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Overwater villas, an empty private beach and year-round sun make Ras al-Khaimah’s latest opening — the new £140 million Anantara Mina Al Arab — a no-brainer

Each year, hundreds of ‘ghost flights’ take off with just a handful of passengers. Here’s how to boost your chances of finding one

There are two holy grails of air travel, moments of such unexpected serendipity that they are recounted to friends and family for years to come. The first is the free upgrade, when, usually at the check-in desk, you’re informed that, due to your frequent-flyer status – or simply your dashing good looks and Savile Row suit – you needn’t spend the next nine hours with your kneecaps in your face like the rest of the plebs.

Saudi Arabia embarking on an epically ambitious social and economic revolution, writes John Arlidge from Riyadh

You only get one chance to make a good first impression. Land in Singapore, Dubai, or Kuala Lumpur airports and you get just that. These airports are clean, efficient, slick. Helsinki, Madrid Barajas, Munich, too. They mean business.