news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

IAG said on Friday that Scottish independence could be good for their business, providing a boost to the campaign that wants Scotland to split from the United Kingdom.

After a flurry of companies this week raised potential risks from independence, IAG Chief Executive Willie Walsh said he was not worried about British Airway’s prospects if Scotland voted on September 18 to end a 307-year tie with England.

“‘If anything, it will be slightly positive, since we believe (an independent Scotland) will abolish air passenger duty because they recognise the huge impact that tax has on their economy,'” Walsh told BBC television.

Southwest Airlines announced the first three destinations”Montego Bay, Jamaica; Nassau, Bahamas; and Aruba”which will see flights under the Southwest banner starting on July 1, 2014. All of the routes are currently operated by Southwest’s AirTran subsidiary; those operations will cease as Southwest takes over the flights.

A man bought a first-class ticket and used it to have free meals and drinks at the airport’s VIP lounge almost every day for nearly a year.

The itinerary for the ticket was found to have been changed more than 300 times within a year, and the owner of the ticket used it to enjoy the facilities at the airport’s VIP lounge in Xi’an in Shaanxi, China.

The rare case was discovered by a China Eastern Airlines staff member, who then decided to investigate.

When the ticket’s validity was almost up, the passenger cancelled it for a refund.

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A Spanish judge ruled that the calendar, released each year by the low-cost airline in support of charitable causes, was sexist. Ryanair said it would appeal the decision.

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The carrier published the advertisements late last year for its 2013 calendar, which featured more than a dozen scantily-clad female cabin crew. It said sales of the calendar had raised €100,000 (£84,000) for charity.

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The world’s airlines will see a 31% increase in passenger numbers until 2017, according to a new forecast just released by IATA.

The emerging economies of the Middle East and Asia Pacific will see the strongest international passenger growth, followed by Africa and Latin America.

USA will continue to be the largest single market for domestic passengers, followed by China and Brazil.

Evelop Airlines has taken delivery of its first sharkletted A320-200. According to the new airline, the A320 will be based out of Tenerife Sur. Additionally, soon another A320 will be based out of Las Palmas during Winter.

The Ice Hotel located in northern Sweden is rebuilt every year out of enormous chunks of ice from the Torne River in Jukkasjärvi, Kiruna, will this year come equipped with fire alarms.

While it might sound crazy that a building made of water needs to be equipped with fire alarms, the fact that the hotel is built from scratch every year means it needs to abide by the rules that apply to every new building, rules set by the National Housing Board (Boverket).

The U.S. Justice Department has given its approval to the merger of American Airlines and US Airways, the last major hurdle for a deal that will create the largest airline in the world.

The two companies communicated that customers with existing tickets are unlikely to see any noticeable changes, but longer term, the effects could be significant. Owners of frequent-flyer miles for both airlines will remain valid until both programs are consolidated on an equal value basis.

The two carriers are the last to link up in the latest wave of U.S. consolidation, which includes:

• Delta and Northwest
• United and Continental
• Southwest and AirTran

A man on a London-bound plane caused panic among fellow passengers at the end of last month, when he released his pet snake from his luggage mid-flight.

Adam Gubbay, from Stoke Newington, bought a baby corn snake on holiday in Israel, and managed to get the pet through airport security in Tel Aviv.

Mid-way through the flight, Mr Gubbay released the reptile, named Milky, to give it a drink of water, sending fellow passengers into a panic for their safety.

EasyJet staff confiscated the two-foot long snake from the 24-year-old.

Ryanair has announced a plan to move to fully allocated seating on all of its flights.

The budget carrier said the new system will be in force from February 1.

The move comes after numerous customer complaints about the frenzied rush by passengers to secure the best seats.