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Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

October 10th - Airlines land back in city shops!

The airline city-centre ticket office is making a comeback. In the 20th century, every airline had walk-in shops in all the major cities served. But that was in the bad old days of extremely high fares that could pay for lavish rentals in areas like Mayfair. They disappeared when online booking took hold. But this week Emirates has opened a fancy new store in Kensington, west London, where prospective passengers can try out posh seats and buy merchandise – and plane tickets.


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