news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

Ryanair, Europe’s most successful low-cost airline, is going nose to nose with Europe’s largest and most successful high-speed railway system.

The Irish-based airline announced yesterday that it was starting cheap flights in May from Beauvais airport, 50 miles north-west of Paris, to Marseilles. Ryanair will also try to break into the German domestic market for the first time with flights between Frankfurt and Berlin.

source: The Independent

Ryanair Holdings PLC said it has agreed to set-up its second Scottish base at Edinburgh airport.

The Irish airline, which counts Edinburgh as its 27th European base, has said it will base two new Boeing Co  737-800 aircraft at the airport.

It will serve 19 routes to and from the Scottish capital. The low-fares carrier already operates services to and from Scotland’s Glasgow Prestwick airport.

source: CNN

Travellers planning to book a trip with budget airline Ryanair this weekend will have to hold off for a few days after the company announced that its booking system will be off limits from Friday evening until Monday evening.

The company said on its website that its internet and call centre booking system would be down from 10pm on February 22nd to 11pm on February 25th “‘because of the changeover to a new flight booking system.'”

Customers will not be able to make new bookings, flight changes or review existing bookings through the Ryanair website or call centre during this period.

source: The Local

Ryanair will invest $140m in 2 new aircraft to operate 12 routes from its new base in Reus near Barcelona.

Reus is the budget airline’s 26th European and fifth Spanish base.

“‘Ryanair will now develop the region’s massive untapped potential by giving the tourism industry year round low fare access to Europe’s largest cities,’” said chief executive Michael O’Leary.

source: Sharecast

Ryanair Holdings Plc, Europe’s biggest discount airline, said profit declined for the first time in seven quarters as increased competition hurt ticket prices. Higher fuel costs and a possible European consumer slowdown may slash earnings next fiscal year.

Net income in the fiscal third-quarter through December fell to 35 million euros ($52 million), or 2.35 cents a share, from 48 million euros, or 3.09 cents, a year earlier, Dublin-based Ryanair said today by e-mail. Analysts had predicted a profit of 35.6 million euros. Sales rose 16 percent to 569 million euros.

source: Bloomberg

RyanAir has raised check-in costs for passengers and baggage on all new bookings with immediate effect.

They want to encourage passengers to travel without checking baggage into the hold and to check-in free online.

From now the cost of checking in a bag will rise from £5 to £6 per bag and to check-in at the airport will cost £3, up from £2.

source: Liverpool Echo

Ryanair has begun legal action against the Financial Regulator.

The airline is challenging what it claims is a decision of the regulator not to investigate why the Government was the only party given what it called ‘inside information’ on the decision to transfer the Aer Lingus Shannon-Heathrow link to Belfast.

Ryanair was given leave to seek a judicial review of a decision of the regulator not to carry out an investigation of the matter after Aer Lingus chief executive, Dermot Mannion, revealed on radio that the Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, had been informed of the Heathrow decision before it was publicly announced.

Ryanair is to launch 50 new routes in 2008 departing from seven airports across the UK to destinations in France, Spain, Germany and Italy.

Flights to Girona airport, a little over 60 miles from Barcelona, will be available from Birmingham, Manchester and Newquay airports. Alicante is another Spanish route set to launch in the new year from Durham Tees, Edinburgh and Newquay airports, as well as another route to Malaga (from Liverpool).

Also new for 2008 are flights to the Italian city of Pisa from Edinburgh and Birmingham, to Milan from Manchester, and to the Portuguese city of Faro, in the Algarve, from London Stansted.

Germany will also be served by the budget airline – with flights from Edinburgh to Frankfurt and Bremen, and Manchester to Frankfurt.

Holidaymakers looking for cheap flights to France will have the option of travelling to the southern French city of Marseille from Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester, and to Angouleme, close to Bordeaux, from London Stansted. Liverpool to Nantes flights are also set to start next year.

source: Travelbite.co.uk

A Ryanair flight from Rome to Milan was delayed because a metre-long plush crocodile was blocking an emergency exit, and the passenger to which it belonged refused to relocate it.

After an exchange of words between the passenger and the cabin crew, the passenger and her crocodile were removed from the flight.

source: ShortNews.com

Low-cost Irish airline Ryanair can absorb much higher fuel costs than competitors because of its higher profit margins and will never introduce fuel surcharges, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

“‘We’ve guaranteed no fuel surcharges at Ryanair,'” Michael O’Leary told reporters. “‘Ever’.”

O’Leary said if oil prices continue to rise it will benefit Ryanair because it will have fewer competitors.

“‘If Vueling was losing money with oil at $65 a barrel then it’s bankrupt at $95,'” he added, referring to Spanish airline Vueling which announced a 73 percent dive in its third-quarter net profit last month to 1.35 million euros and pre-tax losses rose to 48.6 million.

source: Yahoo!