I’VE experienced my fair share of mid-flight travel horrors.
Be it an argument over reclining seats or the time I was splashed in another passenger’s vomit.
On another jam-packed flight, the aircraft had seemingly doubled as a creche and I spent the duration fetching a stranger’s toddler as they made relentless bids for freedom down the aisle.
None of these circumstances quite compare to a recent flight, though.
I have never been more relieved to touch down on tarmac after a torrent of aggressive demands from one couple sitting behind me.
It culminated in a one-way screaming match and having my seat intentionally pummelled every five minutes for the remainder of my nine-hour journey.
No, these were not primary-school aged children. Add another 60 years, or there about.
Most surprising of all, perhaps, was that none of this horridness came as a shock to me.
After all, I was flying in Premium Economy.
This is a cabin class that’s notorious for, every so often, attracting a self-righteous passenger who, despite having flown in economy on every other family holiday, feels they deserve far beyond what their additional £150 has paid for.
I’d just stumbled upon something even worse than a premium economy passenger though.
That is: a premium economy passenger… flying on a budget airline.
I won’t name the airline I flew with. They can’t be held responsible for the actions of one vile couple – let’s call them Jim and Jane.
I do, however, appreciate staff refusing one such demand.
This was to request my cousin and I sit in silence with our window blinds shut for seven hours so that they could enjoy a lunchtime siesta without the need to wear earplugs or an eyemask (naturally, this would have caused Jim and Jane disastrous levels of discomfort).
“You wouldn’t get this on British Airways,” Jane scoffed overzealously as I asked my cousin what she might like to eat for dinner once we landed.
Jane was right, in all fairness.
There is no upper-class cabin on the budget airline I was flying with, only economy and premium economy.
But I had never experienced such obnoxiousness in Club World, British Airways’ business class cabin.
I feel very fortunate to say that I’ve flown in business class on several airlines, in fact, and hadn’t experienced anything like this before.
The most common type of business class passenger are those who fly regularly and are content with largely being left alone to take advantage of the flat bed before their five-hour-long meeting upon landing.
Then there are those who are flying business for a special occasion and are simply thrilled to be experiencing a slice of la dolce vita in the clouds (NB if you’re sitting near this passenger, you may be asked to take a quick snap for social media while they pose in their larger-than-normal seat with a champagne flute tilted towards the camera).
All in all, they’re a pleasant bunch.
I had a feeling that Jim and Jane, however, had never had the privilege of flying Club World.
The airline I’d been flying with operates on a budget business model, so my seat in premium economy cost a similar sum to its Virgin Atlantic counterpart in economy class.
That means the passengers around me had actively chosen to ditch a more sophisticated airline, for a slightly larger seat but with not-as-efficient service and pricier luggage fees.
It could be because the flight times were better, but in Jim and Jane’s case the decision was made to fuel an inner snobbery.
The level of attention that Jim and Jane demanded of the crew on my flight far exceeded what they’d shelled out. But let’s leave Jim and Jane alone for a moment (if only they’d granted me that same grace).
They are two of a fair few passengers who’d behave this way in the same situation, I’ve learned.
It’s all down to a sense of entitlement.
They have paid a fraction more, so they believe their needs should be prioritised over everyone else’s including those who have paid to sit in the same class as them.
The budget-premium passenger loves nothing more than watching that grey polyester curtain close behind them shortly after take-off, separating them from the riff raff of economy.
They will press the call button as much as they deem necessary, because walking to the galley to ask for another glass of cheap white wine is, frankly, beneath them.
They’ve been given the meal that they pre-ordered, but is there not something that can be done about the seasoning because, at the end of the day, they normally eat their chicken breast with tarragon, not parsley.
And yes, the sound-quality on this free pair of headphones really is dire and they really must test out several pairs, even though they won’t end up using them.
Personally, I’d have found it all amusing if Jim and Jane hadn’t plonked an angry target on my back.
In all honesty, I’d rather have flown in the middle seat of economy.
