Weekly news round-up

This week's special offers include a sale on economy and premium economy seats to the US from Virgin Atlantic, as well as a free night's stay in Iceland with Icelandair's Reykjavik city breaks. On the new routes front, easyJet has announced a handy new route from East Midlands to Barcelona, and Swiss International Airlines is set to begin flying from Manchester to Geneva, which is sure to please ski and snowboard fans.

Return of Gatwick to Knock route

XL Airways is to operate scheduled flights between Gatwick and Ireland West Airport Knock starting December 14, resurrecting a route once served by Ryanair and easyJet.

Flights will operate six days a week, with one-way tickets starting from £19, and from May 2008 the flight will operate seven days a week. The launch also marks the travel company’s first scheduled service to Ireland.

Bournemouth enjoys record-breaking summer

This summer proved to be the busiest on record for Bournemouth Airport, with passenger figures exceeding 100,000 over three consecutive months.

Between June and August the airport handled a total of 338,870 passengers, with the most popular destination proving to be Palma, closely followed by Girona, and Prestwick, while Dublin and Malaga featured in fourth and fifth place.

More flights on Luxembourg service from VLM

VLM Airlines is to increase the frequency of flights it offers between Luxembourg and both London City Airport and Manchester.

A new service will operate from Monday to Thursday, heading out of Luxembourg at 10.40am and landing in London at 11.10am, adding to a number of daily flights VLM operates between the two destinations.

The airline's Manchester service has seen 3,352 passengers travel from the North West of England to Luxembourg, via London City, in the first six months of this year, figures that have prompted an expansion of the flight options available.

Flyglobespan trims winter services

Scottish carrier Flyglobespan is to cut part of its winter flight schedule at Durham Tees Valley Airport, citing a lack of ticket take-up.

The airline began flying from the northern hub in March, but its flights to Palma, Majorca, will not operate this winter.

They were due to take flight weekly on Saturdays, but will now end on November 17 before beginning again in March 2008.

Enjoy free nights and more with Icelandair

Icelandair is giving passengers the chance to get three nights for the price of two at a three-star hotel in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Three-night packages, including flights and accommodation with breakfast, are available from £259 per person, with flights available from London, Glasgow or Manchester.

Departures from London Heathrow take place daily; those from Glasgow are on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays; and those from Manchester are on Mondays and Fridays.

Edinburgh Airport Rail Link plans will be scrapped

Plans to build a rail link to Edinburgh Airport have been shelved, the government has announced.

Scotland's transport minister, Stewart Stevenson, said that the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link (EARL), which would have involved an underground station at the airport, was "not sensible".

Instead he announced a replacement scheme that would involve trains running to a station short of the airport itself, Gogar, and travelling the final mile by tram. This would cost a third of the price of the EARL scheme, allowing the remaining £400 million to be spent on making improvements to rail services in the central Scottish belt.

Virgin Atlantic discounts US flights

Book by 10pm, October 31: Virgin has launched a major sale on flights to the US from Heathrow, for travel between now and December. Fares are for return flights, including taxes and charges.

For travel on selected dates in October in economy class:

Skis and snowboards go free in easyJet promotion

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Offer ends October 5: Winter sports enthusiasts can check their skis and snowboards in on flights for free with easyJet.

The low-cost airline has announced that its schedule of winter 2007 flights is now on sale, with many routes to key ski destinations on offer.

Those flying from any UK airport to Basel, Grenoble, Geneva, Innsbruck, Ljubljana, Milan, Munich, Sofia, Turin or Zurich can benefit from the free ski check-in offer by entering the promotional code SKI08 at stage three of the booking process. This will mean the discount is automatically applied.

New Dublin to Moscow link to begin next year

Russian airline S7 is to begin flying between Dublin and Moscow, the only direct route between the two major cities.

According to The Irish Independent, S7 (formerly Siberian Airlines) will begin three-times weekly flights from next April, flying between Dublin Airport and Domodevo Airport, which is located 22 miles south of central Moscow.

Economy fares will cost around €250 return (excluding taxes), with business class tickets pitched at around €1,000. Flights will be operated using a 170-seater Airbus 319 and will last around four hours.

'Deals of the Week' from easyJetHolidays

easyJetHolidays, easyJet's new flight and hotel package, is offering Deals of the Week this autumn.

