Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Budget Morroccan Airline to fly to Europe
A new venture from three Moroccan businesses and the German Tourist company TUI AG is to start up in March 2006. The airline will be called Jet4you and will initially operate two leased aircraft with expansion plans envisaging a fleet of ten aircraft by by 2010 carrying 1.7 million passengers.
The airline will benefit from an "open skies" agreement between Morocco and the European Union. It should provide some cheap flights from Europe to Morocco. TUI is to take a 40% stake in Jet4you encouraged by Morocco's developing tourist industry.
The airline will benefit from an "open skies" agreement between Morocco and the European Union. It should provide some cheap flights from Europe to Morocco. TUI is to take a 40% stake in Jet4you encouraged by Morocco's developing tourist industry.
Iceland Express Icebreaker fares
Iceland Express the Icelandic airline is offering some of its flights from London Stansted to Reykjavik for £9 plus taxes and charges, (total £39), one way. They are also offering Copenhagen to Reykjavik for £12 on some flights.
The numbers of flights available seems limited, but if you were thinking of going to Reykjavik in early January then try not to miss this offer.
The numbers of flights available seems limited, but if you were thinking of going to Reykjavik in early January then try not to miss this offer.
New Transavia Summer 06 routes
Transavia the Dutch budget airline will add four new routes for the Summer 2006.
It will connect Glasgow Prestwick Airport to Amsterdam Schipol starting 26 March 2006 and run a 6 times weekly service.
It will also fly from Amsterdam Schipol to Vanciencia from 26 March 06 and to Pau in the French Pyrenees from 27 March 06. Finally it will service a Rotterdam to Toulon route from 13 April 2006.
It will connect Glasgow Prestwick Airport to Amsterdam Schipol starting 26 March 2006 and run a 6 times weekly service.
It will also fly from Amsterdam Schipol to Vanciencia from 26 March 06 and to Pau in the French Pyrenees from 27 March 06. Finally it will service a Rotterdam to Toulon route from 13 April 2006.
Jet2.com sale from £1*
Jet2.com are offering lots of routes at £1. The asterix (*) is there again which as usual means one way, not including taxes and charges.
Here are some of the £1* routes:
Belfast to Blackpool and Leeds Bradford
Blackpool to Belfast
Belfast to Leeds Bradford
Leeds Bradford to Amsterdam and Belfast
Manchester to Amsterdam, Edinburgh and London Gatwick
Newcastle to Amsterdam and Cork
*All fares are one way excluding taxes and fees.
Here are some of the £1* routes:
Belfast to Blackpool and Leeds Bradford
Blackpool to Belfast
Belfast to Leeds Bradford
Leeds Bradford to Amsterdam and Belfast
Manchester to Amsterdam, Edinburgh and London Gatwick
Newcastle to Amsterdam and Cork
*All fares are one way excluding taxes and fees.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Flyglobespan route update
Flyglobespan the low cost airline based in Scotland has two new routes on offer this Summer. They are to add two Greek routes one to the Capital, Athens and one to Heraklion on the island of Crete. The Athens route starts 24 May 2005 and the Heraklion route starts on 27 May 2006.
In addition they have dropped the Edinburgh - Ibiza route. This will now be flown from Glasgow. The Edinburgh - Nice route has also been axed.
In addition they have dropped the Edinburgh - Ibiza route. This will now be flown from Glasgow. The Edinburgh - Nice route has also been axed.
Ebinburgh or London to Poland for £1
Centralwings is selling flights from Edinburgh to Warsaw or from London Stansted to Cracow or Warsaw from £1 one way plus taxes and charges. The offer is valid for flights during the period 11 January 2006 till 25 March 2006.
SkyEurope fly for Free (1p offer)
SkyEurope has a sale running until 8 January 2006. Some of their destinations are on offer for £0.01 plus taxes and charges. Applicable flights are subject to availability between 9 January 2006 and 25 March 2006, on the following routes
Bratislava to
Bucharest, Milan (Bergamo), Basel, Cologne, Copenhagen, Roma (Fiumicino), Kosice, Nice, Paris (Orly), Sofia, London (Stansted), Stuttgart, Warsaw
Budapest to
Amsterdam, Milan (Bergamo), Rome (Fiumicino), Paris (Orly), Venice
Innsbruck to
Amsterdam, Paris (Orly)
Krakow to
Amsterdam, Milan (Bergamo), Dublin, Roma (Fiumicino), Paris (Orly)
Salzburg to
Barcelona, Manchester, Warsaw
Poprad to
London (Stansted)
Warsaw to
Milan (Bergamo), Roma (Fiumicino) Paris (Orly), London (Stansted)
Bratislava to
Bucharest, Milan (Bergamo), Basel, Cologne, Copenhagen, Roma (Fiumicino), Kosice, Nice, Paris (Orly), Sofia, London (Stansted), Stuttgart, Warsaw
Budapest to
Amsterdam, Milan (Bergamo), Rome (Fiumicino), Paris (Orly), Venice
Innsbruck to
Amsterdam, Paris (Orly)
Krakow to
Amsterdam, Milan (Bergamo), Dublin, Roma (Fiumicino), Paris (Orly)
Salzburg to
Barcelona, Manchester, Warsaw
Poprad to
London (Stansted)
Warsaw to
Milan (Bergamo), Roma (Fiumicino) Paris (Orly), London (Stansted)
New Blue Air route to Verona
Blue Air the Romanian low cost / charter airline is to fly to Verona (Brescia), Italy from 11 February 2006. They will fly there from Bucharest, Romania and Timisoara, Romania three times per week. Flights will start at €38 plus taxes and charges each way.
Also a reminder that they will be flying from Bucharest, Romania from 17 January 2006.
Also a reminder that they will be flying from Bucharest, Romania from 17 January 2006.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Rail and fly from HLX
HLX the German budget airline, have teamed up with Deutshe Bahn (DB) the German National Railway operator to allow journeys to be completed to anywhere in Germany for €19 /£14 per person and route. The scheme also includes bus, suburban railway (S-Bahn) and underground trains for eleven of the biggest operators in Germany.
Tickets for the rail are issued by e-mail, pdf document or fax when the HLX flight is booked.
If flying to on an international flight from Germany the ticket can also be used to purchase a connection to the departure airport, (as long it is from your destination in Germany).
Children under six travel free on the scheme. Rail / bus tickets purchased under the rail and fly scheme are not refundable.
This sounds like an excellent scheme top me. It even covers relevant ICE Trains but a surcharge is payable for the ICE Sprinter.
The scheme is explained on the hlx.com website.
New Brussels - Palermo route
Virgin Express has today added a new route to its Summer 2006, line up. From 1 April 2006 it will operate 2 flights per week from Brussels International to Palermo, Sicily, Italy. This expands the number of Italian destinations to four.
Virgin Express is based in Brussels and operates a fleet of 10 Boeing 737 aircraft to; Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Catania, Copenhagen, Faro, Geneva, Hamburg, Lisbon, Madrid, Malaga, Milan-Orio al Serio, Munich, Murcia, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Rome, Toulon and Valencia.
Virgin Express is based in Brussels and operates a fleet of 10 Boeing 737 aircraft to; Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Catania, Copenhagen, Faro, Geneva, Hamburg, Lisbon, Madrid, Malaga, Milan-Orio al Serio, Munich, Murcia, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Rome, Toulon and Valencia.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
A Happy Christmas from Eurapart
Only a few hours to go now, so let me take this opportunity to wish you a very lovely Christmas.
John
John
Thomsonfly new website
In a previous post we announced that Thomsonfly were to join up with Thomson Flights. This has now happened and Thomsonfly can offer flights fro 26 UK airports to 87 destinations in Europe and Egypt. They have a few flights fro Doncaster / Sheffield to Alicante, Faro and Malaga from 1p plus taxes and charges.
Friday, December 23, 2005
Jet2.com add Blackpool - Alicante
The headline says it all really, but I'd better give the details. Jet2.com will start flights to Alicante from Blackpool in April 2006. The flights will start from £31 each way including taxes.
I would have thought that the two resorts are in competition with each other.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Virgin Express routes from 39.99 euros
Virgin Express are offering seats at €39.99 one way including taxes and charges.
The routes on offer for 39.99 euros are Brussels to / from (92,500 seats):
Barcelona
Berlin
Hamburg
Madrid
Malaga
Milan-Bergamo
Murcia
Alicante South
Palermo
Palma
Rome
Toulon
Valencia
for €49.99 one way including taxes you can fly from Brussels to (32,500 seats):
Athens
Catania
Geneva
Lisbon
Nice
Flights go on sale at these prices from Friday 23 December 2005 until Friday 6 January 2006. Flights are available between 23 December 2005 and 28 October 2006.