To Jim and Jane: if you’re reading this, please take a look at my article about how to score big with Avios points.
That will ensure you never need to fly with anyone other than British Airways again, if that’s what you want.
For more irritating passenger habits, check out these new plane seat dividers that have resulted with flight attendants threatening a flight ban.
Plus, these passengers were left fuming after paying for extra-legroom seats on flight, only for bizarre family to ruin it.
Don't be a tyrant after take-off and stick to the social etiquette
Don’t be a bag bandit: On low-cost airlines, in particular, the free carry-on that comes with the basic fare is a backpack-sized bag designed to fit under the seat in front.
Boarding early and stashing this in the overhead delays the boarding process and takes up the space that other passengers have paid for. This can lead to arguments in the aisle as people are trying to get to their seats and a general ill-feeling by all.
Once boarding has commenced or the flight is in the air, it’s fine to store your bag or coat in the overhead locker. Waiting until then is more considerate to passengers who embark the airline after you.
Bringing fast food on board: It’s actually not against the rules to bring a Burger King on board an airline, but it is anti-social.
No one wants to be squeezed into the seat next to you as you stuff a Whopper in your mouth and slurp on a super-size coke. And the smell of the food is offensive for anyone not eating. If you don’t get to the airport with enough time to eat a meal, a classic sandwich or something less stinky is less unpleasant for your cabin mates.
Don’t be a dodgy DJ: You may love the thumping pulse of 90s Trance, but not everyone does.
Likewise, Taylor Swift might have been the soundtrack of your holiday, but those around you probably just want to tune out and nod off.
Playing your phone out loud on any type of public transport should be against the rules, but especially on planes when you are wedged in next to a stranger for hours in the air. Keep the volume down and your headphones on and you can enjoy the Smallest Man who ever Lived without being one.
Keep Peppa Pig in the pen: The same goes for kids and their tablets. Only a few people complain about the presence of kids on planes. Most, normal, people know that kids might get upset or fidgety in-flight and they have as much right to be there as any other passenger on-board.
However, try not to ignore the noise that comes with your kid – aka, the yapping voice of Peppa and friends, or the plinky plonky music of night garden. Before your holiday, invest in some good quality, comfortable headphones for your little ones and ensure they use them to watch their screens.
There will always be times when your kid won’t comply, but if they flat out refuse to wear the headphones, keep the volume very low or play the video with no sound as courtesy to your fellow passengers. Alternatively, you could load up some fun games to play that don’t involve sounds.
Feet on seats. Don’t take off your shoes and socks and put them on the arm rest or the headrest of the seats in front of you, or in another passenger’s space.
Don’t spray it: Personal hygiene is a must in any public space, and everyone wants to freshen up before they land.
However, it’s extremely frowned-upon to spray perfume, deodorant or hairspray in a pressurised cabin. Even in the toilet. Airplanes work on recycled air and the family in row 63 don’t want to inhale your Elnett.
Don’t get up and block the aisle as you disembark: Pushing past the passengers seated in the rows ahead of you to get off the plane is the ultimate self-serving behaviour.
We know you want to get off – everyone does. But if people just let the row in front of them out and give them space to get their bags down, the process is calmer and, actually, speedier for everyone.
A HOST of rising car brands are taking on Land Rover with their own SUV offerings, aiming to undercut the highly popular Range Rover.
The UK car market is currently being flooded by Chinese manufacturers, many of whom are offering stylish, feature-packed SUVs at significantly lower prices than their established rivals.
These brands have tapped into the growing popularity of SUVs, now the UK’s favourite type of vehicle – accounting for over a third of all car registrations.
This trend presents a lucrative opportunity for these emerging, ambitious carmakers, which are challenging premium rivals with competitive pricing and cutting-edge tech.
Here are five to keep an eye on.
Perhaps the closest in terms of mimicking the Range Rover’s premium look is the Jaecoo 7, which has already become a hot favourite in the UK and it’s £1,000s cheaper than the standard Range Rover, which is over £100,000 to buy from new.
