NEWS: Qatar A380s set to return, MGM buys Cosmopolitan Vegas, Bangkok to allow vaccinated travellers &

MGM buys Cosmopolitan Vegas – no more Marriott

If you are a Vegas lover like me and try to stay in Marriott properties, there will shortly be one less to stay at in Vegas. Sadly this was the best Marriott property in Vegas, The Cosmpolitan. The owners are to sell to MGM for more than $4 billion. MGM already owns 13 Las Vegas Boulevard hotels, including the MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, and Delano Las Vegas and New York-New York, as well as the T-Mobile Arena and the Park retail promenade.

But don’t worry if you have plans to go in the next few months or so as it is unlikely to complete until Spring 2022. The Cosmpolitan is in my favourite location on the strip being next to Bellagio and the City Centre/Aria complex. It has some great bars such as the Chandelier bar and some of my favourite restaurants too.

The sale needs regulatory approval and so is projected to close in the first half of 2022. The only other decent Marriott that’s close to the strip is the Mariott’s Grand Chateau which is just off strip not far from the Cosmo. 

Bangkok to allow vaccinated travellers

As I reported last week, Thailand’s next step to allow visitors to more areas has now officially been postponed until 1 November. I personally would not be booking anything unless it refundable until I see the first tourists arrive!

Reuters has reported that Thailand will waive its quarantine requirement in Bangkok and nine regions from 1 November to vaccinated arrivals. This includes most popular tourist areas with Chiang Mai, Phangnga, Krabi, Hua Hin, Pattaya, and Cha-am. The pilot scheme allowed Koh Samui and Phuket to reopen for a trial a few months ago. 

Qatar Airways A380s due to return from November

The signs that travel is beginning to bounce back are clear with Qatar Airways’ A380s due to come out of retirement sooner than expected from early November according to an interview with Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker for Australia’s Executive Traveller. 

Initially, only 5 A380s will come out of service which is mainly due to the issues with some of their A350 which have been grounded due to concerns about the fuselage deteriorating. The rest of the 10 A380s were due to be retired but could return next year at some point. It is not known which routes it will fly, but given that Qatar is off the UK red list and that transmitting a country to the UK will no longer matter anyway, there is a fair chance it could make it’s way to the UK.

I’m a big fan of the Qatar A380s with their bar area. The only drawback is that they do not have the Qsuite and it was looking unlikely to get it since they were due to retire hald the fleet. The standard QSuite does not fit on an A380, which is similar to the B787 which recently got its own version of the QSuite. The QSuite is currently  is fitted to 74 of Qatar Airways’aircraft across its Airbus A350 and Boeing 777 fleet and is available on the majority of the airline’s long-haul routes.