KLM operates historic biofuel passenger flight

KLM is claiming to have made aviation history by operating the world's first passenger flight powered by a mixture of sustainable biofuel and regular jet fuel.

The airline chartered a Boeing 747 for a short flight circling the Netherlands, with 40 passengers on-board including senior politicians and business executives.

Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Maria van der Hoeven and KLM chief executive Peter Hartman were among those taking to the skies on the one-hour flight.

New Foreign Office advice for World Cup 2010 fans

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has launched a new campaign for football fans heading to South Africa in support of England's 2010 World Cup bid.

Under the banner 'Be on the Ball', the initiative features a website that offers practical advice and aims to ensure UK travellers have a safe and enjoyable stay in the country.

EasyJet expands route network at three UK bases

EasyJet has unveiled three new routes from Liverpool, Manchester and Stansted airports in anticipation of the addition of six Airbus 319 jets to its fleet.

Liverpool will benefit from a new service to Malta next summer, while Manchester is being connected to Helsinki and Stansted will gain new Sardinia flights.

The low-cost carrier will launch its new services from Manchester and London on March 28, while the Liverpool connection will be added on June 13.

Ryanair dubbed Britain's 'worst family brand'

Ryanair is the least family-friendly brand in the country, according to a poll by marketing specialists FamilyBrands.

The Irish low-cost carrier came last in a list of 100 well-known firms, with fellow airline bmi and its no-frills offshoot bmibaby rounding off the bottom three spots.

Some 1,500 Brits took part in the poll, which canvassed views about whether brands were socially responsible, good listeners, caring and had family values.

Heathrow Terminal 2 closes for £1bn makeover

Heathrow Airport's historic Terminal 2 has closed to the public after 54 years of operations, paving the way for a brand new £1 billion replacement at the hub.

Terminal 2, christened the Europa Building when it opened in 1955, has routinely handled eight million passengers a year despite being designed for just 1.2 million.

It has seen the likes of The Beatles and Marilyn Monroe pass through its doors, but will now be torn down to make way for the new home of the Star Alliance airlines.

Could British Airways merge with Qantas next?

© British Airways

Could British Airways, which announced its agreement to merge with Iberia just ten days ago, now be considering an alliance with Qantas, the Australian airline?

According to a report in today's Financial Times, the recent deal with Iberia clears the way for such a tie-up.

Talks between BA and Qantas foundered last year, after the airlines failed to come to an agreement, but Willie Walsh, BA's CEO, has now said that the structure of its deal with Iberia - a parent company, TopCo, and the airlines maintaining their separate brands - could be a template for other mergers.

Save £30 on Monarch flights

Monarch's Christmas Seat Sale ends at midnight on Tuesday, November 24. Book by then to save £30 on return flights and travel until February 8, 2010.

When we searched for a getaway from Manchester to Alicante after Christmas, we found outbound flights on Tuesday, January 5, for £18.99, and a return flight on Tuesday, January 12, for £18.99, a reduction of £15 each way. With taxes and charges, no bags or booking fees, the flight price is £82.

New Gatwick Airport owners promise to focus on customer service

Travellers are promised a London Gatwick Airport with a "relentless" focus on customer service.

That's the message from Global Infrastructure Partners who bought the West Sussex airport from BAA for £1.51 billion in late October.

Sir David Rowlands, Chairman of the group, said: “An independent Gatwick has a tremendous opportunity to inject real competition into the London airports market.”

SWISS: 6 new daily flights to Geneva, from Heathrow

From January 10, 2010, Geneva-bound travellers will have more options from Heathrow Airport (LHR).

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is to offer six new daily flights to Geneva from LHR.

The Swiss national airline will also increase the number of seats from the UK to Switzerland by up to 30 per cent as a result of a closer partnership with bmi, its sister airline in the Lufthansa Group.

Flyers may receive more compensation for delayed flights

Thanks to last week's ruling by the European Court of Justice, passengers whose flights have been delayed may now receive the same amount of compensation as travellers whose flights have been cancelled - up to €600 (about £530).

The judgement was made following the hearing of cases against Condor and Air France that were referred by courts in Germany and Austria.

Passengers of the airlines had claimed compensation after their flights were delayed by almost 24 hours.

easyJet shreds in-flight magazine

easyJet has withdrawn all copies of the latest edition of easyJet Traveller, its in-flight magazine, because they include a fashion feature that was photographed without permission at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.