The special offers will be available via the carrier's website, www.easyJet.com, and travellers will be able to choose from more that 87 airports in 23 countries and more than 10,000 apartments and hotels.

According to a statement on the site they are "ideal for those on a budget who need some inspiration when looking for a holiday destination or for those looking for a last minute getaway at an affordable price".

This week's Deals of the Week are as follows (transfers are not included):

Decision due on Edinburgh Airport Rail Link

The SNP administration is to announce that the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link (EARL) will not go ahead.

Plans for the £650 million link, which would have connected the airport to the city centre and 60 railway stations, have been dropped in favour of improving other areas of transport.

EARL would have diverted the Edinburgh and East Coast to Glasgow rail lines through the airport via an underground tunnel.

Elvis rocks his way into Prestwick Airport

Elvis has made a triumphant return to Glasgow Prestwick Airport, 47 years after he set foot in the UK for the first and only time.

Filling the shoes of the King of Rock and Roll was lookalike Gordon Hendricks who arrived on board a private jet and was welcomed by fans, airport staff and members of the media, at an event marking the real Elvis's visit in the 1960s.

Stewart Stevenson MSP unveiled a plaque in the terminal building which celebrates Elvis’s stop at Glasgow Prestwick on March 3, 1960 when he had finished national service with the US Army and his aircraft made a refuelling stop as he flew home from Germany.

Manchester to Geneva link for ski fans

Winter ski fans will have the chance to head to the Alps on a new service from Swiss International Airlines (Swiss) between Manchester and Geneva.

Monarch to offer PayPal option for tickets

Monarch Airlines has announced it will soon offer its customers the chance to pay for flights through the online payment service PayPal.

The airline will officially launch the service in the next couple of weeks, but it will become the first European operator to offer PayPal as a payment option, so those already registered will be able to pay for tickets directly through their account.

No second runway for Birmingham airport

Plans to build a second runway at Birmingham International Airport have been shelved.

Officials at the airport have decided to build on the existing services at the airport, which they claim means that they will not have to consider building another runway for at least 20 years.

They had originally intended to build the extra runway to allow the airport to cope with an increase in passenger numbers, predicted to rise to around 27 million by 2030.

BA orders new aircraft

British Airways has announced today (Thursday, September 27) that it is to replace more than 30 of its long-haul fleet.

The airline has ordered 12 Airbus A380 superjumbos and 24 787 Boeing Co Dreamliners at a total cost of $8.2 billion, reports Reuters. This is the largest aircraft order made by BA in nine years.

BA will take delivery of the aeroplanes between 2010 and 2014.

Record ski bookings for Ryanair

Low-cost carrier Ryanair has sold a record number of seats as part of its Skis Fly Free promotion.

The airline announced yesterday (Wednesday, September 26) that it has taken more than 200,000 bookings as part of the offer, which runs until Sunday, September 30.

Destinations available to passengers include Grenoble, Friedrichshafen, Milan, Barcelona, Turin and Salzburg. Travellers who wish to do so will be able to bring one item of ski equipment such as a snowboard or a set of skis for free.

easyJet to launch East Midlands to Barcelona route

Low-cost airline easyJet has announced a new four-times weekly route between East Midlands Airport and Barcelona for the coming winter's schedule.

Flights will begin on December 7, with fares available from £17.99 one-way or £30.98 return, including taxes. The service will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

It will be the only direct flight from East Midlands to the Spanish city and easyJet is looking to carry more than 70,000 passengers in the first 12 months.

Emirates and BA win in-flight entertainment prizes

Emirates has won the prize for best in-flight entertainment (IFE) in a major airline at the World Airline Entertainment Association's 2007 Annual Avion Awards.

The Dubai-based airline, which offers flights from London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Newcastle, also picked up the award for Best Achievement in IFE.

Meanwhile UK flag-carrier British Airways took home the Best in Europe award, with its in-flight entertainment recognised in the poll of more than 36,000 worldwide airline passengers.

London City to Vienna service from Austrian Airlines

A new service between Vienna and London City Airport is to be offered by Austrian Airlines, starting on October 29.

Two flights a day will be available during the working week, with aircraft heading out of London at 10.25am and 8pm, with Austrian Airlines now the eleventh airline to operate from London City Airport this winter.

