news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

Many flights from Bristol international airport have been cancelled, causing disruption for travellers.

Three airlines have cancelled flights or have diverted passengers to Cardiff over concerns that the newly resurfaced runway is too slippery for aircraft in wet weather. British Airways, XL Airways and easyJet are worried that their vehicles may not be able to brake upon landing on the runway.

For a second consecutive day, budget airline easyJet has cancelled a number of flights from the airport.

The airline, headed by Stelios Haji-Ioannou, released a statement saying: “The safety of our passengers, crew and aircraft is the top priority at easyJet and these decisions have been taken following extensive discussions with Bristol international airport and the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).”

source: Manchester.com

Russia and the United States have agreed in principle to share data on airline passengers travelling to and from the two countries starting this year, Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin said in an interview broadcast here Saturday.

“We made this step, aware of the United States’ air traffic security concerns, and we reached an agreement under which the US aviation authorities will inform us about passengers flying to Moscow or other places in Russia,” Levitin told Russia’s local television news network.

Under current Russian legislation, airline passenger data is confidential and may not be disseminated outside Russia. Levitin said however that a bill to modify that legislation would be submitted to the Russian parliament later this month.

It’s now known that Air Madrid tripled the number of its passengers in 2006, despite the fact that it remained with the same 9 planes in its fleet. Passenger numbers jumped from 395,155 to 1.2 million. A statement from the company which has suspended trading, has promised to continue to pay the wages of its workers.

It’s now thought that as many as 60,000 immigrants have not been able to return to Spain because of the airline’s collapse.

source: Tipically Spanish

Alaska Airlines’ on-time performance fell to 71.2 percent in November, down from 79.5 percent a month earlier, according to U.S. government statistics.

The airline, a subsidiary of Seattle-based Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK), fell to No. 16 in the government’s on-time ranking of 20 airlines in November, the latest month tracked by the Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report. In October, Alaska Airlines ranked No. 5.

source: Business Journal

Malaysia’s low-cost airline AirAsia today launched a new long-haul budget airline named AirAsia X which will begin flying to destinations in China, India and Europe in July.AirAsia X will be a collaboration between AirAsia, owned by Tony Fernandes, and Fly Asian Express, or FAX, a small airline serving rural routes in Malaysia.

“‘The launch of AirAsia X will bring independence to the long haul low-cost traveller, by providing a choice of service for their long haul travel requirements,'” Fernandes said at the launch of the newairline.

The airline has received approval to fly to several destinations in Europe, China, India and Australia, he said.

source: Sun2surf

Several major US airlines said on Wednesday they had at least partially matched a limited fare increase last week by low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines.

The increase, which comes on the heels of a broader fare increase by carriers earlier in December, points to airlines’ expectations of healthy demand and supports analysts’ generally upbeat outlook for the industry this year.

Southwest said high fuel prices necessitated the December 29 fare increase, which affects about 25 percent of the carrier’s passengers. “‘We are still very much in a high fuel environment,'” said Southwest spokeswoman Beth Harbin.

source: Airwise

The plane, carrying 102 people, went out of contact as it was flying from Java to northern Sulawesi. Officials reported receiving two distress calls.The search resumed on Wednesday after rescue officials admitted that earlier reports that the plane and its passengers had been found were untrue.

Relatives are waiting anxiously for news, and are angry at the confusion.

Transport minister Hatta Radjasa admitted late on Tuesday that the reports of a crash site, bodies and survivors were based on incorrect rumours from local villagers.

source: BBC News

AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings,  today reported record traffic results for the full year 2006 as well as December 2006 and the Fourth Quarter. The airline reported that revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and passengers enplaned represent company records for December and the quarter, while available seat miles (ASMs) represent an all-time record for December and the quarter.

For the year, AirTran Airways traffic grew 22.4 percent on a capacity increase of 23.7 percent, and the load factor was 72.8 percent. The airline has enplaned a record number of passengers with 20,051,219 boardings this year, an increase of 20.5 percent from 2005.

source: PR Newswire

easyJet, Europe’s leading low-fares airline, has announced it would be adding the beautiful and vibrant island of Ibiza to its choice of destinations from Belfast, Bristol and Glasgow for summer 2007.

David Osborne, UK General Manager for easyJet, said: “To kick off easyJet’s expansion plans for 2007, we are delighted to be announcing three new routes from Belfast, Bristol and Glasgow to Ibiza bringing even more low-fares to these regions. Ibiza has already proved a popular summer destination from many of our other UK bases and now even more holiday-makers seeking fun in the sun or a relaxing break on the famous White Isle can do so easily from their local airport“.

source: Easier

Sterling offers good discounts in January and February that allow you to save up to 50%. However, special offers will be available until mid June. Note that the offers only apply to selected departures and not, for example, during Easter, Whitsun and other holidays.