Travel updates: Aberdeen, Tanzania and Pakistan

Europe has "lost" 73 airlines in the past four years, according to analysis by aviation data company OAG. Its study, presented at the Routes Europe airline conference in Aberdeen, highlights the consolidation in European aviation, with 241 scheduled airlines operating in the summer of 2011, but just 168 this year. "Assuming the trend continues, there will be no European-based airlines in 25 years," John Grant, OAG's executive vice-president, told the conference. Overall capacity (the number of seats on all aircraft) continues to grow in Europe, driven particularly by Turkey and Russia. While in Italy and Spain there have been small reductions, capacity in Turkey and Russia has risen by 68 per cent and 39 per cent respectively since 2011. Three of the four busiest European routes are now domestic Turkish flights - between Istanbul and Izmir, Antalya and Ankara (London to Dublin retains second place).

Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, a safari camp on the rim of the 360 sq km crater in Tanzania, has been refurbished and relaunched with an opulent new look that the owners describe as "Masai meets Versailles". The camp aims to offer the "trappings of an elegant baroque chateau" with brocade sofas, gilt mirrors and beaded chandeliers, as well as a wine cellar. Afternoon canapes are served on brass platters and in crystal bowls, while butlers can serve banquets on the crater floor. Rates start at £710 per person per night.

andbeyond.com

Tour operators are hoping for a boost in bookings to northern Pakistan after Britain's Foreign Office cancelled its warning against "all but essential" travel to Gilgit-Baltistan, the northern state where the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges meet. The area was once popular for trekking - highlights include the walk to Concordia, the confluence of two glaciers surrounded by seven of the world's 25 highest peaks - but in June 2013, 10 climbers and their guide were killed in a terrorist attack at Nanga Parbat base camp, prompting many to view the region as off-limits. As well as discouraging tourists, Foreign Office warnings can make it hard for operators to get insurance cover. The relaxation in its risk assessment comes as Pakistan International Airlines prepares to introduce five new aircraft, improving access into Gilgit and Skardu airports. Wild Frontiers offers a range of holidays to the region, including a three-week trip departing August 28 that features the trek to Concordia (from £3,095).

wildfrontierstravel.com

Photograph: Stevie Mann

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