Richard Gooding, chief executive of London City Airport, said: "We welcome Austrian Airlines, a Star Alliance member, to our growing network of popular European destinations. Vienna is one of the farthest routes that can be reached from our Docklands hub and provides an ideal gateway to Eastern Europe and beyond."

Newquay to Dusseldorf link to launch next year

Lufthansa is to begin a new service between Newquay and Dusseldorf, with the work of a local set to draw visitors from the German city.

The Travel Mole website reports that a weekly service is set to start in June 2008, offering Cornish travellers the chance to fly to the heart of the Rhein-Ruhr region.

And Newquay Cornwall Airport project director Chris Cain believes that German travellers will take advantage of the Lufthansa service to visit the south west of England, and discover the region where author Rosamunde Pilcher was born.

Scottish airports set for record year

Airports in the north and west of Scotland are set to record their seventh consecutive year of growth, according to passenger figures from Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL).

HIAL, operator of ten airports in Scotland including Inverness, Stornoway and Wick, saw 585,000 passengers pass through its facilities in the five months to the end of August, a six per cent increase on the same period last year. While aircraft movements for the past five months totalled 47,000.

Inglis Lyon, managing director of HIAL said: "This year’s performance demonstrates continuing demand for air services in the region for business and leisure travel. The enhancements to the air network achieved in conjunction with our airline partners in recent years continue to stimulate traffic.

Ryanair extends six million seat sale

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Book by Thursday, September 27: Ryanair has extended it six million seat sale, with £10 flights available.

Travel is available between October 6 and March 12, 2008, althouth the following blackout dates apply: October 19 to November 4, for all UK/Ireland flights; December 18 to January 8 for all routes; February 8 to February 15 for UK flights; February 15 to February 25 for Ireland flights.

Below is a selection of routes available for £10 one-way (including taxes and charges):

Ministers to advise tram link for Edinburgh Airport

Scotland's transport minister is set to advise that the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link (EARL) be scrapped.

The political wranglings over the proposed train connection to Scotland's second-busiest airport have been going on for some time, and it now seems likely that a tram link may be created instead.

According to The Scotsman, transport minister Stewart Stevenson will advise tomorrow (Thursday, September 27) that the EARL project be scrapped in favour of a new tram link from a new station at Gogar, which has already been approved.

KD Avia offers connections to 12 Russian destinations

Airline KD Avia has increased the options for those wishing to fly from London to Russia.

In its winter timetable, the carrier offers connections to 12 Russian destinations via its hub in Kalingrad, an historic port located on the Baltic Sea.

Bristol Airport gives the arts a chance

In an attempt to support local entertainers, musicians and artists, Bristol International Airport is looking for people to perform in front of the large number of passengers that pass through the terminal every day.

The airport believes it will offer a platform for artists to show off their talent and get their name known in front of a huge captive audience, but also draw attention to the best new entertainment that the South West of England has to offer.

Jacqui Mills, of Bristol International Airport, said: "For local groups, individuals or organisations we can offer the chance to get in front of thousands of passengers every day and for customer's using Bristol International it will provide an alternative travel experience.

Click4Sky.com takes to the virtual skies

A new virtual airline had been launched by Czech Airlines called Click4Sky.com that will offer flat fee ticket prices on flights across Europe and further afield.

Tickets are now on sale for flights between Prague and 36 cities in 22 countries, including Heathrow, Stansted and Manchester, as well as Cairo, Istanbul and Thessaloniki.

Air France and KLM increase fuel surcharge

Both Air France and KLM are to increase the fuel surcharge they place on flights as rising fuel costs hit their operations.

The French national flag carrier will add one euro to the price of each flight on its short and medium haul services, with an additional five euros on long haul destinations.

Brits happy with green travel

A new survey has found that most British travellers would be happy to pay for more eco-friendly air travel.

Research from Hyder Consulting has revealed that a third of UK adults would be prepared for increased aviation taxation if the revenue went towards carbon offsetting initiatives.

However, more than half of those surveyed confirmed that they would not be willing to give up a holiday in the foreign sun for a greener British break.

New Silverjet service takes off

Business-exclusive airline Silverjet has launched a second daily flight from Luton Airport.

The new service had been delayed due to essential maintenance on the Boeing 767 aircraft used for the flights.

However, the inaugural takeoff for Silverjet's second daily service took flight at 4:45pm (BST) last Saturday (September 22).

Open Skies needs more, says BA

British Airways has complained that insufficient progress is being made in freeing up European-US aviation.

