London Luton Airport announce the expansion of Blue Air with additional flights to Romania offering more choice for passengers.

Commencing 28 March 2010, the Romanian based airline will further expand the London Luton Airport route network into Romania with daily flights to Bucharest, 4 weekly flights to Sibiu and 3 weekly flights to Bacau.

Flights are on sale now and can be booked at www.blueair-web.com.

Simon Harley, Airline Manager, London Luton Airport, said, “We are delighted to announce further expansion with Blue Air at the Airport.  Low fares flying continues to make business and leisure travel increasingly accessible to millions of Europeans and the launch of these new services provide yet more choice for our passengers.’

ABode, the four star boutique hotel group will open its doors in Chester this Spring. The 85 room hotel, conveniently situated adjacent to Chester’s racecourse offers a stylish and contemporary base to explore the city’s unique mix of Roman ruins, gothic grandeur of Chester Cathedral and boutiques.

This is the sixth property from the ABode stable which provides a choice of accommodation suites and dining options ranging from Tavern to Restaurant, with price points to suit every budget.  Featuring bespoke art collections created by photographer, Brian Aris, the venue captures modern style with an eclectic mixture of art pieces to make each room unique.

The hotel is ABode’s first new build yet fuses the unique heritage of the Chester site within a modern setting, with original Roman remains dating back to 79AD and discovered on site, being showcased at the entrance to HQ.  Three sixth floor suites are spaciously fitted to offer exceptional comfort with state of the art hand-built beds and oversized baths along with private balconies to give views of the racecourse, piazza and Chester city.

www.ABodehotels.co.uk/chester

To celebrate the launch of its new service between Abu Dhabi and Paris, from 3 May 2010, Air France has announced its introductory fares for passengers looking to travel to France and onward flights to Europe as well as North and South America.

Economy fares to Europe will start from AED 1,390 and from AED 1,490 to North and South American destinations (subject to conditions); offers are available for passengers purchasing tickets before 5 April 2010, for any travel between 3 May and 15 July 2010.

Pierre de Saint-Albin, Air France KLM General Manager for the Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, said:“To mark the new connection to the UAE with the Air France KLM network, we are pleased to offer our clients in the UAE these competitive introductory offers. We have also been encouraged by the close and growing relationship with Abu Dhabi Airports Company which has resulted in our flight schedules being particularly well adapted to offering our customers fast connections via our Paris - Charles de Gaulle hub, to more than 244 Air France KLM destinations.”

The new route means that, from 3 May 2010, the Air France KLM group will offer up to 10 weekly, non-stop flights out of Abu Dhabi International Airport, to their respective hubs of Paris – Charles de Gaulle, and Amsterdam.

www.airfrance.ae

SAS’s seat sale opens on March 12 - for discounts on SAS flights from London Heathrow and UK regional airports to Scandinavia and beyond, bookings must be made between 12-22 March 2010 and passengers must travel between 15 April - 13 June or 09 - 31 August 2010.

Flights from LHR to the key Scandinavian cities of Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Stavanger, Gothenburg and Bergen all start from just £59.

www.flysas.co.uk

Lufthansa is boosting services from Edinburgh this summer with the introduction of a new service to Düsseldorf and the reinstatement of a second daily service to Frankfurt.

The new six times a week service (daily except Saturday) to Düsseldorf will start on 26th April offering up to 70 seats in a two class configuration. Meanwhile, Lufthansa has also confirmed the reintroduction of the teatime service from Edinburgh to Frankfurt. 

Announcing the boost to the Edinburgh services, Marianne Sammann, Lufthansa General Manager UK and Ireland, said “This reaffirms Lufthansa’s commitment to our customers in Scotland and our belief that the recent economic issues that have particularly affected business travel are starting to subside.  

“Lufthansa continues to offer a range of highly competitive fares for both business and leisure travellers. We will be offering one way fares to Düsseldorf from just £49 as well as highly competitive Business Class fares starting at £399 inclusive of all taxes and charges, a generous hold and hand baggage allowance and on board food and drink.

