news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

A German travel agent has come up with the ultimate in no-frills flying – a charter flight for passengers who want to fly naked. Naturist holidays are particularly popular among east Germans, who like nothing better than to stretch out on a beach in the nude. “‘The flight can be enjoyed as God intended,'” said OssiUrlaub, a company specialising in selling to holidaymakers from the former east. “‘For the first time, passengers in Germany can fly completely in the nude.'”

source: Guardian Unlimited

Beginning in 2009, flights on Continental Airlines Inc. will be a little more entertaining.

The Houston airline has inked an agreement with LiveTV LLC that will allow Continental to broadcast 36 channels of live, satellite-based television programming provided by DirecTV at every seat during domestic flights on the airline’s next-generation aircraft.

source: Business Journal

German travel and transport group TUI and airline Lufthansa are working on creating a new low-cost carrier, the TUI Travel subsidiary said on Tuesday.

The partners have signed a letter of intent for a merger of TUI Travel, Hapag-Lloyd and Hapag-Lloyd Express with Lufthansa units Germanwings and Eurowings, a statement said.

source: AFP

British Airways PLC will be unveiled as the official airline of the London 2012 Olympics next week in a deal worth some 50 mln stg, reported Marketing magazine.

The report said BA, which ended its sponsorship of the London Eye earlier this month, will now focus on becoming an official tier-one partner for the London Olympics along with Lloyds TSB Group, Adidas and EDF Energy.

source: Forbes

Ryanair and easyJet were accused by budget hotel chain Travelodge of driving an £18bn “‘tourism deficit'” by drawing British holidaymakers away from the UK with low fares that are underpinned by state tax breaks.

In a hearing at the House of Commons select committee into tourism, Travelodge said inward tourism spending had declined by 16% between 1995 and 2002 while spending by British tourists abroad had climbed by nearly 50%. Greg Dawson, Travelodge director of communications, said no-frills carriers were “t’he single biggest cause of decline in traditional tourism resorts and we urge the inquiry and Government to investigate the airline’s unfair grip on holidaymakers that is squeezing the life out of British tourism.'”

source: Guardian Unlimited

After weeks of wavering, the nation’s airlines have decided their customers will bear more of the brunt of rising jet fuel costs.

Northwest Airlines Corp. and the other major airlines over the weekend raised the fuel surcharge on most routes from $20 to $40 per roundtrip ticket.

It was the third attempt this year to institute such a surcharge. This time, Continental led the way Thursday with an increase to $40, and everyone else followed, including Northwest, Delta Air Lines, US Airways, United Airlines and American Airlines. Northwest spokesman Dean Breest confirmed Monday that the airline raised its surcharge on Friday.

source: detnews.com

Deutsche Lufthansa AG and TUI AG are planning to enter into official negotiations concerning the set up of a joint low-cost airline.

Following months of preliminary talks, TUI Travel head Peter Long is to announce this at an investors’ conference in London tomorrow, the paper said.

According to the report, Lufthansa and TUI are to each hold 40 pct in the new airline, while Germanwings co-owner Albrecht Knauf is to hold the remaining 20 pct.

source: Hemscott

Pilots’ union leaders at Continental Airlines say they’re taking steps to look out for workers’ interest in case the carrier merges with another airline.

Tom Donaldson, chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association at Continental, said Friday that his members would be happy if the Houston-based airline remains as it is, but can’t ignore speculation about mergers.

“‘We will not stand idly by and allow a change in the airline landscape without taking steps to protect the interests of our pilots,'” Donaldson said. “‘We’ve made huge concessions over the past number of years.'”

Donaldson said his union expected management to cooperate with it in any merger decisions.

source: USA Today

Some 13,434 O’Hare departures were canceled through the first 11 months of last year, according to data provided by the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The O’Hare cancellations far exceed the number at any other airport. In fact, they represent more than double the flights that were scrubbed at the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which racked up 6,196 flight cancellations during the same period. O’Hare placed second, behind Hartsfield, for total flights last year, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Only 1,172 flights were canceled at Midway from January through November last year, according to the transportation bureau. One percent of Midway departures were canceled.

source: Chicago Tribune

Officials of Gary-bound Skybus Airlines are quick to compare their company to Ryanair, Europe’s fastest-growing carrier, touted as the “‘next generation'” of budget airline.

But its no-frills, take-it-or-leave-it attitude also has earned Ryanair the distinction of being Europe’s most-complained-about airline.

On March 13, Chicagoland will be introduced to the “‘next generation'” in ultra-low-fare flying, when Skybus flight 362 pulls up to the terminal at Gary/Chicago International Airport at 9:40 a.m

source: thetimesonline.com