Scots urged to apply for flight discounts

Residents of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland are being urged to apply for discount airfares when application forms drop through their letterbox.

The Air Discount Scheme will provide a 40 per cent reduction on ticket prices for people whose main residence is in the Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland, Islay and Jura, Caithness and North-West Sutherland.

In February Scottish Transport Minister Tavish Scott launched the £11 million plan that will provide discounts on flights to the four main Scottish airports and to those within the area covered by the scheme.

Money back guarantee from Eos

Eos Airlines, the business-class only operator, has put its money where its mouth is and promised to refund passengers their ticket price if they are not happy with their flight.

The airline has said that if people who previously travelled with Virgin Atlantic or British Airways fly on their Stansted to New York JFK service and are not completely happy then they will get their money back.

Holiday like the A-list in Cernobbio

Rumours of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie marrying in Cernobbio led the world’s media on a wild goose chase to the Italian town this month. Although the couple left the paparazzi disappointed, the beautiful resort on Lake Como – where George Clooney has a holiday house – is the perfect A-listers getaway.

Lake Como is 30 miles long and is the deepest lake in Europe. Situated at the southern end is the town of Cernobbio, popular with celebrity long before Clooney and Brangelina pitched up. Cernobbio was the favourite resort of Queen Caroline, exiled wife of George IV, in the early 19th century.

New airport negotiates with airlines

A proposed new airport has attracted interest from Europe's biggest low-cost carriers, even before the runway has been built.

Vera Group, which wants to build an airport near the southern Spanish city of Antequera, told the Sur newspaper that the firm has already begun negotiations with between 30 and 40 carriers.

These include some of the biggest names already flying from Spain, such as Ryanair and Air Berlin.

Ryanair fares set for increase

Low-cost airline Ryanair's chief financial officer is expecting to see fares rise as the company' fuel costs increase next year.

Speaking to Reuters, Ryanair's Howard Millar said that higher average fares and continuing rises in passenger numbers give the company some protection from soaring energy costs.

Where to get expert help and travel ideas

If you want more travel than what's happening in the latest snarl-up on the M25, there are a few places to which the traveller can turn.

The Government: the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has travel updates by country, and is an excellent guide to where is safe to visit and where you should not venture.

Radio: Radio 1's travel advice site provides travel advice and information for 15-24 year-olds.

Television: BBC World’s Fasttrack features reports and interviews from around the world, analysis of current trends and tips. Aaron Heslehurst presents the weekly FlightTrack segment, with global airline news and information. On CNN Richard Quest presents the monthly Business Traveller show. There is also a Smart Traveller section on the website.

Spring around Oz with Qantas

Qantas is offering fares from London to Australia and two internal flights from £649 return including taxes.

For example, fly from London - Melbourne - Cairns - Melbourne - London.

Seats are on sale until midnight on Tuesday, May 2, or until sold out. Travel from April 16 to June 30.

For more information visit Qantas’s sale page, call the airline on 0845 608 0046 or see a travel agent.

Mediterranean flights from £19.99

Book by Tuesday, April 4, and travel from May onwards: bmibaby has flights to the Mediterranean from £19.99 one-way including taxes.

Fly to Malaga, Perpignan, Faro, Palma, Nice, Bordeaux and Alicante from airports around the UK. The breakdown and fares are as follows:

From Birmingham Airport, fly to Nice and Bordeaux from £29.99; Alicante and Malaga from £39.99 and Palma from £49.99 one-way including taxes.

Crazy weekend fares from Germanwings

Book by 11pm (midnight CET) on Sunday, April 2: Germanwings’ latest crazy weekend promotion has 50,000 flights from €1 (about £0.70) one-way excluding taxes and charges.

The offer covers the following routes:

From/to Cologne: Alicante, Antalya, Gdansk, Dublin, Edinburgh, Gothenborg, Izmir, Krakow, London, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Stockholm, Warsaw, Vienna, Zurich.

Polish link from Glasgow

Ryanair is continuing to expand its reach into Poland with the announcement of a new service between Glasgow Prestwick and Wroclaw.

