news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

SkyEurope Airlines, created a new world record in distance flown by a Boeing 737-700NG in commercial configuration. SkyEurope’s 10th brand new Boeing 737-700 Next Generation aircraft landed at Bratislava airport on Saturday 17 March 2007 at 4:36 p.m. after the record flyover of 9,101 kilometres without any fuel stop.

The longest documented distance flown by the Boeing 737 type until today was 8,382 kilometres on the route Seattle to Prague on 27 January 2007, also performed as a SkyEurope delivery flight. Christian Mandl, CEO of SkyEurope Airlines, came to the airport to welcome the record breaking crew personally:

source: Boarding.no

For plane builder Airbus and German airline Lufthansa AG, the A380’s first flight to North America on Monday is a chance to show off the superjumbo to potential U.S. buyers and to the airports they hope will be flight bases for the double-decker jet.

“‘We’re talking about an airplane that is representing aviation in the 21st century in terms of efficiency,'” said Jens Bischoff, Lufthansa’s vice president for the Americas.

For Airbus, which has been beset by management and financial crises – including a two-year delay to the A380 that wiped more than euro5 billion ($6.61 billion) off profit forecasts – the flight is a chance to prove that the plane will be ready when the first deliveries are made in October to Singapore airlines.

source: Physorg

A Russian airliner made a crash landing Saturday in the Volga River city of Samara, killing five people and leaving 51 injured, a government official said.Emergency Situations Ministry Spokesman Viktor Beltsov described the accident as a “‘hard landing'” of a Tu-134 plane. The NTV television channel said the plane landed on its fuselage after the landing gear failed to come down.

source: Chron.com

Moscow may deprive European airlines of the right to fly over Russia due to alleged flightpath violations, Russia’s Federal Air Navigation Agency said in a statement Friday.

source: Jurnalo

Scandinavian airline group SAS AB introduced a voluntary greenhouse charge on Wednesday for passengers who want to offset the carbon dioxide emissions generated by their flights.

The plan, which follows a similar initiative by British Airways in 2005, lets SAS passengers give money to environmental projects that have helped reduce the release of greenhouse gases, the company said. The money will be funneled through The CarbonNeutral Co., which specializes in helping companies offset carbon dioxide emissions.

source: Herald Tribune

Vueling opens its first operational base outside of Spain, at Paris-Charles deGaulle airport. The opening of the new base will take place on May 16th with the installation of three brand-new Airbus A320s and the launching of new routes to Spain, Italy and the Netherlands.

Vueling will become the first Spanish airline in setting up a base outside of Spain and the second airline ever, only after Air France, in doing so at Paris main airport.

source: boarding.no

British airline BMI is considering taking legal action if Britain blocks an open skies deal between the European Union and the US. EU transport ministers will vote on the treaty on March 22 and the transport secretary, Douglas Alexander, has already signalled government opposition to the draft agreement. He said last week that in its current form it favoured Washington and “‘there remains work to be done'”.

source: Guardian.co.uk

A packed jetliner burst into flames Wednesday as it landed on Java island, killing 21 people, but more than 110 other people escaped the burning wreckage, many with severe burns, the airline and witnesses said.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said about 10 of his citizens were on board the Garuda airlines plane.

“‘It is a terrible tragedy,'” Howard told a nationally television news conference. “‘Many lives have been lost, and our love and sympathy and condolences go to those who are suffering distress and grief.'”

Pakistan’s national airline announced Tuesday that it had slashed its flights to Europe by nearly 50 percent after the European Union barred most of its planes due to safety concerns.

The EU’s executive commission said Monday it would allow Pakistan International Airlines to use only its seven Boeing 777 planes on services to EU airports due to worries about the age and maintenance of its other long-haul aircraft.

source: BusinessWeek

Brazilian airline Gol has just announced that it has expanded payment methods for tickets purchased online.  The company informs that it’s now offering over a dozen mechanisms for customers to purchase tickets online.

“Offering new payment methods and expanding financing options allows more customers access to air travel.  It is essential that Gol provide payment mechanisms that are appropriate for all income levels,” says Wilson Maciel Ramos, Gol’s Vice-President of Planning and Information Technology.

For customers that require long payment terms, Gol offers the Fly Easy (Voe Fácil) program, which allows customers to pay for airline tickets in up to 36 months.  To date, the program has enrolled approximately 700,000 customers.

source: Brazzil Mag