news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

Malév Hungarian Airlines was today welcomed on board oneworld, the world’s leading quality global airline alliance, at a series of special celebration events in its Budapest home base.

Its addition, as one of the alliance’s first new recruits for six years, is a central part of oneworld’s biggest expansion since its launch eight years ago.

It will be joined on board oneworld in the coming days by Japan Airlines, Asia-Pacific’s largest carrier, along with five JAL associates as affiliate members, and by Royal Jordanian, the first airline from the Middle East to find a home with any of the global alliances. Two more members of the LAN alliance will board at the same time as well – LAN Argentina and LAN Ecuador, also as affiliates.

source: touristikpresse.net

GoAir, India’s leading smart fare airline announced their new summer schedule introducing new flights from Bangalore to Cochin. Additionally, GoAir has introduced new flights connecting to Cochin from Delhi while increasing the number of flights between Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai.

GoAir, the only airline that has direct flights from Mumbai to Srinagar thrice a week, will now also have 12 connections from Mumbai to Srinagar and Jammu via Delhi, a total of 64 weekly flights on BOM-DEL-BOM sector, 40 weekly flights between Mumbai-Chennai-Mumbai and 33 weekly flights between Mumbai-Hyderabad-Mumbai. Our passengers can now choose a flight at a time convenient to them from the multiple flights that GoAir’s new summer schedule offers across various destinations in India.

source: Indiaprwire.com

Afghanistan’s national airline could be days from collapse due to corruption, mismanagement and a crippling aircraft leasing arrangement that has drowned the struggling carrier in debt.

The government is scrambling to court investors to privatize up to 75 percent of state-owned Ariana Afghan Airlines, and is tallying its assets in case the company is liquidated, an Associated Press investigation has learned.

The collapse of the 52-year old airline, which survived the Taliban regime despite international sanctions, would be a potent symbol of failure by the administration of President Hamid Karzai and would reinforce growing perceptions of corruption and incompetence.

source: BusinessWeek

JetBlue Airways Corporation, New York’s hometown airline, today begins daily nonstop service between White Plains’ Westchester County Airport and Orlando, Florida.

Beginning April 2, the low-cost carrier will offer one daily nonstop flight to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, and a second daily flight to Orlando.

source: ABC

Brazil’s budget airline Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes has agreed to buy rival Nova Varig for $275 million.

Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes said Wednesday the deal with Varig’s owners — VarigLog, a former logistics unit of Nova Varig, and Volo, a group of investors — involves $98 million in cash and issue of some 6.1 million preferred shares. It will also assume $45 million in debentures, which will raise the value of the deal to $320 million.

source: earthtimes.org

Spanish airline Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA has hired investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc has hired Merrill Lynch & Co Inc. to advise it on a possible bid, citing industry sources.

Separately, ABC reports Deutsche Lufthansa AG has hired Merrill Lynch & Co Inc.  to advise it on a possible bid, citing industry sources.

source: Market Watch

Delta Air Lines is mulling the sale of its Comair regional airline, which is based in Erlanger, Ky., according to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, Delta said it expects to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 30, and will likely sell off some of its assets.

source: Bizjournals

Faced with empty seats and soaring costs, tiny Harmony Airways is headed for a forced landing early next month.

The privately owned boutique carrier announced today it is ending its scheduled flights to Toronto on Friday and all other scheduled flights by April 9.

source: The Honolulu Advertiser

A new budget airline has been launched at Cardiff International Airport, with the promise of creating 100 jobs.

Flyforbeans hopes to start flying to European destinations towards the end of 2007, with route details being made public by the autumn.

The airline, launched by air consultancy SkyMerlin, said these would include airports in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and eastern Europe.

source: BBC News

TUI AG’s TUIfly unit said it ‘will not tolerate a possible monopoly’ following a code-sharing agreement between Condor, Air Berlin and LTU.

TUIfly spokesman Herbert Euler said ”the code-sharing agreement between TUIfly and Air Berlin was under review anyway” and added that such an agreement between Condor, Air Berlin and LTU would need approval by the cartel office.

source: ABC Money