The Polish city is in the west of the country and will be served by three flights a week, on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

Ticket prices will start from £5.49, excluding taxes and charges, with the first flight set to take off on August 1.

FA Cup re-match gets Branson backing

Virgin Atlantic is to support a charity football match featuring players from the 1990 FA Cup final between Crystal Palace and Manchester United.

The airline was the Eagle’s sponsor at the time of the original game and the re-match will help boost the fund raising work of Geoff Thomas, the former Crystal Palace captain, who was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia three and a half years ago.

And the game will see the clubs’ former managers and many of the players go head-to-head in what is sure to be a competitive match.

Ryanair pilot mistakes runway

Yesterday Ryanair passengers on flight FR9884 from Liverpool to Northern Ireland's City of Derry Airport witnessed a key moment in the budget airline's history.

For the first time in 20 years of flying one of the airline's pilots touched down his Airbus A320 at the wrong airport.

To make matters worse the airport in question was actually a military base in Ballykelly and an investigation has been launched to ascertain how the navigational error came about

Man banned from airport after bomb hoax

A teenager has been banned from Doncaster's Robin Hood airport for life after informing security officials he had a hand grenade concealed in his shoe.

The 18-year-old was due to board a 2.25pm Thomsonfly flight to Lyon, but was detained after making the comment in the airport's security area.

South Yorkshire Police were called to the scene but no explosives were found.

Monarch offers more flights to Algarve

UK airline Monarch is increasing its weekly flights from Gatwick to Faro for the peak summer season.

Three extra flights will take off on Monday, Wednesday and Friday between July 31 and September 1, after passenger demand for Faro increased by 60 per cent.

Managing director, Tim Jeans, said that more flights had already been introduced at Birmingham, Manchester and Luton airports, according to Euro Weekly News.

Transatlantic tempters from £270

Book by Sunday, April 30. Virgin Atlantic’s cheap flights to the States cost from £270 return including taxes.

The lowest fares are for travel during April and towards the end of the year. For example, flights from London to Boston cost from £290 return with taxes during April and between November and December. Fares rise to £390 in May, June, September and October, and to £440 in August.

Monument Valley, Utah

Hugo Burge, Non-Executive Vice Chairman

Where? Agony. I can’t choose one place – that’s like the hardest homework ever! Hmm. I will narrow it down and proffer my favourite place in the USA so far (where I have been working on and off for CF for two years): Monument Valley, Utah.

Why? Get there, wake up at the crack of sparrow fart and you will see why. When the sun rises you will see one of the most spectacular and memorable views of your life. The characteristic fingers of red sandstone start as dark and sinister silhouettes that gradually turn to a warm glowing orange. I heartily recommend a drive around the Indian National Park Reservation at first light with the roof down. Ties in nicely with a West Coast trip taking in the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Zion National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, The Hoover Dam and the legendary route 1 up and beyond San Fran. For me it was the highlight.

Wizard fares to Central Europe from £20

Book by Monday, April 3, to take advantage of Wizz Air’s fares to Central Europe.

The low-cost airline is offering seats from Glasgow Prestwick Airport to Warsaw and Gdansk in Poland from £20 one-way including taxes.

bmi's 'seat frenzy' continues

BMI’s Heathrow “seat frenzy” promotion has been extended and will now close at midnight on Friday, March 31.

The airline has released 750,000 seats starting from £22.99 one-way including taxes, departing from Heathrow Airport.

From £22.99, fly to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Durham Tees Valley.

Edinburgh and Newquay get Flybe link

© Flybe.com

Flybe is to begin a new route between Edinburgh and Newquay from the end of May and has an eye on other destinations in the future.

The airline will at first offer one flight a week each Saturday between the two airports, but intends to increase services to include Mondays and Fridays during the high season.

Tickets are set to start from £34.99 one way, including taxes and charges, and the first flight will take off on May 27.

Cardiff unveils expansion plans

Cardiff Airport has provided details of how it would handle a surge in the number of visitors flying into the UK.

The plans come as a response to a government white paper calling on all UK airports to predict how they would cater for the expected increase in demand.

Cardiff expects passengers passing through the airport will increase from 1.9 million a year to five million by 2015, hitting eight million in 2030.

