news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

All senior cabin crew at British Airways will be getting iPad devices to use in-flight following a successful dry-run, which saw 100 iPads in action aboard BA flights.

The devices will be pre-loaded with all kinds of useful material to make the lives of cabin crew staff that little bit easier.

BA recently completed a dry-run test of 100 iPads aboard its flights and has now decided to deploy the devices en masse to senior cabin crew in the coming months.

British Airways is poised to launch its biggest recruitment drive in a decade. The airline is expanding pilot numbers by 800 and it’s using YouTube to entice pilots willing to meet the £100,000 training cost.

The airline, which currently has 3,200 pilots, says it’s increasing pilot numbers by 25% because the airline is expanding its fleet. This means current pilots will be reshuffled to fly the new aircrafts, which includes the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A380, creating space for new pilots.

BA’s recruitment drive comes on the tail of Virgin Atlantic‘s announcement that it’s undertaking a major recruitment take-off of its own.  More than 1,000 new jobs will be created for cabin crew and pilots as the airline also expands its aircraft carriers.

source: managementtoday.co.uk

British Airways is giving its customers the chance to win tickets to the London 2012 Olympic Games at ba.com.

The official airline partner is giving away 24 tickets every 24 hours, every day between 17- 24 August, to attend the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Customers buying a flight on ba.com during that period will be given a password allowing them to enter the prize draw. Names will be selected at random and the lucky winners will win a pair of tickets, with their names listed on ba.com.

source: finchannel.com

Prince William and his wife Catherine were among first-class passengers compensated by British Airways after an in-flight entertainment system failure.

As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge returned to London from their recent tour of Canada and California, an issue with screens at the front of the aircraft meant a 10-hour trip minus amusement.

British Airways confirmed the technical issue, adding that it could not be fixed before the aircraft’s departure from Los Angeles.

source: Stuff.co.nz

British Airways and Air Berlin will start codesharing on around 40 flights from early July.

BA customers can buy direct Air Berlin flights to Nuremburg, Munster and Paderborn through ba.com.

In addition, customers can use ba.com to book connecting flights on selcted routes from airberlin’s network,  including main German gateways and other destinations such as Palermo and Brindisi.

Airberlin will join Oneworld in April 2012. Its entry is sponsored by BA.

source: abtn.co.uk

The latest A320 aircraft joins the two A318s, 33 A319s, 48 A320s and 16 A321s already operated by British Airways.

The 100th aircraft is also the 205th Airbus single-aisle delivered to International Airlines Group, which was formed in January this year with the merger of British Airways and Iberia.

Keith Williams, British Airways’ chief executive, said: “‘This milestone underlines British Airways’ commitment to continue to invest in new aircraft for the benefit of our customers. The average age of our short-haul Airbus fleet is just over seven years old, making it one of the youngest Airbus fleets of the European network carriers.’”

source: walesonline.co.uk

British Airways has agreed to pay $89.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit charging that it had conspired with other airlines to fix prices for hauling cargo.

Two Chilean carriers ” Lan Airlines and Lan Cargo ” and Aerolinhas Brasileiras of Brazil also agreed to pay $66 million to settle similar accusations. Other settlements were reached with Lufthansa for $85 million and Air France-KLM for $87 million.

In November, the European Union fined 11 airlines ” including British Airways ” a total of $1.1 billion for fixing prices on international cargo, leading to higher prices for businesses to move their goods. The European Commission, the European Union’s competition watchdog, said “‘the carriers coordinated their action on surcharges for fuel and security without discounts’” from December 1999 to February 2006.

source: The New York Times

British Airways has finally thrashed out an agreement to end a bitter two-year battle with its cabin crew which cost the company £150million.

The conflict, which lasted longer than the miners’ strike of the 1980s, saw the airline and its passengers hit by a total of 22 days of strikes since its start in February 2009.

But a deal has been reached with the militant Unite union, which represents the majority of BA crew, and is already being regarded as a crucial victory for the airline and Willie Walsh who led it for most of the dispute.

source: dailymail.co.uk

British Airways cabin crew will not strike over the Easter and royal wedding bank holidays, the airline and Unite union said in a joint statement yesterday. BA’s new chief executive Keith Williams and Unite boss Len McCluskey have agreed to extend a prior deadline of 15 April for any strikes to be announced, meaning crunch talks can continue and Unite will hold off from calling disruptive action over the holidays.

source: cityam.com

Holidaymakers who fear that the impending strike action by British Airways cabin crew will disrupt their travel plans still have time to take out travel insurance.

Around 5,800 BA employees who are members of the Unite union have voted in favour of a series of strikes over pay and conditions, but Unite has not yet set any dates – meaning insurance that covers strike action will still be valid.

The strike action must take place between 4 April and 25 April – with Easter the most likely time for it – meaning prospective travellers who are worried about their flights have a limited time in which to organise cover for themselves.

Under EU rules, industrial action is categorised under “‘extraordinary circumstances'”, which means BA is not obliged to pay the £600 compensation that would usually be due if a flight is cancelled, though it will pay for meals and refreshments if you find yourself stranded at the airport.

source: Guardian.co.uk