Availability of flights will be better in the late Summer.
The routes on offer for 39.99 euros are Brussels to / from (92,500 seats):
Barcelona
Berlin
Hamburg
Madrid
Malaga
Milan-Bergamo
Murcia
Alicante South
Palermo
Palma
Rome
Toulon
Valencia
for €49.99 one way including taxes you can fly from Brussels to (32,500 seats):
Athens
Catania
Geneva
Lisbon
Nice
Flights go on sale at these prices from Friday 23 December 2005 until Friday 6 January 2006. Flights are available between 23 December 2005 and 28 October 2006.
Availability of flights will be better in the late Summer.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
18 new Ryanair Dublin routes
Ryanair is to add 18 routes from Dublin when it gets delivery of the five more 737-800's, it plans to base there. The new routes are:
- Marseille, France
- Nantes, France
- La Rochelle, France
- Baden (Stuttgart), Germany
- Hamburg, Germany
- Krakow, Poland
- Poznan, Poland
- Wroclaw, Poland
- Milan, Italy
- Venice, Italy
- Gothenburg, Sweden
- Malmo, Sweden
- Valencia, Spain
- Porto, Portugal
- Salzburg, Austria
- Bratislava, Slovakia
- Kaunas, Lithuania
- Humberside, UK
Monarch sale starts Friday 23 Dec
Monarch Airlines have a Christmas sale from Friday 23 December 2005 to Wednesday 28 December 2005. The seats start at £29.99 (Newquay to Malaga one way on 29 January 2006) and include taxes and charges. Other fares can be found by looking up the Bargain Hunter Feature on Monarch's homepage.
Monarch Scheduled fly from Aberdeen, Birmingham, Blackpool, London Gatwick, London Luton, Manchester and Newquay Airports to destinations in Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar. Unlike many low cost airlines they offer cheap flights but also provide a few "frills" such as free newspaper, hot towel service. They also sell extra legroom seats for £10 and the chance to pre-book a seat for £5 each way.
Low cost airline to Australia?
Jetstar the low cost airline owned by the Australian flag carrier Qantas has recently announced that it will fly the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The 787 is capable of flying long distances burning a lot less fuel than the current generation of airliners, it also flies faster than aircraft the same size.
The intention is for Jetstar to enter the International market by 2007. Jetstar is looking to operating flights to Asia and Europe. We may yet get a budget airline offering flights to Australia. I can't see them selling tickets for a £1 though.
The intention is for Jetstar to enter the International market by 2007. Jetstar is looking to operating flights to Asia and Europe. We may yet get a budget airline offering flights to Australia. I can't see them selling tickets for a £1 though.
Ryanair £2 seats*
The prices of the seats in the current sale seats sound more like cinema tickets, but even they are not that cheap. You don't have to pay airport taxes and charges in a cinema though do you?
Any excuse and Ryanair have a sale. Its better than making excuses to raise the prices though, such as the rising fuel costs etc used by some scheduled airlines.
Today's excuse, sorry I mean reason to celebrate, is that following the sale of the older aircraft, the average age of Ryanair's fleet is now less than 2 years old. To mark this achievement they are selling seats on a good selection of routes for £2, plus taxes and charges, which we are assured will not exceed £15.20.
*These fares can be booked from 20 December 2005 to 22 December 2005 for any flight Monday to Sunday between 27 December 2005 and 25 March 2006. There some blackout periods of 10 February 2006 to 20 February 2006 and March 2006 to 21 March 2006. Also excluded are holidays, school breaks and major sporting events. Fares are one way excluding taxes and charges, but I have already said that.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Jet2.com New Year sale
Jet2.com is having a New Year sale with flights from Leeds Bradford to Amsterdam and Belfast being sold for £9.99 one way including taxes and charges. There are lots of other cheap fares available such as Leeds Bradford to Geneva and Chambery in the French Alps from £21 one way including taxes and charges. Manchester is also offering the same destinations from the same £21 one way. These will prove very popular with Winter sports enthusiasts or even those considering it for the first time such as myself. These prices are only available for December, January and February.
Wizzair adds Corfu and Rhodes
Wizzair the London owned low budget airline serving routes from Poland and Hungary are adding two more to its line up for Summer 2006:
- Budapest to Rhodes, Greece
- Budapest to Corfu, Greece
The airline is also operating its Budapest to Barcelona, Girona and Budapest to Palma de Mallorca that it operated successfully in 2005.
Germanwings seats for 1 euro*
Germanwings the low cost airline owned by Lufthansa is offering 100,000 seats to and from 40 airports all over Europe from 1 euro plus taxes and charges. The seats are available from 16h00 CET (15h00 in UK) until they have sold out. They are available for flights between 10 January 2006 and 31 March 2006.*1 euro prices are valid only for seats booked over the internet, are one way and do not include taxes and charges.
New Transavia routes
Transavia adds four new routes to its network this Summer. They are:
- Amsterdam Schipol to Glasgow Prestwick, Scotland
- Rooterdam to Toulon, France
- Amsterdam Schipol to Valencia, Spain
- Amsterdam Schipol to Pau, France
Flight attendant tried to save crash plane
A flight attendant tried to save the Helios Airways Boeing 737-300 after it lost cabin pressure and the flight crew were overcome. This is what crash investigators revealed yesterday. The 25 year old flight attendant got hold of a portable supply of oxygen and entered the cockpit and gained manual control of the aircraft and attempted to fly it for 10 minutes before the aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed into a hillside. In all 121 people were killed on the Larnaca to Prague via Athens flight on 14 August this year.
Yesterday another 737 was flown to re-enact the flight. The symbolic flight number 121 in memory of the dead was used to designate the flight.
Yesterday another 737 was flown to re-enact the flight. The symbolic flight number 121 in memory of the dead was used to designate the flight.
German air traffic control to be sold off
Deutsche Flujsicherung (DFS) (nothing to do with furniture) the German Air Traffic Control is attracting bidders to take over the operation. A consortium of Lufthansa and TUI, possibly with Frankfurt Airport operator Fraport, Munich Airport, Hochtief and Air Berlin are tipped as likely to make a bid.
They are keen to see Air Traffic Control mantained under German control.
TUI are concerned that a single company takes control and uses its monopoly position to raise air traffic control charges to its German competitors. I suppose they might still raise charges for carriers from outside Germany though.
The German government has plans to privatise DFS by offering 74.9% to private investors in 2006.
They are keen to see Air Traffic Control mantained under German control.
TUI are concerned that a single company takes control and uses its monopoly position to raise air traffic control charges to its German competitors. I suppose they might still raise charges for carriers from outside Germany though.
The German government has plans to privatise DFS by offering 74.9% to private investors in 2006.
Boeing strike affects Ryanair routes
A strike by Boeing employees has led to a delivery of 737-800 aircraft not being delivered a month late. Ryanair will stop using its fleet of 737-200 aircraft at the end of this month. They can't be kept in service longer, as they have been sold on.As the last of the four new aircraft won't arrive until April 2006, Ryanair has had to cancel flights from Nottingahm East Midlands Airport and Pisa. In all 100,000 passengers a month will not be able to fly as a result of the shortfall in capacity.
Ryanair’s Deputy Chief Executive, Michael Cawley made this apology;
“We very much regret having to reduce our schedule to allow for the late delivery of new aircraft from Boeing and the planned retirement of our older 737-200’s in December. These aircraft have already been sold. We apologise sincerely to all our passengers who may be inconvenienced by these schedule changes, and we look forward to welcoming them on board the new flights from East Midlands and Pisa when the new aircraft are delivered and based there during April 2006.”
These schedule changes will not effect Ryanair’s profit guidance for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006.”
Air Baltic Sale
Air Baltic operates out of Riga in Latvia and Vilnius in Lithuania. Owned partly by the Ltavian goverment and partly by SAS, they serve a number of European destinations including London Gatwick, Manchester, Amsterdam, Brussels, Barcelona, Paris, Berlin, Kiev and Dublin to name a few.
At present they are offering flights from Manchester to Riga for £43, London to Vilnius for £42. Barcelona to Riga for 65 Euros. The prices include taxes and charges but do not take into account exchange rate variations. They are only available over the internet and apply only to economy tickets which are non refundable.
At present they are offering flights from Manchester to Riga for £43, London to Vilnius for £42. Barcelona to Riga for 65 Euros. The prices include taxes and charges but do not take into account exchange rate variations. They are only available over the internet and apply only to economy tickets which are non refundable.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Ryanair and hold baggage
In an article in the Sunday Times, Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair has said that it is "inevitable" that Ryanair will charge for hold baggage in the future. It just seems to be a matter of when. He seems to have been caught on the hop by flybe who introduced a charge for hold stowed luggage on Friday. Mr O' Leary has tried to discourage the carrying of hold baggage by being very strict with weights of checked in bags. He has indicated for some time that he would like to get rid of it all together. Charging a supplement for it will hasten its demise.
