KLM Meet & Seat, a new service from KLM Airlines lets you find out about interesting people who will be on board your KLM flight such as other passengers attending the same event as you at your destination.

KLM Meet & Seat is currently being piloted for Bookings with 1 passenger and KLM flights between Amsterdam and New York, San Francisco and Sao Paulo from 90 days until 48 hours before departure.

KLM will not use your profile details for other purposes than Meet & Seat.

Since last year Dutch Airlines KLM has been working on the new service that lets passengers choose seat partners based on social media profiles.

KLM has been experimenting with social media since the ash cloud in 2010. KLM has more than one million followers on Facebook. This makes KLM number three most followed airlines in the world of aviation.

KLM strives to integrate social media throughout its entire flight operations. That also means that passengers get quick answer to questions and complaints, and that they can easily rebook online for a later flight due to a travel disruptions.

At the headquarters in Amstelveen, KLM has setup a permanent “Social Media Hub”, where dozens of employees are active 24 hours a day.

Russia has decided to postpone the launch until May 15. Kuipers would then already be on his way back to earth.

The European Space Agency, did not receive an official announcement yet from Russia. Therefore ESA can not say whether Kuipers’ mission will be extended, said a spokeswoman.

Russia discovered a leak in a Soyuz capsule last weekend, which will launch the Russians Gennadi Padalka and Sergej Revin and American Joseph Acaba into space.

“KLM constantly adapts its sales assortment on board to the wishes of its passengers,” says Paul Elich, Executive Vice President of KLM Inflight Services. “By buying alcohol and cigarettes on board, passengers no longer have to carry heavy bags around the airport. It makes no difference to the weight on board.”

The assortment will include Courvoisier XO and Johnny Walker Black. The bottles will be delivered on board in sealed plastic bags. The cigarettes in the assortment are Marlboro Red and Marlboro Gold. KLM’s web shop offers a broader assortment which passengers can order online and then pick up on board.

The four laboratories have been built in sea containers and on Antarctica they will be attached to a joint ‘docking station’. The laboratory on Rothera will be called the Gerritsz laboratory and the four separate modules bear the names Faith, Hope, Love and Glad Tidings.

Up until now Dutch researchers depended upon the facilities of other countries with a base on Antarctica when they wanted to do research on and around the South Pole. The Dutch laboratories will be located on a British base. That will provide savings on costs for an own base and infrastructure and minimise the potential damage to the natural habitat on Antarctica. The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science are jointly investing 8.5 million euros in South Pole research.

The mini-laboratories were built by a company from Dirksland that is specialised in refrigeration technology. For example, they tested whether the laboratories could withstand the freezing cold conditions on Antarctica. NWO attaches great importance to the sustainability aspects of this new research facility. For example, the temperature in the mini-laboratories is controlled by a heat pump that extracts heat from the external surroundings to regulate the temperature inside. Solar cells will also be installed on the roof of the docking station.

Research
Researchers will first make use of the laboratories at the start of 2013 when it is summer in Antarctica. Research in the laboratories will focus on climate change, glaciology, marine ecology and oceanography. Research subjects include chemical reactions in the atmosphere above Antarctica caused by the release of greenhouse gases during algal blooms. The rapid warming up along the West Coast of the Antarctic peninsula is facilitating the algal bloom and consequently exerting an influence on the global climate. A second study will also investigate algae and will specifically look at their place in the food chain; the underlying question is how the ecologically important Antarctic waters respond to changes in the climate. The third study concerns the changing level of iron and trace elements in seawater and sea ice, levels that are important for all living organisms in ecosystems. The fourth study will examine the increase in fresh meltwater that is flowing into the sea from Antarctic glaciers, and finally there is a study into the influence of this meltwater on food chains.

Names
The laboratories are named after a convoy of ships that left Rotterdam in 1598 in search of a trade route via the tip of South America to Asia. The ships were called Faith, Hope, Love, Glad Tidings and Loyalty. In the Magellan Straits the convoy was driven apart under severe weather conditions. One ship, the Glad Tidings under the leadership of Dirck Gerritsz, was blown far south. At 64° South Gerritsz saw a ‘very high mountainous country, full of snow, like the country of Norway’. This was probably the first sighting of Antarctica.

Polar research
The investment in research laboratories and research on the South Pole is part of the Netherlands Polar Programme, which funds Dutch scientific research in and into polar areas. As a signatory to the Antarctic Treaty the Netherlands is obliged to invest in research on the South Pole. Furthermore, the South Pole is a unique research environment where the consequences of climate change can be clearly measured, free of disruptive human influences.

NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York, which monitors global surface temperatures on an ongoing basis, released an updated analysis that shows temperatures around the globe in 2011 compared to the average global temperature from the mid-20th century. The comparison shows how Earth continues to experience warmer temperatures than several decades ago. The average temperature around the globe in 2011 was 0.92 degrees F (0.51 C) warmer than the mid-20th century baseline.

“We know the planet is absorbing more energy than it is emitting,” said GISS director James E. Hansen. “So we are continuing to see a trend toward higher temperatures. Even with the cooling effects of a strong La Nina influence and low solar activity for the past several years, 2011 was one of the 10 warmest years on record.”

The difference between 2011 and the warmest year in the GISS record (2010) is 0.22 degrees F (0.12 C). This underscores the emphasis scientists put on the long-term trend of global temperature rise. Because of the large natural variability of climate, scientists do not expect temperatures to rise consistently year after year. However, they do expect a continuing temperature rise over decades.