Chief executive Willie Walsh said the current Open Skies agreement was not nearly extensive enough, reports ABTN.co.uk.

Talking at the Route Leaders Forum in Stockholm yesterday morning (September 24), he said: "The deal we should aspire to is the one that removes ownership and control restrictions that prevent us from genuinely competing with one another.

Monarch launches mobile check-in

© Monarch

Low-cost carrier Monarch Airlines has unveiled a new mobile phone-based flight update service.

Monarch Mobile will provide customers with free information about delays, check-in location and booking reference, four hours before departure time.

In the two to three hours before takeoff, passengers will receive a text message detailing up to two exclusive offers from the airline, and shortly before boarding, an SMS message will be dispatched reminding customers to head to the their departure gate.

Third terminal for Dublin airport?

Booming business at Dublin Airport could lead to the building of a third terminal, it has been suggested.

Though its second passenger facility isn't scheduled to open until 2010, an additional structure could be necessary just two years later, according to businessman Ulick McEvaddy.

His study suggested that with up to 32 million people likely to be using the airport by 2012, a third terminal would be essential for smooth operations.

Cheaper flights with Air Canada

Air Canada has discounted a number of flights to the Americas. Fares include taxes and charges; fly from London.

For travel between November 1, 2007 and March 20, 2008 (blackout period December 15 to 24):

Albany, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Washington from £239

Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco from £279.

Air New Zealand offers web specials

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Air New Zealand has special offers on a number of flights to far-flung destinations. Prices include taxes and charges.

Book by October 2 for the following economy class fares (all flights are from London):

Fairtrade tea and coffee for Virgin Atlantic passengers

Virgin Atlantic is to offer Fairtrade tea and coffee to all passengers, as part of a sustainability drive.

After a series of blind tastings, the airline decided to offer organic green and white teas from QI Teas, a range of coffees from Costa Coffee and specialist supplier FFI UK, and a range of organic and Fairtrade teas from Clipper.

Virgin Atlantic served almost seven million cups of coffee and more than five million cups of tea on flights last year, and notes that the switch to Fairtrade products will bring significant benefits to farmers.

Final testing of Heathrow Terminal 5 underway

Airport operator BAA and British Airways have begun a six-month period of operational testing at the new Heathrow Terminal 5, which is due to open on March 27, 2008.

When the terminal opens its doors it will be home to virtually all of British Airways' Heathrow flights (with the exception of services to Australia, Italy and Spain), and the size of the preparations give some idea of the scale of the development.

No fewer than 30,000 staff from a variety of different organisations will go through familiarisation and induction sessions at Terminal 5, beginning this week, while work continues on system integration and finishing works.

Lufthansa increases Dusseldorf flights

German national airline Lufthansa will increase the frequency of its flights between Newcastle and Dusseldorf.

From November 5, flights will operate twice daily on weekdays, as well as daily on Saturdays and Sundays. Return flights from Newcastle to Dusseldorf cost from £109 return (including taxes).

Revised flight timings have also been introduced to allow for easier onward connections to locations not served direct from Newcastle, such as Budapest, Bucharest, Marseille, Milan, Katowice, Stockholm and Warsaw.

Wizz Air to introduce allocated seating

Low-cost airline Wizz Air will introduce a system of allocated seating from October 29.

To be made available online at www.wizzair.com, passengers will be able to ensure they get a seat with extra legroom by paying €5 (£3.50) concurrently with the booking, or €10 (£7) after the initial booking (via the call centre or at the airport).

The system will be rolled out across the whole Wizz Air network, and comes at a time when the Polish/Hungarian airline is introducing a series of other changes. Priority boarding was launched earlier this year, and a charge for all checked-in baggage was introduced last month.

Weekly news round-up

This week's special deals include cut price tickets to African destinations such as Johannesburg and Nairobi with Virgin Atlantic, long-haul flights around the world with United Airlines, and a discount of £50 on city breaks booked with easyJet. Plenty of new routes were announced, too, such as Manchester to London Stansted from Eastern Airways, Bournemouth to Gdansk (Poland) from Wizz Air, and London Luton to Dubai with business class-only carrier Silverjet.

New parking arrangements at Durham

Durham Tees Valley Airport has opened a specific "drop off-pick up" parking area for drivers at the airport in an attempt to make things easier for passengers.

