news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

Economists have calculated that the optimum time to book an airline ticket is eight weeks before the travel date. Also, do it in the afternoon rather than the morning to get the best deal.

Book earlier than eight weeks and you run the risk that your personal plans may change and the booking may need to be altered, but leave it later and there’s an increased risk that prices will go up or the flight could be fully booked.

The work by Japan-based economists Makoto Watanabe and Marc Moller has been published by The Royal Economic Society.

They also highlight differences in timing policy in booking flights compared to booking theatre tickets, where last-minute deals can be available.

source: The Australian

The UK High Court has suspended the right of air passengers to compensation if they suffer a flight delay of three hours or more.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled last November that passengers were entitled to compensation for delays. But following a challenge brought by British Airways, Tui Travel, easyJet and the International Air Transport Association, the High Court has referred the issue back to the European court.

A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said: “The High Court has stayed our enforcement powers so the courts won’t hear [compensation] cases in the interim.”

It is expected to be two years before the Court of Justice reviews the case.

source: travelweekly.co.uk

Travel on major U.S. airlines fell roughly 1 percent in July with one key measure of revenue growth slowing, according to an industry trade group.

July is traditionally one of the busiest months for airlines due to summer holiday travel. The revenue picture normally grows tougher as carriers get into fall when travel usually drops off.

source: Reuters

On Aug. 3 Mexicana announced that it was seeking bankruptcy protection from creditors in Mexico and the U.S. Mexicana, along with Aeromexico, is one of the two carriers with nationwide reach, and Mexico’s largest by passengers. In addition, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on July 30 announced that Mexico was not complying with international safety standards.

The bankruptcy marked the beginning of a speedy meltdown that may end with the collapse of Mexicana in the coming weeks. The airline has suspended ticket sales and canceled numerous flights, mainly to international destinations in the Western Hemisphere and Europe. It has been forced to pay in advance for services, and faced problems such as refusals to refuel its planes.

source: Forbes

Kiss Flights has become the latest British travel company to collapse, sparking uncertainty for an estimated 70,000 holidaymakers.

The budget firm sold flights to Greece, Egypt, Turkey and the Canary Islands.

The Civil Aviation Authority said travellers abroad who had flown with Kiss would get home as normal.

source: BBC News

Thomas Cook delivered more bad news for the travel industry, warning that full-year profits would be “at the lower end of market expectations”, blaming weak demand in the UK.

The announcement came a day after a similar warning from rival Tui Travel, where fewer bookings by Britons and price-cutting led to poor trading in the crucial summer period.

Unlike Tui, which exacerbated some of its problems by boosting capacity earlier this year, Thomas Cook had cut winter capacity and kept summer offerings steady.

The group does not operate in the emerging markets that have helped shore up results for other leisure industry companies and its high exposure to British holidaymakers – who accounted for 40 per cent of operating profits last year – has left it hostage to some of the poorest consumer sentiment in Europe.

source: FT.com

The US government is to start charging travellers $14 to apply for permission to enter the country.

The compulsory Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) is free at present, but from 9 September visitors to the US will have to pay for it.

It lasts for two years; people who already have a valid form will not have to pay until their current one expires.

The Electronic System for Travel Authorisation form, which takes up to 72 hours to be approved, gives air passengers prior approval for entry to the US.

source: BBC News

The humble boarding pass is becoming the latest victim of the aviation industry’s drive towards a paperless future.Instead passengers will use their mobile phones to board an aircraft, with the device being read by a scanner at the departure gate.

It will mean that passengers will no longer rummage through every pocket at the departure gate only to find the pass has been used as a bookmark for a paperback bought 20 minutes earlier.

Underpinning the drive for the new technology in the aviation industry is an attempt to simplify the process of going through and airport cutting out the delays which have infuriated passengers across the world.

Saving a couple of seconds on processing an individual passenger can make a dramatic difference to the length of queues.

source: Telegraph.co.uk

British Airways and Iberia this week won the European Union’s regulatory approval to merge and to team up with American Airlines to share more of their lucrative trans-Atlantic routes.

The companies say the two deals will help them cut costs and survive a tough business climate as they struggle with falling passenger numbers and industrial unrest.

British Airways’ merger with Iberia will create Europe’s third-largest airline with a market value of around $7.5 billion. They will keep their existing brand identities and claim the deal will create savings of euro400 million ($530 million) a year by the fifth year.

source: Associated Press

By 2029, Boeing predicted the global fleet would expand some 64% to 30,900 aircraft from 18,890 today, a $3.6 trillion opportunity for the builders of passenger and cargo jetliners.

That’s up from the past year’s industry forecast of 29,000 at $3.2 trillion when global air traffic was projected to fall 4% for the year.

source: Market Watch