The likelihood is that the checked in baggage charge will be levied at the same time as the trials for the new web check-in scheme. In this passengers will print off a bar code that will be scanned by machines at the airport. This is similar to the Eurostar system. O’Leary said the machines will cost Ryanair about €5,000 per airport, but will save time and staff.
The likelihood is that the checked in baggage charge will be levied at the same time as the trials for the new web check-in scheme. In this passengers will print off a bar code that will be scanned by machines at the airport. This is similar to the Eurostar system. O’Leary said the machines will cost Ryanair about €5,000 per airport, but will save time and staff.
20 GBP off all XL.com flights
XL Airways are having a 48 hour sale. If you book a flight at XL.com on Monday 19 December 05 or Tuesday 20 December 05, the site should automatically display CHRISTMAS in the Promotion code box. If it doesn't then you know what to type.These flights will have 20 GBP deducted when the prices are calculated.
XL flies to a number of popular holiday destinations in Spain, Malta, Egypt and even the USA from twelve UK airports. As reported last week, they are also offering flights to Geneva and Chambery on their Flight Offers page to cater for the ski market.
£17.99 Prague flights from Thomsonfly
Today the offer behind the window on the Thomsonfly Advent calendar is for £17.99 flights to Prague. The price includes taxes and charges.
Prague is one of Europe's most beautiful cities having escaped serous damage in the Second World War. From Charles' Bridge, to the Astronomical Clock in the Old Square, Prague Castle, the Jewish Quarter, there are lots of palces to visit.
Prague is one of Europe's most beautiful cities having escaped serous damage in the Second World War. From Charles' Bridge, to the Astronomical Clock in the Old Square, Prague Castle, the Jewish Quarter, there are lots of palces to visit.
Fly Ireland - Poland for 1 Euro
Centralwings is having another sale from Monday 19 December to 26 December 2005. Flights to Poland from Dublin and Shannon in Ireland and Milan and Rome in Italy will be available from 1 Euro. Centralwings previously had this offer on for flights from the UK, now it is the turn of the Italians and Irish to benefit.
The qualifying flights are:
Dublin to Wroclaw
Dublin to Katowice
Shannon to Warsaw
For flights taken between 9 January 2006 and 13 March 2006
Bologna to Warsaw
Milan to Wroclaw
Milan to Warsaw
Rome to Cracow
Rome to Warsaw
For flights taken between 5 January 2006 and 14 March 2006
*Return tickets must be purchased. Taxes and airport fees are not included.
The qualifying flights are:
Dublin to Wroclaw
Dublin to Katowice
Shannon to Warsaw
For flights taken between 9 January 2006 and 13 March 2006
Bologna to Warsaw
Milan to Wroclaw
Milan to Warsaw
Rome to Cracow
Rome to Warsaw
For flights taken between 5 January 2006 and 14 March 2006
*Return tickets must be purchased. Taxes and airport fees are not included.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Amsterdam Advent offer
In today's window on Thomsonfly's Advent Calendar is the chance to go to Amsterdam or Jersey for just the price of the taxes and charges. The offer is open until noon on Moday 19 December 2005.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Ryanair free seats sale ends Monday
The Ryanair "million free seats" sale seems to have been going on all December. Their latest newsletter is a reminder that the sale will end at Midnight on Monday 19 December 2005. The seats are actually sold for £0.01 plus taxes and charges.
A scan through the Ryanair flight finder revealed that there was a good selection of free flights on to Riga from Liverpool my local airport, while there were very few left to Rome. My advice is to book now if you are thinking of taking up the offer.
A scan through the Ryanair flight finder revealed that there was a good selection of free flights on to Riga from Liverpool my local airport, while there were very few left to Rome. My advice is to book now if you are thinking of taking up the offer.
Monarch news - new routes, sale and more...
Monarch Airlines have added London Luton to Palma, Mallorca to its line up. The first flights on the route will be in May 2006. This Winter Monarch have added many more routes to its map including:Manchester - Menorca
Birmingham - Almeria
Birmingham - Menorca
Birmingham - Murcia
Birmingham - Palma
At the same time it is having a seat sale with routes such as London Gatwick to Barcelona and Granada on sale from 31.50 GBP one way including taxes.
Seats can be reserved for a 5 GBP fee while extra legroom seats can be purchased for 10 GBP (not including flights to the Canaries, which cost 20 GBP) up to 31 January 2006.
One last bit of news. Last week Monarch Airlines proudly announced that 95% of their flights left on time and 100% left within an hour of their scheduled departures.
Hong Kong via Moscow route for Manchester
Not exactly hot of the press, but Cathay Pacific will resume its Hong Kong service from Manchester on 26 March 2006. They will service the route with Airbus A340-300 aircraft. The Manchester to Moscow route will run a code sharing arrangement with Aeroflot similar to the Hong Kong - Moscow route has operated since 2004. Cathay Pacific will be the only airline offering a direct passenger service from Manchester to Hong Kong.
Sterling 200,000 seats under 500DKK each way
Sterling 
the Danish budget airline have are also having a sale, with 200, 000 seats sold for less than 500DKK each way. The offer is available for flights booked up until 30 December 2005 and applies to flights from 1 January to 15 June 2006. Flights during Easter and holiday periods are not included in the offer.
Sterling fly to numerous destinations across Western Europe from Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki. The destinations include London Gatwick, Lisbon, Paris Beauvais, Malaga, Barcelona, Amsterdam , Athens, Prague and Berlin.
Sterling fly to numerous destinations across Western Europe from Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki. The destinations include London Gatwick, Lisbon, Paris Beauvais, Malaga, Barcelona, Amsterdam , Athens, Prague and Berlin.
Thomsonfly drop taxes and charges for 2nd birthday
Thomsonfly was 2 years old yesterday. They started flights from their Coventry base in 2004, using temporary portacabin accommodation. To celebrate they are selling 222,222 seats without taxes and charges. Hurry the offer closes on Saturday 17 December 2005 at Noon.
The e-mail notifying of this went out yesterday morning but as I am in work I was not aware and could not post this. This is why registering for budget airlines newsletters is so useful because in doing so you get to hear of the latest offers immediately (well, perhaps when you pick up your mail!)
The e-mail notifying of this went out yesterday morning but as I am in work I was not aware and could not post this. This is why registering for budget airlines newsletters is so useful because in doing so you get to hear of the latest offers immediately (well, perhaps when you pick up your mail!)
Friday, December 16, 2005
New Cardiff to Dublin and Belfast routes
Aer Arann the Irish regional low cost operator has just announced two new routes from Cardiff. From 27 March 2006 it will connect the Welsh Capital City to Dublin and Belfast. Aer Arann will offer two flights per day to each destination with the 50 passenger capacity ATR42 aircraft.Micheal O’Callarain, Marketing Manager Aer Arann said “Our commercial team is continually looking for opportunities for expansion and as such we are delighted to be announcing these two new services from Cardiff today. This year Cardiff is celebrating its centenary as a city and its 50th year as Wales' capital. It is a thriving and vibrant city and we believe that there is considerable untapped demand both on the Dublin and Belfast routes and look forward to developing both services in the New Year.”
New Manchester - Perpignan route from bmibaby
Bmibaby the low cost airline is to start flying the Manchester to Perpignan, France route from 26 March 2006. Perpignan is the capital of French Catalonia. It is blessed with a excellent weather and a historic city centre. It is also close to the Pyrenees and Spanish border.
The flights will start at £19.99 each way including taxes and charges.
The flights will start at £19.99 each way including taxes and charges.
Heathrow rations fuel
Some long haul airlines are flying onwards from Heathrow are having to stop off for fuel at another airport en route. This follows the devastating fires at the Buncefield oil depot near Hemel Hempstead. The storage depot sullies about a third of Heathrow's fuel via a pipeline.
BAA are rationing long haul operators to 2/3 of their usual amount and short haul aircraft to half.
This is increasing flight times and the operating costs of airlines using Heathrow as they are having to fly into Heathrow with fuller fuel tanks than normal.
BAA are rationing long haul operators to 2/3 of their usual amount and short haul aircraft to half.
This is increasing flight times and the operating costs of airlines using Heathrow as they are having to fly into Heathrow with fuller fuel tanks than normal.