Lufthansa to launch cheap EU flights

© Lufthansa

Lufthansa flights within the EU are set to get even cheaper from April 3 this year, when the airline's new betterFly fares come into force.

Open-ended return flights will be offered on 181 European routes, starting from €99 including taxes.

The airline will aim to offer approximately 350,000 of the cheap seats each month, in a bid to compete more effectively with the likes of budget airlines easyJet and Ryanair.

oneworld airlines to integrate at Heathrow

The airlines in the oneworld group will all be housed in two adjacent terminals when Heathrow airport's long awaited Terminal 5 becomes operational in March 2008.

The members have signed a memorandum of understanding to this effect with BAA Heathrow, in a deal that will also allow them to benefit from the upgraded Terminal 3, the nearest to the site of the new terminal.

BA offers card compensation

British Airways has successfully implemented a new computer solution to make it easier for customers to make complaints and receive compensation when appropriate.

London-based Astute Solutions provided the technology in question, partnering with leading companies in the credit card and currency exchange industries.

The result is that customers can receive compensation in sterling, US dollars or euros, with the amount loaded onto a card that is then handed over the counter.

Excel Airways to cut fuel costs

Excel Airways is planning to install winglets on the wing tips of four of its leased aircraft in a bid to cut fuel costs.

A growing trend in the aviation industry, the technology will be installed on the company's 737-800 airplanes and is expected to be particularly beneficial for some of the airline's longer flights.

These include flights from Gatwick to Luxor in Egypt, Tenerife and Spain, which could require up to four per cent less jet fuel, saving 115,000 gallons per plane.

Jet away in May and June from £41

Jet2.com is offering flights to the Mediterranean in May and June from £41 one-way including taxes.

The low-cost airline has hundreds of cheap tickets to the popular holiday destinations of Malaga, Menorca, Murcia, Palma and Tenerife.

New flights out of the west

Ryanair, the low-cost pioneer, has announced plans to fly five new routes from Shannon Airport in the west of Ireland to Biarritz, Carcassonne, Faro, Krakow and Venice.

There will also be increased frequency on Shannon to Barcelona, Malaga and Milan routes.

Boost to Pisa flights from Ryanair

Low-cost airline Ryanair is extending its reach across Europe with the launch of six new routes from Pisa, in Italy.

The company is to begin a daily service from the Italian airport to both Valencia and Trapani on September 14, and on the same day start flying three times a week to Oslo and Friedrichshafen, in Germany.

Route from Aberdeen to Amsterdam takes off

A new direct service between Aberdeen and Amsterdam has been launched by bmi.

The airline is to operate three flights a day during the week, one on Saturday and two on Sunday.

Crawford Rix, managing director of bmi regional, said; “We remain firmly committed to expanding our flight offering from Aberdeen, our home airport.

Terminal 2 to be terminated

BAA has announced that Heathrow's Terminal 2 will close for business when the new Terminal 5 opens, expected in 2008.

The terminal for short-haul flights is Heathrow's oldest terminal building, but the drop in passenger numbers resulting from an airline reshuffle will make it unsustainable.

With a number of airlines moving into Terminal 5, passenger flow through Terminal 2 will be cut from around nine million to 1.5 million a year.

A380 test sees some injuries

One man broke his leg and other volunteers suffered slight injuries during a practise evacuation of an Airbus A380 jet.

But Airbus branded the test a "great success" and hopes to receive full safety approval from European and US officials by the end of this year.

The exercise is a key step in ensuring the giant airplane receives safety clearance and involved about 850 passengers and 20 crew being evacuated within 90 seconds.

Hypersonic scramjet test successful

Scientists from the UK have completed a test flight of a new jet engine that could revolutionise long-haul air travel 50 years from now.

The scramjet engine, named Hyshot III, was attached to a rocket and once it reached an altitude of 200 miles was sent back to earth at over seven times the speed of sound (Mach 7), almost 6,000 mph.

Scientists involved in the trial only had a window of six seconds to analyse the jet before it smashed into the earth, but initial findings were positive.

BAA sees costs increase

UK air passengers could be in for a rise in some seat prices, as airport group the British Airports Authority (BAA) warns that its operating costs are likely to be eight per cent higher this year than in 2005.

