
I flew on Northern Europe's best low-cost airline – the price for a flight is crazy and we slept nearly the whole way
And our other recent airline reviews
TAKING OFF I flew on Northern Europe's best low-cost airline – the price for a flight is crazy and we slept nearly the whole way
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THE best airlines in Europe have been revealed - and I was lucky enough to fly on one of them during a long-haul flight.
Norse Atlantic Airways was awarded the Best Low-Cost Airline in Northern Europe by this year's Skytrax World Airline Awards.
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Norse Atlantic Airways has been named the Best Low-Cost Airlines in Northern Europe
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I recently tried their long haul flights out
Not only that, but it also came in fifth place for the World's Best Long Haul Low Cost Airlines.
And after a recent 11-hour flight with them, I definitely agree.
I boarded the budget airline for a flight from London Gatwick to Cape Town.
I splashed out on premium economy costing £3,583 - that may sound like a lot but it was nearly £1,500 cheaper than other rival airlines.
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TAKE OFF I flew on world's best airline - it felt like a hotel and economy seats are roomy
Doing the long flight with my five-year-old son, it was worth every penny.
He slept nearly the whole way from from 10pm to 7am, while I snatched a manageable 5ish hours.
It might not have been a full night sleep but it was more than I had ever slept in standard economy.
Premium seats also include ear plugs, eye masks, pillows and blankets at the start of the flight, as well as headphones and two meals.
I was impressed with the food (after all, plane meals are notoriously hit and miss) with a tasty tortellini and cheesecake.
But even the economy flights are pretty good, which we tried on our return home.
Budget airline to launch brand new long-haul flights from the UK this year
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The seats were extremely roomy
While the seats are slimmer, we booked bulkhead seats which felt just as roomy (even for my 5ft10 self).
We were happy with the paid-for snack options too, with hot sandwiches and ready noodle pots.
It also felt much easier seeing as it was a day flight, and didn't need the blankets and pillows as much which were extra.
Along with friendly staff, I was more than impressed with Norse - and they are next on my list to fly with again to Orlando.
Other award-winning airlines include Qatar Airways, named the world's best airline for the ninth time.
The Sun's Deputy Travel Editor Kara Godfrey and the Sun's Assistant Travel Editor Sophie Swietochowski both tried it out.
And are some of our other airline reviews, including the airline with the best food.
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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Incredible way to get designer clothes, perfumes and gadgets for less than a tenner
Read on to get some bad news if you're a driver BAG A BARGAIN Incredible way to get designer clothes, perfumes and gadgets for less than a tenner Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) EVERYWHERE I look there are hundreds of suitcases in different colours, shapes and sizes. But I'm not in an airport arrivals lounge and there is no luggage carousel in sight. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 The Sun's Adele tried her luck at an unclaimed luggage auction in London Credit: Simon Jones 5 Trainers were available at bargain prices - a pair of cream Prada Pegasus trainers worth £600 sold for £40 Credit: Simon Jones 5 Sniffing out a bargain with many perfumes waiting to be snapped up Credit: Simon Jones Instead, I'm at a suitcase auction at Greasbys in Tooting, South London, where you can buy unclaimed luggage from Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted for a fraction of the price. Luggage usually goes missing when you have a connecting flight with a different airline, as there is a higher chance your belongings could get lost. Six bags went missing for every 1,000 checked in last year, according to aviation data company Sita. If your bag never arrives and you don't tell the airport, it may be passed to an auction house to sell to the highest bidder. Here's how to bag a bargain of your own . . . HOW IT WORKS GREASBYS has been selling lost luggage for more than 50 years. It holds online-only auctions every other Wednesday. Bidders must email their sealed bids before the auction starts. The person who makes the highest offer wins the item. You can go to the actual auction house the day before to check the suitcases and bags — which is what I'm here to do. I'm surprised to discover you can't open the luggage to inspect the actual items. Every bag and suitcase comes with a label describing the contents. You are unlikely to find high-value items inside luggage. I spent £136 to see if the lost luggage trend was worth it - I thought I'd nab designer goodies but it was a total flop Designer clothes, gadgets, bags and shoes are taken out and sold individually. High-street clothes in good condition are also removed, bagged and sold as one lot. There are typically 20 items to a bag, which usually go for at least £10. Most cases sell for between £18 to £60. The airports are sent the profits from sales, after the auction house takes a cut. If you're worried about ending up with someone's dirty smalls, don't be alarmed. Christine Sachett, owner of Greasbys, says: 'The staff go through every suitcase. They also remove more personal items.' ANY BARGAINS? I FIND two children's Tommy Hilfiger coats, one in hot pink and another in navy blue. They retail at £75 each but sell for £10.80. And my eyes widen as I spy a pair of cream Prada Pegasus trainers worth £600 and sold for £40. A pink and ivory scarf from Mulberry is just my style — it sells for £31.50. There are 15 people browsing in Greasbys and many are regulars. 