news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

For US Airways, the merger-hungry fifth-largest U.S. airline, a bankrupt American Airlines may present an irresistible takeover target, but many in the aviation world think the headaches and hassles of consolidation are not worth the payoff of such a tie-up.

American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday in a bid to shed some of its uncompetitive costs and restructure its debt.

Bankruptcy leaves the company vulnerable to potential takeover attempts from would-be suitors like US Airways, whose chief executive Doug Parker has long promoted consolidation as a means to slim down an industry plagued by overcapacity. US Airways once tried and failed to buy Delta Air Lines as it restructured in bankruptcy.

source: Reuters

British Airways and Iberia parent IAG  said its transatlantic joint venture with American Airlines would continue to operate as normal after AMR Corp, the carrier’s parent company, filed for bankruptcy protection.

“We have every confidence in the future of American Airlines. We are pleased they are taking this step which shows commitment and determination,” IAG, which has a joint venture with American Airlines on transatlantic routes, said in a statement on Tuesday.

source: Reuters.com

Ryanair has pledged not to ‘’hike-up” fares after Friday’s European Championship draw, but warned that its lowest fares will sell out fast.

Ryanair advised fans who are planning a trip to Poland to book early to avoid the disappointment of the lowest fares being snapped up already.

A Chinese airline has promised to brush up on the language skills of its employees after a flight took off from a Japanese airport without clearance, apparently because the pilot could not speak enough English to understand the instructions that he was given by air traffic control.

The incident is the latest in a string of mishaps that have raised serious questions over pilot training in the booming Asian aviation market.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation, Asia will be short of about 9,000 pilots per year in the next decade. There is enough capacity to train 5,000 pilots but 14,000 will be needed every year. In total, the ICAO predicts that Asia will need 229,676 pilots over the next 20 years – a significant increase from the total of 50,344 in 2010.

source: theaustralian.com.au

Ryanair and easyJet are going head-to-head on the new battleground of paid-for allocated seating, as they seek to ramp up passenger numbers.

Ryanair is to extend its allocated seating service across all of its routes from January 2012.

EasyJet said that its prices for allocated seating would “‘stay true to easyJet’s commitments to low fares'”.

Both airlines operate a priority boarding service, which means for an extra charge, passengers can get first choice on seats.

source: marketingmagazine.co.uk

The parent company of American Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday, seeking relief from crushing debt caused by high fuel prices and expensive labor contracts that its competitors shed years ago.

American’s parent company, AMR, has incurred $12 billion in losses since 2001, and analysts say it is on track to lose $1.1 billion more this year.

With industry profits of less than 1 percent forecast for 2012, American had little hope of a significant rebound in the coming months.

source: Washington Post

Kindle users are complaining that airport x-ray machines zap their electronic ink displays.

Some users of Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader have complained that their device has been ruined by baggage checking equipment at airports.

Users suspect that the radiation emitted from airport scanners has permanently affected the Kindle’s electronic ink display, although other culprits might include a static electricity charge.

source: eweekeurope.co.uk

Reports now show that the low-cost airline, Spirit Airlines, has just been fined some $50,000 for violating federal rules prohibiting falsely advertised prices. For those that do not know, the company did this advertising on Twitter.

According to the most-recent reports, Spirit Airlines sent multiple tweets advertising flights for just $9. This is a deal that some figured sounded too good to be true. As it would turn out, it was.

source: self-catering-breaks.com

Airline Regional Express (Rex) has confirmed a passenger’s iPhone started glowing red and emitted smoke on a flight from Lismore to Sydney last Friday.

The airline says the flight had landed in Sydney when the phone started emitting a “‘significant amount of dense smoke, accompanied by a red glow'”.

A flight attendant was able to extinguish the glow and no passengers on board were injured.

source: abc.net.au

A Jumbo jet flew for five days before ground crews noticed that 30 screws were missing from one of its wings.

The Air France Airbus A340 plane had had routine maintenance in China, before flying to Paris and then on to Boston in the US before the blunder was spotted.

The plane, which can carry up to 440 passengers, was grounded for several days in Boston while a “‘large protective panel’” was screwed back into place.

Air France has blamed aircraft mechanics in Xiamen, where its jets are often serviced due to lower costs.

source: Mirror.co.uk