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Ryanair will remove its airport check-in desks from today, with charges for checking in baggage set to rise.

Passengers will be forced to check in for flights online at a cost of £5, with those forgetting to do so facing an emergency check in fee of £40. Anyone checking in luggage will have to use the airline’s new “‘bag drop'” desks.

Ryanair also announced that from today children under 16 will no longer be able to travel unaccompanied, while passports will be the only accepted form of photo identification.

source: telegraph.co.uk

Travelport GDS, one of the world’s leading global distribution system (GDS) providers, and Jet2.com, one of Europe’s leading low cost carriers (LCCs), have today announced details of a new direct connect content agreement.  Under the new agreement,  Jet2.com’s full content will be made available in the GDS channel for the first time via Galileo’s direct connect solution. Jet2.com is now the third airline this year to sign up to Galileo’s innovative LCC direct connect solution.

source: Breaking Travel News

British Airways was accused of hypocrisy as the airline prepared to launch a luxury all-business service between London and New York, with just 32 seats on an aircraft normally fitted for 100 people, days after chief executive Willie Walsh pledged a drastic cut in emissions.

The twice daily service on customised Airbus A318s features flat beds and latest technology allowing passengers to send emails and text and use the internet while on board.

Flights leaving from London though will be forced to make a brief refuelling stop at Shannon airport in the west of Ireland because City airport’s runway is too short to handle an A318 aircraft with a full fuel load. BA is arranging for passengers to use the Shannon stop to clear US customs and immigration.

source: guardian.co.uk

Passengers attempting to travel using only their driving licence as identification will no longer be admissible on domestic Ryanair flights.

From October 1st the company will only accept passports and National Identity Cards as valid forms of identification in a move it says is to “‘reduce confusion’” over what documents passengers can use.

source: Irish Times

Smokeless cigarettes which look like the real thing but do not have to be lit to provide nicotine to the user, are to be introduced by Ryanair.

Smoking on commercial flights has been illegal since the 1990s, but the airline says it will introduce Similar Smokeless Cigarettes, which it says look and feel like a real cigarette and deliver a small amount of nicotine through inhalation – passengers do not light the ‘’cigarette”.

The new Similar Smokeless Cigarettes are available to passengers over 18 years of age and are sold in packs of 10 on board all of the company’s flights for €6.

source: irishtimes.com

Ryanair is to increase the fees it charges to check in bags and sporting equipment from 1 October by up to 50%.

The airline is to increase the fee for checking in a bag to £15 from £10 now if booked in advance online and to £30 from £20 now if you pay at the airport.

Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara said: “‘These baggage fees are all avoidable by all passengers who choose to travel with carry on luggage only. Over 70% of Ryanair passengers will be totally unaffected by these changes as they already travel with just one carry on bag, which is free of charge.’”

source: Times Online

Southwest Airlines will temporarily halt flights on three routes early next year as it deals with a decline in air traffic and tries to bend its schedule to fit seasonal demand.

The airline will cut one flight per day on 92 routes and increase service on 42 routes, usually by one trip per day as well.

source: Associated Press

SkyEurope, a Slovakian low-cost airline, declared bankruptcy and suspended flights on Tuesday, after being unable to cope with the difficult conditions resulting from the global economic crisis.

SkyEurope began flights in 2002 with a single 30-seat Embraer jet, and quickly grew into one of the region’s larger carriers. It took advantage of the central Europe’s accession to the European Union in 2004, which spurred the low cost travel industry as millions of Poles, Slovaks and Hungarians migrated to western Europe in search of employment.

source: FT.com

EasyJet hopes to introduce mobile check-in using handheld devices to reduce queueing at airports.

The budget carrier wants to replace check-in desks with devices that process passenger details and print boarding passes. Queueing at departure gates could also be eliminated, with mobile scanning of boarding passes.

Ryanair, easyJet’s great rival, is pressing ahead with plans to remove all its check-in desks in October and require passengers to check-in online instead. Passengers who do not check in online will face a heavy charge to do so at the airport.

source: Times Online

Ryanair is to switch or close nine of the 10 routes it currently operates from Manchester Airport, blaming the airport’s refusal to lower its charges.

The nine routes from Manchester that will close are those to Barcelona (Girona), Bremen, Brussels (Charleroi), Cagliari, Dusseldorf (Weeze), Frankfurt (Hahn), Marseille, Milan (Bergamo) and Shannon.

The airline said passengers affected by the changes would be e-mailed and, “‘provided with a full refund, or the alternative of flying to some destinations'” from East Midlands, Leeds Bradford and Liverpool.

source: BBC News