Sydney's summer cinema treat returns

One of Sydney's fun summer activities is returning in time for the summer holidays. 

Mov'in Bed Cinema is returning from December 4, but this time at a brand-new waterfront home at Pyrmont Bay Park. 

Organisers are promising "upgraded queen and king-size beds for even greater comfort" and boast that  Mov’in Bed "brings together the feeling of a cosy movie night at home with the excitement of going out". 

Movie nights can feature a giant 4K screen, noise-cancelling headphones, dinner and CASA Spirits cocktails served straight to your bed, all against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour. You can even bring a furry friend. 

The season kicks off with Christmas favourites including Home Alone, Elf and Love Actually, before welcoming Avengers: Doomsday, The Devil Wears Prada 2 and The Odyssey, "alongside cult classics and romantic favourites".

Tickets start from $13 sitting on the grass, with bed experiences from $47 per person. The cinema will run Wednesday to Sunday throughout summer. 

See https://movinbed.com/sydney/

Australia to Europe via Muscat and Helsinki?

There's an intriguing "slow travel" route from Australia to Europe for those who don't fancy direct flights as planned as part of Qantas' Project Sunrise. 

Oman Air and Finnair are expanding travel options between Europe, the Middle East and Australia through a new codeshare agreement that strengthens connections between Finland and Oman.

The two oneworld alliance members will offer travellers additional routes to Helsinki, Muscat and Melbourne, extending connectivity beyond their respective networks, news hub Travel Mole reports.

The agreement marks Oman Air’s first new codeshare partnership since joining oneworld in June 2025, as the Muscat-based carrier seeks to capitalize on its alliance membership and broaden its international reach.

Under the partnership, travellers will be able to connect to Helsinki through London Heathrow, where Oman Air operates 11 weekly flights from its Muscat hub. The agreement also covers Finnair-operated services from Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Milan and Rome to Helsinki, Finnair’s home base.

The codeshare will also open up connections to Melbourne via Bangkok, where Oman Air operates twice-daily flights. 

Members of both airlines’ loyalty programs will benefit from oneworld recognition, including access to eligible tier privileges and service benefits throughout their journeys.

Rohan Patell, Oman Air’s head of partnerships and alliances, said the agreement represented an important step in maximizing the benefits of joining oneworld.

“Our entry into the oneworld alliance was an important milestone in Oman Air’s growth journey, and our partnership with Finnair represents an exciting next step in unlocking the full value of alliance membership,” Patell said.

Fredrik Wildtgrube, Finnair's senior vice president of alliances and airline partnerships, welcomed Oman Air customers on board, highlighting the new connections to Helsinki and opportunities to explore Finland.

The airlines said the agreement represents the first phase of a broader partnership, with both sides exploring further opportunities to expand their cooperation.

For Oman Air, the deal also supports efforts to attract more international visitors to the Sultanate.

Travelers can use Muscat as a stopover destination through the airline’s stopover program or extend their trips to discover Oman’s cultural heritage, varied landscapes and traditional hospitality.

Air Canada makes cuts as Canadians are still not keen on US travel

Canadians are steadfast in their refusal to vacation in the US with Air Canada withdrawing several US routes and suspending others through the winter and into summer 2027, as cross-border travel demand remains firmly below pre-pandemic levels.

Canadians have have declined to travel to their nearest neighbour as US President Donald Trump repeatedly insults and threatens them along with several other previous allies. 

The airline’s latest schedule changes come against amidst continuing weakness in Canadian travel numbers to the United States. 

Statistics Canada recorded 1.89 million return trips by Canadian residents from the US by air and automobile in September 2026, up 6.8% year on year but down about 29% compared with September 2024, news hub Travel Mole reports.

Air Canada will discontinue or suspend services to Detroit, Minneapolis, Indianapolis and New York JFK, while five additional routes have been removed from its summer 2027 schedule.

The winter changes include the suspension of Montreal–Detroit, Montreal–Minneapolis and Toronto–Indianapolis. Flights from Montreal and Toronto to New York JFK, suspended in June, will also not resume this winter. Toronto Billy Bishop–Boston is also scheduled to end on December 1, 2026, after launching in July.

Routes removed for summer 2027 include Montreal–Seattle, Toronto Billy Bishop–Boston, Toronto Pearson–Charleston, Vancouver–Nashville and Vancouver–Raleigh/Durham. 

