news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

The board of Spanish low-cost airline Vueling Airlines SA has agreed to a merger with rival Clickair after months of negotiations.

In a filing to the Spanish market regulator, Vueling said the combined company would continue to fly under the Vueling name and would remain listed on the Spanish market.

The merger, which will require clearance from antitrust regulators, will give Spain’s flag carrier, Iberia Líneas Aéreas de Espana SA, a tighter grasp on the country’s low-cost segment, which has been besieged by discount carriers Ryanair Holding PLC and easyJet PLC.

source: Wall Street Journal

Southwest Airlines plans to hook up with Canada’s leading low-cost airline to offer “‘seamless'” travel across the U.S.-Canadian border.

Once the partnership with WestJet is in place, customers will be able to book a flight with either carrier on one ticket. Southwest will fly its part of the route and WestJet the rest of the flight. WestJet flies to 49 destinations in Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

source: Cleveland.com

America’s airline shrinkage has landed at Stewart International Airport again. JetBlue Airways is downsizing its flights to just two a day after Sept. 2, the carrier says.

The last flight to West Palm Beach, Fla., will be Sept. 2.

That same day, JetBlue will drop one of its two daily flights to Orlando and one of the two to Fort Lauderdale. But according to travelers and the airline’s Web site, there’s only one Fort Lauderdale flight now.

source: poughkeepsiejournal.com

Deutsch Lufthansa launched its maiden Pune-Frankfurt, all-business class, flight today with a Airbus 319 carrier, reconfigured to provide a seating arrangement of 48 seats. Announcing the launch of this 6-days-a-week flight, Lufthansa south east Asia director, Werner Heesen, said the company plans to attract only “‘corporate'” fliers through this flight.

source: Domain-b

Passengers who flew across the Atlantic between August 2004 and March 2006 with British Airways (BA) and Virgin Atlantic are entitled to a refund as part of a £100 million settlement pending in California.

The deal was struck by American lawyers in US courts but the lion’s share – £73.5million – has been reserved for British passengers.

That equates to a refund of between £4 and £20 for each return ticket and up to £10 for a one-way ticket. Frequent flyers and corporate customers could pick up hundreds of pounds.

The refund applies not only to transatlantic flights but to any long haul journey operated by the airline between the specified period.

source: telegraph.co.uk

With the high price of fuel raising the cost of flying, Air France is looking into replacing some of its short-haul European flights with high-speed rail service in partnership with a French train operator, a move that analysts said could lead to significant savings.

Air France spokeswoman Brigitte Barrand said the French flag carrier and Veolia Transport “‘are examining the possibility of concluding a strategic partnership aimed at introducing a new player in the European high-speed rail sector.”‘

fuente: IHT.com

Dubai’s new low cost airline has been named ‘FlyDubai‘. The brand identity and livery or FlyDubai will be unveiled in the coming months.

FlyDubai will initially focus on regional flights within the GCC area and sounding countries. Its operations will be entirely separate from Emirates Airline and Group.

source: ittefaq.com

Nepal’s first low-cost carrier (LCC) announced that it will suspend its operations in Nepal beginning mid Jul-08. This decision was taken by the management of FlyYeti.com in light of the current and ongoing political environment in the country, which has impacted the airline’s ability to renew its current aircraft leasing agreements, which are always subject to government approval, and expire on mid Jul-08.

source: Peanuts!

A Hungarian low-cost airline received final approval to began operations in Ukraine, ending unchallenged control of the former Soviet republic’s air-passenger market by high-price domestic carriers.

Budapest-headquartered Wizz Air obtained certification to operate an Airbus 320 aircraft on Ukrainian internal routes, and expected the maiden flight to take place in July, company officials said.

source: monstersandcritics.com