British Airways will ask customers to pay extra to choose specific seats on their flights from the 7th of October, in a move which could have an impact upon families who want to sit together.

The payments – ranging from £10 to £60, depending on the flight – will only need to be paid if the passenger wishes to reserve a specific seat. It also seems likely that different seats will have different reservation prices. Emergency exit seating, with its added leg room, is likely to be the most expensive.

BA are currently making attempts to recoup substantial losses in the last financial year. They have also recently withdrawn free meals on many shorter flights.

Hotel prices in Mexico and parts of the Caribbean should drop in future years as a recent study has shown that 141 hotels are being constructed at present, meaning an additional 18,000 rooms.

Mexico is constructing the greatest number of new hotels, which reflects its increasing popularity as a tourist destination. There are currently over 5,000 rooms being built. Surprisingly, Puerto Rico was next on the list with over a thousand rooms being constructed. The Bahamas too topped a thousand.

As for the type of hotels being built, around a quarter were branded ‘upper upscale’ hotels, while a fifth were considered ‘midscale without food and drink’.

British Airways are set to start flying to Las Vegas daily from Heathrow. Virgin Atlantic already fly direct to Las Vegas from Gatwick and BA are set to follow suit in a few weeks time, only with even greater frequency.

For such a popular destination, Las Vegas is served by relatively few direct flights from the UK. Many travellers are forced to transfer and make use of flights from Frankfurt. BA’s new route should put those days in the past.

Another airline beginning a regular service to the popular US destination is the small French carrier, XL Airways. The airline only has five planes in its entire fleet, but it is going to offer two flights a week from Paris.

Sydney hotels aren’t having to find rooms for stranded tourists after flights from Sydney Airport began again following a fierce dust storm.

Thousands of passengers who were due to fly out of Sydney yesterday were trapped after a dust storm led to many flights being cancelled. Others were delayed or diverted.

There is some catching up to be done, but airport staff are confident that the after effects can be kept to a minimum with few problems left to contend with. The latest weather forecasts indicate that a second bout of strong winds from the dry interior of the country is unlikely, which is what caused the initial problems.

ebookers are currently offering a whole host of last minute holidays to Marrakech, so if you’re looking to escape the autumn chill, head over to their deals page for further information.

There are a host of short, three night stays on offer for under £300. There are a few hotels which look a bit boxy and functional, but plenty that have a bit of character as well.

Ryad Mogador Gueliz is less than a mile from Marrakech centre and has distinctive Moroccan decor within. The rooms are plain, but well looked after and you’ll be out for most of the time anyway. You can get flights and three nights accommodation there for £275 per person for some dates in October.

Ksar Shama is a similar price, but seems an even better deal, with distinctive rooms, a spectacularly individual pool and perfect views (see picture above). These hotels are both easy to find from ebookers ‘last minute holidays’ page.

It’s no surprise that Bruce Forsyth’s favourite holidays are golf holidays. The long-serving presenter is known for his love of the game.

Bruce and his wife, Wilnelia (a former Miss World from Puerto Rico) have gone so far as to purchase a second home on Dorado Beach, which is actually on a golf course. As Bruce himself says:

“I walk just 30 or 40 yards and suddenly I’m on the sixth fairway.”

Bruce also cites food as a key part of any holiday and we’d agree with him on that one, even if we’re not so sure about the golf.

The Telegraph have been reporting on a new idea that could lead to cheaper flight prices. It revolves around the seating plan inside the plane, which has always been fairly standard until now.

The idea is to change the layout of the seating to allow 50 percent more seating. It would only be suitable for the shortest flights – say, less than an hour – and involves passengers facing each other.

You can think about it in terms of seating on other forms of transport, like on trains and buses. There would be flip-up seats and many passengers would have their backs to the windows. This would save a substantial amount of space, allowing more passengers, thus lowering costs.

Samia Smith, the actress who plays Coronation’s Street’s Maria Connor, has recently returned from a holiday in Barbados. Just prior to going, she discovered that she was pregnant.

Her and her husband headed to Barbados on the recommendation of friends. One of the big sources of appeal was the number of activities on offer, but with Samia discovering that she was pregnant, they ended up doing quite little.

Barbados isn’t a bad place to do nothing though with tropical weather, luxury accommodation and massages on the beach – why would you want to play golf or something?

Samia is half-Lebanese and also enjoys spending time in the Middle East. She has visited Dubai and lived in Abu Dhabi, although she has never been to Lebanon.

With a flight to Orlando, Florida and 11 nights’ accommodation, this seems a slightly ludicrous deal from Expedia. Flights alone should surely cost more than that.

Being subtropical, the weather in Orlando is great at this time of year. As the leaves fall and you start to notice you’re driving home in the dark all of a sudden, you’ll be even more keen for a spot of sunshine than during the summer months.

Whatever your interests, you won’t be short of things to do in Orlando, with Disney World and Universal Studios close at hand for the kids; Central Florida Zoological Park, Gatorland and Seaworld for nature lovers; and plenty of museums and galleries in the town itself.

A bizarre Facebook campaign to have Arthur Guinness, the founder of the Guinness brewery, honoured by a new Irish bank holiday has managed to get 7,000 signatures in just a couple of days.

That number seems sure to rise as more people hear about the Facebook group which aims to have ‘Arthur’s Day’ made an official annual holiday.

Guinness was established 250 years ago on September 24th and the company are planning worldwide celebrations to mark the event. As one of the most popular and disntinctive brands, many people have latched onto this and are aiming to celebrate the birthday every year.