Seville and Malaga flights from Brussels Airlines

Book by midnight on Sunday, November 29: Brussels Airlines' weekend sale is on now, with return flights to the Southern Spanish cities of Seville and Malaga from £248 return.

Travel between December 1 and March 31, 2010, from several points around the UK including London Gatwick, Manchester and Bristol. The line-up of flights - that go via Brussels - is as follows:

Manchester to Malaga from £248
Manchester to Seville from £248

British Airways 'in shock return to Zimbabwe'

British Airways will resume direct flights to Zimbabwe next spring after an absence of two years, a senior government official has claimed.

The UK flag carrier severed historic ties with the African country in September 2007 amid a deteriorating political and economic climate under President Robert Mugabe.

But according to David Chaota, chief executive officer of the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe, BA has now agreed with Harare to resume operations.

Overweight baggage? That'll be £1,200 please

A customer on a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok to Panama was left gobsmacked after being charged a whopping £1,200 for having overweight bags.

Time magazine reports that passenger Bob Wolfe was told to hand over 66,000 Thai baht when check-in staff discovered that his luggage exceeded the weight allowance.

Incredibly, the hapless traveller was in such a rush that he agreed to pay the surcharge, and is now fighting to get an explanation for the exorbitant fee.

Cathay Pacific left red-faced by mass toilet blockages

Engineers at Cathay Pacific are working round the clock to find the source of a spate of mysterious toilet blockages that have hit several planes in its fleet.

Over the past fortnight, washroom facilities on the carrier's Airbus A330 and A340 jets have repeatedly been put out of action by an unknown technical problem.

One flight from Hong Kong to the Saudi capital Riyadh even had to make an emergency landing in Mumbai after all ten of the plane's toilets were hit by blockages.

US government lays down the law over tarmac delays

In a move that sets a precedent for airlines around the world, the US government has slapped three carriers with fines for leaving passengers stranded on tarmac.

The Department of Transportation fined Continental Airlines, its ExpressJet Airlines affiliate and Mesaba Airlines – a unit of Delta Air Lines – a total of $175,000 (£106,000).

It meted out the punishment after 47 passengers were left stuck on the tarmac for six hours when their Continental Express flight was diverted to an unmanned airport.

Threat of bankruptcies 'not a big deal', say airlines

An industry body representing major European airlines has said there is no need to extend financial protection to passengers who book direct with their carrier.

The European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) insisted that creating an insolvency fund to protect all customers would be an overreaction to an "infinitesimally small" problem.

It was responding to attempts by the European Commission to address a recent spate of airline bankruptcies in which passengers have been left out of pocket.

Ailing bmi scraps 600 jobs, loss-making routes

Bmi has announced plans to lay off 600 employees and axe five routes as part of a restructuring effort aimed at returning the company to profit.

Most of the job losses at the British airline – now fully owned by German flag carrier Lufthansa – will affect cabin crew and other front-line "operational" staff.

Bmi will also cease to operate outbound services to Tel Aviv, Brussels, Kiev and Aleppo as of next January, with flights to Amsterdam being axed in March.

Manchester Airport control tower to become trendy bar

Manchester Airport has unveiled plans to turn one of its defunct control towers into a trendy bar that will rival even the city's more-established venues.

With space for 100 patrons and a panoramic view of the airfield and Cheshire countryside, planners say the bar would be an "iconic" addition to the airport.

Renewed APD fears as London airports lose routes

Fears are growing that increases to the government's much-criticised Air Passenger Duty (APD) has already begun driving passengers away from UK airports.

New research shows that London lost a total of 76 air routes between March 25 and October 25 – making it the European capital worst affected by the economic downturn.

The figures follow repeated warnings that Whitehall's controversial increase to APD will prompt international passengers to bypass the UK in favour of continental hubs.

Heathrow passengers pucker up for giant mistletoe

Heathrow Airport is wishing its passengers a 'Merry Kiss-Mas' by unveiling the world's largest sprig of mistletoe at Terminal 5.

The massive 10ft x 8ft steel structure, which weighs in at 43kg, will greet an estimated one million travellers who are due to pass through the terminal over the festive period.

Airport chiefs hope the giant mistletoe will lead to more than two million kisses being planted on passengers, bringing Christmas cheer to business and leisure travellers alike.

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.

