news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

China plans to build at least 45 new airports in the next five years to serve booming travel, the top industry regulator said Thursday.

The plans call for spending 1.5 trillion yuan ($230 billion) to expand air travel, said Li Jiaxiang, administrator of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Some 130 of China’s 175 existing airports lost money last year but Beijing will support them to boost local economic growth, Li said at a news conference.

source: Bloomberg

Ryanair is partnering with publisher Ink to create customised ads on home-printed boarding passes, which target fliers based on their travelling routes and location.

Ink, the in-flight magazine publisher, is developing a system that will customise advertising for travellers, according to their route and demographic data.

The ads will be printed on Ryanair boarding cards and will target destination and departure points.

s0urce: marketingmagazine.co.uk

American Airlines recently established an AAdvantage Facebook page, which currently is handing out airline miles in exchange for Facebook “likes.”

After clicking on the like button, you can embark on the Mystery Miles Journey.

Enter your AAdvantage number ” or importantly, enroll in the loyalty program if you are not already a member ” and the airline will deposit 100 to 100,000 miles in your account as part of the promotion, which runs through the end of March.

source: tnooz.com

Budget airline easyJet has launched its first blog and online community in a bid to reach out to existing and new customers.

James Lee, marketing manager UK at easyJet, said: “‘Social platforms are part of everyday life for many of the people who fly with us. It is important that we participate in these platforms and make it as easy as possible for our passengers to engage with us, wherever they are online.'”

source: thedrum.co.uk

Online travel spend in January soared by 31% over the same peak booking month last year.

The average basket value of holidays booked was £886, the highest recorded by the ‘IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index’ since its launch in December 2008.

The year-on-year increase of 31% and represented a “‘massive’” 173% rise on December 2010’s online sales. Despite limited disposable income available, it appears that rather than blitzing the high street January sales, shoppers opted instead for seasonal discounts on furniture and early bookings of annual holidays, according to the research company.

source: travelweekly.co.uk

Delta Airlines just announced that, effective last month, miles accrued in its ‘SkyMiles’ frequent flyer program will not expire, regardless of account activity.

Delta’s move underscores the major shift that has occurred among frequent flyer programs in recent years. The airlines’ main objective for their programs is no longer to promote loyalty; it’s to generate profits.

source: Chicago Tribune

Japanese low-cost carrier Skymark could soon be offering cheap flights from Europe to Japan.

Last week, Airbus confirmed that the budget airline had ordered four of its enormous A380 “‘superjumbos'”, signalling a significant gear shift for a carrier which currently operates a fleet of relatively small Boeing 737s within Japan.

According to reports, the new A380s will be used to begin long-haul services between Tokyo and London, Paris and Frankfurt and will be introduced in 2014, potentially providing a cheaper alternative to flights between Japan and Europe currently operated by major airlines such as JAL, ANA, British Airways, Air France.

source: Independent

Ryanair has decided to pull off a route in Spain because of competition from high-speed trains.

The budget giant will cease flying between Valencia and Madrid from April in light of competition from the new AVE high-speed train service operated by Spanish state railway Renfe. The AVE service connects Madrid to Valencia in 90 minutes. Iberia also announced it was ending daily flights on the route last week.

source: travelweekly.co.uk

The UK threatened to pull out of the trans-Atlantic Open Skies air travel agreement if the US government did not approve British Airways’ alliance with American Airlines, according to leaked cables revealed via WikiLeaks.

A British official also warned that Spain might see progress on extending the Open Skies agreement as “‘closely linked’” with the BA/AA alliance, which also includes Spanish flag carrier Iberia.

The warnings centred on discussions around the second stage of the Open Skies agreement, which involved relaxing restrictions on ownership of US airlines and on European carriers’ rights to fly within the US.

source: telegraph.co.uk

Southwest Airlines, the Dallas-based airline that bills itself as the nation’s biggest low-price carrier, announced a $10 round-trip fare increase to offset higher fuel costs. This is the latest of several airfare increases since December.

Several airlines, including Continental, Delta and United, matched the domestic airfare hike of $4 to $10 launched this month by American Airlines.

source: latimes.com