Belfast has been transformed from fractured city into a hot city break destination”.
Better late than never!

A full-on renaissance, including freshening up the city's quite splendid Victorian public and government buildings are a drawcard. But Frommers reckons the glass-domed city-centre shopping mecca will be the new hub.

That, and the annual Festival at Queens, pubs galore, craic by the tonne, Guinness as good as the other place and a welcome mat without peer, proclaim Belfast's back - and there are still black cabs, Falls and The Shankill for sightseeing if that’s your thing.

Coal bins and safes add new class to an old house

Still in the Emerald Isle, but down the other end, in the Republic's mid-west if you like, the ancient city of Limerick has opened No 1 Pery Square.

In a country where grand and gracious homes provide visitor accommodation without peer (even when the stairs are sometimes a bit narrow or steep), this luxurious Georgian dwelling is a new star in the Private Ireland hospitality collection.

A townhouse, it has 20 individually designed guestrooms ranging from classical period style to modern penthouse suites.

But there's more.

During renovations two virtual caverns, once used for coal storage, were discovered below street level. They have been transformed into quite exquisite treatment rooms in the urban retreat area of the building. In the basement, three safes used by Lord Barrington's family have become the wine cellar.
Nothing goes to waste.

See for yourself or sneak a preview at www.oneperysquare.com or, alternatively, talk to Tourism Ireland’s Sydney office.