news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

A recent survey indicates that mobile phones are set to become a significant sales channel for airlines. According to transport communications and IT solution provider SITA’s airline IT trends survey released last week, almost nine out of 10 airlines are selling or planning to sell tickets through the mobile phone netwrok by 2014.

The survey says airlines plan to extend mobile distribution services to include ticket modification/upgrades and sales of onboard services. Airlines are also looking to add new sales channels. Kiosks and social network sites are the most recent additions to a growing channel mix. The study revealed that 69 per cent of airlines also sell or plan to sell tickets via social media networks by 2014.

source: business-standard.com

Europe’s biggest airlines, including British Airways, Lufthansa and KLM have announced a major biofuels drive despite UN calls to limit biofuel growth.

A glitzy gathering of the elite of Europe’s airline industry in Paris this week saw the launch of a major PR offensive to highlight the move towards replacing fossil fuels with biofuels- liquid fuels made from crops plants such as oil palm and jatropha.

The EU has set targets for 10 per cent of transport fuels to come from renewable sources – as part of that it is now pushing for the aviation sector to use two million tonnes of biofuel, mostly oil palm, each year by 2020.

source: theecologist.org

Easyjet staff in France are planning to stage their first-ever strike, potentially affecting flights over two days in July.

Cabin crew union Unac is calling for a 48-hour walkout on July 12 and 13 to protest about pay and social security cover.

The strike could affect flights to and from Lyon and Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports.

It coincides with the start of the long bank holiday weekend for the July 14 fête nationale, when many people will be travelling.

source: connexionfrance.com

Ryanair is to announce a jet design agreement with a Chinese manufacturer on Tuesday, firing a warning shot to Boeing that it cannot expect another multibillion-pound aircraft order from the low-cost carrier.

Europe’s biggest short-haul airline has agreed terms with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) to help design an aircraft that could rival Ryanair’s fleet aircraft, the Boeing 737.

The Dublin-based carrier broke off talks with Boeing over a new order last year and has been openly planning to consider another manufacturer if it expands further after 2013.

source: Guardian.co.uk

Qatar Airways was on Wednesday named ‘Airline of the Year’ in the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards 2011.

The Qatar carrier topped the annual rankings of more than 200 international airlines – up from third spot last year when the title was won by South Korea’s Asiana Airways.

Qatar Airways beat stiff competition from four Asian carriers in the category to clinch the honour in front of global aviation industry executives at the Paris Air Show.

source: arabianbusiness.com

The story about the football player who was booted off a US Airways flight for his saggy pants is getting a second wind.

That’s thanks to a follow-up story by the ‘San Francisco Chronicle’ that says six days before the saggy-pants drama, “‘a man who was wearing little but women’s undergarments was allowed to fly the airline, a US Airways spokeswoman conceded Tuesday.'”

A spokeswoman for the airline, Valerie Wunder, said the staff were correct to not ask the man to cover up because the airline did not have a dress code.

source: USA Today

A passenger jet crashed in heavy fog Monday on a highway in northwestern Russia, killing 44 people, officials said. Eight people survived the crash.

The Tu-134 plane, belonging to the RusAir airline, was en route from Moscow to the city of Petrozavodsk, Emergencies Ministry spokeswoman Olga Semyonova said.

Semyonova said the plane went down on its final approach to the airport in Petrozavodsk, making a crash landing about a mile short of the runway.

source: sfgate.com

Finnair has introduced an alertness model in the creation of crew schedules the first airline in the world to do so. The new scientifically determined and experimentally verified system has been formulated with the aid of the ‘Boeing Alertness Model (BAM)’. The model assesses a pilot’s state of alertness and promotes flight safety and wellbeing in work.

“‘The cornerstone of Finnair’s flight operations is safety. Finnair continually develops operating practices that support safety and wellbeing in work and takes proactive steps to reduce possible safety risks. That’s why we wanted to be involved in the Jeppesen research from the very start,'” says Finnair’s Vice President, Safety and Quality Management Antti Aukia.

source: cisionwire.com

British Airways and Air Berlin will start codesharing on around 40 flights from early July.

BA customers can buy direct Air Berlin flights to Nuremburg, Munster and Paderborn through ba.com.

In addition, customers can use ba.com to book connecting flights on selcted routes from airberlin’s network,  including main German gateways and other destinations such as Palermo and Brindisi.

Airberlin will join Oneworld in April 2012. Its entry is sponsored by BA.

source: abtn.co.uk

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