Three seasonal Florida routes will also start later than originally planned. Ottawa-Fort Lauderdale, Montreal-Palm Beach and Quebec City-Orlando have been pushed back from October to December. 

Air Canada is nevertheless maintaining a substantial US operation. Its November schedule is expected to offer around 160 daily departures to the country, approximately 3% more than a year earlier, highlighting a strategy of reallocating capacity rather than totally abandoning the market.

Airbnb tells hosts to ease up on their demands

Remember how some Airbnb hosts used to demand that guests did a deep clean before they checked out? 

No more. 

Airbnb this week updated its global house rules policy to ban hosts from forcing guests to complete heavy check-out chores and ordered them to reduce surprise requests.

The company told hosts that starting November 20, they can choose from seven standard house rules and are “generally not allowed” to ask guests to wash dishes, strip beds, or take out the garbage, travel newsletter Skift reported.

Hosts who repeatedly violate the policy could face a notice on the listing, lower visibility in search results, or “other actions under our terms of service,” the policy says. Those can include cancelling bookings, removing Superhost or Guest Favorite status, or suspending the host’s account.

Hosts may still ask guests to place used dishes in the sink, put rubbish in designated indoor or animal-proof bins, and lock up. 

Reasonable requests/standard rules can include check-in/check-out times, quiet hours, pet restrictions, smoking rules, and guest limits. And local considerations like limiting shower time due to water restrictions may still apply. 

Guests are still expected to leave properties in a reasonable, tidy condition without excessive mess, stains, or damage.

Goodbye to one of New York's great tourism traditions?

It is the end of an era for one of New York City's most popular tourism traditions. 

New York City Council voted this week to ban horse-drawn carriages from Central Park by 2028, ending a tradition as old as the park itself, The New York Times reported.

A passenger’s death after a horse bolted in June was the impetus for the ban. 

The Council vote on the bill imposing the ban was a definitive, if not final, step toward ending a politically contentious debate over the future of the carriage industry, which some people criticise as a form of animal cruelty with no place in a crowded park and others embrace as a vestige of old-world charm, the newspaper reported.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office helped craft the bill, which passed by 40 votes to seven, a veto-proof margin.

“The mayor will sign this bill, and the Mamdani administration is working every day to ensure we can do so while providing the strongest possible protections for the owners and workers in this industry,” said Sneha Choudhary, a spokesperson for Mamdani.

The legislation dictates that horse carriages will not be allowed to operate in the city as of June 2028. 

There are 200 owners, drivers and stable hands and an estimated 180 carriage horses.

The Transport Workers Union Local 100 has vowed to challenge the legislation in court. 

Image: https://www.centralparkcarriagetours.com/

Lark Distillery to throw open its doors

Love your whisky? Enjoy visiting Tasmania? 

Leading spirits producer Lark Distilling Co will is to throw open the doors of its Pontville distillery, formerly Shene Estate, for a day of whisky, food, music and behind-the-scenes experiences at the country’s oldest operational whisky village.

Lark's inaugural Pontville Open Day on Sunday, November 29, is an open invitation to explore the historic distillery, and discover the people, craft and provenance behind Tasmania's modern whisky story. 

There will be free hourly tours and live coopering demonstrations, along with whisky tastings, and an interactive blending experience with Lark's distilling team. 

Tasmanian whisky pioneer and Lark founder Bill Lark will be in-conversation at 11am, sharing the journey that reignited  whisky making in Tasmania more than 30 years ago, and his team’s ongoing mission to capture the essence of the island. 

Pontville Open Day will also showcase the Forty Spotted gin collection on pour. 

Running from 10am to 4pm, the free, family-friendly event will also feature a petting zoo and live music from Tasmanian artists Hugo Bladel and Charlotte Lucretia, alongside a food offering. 

“We’ve always believed that whisky is a wonderful way to connect people with Tasmania," says Bill Lark. 

"Our Pontville Open Day is a special opportunity for visitors to get a taste of what makes this place so special and experience that connection first hand."

Just 30 minutes north of Hobart, Lark’s Pontville Distillery is set within an 1800s estate that has been  restored into a fully operational whisky village, complete with bond stores, a working cooperage, and a rich sense of Tasmanian heritage. 

Bookings: Register for free at https://larkdistillery.com/