Hello there, JFC-ers!

This week’s travel news has been dominated by one of the things I find most important when I travel — food! Except it’s been less about what you must try, and more about what everyone else wishes they hadn’t. 

We’re talking about the least popular foods around the world, the ones that leave locals and visitors alike feeling a little queasy. Scandinavian classics take quite the hit on this list, alongside the supposed British fave, jellied eels, and Chile’s unassuming potato bread.

I can’t say I’ll argue with the eels, but coming for Scotland’s deep-fried pizza is a step too far, Taste Atlas. No doubt a few of you will take the ratings as a challenge instead of a cautionary tale, and when you do, be sure to send us your reviews!

Tasty travels and safe landings,

For Christmas in 2022, British Airways gifted us a missed connection, a lost suitcase and a thousand hours on the phone with their call centre. However, I can say that this year, they redeemed themselves.

It all started on Christmas Eve, at 11.30am, at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. 

Ready to spend the holidays in Québec with my boyfriend's family, we showed up at the British Airways check-in counter to get our Paris-London-Montréal tickets printed (online check-in wasn’t possible due to my European passport). Our spirits were high — we were fresh out of a night at an airport hotel, a rogue choice for us, but designed to help with my boyfriend's fear of flying.

You may be thinking: a Québécois, living in Europe, with a travel-addict girlfriend, and stuck with a huge fear of flying? Yeah… we're working on it.

Surprisingly, there was no queue at the counter, and we were welcomed by a smiley man with a strong French accent: "vos passeports, s'ils vous plaît!"

As our duo of red and blue passports went through the scanner, the gentleman’s face quickly became sombre, and his eyes went straight to his boss, who was working right beside him. “Ils sont pas la…” he whispered in a concerned tone. The supervisor had a look at the screen, and then went on, "Maybe we could… nah, that's too late. What about…? Okay, no — You’ll have to call London..."

Still traumatized by our 2022 misadventure, I glanced into my boyfriend's eyes — what does it mean we're not on it? We're not on what?! The turkey is already in the oven, cooking for us…

Yes, I know what you're thinking — Fran, you're flying on the 24th of December, what did you expect? True, but for a €360 return ticket, we accepted that we might not make it in time for Christmas dinner.

“You're not registered on the flight between London and Montréal. I can see your ticket, but you don't have seats associated with your reservation. I'm going to call London to see what we can do about it.”

As I listened to the man telling us what was happening, all the possible options passed in front of my eyes: is the flight overbooked? Are there gonna be flights on the 25th? Did I somehow mess up the reservation?

Five looooong minutes later, our pal looked at us, smiled, and cheerfully said, "sorted!"

After a sigh of relief, I placed my elbows on the counter and whispered cheekily, “Well, after that fright, the least you could do is to put us in business class!” To which he answered, “Yes, I'm just going to get your tickets printed here.”

Félix and I looked at each other with an “okay, he didn't get the joke” expression. Félix clarified, “No, she meant — as a joke — because of all of this stress, the least you could do now is to give us business class seats…”

“Well, yes! You’re already in business class. Actually, you may even be First, let me check…”

Our faces lit up — this stuff only existed on TikTok, or for fancy influencers. Was it actually happening to us as well?

And there we were, jumping for joy in the Charles de Gaulle security lines, in disbelief at having had our longest leg, the flight between London and Montréal, upgraded to the highest possible class on the plane. I’m talking lie-flat seats, bottomless champagne, filet mignon served on actual plates, with proper cutlery… ah, what a dream!

After the swift 50-minute flight to Heathrow, we headed straight to Terminal 5’s business class lounge. A quick cuppa and a perfectly moist slice of carrot cake later, we went to our gate. Surprisingly, the gate wasn’t busy, so we couldn’t test our fast-track business class perk. However, when the hostess saw our tickets, magic started happening.

Our seats were in the Club World cabin, in a three-seat central composition with no window access (sadly).