Wizzair flights - sale 12.97 GBP (inc) each way
Between 15 December 2005 and 21 December 2005, Wizzair the Polish budget airline is selling seats from 12.97 GBP each way including taxes and charges, for travel between 10 January 2006 and 31 March 2006. The price does not include booking surcharges for credit or debit cards.
They fly from a number of airports in Poland (Warsaw, Katowice, Gdansk, Poznan and Wroclaw) to destinations such as London Luton, Liverpool, Brussels, Paris, Barcelona, Budapest, Lubeck, Milan, Rome, Sofia, Amsterdam, Frankfurt Hahn and Stockholm.
They fly from a number of airports in Poland (Warsaw, Katowice, Gdansk, Poznan and Wroclaw) to destinations such as London Luton, Liverpool, Brussels, Paris, Barcelona, Budapest, Lubeck, Milan, Rome, Sofia, Amsterdam, Frankfurt Hahn and Stockholm.
Flybe charge for hold luggage
Flybe passengers without hold luggage will get a £1 discount on their journey from February in a move to discourage checked in baggage. Hold luggage will be charged at £2 per item when booked in advance and £4 per item otherwise, Economy Plus passengers will not be charged for baggage. The carry on weight limit will double to 10 kg. At present only 55% of passengers check in baggage for the hold.
The passenger hold baggage allowance will rise to 25kg , while Economy Plus passengers will be given a 30 kg allowance. The charges apply to all flights booked from today, that depart after 1 February 2006.
Jim French, Flybe CEO said: “For the first time passengers checking bags onto flights will pay for the service they use rather than the cost being unfairly spread across all people on the aircraft. With passengers pre-booking baggage we will be able to accurately predict the volume of baggage to be carried allowing us to handle flights with exactly the right levels of resource. This will speed up turnaround times, reduce costs and provide us with much greater operational flexibility. “
He went on to say:"Flybe’s innovative lead allows passengers to book on-line, reserve a seat on-line, and in Spring 2006 check-in on-line. Therefore passengers travelling without baggage will go straight to the boarding gate, having spent an average of 4 minutes completing the on-line integrated booking process. Flybe aims to deliver to the consumer, an experience that minimises the time booking and time spent at the airport, removing the need to queue and cutting down hassle"
My feeling is that all low cost airlines will do something similar as baggage handling slows down aircraft turnaround and is costly. As most of the flights are for short stays it should not be too much of an inconvenience to travel light. The carry on allowance of 10 kg is, in my experience of travelling ample, unless I am away for a long time and want to bring back some shopping. What isn't clear is what the size restrictions on the carry on luggage are.
The passenger hold baggage allowance will rise to 25kg , while Economy Plus passengers will be given a 30 kg allowance. The charges apply to all flights booked from today, that depart after 1 February 2006.
Jim French, Flybe CEO said: “For the first time passengers checking bags onto flights will pay for the service they use rather than the cost being unfairly spread across all people on the aircraft. With passengers pre-booking baggage we will be able to accurately predict the volume of baggage to be carried allowing us to handle flights with exactly the right levels of resource. This will speed up turnaround times, reduce costs and provide us with much greater operational flexibility. “
He went on to say:"Flybe’s innovative lead allows passengers to book on-line, reserve a seat on-line, and in Spring 2006 check-in on-line. Therefore passengers travelling without baggage will go straight to the boarding gate, having spent an average of 4 minutes completing the on-line integrated booking process. Flybe aims to deliver to the consumer, an experience that minimises the time booking and time spent at the airport, removing the need to queue and cutting down hassle"
My feeling is that all low cost airlines will do something similar as baggage handling slows down aircraft turnaround and is costly. As most of the flights are for short stays it should not be too much of an inconvenience to travel light. The carry on allowance of 10 kg is, in my experience of travelling ample, unless I am away for a long time and want to bring back some shopping. What isn't clear is what the size restrictions on the carry on luggage are.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Win a week in Tuscany with Thomsonfly
Today's advent offering is the chance to win a week at a villa with swimming pool in the beautiful Tuscan countryside. The question is very easy, so why not have a try. The competition is open until noon on Friday.
BA Shop Steward sacking
British Airways have sacked a T & G Senior Union Shop Steward, who was heavily involved in the strike of British Airways baggage handlers and ground staff in the Summer. The strike was in support of sacked Gate Gourmet catering staff, but was held without a ballot and illegal under UK law. The strike cost BA £45 million. BA have been carried out an investigation since the strike to find out who was behind the action.
A second employee has been given a written warning and suspended without pay for a month, while proceedings are still continuing against a third employee.
The T & G Union are waiting for the BA proceedings to conclude before deciding how to respond. The worry for passengers is that the union may respond with strikes over the Christmas holiday period.
A second employee has been given a written warning and suspended without pay for a month, while proceedings are still continuing against a third employee.
The T & G Union are waiting for the BA proceedings to conclude before deciding how to respond. The worry for passengers is that the union may respond with strikes over the Christmas holiday period.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Ryanair Charleroi expansion
Today, Ryanair revealed a 10 year expansion programme for Brussels Charleroi Airport. It will base a fourth aircraft at the airport and serve five extra destinations:
Faro, Portugal
Nimes, France
Malaga, Spain
Salzburg, Austria
Valencia, Spain
In the 10 year expansion programme, Ryanair will invest $240 million in aircraft serving the airport and in doing so, generate 2,300 jobs in this old coal mining region. It is estimated that the visitors brought in by Ryanair will spend €200 million per year.
Christmas present idea - flight voucher
Both Ryanair and easyJet are offering flight vouchers this Christmas.
The Ryanair vouchers are available from €10/£0 up to €200/£200 and the easyJet vouchers in any combination from £25 up to £250. In this case then Ryanair is the cheaper airline!
The other interesting thing is that the Ryanair vouchers are posted not e-mailed whereas the easyJet vouchers are e-mailed.
The Ryanair vouchers are available from €10/£0 up to €200/£200 and the easyJet vouchers in any combination from £25 up to £250. In this case then Ryanair is the cheaper airline!
The other interesting thing is that the Ryanair vouchers are posted not e-mailed whereas the easyJet vouchers are e-mailed.
More new routes from SkyEurope
Just as SkyEurope's latest route (Bratislava - Sofia) starts operating, they announce a new Birmingham International to Krakow service. Due to start on 12 April 2006. The airline will operate two flights per week from the Midlands airport.
Krakow Airport is 11 miles from the medieval city centre, which is among the best preserved in Europe (that is the city centre not the airport!) According to the SkyEurope press release, it is becoming popular with British visitors wanting dental work carried out at bargain prices!
Prices start at £17 one way (excluding taxes and charges).
Starting from 24 June 2006, SkyEurope, will also fly Bratislava, Slovakia to Bourgas in Bulgaria, bringing their Bulgarian connections up to two. They already fly to Bucharest. This gradual migration of low cost airlines Eastwards is exiting. I can't wait for them to reach Kiev.
Krakow Airport is 11 miles from the medieval city centre, which is among the best preserved in Europe (that is the city centre not the airport!) According to the SkyEurope press release, it is becoming popular with British visitors wanting dental work carried out at bargain prices!
Prices start at £17 one way (excluding taxes and charges).
Starting from 24 June 2006, SkyEurope, will also fly Bratislava, Slovakia to Bourgas in Bulgaria, bringing their Bulgarian connections up to two. They already fly to Bucharest. This gradual migration of low cost airlines Eastwards is exiting. I can't wait for them to reach Kiev.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
XL Airways late offers on Ski flights to Geneva and Chambery
XL Airways have some very good late availability offers this week. Hurry though as they go fast. The £39 return flights from Bristol to Chambery had sold out when I posted this. They flights at £49 return plus £5 credit card and £25 fuel surcharge coming to £79 return total.
They have a selection of flights from London, Manchester, Edinburgh etc. A cheap flight that caught my eye was:
London Gatwick / Sharm El Sheikh Sun 08 Jan 2006 Excel Airways
Sharm El Sheikh / London Gatwick Sun 15 Jan 2006 Excel Airways
for £73 return including all charges.
They have a selection of flights from London, Manchester, Edinburgh etc. A cheap flight that caught my eye was:
London Gatwick / Sharm El Sheikh Sun 08 Jan 2006 Excel Airways
Sharm El Sheikh / London Gatwick Sun 15 Jan 2006 Excel Airways
for £73 return including all charges.
Win flights and two nights accommodation in Paris
Today's Advent Calendar offer from Thomsonfly is a competition to win two flights and two nights accommodation in in the Four Star hotel Terass in Paris. The lucky winners are sure to have a Romantic Weekend.
To enter go to www.thomsonfly.com and click on the "Santa flies with us" banner.