The country's largest airport operator attributed the rise to staff costs and higher energy prices, while the integration of the recently acquired £1.25 billion Budapest Airport is also likely to take its toll.

bmi passengers down

© bmi

Airline bmi has confirmed that fewer people are flying from Heathrow on its Scottish routes than a year ago.

The Guardian newspaper obtained figures showing that 13 per cent fewer people flew out of Heathrow with bmi in February compared to a year ago, while passengers from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London dropped by 24 per cent and 17 per cent respectively.

Finnair comes first for Heathrow time keeping

Finnair was the most punctual airline to transport passengers to and from Heathrow airport throughout 2005.

The airline ranked first in a list of 30 airlines, published on website Flightontime.info.

Out of the 2,839 flights analysed, the average delay experienced by a Finnair passenger was just over ten minutes, while more than three quarters of flights left the runway within 15 minutes of their advertised departure times.

General strike hits Ryanair flights

Ryanair has cancelled the majority of its flights to and from France tomorrow, Tuesday, March 28, due to a general strike of government and trade union workers in the country.

Cancelled flights include departures to Carcassone, St Etienne, Dinard, Montpellier, Perpignan, Toulon, Grenoble, Pau, Rodez, Poitiers, Bergerac, La Rochelle, Limgoes and Girona. Flights to Granada in Spain and Porto in Portugal are also cancelled as are flights from Dublin to Paris and Biarritz and Shannon to Paris and Nantes. Visit this page for a full list of the cancelled flights.

KLM's European deals from £73

KLM’s seven-day seat sale is on until Sunday, April 2.

Some of the bargains to the Netherlands, departing from Heathrow, include Amsterdam from £73; Eindhoven from £110; Maastricht from £118; and Rotterdam from £81.

European offers, also departing from London, include Antwerp and Brussels from £96; Frankfurt, Lyon, Vienna and Zurich from £140; Bologna and Rome from £150; and Bergen, Kristiansand, Trondheim and Warsaw from £160.

Gulf Air increases Heathrow flights from Oman

Gulf Air will operate two daily flights (with the exception of Thursday) between Muscat, capital of Oman, and London Heathrow from today (Monday, March 27).

Jaffar Juma, the airline's general manager, said that the increase in capacity was necessitated by Oman's increasing popularity as a tourist destination. He added that the flights would also help the Oman Government in encouraging this trend.

Sterling to launch new in-flight magazine

Sterling Airlines, the low-cost Scandinavian airline, has contracted Ink Publishing to design and publish its in-flight magazine.

The airline has hubs in Demark, Norway, Finland and Sweden, and operates flights throughout Europe, including the UK.

The bi-monthly English-language magazine will be published at Ink's London headquarters, and will include news and features on Scandinavia as well as information on shopping, accommodation, art, culture and the property market.

Virgin woos business travellers

Virgin Atlantic has announced that it intends to make the airline more attractive to business travellers.

Executives will be treated to extra facilities in a bid to increase business passengers by ten per cent by spring 2007. The check-in procedure at Heathrow Airport will also be improved, while premium economy and economy passengers should also notice the difference in standards.

Etihad Airways makes for Manchester

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has launched its first flight to Manchester airport.

The new daily flights between the UAE and the UK will utilise the airline's new purpose-built A330-200 aircraft, carrying some of the 650,000 travellers who visit the UAE every year.

The A330-200 is a two-aisle aircraft with 262 seats. It is one of a number of new planes designed to fly Etihad customers to an growing number of destinations worldwide.

Poland from £20 one-way with taxes

Book by Sunday, April 2, to bag a Centralwings bargain ticket from £1 / €1 plus a fixed fee of £19.89 / €24.89 one-way.

Fly from London Luton to Krakow and Warsaw; Leeds to Warsaw; or Edinburgh to Gdansk, Katowice and Warsaw.

From Ireland there are flights from Shannon to Warsaw and from Dublin Airport to Lodz, Gdansk, Wroclaw and Katowice.

