news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

Swiss and Lufthansa – are to start charging customers for using debit and credit cards, just weeks after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) backed the consumer rights group Which? in calling for an end to the fees.

From 2 November, Lufthansa and Swiss will charge a £4.50 fee on all payment card bookings, a little over a month after the OFT responded to a complaint from Which?, stating that surcharges were misleading and detrimental to consumers.

Which? claimed that the actual cost to the retailer for processing card transactions was no more than 20p for debit cards and no more than 2% on credit cards. The OFT has recommended that the government ban retailers from imposing surcharges for payments made by debit card or at least limit their use.

source: Guardian.co.uk

British Airways is giving its customers the chance to win tickets to the London 2012 Olympic Games at ba.com.

The official airline partner is giving away 24 tickets every 24 hours, every day between 17- 24 August, to attend the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Customers buying a flight on ba.com during that period will be given a password allowing them to enter the prize draw. Names will be selected at random and the lucky winners will win a pair of tickets, with their names listed on ba.com.

source: finchannel.com

Air France has put more flesh on the bones of its plan to develop provincial bases, aimed at offering lower-cost regional services to help it regain market-share from its low-cost rivals.

The carrier will debut the new regional services from Marseilles this October. It will roll out ­similar new services from Bordeaux, Nice and Toulouse in spring next year, launching 54 new routes in total to European cities and the Mediterranean.

Under the initiative Air France aims to reduce operating costs by 15% and increase capacity in the regions by more than 30%.

source: flightglobal.com

Prince William and his wife Catherine were among first-class passengers compensated by British Airways after an in-flight entertainment system failure.

As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge returned to London from their recent tour of Canada and California, an issue with screens at the front of the aircraft meant a 10-hour trip minus amusement.

British Airways confirmed the technical issue, adding that it could not be fixed before the aircraft’s departure from Los Angeles.

source: Stuff.co.nz

The Airbus factory in Broughton, Flintshire, has been given a major boost with the news that American Airlines is to buy 260 new aircraft.

It came as the US carrier announced its biggest ever order of 460 planes from Airbus and rival Boeing.

All 260 aircraft will also feature large, fuel-saving wingtip devices known as sharklets, as American moves to make its fleet as efficient as possible.

source: Wales Online

Frequent flyers who have achieved ‘Senator ‘status now have an opportunity to relax in style at Lufthansa‘s largest airport lounge. In the Departures area of Terminal 1 at Frankfurt, top customers can for the first time enjoy a modern wellness area with luxury facilities that include ten showers and two spa rooms.

Additionally, now there is free Internet access in all Lufthansa’s lounges worldwide.

source: media-newswire.com

The delicate work of a sommelier has become more important as U.S. airlines fight for premium passengers willing to shell out up to thousands of dollars to fly business class on international and transcontinental flights. The idea isn’t to make money on the wine ” the passengers in those seats drink for free ” but rather to keep those customers coming back and encourage their well-heeled friends and co-workers to join them.

According to the ‘International Air Transport Association’, through the first four months of this year, there was an 8.5 percent increase year-over-year in premium passenger traffic, which includes business class and first class seats. Those seats are among the most pricey and profitable for airlines. The trade group expects fuel costs to weigh on premium traffic, and stronger growth in the second half of the year will depend on how well the economy holds up.

source: AP

Lufthansa has become the first airline to run regular commercial flights powered partially with biofuel.

Airlines have flown many demonstration biofuel flights, but Lufthansa’s LH013 11:15am Hamburg to Frankfurt flight will start the first passenger service to run on a blend of biofuel and conventional fuel.

The company will use the novel fuel mix for six months on eight of its 28 daily 50-minute flights between the two German cities – a distance of 244 miles each way. The German airline says the 1,200 flights will save 1,500 tonnes of CO2.

source: Guardian.co.uk

A US businessman has been told he will never again have to queue at an airport he racked up 10m air miles over nearly 20 years of business travel.

Thomas Stuker, a sales consultant, is also to have a plane named after him and will always be upgraded as a reward for his loyalty to United Airlines.

The frequent flyer has taken off with the airline 5,962 times and flown the equivalent of 400 trips around the globe.

But he reached the sacred 10m mark yesterday, after flying from Los Angeles to his native Chicago.

source: Telegraph.co.uk

Dubai-based Emirates Airline and TUI Travel Plc have teamed up to launch ‘Emirates Live’, a package of services offering customers easy-to-book access to major international events.

In partnership with TUI Travel’s Sport Division, Emirates Airline now offers packages to tournaments such as the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, the F1 British Grand Prix in Silverstone and the England v India npower Test Series in Birmingham.

Via Emirates Live, customers can book event tickets, flights, hotels and transport and tailored individual and group packages can also be arranged.

source: hoteliermiddleeast.com