We turned left after crossing the plane’s threshold and were greeted by three smiley stewards. Once our cabin bags were in the huge storage compartment, a tray filled with glasses of champagne, apple juice, and water appeared before our eyes. A big pillow, a plastic bag with a pair of headphones, as well as two thick blankets packed in a ‘The White Company’ bag, were placed on our seats.

On our way into the cabin, I had noticed that someone was chatting with the two pilots in the cockpit, so I tried my luck and asked the flight attendant if Félix and I could take a peek, too. She smiled and said, “of course!”. So we went in and, after introducing ourselves, received information about the flight, weather conditions, and just made some casual conversation. Let’s say, meeting the two people responsible for your life definitely made Félix feel a bit more relaxed.

Back in our seats, I lifted the blurred plastic divider between me and the stranger sitting on my left, before cheers-ing to our luck and having a look at the daily menu for our flight.

The seat was very spacious, extremely comfortable, with a great reclining function and a big footrest (reachable only when the seat was lying flat). At the bottom left, a drawer was filled with a plastic bottle of water, and a ‘The White Company’ beauty case — inside, we found some moisturiser, lip balm, ear plugs, a toothbrush + toothpaste kit, a pair of socks and a soft eye mask.

As Félix and I were finishing our second glass of champagne, the hostess came around to ask us if we wanted a cocktail after take-off — as you might expect, of course we did!

Five minutes after take-off, our drinks arrived (both turned out to be delicious!) and we were asked if we were ready to order our meals, which were served around 30 minutes later. As proper foodies, Félix and I decided to try as many plates as possible, so we ordered:

• Smoked salmon and avocado timbale and Italian burrata as starters
• Herefordshire beef fillet and the Traditional Christmas Dinner (how could we not?!) as main courses
• BA’s selection of artisan cheese, served with savoury crackers, caramelised apple and onion chutney and Fresh seasonal fruit as dessert

Each service was accompanied by a different type of wine, offered right after the dish landed in front of us — chef’s kiss. The food was nice, the starters were a bit too cold for our taste, and the turkey slightly dry, but overall a great meal for a plane. (Special mention for the beef fillet!)

After filling my belly with all that glorious food, I just had to try the lie-flat seat. So I got all wrapped up in the blanket, put the earplugs in and eye mask on, and closed my eyes. The result? BA’s lie-flat seats are definitely JFC approved — I slept for two and a half hours, waking up just in time for a cup of tea and a delicious chocolate muffin before landing!

While I was dreaming about the very snowy Montréal we were flying towards, Félix made the best of the in-flight entertainment on the 17” adjustable screen. While he did enjoy spending a couple of hours watching a Korean drama, the selection of films and games was nothing special, just what you’d expect from economy.

As our Club World experience came to an end, I was gifted a bar of toffee — I didn’t know I liked toffee, but now I’m addicted, thanks BA! — and an extremely relaxed Félix after a 7-hour flight that would usually make him anxious and stressed. Let’s just say, they’ve earned my forgiveness for that lost suitcase from two years ago!

And although he couldn’t bag us a Club World seat on our flight home, I’d like to give a special shout out to our Cabin Manager, Richard. He treated us like royalty in business class, and even sent us goodie bags on our return flight, despite being all the way back in row 37. Thank you!

Today we're wrapping up our top tips from the JFC team about where we loved visiting in 2024, and where we're looking forward to in 2025. 

Fran - Flight Finder

Top trip of 2024? I loved Itacaré in Bahia, Brazil. A friend of mine lives there, and I was curious to visit him and tick Bahia off my bucket list. It was so, so, so special because it's an insanely gorgeous place. Plus, I learnt how to surf, and now I'm hooked!

Where are you looking forward to in 2025? Sri Lanka, to discover the surfing scene in the south of the country. Plus, an extra trip back to Bahia if we find a good deal :-)

Anywhere you’re hoping we find an error fare for? Salvador in Bahia! And maybe some Mongolia?

