news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

Ultrabudget airline Ryanair is set to develop apps that will allow air travelers to gamble, play games or watch porn.

However, the company doesn’t even have broadband within its planes, and would need at least a year to implement the technology, according to chief executive Michael O’Leary.

“‘I’m not talking about having it on screens on the back of seats for everyone to see’,” O’Leary told the paper. “‘It would be on handheld devices.'”

source: pcmag.com

The head of JetBlue is apologizing for a “‘confluence of events'” that left a plane filled with passengers stranded on the tarmac at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut, over the weekend.

Chief Operating Officer Rob Maruster said in a video posted on the company’s blog and its YouTube Channel that the airline had six flights divert to Hartford during the freak weekend snowstorm “‘due to various runway, congestion and other operational issues at Newark and JFK Airports'” and that the airline “‘did not deplane those aircraft in our target time allotted’.”

One of those flights, JetBlue 504 from Fort Lauderdale spent nearly eight hours stranded on the tarmac before passengers were allowed to deplane.

source: CNN

US airlines were racing this week to demonstrate their clean energy credentials, scheduling a number of flights partially powered by biofuels.

First United Continental announced the departure on Monday morning of Flight 1403 from Houston for Chicago – or the’ Eco Skies’ test flight as the airline called it – using a mix of 60% conventional jet fuel and 40% algae-based fuels.

Then Alaska Airlines announced it would operate 75 flights using a mix of 80% conventional jet fuels and 20% biofuels starting on Wednesday. Instead of algae-base, the airline is using used cooking oil or fast-food restaurant throw-aways, said Robert Ames, vice-president of Dynamic Fuels, which produced the fuel.

These flights could encourage the rest of the industry move towards cleaner fuels.

source: Guardian.co.uk

International Airlines Group (IAG) and Lufthansa Group reached an agreement for the sale of LH’s loss-making British Midland (bmi) to IAG. The purchase of bmi could increase IAG subsidiary British Airways’ share of slots at London Heathrow to 53%, although regulators most likely will require some slot divestments.

The companies did not detail whether the agreement is for the sale of the entirety of bmi or just the carrier’s mainline operation. Recently, bmi confirmed it was “‘in advanced discussion’” to sell bmi regional to a UK-based investor group “‘previously associated with the regional business,’” indicating its owner was negotiating to divest its loss-making UK subsidiary in parts. It is not clear what will happen with the company’s low-cost carrier, bmibaby.

source: atwonline.com

Carolyn McCall, chief executive of EasyJet, does not want to answer many detailed questions about its short or long-term growth strategy, including opportunities to expand into new markets or buy aircraft.

EasyJet is seeking to turn itself into a higher quality brand because it is targeting affluent consumers who fly more than once a year, and also trying to woo more business people. This strategy underlines how EasyJet regards its main competitors as the European flag carriers rather than Ryanair, Europe’s largest budget airline by revenue.

She wants EasyJet to concentrate on securing more revenues in its existing markets “such as the UK, France and Spain” and hopes the airline can raise its dividend over time.

U.S. airlines received more bad news: Fewer people are expected to fly this Thanksgiving.

The ‘Air Transport Association of America’ forecasts that about 2% fewer people will fly during the 12 days surrounding the holiday, a drop of 440,000 from 23.6 million Thanksgiving passengers last year. But airplanes will still be packed, the trade association says, because airlines are selling fewer seats to save money.

An airline industry at the brink of profitability will welcome the holiday boost. In the first nine months of 2011, 10 of the nation’s largest carriers earned $913 million, or 66% less than the same period last year, the ATA said.

source: wsj.com