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Ryanair‘s notorious ”one bag on board” rule could soon be outlawed – because stopping passengers boarding with extra duty free bags is undermining airport retailers’ business.

The European Parliament has voted in favour of legislation that would forbid airlines from insisting all purchases fit in a single carry-on bag.

The proposal now moves to the European Commission, which is to overhaul air passenger rights later this year.

Ryanair currently operates a system whereby if a passenger can’t squeeze everything into a single bag that fits the dimensions of its bag cage, the airline slaps on a €50 charge to put the extra bag in the hold.

source:  dailymail.co.uk

Lot Polish Airlines is trying to find another potential buyer after Turkish Airlines announced that it was backing away from plans to buy the loss making carrier.

Several Turkish analysts said the news did not hit their expectations about Turkish Airlines, because they failed to see the benefits behind the planned acquisition.

source: ft.com

British Airways is launching a social media campaign to encourage Britons living overseas to fly back for the London 2012 Olympics.

The “‘Home Advantage’” campaign targets friends and families of athletes and ex-pats and includes a competition to win flights and tickets to the Games to help boost home support.

The “‘Flying Britain Home’” promotion to win tickets for friends and family living abroad has begun on Facebook on Friday (1 June). Flights from 20 selected destinations around the world will be promoted with 12 tickets per flight to be given away.

source: marketingweek.co.uk

The first Boeing Co. 747-8 jumbo jet to carry paying passengers completed its maiden commercial flight Friday.

The German carrier last month celebrated the delivery of Boeing’s new 747-8 at a ceremony at Paine Field in Everett, where Boeing has assembled 747s for more than 45 years.

This latest version is the jet maker’s largest. The Intercontinental was stretched 18.3 feet over its predecessor, the 747-400, to allow for another 51 passengers, or a total of 362 in Lufthansa’s three-class configuration. With new engines and updated technology, the 747-8 saves operators roughly 13 percent in fuel costs over the 747-400, Boeing says.

source: heraldnet.com

EU regulators said last week they had opened an in-depth investigation into the financing of Beauvais airport in France, to determine whether it was in line with EU state aid rules.

The European Commission, which acts as the competition regulator in the 27-member European Union, said in a statement it was also looking into rebates and marketing deals between the airport and its client airlines, to ensure those too met the regulations.

The Commission did not identify the airlines, but those with flights to Beauvais, which is 75 km (46 miles) north of Paris, include Ryanair, Wizz Air and Blue Air.

source: Reuters

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Now the ministry of industry and AENA, the state-run company that controls the nation’s airports, are considering plans to reduce operating hours at three quarters of the airports to include only those when flights are due or with a skeleton staff to operate in an emergency.

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In all, there are 20 airports that handle fewer than 100,000 passengers a year, well below the estimated half a million they need to be profitable.

The nation’s two private airports are faring no better. Ciudad Real, which opened in 2008 with the expectation of becoming the capital’s second airport to rival Barajas to the north, was cut from scheduled routes in October last year due to a lack of demand from passengers.

source: Telegraph.co.uk

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Business travellers want a more “‘stress-free’” experience when moving through airports while the majority also criticised airports’ current security processes.

A global study by technology firm Amadeus found that 72 per cent of travellers thought that the current journey from check-in to boarding was inefficient and 69 per cent said security procedures needed to be improved.

It also found that more travellers were now seeing technology as a crucial part of the airport experience with many wanting to control the entire process through their smartphones.

source: abtn.co.uk

China is expected to become the biggest market for business travel within three years according to research by the GBTA.

The association’s Business Travel Index (BTI) is forecasting that corporate travel spending in China will rise by 17 per cent to $202 billion this year and by another 21 per cent to $245 billion next year.

China is currently ranked second behind the US in terms of business travel spending with a total of $182 billion in 2011 compared to $250 billion in the US. The UK is ranked fourth globally for travel spending at $38 billion with Japan in third position at $65 billion.

source: abtn.co.uk

Heathrow Airport will cope with the huge surge in passengers and baggage during the Olympics, despite concerns over queues and security, BAA has reassured the public.

The airport, which will experience its busiest ever day on August 13 – the day after the Olympics closing ceremony – has pumped more than £20 million into the 2012 Games to make sure athletes and tourists can arrive and leave without a hitch.

At a briefing in central London, authorities insisted people will not suffer because of problems with the UK’s borders.

source: dailymail.co.uk

Low-cost airline easyJet has extended its relationship with Sabre Travel Network to distribute its fares and services to travel agencies.

The agreement has been expanded to provide further distribution to Sabre-connected travel agencies with access to easyJet fares through the global distribution system (GDS).

Agents will soon be able to take advantage of easyJet’s allocated seating trial, which is currently running on selected routes across the network.

source: breakingtravelnews.com