news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

A former British Airways computer specialist was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison for plotting with the American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki to kill hundreds of people by blowing up a United States-bound plane. Rajib Karim, 31, left, from Bangladesh, was convicted last month of four counts of preparing for terrorist attacks. He had already pleaded guilty to five other terrorism offenses, but denied plotting an attack in Britain. Justice David Calvert-Smith recommended that Mr. Karim be deported after completing his sentence.

source: nytimes.com

Travelers flying with American Airlines at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport will now be able to tag their own bags at self-service kiosks.

The six-month trial by American will allow passengers to print and tag their own luggage without direct supervision by an airline employee. Ticket agents will still check passenger IDs, scan luggage tags, and place bags on the conveyor belt to be scanned by the Transportation Security Administration.

source: Fox News.com

Emirates Airline is expected to post record results next month despite regional political turbulence and the rising price of oil.

The Dubai Government-owned carrier is expected to achieve a net profit of about US$2 billion (Dh7.34bn), analysts say.

The airline recorded a first-half result of $925 million in earnings after a 19.4 per cent jump in passenger traffic during the period, running from April to September, compared with the same period in 2009. Its fiscal year closes at the end of this month.

source: thenational.ae

With the ‘Federal Aviation Administration’ granting early approval for the use of the iPad in airplane cockpits, major commercial airline companies like Delta are exploring the possibility of using Apple’s touchscreen tablet to ditch paper maps entirely.

Delta Air Lines is pursuing approval to test iPads and other tablet-style devices in its airline cockpits next quarter. The news comes just after the FAA endorsed the use of the iPad in a test project at Executive Jet Management.

source: appleinsider.com

Delta Air Lines has been voted the world’s “‘most admired airline'” by Fortune magazine, managing to push the much-acclaimed Singapore Airlines into second place.

Delta has moved steadily up the ranks over the past four years to reach top spot, which was awarded to Singapore Airlines last year.

Other airlines in the top ten included major international carriers such as Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, Cathay Pacific Airways, Qantas, British Airways and ANA.

See the complete list here.

source: Independent.co.uk

The latest plan to put troubled airline Mexicana back in the skies has flopped after a tiny boutique investment firm interested in buying the company failed to inject the money needed to restart operations.

A business plan from relatively unknown PC Capital was chosen by a judge-appointed mediator in November as the best option to relaunch debt-ridden Mexicana. The pick was backed by Mexico’s communications and labor ministries.

Mexicana de Aviacion was one of Mexico’s two major airlines. It ceased operations in late August, swamped by its financial liabilities, grounding travelers in Mexico and abroad and leaving thousands of ground workers, pilots and flight attendants with no jobs. Its affiliated carriers, Link and Click, also stopped flying.

source: Reuters

British Airways grounded two jumbo jets after a passenger complained of being badly bitten by bed bugs during two separate long-haul flights.

The airline fumigated one of the planes on which it confirmed there had been an infestation and apologised to the woman for her ordeal.

Businesswoman Zane Selkirk revealed her body was “‘crawling’” with bugs and “‘covered with bites’” during a ten-hour transatlantic flight from Los Angeles to London Heathrow in January.

Miss Selkirk, who works for internet company Yahoo!’s media group, said she set up her protest website “‘after two horrendous flights’”.

She used the site – www.ba-bites.com – to post graphic pictures of the injuries on her body.

source: iol.co.za

Air France and Delta are believed to be interested in making a bid for Sir Richard Branson’s 51 per cent stake in Virgin Atlantic.

The stake is valued by analysts at anywhere between £500m and £1bn with Singapore Airlines owning the remaining 49 per cent stake, which it bought for £600m in 1999.

In November, Sir Richard hired Deutsche Bank to examine Virgin’s strategic options.

He said at the time he was being forced to review the airline’s position in the wake of British Airways’ merger with Iberia and their transatlantic tie-up with American Airlines.

source: skyport-heathrow.co.uk

Thanks to the new online “‘City Ratings’” application, Lufthansa customers can now rate the airline’s worldwide destinations, share their personal recommendations with other passengers or find inspiration for their next holiday based on other people’s experiences, ideas and travel tips.

The new application, which can be accessed via www.lufthansa.com, will enable users to share their first-hand experiences and impressions – a valuable source of information for travellers before they embark on their journey.

source: di-ve.com

American Airlines recently established an AAdvantage Facebook page, which currently is handing out airline miles in exchange for Facebook “likes.”

After clicking on the like button, you can embark on the Mystery Miles Journey.

Enter your AAdvantage number ” or importantly, enroll in the loyalty program if you are not already a member ” and the airline will deposit 100 to 100,000 miles in your account as part of the promotion, which runs through the end of March.

source: tnooz.com