news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

When the inaugural Sky Express flight took off from Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport for Sochi last Monday afternoon, the low-cost airline phenomenon familiar in Europe and the United States finally came to Russia.

The brainchild of Boris Abramovich, general director of the country’s third-largest carrier, KrasAir, Sky Express is the first budget airline to start operating in the country. With a handful of competitors expected to follow, the airline looks set to change the face of domestic air travel by offering tickets for as little as 500 rubles ($19).

source: St Petersbourg Times

Maldives can expect to see a rapid growth in the number of tourists from China, Hong Kong and Macau following the introduction of direct flights from the region with a new budget fare airline.

Viva Macau is the latest entrant in the fast-growing low-fare sector of the airline industry. Maldives is one of the new airline’s launch destinations and Viva Macau believe it will be an increasingly popular route.

It is the only airline in Greater China that offers non-stop direct flights to Maldives, offering customers an opportunity to enjoy the country’s renowned dive sites and beaches.

source: Minivannews

A planned strike by thousands of British Airways cabin crew has been called off following a deal to end a bitter dispute over sickness absence, pay and staffing.

More than 120 hours of negotiations between the airline and the Transport and General Workers Union led to an agreement. A planned 48-hour walkout by thousands of stewards and stewardesses from Tuesday will not now go ahead.

source: icnetwork.co.uk

British Airways and its biggest union are due to resume talks on Monday in a last-ditch attempt to avert a 48-hour strike by cabin staff that could affect more than 140,000 passengers.

A spokesman for the Transport and General Workers’ Union (T&G) said discussions, held at a secret location over the weekend, would start again on Monday.

A comment was not immediately available from BA.

Europe’s third-largest airline has already cancelled around 1,300 flights this week in anticipation of the walkout planned for Tuesday and Wednesday.

source: CNN

For the second consecutive year, SkyTeam was named the 2006 Best Airline Alliance by ‘Global Traveler Magazine’. Selected by the magazine’s readers in an annual reader’s survey, ‘Global Traveler’ cited the addition of Aeroflot and pending addition of China Southern Airlines to the alliance as key factors for receiving this recognition. SkyTeam was recognized at a luncheon in New York on Tuesday. Accepting the award on behalf of the alliance was Nathaniel Pieper, SkyTeam Steering Committee vice chairman and vice president-alliances, Northwest Airlines.

As BA announces more cabin crew strikes and flight cancellations next week, low cost customer friendly airline Thomsonfly is offering flights at taxes only on BA affected routes to Prague and Salzburg.

Thomsonfly wants to ensure no one misses out on their travel plans, so has dug deep and released first-come first-served tickets to fly with them instead, paying just taxes and charges. This applies to selected flights from London Gatwick, London Luton and Bournemouth airports.

source: Easier

There have been few reports of stranded travelers following implementation of a new rule requiring U.S. airline passengers to show a passport upon their return from Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean.

Most travelers who forgot about the new requirement were allowed to enter after receiving a warning and a passport application. But their names were entered into the agency’s computer system, and they will be scrutinized if it happens again.

“‘Nobody’s being turned away,'” said Roxanne Hercules, an agency spokesman in Northern California. “‘These are mostly U.S. citizens coming home from traveling. We just are trying to inform them of the new rules.'”

source: phillyBurbs.com

Data released by the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington revealed airline delays hit record highs in 2006 due to weather concerns.

U.S. flights were delayed by 22.1 million minutes last year, exceeding the high totals for 1999 and 2000, when thunderstorm-related delays prompted threats against airlines from irate passengers and Congress, USA Today reported Friday.

The high number of 2006 delays meant 22 percent of flights on major airlines from the start of the year until November were delayed for at least 15 minutes. The majority of late flights were at New York’s three airports, the FAA records show.

British Airways was today forced to cancel virtually all of its flights out of London next Tuesday and Wednesday because of a strike by more than 11,000 cabin crew.

In a dramatic move, the airline scrapped all of its 550 flights from Heathrow and a further 170 from Gatwick.

Only six long-haul flights will still go ahead, from Gatwick. It means more than 150,000 passengers booked to fly with BA during the two strike days have been left with their winter holidays and business trips in ruins.

source: ThisIsLondon.co.uk

leeds-based low cost airline Jet2 is claiming an industry first by rolling out hand-held entertainment systems for passengers across its network.

The airline has piloted the service on a number of routes from Leeds-Bradford Airport ahead of today’s announcement.
The digital devices, available to hire from £5, offer a choice of more than 50 TV programmes, 50 music videos and 100 CD albums.

source: Leedstoday