news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

Ryanair is to break one of the taboos of low-cost aviation by offering seat reservations at £10 each way.

Until now it had been standard wisdom among low-cost operators that seat reservations could hamper the swift turnaround times that are so key to budget flying and would, therefore, increase costs. Nevertheless, starting from 16 May Ryanair will trial a seating reservation service on its Dublin-Gatwick and Dublin-Malaga routes that will allow passengers to pre-reserve seats in the front two rows or in the wing rows for extra legroom.

Ancillary revenues are an important and profitable part of any budget carrier’s business plan, accounting for nearly a quarter of Ryanair’s turnover.

source: Guardian.co.uk

Ryanair left a wheelchair-bound passenger on the runway at Luton Airport because “‘all it was interested in was getting the plane airborne on time’” according to a judge.

Jo Heath, who suffers multiple sclerosis, had to be carried on to the aircraft by her husband Paul using a fireman’s lift. Northampton County Court ruled the airline broke disability discrimination laws and breached its contract with Heath after its staff refused to help the couple in June 2008. The court awarded the Heaths £1,750.

Ryanair said it would appeal on the grounds that Luton Airport was responsible for assisting the passengers under European Union law.

source: travelweekly.co.uk

Canada’s largest airline wants the new discount carrier to be a competitive answer to its lowercost rivals, like WestJet Airlines Ltd., Air Transat and Sunwing Vacations, which have been growing at a faster pace than Air Canada in recent years and eroding its market share on certain routes.

It wouldn’t be the first time Air Canada entered the low-cost market. It launched two other low-cost carriers, Tango and Zip, in the past. Both ceased operations after two years.

source: vancouversun.com

British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha have flown to Spain on a budget airline for a two-day break to celebrate her 40th birthday.

The couple travelled to Spain on a “‘low-cost airline'”, although he denied Spanish press reports that it was an easyJet flight.

Spain’s El Pais daily said they arrived in southern Spain late Wednesday and then went on by car to the historic city of Granada, the site of the sprawling Alhambra fortress-palace, built by Spain’s medieval Moorish rulers.

source: AFP

Southwest Airlines is willing to expand inspections for its older Boeing 737 aircraft but sees no reason for concern a week after one of its jets made an emergency landing with a hole in its fuselage, the discount carrier’s chief executive officer said on Friday.

An older-model Southwest Airlines 737-300 was forced to make an emergency landing in Arizona on April 1 when a 5-foot (1.52 meters) tear opened up in its fuselage 20 minutes after takeoff.

The incident prompted Southwest, the largest domestic airline by passengers flown, to ground planes and cancel hundreds of flights over the weekend so it could inspect more than 70 of its older model 737-300s.

source: reuters.com

The European low-fare airline easyJet celebrates the royal wedding looking for the best doubles of Will and Kate all over Europe.

Anyone who believes to look like Prince William or Kate Middleton can send a photo to have the opportunity to take part in the celebrations for the wedding. Ten couples (10 William and 10 Kate) will fly to London for the final evaluation and will remain there to attend the celebration. A sole, lucky, couple will win and both will fly free for one year.

To take part in the competition go on the website www.ilooklikearoyal.com

source: avionews.com

Ryanair has announced that it will add 2 euro (£1.76) to the price of all bookings from Monday.

The increase is designed to cover the cost of cancellations and delays.

The budget airline blamed the rise on “‘unfair and discriminatory'” EU legislation which holds airlines responsible for the welfare of passengers during such events.

Ryanair lost over 100m euros (£88.5m) last year due to unexpected events such as the Icelandic ash cloud.

source: BBC.co.uk

JetBlue has formed a partnership with Virgin Atlantic that will allow customers to fly on both airlines with a single ticket.

Travelers on JetBlue will be able to connect through Boston, New York, Washington to catch flights to London Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic. JetBlue customers connecting in Orlando will be able to fly to London’s Gatwick airport, Manchester, England and Glasgow, Scotland.

JetBlue already has similar partnerships with Dubai’s Emirates Airlines, Irish carrier Aer Lingus, South African Airways and American Airlines.

source: msnbc.com

The ‘European Commission‘ has told Irish authorities to enforce rules which require internet based companies to provide a contact email address.

Ryanair does not have an email address listed on its website and instead customers are expected to contact the low-cost airline in writing, by fax or via a premium rate telephone number.

European Commission confirmed that the Ryanair’s communication policy, by not listing an email address, is ”incompatible” with Article 5 of the E-commerce Directive.

source: thisismoney.co.uk

The Irish airline currently flies only Boeing 737 jets but it broke off negotiations with the US firm on a massive new plane order in late 2009 because the two sides could not agree on terms and conditions.

Russia’s United Aircraft and China’s Comac have provided jets mostly to their domestic carriers and are largely untested in Western markets, where Boeing and European rival Airbus dominate the market.

source: telegraph.co.uk