news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

Airlines say they’re preparing for the return of swine flu this fall but stop short of declaring they’ll bar passengers with symptoms from planes or give refunds for trips canceled because of the illness.

Rather than impose special measures to deal with the H1N1 virus, several U.S. carriers emphasize they’ll follow long-standing policies that permit them to keep an ill person from flying, whatever the sickness.

Some airlines say they’re waiting to see whether to offer refunds or waive rebooking fees for passengers who cannot fly because they are sick.

source: USA today

Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air has now clearly overtaken its main regional rival, Slovakia’s SkyEurope. Once Eastern Europe’s largest discount airline, SkyEurope has failed to turn a profit since its founding in 2002 and was forced to file for creditor protection in June 2009.

Since then, the Slovak carrier’s woes have only gotten worse. The carrier failed to reach a deal with Vienna’s Schwechat Airport last Friday, which led to the cancellation of all flights from SkyEurope’s Central European hub. SkyEurope reportedly has a significant outstanding debt with airports in both Vienna and Prague and as such, Schwechat has decided to stop servicing all SkyEurope flights.

source: kanadaihirlap.com

Europe’s largest high-speed rail operator has predicted that domestic air travel in the UK will lose millions of passengers to a 250mph train service if an ultra-fast network becomes a reality.

The chief executive of the French rail giant, SNCF, said the proposed network could dominate travel from London to all British cities as far north as Glasgow. Guillaume Pepy said the “‘crowning success'” of Eurostar, which now controls 80% of the London to Paris and Brussels market, could be repeated if a replica of the French TGV system arrives in the UK.

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Moscow has again been named as the world’s most expensive city for hotel rooms in a survey by a business travel firm.
The research, which looked at room rates for the first six months of this year, found that Abu Dhabi was second on the list followed by Paris, New York and Milan.

Moscow topped the survey despite a 14 per cent drop in rates in the first half of this year.

source: Mail Online

United Airlines and US Airways are nudging up baggage fees, and analysts expect other carriers to follow.

As of June 10, United Airlines plans to hike its luggage fees by $5 per bag for customers who pay for the service at the airport, charging $20 for the first bag checked and $30 for the second.

Luggage fees and other ‘a la carte’ charges have quickly become an important source of revenue to U.S. carriers, which are struggling to become profitable. The 21 largest U.S. carriers generated $1.2 billion in baggage fees in 2008, according to the Bureau of Transportation.

source: Chicago Tribune

Moroccan low-cost carrier Air Arabia Maroc launches services from London Stansted today.

Roundtrip flights will operate four times per week between Stansted and Air Arabia Maroc’s hub in Mohamed V International Airport, Casablanca.

Launch flights from Casablanca to Marseille, Brussels, Milan, Lyon and Paris will start on May 10, 12, 14 and 16 respectively.

source: Travelmole

Competition authorities on both sides of the North Atlantic are struggling to respond to the growing efforts by some of the biggest airlines in Europe and the US to deepen their transatlantic cooperation.

The decision this week by the European Commission to launch two formal antitrust proceedings against planned airline deals among core carriers in the Star and Oneworld alliances, respectively, highlights the confusion and the very different approaches being taken by US and European Union competition agencies.

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The world’s airline industry is heading for more consolidation because of the global recession and drop in air travel, according to the chief executive officer of Etihad Airways, the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned airline.

Combinations such as Air France-KLM Group, Europe’s biggest airline, will probably become more common as companies seek to cut costs, James Hogan said. Etihad, based in Abu Dhabi, will seek ways to work more closely with Qantas Airways Ltd., Australia’s largest carrier.

“‘We are already seeing a number of airlines under huge pressure,’” Hogan said. “‘Airlines will have to make decisions as any other business does with regard to their network, their fleet and whether they rationalize, consolidate or continue to invest in expansion.’”

source: Bloomberg

Spanish budget airline, Vueling, have added four more destinations to their growing network. Bases on operating services to popular Mediterranean destinations Vueling has added Barcelona to Ibiza and Minorca, Madrid to Ibiza and Malta and Malaga to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. Flights commence late in March 2009.

source: alternativeairlines.com

Jet Airways have entered into a codeshare and frequent flyer partnership on the Dubai-Mumbai and Delhi sectors. The flight will be operated by Jet Airways and will also carry the Emirates designator and will offer Emirates customers better access to flights across Jet’s comprehensive Indian network.

Codeshares will also apply on some Emitares operated flights from India to DXB offering a reciprocal arrangement and smooth transfers to Jet’s clientele wishing to connect to an Emirates onward flight.

source: alternativeairlines.com