Weekly news round-up

This week offered plenty of opportunities for discounted flights to Europe from airports around the UK, with Lufthansa, bmibaby and Aer Lingus all providing cheap getaways to the continent. There was big news for passengers living in and around Edinburgh, with Ryanair announcing a significant expansion in the number of routes it operates from the Scottish capital, while Aer Lingus increased its routes from both Belfast and Dublin. Meanwhile, bmibaby treated Manchester to two new sunshine routes and both Eastern Airways and Shaheen Air International increased the frequency on some of their most popular services.

Special offers
Virgin offers US economy fare sale
Book by March 12: Virgin Atlantic is offering a fresh set of discounted flights from the UK to destinations in the US.

Lufthansa discounts flights to Germany
Book by March 31: Lufthansa has discounted the cost of both one-way and return fares from the UK to destinations in Germany.

Aer Lingus offers special fares on Belfast services

Aer Lingus is offering low-cost fares from Belfast to a number of destinations in Europe, including several recently-announced routes

The discounted getaways include fares starting from £27 one-way (including taxes and charges) on one of its newest routes - the daily direct service to Paris, which launches on March 30.

New routes are also set to be launched to Geneva on March 29 and Nice on April 1, both flying on Tuesday and Saturday from £29.

Cheap fares for the airline's existing routes from Belfast are shown below.

bmibaby offers up to 40% off all flights

Book by midnight on March 4: bmibaby is offering up to 40 per cent off all one-way flights to celebrate the leap year.

Discounted fares are available for travel between April 7 and July 10.

Dublin to Bulgaria link launched by Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus will start a new service from Dublin to Bourgas in Bulgaria, with the flight becoming the airline's first scheduled service to the Eastern European destination.

Starting on June 11, and operating until October 4, Aer Lingus will offer two flights a week to Bourgas Airport which is close to the major tourist resorts on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.

Aberdeen Airport taxi drivers back at work

Taxi drivers at Aberdeen Airport are working as normal after striking earlier this week, but look set to enter a new dispute that may threaten passengers travelling to and from the airport.

On Monday (February 25) night, the drivers refused to work in protest over a planned £1 charge that would be levied on them every time they entered the airport.

The drivers returned to work the next day after talks were arranged between them, the airport authorities and ComCabs, the company set to take over the airport contract from current operator Rainbow Taxis on April 1.

EasyJet to end Belfast to Gdansk service

EasyJet has revealed that it will end its service between Belfast and Gdansk later this year, with the move designed to allow it to boost capacity on other, more popular, routes.

The twice-weekly service to the Polish city will be scrapped on May 20 and the aircraft used will be redeployed to its routes from Belfast to Prague and Malaga, The Belfast Telegraph reported.

A spokesman for the airline told the newspaper that "we are notifying passengers who have booked to Gdansk on flights after May 20 and giving them refunds".

Ryanair faces new website criticism

Ryanair has faced criticism over its newly-launched online booking system, with both rival airline easyJet and the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) questioning the changes made.

The website was upgraded earlier this week to allow the budget airline to comply with the Office of Fair Trading's (OFT) demand that all fares be displayed on the site inclusive of taxes, fees and charges.

However, while Ryanair claims to have updated the site accordingly, easyJet spokesman Toby Nicol told The Irish Independent that his airline believed the fares were still being displayed online without mandatory charges.

Lufthansa discounts flights to Germany

Book by March 31: Lufthansa has discounted the cost of both one-way and return fares from the UK to destinations in Germany.

The sample fares shown below are for departures from London Heathrow and include taxes, fees and charges.

Ryanair to launch 17 new routes from Edinburgh

Low-cost airline Ryanair has announced that it will begin flights from Edinburgh in September using two previously newly delivered aircraft to a number of new destinations.

The airline already operates services from the Scottish city to Dublin and Shannon and has previously announced the launch of routes to Alicante, Bremen, Frankfurt, Marseille and Pisa in April.