To enter go to www.thomsonfly.com and click on the "Santa flies with us" banner.
12 new destinations for FlyMe
FlyMe the low cost airline operating from its main hub in Stockholm, Sweden, will from 30 March 2006 offer twelve more routes. They include London Stansted for UK residents like myself. The new line up is:
London Stansted
Paris Beauvais
Amsterdam Schiphol
Rome Ciampino
Düsseldorf
Prague
Nice
Malaga
Alicante
Palma
Crete Chania
Rhodes
Currently the airline only serves these Scandinavian destinations:
Göteborg Landvetter
Helsinki
Vantaa
Malmö Sturup
Östersund
London Stansted
Paris Beauvais
Amsterdam Schiphol
Rome Ciampino
Düsseldorf
Prague
Nice
Malaga
Alicante
Palma
Crete Chania
Rhodes
Currently the airline only serves these Scandinavian destinations:
Göteborg Landvetter
Helsinki
Vantaa
Malmö Sturup
Östersund
Maxjet adds Washington - Stansted route
MAXjet is carrier specialising in carrying business class passengers at very competitive rates. It has today announced that from the end of February next year it will operate an additional route, from Washington DC to London Stansted. MAXjet commenced operation on the New York to London Stansted route a month ago. The Business Class only seats on its New York to Stansted service start at £854 return.
It is also adding a Saturday flight to the New York - London service, bringing the frequency up to 7 x weekly.
The airline uses a Boeing 767 with only 102 seats.
It is also adding a Saturday flight to the New York - London service, bringing the frequency up to 7 x weekly.
The airline uses a Boeing 767 with only 102 seats.
Blue1 flies West
Blue1, the Finnish low cost airline owned by SAS, is expanding its fleet by adding three new aircraft. The extra capacity will increase the airports served from 14 to 25.
Reaching out from its Scandinavian heartland, it will add a number of Western European destinations to its growing route-map. From March 2006, they will include:
The new aircraft will be 166 seat Boeing MD-90's. They join the current fleet of Avro RJ's and Saab 2000's..
Stefan Wentjärvi, CEO of Blue1 said, "This heavy expansion is our response to the market need"
Stefan explained; "Blue1 is already the biggest operator between Finland and Scandinavia, we have a firm grip of the Finnish domestic market and now our next step is Europe. For business travelers we can now offer better connections to destinations as London and Zurich but we can also offer our private travelers smart and price worthy flights to southern Europe".
Reaching out from its Scandinavian heartland, it will add a number of Western European destinations to its growing route-map. From March 2006, they will include:
- Athens
- Barcelona
- Dublin
- Düsseldorf
- London
- Madrid
- Nice
- Paris
- Rome
- Warsaw
- Zurich
The new aircraft will be 166 seat Boeing MD-90's. They join the current fleet of Avro RJ's and Saab 2000's..
Stefan Wentjärvi, CEO of Blue1 said, "This heavy expansion is our response to the market need"
Stefan explained; "Blue1 is already the biggest operator between Finland and Scandinavia, we have a firm grip of the Finnish domestic market and now our next step is Europe. For business travelers we can now offer better connections to destinations as London and Zurich but we can also offer our private travelers smart and price worthy flights to southern Europe".
Monday, December 12, 2005
Jet2.com new Edinburgh - Pisa route
The newest Jet2.com route is Edinburgh to Pisa. Close to Florence, Tuscany the airport is close to a busy railway station. The first flight leaves Edinburgh bound for Pisa on 27 May 2006.
The flights are currently very cheap starting at a mere £31 one way including all taxes and charges.
The flights are currently very cheap starting at a mere £31 one way including all taxes and charges.
Thomsonfly Advent Calendar offer
Thomsonfly are running an Advent Calendar offer scheme form the 1st to 24th December 2005. They have offers from cheap flights to selected destinations. Today’s is Barcelona from £17.99 one way including taxes (booking by credit cards is subject to a £4.75 surcharge and by debit card £0.50 surcharge). The seats can only be booked at this price until 12 noon (UK time) on 13 December 2005. Seats on flights between 15 December 2005 and 25 March 2005 can be booked from the following airports:
Birmingham, Nottingham East Midlands, Glasgow and Palma Mallorca only.
Other Advent Offers have included free prize draws for Ipod’s, and weekends away. It is well worth a look up each day until Christmas.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Germanwings 20,000 seats for €19
Germanwings are joining in the sales frenzy, offering 20,000 seats at €19 each way including taxes and charges. Book from 9 December 2005 until 12 December 2005 at 08h00 CET (7am in UK).
The travel period is restricted to between 10 Dec 05 to 31 January 2006.
Vueling offer 100,000 flights for €10*
Vueling the Barcelona based low cost operator is getting in the Christmas spirit and offering 100,000 flights for €10, plus taxes and charges each way. The booking period is from Sunday 11 December 2005 to Wednesday 14 December 2005. The offers applies to bookings for flights in January, February and March 2006.
The €10 cheap flight seats were available on all the routes I checked this morning (Amsterdam, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon to Barcelona). I'm sure they will be snapped up quickly.
Vueling flies to the primary airports for the major cities such as Charles de Gaulle, El Prat, Barajas etc and allows seat reservations.
The €10 cheap flight seats were available on all the routes I checked this morning (Amsterdam, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon to Barcelona). I'm sure they will be snapped up quickly.
Vueling flies to the primary airports for the major cities such as Charles de Gaulle, El Prat, Barajas etc and allows seat reservations.
Disruption for travellers to Luton
Huge explosions at a fuel depot by Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, have closed off the M1 motorway and made travel to Luton Airport extremely difficult.
Realising that their passengers may struggle to catch their flight, easyJet is to allow passengers booked on flights today, Sunday 11 December 2005, to amend their travel arrangements free of charge.
There will be no charge for moving their booking to the next flight with available seats and to the same destination.
EasyJet announcement
Realising that their passengers may struggle to catch their flight, easyJet is to allow passengers booked on flights today, Sunday 11 December 2005, to amend their travel arrangements free of charge.
There will be no charge for moving their booking to the next flight with available seats and to the same destination.
EasyJet announcement
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Air Berlin adds more Stansted - Hanover capacity
From March 3rd 2006, Air Berlin will expand its service to Hanover from London Stansted. The extra service will provide easier access to CeBit, the world's largest computer trade show.With London Stansted now acting as a hub for Air Berlin it will also be possible to take a cheap flight to Hanover and other Air Berlin destinations from Manchester and Glasgow. Baggage will be transferred to your onward flight at Stansted. Prices are low too, with London Stansted to Hanover starting at 19 GBP one way and Glasgow and Manchester from 29 GBP each way.
Friday, December 09, 2005
Monarch's December Offer
Yet another offer, this one from Monarch, who from today (9 December 05) for the next week are doubling their online booking discount. They will give a £10 discount on one way flights booked online and £20 discount an return flights booked online.
The offer runs until midnight on Tuesday 13th December and applies to all flights, all routes, all dates! Paying by debit card will avoid a £4 credit card fee, but if paying by credit card you do get extra consumer protection.
Stansted second runway update
Today, (9 December 05), BAA announced the results of its study into developing Stansted Airport.
The project named Generation Two, could see the airport's capacity rise from 22 million passengers a year today, to between 63 million and 76 million in 2030. Seven different schemes have been prepared. The chosen scheme would require planning permission. The airport will be built in phases to spread the investment.
Phase 1 should cater for an additional 15 million passengers a year on top of the predicted 35 million using the airport in 2015. The capital cost of Phase 1 is projected to be around £1.7 billion. Subsequent phases will increase capacity further and cost an estimated further £1 billion. This is less than the government's project £4 billion price tag.
The announcement will not be welcomed by local residents and environmental groups. The low cost airlines operating from the airport have also started to voice their concerns. The expansion is to be funded by levying extra charges at all of BAA's London Airports with Stansted increasing charges most.
Andrew Harrison, easyJet Chief Executive, said:
“BAA seems to have forgotten that Stansted was an unloved white elephant until the charges were dropped to attract the likes of easyJet and in the last few years it has been one of the great success stories of European aviation. But now, BAA seems determined to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.”
This raises some interesting questions. When the EU judged that Ryanair was receiving a subsidy for operating from Brussels Charleroi it responded by dropping most of its routes from that airport. BAA have openly recognised that the growth at Stansted is down to low cost airlines. If airport charges are deemed too high will they simply move to cheaper airports, leaving Stansted with increased capacity but even fewer flights?
The project named Generation Two, could see the airport's capacity rise from 22 million passengers a year today, to between 63 million and 76 million in 2030. Seven different schemes have been prepared. The chosen scheme would require planning permission. The airport will be built in phases to spread the investment.