Lufthansa offers Europe flights from £129 return with taxes

Book by Sunday, November 15, to snap up a £129 flight (return including taxes, fees and charges) to Europe with Lufthansa.

The German airline's eye-catching promotion takes in several in-demand European cities, the likes of Prague, Naples, Rome, Venice, Verona, Bucharest, Budapest and Warsaw.

Other cities include Bari in Southern Italy, Basel in Switzerland and the Polish cities of Katowice, Poznan and Wroclaw.

Air Canada sale: cheap flights to Canada and US

Book flights before Tuesday, November 17: Air Canada's sale to destinations in Canada and the United States is on now with return flights from £298 including taxes and charges. Travel by December 14 and, after Christmas, between January 7 and March 31, 2010.

The lineup of bargain flights to Canada - departing from London Heathrow Airport - is as follows:

Toronto from £362
Montreal from £378
Calgary from £487

BA, Iberia merger would create world's third-largest airline

British Airways (BA) and Iberia have made a preliminary agreement to merge. The agreement comes after more than a year of negotiations and is expected to be completed in late 2010.

The merger, if it is completed, will create the world's third-biggest carrier, with 419 aircraft flying to 205 destinations.

Under the terms of the deal, the Spanish airline will take a 45 per cent stake and British Airways a 55 per cent stake in the new company.

BA-Iberia merger 'not imminent'

Shortly after Sky News announced on Wednesday that the deal between British Airways and Iberia was imminent, an industry source has denied the claim.

The unnamed source said: "The talks are still going on and there is no imminent announcement scheduled."

Cheapflights reported the story back in March after a report in The Times also confirmed that the merger was ‘imminent’.

Ryanair Doncaster to Spain flights to resume

Low cost carrier Ryanair will be reintroducing its Doncaster to Spain flights starting next summer. The news comes after Thomson and First Choice announced they were adding additional services from the airport.

The popular routes will be operated from Robin Hood Airport (website: www.robinhoodairport.com/) to Girona (Barcelona) and Alicante.

Up to 25% off Christmas flights

Book by Friday November 13 and save up to 25 per cent off. The Irish national carrier, Aer Lingus, is offering travellers up to 25 per cent off Christmas travel to popular destinations in Ireland and Europe.

A sample of the routes is as follows:

London Gatwick to Zurich

London Gatwick to Munich

London Gatwick to Vienna

Ryanair axing its Basel routes

From December 2 2009 Ryanair will be closing all six of its routes to and from Basel, Switzerland’s third largest city, as a result of a dispute over the airport’s charges.

The Irish low-cost carrier has however reassured passengers that a full refund will be provided to those travellers due to travel to Basel on or after December 2.

Etihad Airways wins prestigious travel award

Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi-based airline, enjoyed its share of the limelight at this year’s World Travel Awards.

The carrier picked up two prestigious awards: the World's Leading Airline and World's Leading Airline in the First Class category while Virgin Atlantic was named World's Leading Transatlantic Airline.

Brawl forces easyJet flight to divert

© easyJet

A brawl between rival football fans forced an easyJet plane to make an emergency landing in Germany on Friday (November 6).

The flight, from Manchester to Munich, was diverted to Frankfurt Airport amid fears that a fight between the two English men was getting out of hand.

They were members of a group of 12 fans travelling to see Bayern Munich and Schalke 04 play in a Bundesliga match on Saturday.

The inebriated men were aged 24 and 36 and could not be restrained by cabin crew after they started fighting.

Weak pound influences Britons' travel plans

A poll by World Travel Market (www.wtmlondon.com) trade exhibition, which opened today in London, reveals the effect that the weak pound is having on Britons' travel plans.

Twenty-nine per cent of respondents who had taken holidays this year said that the value of the pound would influence where they holidayed next year while 27 per cent said they were undecided about the destination they would travel to at a time when the euro is stronger than the pound.

The figures suggest that holiday stalwarts Spain, Portugal and Greece may struggle to attract British holidaymakers next year should the pound remain weak against the euro.

Save up to £40 off Canary Island flights with Monarch

Sale ends at midnight on Tuesday, November 10: Monarch Airlines is offering up to £40 off the cost of return flights to the Canary Islands - Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Tenerife or Gran Canaria - this winter.

