news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

Hungary’s Government has stepped in to rescue struggling flag-carrier Malev, retaking control of the airline three years after its privatisation.

The Government, via state holding company MNV, has agreed to acquire a 95% stake in Malev through a Ft25.2 billion ($127 million) investment funded partly by cash and partly by debt conversion.

The finance ministry says that the acquisition will clear the way towards creating stability for the troubled airline. But the ministry warns that “‘intensive'” restructuring is required in order to minimise the burden on taxpayers and ensure that the rescue does not constitute illegal state aid.

source: flightglobal.com

All Nippon Airways (ANA) will introduce the women-only lavatories on international routes. ANA says they received “‘numerous requests from passengers for this service.'” In a 2007 survey, 90 percent of women said they liked idea.

One women-only lavatory will be provided in the rear section of the passenger cabin and will display a pink ladies sign, a signal designed to let male travelers know that they’ll have to look elsewhere.

ANA says there are exceptions. If a passenger is not feeling well or “‘when there are very few female passengers and the women-only designation has been lifted for the flight,'” male passengers will be allowed to use the lavatory.

source: seattlepi.com

The Canadian Transportation Agency will review a policy at the country’s biggest airlines allowing cats in the cabin to see if it interferes with air travel for allergic customers.

The independent tribunal announced the review on Thursday after ruling that three people who are allergic to cats are, in effect, persons with disabilities because the airlines’ pet policies affect their ability to fly.

The passengers had complained about Air Canada, the country’s biggest airline, its regional carrier Jazz Airline, and WestJet Airline, the No. 2 airline in Canada.

source: Reuters

Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. said Tuesday it has signed an initial pact to join the Oneworld Alliance, comprising 11 global carriers such as American Airlines and British Airways.

Kingfisher, controlled by billionaire Vijay Mallya, also applied to India’s civil aviation ministry to seek approval for its membership of Oneworld, India’s biggest airline by market share said. The airline will add 58 cities in India to the Oneworld network, expanding the alliance’s total network to 800 destinations in nearly 150 countries.

source: The Wall Street Journal

Greece’s two largest carriers Aegean Airlines and recently privatized Olympic Air have agreed to merge to form a stronger airline better able to compete with European peers.

“‘The company that will be formed as a result of the merger will carry the name and logos of Olympic Air, following the necessary transition and adjustment period during which the name and logos of Aegean will be used in parallel’,” they said in a joint statement.

fuente: calgaryherald.com

Lufthansa pilots in Germany agreed to suspend for two weeks a strike that grounded about 900 flights on Monday.

Some 4,000 Lufthansa pilots took part in a stoppage that was meant to last for four days, leaving thousands of passengers around the world stranded, on concerns the company could try to cut staff costs by shifting jobs to foreign units.

Lufthansa aims to cut 1 billion euros ($1.36 billion) of costs by 2011, to become more lean while expanding abroad.

source: Reuters

Lufthansa, Europe’s largest airline by revenues, is considering legal action to head off a four-day strike by its pilots starting at midnight on Sunday. The dispute threatens to escalate into one of the severest industrial conflicts in recent German history.

Stefan Lauer, board member responsible for personnel, said that Lufthansa’s lawyers would report to him by Monday on options for halting the strike, called this week by Vereinigung Cockpit, the pilots’ trade union.

Cockpit has said its main goal is to secure jobs in Germany and has called on more than 4,000 pilots to take part in the strike , which will also affect Lufthansa Cargo and Germanwings, its low-cost carrier.

source: FT.com

American Airlines says it will resume regular flights to Haiti on Friday, the first commercial flights since the island nation was hit by an earthquake Jan. 12.

American said Tuesday that its first flight into Port-au-Prince will leave Friday morning from Miami International Airport.

The airline will operate three daily nonstop flights from Florida to Haiti, two from Miami and one from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The airline said it will also offer a single flight four days a week from New York’s Kennedy Airport.

source: Associated Press

America last night gave the green light to British Airways’ tie-up with American Airlines, bringing to an end a 12-year quest by the UK airline to win approval for the deal.

The US Department of Justice said that the pact would be good for consumers, bringing lower fares, new routes and improved schedules. It agreed to give the airlines’ immunity from US anti-trust laws if they surrendered four pairs of runway slots at Heathrow ” a much lower number than expected.

The two carriers are now set to combine their transatlantic divisions, creating a giant operation that will account for just under half of all UK-US traffic, and one quarter of all EU-US passengers.

source: Times Online

German carrier Lufthansa is to give one million Miles and More miles to the person who comes up with the best nickname for its Airbus A380 aircraft, due to go into service later this year.

The airline has now painted its first two A380 superjumbos in Lufthansa liveries, officially naming them Frankfurt Am Main and Munchen. But the carrier is looking for a “‘catchy nickname’” for its A380 aircraft in general, and is giving away one million frequent flyer miles to the winning suggestion.

Click on this link to propose a name.

source: businesstraveller.com