In its first year on the market, 11,681 units have been sold, while stats suggest it topped the charts for plug-in hybrid vehicles in August and entered the top 10 best-selling new cars.
Jaecoo’s sister brand, Omoda, is also making waves in the luxury SUV market with the newly released Omoda 5 and 7 models.
The Omoda 7, equipped with the Super Hybrid System (SHS), boasts an impressive range of over 700 miles on a single tank – good enough to take on the very best from Toyota and Ford.
Inside, it features luxury touches such as a sliding 15.6-inch infotainment screen and a Sony sound system.
Great Wall Motors’ hybrid-powered SUV combines a modest 1.5-litre engine with an electric motor to deliver impressive fuel efficiency at 47 mpg.
Marketed as one of the cheapest hybrid SUVs available in the UK, it appeals particularly to budget-conscious buyers.
Recently launched in the UK at a high-profile event at the O2 Arena, Chery – another sister brand alongside Jaecoo and Omoda – offers the Tiggo 7, which closely resembles the Range Rover Evoque.
With its stylish design and affordable pricing, it provides a tempting alternative for those seeking the Range Rover look on a budget.
MG, once an iconic British brand loved for its sports cars (and the MG Metro, of course), is now owned by Chinese company SAIC Motor.
The company has invested heavily in revitalising this cherished name, and the ZS is leading the charge in the affordable SUV segment.
Arguably the best SUV for buyers on a budget, the ZS features a 1.5-litre petrol engine and a 443-litre boot, making it particularly practical for families.
The latest UK49s results are out, following the Lunchtime draw on Tuesday, 30 September 2025. The highly anticipated UK49s Lunchtime draw for today, has just concluded, bringing excitement to lottery players in the UK, South Africa, and beyond. Official UK49s Lunchtime Results Pending… If you didn’t win in today’s Lunchtime draw, don’t worry—another opportunity awaits […]
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SHE described her stint on Dragons’ Den as the “biggest and the most public rejection” ever – but Zara Saleem has had the last laugh.
The 37-year-old mum-of-two, who quit her underpaid £27k-a-year job, now has a business worth £5 million – and she started it all with just £500 at her kitchen table.
But things haven’t all been smooth sailing for Zara, who has two daughters, aged eight and seven and her thriving beauty brand, Delhicious.
Not only did she deal with a huge plummet in sales during the coronavirus lockdown, but she’s also been faced with numerous rejections by top high-street retailers too.
However, now sales are flying for the award-winning skincare brand, which is approved by dermatologists and clinically tested.
Opening up on her business journey, Zara exclusively tells us: “I had no money when I started – we had no more than £500.
“We started with just buying a small batch of ingredients and a tiny bit of packaging. Everything else that we could do for free, we did for free, including making the website.
“The first year of revenue was very low. It was around £50,000 in year one. But now, we’ve made over £5 million since we launched.
“We’ve sold over 100,000 bottles of hair oil – we sold 10,000 bottles in three days.
“We are currently on track to make between £2 and £3 million this year and are hoping to scale the business to £8 million in the next two to three years.”
It was when Zara found herself having to mark up to 150 school books a day that she realised being an “underpaid” teacher was no longer for her.
And it was when Zara, who is married to her co-founder Zak Ismail, 36, came face to face with skin challenges in 2018 that the mother began making products in her kitchen.
Zak helped out too and whilst on maternity leave, things really took off, as the beauty guru, who lives in Wembley, London, explains: “I had really dry skin and really ugly, scaly patches that were really painful.
“I didn’t really want to use steroid creams and that’s when I started to experiment with ingredients that I knew had anti-inflammatory properties.
“I used to use black tea as a face toner, so I would brew the tea and add some oils, and I knew that it was a good anti-inflammatory.
“I formulated the body scrub in my kitchen and it had incredible results. Within a couple of days, my skin had almost completely cleared.”
We were really scared in the beginning but we took the risk. We were quite delusional
Zara Saleem
At the time, while Zara was employed as a teacher, her husband Zak was working in a corporate job.
