Work and play

TRIP

You've read about it, you've seen it in Hollywood films - now experience Hawaii as a destination that helps you get your work done.

What is it?
If you're looking for a reason, we give you five to make an official visit to Hawaii.

Why are we writing about it?
Everyone knows how good a Hawaii is. But for a while now, the islands are looking to sell themselves as an attractive destination to hold business meetings and conventions at as well. Hawaii has a whole array of convention hotels, plenty of destination resorts and a one million-square-foot specially developed convention centre.

What's in it for me?
We promised you five reasons at the start, so here they go. Number one, Hawaii's mid-Pacific location is strategic if you do business with both Singapore and New York as it allows you to deal with the two time zones without too many hassles. Next, Hawaii is well connected by air. From Mumbai, Korean Air and Delta Air Lines offer one-stop flights to Honolulu and from Delhi, China Airlines offers a one-stop flight.

Apart from these flights, Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii's major airport, is served by the 23 major carriers in the US and by 16 international carriers. The six islands that make up Hawaii are also connected by air via the Honolulu airport. Also, Honolulu Harbor is among the 10 large ports in America, so shipping goods here ahead of your meeting or convention is fast and convenient.

Accommodation, too, is not a problem at Hawaii. There are more than 70,000 hotel rooms on the six islands that meet all types of budget requirements. Most conference centres at resorts have a whole gamut of things (fibre optics, simultaneous translation booths and satellite video conferencing etc) in place that are essential to hold a business meeting.

The weather is good. Average temperatures are 24°C and there's not much variation in the weather during summer and winter. Rainfall is heavier on the north-eastern side, while the west is drier and sunnier.

And if all of this is not good enough, you can even rope in professionals from the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, their network of island chapters and their industry partners across the US to plan your event. You can even submit a request for a proposal (RFP) form at www.hawaiiconvention.com to get them to plan your event.

Take it or leave it?
If an itinerary that includes sun bathing, spa visits, golf and sophisticated dinners isn't enough, we suggest you visit www.meet hawaii.com.

SNIPPETS

Mapped
Indian has now added Surat to the aviation map with a daily flight between Delhi and Surat. The carrier will fly a 122-seater Airbus A319 aircraft with a twin configuration of eight executive class seats and 114 economy seats. Indian has introduced this flight close on the heels of the upgradation of the Surat airport. The airline already flies to three destinations in Gujarat, namely Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Jamnagar.

Intercontinental
Continental Airlines will now launch its nonstop service between its New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport and Mumbai, earlier than originally planned. The airline plans to begin the service on October 1, as against October 30 that it had scheduled for earlier.

The two cities will be linked with a four times a week service "" departing Newark Liberty on Sundays, Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, the frequency increasing to a daily service effective October 28.

However, the airline is yet to secure government approval for these flights. Continental will operate a Boeing 777-200 aircraft on this route. To suit its Indian passengers' preferences, the airline has revamped its in-flight entertainment systems. Several of its programmes and movies will have subtitles in Hindi, the airline has added a Bollywood movie and an Indian music channel to the system.

Its menus on these flights will be available in English and Hindi. Inflight meals will include Indian vegetarian and Indian non-vegetarian choices and have been designed by Indian chefs in the US and in India. The airline also plans to not serve beef on these flights. Indian newspapers will also be available to its Business and First Class passengers.

Tiger tales
If Singapore Airlines spent $360 million and revamped its in-flight entertainment (IFE) system, its low-fare arm, Tiger Airways, has now introduced an optional IFE system on board. A portable in-flight entertainment system is available on the airline's Singapore-Perth and Singapore-Darwin routes.

So all you have to do is request to rent the set after boarding the flight for a nominal fee. The fare includes movies, television programmes, documentaries, sports, music videos, cartoons, popular kids programmes, over a hundred songs as well as electronic games.

Night shift
It's the Lates season in London this month. So the city's stunning museums and galleries will be hosting a series of special events all of this month and there will be select film screenings and music and poetry readings. This season's highlights include a Surrealist Ball hosted by the Victoria and Albert Museum with live performances inspired by the surrealist movement.

The Tate Modern will screen an all-night show of Andy Warhol's Sleep, and you can also wander around East London's galleries by night in a walk organised by the Whitechapel Gallery. The Lates season demonstrate the vitality of London's cultural life.