Allan - Flight Finding Team Lead

Top trip of 2024? I have a few: a month in Europe that culminated in a beautiful few days in Edinburgh; traveling up to Montpelier, Vermont, for the solar eclipse in April and sleeping in a random New Hampshire lodge; and spending a lovely few days in San Juan. 

But I'm giving it to Toronto for being the perfect weekend trip from New York City and just being so gosh darn pretty. Take that ferry over to the islands in Lake Ontario, you won't regret it.  I went in 2017 for a few days, but I was visiting family that lived in the suburbs, so it didn't feel like I was in the city. We did Niagara and saw the CN Tower, but there was more to see. 

This time, I flew up on a Saturday morning and came back on a Sunday night, managing to fit in the Islands, a Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre and a walk around Kensington market. It was a perfect getaway and I found the city so, so beautiful. Plus, I got to meet fellow Flight Finder Olivia there, so it was a jam-packed, fun-filled few days.

Where are you looking forward to in 2025? I'm really looking forward to going to Rome for the first time, after visiting other parts of Italy in 2024. But I'm most excited for Colombia, because I haven't traveled to South America in almost a decade. Being from Miami, I'm pretty aware of the culture and speak Spanish, so the learning curve won't be huge, and I'll be able to tick a new country off my list.

Anywhere you’re hoping we find an error fare for? I'm waiting so patiently for Tokyo from the East Coast of the US. Literally anywhere in the East Coast; I will take a train/flight down to make Japan come true.

Kash - Flight Finder

Top trip of 2024? Scoring a budget-friendly Pegasus deal was the perfect excuse to check a multi-day horse trek in Kyrgyzstan off my bucket list. What made this adventure so unforgettable was how raw and untamed it felt—far from the polished paths of over-touristed destinations. The landscapes were nothing short of spectacular, and even though I spent most of the trip battling a nasty illness, I couldn’t help but feel deeply grateful to experience such wild, untouched beauty.

Where are you looking forward to in 2025? JFC's company meet-up in Italy! It’ll be so great to meet everyone in person for the first time.

Anywhere you’re hoping we find an error fare for? China, please!

Katy - The Detour Editor

Top trip of 2024? Obviously, it has to be my honeymoon! Firstly, it was really interesting to experience a totally different kind of travel on a cruise, and get a taste of so many spots around the Caribbean. My fave stop was definitely Mexico, which 1000% deserves more than just a day trip — watch this space!

And then the dream of being in New Orleans for Mardi Gras came true. The parades were loud, colourful and vibrant. The locals were incredibly welcoming and chatty as we stood together for hours on the streets. The food was rich and tasty. The only thing I’d do differently there is stay for longer and drink fewer alcoholic slushies from Bourbon Street pizza joints.

After all that, Costa Rica truly was an antidote and the icing on the cake. Lush cloud forests and stunning wildlife lined every winding mountain road. Plus, the long drives into the mountains were a great opportunity to blow the cobwebs off my Spanish skills with our drivers.

Where are you looking forward to in 2025? I’m reeeeally excited to go to Vietnam in February! It’ll be my first foray into Southeast Asia, so I’m looking forward to experiencing a completely new culture, eating more summer rolls and bánh mi than is advisable, and seeing those epic landscapes for myself.  

Anywhere you’re hoping we find an error fare for? If I see flights to Chile for £300 or less, I will book first, think later!

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across the web this week.

• For those of you well and truly over the booking.coms and Airbnbs of it all, check out these accommodation platforms trying to do things a little differently.
  
  
• After decades of Soviet irrigation projects led to the near disappearance of Central Asia’s Aral Sea, Kazakhstan is reporting that the volume of water in the Northern Aral Sea has nearly doubled since 2008.
  
  
• Ever wondered what it takes to be a pilot? This Ask Me Anything thread has pretty much all the answers!
  
  
• And finally, it turns out that taking a stroll through the grounds of the University of Florida is not for the faint of heart. Most universities have interesting art on campus, but things get real interesting down in Gainesville when you stumble upon the “Some Were Quite Blind” sculpture collection outside the Animal Science Building. Let’s just say, they’ll make you stand bolt upright…