news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

Air France has been ordered by a Brazilian court to pay 540,000 euros to the relatives of a Brazilian family that died on a flight from Rio to Paris in June last year.

The mother of 31 year old Luciana Clarkson Seba will receive 2,300 euros a month as compensation to the suffering she experienced after she lost her daughter and son in law in the crash.

This case likely paves the way for legal claims by the families of the other 228 passengers and crew who died on the flight.

The airline said the carrier’s insurer would pay the compensation fees.

source: etravelblackboard.com

Expedia became the second large travel website to fall out with American Airlines in as many months as the online travel company, stopped selling the carrier’s tickets on Saturday.

American and its online partners have struggled for months to agree terms as their contracts expire. American wants to pay the sites less and has pushed them to connect directly with its own computers rather than using intermediaries called global distribution systems.

In December American stopped selling tickets through Orbitz Worldwide, another travel and fare comparison website.

In an effort to dissuade the carrier from taking further steps to undermine online travel agencies, Expedia effectively buried American’s content on its website, as contract negotiations faltered in an effort to press American into a more amicable deal and prepare its own customers should talks fail.

source: FT.com

German airline Lufthansa may announce takeover plans for SAS as early as the first half of 2011. Cologne-based Lufthansa is in talks with the governments of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, which own half of the unprofitable Stockholm-based carrier.

The potential acquisition would strengthen Lufthansa’s central-European dominance. It would also offer shorter polar flights from Scandinavia to Canada and northern United States.

source: swedishwire.com

As Asian economies boom, U.S. carriers are courting long-haul travelers with more frequent service, cushier seats and amenities.

In February, Delta Air Lines will begin flying between the U.S. and Tokyo’s Haneda airport, three months after Hawaiian Airlines became the first U.S. carrier to do so. Delta also plans to resume Atlanta-Shanghai service after suspending it last year, and expand flights between China and Japan. American Airlines is launching flights between New York and Haneda next month, and between Los Angeles and Shanghai in April.

The expansion comes as domestic travel begins to recover, but not as quickly as travel in Asia-Pacific. The region already passed North America last year as the largest aviation market in the world. It remains the “‘most profitable region of the world for airlines'” because of its strong economic growth, according to the International Air Transport Association, which represents 230 carriers.

source: USA Today

American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia are adding more codeshare flights to their trans-Atlantic joint business.

The three airlines teamed up in October to cooperate on trans-Atlantic services without violating U.S. foreign ownership laws. BA combined with Iberia this year to create Europe’s third-largest airline.

Under codeshare agreements, carriers can sell tickets on each other’s flights and frequent flyers can claim points. Airlines say codesharing lets passengers shop around for cheaper fares.

source: Bloomberg

Qatar Airways plans to sell shares to the public in an initial public offering (IPO) in early 2012, which it hopes will follow its third successive year of net profits.

The airline, which is 50 per cent owned by the Qatari government and 50 per cent by private investors, said it had already started work on the offering, which would sell a minority stake to the public.

“‘We have already triggered the financial mechanism that we would need for an IPO,'” said Akbar al Baker, the chief executive of Qatar Airways, in Doha yesterday. “‘I think we will IPO somewhere in the early part of 2012.'”

source: thenational.ae

German international airline carrier Lufthansa will be the first to introduce the much-awaited Internet connectivity for International flight from the US, departing from New York, Detroit and Atlanta into Frankfurt. The service is slated to offer wireless Internet that is fast enough to connect to a VPN and also send large attachments.

Deutsche Telekom will be the company providing the actual Internet service and you’ll need to shell out EUR10.95 for an hour of use or EUR19.95 for a 24-hour pass that also allows users access to Internet connectivity in the Lufthansa lounges. The service will be free through January 31st, 2011, so it’s probably a good time to give it a test drive.

source: ubergizmo.com

Deutsche Lufthansa AG will add almost 2,000 more seats to its single-aisle fleet by the end of next year by switching to berths with slimmer backrests.

The seats will allow Lufthansa to add as many as two extra rows to each plane, equivalent to 12 passengers, while boosting legroom by up to 5 centimeters (2 inches).

The revamp, which covers both business and coach classes, is the first for Lufthansa’s short-haul fleet since 2006. The Cologne, Germany-based carrier will also offer free snacks on its shortest flights for the first time in 15 years as it seeks to return fares to pre-slump levels and compete with discount carriers including Ryanair and Air Berlin .

source: Bloomberg

Ryanair has made an unprecedented alliance with full-frills carriers Emirates and Etihad Airways to lobby for an extension of government  credit to airlines.

The budget carrier is among the leading members of a group of 10  airlines calling themselves the Aviation Alliance,  which is demanding an overhaul of Export Credit rules.

The Aviation Alliance wants no limit on the amount of export credits  extended to airlines, no increase in the fees for credit and no  reduction in the proportion of the cost of an aircraft that can be  financed.

The US and leading European Union governments, including the UK,  offer credit to overseas purchasers of expensive technology and  infrastructure, including aircraft, to encourage exports. Most overseas  airlines take advantage of these export credits to buy Airbus and Boeing  aircraft.

source: travelweekly.co.uk

German airline Lufthansa said Wednesday that it was considering putting Scandinavian airline SAS into its shopping cart.

“‘It is no secret that SAS and Lufthansa are a perfect couple in many areas,'” said Aasge Dunhaup, Lufthansa’s head of European communications.

It is possible the purchase could give SAS a needed lift, providing more purchasing power and a wider service platform.

For Lufthansa, it would be the fourth major purchase since 2005, when it absorbed Swissair. It has since purchased Austrian Airlines and British Midland. In addition, the company is rumored to be interested in a purchase of Polish airline LOT.

source: UPI.com