But today's (February 28) announcement means that services will now operate from Edinburgh to Dusseldorf (two flights weekly) from June.

Virgin to reward online check-in

Virgin Atlantic has revealed details of a new initiative that aims to encourage its passengers to check-in online.

Passengers travelling from London Heathrow, London Gatwick or Manchester between August 1 and September 30 who chose to use the airline's web-based check-in will be given the chance to print off a discount voucher.

The voucher offers £6 off for every £30 spent on Virgin's in-flight Retail Therapy shopping service, with passengers also receiving discounts and vouchers for use at a number of duty free retailers within Heathrow's Terminal 3 and Gatwick's South Terminal.

US pilots' support for BA protest may hit flights

A body representing the interests of 12,000 pilots working for American Airlines has come out in support of British Airways' pilots' opposition to the new Open Skies subsidiary airline.

Last week, BA pilots voted to take strike action in a dispute over working conditions at the new operation, though BA and the pilots are currently scheduled to hold conciliation talks on March 3.

However, the US Allied Pilots Association (APA) has now revealed its support for BA pilots' cause, leading to concerns about the potential affect that strike action by both sets of pilots could have on air travel between the UK and US.

Eastern Airways increases Stansted to Manchester service

Eastern Airways has announced plans to increase the frequency of its service between London Stansted and Manchester.

From April 7, the airline will operate four flights every weekday in either direction on the route, an increase from the current offering of three flights per weekday.

As a result of the changes, flights will now depart from Stansted at 8.45am, 12.30pm, 4pm and 7.20pm, landing in Manchester at 9.50am, 1.40pm, 5.05pm and 8.25pm respectively.

Virgin offers US economy fare sale

Book by March 12: Virgin Atlantic is offering a fresh set of discounted flights from the UK to destinations in the US.

The fares below are for return travel from London Heathrow and include both taxes and charges.

Sales prices are available for departures until June 30, gradually increasing over time - the sample fares below are grouped accordingly.

Southampton and Aberdeen airports win customer service awards

A top accolade for customer service has been awarded to Southampton Airport by the Airports Council International (ACI).

The travel hub has been chosen as this year's European winner for the ACI Airport People Award 2008, after being voted for by passengers as having the most courteous and helpful airport, airline and security staff.

Based on the results of almost 200,000 questionnaires completed by passengers last year, the Airport Service Quality Survey found Southampton to be one of the best performing airports in terms of customer care.

BA boss calls for Heathrow decision to 'focus on the facts'

The chief executive of British Airways, Willie Walsh, has called into question several of the arguments against further expansion of London Heathrow.

Ahead of the end of the public consultation today (February 27) on the plans for a third runway, he called for the decision-making process for the development to be based on "hard facts".

Among the arguments Mr Walsh made were the economic benefits that a new runway would bring to the UK, with it being used by both British business travellers and foreign visitors, keeping important routes at the airport.

American Airlines confirms service switch to Heathrow

American Airlines has revealed that it will complete the switch of all its services from London Gatwick to Heathrow later this year, in the wake of the EU-US OpenSkies agreement.

Previously the airline had planned to retain one of its two daily flights between London and Dallas Fort Worth at Gatwick, after the OpenSkies deal comes into force on March 30.

However, The Dallas Morning News has now reported that, from April 13, both American's daily flights to the Texas destination will depart from Heathrow.

Ryanair apologises for new website problems

Ryanair has issued an update on the situation relating to its newly re-launched website, after reports of problems since it was put back online on Monday (February 25).

The budget airline switched over its booking operations to a New Skies reservations system and admitted that there had been periods when access to the site was reduced.

Explaining the difficulties, the airline blamed glitches resulting from the changeover to a new system, citing issues arising from the large volume of passengers attempting to book flights on the site following the switch.

Air Canada discounts US getaways

Book by February 29: Air Canada has cut the cost of fares for flights to the US this spring.