Phase 1 should cater for an additional 15 million passengers a year on top of the predicted 35 million using the airport in 2015. The capital cost of Phase 1 is projected to be around £1.7 billion. Subsequent phases will increase capacity further and cost an estimated further £1 billion. This is less than the government's project £4 billion price tag.
The announcement will not be welcomed by local residents and environmental groups. The low cost airlines operating from the airport have also started to voice their concerns. The expansion is to be funded by levying extra charges at all of BAA's London Airports with Stansted increasing charges most.
Andrew Harrison, easyJet Chief Executive, said:
“BAA seems to have forgotten that Stansted was an unloved white elephant until the charges were dropped to attract the likes of easyJet and in the last few years it has been one of the great success stories of European aviation. But now, BAA seems determined to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.”
This raises some interesting questions. When the EU judged that Ryanair was receiving a subsidy for operating from Brussels Charleroi it responded by dropping most of its routes from that airport. BAA have openly recognised that the growth at Stansted is down to low cost airlines. If airport charges are deemed too high will they simply move to cheaper airports, leaving Stansted with increased capacity but even fewer flights?
Thursday, December 08, 2005
5 new routes and 1 million free* seats from Ryanair
Its difficult keeping up with the new routes and sales at this time of year. Ryanair have today, (8 Dec 05) added the following routes:
- London Stansted to Vitoria, Spain - Daily from 17 Feb 06
- London Stansted to Lamezia, Italy - 3 x weekly from 18 Feb 06
- London Stansted to Balaton, Hungary - 3 x weekly from 18 Feb 06
- London Stansted to Parma, Italy - 4 x weekly from 31 Mar 06
- London Luton to Brest, France - 3 x weekly from 21 Feb 06
- Glasgow Prestwick to Marseille, France - 3 x weekly from 24 Feb 06
Michael O'Leary in launcing the routes also said; “To celebrate these 5 new routes Ryanair is launching 1 MILLION free seats* on all of our routes. These seats are available this week only at www.ryanair.com for travel in January and February.”
*Free seats only refers to the flight, airport taxes and charges are extra.
Air Berlin Europe-wide 100,000 tickets from 12 GBP
Air Berlin are offering 100,000 tickets for flights throughout Europe for 12 GBP. The offer includes German domestic routes e.g. in Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover, Gelsenkirchen or Hamburg. Alternatively choose the Europe wide destinations from London-Stansted via Palma de Mallorca you can choose between Alicante, Barcelona, Bilbao, Faro, Lisbon, Madrid, Malaga, Murcia, Porto, Santiago de Compostela, Seville and Valencia (Subject to availability). These prices are one-way all-inclusive fares and include taxes, charges and fuel surcharge.
As part of the World Cup 2006 build up, they also have a competition on their web site to win flights to all of the matches.
easyJet's sale extended
Virgin Express celebrates 4 new routes with sale
Virgin Express the Brussels based low cost airline have added four new routes to its network.
They are Brussels to:
Prices will start at 39€* for Barcelona, Berlin, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan Bergamo, Murcia, , Palma, Palermo, Rome. Toulon, and Valencia,
and 49€* for Athens, Catania, Faro, Geneva, Lisbon, Malaga and Nice.
Travel period: Jan.-Mar. for Hamburg, Apr.-Oct. for Palermo, and Jan.-June 2006 for all other destinations mentioned above.
Conditions apply, they are subject to availability which might be low, blackout periods include school holidays (e.g. Christmas, Carnival or Easter holidays).
Copenhagen and Munich are not included in the sale.
* One way including taxes
They are Brussels to:
- Munich, Germnany
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Hamburg, Germany
- Palermo, Italy
Prices will start at 39€* for Barcelona, Berlin, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan Bergamo, Murcia, , Palma, Palermo, Rome. Toulon, and Valencia,
and 49€* for Athens, Catania, Faro, Geneva, Lisbon, Malaga and Nice.
Travel period: Jan.-Mar. for Hamburg, Apr.-Oct. for Palermo, and Jan.-June 2006 for all other destinations mentioned above.
Conditions apply, they are subject to availability which might be low, blackout periods include school holidays (e.g. Christmas, Carnival or Easter holidays).
Copenhagen and Munich are not included in the sale.
* One way including taxes
SkyEurope's “Forget taxes and charges” offer
Until 14 December, SkyEurope is selling its flights without tax and charges. The offer applies to all flights, to all destinations to 28 October 2006. The initial prices quoted on their Web site will therefore be what you will pay. They have no restrictions with this offer.
SkyEurope Airlines flies an extensive route network from Central and Eastern Europe throughout Western Europe.
SkyEurope Airlines flies an extensive route network from Central and Eastern Europe throughout Western Europe.
Transavia's gets image makeover
Transavia the Netherlands based low cost airline, has started painting its aircraft in a new livery. The interiors will also get a makeover. The planes' new livery was devised by Landor, a UK brand consulting and creative design agency. It is to reflect Transavia's development from an airline to a travel brand. Earlier in the year Transavia and Basiq Air merged to form the enlarged airline. The aircraft will start to get their new paintwork before Christmas.
The airline will also a issue new design of uniform which will be worn by staff from 2nd January onwards. The designs are by Francisco van Benthum and Oscar Raaijmakers, who were brought together by the Dutch Fashion Foundation, and Broeckmans. The uniforms are a derivation of "college uniforms" with blazers, pleated skirts, even rugby shirts. The colour green will be used extensively as it is a major part of the airline's brand.
Onno van den Brink, CEO of transavia.com said. "With our new look we want to show that we dare to be different. Our fares will remain low, but we plan to expand our current range of products and services with complementary products and services that make booking the trip and the trip itself easier, more enjoyable and more comfortable. We are doing this in collaboration with our current business partners, the tour operators, and also with new partners.”
At the same time as this announcement they have released the first tranche of their Summer 2006 Routes.
The airline will also a issue new design of uniform which will be worn by staff from 2nd January onwards. The designs are by Francisco van Benthum and Oscar Raaijmakers, who were brought together by the Dutch Fashion Foundation, and Broeckmans. The uniforms are a derivation of "college uniforms" with blazers, pleated skirts, even rugby shirts. The colour green will be used extensively as it is a major part of the airline's brand.
Onno van den Brink, CEO of transavia.com said. "With our new look we want to show that we dare to be different. Our fares will remain low, but we plan to expand our current range of products and services with complementary products and services that make booking the trip and the trip itself easier, more enjoyable and more comfortable. We are doing this in collaboration with our current business partners, the tour operators, and also with new partners.”
At the same time as this announcement they have released the first tranche of their Summer 2006 Routes.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
HLX 200,000 seats for €0* until Sunday
Hapag Lloyd Expressthe German low cost airline is selling 200,000 seats from €0 each way plus taxes and charges. The offer is for selected routes only but HLX have an easy to search website that displays all of the offer prices for a month on a selected route.
*Price on selected routes, excluding taxes and charges, during the offer travelling period 12 December 2005 to 31 March 2006.
Stansted second runway plans
The cost of a second runway at Stansted Airport could be under £4 billion according to BAA the Airport operator. This is less than the government's £4.5 million (in today's money) estimate produced in 2003. BAA are due to reveal the runway's location, a thorny subject for local residents and environmental organisations opposed to the expansion. They expect the runway to be operational by 2013.
To fund it BAA intend to levy £1 per passenger at Heathrow and Gatwick and to raise the average charge per passenger at Stansted fro £3 to £5 by 2008. A proposal that has still to be agreed by the regulators has gone down like a lead balloon with airlines such as Ryanair.
To fund it BAA intend to levy £1 per passenger at Heathrow and Gatwick and to raise the average charge per passenger at Stansted fro £3 to £5 by 2008. A proposal that has still to be agreed by the regulators has gone down like a lead balloon with airlines such as Ryanair.
easyJet celebrates 10th Birthday and 30 million passengers / year
I don't expect you would expect to hear that they are in decline now would you? This November they carried 8.3% more passengers than November 2004. Their load factor was down very slightly to 80.2% but overall for the year they are up at 85%. Celebrating 10 years of operation in November 2005 they also past the 30 million passengers carried per year milestone for the first time.
Bomb scare closes Rome Ciampino
This morning (7th December 05) Rome Ciampino Airport was evacuated due to a bomb scare. A large number of flights had to be cancelled. Ryanair had to cancel a total of seven flights in and out of the airport. They are offering free re-booking on available flights or a refund of the fare paid up until the 11th December 05 for flights up to the 17th December 05. www.ryanair.com
Update:
An anonymous caller phoned Ryanair claiming that there was a bomb on one the four Ryanair aircraft based at Rome. Two of the airline's planes were boarding at the time and had to be evacuated. The all clear was given following a security sweep, three and a half hours later.