However, their lifestyle was far from lavish, as she adds: “I wasn’t living a luxurious life at all.
“The money wasn’t great – teachers are incredibly underpaid for the amount of work that they do.”
Unsure of the brand’s future, Zara shares: “It was never really meant to be a proper beauty brand – I didn’t really have it in my head how far I could take it.
“It was literally just me and my husband with the scrappy website that we made, hoping that we would get some sales.
“I had 20 bags of body scrub at the time and we had no sales coming in.
“I was like, ‘if I sell a couple of body scrubs, I’m great,’ but I was very much at home with my two children under two.”
But it was a huge deal with GlossyBox that really made the business take off, as Zara recognises: “Once we’d launched and started to get a couple of sales, I was adamant that I wanted to try and get some press, so I started to reach out to a couple of journalists.
“I went on the radio and then after that, we got approached by GlossyBox, who at the time were the biggest beauty box around, and beauty boxes around that time were really taking off. They wanted to place an order of 100,000 units.
“We were still making products in our kitchen. We had no manufacturer, we had no idea how we would actually be able to fulfil the order, but we took it on and turned our house into a factory.
“Our neighbours very kindly took our furniture in, we had our family and friends coming and filling body scrubs for us and we had a crazy four months where we hand-packed and made 100,000 body scrubs.
“I think it was at that point that we kind of thought, ‘this could actually be something.’”
After the success with GlossyBox, Zara and Zak turned to body balms – now one of their bestselling, award-winning products.
Zara explains: “We made our body balms which went super viral on TikTok because they had incredible results for people with eczema and psoriasis.
“Our fridge was full of balms and we couldn’t make enough because the minute we would put them online they were gone.
“We created waitlists. I think we had a waitlist of around 50,000 people at one point. It was actually insane.
“We started hitting five-figure sales a month. We were growing, growing, growing and sales were pouring in.”
Dragon's Den star Theo Paphitis revealed his tips for budding entrepreneurs:
Whilst running the business, Zara returned to her teaching job, but shortly after, realised it was time to quit for good and focus on her business full-time. Soon after, Zak followed suit.
The couple were initially fearful to take the risk and Zara describes her actions as “delusional.” But in just three months, she had matched her monthly teacher wage.
The businesswoman shares: “We had no business background whatsoever. We were really scared in the beginning but we took the risk.
“We were quite delusional. I don’t think we thought things through enough to be honest.
“We were really lucky. We had a really supportive circle of family and friends who helped us get through.
“Who knows, if anyone did doubt us, but it wasn’t to our face.”
But things haven’t always been easy for this couple, as Zara shares: “When we first launched, we aimed to get into Boots and buyers rejected us straight away.
“They were like, ‘no you’re not ready’, and I agree with that now.
“We’ve had multiple rejections – every single retailer you can think of rejected us.”
After sales plummeted in lockdown, just four years after launching the business, Zara decided to go on Dragons’ Den, where she asked for £50,000 for 15% of the business.
But Zara left the infamous den without an investment, as she shares: “I felt like the Dragons didn’t quite get the brand.
“But also, what had happened was, we had a spike in our sales with the GlossyBox order, and then after that, it was lockdown, which meant that I had both of my very small children at home, so I had to step back because I didn’t have any childcare available.
“I had to make that conscious decision to not invest as much time as I could in the business and obviously to the Dragons that didn’t sound good.
“I think they just didn’t really get it and they thought we were a TikTok brand. It felt like a little bit more of an excuse as to why they may not have wanted to invest.”
Reflecting on her time on the BBC show, the mother admits: “Dragons’ Den was probably the biggest and the most public rejection I’ve had, which was really difficult.
“Even before it aired, I was really nervous because I felt like I’d let myself down, I felt like I’d let the brand down because I didn’t get the investment.
“It was a really tough experience and at the time, I felt like I doubted everything about the brand.