The airline is offering discounts on outbound travel until March 23 and for all of April.

All fares shown below are for return flights, departing from London Heathrow, and are inclusive of taxes.

Aer Lingus launches new Belfast routes

Aer Lingus has launched four new routes to destinations across Europe from Belfast airport, with another of its planes also set to be based at the hub.

Bringing its total number of services offered from the airport to eight, the airline has introduced flights to Malaga, Faro, Rome and Budapest.

The Rome and Malaga services offer departures on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, while the routes to Faro and Budapest operate on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Three-minute airport car rental service launched

Car rental provider Avis has announced plans to roll out its guarantee of three-minute service to a number of UK airports, following a successful launch at London Heathrow.

The initiative is available to all passengers who are part of its frequent renter scheme Avis Preferred, committing the company to complete the rental process within three minutes of a customer entering their offices.

Anyone who does not receive their completed rental agreement within three minutes will receive a written apology, along with a £20 retail voucher, in the post.

BA calls for flexible runway use at Heathrow

British Airways has called for changes to the runway system utilised at London Heathrow Airport in the event of high winds.

The airline has claimed that the airport's practice of confining arrivals to one runway at a time can lead to flight delays in adverse weather conditions.

Instead it has called for the introduction of a similar method to that used at nearby Gatwick, where arrivals and departures are allowed on the same runway, arguing that this allows arrivals to be maintained at a constant rate in windy weather.

Virgin boss backs Heathrow expansion

Sir Richard Branson, the president of Virgin Atlantic, has called for the plans for a further expansion of London Heathrow Airport, to be given the go-ahead.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow's (February 27) end of the public consultation on the proposals, Sir Richard claimed that increasing the airport's capacity was essential to maintain London's position as a centre for global finance and business.

He advocated the building of a third runway at the hub as the only means for it to compete with other European airports, such as Frankfurt, which are introducing similar changes.

Monarch offers spring flights sale

Book by midnight on February 26: Monarch is offering up to £30 off return flights booked for travel in March and April.

The airline is offering discounts on departures from London Gatwick, London Luton, Birmingham and Manchester airports, with routes featured in the offer including its new routes from Gatwick to both Larnaca and Menorca, both of which launch in March.

The sample fares below are inclusive of taxes and charges.

Shaheen increases Leeds Bradford to Islamabad frequency

Shaheen Air International has announced plans to increase the frequency of flights on its route between Leeds Bradford and Islamabad.

The airline's increase comes less than a month after the route was initially launched, offering two flights weekly from the Yorkshire airport to the Pakistani city. Its success means that, from March 7, there will be three non-stop, direct, flights between the two destinations.

Leeds Bradford's marketing and business development manager, Sally Ramsey, commented: "After only two weeks of operations the decision to increase the frequency of this service is fantastic news and meets the demands of our passengers."

Manchester Airport gets new sunshine routes from bmibaby

Bmibaby has announced it will start two brand new routes from Manchester Airport to Lisbon and Madrid for the coming summer.

At the same time the airline will also operate a link to Barcelona and increase the frequency of weekly flights it offers to Ireland West Knock.

The new route to Lisbon takes off on June 17 and will operate on Tuesday and Sunday, and bmibaby is the only airline flying to the Portugese capital from Manchester with one-way tickets starting from £24.99.

The service to Madrid, which again is not currently served from the airport, will operate on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday with services commencing on June 16 and fares start from £24.99 one-way.

Ryanair site back up ahead of schedule

Ryanair has brought the booking section of its website back online ahead of schedule, after updates to the site were completed earlier than expected.

The budget airline's online booking option was originally expected to be unavailable until 11pm today (February 25), but is now fully functional, with a number of new facilities included.

Among these are improved speeds for the website during the booking process, in particular during busy periods, while features such as changes to flights, Priority Booking and items of checked baggage can now be booked online at discounted rates up to four hours before a flight's departure.

