Jetsettersblog

Ashford Castle, a historic five-star castle hotel in Ireland, is rolling out the red carpet for grandparents and their grandchildren in honor of National Grandparents Day in September. A special Grandparents Package, based on two grandparents and two grandchildren under the age of 12, will be available for the entire month of September and will include one night’s accommodation in a deluxe room for four; a full Irish breakfast for four; table d’hote dinner for four (with children’s menu for the grandchildren) in the George V dining room; a one-hour falconry lesson for four; and afternoon tea for four in the Drawing Room. The total price of the package is €695 (approximately $1,000).

Ashford Castle is set on 350 acres in County Mayo, on the shores of Lough Corrib and the River Cong, with a backdrop of woodlands, lake, river and mountains. It features 83 guestrooms and offers a range of country sports including an equestrian center, fly fishing, an exclusive nine-hole golf course and Ireland’s first school of falconry. Several dining rooms and bars, along with afternoon tea service are among the amenities. For more information, call 800-346-7007 or visit www.ashford.ie

The Chihuly (www.chihuly.com) Garden and Glass exhibition, the most comprehensive presentation of Dale Chihuly’s artwork, has broken ground on a 1.5-acre site at Seattle Center. The exhibition, to open in the spring of 2012, will feature works from many of Chihuly’s series and architectural installations.

Key features of the exhibition will include a 12,208-square-foot indoor pavilion with gallery spaces that will feature some of his works; a cafe with an outdoor patio and seating area; a retail/bookstore space; a 50-seat theater/lecture hall; a lobby/ticketing area; a 43-foot-tall glass house featuring five large chandeliers of red and yellow Persians; and an outdoor garden and plaza featuring more of Chihuly’s works. Call 206-684-7200 or visit www.seattlecenter.com

Avis Rent A Car has introduced “Avis On Location” to provide corporate clients with on-site vehicle rentals. Based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and pilot tests conducted with several major corporate customers, Avis On Location enables the company to rent vehicles and accept returns on corporate campuses and at virtually any location.

Avis On Location is designed to serve commercial accounts and is integrated with clients’ corporate travel rental car program and Avis Preferred, the Avis counter-bypass program. Business travelers use their smart phones to reserve, pick up and return rental vehicles, and an electronic receipt is automatically issued when the rental is completed. For more information, visit www.avis.com/corpaccount

Limos.com, an online marketplace for chauffeured cars, has introduced Limos.com for Business, an online solution for management of corporate travel town car programs. This is a $20 billion market, but 95 percent of town cars are still booked offline.

Limos.com has direct relationships with more than 2,000 professional, licensed town car operators in major markets worldwide, along with more than 1 million registered users. The service offers cost controls of up to 40 percent, centralized online bookings and no booking fees or contract required. It offers photos of the cars users are booking and live customer support. For more information, visit www.Limos.com

American Airlines has teamed up with oneworld members – British Airways and Iberia – to offer special savings from the United States to cities throughout Europe. American also announced significant savings on travel between the United States and cities throughout the Caribbean, Bermuda, Mexico, Latin America, and Asia.

Tickets for these special fares must be purchased by Sept. 5, and travel to all destinations except Europe must take place between Sept. 1 and Dec. 15. Travel to Europe must take place between Sept. 1 and May 15, 2012. Other restrictions apply.

Sample one-way fares based on round-trip travel when purchased on AA.com are Boston-London ($294 low season, $319 shoulder season); Chicago-Paris ($299 low season, $367 shoulder season). Low season to Europe is Oct. 29 through Dec. 14, 2011, and Dec. 24, 2011, through March 26, 2012. Shoulder season to Europe is Sept. 1 through Oct. 28, 2011; Dec. 15 through Dec. 23, 2011; and March 27 through May 15, 2012.

Fares are each way based on off-peak, round-trip economy-class travel purchased on AA.com, and are in U.S. dollars. Fares to the United Kingdom are valid Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Fares to the rest of Europe are valid Sunday through Thursday. Fares to all other destinations are valid Monday through Thursday. Other travel days are available at additional cost. Fares are subject to change without notice. International fares are subject to government approval. Blackout Dates: Blackout dates to all destinations except Europe are Nov. 17 through Nov. 27, 2011. For more information, visit www.aa.com.

Private jet company JetSuite is partnering with Singapore Airlines, allowing its passengers to connect between international flights to and from over 500 airports within a few hours flying time of Singapore Airlines’ gateways at Los Angeles International (LAX), San Francisco International (SFO) and Houston George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) Airports aboard new four-passenger Phenom 100s. This program also will offer chauffeured transfer service between commercial and private terminals.

While any Singapore Airlines passenger can take advantage of this program, U.S.-based passengers flying Suites and First Class will be eligible for pricing discounts off of the special rates created for this partnership. Furthermore, for a limited time, Suites and First Class passengers originating their trip in Las Vegas and connecting to their Asia-bound Singapore flight in Los Angeles will be able to travel on JetSuite to and from Los Angeles (LAX) for no additional charge to their Singapore Airlines booking.

Passengers participating in this program will be required to provide information from their Singapore Airlines itinerary to JetSuite when booking the private connection, which will be done separately through dedicated client service contact points established by JetSuite. For more information, visit www.singaporeair.com

JetBlue Airways and TAM Airlines, the largest airline in Brazil, have announced a new interline partnership to connect travelers to Brazil and beyond via New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Orlando International Airport. Customers may purchase JetBlue-TAM travel through the Global Distribution System (GDS). For more information, visit www.jetblue.com.

LAN Airlines and its affiliates are holding a sale on premium business-class service on flights to South America from major U.S. gateways including Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco and New York. Passengers who book through Sept. 12 get savings of 20 percent with some fares almost 40 percent off normally published prices.

LAN’s premium business class includes 180-degree full flat beds. It is a member of oneworld. Tickets must be purchased from the U.S. and Canada, and travel must occur from Sept. 22 to March 31. Fares start at $2,999 plus tax between Miami and Buenos Aires. For more information, visit www.lan.com

United Continental Holdings Inc. is converting to paperless flight decks and deploying 11,000 iPads to all United and Continental pilots. The electronic flight bags (EFB) replace paper flight manuals and provide pilots with paperless aeronautical navigational charts through an iPad app.

Distribution of iPads began earlier this month, and all pilots will have them by year end. Each iPad, which weighs less than 1.5 pounds, will replace approximately 38 pounds of paper operating manuals, navigation charts, reference handbooks, flight checklists, logbooks and weather information in a pilot’s flight bag. For more information, visit www.UnitedContinentalHoldings.com

Aeromexico is adding two new flights between Las Vegas and Monterrey, Mexico, offering eight weekly flights between the two cities. Previously, Aeromexico was flying this route on Thursdays and Sundays, but the airline is now also flying on Mondays and Fridays. For more information, visit www.aeromexico.com