The first 11 years of the 21st century experienced notably higher temperatures compared to the middle and late 20th century, Hansen said. The only year from the 20th century in the top 10 warmest years on record is 1998.

Higher temperatures today are largely sustained by increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. These gases absorb infrared radiation emitted by Earth and release that energy into the atmosphere rather than allowing it to escape to space. As their atmospheric concentration has increased, the amount of energy “trapped” by these gases has led to higher temperatures.

The carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere was about 285 parts per million in 1880, when the GISS global temperature record begins. By 1960, the average concentration had risen to about 315 parts per million. Today it exceeds 390 parts per million and continues to rise at an accelerating pace.

The temperature analysis produced at GISS is compiled from weather data from more than 1,000 meteorological stations around the world, satellite observations of sea surface temperature and Antarctic research station measurements. A publicly available computer program is used to calculate the difference between surface temperature in a given month and the average temperature for the same place during 1951 to 1980. This three-decade period functions as a baseline for the analysis.

The resulting temperature record is very close to analyses by the Met Office Hadley Centre in the United Kingdom and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

Hansen said he expects record-breaking global average temperature in the next two to three years because solar activity is on the upswing and the next El Nino will increase tropical Pacific temperatures. The warmest years on record were 2005 and 2010, in a virtual tie.

“It’s always dangerous to make predictions about El Nino, but it’s safe to say we’ll see one in the next three years,” Hansen said. “It won’t take a very strong El Nino to push temperatures above 2010.”

On Wednesday KLM will cut ticket prices at up to 40% lower. Many airlines will follow not to lose market share.

The KLM discounts apply for eighty popular destinations across Europe, reaffirmed Harm Kreulen CEO of KLM Netherlands last night against the newspaper. The discount prices are valid for three weeks, for traveling until mid-June.

An estimated one hundred thousand Dutch benefit from the promotion. A roundtrip to Curacao with KLM costs about Euro 499 all in, the same for New York and Istanbul 179 euros.

Beijing drops from 919 to 599 euros, 499 euros to 894 from Xiamen. With the promotion KLM’s plans to get their planes full faster this year.

The air conditioned rooms at Mint Hotel Amsterdam are sound proofed and include an iMac multimedia system which doubles as a TV. It also has free Wi-Fi access. Each room also has floor-to-ceiling windows, a minibar and tea and coffee making facilities with homemade cookies.

Tram and metro services are available less than a 2-minute walk away on Stationsplein. Dam Square is a 5-minute walk from the hotel. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is 20 minutes away by car.

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel includes a high-tech gym and many open-air spaces including a courtyard and sky terrace. Guests can enjoy modern British cuisine in the restaurant. There are also many bars and outlets such as the whiskey bar.

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DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Amsterdam
Address: 4 Oosterdoksstraat Amsterdam, Netherlands , 1011 DK
Phone: +31 (0)20 530 0800

This boutique hotel along the Keizersgracht canal is situated in the heart of Amsterdam. Dam Square is a short walk away. The restaurant has a Michelin star.

The Dylan offers rooms and suites with special themes. All have luxurious bathrooms, a bathrobe and slippers. There is free Wi-Fi.

The award-winning restaurant is located in an 18th century bakery with garden views. French cuisine is served complemented by wines from the cellar.

The Dylan has a gym, a massage service and a garden with terrace. There is a lounge and bar to relax. All major sights are within walking distance. Trams, buses and metro stops are only minutes away.

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The Dylan Amsterdam
Address: Keizersgracht 384 Amsterdam
Phone: +31(0)20 530 2010
Web Site: www.dylanamsterdam.com

Hotel The Exchange has 61 rooms, ranging from 1 to 5 stars. Each room has been designed and dressed by graduates and alumni of the Amsterdam Fashion Institute (AMFI). The rooms are as diverse and inspiring, as the neighborhood the hotel lies in.The romantic at heart can fall asleep in a Marie Antoinette-inspired room where a huge dress drapes over the walls and unto the bed. Or, if you prefer a more minimal look, opt for a room that is based on the old fairy tale of the Emperor’s New Clothes.

Hotel The Exchange is a concept by Suzanne Oxenaar and Otto Nan, initiators of the Lloyd Hotel & Cultural Embassy. Hotel The Exchange is part of ‘The Red Carpet,’ an urban-renewal project that is aimed at giving the Damrak a more diverse and fashionable look.

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Hotel The Exchange
Address: Damrak 50, Amsterdam-Centrum, 1012 LL Amsterdam
Phone: +31 20 523 0080
Visit www.exchangeamsterdam.com or Follow on facebook

In 2010 the hotel was awarded by the Venuez Hospitality & Style awards as Best Hotel Concept of the Year and obtained the Golden Green Key. At the 8th of June 2011 Casa 400 won the HotAm Award for most exciting hotel development in Amsterdam.

Hotel Casa 400 is convenient located within the ring road of Amsterdam in the Amstel district. You will have everything in arm’s reach: the public transport will take you to the heart of Amsterdam within 10 minutes, the Amsterdam Amstel station is a mere three minute walk away from the hotel and the ring road A10 is within easy reach.

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Hotel Casa 400
Address: Eerste Ringdijkstraat 4 – 1097 BC Amsterdam – The Netherlands
Phone:+31 (0)20 665 11 71
www.hotelcasa400.nl