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Wizz Air is venturing into previously untapped financial territory – by charging its passengers for taking hand luggage into the cabin, even though it already charges to check in luggage to the hold.

The move means that any passenger hoping to take a small case away with them will be forced to pay whether they put it in the hold or take it in the cabin with them.

From August 1, Hungarian carrier Wizz Air will begin a trial on its route between Luton and the Polish city of Katowice that will see customers required to pay to take larger hand-carried items on board.

Low-fare airline easyJet is proposing to close its Madrid base from winter 2012/13 but will continue to fly to the Spanish city from other bases.

The budget carrier said it was reviewing options for its eight Madrid-based aircraft and 310 crew.

EasyJet said all pilots and cabin crew in Madrid would be offered a job in the airline’s other bases and that it hoped to retain as many staff as possible.

The airline said Madrid was delivering returns below all its other bases and that there were high airport charges.

source: Association Press

Twelve airlines, including easyJet and Ryanair, will no longer spring last-minute fees on customers paying by debit card, the Office of Fair Trading has said.

The carriers have agreed to include debit card surcharges in the headline ticket price rather than surprise consumers at the end of the booking process.

The airlines also agreed to make surcharges for credit cards clearer and easier to find during the booking process, the OFT added.

Aer Lingus, BMI Baby, Eastern Airways, easyJet, Flybe, German Wings, Jet2, Lufthansa, Ryanair, Thomas Cook, Thomson (TUI) and Wizz Air were subject to an OFT consumer law investigation and have agreed to change their practices.

source: Guardian.co.uk

As part of extending the flight services offered, particularly to the United Arab Emirates and North America, Air Berlin already began enhancing the level of comfort on board its A330-200 long-haul fleet at the start of this year. In ‘Economy Class’, new seats equipped with anti-thrombosis cushions and individually adjustable head rests offer improved comfort. In ‘Business Class’, customers can expect fully automatic reclining seats which provide improved comfort whether passengers are sitting or lying down.

Ryanair is charging British travellers nearly 25 per cent more than it charges their counterparts elsewhere in Europe in its numerous fees and charges.

The airline calculates its optional and non-optional fees using an exchange rate of £1 = €1 – a policy adopted when sterling was close to parity with the euro. Since last summer, however, the European debt crisis has seen the pound strengthen steadily to a four-year high against the euro, meaning British travellers are increasingly paying more than residents of Ireland and the Continent.

Ryanair’s charges include a “‘web check-in fee’” and an “‘admin fee’”, the latter avoidable only by passengers who carry a Ryanair Cash Passport. Travellers from Britain pay £12 per person per return flight for the first and £6 per person for the second. Those outside Britain pay €12 and €6, which equates to £9.60 and £4.80.

source: telegraph.co.uk

Southwest Airlines plans to sell live television service on five planes and expand it to 20 by mid-July.

The airline said Thursday it would offer seven sports and news channels for passengers to watch on their own devices.

Southwest said it will test prices from $3 to $8 during a trial period. Passengers will need a Wi-Fi-enabled device such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop computer.

Live TV will be offered separately from wireless Internet access, and customers won’t have to buy Internet access to watch TV.

source: lubbockonline.com

Mexico’s Volaris on Friday became the first airline to be fined by U.S. regulators under new consumer-protection laws that include requiring carriers to disclose all taxes and fees, such as those levied for checked-in bags.

Volaris received a $130,000 civil penalty from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which said the carrier didn’t clearly label baggage fees on its website.

The new consumer-protection laws came into force in January, part of a package of protections that included forcing carriers to be more transparent about advertising fares. It also extended fines for airport delays to international airlines for the first time.

A court in Barcelona ruled that Vueling Airlines, the Spanish low-cost carrier, can’t pass on higher landing charges to clients who bought their tickets before the price hike was announced.

The court said Vueling can’t enforce a clause in their sales contract which allows them to charge clients extra after the government increased fees by 19 percent at Spanish airports.

Ryanair, which last month told customers they faced extra charges, may also be affected by the ruling.

fuente: Bloomberg

Latvian carrier Air Baltic has become the launch airline of Satisfly’s new intelligent assigned seating product SeatBuddy.

Through the product passengers are able to select a preferred flight mood and desired seat neighbour profile. The system automatically identifies and allocates the ideal “‘seat buddy’”  based on travellers preferences. The service is initially available on flights to three European countries including Finland and Estonia.

Travellers seeking a quiet flight with a silent environment can benefit from intelligent seating assignments, by selecting a relax or work flight mood. Passengers in a social mood will have the opportunity to opt for “business networking” or “easy chat” to be seated with a like-minded buddy with a similar mood.

source: flightglobal.com

Ryanair‘s notorious ”one bag on board” rule could soon be outlawed – because stopping passengers boarding with extra duty free bags is undermining airport retailers’ business.

The European Parliament has voted in favour of legislation that would forbid airlines from insisting all purchases fit in a single carry-on bag.

The proposal now moves to the European Commission, which is to overhaul air passenger rights later this year.

Ryanair currently operates a system whereby if a passenger can’t squeeze everything into a single bag that fits the dimensions of its bag cage, the airline slaps on a €50 charge to put the extra bag in the hold.

source:  dailymail.co.uk