news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

Hackers have stolen the email addresses of some of TripAdvisor.com’s 20 million members.

Travel site TripAdvisor sent out an email to its registered users today, announcing that the site had been hacked, and some member emails had been “‘stolen’” by an “‘unauthorized third party’.”  The company says no email passwords were taken by the hackers.

“‘We’ve confirmed the source of the vulnerability and shut it down,’” says TripAdvisor co-founder and CEO Steve Kaufer. “‘We’re taking this incident very seriously and are actively pursuing the matter with law enforcement.’”

source: digitaltrends.com

Lufthansa has reintroduced its service to Tokyo following disruption caused by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 11th.

Flights had been diverted away from Tokyo toward Osaka and Nagoya while Japan battled to overcome the impact of the disaster.

The German flag-carrier had previously stated it would diver flights until Sunday but will now return to normal ahead of schedule.

source: breakingtravelnews.com

JetBlue has formed a partnership with Virgin Atlantic that will allow customers to fly on both airlines with a single ticket.

Travelers on JetBlue will be able to connect through Boston, New York, Washington to catch flights to London Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic. JetBlue customers connecting in Orlando will be able to fly to London’s Gatwick airport, Manchester, England and Glasgow, Scotland.

JetBlue already has similar partnerships with Dubai’s Emirates Airlines, Irish carrier Aer Lingus, South African Airways and American Airlines.

source: msnbc.com

Two more Indian airline pilots have been arrested for using fake qualifications to gain their flying licences, as regulators delve into a growing aviation safety scandal.

After the men were detained yesterday in the western city of Jaipur, local anti-corruption police chief Umesh Mishra said the two men had obtained their licences by “‘submitting forged flying certificates.'”

The two arrested pilots worked for the low-cost airline SpiceJet before they were fired last week for “‘misrepresenting their flying hours in order to obtain their licences,'” according to a statement from the airline.

source: smh.com.au

US aerospace giant Boeing‘s newest and biggest jumbo jet, the 747-8 Intercontinental, made its first flight on Sunday near its headquarters in Seattle.

Boeing’s largest passenger plane, the 747-8 can carry 467 passengers in a three-class configuration and is designed for long-haul routes.

The plane is a longer and more fuel-efficient update of Boeing’s double-decker 747 jumbo jet, and will compete with European rival Airbus‘s A380, the world’s biggest passenger plane.

source: AFP

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has warned that fuel prices could increase and the global aviation industry will face a setback while Japan recovers from the earthquake.

While it is too early to assess the long-term impact of the Japanese tragedy on the global air transport industry, IATA said there would be a major slowdown in Japanese air travel in the short-term. “‘The thoughts and prayers of the air transport industry are with the Japanese people at this most difficult time,'” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s director general and CEO. “‘Japan is an important link in global air transport. The US$62.5 billion Japanese aviation market represents 6.5 percent of worldwide scheduled traffic and 10 percent of the industry’s revenues.'”

source: Travel News

A number of hotels in London have been accused by tourism authorities of hiking room rates during next year’s Olympics.

Ahead of London 2012 tickets going on sale this Tuesday, UKinbound, the industry body for overseas tourism to Britain, said the move undermines the hospitality industry’s efforts to avoid tourism “‘price-gouging’”.

Visit Britain, the government’s tourism agency, said it hoped that hoteliers and other hospitality businesses would sign up to a “f’air pricing and practice charter’” under which they would voluntarily agree to offer fair and reasonable prices between June 1 and September 30 next year.

source: breakingtravelnews.com

BA and AA announced in the wake of a transatlantic alliance that flights between the UK’s main airport and the Big Apple will now depart every hour between 1pm and 8pm. Flights to Chicago and Miami will also be evenly spaced.

A BA spokesman said: “‘We are finally able to align all our flights and offer customers more frequent services. Previously, our services would depart at the same time as AA’s.'”

From the end of this month BA and AA will operate a total of 11 flights a day between Heathrow and JFK on a new timetable, thanks to a partnership that allows them to co-operate on schedules and pricing.

source: Guardian.co.uk

A former British Airways computer specialist was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison for plotting with the American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki to kill hundreds of people by blowing up a United States-bound plane. Rajib Karim, 31, left, from Bangladesh, was convicted last month of four counts of preparing for terrorist attacks. He had already pleaded guilty to five other terrorism offenses, but denied plotting an attack in Britain. Justice David Calvert-Smith recommended that Mr. Karim be deported after completing his sentence.

source: nytimes.com

Travelers flying with American Airlines at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport will now be able to tag their own bags at self-service kiosks.

The six-month trial by American will allow passengers to print and tag their own luggage without direct supervision by an airline employee. Ticket agents will still check passenger IDs, scan luggage tags, and place bags on the conveyor belt to be scanned by the Transportation Security Administration.

source: Fox News.com