If you’re planning a trip to New Zealand’s South Island in the future, beware the possibility of pilfering parrots.

A cheeky bird known as a kea spotted a Scottish holidaymaker’s passport within a bag in the luggage compartment under a tour bus, snapped it up, and made off with it into the underbrush. Police told a local newspaper that the passport was unlikely to be found in the vast rainforest of Fiordland National Park, near where the tour bus had stopped.

The kea is the world’s only snowline-dwelling parrot, widely known for its inquisitive nature, and can often be found attacking rubber items like windshield wiper blades. This recent incident, however, may be a worrying indication that the species is now expanding its operations into the world of identity theft.

You could be forgiven for laughing at the plucky parrot’s hijinks, but spare a thought for the poor man who will now have to pay up to £250 and wait up to six weeks for his new travel documents.

The moral of the story? Passport covers made from birdseed are probably an idea whose time has come and gone.

According to The Daily Mirror’s online news site, airport parking costs are “sore again”. Hmm…I can only take this to mean that the cost of airport parking is causing pain for many travellers this year.

The Mirror’s story quotes an example price of £228.90 for two weeks’ parking at Heathrow, but if you take advantage of the great offers to be found online, you can book two weeks’ Heathrow Parking in June for as little as £75.95! If you’re counting pennies, and let’s face it, who isn’t these days, the best way to enjoy big savings is by pre-booking your airport parking online.

So, even though airport parking prices have inevitably risen (some might even say they’ve “soared“), you can still find a bargain when you know where to look.

British Airways announced this morning record losses of £401 million for the year up to 31 March, due mainly to the weak pound and higher fuel costs.

Although the company’s revenues increased to almost £9 billion, BA incurred a near-£3 billion fuel bill. The reported results also included £78 million in redundancy-related costs; the company having cut more than 2,500 jobs since last summer.

An industry analyst claims that one of British Airways’ biggest problems is the 13% drop in business passengers that’s hit the company, resulting in “significant pricing actions” being taken to increase non-business sales.

The good news for travellers, however, is BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh’s statement that, “Fares have been going down and will continue to be very competitive.” He also added, “I don’t expect to see any increase in fares in the coming year.” This news should help entice holidaymakers to book those flights after all, and still be able to afford perks offered by travel extras providers such as GoSimply.com.