news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

Passengers are being charged more than £100 to correct simple spelling mistakes on plane tickets.

New research shows even a small typing error in someone’s name will incur a hefty extra charge.

Monarch and easyJet both charge a flat fee of £100 per person per ticket for a name change. But it could cost people even more for a mistake with bmibaby, easyJet, Jet2 or Flybe, says ‘Which? Travel’.

It’s the latest example of the rip-off surcharges imposed by airlines who are facing an ‘Office of Fair Trading’ probe into complaints about debit and credit card fees.

source: Mirror

Airline charges could soon be a thing of the past. The’ European Commission’ is reviewing air passenger rights after receiving complaints from customers and watchdogs about the excessive surcharges airlines issue.

The proposed ”one flight, one price” ruling is being considered by European Commission vice-president and transport commissioner Siim Kallas.

Among those calling for more transparency in the industry is Labour MEP and chairman of the EU transport committee Brian Simpson and consumer champion ‘Which?‘.

source: Telegraph.co.uk

Travelport has signed a new deal with Flydubai and renewed its full content agreement with Alitalia.

The deals mean the two airlines will have their fares and schedules available on Travelport’s Galileo and Worldspan global distribution systems (GDS) – a first for the middle eastern carrier.

Flydubai’s listing on the GDS will mean the low-cost airline, launched in June 2009, can tap into Travelport’s worldwide network of more than 60,000 travel agents.

source: abtn.co.uk

Budget airline Ryanair‘s chief executive Michael O’Leary has threatened the Spanish government that it will cut flight plans if fines levied on the company are not lifted. More than 60 fines were imposed at a value of more than €1.23million between 2009 and 2010.

The fines were for a variety of alleged infractions including refusing to accept identity cards and driving licences as ID proof and disputes over luggage.

source: euroweeklynews.com

US Airways landed at the bottom of the list for overall satisfaction, also receiving the lowest marks for cabin-crew service. The airline was also ranked lowest in 2007, when the last Consumer Reports airline rankings were released.

Southwest Airlines topped the rankings for overall satisfaction, with JetBlue Airways coming in second in the survey of nearly 15,000 passengers.

The pileup of added fees during or after check-in is contributing to many travelers’ decisions to fly less, according to the survey. Of the respondents who said they’ve cut back on flying, 40 percent cited fees as the major reason.

Ryanair is making a third attempt to acquire rival Aer Lingus in a bid to create an all-Irish national champion.

Michael O’Leary, Ryanair chief executive, has approached the Irish government to acquire its 25 per cent stake in Aer Lingus.

The budget airline bought just over 29 per cent of Aer Lingus in 2006, so the government’s stake would give it majority control.

The European Commission has blocked two attempts by Ryanair to acquire Aer Lingus because of competition issues – one in 2006 and the other two years later. And Brussels still says that joining the two airlines would create a monopoly for Dublin flights

source: dailymail.co.uk

Virgin Blue has dropped “‘blue'” from its title and rebranded itself Virgin Australia, as the carrier aims to capture a larger slice of the business travel market.

Sir Richard Branson jetted into Sydney on Wednesday to launch Virgin Australia, alongside the airline’s chief executive John Borghetti.

The carrier now has a new look, with a change of colours on the outside and inside the cabins, new upmarket uniforms and services.

Instead of the all-red Virgin Blue aircraft colour scheme, the carrier’s main colour will be white with a red trim.

source: Yahoo!

Air Asia is to introduce fuel surcharges from May becoming one of the first major low-cost airlines to do so.

The Asian budget carrier, which operates a network across Asia and to long-haul destinations including Seoul, Delhi, Melbourne, London and Paris through its AirAsia X long-haul carrier said it would introduce the charges on May 3.

It will affect all domestic flights within Malaysia and all international routes, although domestic flights within Thailand and Indonesia will not be affected.

Passengers flying to Paris, London and Christchurch in New Zealand will have to pay the most – an extra RM90 (€20) per flight.

source: Independent.co.uk

Southwest Airlines won U.S. government approval on Tuesday buy out AirTran Holdings Inc in a deal that will add East Coast muscle to Southwest’s operations as it takes on bigger rivals.

Antitrust enforcers at the ‘Justice Department’ signed off on the $1.04 billion deal with no conditions, concluding it would not hurt competition or raise fares.

“‘The merged firm will be able to offer new service on routes that neither serves today,'” the agency said in a statement.

source: Reuters

The advertising watchdog has banned a campaign by Ryanair featuring a bikini-clad model and the promise of spring sun after most of the destinations on offer had maximum temperatures under a nippy 10C.

Budget airline Ryanair, no stranger to flexing its interpretation of advertising regulation in the past, ran a national press campaign promoting cheap tickets in February and March urging readers to “‘Book to the sun now!'”.

The ad featured a model in a bikini, lying on a beach wearing sunglasses while sipping a cocktail.

source: Guardian.co.uk