Update:
An anonymous caller phoned Ryanair claiming that there was a bomb on one the four Ryanair aircraft based at Rome. Two of the airline's planes were boarding at the time and had to be evacuated. The all clear was given following a security sweep, three and a half hours later.
EU wide airline blacklist approved.
European Union Transport Ministers have agreed to keep a register of airlines that fail to meet safety standards. Prior to this agreement a number of European countries had list of airlines that were banned in their country. However being banned by one country did not stop the offending airline operate in other EU nations.
The list came about following a Summer in which over 500 passengers had been killed in aircraft crashes worldwide. The full list will be published online and passengers will have to be informed if they book on a blacklisted airline. Passengers who find that the airline they have booked a flight with an airline that subsequently appears on the list should be able to claim compensation.
An EU statement said, "Air carriers are included on the list if there is verified evidence of serious safety deficiencies."
The list will be updated every 3 months and airlines will be able to dispute their inclusion on the list by proving their safety regime is effective.
The list came about following a Summer in which over 500 passengers had been killed in aircraft crashes worldwide. The full list will be published online and passengers will have to be informed if they book on a blacklisted airline. Passengers who find that the airline they have booked a flight with an airline that subsequently appears on the list should be able to claim compensation.
An EU statement said, "Air carriers are included on the list if there is verified evidence of serious safety deficiencies."
The list will be updated every 3 months and airlines will be able to dispute their inclusion on the list by proving their safety regime is effective.
Ryanair adds two new routes from Glasgow
Ryanair today (7 December 2005) added 2 new routes to its Glasgow Prestwick schedules. From 23rd February 2006 they will fly from Glasgow to Barcelona Reus in Spain and on the 24th February 2006, Marseille, France. Both routes will operate 3 times per week. The addition of the two new routes brings the total number of routes flown out of Glasgow by Ryanair to 20.
Seats for both routes can be booked from today (7/12/05).
Seats for both routes can be booked from today (7/12/05).
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
News in brief
Birmingham Airport Strike called off
Today, Amicus the union have called off their planned strike at Birmingham Airport. This will be welcome news to anyone travelling via the Airport over Christmas and New Year.
FlyBE serves up centrallised catering
FlyBE is to contract all of its in flight catering supply to Commisaire. Based in Birmingham they will service FlyBE's Birmingham, Exeter and Bournemouth hubs with food and drinks. Each aircraft will then be stocked with bars and catering store kits for its full day’s schedule of routes.
Monarch Airlines punctuality press release
For the week 28 November to 04 December, 87% of all Monarch Scheduled flights departed on time and 98% departed within an hour of scheduled departure time
SkyEurope passengers up 35% in November
SkyEurope increased the number of passengers carried by 35% compared to November 2004. Their load factor also increased 3% in the same period to 62.2%. Looks like they have a way to go to match Ryanair's load factors in the low eighties.
Today, Amicus the union have called off their planned strike at Birmingham Airport. This will be welcome news to anyone travelling via the Airport over Christmas and New Year.
FlyBE serves up centrallised catering
FlyBE is to contract all of its in flight catering supply to Commisaire. Based in Birmingham they will service FlyBE's Birmingham, Exeter and Bournemouth hubs with food and drinks. Each aircraft will then be stocked with bars and catering store kits for its full day’s schedule of routes.
Monarch Airlines punctuality press release
For the week 28 November to 04 December, 87% of all Monarch Scheduled flights departed on time and 98% departed within an hour of scheduled departure time
SkyEurope passengers up 35% in November
SkyEurope increased the number of passengers carried by 35% compared to November 2004. Their load factor also increased 3% in the same period to 62.2%. Looks like they have a way to go to match Ryanair's load factors in the low eighties.
Two more Liverpool routes for Ryanair
Ryanair have added two more routes from Liverpool Airport. From 22 February 2006 they will fly to Porto in Portugal and Seville in Spain. At launch the tickets can be found from £6.99 each way, plus taxes and charges.
Karl Hogstadius, Ryanair's Sales Manager in Liverpool today said:
"Today's two new routes to Porto and Seville bring the total number of routes at Liverpool to twenty. Ryanair launched its Liverpool base in November 2004 and passengers and visitors to Merseyside have voted with their feet, choosing Ryanair's low fares and No.1 punctuality over Easyjet's high fares.
"In the next twelve months Ryanair will carry 2.4m passengers to and from Liverpool, more than any other airline, sustaining 2,400 jobs."
Ryanair has flown flights to Dublin from Liverpool for many years, but have only used it as a hub for a year. Prior to that easyJet was the main airline operating from Liverpool. With these extra routes, Ryanair are predicting they will overtake easyJet in passengers numbers flown from the airport.
Monday, December 05, 2005
SkyEurope starts ski flights
SkyEurope Airlines, has just started a service from London Stansted to Poprad in Slovakia. The airport gives easy access to ski resorts in the Tatras Mountains in Slovakia. Zakopane in Southern Poland is also only an hours' drive away from Poprad.
Flights started on Saturday (3 December 05. Prices start at 25 € one way excluding taxes. The route operates on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from 3 December 2005 to 25 March 2006.
Other Ski destinations on SkyEurope's Winter timetable are:
Flights started on Saturday (3 December 05. Prices start at 25 € one way excluding taxes. The route operates on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from 3 December 2005 to 25 March 2006.
Other Ski destinations on SkyEurope's Winter timetable are:
- Innsbruck - Amsterdam
- Innsbruck - Paris (Orly)
- Salzburg - Manchester
- Salzburg - Manchester
- Salzburg - Barcelona
- Salzburg - Warsaw
- Milan (Bergamo) - Warsaw
BAA poised to take over Budapest Airport
BAA the UK operator of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted is in good position to buy Budapest Ferihengy Airport. They are part of a consortium with Hochtief the German Construction company. It is believed that the highest bid has been about Ft400bn ($1.86bn).
Update (8 December 2005):
Today, BAA was awarded the contract to operate Budapest Ferihegy International airport for the next 75 years. BAA's winning bid was for £1.23bn (Ft464.5bn) for a stake of 75 per cent minus one share.
Update (8 December 2005):
Today, BAA was awarded the contract to operate Budapest Ferihegy International airport for the next 75 years. BAA's winning bid was for £1.23bn (Ft464.5bn) for a stake of 75 per cent minus one share.
Centralwings Summer routes from €1, £1 or 1PLN each way
On Tuesday 6th December 2005, Centralwings will roll out its new Summer 2006 flight timetable. From 13h00 on the 6 December to Sunday 11 December all Summer flights will be available from 1 EUR, 1 GBP or 1PLN depending on the origin of your flight.
Flights at these prices are limited and do not include taxes and charges.
Centralwings flies from Polish Airports such as Warsaw, Krackow, Katowice and Wroclaw to Western European destinations such as Lisbon, London, Rome, Dublin, Shannon and Grenoble.
Flights at these prices are limited and do not include taxes and charges.
Centralwings flies from Polish Airports such as Warsaw, Krackow, Katowice and Wroclaw to Western European destinations such as Lisbon, London, Rome, Dublin, Shannon and Grenoble.
Jet2.com adds Milan to its Leeds Bradford routes
Jet2.com has started selling seats on its new Leeds Bradford to Milan route. Prices start at £21 one way (including taxes and charges). The service starts on 7th April 2006.
Air Berlin and DBA share booking
All out war has been declared and is being fought in the skies over Europe, by the low cost airlines. There have already been casualties including Duo, Eujet and V Bird. On the German battlefront two big budget carriers, Air Berlin and DBA have started selling each others' tickets on their Web sites. Air Berlin and DBA may have not gone as far as code sharing or acquiring any cross shareholding. However, analysts believe they are on the road to a full merger. Air Berlin already alliances with Niki Air.
A statement released by Air Berlin's CEO Joachim Hunold and dba’s supervisory board chairman, Hans Rudolf Wöhrl, read; “The routes operated by Air Berlin and dba dovetail perfectly. dba concentrates on domestic German point-to-point flights, while Air Berlin’s strength lies in European flights. We are now combining these flight options so that anyone interested in accessing that information can get an overview of all the routes within the shortest possible time.”
The Air Berlin and dba routes between them total 450 flights a day. Their network embraces 20 airports in Germany and about 50 airports throughout the rest of Europe.
DBA have been aiming to become Germany's largest domestic carrier. They have recently ordered the 40 of the Boeing 737NG family of Aircraft, where NG stands for Next Generation. They have ordered 737-700 and 737-800 aircraft for delivery between 2008 and 2010.
