news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

In future, Air Berlin and Iberia are offering selected flights under joint flight numbers.

The connection possibilities from and to Madrid will improve for Air Berlin passengers as a result of the agreement. Iberia in turn will benefit from the extensive domestic route network and the good connections to destinations in Germany and Scandinavia via the Air Berlin hub in Berlin.

In a further step, plans are underway to expand the codeshare agreement to the frequent flyer programs of both airlines, Air Berlin‘s topbonus as well as Iberia’s plus.

source: the FINANTIAL

Lufthansa will be offering a free mobile application (app) for all iPad users – with numerous functionalities and services centred on flying with Lufthansa. Individual  functions have been tailored to iPad specifics, giving iPad users a totally new experience.

The central feature of the iPad app is an interactive world map for users to finger-tap intuitively and explore the entire Lufthansa route network.

“‘Utilisation of these services and flight bookings on smartphones and tablet computers, like the iPad is coming increasingly to the fore in online sales'” emphasised Marcus Casey, Head of Online Sales at  Lufthansa.

source: webwire.com

Europe’s biggest airlines, including British Airways, Lufthansa and KLM have announced a major biofuels drive despite UN calls to limit biofuel growth.

A glitzy gathering of the elite of Europe’s airline industry in Paris this week saw the launch of a major PR offensive to highlight the move towards replacing fossil fuels with biofuels- liquid fuels made from crops plants such as oil palm and jatropha.

The EU has set targets for 10 per cent of transport fuels to come from renewable sources – as part of that it is now pushing for the aviation sector to use two million tonnes of biofuel, mostly oil palm, each year by 2020.

source: theecologist.org

Qatar Airways was on Wednesday named ‘Airline of the Year’ in the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards 2011.

The Qatar carrier topped the annual rankings of more than 200 international airlines – up from third spot last year when the title was won by South Korea’s Asiana Airways.

Qatar Airways beat stiff competition from four Asian carriers in the category to clinch the honour in front of global aviation industry executives at the Paris Air Show.

source: arabianbusiness.com

The story about the football player who was booted off a US Airways flight for his saggy pants is getting a second wind.

That’s thanks to a follow-up story by the ‘San Francisco Chronicle’ that says six days before the saggy-pants drama, “‘a man who was wearing little but women’s undergarments was allowed to fly the airline, a US Airways spokeswoman conceded Tuesday.'”

A spokeswoman for the airline, Valerie Wunder, said the staff were correct to not ask the man to cover up because the airline did not have a dress code.

source: USA Today

Finnair has introduced an alertness model in the creation of crew schedules the first airline in the world to do so. The new scientifically determined and experimentally verified system has been formulated with the aid of the ‘Boeing Alertness Model (BAM)’. The model assesses a pilot’s state of alertness and promotes flight safety and wellbeing in work.

“‘The cornerstone of Finnair’s flight operations is safety. Finnair continually develops operating practices that support safety and wellbeing in work and takes proactive steps to reduce possible safety risks. That’s why we wanted to be involved in the Jeppesen research from the very start,'” says Finnair’s Vice President, Safety and Quality Management Antti Aukia.

source: cisionwire.com

British Airways and Air Berlin will start codesharing on around 40 flights from early July.

BA customers can buy direct Air Berlin flights to Nuremburg, Munster and Paderborn through ba.com.

In addition, customers can use ba.com to book connecting flights on selcted routes from airberlin’s network,  including main German gateways and other destinations such as Palermo and Brindisi.

Airberlin will join Oneworld in April 2012. Its entry is sponsored by BA.

source: abtn.co.uk

The FAA proposes a fine of $584,375 against United after the airline allegedly transferred 13 employees to safety-sensitive positions before receiving the results of their drug and alcohol tests.

Federal air safety regulators have proposed fining United Airlines $584,375 for allegedly failing to properly perform drug tests on workers in safety-sensitive areas.

The Federal Aviation Administration accused the airline of transferring 13 employees to safety-sensitive positions before it received the results of their drug and alcohol tests.

source: Los Angeles Times

Delta Air Lines‘ revenue from baggage fees last year averaged out to about $8.58 per passenger, the second highest rate in the airline industry. Atlanta-based Delta has increased its baggage fees over time and currently charges $25 for the first checked bag and $35 for the second checked bag on domestic flights.

Among major carriers, only US Airways brought in baggage fee revenue at a higher rate at $9.91 per passenger.

Southwest Airlines brought in an average of just 28 cents in baggage fee revenue per passenger. Dallas-based Southwest does not charge fees for the first two checked bags but does charge for additional bags beyond two.

source: ajc.com

Spanish airline Iberia has announced a new Mediterranean-themed food lineup, drawing on the experience of some of the country’s top chefs.

Emulating the top-notch German cuisine offered by Lufthansa and Air France’s gastronomic offering by Alain Ducasse, Iberia has invited a committee of culinary experts to come up with a new menu to be rolled out for business class passengers from June 1.

The chefs include Paco Roncero of Madrid’s La Terraza del Casino, Ramón Freixa, the head of Ramón Freixa Madrid, Caceres chef Toño Pérez of Atrio and Malaga’s Dani García, chef at Calima restaurant in Marbella.

Between them, the team have eight Michelin stars, leading Iberia to brand its planes “‘the first eight star restaurant in the world.'”

source: Independent.co.uk