Virgin trials biofuel flight

Virgin Atlantic has confirmed that it has successfully completed the world's first ever flight by a commercial aircraft to be powered by biofuel.

The airline flew one of its Boeing 747s from London Heathrow to Amsterdam yesterday (February 24), with the fuel created from a mix of coconut oil and babassu oil.

Virgin Atlantic president, Sir Richard Branson, claimed that the advent of the flight represented a major step forward in the aviation industry's attempts to reduce its carbon emissions.

BA issues reassurance over Heathrow to Aberdeen service

British Airways has moved to reassure businessmen in Aberdeen about the future security of the city's service to London Heathrow.

Local business leaders have complained that the route has suffered from numerous reliability problems recently, claiming that delays and cancellations are affecting their firm's links with the capital, The Press and Journal reported.

However, a spokesman for BA told the newspaper that the recent problems were due to adverse weather conditions, before going on to issue reassurances that the airline has no plans to change its current seven-times daily service between the two destinations.

One million seats ticket deal from Ryanair

Ryanair has said it will put one million tickets on sale for 1p, inclusive of taxes and airport charges, when its website comes back online after an upgrade over the weekend.

The low-cost operator's website will not be available for bookings between 10pm tonight (February 22) and 11pm on Monday, February 25 although other sections of the site will be accessible.

The downtime will allow the website to be updated in accordance with guidelines from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to display all fares inclusive of taxes and charges.

Go on, take a flight to the Ted Fest with Aer Arann

Aer Arann is to be the official airline for "pilgrims" heading to Craggy Island later this month to take part in the official Ted Fest celebrations.

The festival is a tribute to the popular Channel 4 comedy programme and Aer Arann will be laying flights on from Luton, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh to the Aran Islands.

The festival takes place in two locations, inland Ireland at the town of Kilfenora (February 25 to 27), and on the Aran Island of Inis Mor (February 29 to March 2), which will celebrate the island’s alias of Craggy Island, starting with a cabaret night, and leading onto Sporting Saturday and Spiritual Sunday.

Virgin discounts Premium Economy fares to the US

Book by March 12: Virgin Atlantic has discounted flights in its Premium Economy cabin to a number of US destinations.

All fares below are for return travel from London Heathrow and include taxes and charges.

Prices increase over the course of the year and are grouped accordingly.

For departures by March 20:
London Heathrow to:
New York (JFK) from £660
New York (Newark) from £660
Boston from £690
Washington from £690
Chicago from £690
Los Angeles from £806

KLM offers four-day global seat sale

Book by February 25: KLM has launched a four-day sale on flights from the UK to a number of global destinations.

The sample prices shown below are for return flights (including taxes), and are subject to availability.

London Heathrow to:
Amsterdam, £78.90 (depart by June 30)
Dubai, £239.30 (depart by April 30)
Lagos, £402.90 (depart by June 30)

Manchester to:
Sao Paolo, £515.50 (depart by May 31)
Hong Kong, £382 (depart by March 31 or between May 1 and May 31)
Manila, £480.50 (depart by June 30)

Ryanair criticises Irish potential strikers

Ryanair has criticised plans by Irish air traffic controllers to take industrial action next Thursday (February 28) in a dispute over working conditions.

The 24-hour stoppage was called after talks broke down between the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) and trade union Impact.

However, Ryanair has claimed that the union's demands relating to overtime, staffing and pay for the air traffic controllers are unreasonable, while also attacking previous smaller scale strike action undertaken by the workers at Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports.

JAL increases fuel surcharges

Japanese airline JAL has announced an imminent increase in the fuel surcharge it levies on international flights.

The change will come into effect on April 1 and apply to all tickets issued over a three-month period until June 30.

Tickets for flights between the UK and Japan, booked outside Japan, will be subject to a surcharge increase of £20 from $141 (£72) to $180 (£92).

