news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

Could it be the first flush of environmental awareness in China? One of the country’s leading airlines has begun encouraging passengers to use the toilet before they board flights as a way of saving energy.

Chinese Southern Airlines hopes to reduce costs with the new policy because it estimates that a single flush at 30,000 feet uses a litre of fuel, the Xinhua news agency reported yesterday. “The energy used in one flush is enough for an economical car to run at least 10km,” pilot Liu Zhiyuan was quoted as saying.

The airline also hinted at plans to improve efficiency by carrying fewer creature comforts. The company estimates the average aircraft in their fleet uses 60 tonnes of fuel a day simply to carry blankets and pillows. Reducing the human waste in the aeroplane’s tanks would also save 47m yuan (£3m) per year.

source: Guardian Unlimited

A surprising new survey has found that two thirds of men are too broad-shouldered for their neighbours’ comfort in an aeroplane seat of 16 inches wide. In more standard airline seats which measure 17 inches across, about one third of adult male passengers would feel cramped.

source: Easier

Russia’s Transport Ministry said Saturday it had found high levels of radiation on an Airbus 319 aeroplane operated by Finnish airline Finnair, days after the discovery of radioactive traces on two British Airways (BA) planes. The Finnair plane, which had flown from Berlin to Moscow via Helsinki, was being examined at a Moscow airport by specialists, the transport ministry told Interfax news agency.

source: The Raw Story

China Airlines said it will launch a new cargo service route between Taipei and Stockholm on Dec 6, extending its cargo services to northern Europe.

Following the inauguration of this new service, China Airlines will provide all-cargo flights to seven destinations in Europe.

source: Forbes

Thousands of BA passengers were caught in the radiation scare last night after traces of a substance, thought to be the same that killed the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, were found on the planes.

source: Digital journal

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will renew many aspects of its inflight catering product. The changes will affect KLM’s World Business Class and intercontinental Economy Class, as well as KLM Europe Select aboard KLM and KLM cityhopper flights.

source: AsiaTravelTips.com

Southwest Airlines has increased its fares, and now other airlines are jumping on board. Southwest raised its one-way fares by as much as $10 over the weekend, the fifth time the airline has raised its fares this year. Recent government data showed average airfares have risen 18 percent in the past 18 months.

The federal government outlined its ‘Blue Sky’ strategy for the airline industry on Monday — a plan that will create more foreign airline competition as well as choice for travellers.

The plan allows foreign carriers to compete with Canadian airlines but only for foreign flights. Foreign airlines will not be allowed to conduct domestic flights within Canada.

Presidents of the major European airlines have accepted the need to address the environmental responsibilities of their sector, according to the Association of European Airlines (AEA).

During the recent biannual gathering of the airlines’ bosses in Berlin, the proposal for a European emissions trading scheme (ETS) to target global warming was discussed with European Commission vice president and transport commissioner Jacques Barrot.

The AEA reports that the airlines agreed in principle to a trading scheme, but argued it should be seen as part of the measures designed to minimise the impact of the aviation industry on the environment.

source: In the News

First Choice Holidays is in talks with a number of parties, including rival MyTravel, over the possible sale of its package holiday business, it said on Monday, lifting its shares to a new high.

Analysts said a deal was likely to be worth at least 500 million pounds and would allow First Choice to develop its adventure and short-breaks businesses, while giving MyTravel plenty of scope for cost savings.

source: Reuters