I thought it would be good if I could have secured the investment, not for the money but more for the guidance, because obviously I didn’t have a mentor and we didn’t really know what we were doing
Zara Saleem
“They didn’t think it would scale and they didn’t think it was investable because of that one dip.
“And actually, rejection is always redirection and it’s something you need to overcome if you truly believe in whatever it is that you’re building.
“And I do fully believe in the brand, I believe in the ethos and the values of it, so I guess that keeps me going.
“I wasn’t relying on Dragons’ Den for the success of the business. I thought it would be good if I could have secured the investment, not for the money but more for the guidance, because obviously I didn’t have a mentor and we didn’t really know what we were doing.”
But despite walking away empty handed, it didn’t take long for things to pick up again for Delhicious.
As well as being online for Debenhams, Zara says: “Retail was a big move for us – we always wanted to be on the high street. We are in store in Beauty Base and exclusively in store with Superdrug.”
Things have since expanded from Zara and Zak’s kitchen and now, Delhicious is a team of five.
Zara adds: “We’ve got all UK manufacturers now – that process took us quite a long time.
FOR those looking to start their own company, Zara shares her top tips.
She advises: “Even if it’s not perfect, just start. The way our brand looks now is very different to what it looked like five years ago. You can always change as you grow.
“I think a lot of women are held back by the idea that it needs to be perfect. Your business idea does not need to be perfect, you just need to make a start and believe that you can do it.
“You don’t need experience or lots of money. You do need to have resilience and determination, because you will get rejected a lot.
“It’s hard, business is hard, but don’t let the rejections put you off and just keep going. And be prepared for a lot of rejections.”
“Obviously when you’re making products at home, it’s a very different process – you’re making a couple of hundred to now making thousands at a time.”
“We used to pack every single order that used to come in. Now we have a fulfilment centre and it’s a very, streamlined process compared to how it was before, which was very hands-on by me and Zak literally seeing every order coming in, making the products, printing labels, and packing them ourselves.
“We’ve outsourced all of that so we can actually focus on the growth of the business.”
Being able to focus on the business growth has proved profitable for Zara and now, both she and Zak are on £120,000 salaries.
Reflecting on the company’s success, she acknowledges: “We’ve had six-figure months – we’ve done at least £200,000 in one month.
“It’s been so life-changing in so many ways. Financially, to have that ease of mind, it’s incredible.
“I’m not a big spender but if we want to go on a nice holiday, we can go on a nice holiday.
“We’ve recently done a big house renovation, which was amazing – it’s something we’ve always wanted to do.
“Going from a £27,000 salary to then being able to be on six-figures now – I would never have been able to get that in teaching.
“We’re very, very blessed and very lucky, but we’ve worked really hard for it.
“I’m still very modest, I’m very conscious of the way that I spend my money, and that’s something that I pass on to my children as well.”
Now that Zara is her own boss, she has much more flexibility over her life, as she beams: “I absolutely love that I can do all the school drop-offs and pick-ups. I have a lot of flexibility over my time which is so nice.
“Of course, we still do work a lot. People get the impression that when you run your own business, you’re not working as much.
“We work a lot but it’s on our own terms – that was the one thing that I couldn’t get in teaching and it used to break my heart.”
Zara is now on a mission to get more women into the industry, as she continues: “I’m a really big advocate for women going into business. I think it’s such a great way for women to be independent, but still be able to be present in their other roles. We need more women in business.”
Discussing the future of the business, Zara concludes: “Hopefully we’re going outside of the UK now as well and hoping to be able to expand distribution and go to more multiple retailers as well.
“We’ve definitely got our eyes on Australia and the US, as well as Kuwait and Dubai.”
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Zuko Komisa The Mpumalanga High Court has issued an interim order preventing Alexander Forbes Financial Services from disbursing the R44 million investment fund of the late former Deputy President, David Mabuza. The payout, which was reportedly designated for Nonhlahla Mnisi, who claimed to be his wife, is now on hold [...]
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The organizers said they need more time to prepare.
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