One-bag rule to end at Humberside Airport

Passengers using Humberside Airport will benefit from the lifting of hand baggage restrictions at the hub.

With immediate effect, the blanket rule which prevented passengers from taking more than one item of hand luggage onto a flight from the airport has been lifted, following approval by the Department for Transport of new security arrangements.

While welcoming the change, the airport's managing director Rob Goldsmith advised passengers to check with their airline before travelling.

Flight path changes proposed for southern England

Consultation plans have been published that would see major changes to the flight paths around some of the UK's busiest airports.

National Air Traffic Services (NATS) is to look into how aircraft operate around a region that covers a large part of London and southern and eastern England, an area with a population of 12 million people.

NATS is seeking feedback on its proposals before submitting then to the UK airspace regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, who will then make a decision on if aircraft flight paths should be re-routed.

First-time adult passport application process changed

Anyone applying for an adult passport for the first time will have to go through a new application procedure, under changes introduced by the Identity and Passport Service (IPS).

All applications for a first-time passport by over 16s who have not held their own passport as a child will now require an interview at one of 69 regional passport offices around the UK.

The changes have been introduced in an attempt to reduce identity fraud, with the 10-minute interviews requiring applicants to confirm facts about themselves that someone attempting identity theft would not know.

Talks to take place over BA pilot dispute

British Airways pilots have said they are willing to enter into negotiation with management to find a resolution to a dispute over the launch of BA's new transatlantic service.

Members of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa) supported calls for strike action over fears that the new BA service, called OpenSkies, would see pilots offered lower wages and be used as a way to drive down salaries across the board.

But in a joint statement British Airways and Balpa said they had a "strong desire" to see a peaceful resolution and that calling on a third party to help in the negotiations was the preferred way forward.

British Airways increases fuel surcharge

Long haul passengers on British Airways face an increase in the cost of their tickets after the airline announced an increase in its fuel surcharge.

BA ha said that passengers will face an additional £5 for each long haul flight of less than nine hours, increasing the price of a single journey from £48 to £53.

While those people travelling on journeys of more than nine hours will have to pay £128 for a return flight, after a £6 increase on single tickets from £58 to £64.

Eastern Airways cuts fares on new services

Eastern Airways has announced plans to celebrate the increased frequency of flights on many of its routes with the introduction of new discounted fares.

One-way fares will be available from £49 (including taxes, fees and charges) on six of the eight routes that are set to benefit from more daily flights from March 3.

The routes offering the new discounted fares are Aberdeen to Newcastle, Southampton and Leeds Bradford; Newcastle to Southampton and Cardiff; and Southampton to Leeds Bradford.

Liverpool airport launches art show for passengers

Passengers using Liverpool Airport will be able to see part of the Tate Liverpool's Turner Prize 2007 exhibition as they pass to and from their flights.

"The Taxi Project" is built around a working black Hackney cab and features video screens revealing what the people of Liverpool thought about key cultural events taking place in the city.

With its installation at the airport, the artwork joins several existing exhibits by artists including Harry Goodwin, Paul Saltzman and Tom Murphy.

Irish air traffic strike set to hit flights

Flights to, from and across the Republic of Ireland look set to be hit next week by proposed industrial action from the country's air traffic controllers.

Talks relating to an overtime dispute broke down yesterday (February 20) between the Impact trade union and the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), leading to the announcement of a 24-hour strike for next Thursday (February 28).

The industrial action would affect Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports, with the trade union criticising the IAA for not hiring enough air traffic controllers to cover staffing needs.

Heathrow baggage problems hit BA passengers

The baggage system failure that has caused widespread problems for passengers at Heathrow Airport over the past two days has largely been resolved, though some difficulties remain.

In a statement on its website, Heathrow's owner, BAA, revealed that the baggage system at Terminal 4 is now fully operational and advised passengers they could now travel with their normal baggage allowance.

