Something to Declare: Bloomsday Festival; Air China; New York alone, New Zealand for two

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Destination of the week: Dublin for the Bloomsday Festival

James Joyce first "walked out" with Nora Barnacle – "She'll never leave him," Joyce's father commented, punning on her last name – on 16 June 1904, and subsequently set his novel Ulysses on that date.

Each year, the James Joyce Centre at 35 North Great George Street in the Irish capital (00 353 1 878 8547, www.jamesjoyce.ie) organises a festival around the date, and this year's celebrations begin on Wednesday 12 June with a walking tour in the footsteps of Joyce's hero, Leopold Bloom. The walk begins at the James Joyce Centre at 2pm, price €10 (£6).

The events on Bloomsday itself begin with a Bloomsday Breakfast at the centre, starting at 8am, admission €16 (£10), and including readings, food and Guinness.

Next Saturday's issue of The Independent Traveller will include a complete guide to Literary Ireland to celebrate Bloomsday in rather more depth.

Warning of the week: How safe is your plane?

Last weekend's loss of a China Airlines jumbo between Taiwan and Hong Kong was the carrier's seventh fatal event in 20 years. According to analysis by the air-safety specialist Dr Todd Curtis, Taiwan's leading carrier now has the second-highest "full loss equivalent" rating in Asia, behind only Indian Airlines.

China Airlines has no connection with Air China, the national carrier of the People's Republic, which incurred its first fatal crash six weeks ago. That accident was the sixth involving a Boeing 767 – but only the second that was not a direct result of malevolent intent. The other four were the two hijacked in the United States terrorist attacks on 11 September, a hijacked Ethiopian Airlines jet that ditched in the sea, and the Egyptair flight from New York to Cairo, on which the co-pilot is believed to have deliberately downed the aircraft himself.

So far, 26 Boeing 747s have been involved in fatal events, a rate of about one in a million flights. That is fairly average for large aircraft, though the Airbus A330, A340 and Boeing 777 have never suffered a fatal crash.

Bargain of the week: New York alone, New Zealand for two

This month, a business-class return on United Airlines from London Heathrow to New York JFK costs £3,914. Buy one and travel any time in June, through 08458 444 777, www.unitedairlines.co.uk or a travel agent, and you will qualify for two economy return tickets to anywhere on the Star Alliance network, to be used before 15 December.

The furthest you can travel is to Invercargill, in the South Island of New Zealand. Other possible destinations include Rio de Janeiro, Sydney or Teesside. But be warned that the offer does not cover taxes, fees and charges on the "free" flights.