'Some people work and need to supplement their income, some people actually do it for a living,' Christine said. One regular buys suitcases and sells them on his market stall in Portobello Road. SECRET BIDDING TIPS MAKE sure the wheels and zips are intact when buying a suitcase. 'Check the name of the suitcase and research how much it would normally cost you,' Christine said. 'Some of the big holdalls on wheels are nearly £100 to buy, depending on the bag.' Buying suitcases can often be a mixed bag. 'Unless the owner was unlucky and lost their bag on their way out, or they get everything laundered while they are on holiday, you could be buying someone's dirty holiday clothes,' she said. Do not focus on the weight. 'If it is heavy it could mean it is full of cheap clothing,' she said. 'Lighter ones may have really nice clothing inside.' WATCH OUT FOR FEES 5 Christine Sachett, owner of Greasbys Credit: Simon Jones FEES are added on top of the hammer price. A buyer's premium will be charged, which is 26 per cent of the cost. VAT, 20 per cent, is also added to the premium only. So a £50 item is £65.60. ARE THERE OTHERS? INDEPENDENT auction house Mulberry Bank in Glasgow holds two lost luggage sales a month. Bristol Commercial Valuers and Auctioneers also holds online lost luggage auctions. BEFORE YOU BID GREASBYS does not offer any guarantees or warranties. If there is something wrong with your item, Greasbys won't give you a refund, a replacement, or fix it for you. That means it's a risk buying items locked inside the luggage, as you can't see if they are in good nick. When buying at an auction, Gurpreet Chhokar from consumer site Which? warns you may not benefit from the same protections as with a retailer. She said: 'You might not be able to change your mind and get a refund. 'Check any terms and conditions relating to auction sales carefully.' You may also lose a powerful consumer protection, Section 75, when making payments to the auction house using a credit card, she added. Usually, it allows you to claim money back from your credit card provider if something goes wrong. I PAID £130, THIS IS WHAT WAS INSIDE... SENIOR Fabulous Digital Writer Abigail Wilson bought an unclaimed suitcase from Undelivrd, and here's what she found . . . I WAS intrigued to see if I'd bag exciting treasures. I ordered my case for £129.99 from Undelivrd, a warehouse that sells lost Royal Mail parcels, Amazon return pallets and forgotten baggage. The size and brand of case you get will be random. The contents are also a surprise. When the case arrived, it was wrapped in a bin bag. The case was an American Tourister, which is worth £129, but pretty battered. A mouldy smell hit me before I even unzipped it. Rather than pricey clothes or electricals, the contents left me gutted – smelly socks, worn boxers and dirty hoodies. I was excited when I spotted a White Company toiletry bag. But then I realised it's a freebie you get on long-haul BA flights. A pair of leather shoes from Asda, £25 if bought new, was the only decent thing I found. I totted up the cost of the contents and was surprised to see that, when bought new, the items would come to £223.98. If you include the cost of the case, it added up to just over £350. But it was nothing near what I had hoped for, so it really is a lucky dip when ordering lost luggage online. I GOT FREEBIES WORTH £62 IN 24 HOURS WHO doesn't love a freebie? There is no better feeling than getting your hands on a coffee, meal or drink without spending a penny. That's why I spent a day hoovering up bargains along my local high street, including coffee, spring rolls, and even a cocktail – and managed to get nearly £62 worth of goodies. Shops often offer customers freebies to promote new products, reward them for their loyalty or to attract new shoppers. Food and drink prices have soared in the past few years, making it more expensive to grab a treat. So I was eager to see how many freebies I could get my hands on in 24 hours. At 8.30am I popped into my local Greggs to grab my first freebie of the day – a black coffee, worth £1.90. I had downloaded the Greggs app the night before and all I needed to do was open the app and activate the reward. What a result! At 1pm the hunt began for a bargain lunch. I headed to Chopstix Noodle Bar, as I heard that you can get five free spring rolls worth £2.50 if you download the shop's app. I signed up, and in minutes, a coupon for the snack appeared in my account. They were just how I like them – crunchy on the outside and still warm from the oven. At 1.40pm I ventured over to visit a Mac Cosmetics near the office and asked for some testers. I got two 10ml samples of Hyper Real Serumizer, a bestseller, which costs £80 for a 50ml bottle. My samples are worth £12.80. At 6pm I met my friends at the pub. I used an app called Dusk, which helps you find free drinks at bars. The Pembroke in