news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

Budget operator Air Berlin is to axe its flights from Belfast to London Stansted at the end of October, it was announced yesterday.

The airline will be pulling out of George Best Belfast City Airport with effect from October 29, the start of the winter timetable.

Air Berlin had no immediate comment to make, but yesterday it reported that bad summer weather had depressed demand generally and bemoaned rising operating costs.

source: Belfast Telegraph

Fashion and football capital Milan will soon be just a short hop from the south coast after budget airline Ryanair launched new flights there from its Bournemouth base.

Starting in December to attract skiers bound for slopes near the city, the Saturday flights will start at £10 each way including taxes and charges for the next seven days.

Flights are to Milan Bergamo, 27 miles outside the city, which is home to Champions League winners AC Milan and their rivals Inter as well as couture clothes designers and fashion shows, pictured.

source: Daily Echo

EasyJet is launching what it claims is a first for UK airlines by offering a free text message service to update passengers with information ahead of their departure the airport.

The series of SMS messages – up to four per passenger – will start with a “‘reassurance’” bulletin four hours ahead of departure with a customer booking reference, flight time and check-in details.

A notification will be sent shortly before check-in closes as well as a boarding reminder once passengers are in the departure lounge.

AirAsia Bhd will today sign a letter of intent with Shipbuilding Industry Group with a view to establishing a joint venture low-cost airline in Vietnam.

AirAsia, in a filing with Bursa Malaysia, said the proposed partnership would focus on securing the licence to operate a new Vietnamese airline that would serve domestic, regional and international routes.

source: The Star Online

Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle on Thursday said it has ordered 42 Boeing 737-800 jets worth some 3.1 billion dollars.

The carrier said it had an option with US maker Boeing for a further 42 jets that can seat 189 passengers.

Deliveries were slated between 2009 and 2014.

source: Monsters and Critics

Orlando’s AirTran Holdings Inc. has signed a three-year contract extension with the Coca-Cola Co. to continue serving the beverage giant’s soft drinks onboard AirTran Airways flights.

The two companies have been in business together since 1993. Coke is based in Atlanta, home to AirTran’s hub and where the low-cost carrier routes more than two-thirds of its flights.

source: Orlando Sentinel

Southwest also announced new service between San Francisco and Los Angeles (LAX) starting on November 4.

In the years since Southwest left SFO, it has built up service at nearby Bay Area airports Oakland International and San Jose International. So while the return to SFO means more choice and convenience, it’s not a new market and so we probably won’t be seeing the “‘Southwest effect'” of suddenly cheaper fares across airlines serving a destination.

Airlines are offering an increasing number of ways for advertisers to reach travelers while they’re in the air. US Airways and AirTran both recently began selling ads on napkins and on stickers that can be found on open tray tables. European low-fare carrier Ryanair sells ads on the covers of the overhead baggage compartments and on the backs of closed tray tables, according to the International Herald Tribune.

The Ryanair tray table ads are sold by InviseoMedia, which also sells space on another low-cost airline, Germanwings. Advertisers such as Microsoft, DaimlerChrysler, HP and German travel website HRS have advertised on them. The ads on the overhead bins are sold by Fourth Edition, and have seen such advertisers as ING, Red Bull and Meteor Mobile.

source: mediabuyerplanner.com

Paper airline tickets will be consigned to history from next June, according to Iata, the trade body which conducts settlements between 60,000 travel agents and the airlines.

The organisation, which has used etickets for three years, yesterday said it had placed its last order for paper tickets. The move to etickets will reduce the processing cost to airlines from £4.50 a ticket to 50p, saving the industry £3bn. Three years ago 16% of ticketing was paper-free; the figure is now 84%. Iata said that airlines lost more than $40bn between 2001 and 2006, but are expected to turn a profit this year.

source: Guardian Unlimited

Lufthansa is the first European airline to introduce native Chinese flight attendants on board its flights from and to China. For over six years, Lufthansa has employed about 200 native Chinese flight attendants, providing Chinese-speaking passengers with in-flight services that are in their own language and sensitive to their cultural background.

fuente: China.org.cn