news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

In a joint letter written to Continental Airlines employees, company chairman Larry Kellner and president Jeff Smisek say that a merger with United Airlines or any other air carrier will not take place.

More than 45,000 Continental employees received the letter by e-mail Sunday following a meeting with the Continental Board of Directors. The board unanimously supported a management recommendation that the company not pursue a merger with another airline.

The two executives say that Continental still plans to consider potential alliances and membership in SkyTeam, but alternatives will also be considered in place of SkyTeam.

source: My Fox

When Eos Airlines Inc. launched its first flights in 2005, the startup carrier named for a Greek goddess came with enthusiastic business travelers looking for more space who didn’t mind hefty fares for premium service across the Atlantic.

The airline reconfigured Boeing 757s meant for 220 passengers with 48 seats that could extend into a fully flat bed. Flights served wine, champagne, cocktails and gourmet foods. There were individual DVD players, and helicopter rides to the airport were offered to some travelers.

source: Associated Press

New London Gatwick route starts on 21 June. Clickair announced it is launching new flights from London Gatwick to Vigo, its sixth Spanish route from the UK. The three times weekly Airbus A320 flights to Vigo will commence on 21-Jun-08 with seats already on sale.

Clickair’s decision to commence the service follows the ratification of an agreement between the Foundation Provigo, the city’s Mayor, the head of the Galician Regional Government’s Tourism Authority and clickair. It is anticipated the route will support 60,000 passengers in its first year, taking the number of passengers travelling through Vigo’s expanding international Peinador Airport to 1.5 million passengers during 2008.

source: Peanuts!

Norwegian Airlines began to offer a new flight connection between Malaga and Stockholm at the beginning of April 2008. Furthermore, the low-cost airline Volareweb, belonging to the Alitalia group, began to fly between Malaga and Milan-Malpensa. The new flight connection between Malaga and the airport of Milan-Malpensa, offer four flights a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

source: eventplannerspain.com

easyJet, the UK’s largest airline, launches three new routes this week from Bristol to Biarritz, Olbia and Split . The new services this morning to Biarritz will provide the region’s travellers with access to some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe, whilst Olbia and Split will join the network from Bristol on Saturday 26 April 2008; perfect timing for the summer sun.

Biarritz is easyJet’s 39th route from Bristol and Katie Walsh from Southampton was the lucky passenger selected at check-in to receive two free flights to both Olbia in Sardinia and Split in Croatia, giving them the opportunity to experience easyJet’s new destinations from Bristol.

source: Easier

Belgium’s Brussels Airlines has announced it is slowing speeds and reducing weight on some of its aircraft in order to reduce fuel costs.

The airline said slowing its planes by about 10km/h would cut its annual fuel bill by 1m euros ($1.6m; £800,000) and add a minute or two to flight times.

The measures will also reduce the airline’s emissions of global warming greenhouse gases, a spokesman said.

source: BBC News

Five of the six major airlines in the United States plan to start charging coach passengers as much as $25 next month to check a second bag, the latest move in their quest to offset high fuel prices.

The new fee of $25 for a second bag is being levied by Continental, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways. The low-fare carrier AirTran has announced that it will charge $10 for a second checked bag. Airlines have long levied fees for checking a third bag. Some carriers have recently increased those as well, and the fees on the major carriers now run as high as $100.

source: New York Times

Air Europa pilots have called a strike from May 5 to 9 and could walk out again in June to protest against the airline’s plan to launch a low-cost airline, they said on Tuesday.The pilots worry that the launch of a second, low-cost airline will endanger jobs at Air Europa, one of Iberia’s main rivals on short-haul routes from Spain.

source: Reuters

Flybe has been named as the fastest growing low cost airline flying to and from Germany.

Budget airline Flybe now offers 128 flights a week to Germany, compared to just 26 flights in 2006/7, an increase of 392%. The statistics are published in the latest ‘Low Cost Monitor’ survey from the German Centre for Aero- and Spacetravel, which tracks the development of low fares airlines operating to and from Germany.

Italy’s failing flag-carrier, Alitalia, faces a crucial week when its future looks likely to be decided at least as much by politics as economics.

Having made the salvation of the group’s “‘Italianness'” central to his successful election campaign, Silvio Berlusconi has to deliver on the promise of an alternative solution to the bid tabled and then withdrawn by Air France-KLM. The group has only enough cash to stay airborne until about the end of May.

Representatives of the incoming and outgoing governments agreed to find a way to keep Alitalia going while its fate was decided. Sources close to the talks said it could include a line of credit worth €100m (£80m) to €150m.

source: Guardian.co.uk