Earl's Court was giving away one free Hugo Spritz worth £10 to every customer, so I went and claimed mine. Cheers! lI also got: Blueberry muffin £3.75; taco £3.49; cappuccino £4.10; cosmetic samples £15.91; Nicotine pouches, £6.50; cat food 19p DROOPER MARKETS SUPERMARKETS suffered a 'dismal' month of May as shoppers cut back on booze and tobacco spending, figures reveal. The total volume of retail sales fell by 2.7 per cent — dropping at the fastest rate in more than a year — the Office for National Statistics says. 5 Supermarkets suffered a 'dismal' month of May as shoppers cut back on booze and tobacco spending, figures reveal Credit: Alamy This compared with a 1.3 per cent rise in April. May's overall retail sales came in considerably below the 0.7 per cent decline that most economists had been expecting for the month. ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said: 'Retail sales fell sharply in May with their largest monthly fall since the end of 2023. This was mainly due to a dismal month for food retailers, especially supermarkets, following strong sales in April. 'Feedback suggested reduced purchases for alcohol and tobacco, with customers choosing to make cutbacks.' She added that clothing and homeware stores were reporting reduced footfall in May. A drop in demand for DIY items last month followed the sunny weather in April that had boosted home improvement projects. Despite May's decline, retail sales volumes rose by 0.8 per cent across the three months to May, compared with the three months to February. Nicholas Found, head of commercial content at research consultancy Retail Economics, said: 'The cost of living remains the dominant concern for households.' 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Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Rangers hero Ally McCoist tells Ireland ‘I'll be back' as he hails ‘fantastic' country after gruelling charity cycle
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) RANGERS hero Ally McCoist toasted a 555-mile cycle around the island of Ireland to raise funds for research into Motor Neurone Disease with a celebratory pint of Guinness. He and other sport stars and celebrities set off on the gruelling circuit from Belfast last Sunday in memory of late Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Doddie's son Hamish, his wife Kathy, Ally McCoist and Kenny Logan celebrate Credit: PA 3 Ally celebrates after crossing the finish line in Dublin Credit: PA 3 Doddie Weir died from MND in 2022 aged 52 Credit: Getty Weir died of MND aged 52 in November 2022, after years of campaigning to raise awareness of the condition and funds for research. The cycle was not without its hiccups along the way. But there were joyous scenes in Dublin as the team, which also included Kenny and Gabby Logan, completed the journey and they celebrated with bottles of pink prosecco and Guinness. The journey continued as the cyclists delivered the match ball, which travelled the 555-miles with them, at the British and Irish Lions' 1888 Cup clash with Argentina at the Aviva Stadium. McCoist told PA: 'I'm a west coast of Scotland man, and it's so similar, absolutely beautiful, green - in some places it's almost lunar with the rocks - it was fantastic. "The weather we've had last couple of days, beautiful greenery over the Guinness Lake. 'So we're gonna come back, no bikes involved, I'm gonna take the car and we're gonna do a little bit of tour. No bike next time, I can assure you.' On MND, he said: 'It's arguably the cruellest and most horrible of diseases when you see what it does to you, it eats away at you. 'Big Doddie, what a figure, not just in the rugby world throughout the UK and Ireland, all over. "He's just a lovable, big character, and it shows no mercy, the disease. Ally McCoist confesses to 'horrendous' epic fail ahead of final day of Rangers legend's charity bike ride 'You see what it's done to a lot of people, you know, top sports stars, and it doesn't matter who you are, any walk of life, it doesn't pick and choose. "It's a horrible, horrible disease. I think we're all duty bound to attempt to do something about it. "If we can help, no matter how small you might think it may be, you've got to do it, because we have to find a cure for it.' Scottish rugby star Kenny Logan and broadcaster Gabby Logan were among those who took part in Doddie'5 Lions Challenge, cycling around 100 miles a day for six days. The husband and wife said thinking of how the 'cruel' disease takes away a person's control of their body inspired them to keep going along the most gruelling parts of the cycle. Kenny Logan thanked the people of Ireland for cheering them on along the way by beeping horns and donating any amount they could. He said: 'We went to one coffee shop, told her what we were doing. She said 'My uncle died of MD'. She gave us 50 coffees and all the food for free. So it's been amazing.' Gabby Logan said the final day was 'really physically challenging', as they climbed 1,250 metres in a few hours, but also provided a profound moment for the cyclists through stunning scenery in Co Wicklow. 'There was quite a lot of solitude today, because we weren't going through villages and towns, we were going through beautiful scenery. "(It gave) a lot of time for people to think about why they're doing this today, and you can see the outpouring of emotion at the end. 'It's about finding cure and a solution to a terrible, terrible disease which just rips away people and their lives and at the moment, there's no hope.' Asked what Weir would have thought of on Friday, Kenny said: 'He'd think we're idiots, genuinely.' He said it was 'amazing' to have Weir's wife Kathy on the cycle on the final day, and to have Doddie's son Hamish following the cycle for the week, who was originally meant to take part but had broken his shoulder. The challenge has raised more than £557,000 for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, which Weir set up in 2017, a year after being diagnosed with MND. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page


Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
I visited UK's best kept secret that feels like the Cotswolds without the price
The town is filled with buildings made from honey-hued limestone HIDDEN GEM I visited UK's best kept secret that feels like the Cotswolds without the price Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) EXPLORING the cobbled streets of Stamford, I feel like I've stumbled across one of the UK's best-kept secrets. Why fork out huge sums for a getaway in a Cotswolds town when you can visit this stunning Lincolnshire lookalike for considerably less? Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Stamford's quaint historic town centre Credit: Alamy 2 The 16th century country mansion Burghley House featured in Pride And Prejudice Credit: Burghley House Lincolnshire The town is filled with buildings made from honey-hued limestone, while gabled pubs dating back to the 1200s lean drunkenly against their neighbours. And what it lacks in members' clubs or gaggles of celebrities, it makes up for with its charming locals, a down-to-earth tribe more interested in making last orders at the Tobie Norris pub than bagging tables at Michelin-starred restaurants. It's at the wonderfully wonky Tobie Norris in the centre of town where I meet pint-puller Evie. The pub's name is a nod to Tobias 'Tobie' Norris, who purchased the building in the 1600s and transformed it into a bell foundry. Evie pulls out some photos of its past and tells me: 'From the 1950s it was the RAFA club. My grandparents used to come here and play war games.' Of the many original features that remain, my favourites are the misshapen flagstones and enormous fireplace surrounded by pew-like seats. Stamford's 600 listed buildings include numerous churches built by God-fearing traders, the oldest of which is the timber-roofed All Saints Church, mentioned in the Domesday book. It's so historic that Roman artefacts have been found beneath it, although Stamford's golden era was the Middle Ages, when its location on the Great North Road, connecting London with York, transformed it into one of England's most prosperous wool towns — a place where wealthy wool traders could rest and refuel. Their presence fuelled numerous other industries, many immortalised by the street names. Bugle Lane, for example, was once home to craftsmen whose brass instruments were snapped up by passing carriage drivers. Martin Lewis warns about strict passport rule that could see you board your flight - only to get sent home on arrival Glance down as you pass the inns which line the main thoroughfare of St Mary's Hill, with its arched stone bridge spanning the River Welland, and you'll notice many walls have built-in boots-scrapers, used by traders to remove the horse dung which once carpeted Stamford's streets. And outside several other buildings are raised stone platforms, designed so that ladies could step directly from carriages into residences without risking dung-related disasters. With such character, it's hardly surprising Stamford has doubled as a backdrop for many period dramas, including 2005 movie Pride And Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley. Tiny turtle skulls Featuring in that film was 16th century country mansion Burghley House. Today, it's owned by the Burghley House Preservation Trust, established by the late 6th Marquess of Exeter, whose granddaughter currently lives there. But it's still open to the public. One of its most fascinating rooms is the Elizabethan-era kitchen, with its nine-metre-high ceilings and 250 original copper pans nailed to the brickwork. Slightly less appealing is the collection of tiny turtle skulls affixed to another wall. My guide points to a turtle-shaped antique soup tureen and tells me that these were nods to the Elizabethans' love of turtle soup. Upstairs, in a room once slept in by Queen Victoria, a member of staff reveals that upcoming roof repairs are expected to cost £750,000. Lucky, its Capability Brown-designed gardens, which cover 12 acres of the estate's 15,000, are still in good nick. Make sure to refuel in Burghley House's Orangery, where the afternoon tea includes cakes garnished with flowers from the gardens. I was staying around a five-minute drive away at Candlesticks, an eight-room hotel on a quiet lane near Stamford's centre. The building dates back to the 1700s and has been a family-run operation since it opened as a hotel in the 1970s. I tell Nelio Pinto, who runs it now and whose father came from Madeira, how I've always wanted to head to the Portuguese island to hike its levadas, the ancient man-made waterways. But Nelio waxes lyrical about his love of Stamford and tells me about nearby Rutland Water, a wildlife haven covering ten square kilometres, as well as Stamford's pretty riverside parks. Perhaps Madeira can wait, after all.