Death of the guidebook? Sunday travel section digest

Is the guidebook dead? Marc Zakian (The Sunday Telegraph) says that with the arrival of podcasts and mobile-phone tours, the tourist standing on a street corner clutching a guidebook could soon be a "distant memory". And, with British Airways launching a new airline today, can BA Connect compete with the kings of the no-frills world? Stephen Bleach gets a sneak preview and sees how the airline stacks up against Ryanair and easyJet. To use a motoring metaphor, one of the above named is a Jaguar X-type, one is a Skoda and one is a Ford Focus. Which one is which? For the answer, click here.

Final question: when the bright young things of Istanbul want to let their hair down, where do they go? The answer is Göltürkbükü. Beverley Fearis (The Observer) joins them in the exclusive resort that is Turkey's answer to St Tropez.

Not a seal in sight - What the Saturday papers say

While Canada is in the news for what tourism industry officials may consider the wrong reasons as the country's controversial seal hunt gets under way, on the other side of the country untracked powder snow is the prey. Nicholas Roe of The Times goes heli-skiing in the Canadian Rockies and Alf Alderson of The Guardian finds a safer way to enjoy the skiers' "holy grail" in British Columbia's Selkirk mountains.

Two skis good, two legs better, perhaps. The Times swaps shoes for boots and goes walking. Stephanie Debere climbs Corsica’s GR20 - "Western Europe’s toughest hiking route", while at home in the UK, Philip Marsden hikes the West Mendip Way. For spiritual brownie points, nothing beats walking the pilgrims' path to Santiago. Barbara Catchpole writes that the "route stretches for 500 miles from the northern end of the Pyrenees on the French/Spanish border across the Iberian Peninsula to Santiago de Compostela in the western reaches of Galicia". The route has changed little in 500 years.

Airlines step in to fill hole left by Air Wales

Low-cost airlines have been quick to jump into the space left by Air Wales' decision to stop all scheduled services from the end of April.

The Cardiff-based operator said last week that it would end flights on April 23, with the loss of 80 jobs (see Scheduled flights ended by Air Wales).

But many of its competitors have announced new routes and ticket deals for those passengers whose flights have been affected by the demise of Air Wales.

Cheap flights round-up

It has been another busy week in the UK for airlines with new routes, ticket deals and plenty of travel news.

British Airways add new flights to its summer schedule, Jet2.com has announced cut-price tickets to a number of destinations and travellers using credit cards abroad now enjoy new protection.

So let's start our look at what's been happening this week.

Thomsonfly’s top offers from £14

Thomsonfly is offering bargain flights from 26 airports around the UK to 87 worldwide destinations.

Routes include Bristol to Gran Canaria from £39.49 (£9 one-way plus taxes and charges); Coventry to Paris from £13.92 (£0.02 one-way plus taxes and charges).

BA far-flung offers from £229

Book by Thursday, March 30: the best of the Middle East, Central Asia and the Far East is on sale with British Airways.

All fares are return and include taxes and are in World Traveller class. Upgrades to World Traveller Plus - wider seats with 7" more legroom - cost an extra £150 one-way.

Middle East: return flights to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Muscat cost from £229. Travel between April and August.

Don’t fall foul of holiday blunder this weekend

If you are flying off this Sunday then make sure you are not caught out by the clocks going forward as British Summer Time officially begins.

Jet2.com are warning passengers not to succumb to one of the signs of the change of seasons, people missing their flights by arriving an hour late to check in.

British tourists undeterred by terrorism

British travellers are not put off going abroad by terrorism or natural disasters, with many saying it is important to support areas affected by such problems.

A survey by research company Mintel says two thirds of people would not give in to terrorism and stop going where they want to go.

While some said they would look to go to areas after a terrorist attack as the potential for cheaper prices and a quieter time was much higher.

Sharks fans enjoy bmibaby offer

Fans of the Sale Sharks rugby team are being given the chance to travel to Biarritz for a cheap price thanks to low-cost operator bmibaby.

The Sharks are playing in the Heineken Cup Quarter Final to be held in San Sebastien on Sunday, April 2.

Since many Sharks fans are unable to get to the game, the club and bmibaby have arranged for a limited number of flight tickets to be available at the discount price of £99.