The last few months have been blighted by news of airlines cutting flights, but there’s more encouraging news for the Canary Islands, which are set to benefit from new flights from early 2009.

Failed airline company XL had left a bit of a gap in the market, with flights to the Canary Islands amongst those affected by its downfall. But budget airline, Teleticket, has stepped in to fill the gap and announced that it will be introducing new flights from Bristol to Tenerife, Las Palmas and Lanzarote in 2009.

The flight-only tour operator, which also operates flights from airports such as Gatwick, Manchester, East Midlands, Newcastle and Glasgow, will start the flights to Tenerife in April 2009 and to Gran Canaria at Easter.

The Spanish Canary Islands are a destination that’s long been a favourite with Brits. Between them, the islands attract a massive 10 million visitors each year and it’s no wonder they’re a popular location for holiday property owners and expats too. Amongst the major attractions are the great year-round climate, good beaches and easy access from the UK. But from a property point of view, it’s possible to find apartments like this for under £100k, and there are good opportunities to rent out accommodation to tourists.

For those wanting to splash out with a bit of luxury, top notch properties can be found on the islands too, like this individually designed house in Tenerife.

For fans of skiing, there’s nothing quite like owning your own ski property in your favourite resort, saving you the hassle of having to find and pay for accommodation each time you want to head for the slopes. Whilst some people don’t enjoy having to fly to their ski property homes, especially when lugging equipment with them, there is an alternative – the snow train.

Snow or ski trains help take the hassle out of reaching ski properties (as well as helping people concerned about cutting down their carbon footprints) and are ideal for Brits heading to French and European ski slopes. Accommodation is available on board, so you can travel through the night and not waste valuable skiing time, and there are no extra charges for transporting your skis or boards.

The Eurostar Direct Ski Train, for example, operates from late December to early April. Serving three of the main stations in the French Alps – Moûtiers, Aime la Plagne and Bourg St Maurice – it provides easy access to many of the key resorts in the area. The high-speed service operates in the day, taking 7½ hours, but the night service is ideal for weekend breaks or anyone wanting to make the most of their time, as you leave on the Friday night and arrive first thing on Saturday morning.

Rail Europe’s Snow Train operates from London St Pancras and Ebbsfleet International and travels to four main ski destinations in the French Alps – Les Trois Vallées, Paradiski, Mont Blanc and Espace Killy. If you don’t want to worry about sleeping, it even has its own – fully sound proofed! – disco carriage, so you can party your way to the slopes.

If you’re considering in investing in ski property, then the easy access and relatively low cost of the ski trains are definitely an option to think about.