The photographs were taken in the Field of Stelae, a site with 2,711 concrete slabs, at the memorial, which commemorates the six million victims of the Nazi genocide, and is Germany's best-known memorial site.

Lightning-fast sale - Reykjavík flights from £55 ow with taxes

Sale ends at midnight tonight (Friday, November 20): Book quickly to get this special fare to Iceland.

Iceland Express is offering flights to Reykjavík, Iceland's buzzy capital city, from £55 one-way including taxes and charges.

Fly from London Gatwick or Stansted airports and travel before December 15.

Madrid Airport may be winner in BA-Iberia merger

© dustbowl.wordpress.com

What will British Airways' proposed merger with Iberia Airlines mean for passengers of the flag carrier? Will there be more cheap flights, more routes and more options? 

There will be more flights and more routes. British Airways is a leader in flights to North America and Asia; Iberia a strong player in South and Central America. The merged airline will have 419 aircraft flying to 205 destinations and travellers will be able to fly to 59 new destinations, including 13 in Latin America, but one of the surprise winners of the merger may be ... Madrid Airport.

Boarding Pass Competition

We'd like to thank all of you who participated in the Boarding Pass Competition. It was a tough choice, especially since your comments were all so inspirational, but after all there can only be one winner. So after much deliberation, the Cheapflights team is pleased to announce the winner of the Boarding Pass Competition.

Congratulations to Diane Rickard from Hertfordshire! 

Cathay Pacific offers more legroom for a fee

Cathay Pacific Airways is the latest major carrier to introduce a charge for seats with greater legroom such as those at the bulkhead and in exit rows.

Now, all Economy-Class travellers (as long as they meet the safety requirements) can reserve the seats by paying a fee of about £60 ($100 US) each way or by redeeming 20,000 Asia Miles.

The charge comes into effect on December 1. From January 1, 2010, customers will be able to bag an extra-legroom seat on flights to China and regional destinations for approximately £15 ($25 US) or 5,000 Asia Miles.

Aer Lingus: 20% off Summer 2010 flights to Europe

Book by Thursday, November 19. Aer Lingus is discounting Summer 2010 flights by 20 per cent. The Irish airline is applying the discount to "every flight, every seat, every day" to Europe and Ireland. Travel between April 1 and June 23, 2010.

The following routes are discounted. London Gatwick to Bucharest, Nice, Eindhoven and Vilnius. Flights to Faro, Warsaw, Malaga, Vienna, Munich and Zurich are also cheaper.

British Airways cabin crew to vote on strike action

British Airways' cabin crew have today (Monday, November 16) received ballot papers from the Unite union. The ballot, on strike action, will close on December 14, also the date for the next mass meeting of cabin crew. If the ballot papers show support for a strike, industrial action could start on December 21 and take place throughout the busy Christmas travel period.

In a statement on its website, Unite says the changes to cabin crews' working practices, which also come into effect today, will cause "additional stress during flight, with fewer crew required to absorb the work of colleagues who have been removed by the company".

Ryanair pays compensation for flight cancelled in 2007

© Boeing

A court in Dublin has awarded three passengers of Ryanair €6,000 (£5,300) in compensation for a flight that was cancelled two years ago.

The customers had booked the flight from London Stansted to Carcassonne, France, in September 2007, and when it was cancelled had sought redress from Ryanair. With none forthcoming, they contacted EUClaim (euclaim.co.uk), a Netherlands-based company that represents airline passengers.

American Airlines offers cheap flights to the US

Sale ends at midnight on Thursday, November 19: American Airlines (AA) is having a four-day sale on flights to the US.

Flights to New York start at £289 return, including taxes and charges. Travel until December 15 and, after Christmas, between January 5 and March 25.

American Airlines' line-up of bargains, all departing from Heathrow Airport, looks like this:

New York £289
Boston £289

The Cheap Flights News weekly roundup

It's not every week that a global airline agrees to merge with another carrier. After more than a year of talks, British Airways and Iberia have agreed to a tie-up. Should this deal be completed (if BA finds a solution to its pension deficit problems and the merger gets past the European Commission, that is), the resulting airline will be the third-largest in the world.

BA is widely considered to have come out on top in the negotiations. The head office will be in London, Willie Walsh will be Chief Executive and the flag carrier will have 55 per cent of the new company, but others are not quite so happy.