news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

Virgin Atlantic could be hit by its first-ever strike as flight crew, affecting British holidaymakers as they jet off over the summer.

The airline, which has just celebrated 25 years since its first transatlantic flight to Miami, is hopeful it can avoid a walkout by pilots over pay.

The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) is currently polling its members about strikes at the carrier and the result is due out next week.

A walkout could begin at the end of this month or the start of July just as millions of Britons are leaving the UK for their holidays.

source: dailymail.co.uk

JetBlue has formed a partnership with Virgin Atlantic that will allow customers to fly on both airlines with a single ticket.

Travelers on JetBlue will be able to connect through Boston, New York, Washington to catch flights to London Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic. JetBlue customers connecting in Orlando will be able to fly to London’s Gatwick airport, Manchester, England and Glasgow, Scotland.

JetBlue already has similar partnerships with Dubai’s Emirates Airlines, Irish carrier Aer Lingus, South African Airways and American Airlines.

source: msnbc.com

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 results of a new survey by the Business Travel and Meetings Show, we now know where most of the hot flight attendants are.

Of the 1,000 people who participated in the survey, over half said that the most attractive flight attendants work for Virgin Atlantic.

No other airline in the world even came close to Virgin Atlantic and their “‘red hotties.’”  Here are the top five airlines with the hottest flight attendants according to the results:

1. Virgin Atlantic – 53%
2. Singapore Airlines – 18%
3. Etihad – 12%
4. Emirates – 11%
5. Aer Lingus – 6%

source: Reuters

German flag-carrier Lufthansa has joined Virgin Atlantic in pressing BAA to compensate airlines hit by disruption at London Heathrow Airport over the festive season.

Planes were grounded for up to four days before Christmas, as facilities at Europe’s busiest airport ground to a halt.

Last week Virgin Atlantic confirmed it would withhold payments due to BAA – believed to total approximately £10 million – until the airport operator completes an internal review into the incident.

source: breakingtravelnews.com

Ryanair has ruled itself out of the running as a possible bidder for Virgin Atlantic.

The European low fares giant dismissed rumours that it might bid for Virgin after Sir Richard Branson’s carrier started considering possible partnership options.

“‘While Ryanair is interested in a low fares transatlantic service it has no intention of bidding for a high fares airline,’” a statement said.

source: travelweekly.co.uk

Virgin Atlantic has held last-ditch talks with the union representing the airline’s pilots aimed at averting the first-ever strike in the company’s history.

Virgin Atlantic pilots are currently guaranteed 120 days off a year on top of holiday – which corresponds approximately with time off such as weekends and bank holidays.

However, management at the airline, which posted a £132 million loss last year, is looking to trim the figure as part of cost-cutting measures.

source: dailymail.co.uk

Virgin Atlantic, the British airline owned by tycoon Richard Branson, said on Friday that it was in talks about forming a consortium that would bid for London’s second biggest airport, Gatwick.

Analysts have estimated that the sale of Gatwick could fetch up to three billion pounds (3.48 billion euros, 4.42 billion dollars).

Britain’s Spanish-owned airport operator BAA announced in September plans to sell London’s Gatwick hub after regulators called for the offloading of two of its airports on competition grounds.

source: AFP

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic is set to launch a major advertising campaign to challenge British Airways’ (BA) plans for a tie-up with American Airlines (AA). Branson claims that the proposed deal would damage transatlantic competition.

BA is expected to make an application in the US this week to enact the joint venture with AA. The pact between the two airlines would mean they would have dominant shares of transatlantic flights from Heathrow on six routes including New York JFK, Chicago and Los Angeles.

source: marketingweek.co.uk

Passengers who flew across the Atlantic between August 2004 and March 2006 with British Airways (BA) and Virgin Atlantic are entitled to a refund as part of a £100 million settlement pending in California.

The deal was struck by American lawyers in US courts but the lion’s share – £73.5million – has been reserved for British passengers.

That equates to a refund of between £4 and £20 for each return ticket and up to £10 for a one-way ticket. Frequent flyers and corporate customers could pick up hundreds of pounds.

The refund applies not only to transatlantic flights but to any long haul journey operated by the airline between the specified period.

source: telegraph.co.uk