An extra sweetener is a 50 per cent discount on the cost of carrying luggage on the flights (about £8 instead of approximately £16 per checked bag).

Monarch flies to these sun-drenched destinations from London Gatwick and Luton, Birmingham and Manchester airports.

Airports welcome fewer flyers this year

A study by RDC Aviation reveals that airports around the UK are handling fewer passengers this year.

Passenger numbers are down at 33 airports around the country during the first eight months of this year, a period that includes the peak summer season when airports are usually experiencing their highest numbers.

Britons are taking almost 10 per cent fewer trips overall, with Spain and the US two of the destinations that have lost the most visitors. Visitor numbers to Spain are down by 16 per cent and 10 per cent fewer Britons took trips to the US.

Ryanair considers upping its boarding pass reissue fee

Passengers have long known how expensive it is to turn up for a Ryanair flight without having printed off  their boarding pass in advance. However, reports in the Irish newspaper, the Sunday Business Post, suggest that the airline is looking to increase the reissue charge to €100 (or £100) in a bid to lower its costs.

Michael O'Leary, the airline's CEO, said that the proposed higher charge - €60/£60 more than the present fee - is designed to deter passengers arriving at airports without first printing off their boarding cards.

Emirates Airline sale - worldwide flights from £452

Emirates Airline is another major carrier having a sale. The Dubai-based airline has discounted the price of return flights from the UK to the Middle East, Africa and Asia to bring them under the £500 mark (with taxes). There are also flights to Australia and New Zealand.

Book by November 30 and travel, in most cases, until March 25, 2010. There are several UK departure points including London Heathrow and Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Glasgow airports.

SAS offers free Card with Stockholm flights

A nice little sweetener from Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). The carrier is offering a free 24-hour Stockholm card, worth £33, to travellers who book return flights to the Swedish capital before December 31.

The airline has flights from London Heathrow to Stockholm Arlanda Airport from £69 one-way including taxes and charges. There's also a service from Manchester Airport from £99 one-way with taxes.

easyJet swipes up to 30% off cost of flights

Sale ends at midnight on Tuesday, November 10. EasyJet has discounted its fares - on every flight, on every route and on every day - by up to 30 per cent for travel until March 31, 2010.

To bag a sale fare, select flights and travel dates as usual. The lower fares will be displayed on the "Choose your flight" page.

British Airways' worldwide flight sale

Book by Tuesday, November 17, to make big savings on British Airways' flights. The global carrier has discounted the price of flights worldwide for travel until March 2010.

This sale covers all classes of travel. Economy and Premium-Economy flights must be booked by November 17, but for those with deeper pockets, the Business-Class and First-Class sale ends one week later, on November 24.

The standout prices are fares to New York (Newark and JFK) from £299 return including taxes and charges (last-minute fares - travel by November 18 for NY Newark and November 25 for JFK), but there are plenty of flights to European and Asian cities as well as Caribbean winter-sun destinations.

Virgin introduces direct flights to Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico has long been a favourite holiday destination among US travellers, and less popular with UK travellers simply because there were no direct flights on offer - until now. Virgin Atlantic has just introduced a new weekly direct flight from London to Puerto Rico.

The new service will begin on Saturday November 7 on Virgin’s Boeing 747-400 from London Gatwick direct to the country’s capital San Juan.

Although the capital is rich in history and stunning colonial architecture, most people coming off San Juan flights use it as a base to explore other parts of the country including the the coastal town of Guánica and the Caribbean National Forest, El Yunque.

Reminder for Brits not to overstay Oz visas

Gap year travellers enjoying a break down under have been warned by the Australian government not to forget that they have to return to Britain.

The reminder follows news that UK travellers – particularly men under the age of 25 – now account for the country's largest proportion of illegal 'over-stayers'.

Immigration Minister Chris Evans told the Australian parliament that the problem appears to be getting out of hand and punishments must be enforced.

APD hikes 'will lead to holiday cancellations'

The government's recent increase to the rate of Air Passenger Duty (APD) will significantly dampen future demand for overseas travel, new research has revealed.

A poll for the World Travel Market found that 52 per cent of people who took a holiday this summer now plan to cut back on trips abroad due to the increased burden of APD.

The disappointing news follows Whitehall's decision to ignore a chorus of criticism from within the travel industry and press ahead with hikes to what has been dubbed its 'holiday tax'.