Under the new arrangements there will be no charge for drivers using the drop off-pick up area for up to 10 minutes. The charge from ten to 30 minutes will be £1, half the previous charge, and remains at £3 for between 30 and 60 minutes.

Hugh Lang, managing director of the airport, said: "Over recent months there have been quite a lot of changes to the parking arrangements at the airport and one of our main objectives was to provide an area specifically for vehicles only wanting to stay for a short period, for example to either drop off passengers or pick them up from incoming flights.

Lufthansa makes improvements to online check-in

Passengers on Lufthansa flights now have the chance to pick their seats ahead of travelling when they check-in online.

The German flag carrier has made it possible to see which seats are available, for example to allow family members to sit together, and the airline has also made it possible for people to check-in online 23 hours before departure.

Another development is that online boarding passes can now be obtained for flights on more than 350 Lufthansa routes, including flights on all German domestic routes, as well as on most flights to European destinations.

Bournemouth and Coventry get link to Gdansk

Low-cost operator Wizz Air is to open up new routes from the Polish city of Gdansk to Bournemouth and Coventry, as well as increase the frequency of flights on other routes.

The airline will operate three flights a week to Bournemouth and Coventry, starting from March 15, and from the same date will offer two flights a day between Gdansk and Luton and a daily service to Liverpool.

József Váradi, of Wizz Air, said: "Expanding our market presence in Poland remains one of our key strategies. Wizz Air is the largest low cost carrier in Poland already and we aim at becoming the largest airline of the country, in terms of carried passengers. The growth of our Gdansk base is another step in that direction."

easyJet offers £50 discount on city breaks

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Offer ends September 25: Passengers booking a city break with easyJet Holidays can get a £50 discount.

For travel between now and March 29, 2008, the first 1,500 bookings to these destinations will qualify: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Edinburgh, Geneva, Krakow, London, Paris, Prague, Rome or Venice.

When making a booking, enter the code PACK4THECITY and the discount will be automatically deducted from your order.

Heathrow to Amsterdam: Europe’s busiest international route

Heathrow to Amsterdam is the busiest international air route in Europe, according to figures from the Offical Airline Guide (OAG) travel information company.

The route is served by airlines including easyJet, British Airways and KLM, and sees more air traffic than other popular European routes such as London to Dublin and Frankfurt to Paris.

However, the busiest route in the world, when domestic flights are included, was found to be Barcelona to Madrid.

Air Namibia scales back London service

Air Namibia will scale back its service to London Gatwick next year.

The airline currently flies between the Namibian capital Windhoek and Gatwick three times a week, but from January 18 this frequency will be reduced to twice weekly, on Wednesdays and Fridays, the Travelmole website reports.

Ryanair considers Shannon to Amsterdam route

Ryanair is in negotiations with Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to see if a low-cost route from Shannon is viable.

A Shannon to Schiphol link would be invaluable to local businesspeople as it would mean a replacement of sorts for the Aer Lingus link from Shannon to Heathrow, which is due to be scrapped (see related Cheapflights story).

Ryanair also said it would increase its flights from Shannon to Gatwick and Stansted, which will help those wishing to travel to London. However, losing the link to Heathrow means losing connections to destinations all over the world, damaging local businesses.

Blackpool Airport expansion plan announced

Low-cost airlines are set to increase their services from Blackpool Airport, as the hub announces an ambitious expansion plan.

The airport's masterplan predicts that passenger traffic will increase from 555,000 this year to 1.7 million by 2010, and 3.4 million by 2030. To cater for the extra passengers, a replacement terminal has been earmarked for construction in 2011.

Gareth Kennedy, the airport's commercial director, is unfazed that key routes from Blackpool have been cut this year (to London Stansted, Prague and Amsterdam), claiming that new routes are being pursued.

Local community invited to Discover Heathrow

Residents living close to Heathrow Airport are being invited to a series of open days that will cover a range of subjects including the airport's future and the history of the jet engine.

Starting later this month, and continuing until the end of the year, BAA Heathrow’s community relations team will host a series of talks that cover the history, workings and future of the airport, entitled Discover Heathrow.

Talks from Nick West of Boeing about the new Dreamliner aircraft, Duncan Pickard of BAA about the Heathrow East project and Chief Inspector Paul Seery on the challenges of policing the world’s busiest international airport are scheduled to take place.