news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

EasyJet became the latest airline to warn of difficult trading conditions yesterday as shares across the sector came under pressure.

The no frills airline said its passenger load factor – a measure of how full its planes are – fell to 83.1% last month compared with 86.4% last year. Shares in the company fell 7%, closing 49p down at 631p. Other stock in traditional carriers such as British Airways and Lufthansa also fell. Analysts warned that stronger profits are encouraging airlines to buy more planes and fly more routes, flooding the market with capacity and putting fares under pressure. EasyJet admitted yesterday that fare revenue was one of its biggest concerns.

source: Guardian.co.uk

Executives from Oasis Hong Kong Airlines are giving away more than a thousand free tickets to drum up interest in their new service to Vancouver.

On Monday, Raymond Lee, the company’s chairman, and his wife, Priscilla Lee, the company’s executive director, handed out 40 Vancouver-Hong Kong return business-class tickets to VIP guests at a luncheon.

source: canada.com

Wizz Air, a budget airline that operates in various eastern European countries, has announced an expansion of its services between the UK and Bucharest.

Holidaymakers and property investors from Liverpool be able to fly to Bucharest from John Lennon Airport from October 1st 2007 using Wizz Air, with services scheduled for three times a week.

source: ready2invest.co.uk

Airline operator SAS AB said it will downscale its Danish operations by letting its Norwegian and Swedish units handle all flights between the three Scandinavian capitals, daily Boersen reported.

The decision comes after SAS’ Danish cabin crew launched a three-day wildcat strike two weeks ago, and implies 20 daily flights will be moved from SAS Denmark.

source: Forbes

Another budget airline will be servicing Brussels Airport starting 28 October this year. Scandinavian carrier Sterling Airlines will start offering service to Denmark, Sweden and Norway, according to a press release from the company.

Over the past few months Brussels Airport has been trying to attract not only more long-haul flights but also budget airlines. The airport’s strategy seems to be working. Both EasyJet and SkyEurope recently announced their arrival at Zaventem, and Air Berlin is also interested in servicing Brussels, according to reports in the media.

source: expatica.com

JetBlue, the low-cost airline hoping to forget a chaotic February of storms and stranded passengers, has a new lease on life.

The stylish, 6-year-old carrier has just begun regular coast-to-coast flights from New York to San Francisco and founder David Neeleman hopes it will mean an end to the airline`s tough times.

The New York-based JetBlue has been flying to the West Coast but not to SFO because of high fees. Those fees have been reduced and JetBlue is in.
source: monstersandcritics.com

The wreckage of a Kenya Airways plane that crashed with 114 people on board was found in a swamp a short distance from Cameroon’s Douala airport on Sunday, officials said, but there was no word of any survivors.

The Boeing 737-800, carrying passengers from more than 20 countries, vanished on Saturday shortly after taking off from Douala for Nairobi in torrential rain.

The wreckage was found 20 km (12 miles) southeast of the airport along the plane’s flight path, Kenya Airways said.

source: Reuters

Alitalia’s flight attendants walked off their jobs Thursday, forcing the Italian airline to cancel more than 350 flights.

The 24-hour strike would affect 30,000 passengers, Alitalia said when it announced last week that it would cancel 202 domestic and 154 international flights.

source: Herald Tribune

A new study from the University of California, Irvine suggests that it might pay to shop around before booking that Southwest ticket. The report concludes that last-minute airfares are more expensive on Southwest, on average, than on other airlines when consumers use online searches such as Orbitz or Travelocity.

The study’s author says his conclusions deflate the long-standing belief that Southwest, the dominant airline at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, is always the low-fare leader on last-minute flights.

source: Baltimore Sun

More options for travellers out of Hamilton International Airport.

Low-cost European style carrier Flyglobespan has launched its service between Hamilton and 13 destinations in the United Kingdom.

Federal Transportation Minister Lawrence Cannon was among those on hand for the launch, calling it the first example of the federal government’s “blue sky” policy at work. The open-skies agreement has eliminated certain restrictions on International travel.

source: AM 900