news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

British Airways’ new parent company International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) enjoyed a quiet opening day’s trading on the stock markets of London and the linked exchanges of Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia on Monday.

Shares in IAG opened in the City at a price of 288.1p and closed at 287.19p after touching 289p. IAG shares in Spain finished the day at €3.31, broadly in line with the London price allowing for the exchange rate.

IAG chief executive Willie Walsh and chairman Antonio Vazquez were at the London Stock Exchange to watch trading open. Walsh said: “I’AG has a great future ahead of it. BA and Iberia are the first two airlines in IAG, but they won’t be the last. Today is the first step towards creating a multinational multi-brand airline group.’”

source: travelweekly.co.uk

Ryanair has threatened to turn away passengers arriving at check in without their pre-printed boarding pass unless a ruling from a Spanish court is overturned.

Currently the airline charges £40 for a boarding pass for those who have not printed out their own.

A judge in Barcelona has ruled that the charge is illegal.

The airline said it might stop issuing boarding passes, hence passengers would not be allowed on the aircraft.

source: BBC

German sculptor H.A. Shult used 12 tonnes of recycled junk to build the hotel in central Madrid’s Callao Square and draw attention to the amount of flotsam spoiling Europe’s beaches.

His Corona Extra Save the Beach Hotel opened its doors on Jan. 19 and operators say its five double rooms have been fully booked for the four days in which it will be taking guests.

Schult has been getting support from some pretty famous patrons, including Danish model Helena Christensen — who has spent a night in the hotel — French explorer Alexandra Cousteau and jewellery designer Jade Jagger.

source: Reuters

Cabin crew at British Airways on Friday voted to strike again as the two-year battle between the airline and its staff continues.

However, the Unite union, which represents cabin crew, fell short of announcing strike dates as it looks to downplay the move because public sympathy is waning. The lack of certainty of when industrial action could take place could dent overall bookings with the airline.

The news comes on the day that British Airways completes its merger with Spain’s Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA. Shares in both companies were suspended Friday, and the merged entity, International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, will begin trading in London and Madrid Monday.

source: The Wall Street Journal

In perhaps another sign that Americans are ready to travel and spend again, new federal statistics show airline traffic grew by nearly 6% in October, compared with the same month in 2009.

The biggest increase came from international travelers, whose numbers rose by nearly 12% in October, compared with the same month in 2009.

source: Los Angeles Times

The spam has hit the fan and cost Virgin Blue $110,000 after Australia’s communications watchdog found the airline breached the law over its email marketing.

The ‘Australian Communications and Media Authority’ launched an investigation into the airline after complaints that the company continued to send email offers despite recipients’ multiple attempts to unsubscribe from its mailing list, in contravention of the Spam Act.

The’ Spam Act’ gives companies five days to stop sending people commercial offers after receiving their request to unsubscribe, said authority chairman, Chris Chapman.

source: smh.com.au

The Oneworld alliance has launched a new iPad app, allowing flyers to view the schedules of all of its airlines on the device’s large display.

Using the free app, passengers can search for and view schedules for the nearly 10,000 flights operated daily by members of the Oneworld alliance, which includes American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Iberia and Japan Airlines.

source: independent.co.uk

Three days after Airbus announced the largest order ever for commercial jets ” a $16 billion deal with India’s IndiGo Airlines ” Delta Air Lines appears set to place its own large order soon.

Delta is seeking to place an order for between 100 and 200 aircraft, with an option on 200 more.

The biggest winners likely would be The Boeing Co. and Airbus, the worlds largest commercial aircraft-makers.

source: bizjournals.com

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

The no-frills airline had promoted anger among passengers for the charge, when they were introduced.

However the 40 euro (£34) charge was challenged in Barcelona. In Britain the charge is £40.

Judge Barbara Maria Cordoba Ardao, sitting at Commercial Court Number One in Barcelona, ruled the company was breaking international law by imposing the levy.

She ruled that responsibility for printing the boarding pass had always rested with the airline.

source: Telegraph.co.uk