However, British Airways, the largest operator from the affected terminal, has advised that all passengers transferring through Terminal 4 today (February 21) should not bring luggage to be checked in as they will not be able to travel.

Air Southwest launch Business Plus service from Bristol

Business customers travelling on Air Southwest flights from Bristol Airport will be able to take advantage of special benefits following the launch of a new service.

The airline's Business Plus service provides passengers with fully flexible business fares, as well as a range of extras such as access to executive lounges at most airports served by Air Southwest.

Air Southwest will give Business Plus customers the opportunity to change flights any time they like up to two hours before departure, at no extra charge, plus use of a dedicated fast track security channel once they have checked-in for their flight.

Ryanair offers 'closing down' sale

Book by midnight on February 21: In advance of shutting down the bookings section of its website for three days between 10pm on February 22 and 11pm on February 25, Ryanair has put 500,000 seats on sale for £5, including taxes, with other seats also discounted.

Travel is permitted between Monday and Thursday and on Saturday, from March 1 to April 30.

However, there is a blackout period between March 19 and March 26 on all routes and the offer is also not valid for flights on holidays, school breaks and during major sporting events.

Jet2.com announces Leeds Bradford to Paris route

Jet2.com has announced plans to launch a new service between Leeds-Bradford Airport and Paris.

The route between Yorkshire and the French capital is scheduled to begin operating on March 30, with flights available now from £4.99 one-way, including taxes.

There are twice-daily weekday departures in each direction on the route, with flights leaving Leeds-Bradford at 7.50am and 6.30pm and arriving in Paris at 10.20am and 9pm (local time) respectively.

Return journeys are available from the French city at 11am and 9.40pm (local time), arriving in the UK at 11.30am and 10.10pm respectively.

TAP tops lost baggage tables

TAP Air Portugal is the worst performing airline in Europe when it comes to baggage delays, with British Airways in second place, according to data from European airlines for 2007.

Figures published by the Air Transport Users Council (AUC) revealed that the Portuguese airline had a delayed bags ratio of 27.8 for every 1,000 passengers using its services.

BA recorded a ratio of 26.5, a decline in performance from 2006 when it delayed 23 bags for every 1,000 passengers.

EasyJet criticises increase in Gatwick charges

EasyJet has criticised proposals to increase security charges at London Gatwick Airport, claiming that the costs will be passed on to passengers.

Gatwick's owner BAA was given permission to increase charges by the Civil Aviation Authority last year, with annual security costs set to rise from £31.4 million to £82.9 million.

While BAA has claimed that the increased levy on airlines using the airport is necessary to help increase the number of security personnel and to end the rule allowing one item of hand baggage, Andy Harrison, easyJet chief executive, has attacked the move.

BA to end London City to Milan service

British Airways has announced the imminent end of its service between London City Airport and Milan.

The route, which operates to the Italian city's Malpensa airport, will be withdrawn from service on Monday, February 25.

Citing operational reasons as the basis of its decision to end the service, BA revealed that the route would still operate on several key dates, advising passengers to check their website, www.britishairways.com, for schedules.

From the TTG blogs: A love of long-haul

Francesca Ecsery, Cheapflights' general manager, is writing a regular blog for Travel Trade Gazette's website, ttglive.com. Here is her latest post.

Our traffic flow for this year shows that the most popular destinations for 2008 revolve somewhat around the usual suspects like Tenerife, Lanzarote, and Gran Canaria, but also include Dubai, Orlando, Bangkok, Barbados, Goa, and Sharm El-Sheikh.

At first glance, you might think that there’s nothing really new about this information, but actually there is. If you examine the trend a bit more closely, you’ll see that long haul destinations seem to be the favourite for 2008 and there are a few reasons why this is so.

As we’ve witnessed in the UK, costs of living and travel continue to rise while the pound maintains its strength. The rest of Europe and the Euro are not exactly on the same path, but are not very far off because although they offer a diverse choice of destinations, your money doesn’t take you as far as it would further afield.