A statement released by Air Berlin's CEO Joachim Hunold and dba’s supervisory board chairman, Hans Rudolf Wöhrl, read; “The routes operated by Air Berlin and dba dovetail perfectly. dba concentrates on domestic German point-to-point flights, while Air Berlin’s strength lies in European flights. We are now combining these flight options so that anyone interested in accessing that information can get an overview of all the routes within the shortest possible time.”
The Air Berlin and dba routes between them total 450 flights a day. Their network embraces 20 airports in Germany and about 50 airports throughout the rest of Europe.
DBA have been aiming to become Germany's largest domestic carrier. They have recently ordered the 40 of the Boeing 737NG family of Aircraft, where NG stands for Next Generation. They have ordered 737-700 and 737-800 aircraft for delivery between 2008 and 2010.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
EasyJet cheap flight sale on till Wednesday 7 Dec
EasyJet are having a sale of 13 million seats at up to 45% off. There are very few restrictions as they can be booked from now until the end of the current published timetable.
The flights I looked up just now, showed a £20 saving. This was substantial on a Liverpool to Berlin flight at the end of January (total price £25) but only a little help if I decide to fly to the French Alps on 30th December for a week (total price £175).
Its well worth having a look at their site though as there are some excellent bargains on there.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Travel Strike misery in Italy this Christmas
A series of strikes planned by Italian transport workers will make flying to Italy around Christmas and the New Year a painful experience.
The following actions are planned:
www.fco.gov.uk
The following actions are planned:
- 02 December 2005: 12.00-1600 Air Traffic Control
- 10 December 2005: 12.00-16.00 air traffic control Milan Malpensa
- 12 December 2005: 09.00-17.00 Rail services
- 16 December 2005: 12.00-16.00 pilots strike
- 16 December 2005: 12.00-16.00 air traffic control
- 08 January 2006: 12.00-16.00 Air traffic control
- 16 January 2006: 10.00-14.00 Alitalia pilots
- 19 January 2006: 24 hours Alitalia flight assistants
- 27 January 2006: 10.00-14.00 Alitalia technical staff
- 30 January 2006: 12.00-16.00 air traffic control
www.fco.gov.uk
Friday, December 02, 2005
Blue Air Routes update Valencia and Frankfurt (Hahn)
Blue Air (www.blueair-web.com) the Romanian low cost airline will fly to El Prat (BCN) the main airport in Barcelona just 13 km from the centre and well connected by a train service. On January 23rd, the airline will replace its reus service with the one to BCN.
Blue Air are also adding Valencia, Spain and Frankfurt (Hahn)to their Spring / Summer service line up. For these destinations, Blue Air will put on sale soon hundreds of round-trip tickets at only 38 euro + taxes.
Blue Air are also adding Valencia, Spain and Frankfurt (Hahn)to their Spring / Summer service line up. For these destinations, Blue Air will put on sale soon hundreds of round-trip tickets at only 38 euro + taxes.
Thomsonfly new 2006 Routes
When Thomsonfly started in 2004 they flew from Coventry Airport then added Doncaster and Bournemouth. In 2006 they will add a further eight UK regional airports to their line up. The new routes and starting dates being:
Birmingham to:
Palma - Monday 1st May 2006
Cardiff to:
Alicante - Monday 1st May 2006
Malaga - Tuesday 2nd May 2006
Ibiza - Wednesday 3rd May 2006
Palma - Thursday 4th May 2006
Coventry to:
Lyon - Friday 16th December 2005
Palma - Sunday 26th March 2006
Ibiza – Friday 9th June 2006
Pisa - Thursday 27th April 2006
Bournemouth to:
Lyon - Friday 16th December 2005
Palma - Sunday 26th March 2006
Doncaster Sheffield to:
Lyon - Friday 16th December 2005
Palma - Sunday 26th March 2006
Ibiza – Monday 1st May 2006
Glasgow to:
Palma - Thursday 4th May 2006
London Gatwick to:
Alicante - Monday 1st May 2006
Ibiza - Monday 1st May 2006
Palma - Monday 1st May 2006
Malaga - Tuesday 2nd May 2006
London Luton to:
Palma - Monday 1st May 2006
Malaga - Tuesday 2nd May 2006
Alicante - Tuesday 2nd May 2006
Ibiza - Wednesday 3rd May 2006
Birmingham to:
Palma - Monday 1st May 2006
Cardiff to:
Alicante - Monday 1st May 2006
Malaga - Tuesday 2nd May 2006
Ibiza - Wednesday 3rd May 2006
Palma - Thursday 4th May 2006
Coventry to:
Lyon - Friday 16th December 2005
Palma - Sunday 26th March 2006
Ibiza – Friday 9th June 2006
Pisa - Thursday 27th April 2006
Bournemouth to:
Lyon - Friday 16th December 2005
Palma - Sunday 26th March 2006
Doncaster Sheffield to:
Lyon - Friday 16th December 2005
Palma - Sunday 26th March 2006
Ibiza – Monday 1st May 2006
Glasgow to:
Palma - Thursday 4th May 2006
London Gatwick to:
Alicante - Monday 1st May 2006
Ibiza - Monday 1st May 2006
Palma - Monday 1st May 2006
Malaga - Tuesday 2nd May 2006
London Luton to:
Palma - Monday 1st May 2006
Malaga - Tuesday 2nd May 2006
Alicante - Tuesday 2nd May 2006
Ibiza - Wednesday 3rd May 2006
New Dublin to Lodz route for Ryanair
Today (Friday, 2nd December 2005), Ryanair announced a new route from Dublin to Lodz the second largest city of Poland. The route starts on 4th April 2006 and will operate twice weekly. Tickets start at €9.99 plus taxes / charges, each way.
The Dublin - Lodz route bring the number of Ryanair routes to the city to three. Ryanair offer their trademark cheap flights to Lodz from London Stansted and ottingham East Midlands
The Dublin - Lodz route bring the number of Ryanair routes to the city to three. Ryanair offer their trademark cheap flights to Lodz from London Stansted and ottingham East Midlands
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Birmingham Airport Strike negotiations break down
The dispute which came about following the sacking of two members of staff was to have started a series of 12 hour strikes, starting on 28 November 2005. That day of action was called off as unions went in to negotiations. Now with talks failing to resolve the dispute a new series of 12 hour walkouts by union members will shut down the airport on:
airlines relocating to airports Coventry, Nottingham East Midlands and Manchester Airports. Coaches would be laid on to transfer affected passengers. Passengers with a flight booked for any of the strike days should keep in contact with their travel provider for the latest news.
- Saturday 10 December
- Monday12 December
- Wednesday14 December
- Monday19 December
- Saturday24 December
- Monday26th December
- Saturday31 December
- Friday6 January
airlines relocating to airports Coventry, Nottingham East Midlands and Manchester Airports. Coaches would be laid on to transfer affected passengers. Passengers with a flight booked for any of the strike days should keep in contact with their travel provider for the latest news.
Shannon gets four extra Ryanair routes
Ryanair announced today (1 December 2005), that it will add connections to:
- Manchester, UK
- Wroclaw, Poland
- Rome, Italy
- Murcia, Spain
The new routes will start up on 22nd February 2006 and each will run three times per week. This brings the total number of routes served by Shannon to 19.
Speaking today, Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary, said:
"Ryanair launched its Shannon base in May and monthly Ryanair traffic at the airport has trebled. Ryanair has delivered dramatic growth at Shannon airport as promised. This is good news for business and tourism in the mid-west."
The new routes also tie in with Continental Airways who fly from New York-Newark to the Airport. They will be adding a second daily flight from from Shannon from 3rd May, 2006.
easyJet adds Gatwick to Milan route
easyJet has added a new route from London Gatwick Airport to Milan (Malpensa)today. The airline will operate 12 flights per week starting on today (Thursday 1 December). Prices start from £22.99 single (£40.98 return incl. tax).This brings the number of routes flown by easyJet from Gatwick to 29. The airline offers cheap flights to 12 countries in Europe.
Thomsonfly Salzburg flights start today
Thomsonfly the budget airline owned by the TUI Group is starting its Winter ski flights to Salzburg today. The flight from Bournemouth will herald a three flights per week service through the Winter. Coventry will start its five weekly service to Salzburg tomorrow.
Today also marks the start of Advent and Thomsonfly in festive mood are offering a different offer each day up until December 24th 2005. They are starting off with 75,000 seats for £16:99 each way including taxes and charges. This offer is open until 12h00 on 2nd December 2005. New offers will be released each day.
Thomsonfly.com flights to Salzburg start at £24.99 one-way including taxes and charges.