Stelios Haji-Ioannou continues to expand his super budget brand easyHotel into Berlin, Germany as the new Hotel opens. Situated in Hackescher Markt in the centre of Berlin, the hotel will open its doors with an opening offer starting from just €10 (euros) per night for a double room.

This latest addition to the easyHotel portfolio is a new build budget hotel and the 12th property to be opened by the brand. Located on Rosenthaler Strasse it offers 125 air conditioned bedrooms which are priced on the basis of the earlier you book, the less you pay and periods of high demand cost more than less popular periods.

Within walking distance of all the tourist attractions including: Hackescher Markt, Alexanderplatz and the Museums Island, with a tram stop and the Rosenthaler Platz subway station located right in front of the hotel allowing easy access to attractions around the city.

easyhotel.com

MSC Cruises has always offered value for money, with children up to the age of 18 cruising for free, when sharing a cabin with two adults, paying port taxes, flights and transfers only (where applicable).

Now MSC Cruises offer more, with the launch of its new all inclusive beverage package, available on all MSC ships, allowing passengers to enjoy free drinks on board, available from all restaurants, the self service buffet, bars and the cabin mini bar. 

To celebrate the launch of these packages, MSC Cruises is offering, for the month of March, these inclusive packages for free, with all balcony cabins booked this month on sister ships MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia (offer ends 31 March 2010). The packages include select wines by the bottle and by the glass, beer, cocktails, soft drinks, mini bar (excluding champagne), ice-cream and water (at restaurants and the buffet).

Prices start from £999 pp including fly/cruise and all inclusive drinks package (based on April and November 2010 departures on MSC Splendida and April and October 2010 sailings on MSC Fantasia). 

The itineraries included in the MSC March 2010 offer include:

MSC Splendida on all seven night Mediterranean cruises, departing from March to November 2010, sailing to France, Spain, Tunisia, Malta and Italy. 

MSC Fantasia on all seven night cruises, departing from March to October 2010 calling at ports in Italy, Tunisia, Balearic Islands, Spain and France.

www.msccruises.co.uk

Running to Wednesday 24 March, Malaysia Airlines is offering fares to Malaysia and other South East Asian destinations (Kota Kinabalu, Langkawi, Kuching, Bangkok, Phuket or Denpasar, Bali from just £499. This fare applies for travel to South East Asia from 1 October to 30 November 2010 and 15 – 31 January 2011.

Or book discounted flights to Australia and New Zealand, fly to Perth, Sydney or Auckland from just £629. This price applies for travel from 15 October to 30 November 2010.

Business class fares have also been slashed in the sale. Fly to Kuala Lumpur from just £2,100 and Penang, Kota Kinabalu Langkawi, Kuching and other South East Asian destinations from £2,200. Business class flights to Perth, Sydney or Auckland start from just £2,750. These fares apply for travel on selected dates between 5 April to 2010 and 31 December 2010.

www.malaysiaairlines.com.

From 28 March 2010 the Aegean Airlines schedule out of London Heathrow will change. The mid-day flight will be moved forward to 11.50am (from 12.45), arriving in Athens at 17.35.

New timings as of 28 March 2010:
London Heathrow – Athens  
1150 – 1735     
2035 – 0215 (+1)

Athens – London Heathrow
0850 – 1050
1720 – 1920   

All flights from and to London are operated by Aegean’s new A320/321 aircraft fleet the new mid-day departure allows passengers to connect to many of Aegean’s Greek destinations, including Crete, Corfu, Kefalonia, Mykonos and Santorini to name but a few.

Lead-in price to Athens starts at just £81 one way, inclusive all taxes and charges.

www.aegeanair.com

Continental Airlines has announced that beginning March 17, 2010, it will offer customers the option of purchasing, at check in, premium seat assignments for unreserved economy-class seats that feature extra legroom. OnePass Elite frequent flyer members and their traveling companions will be able to continue to assign themselves seats with extra legroom in economy class without charge.

“Our customers want more choices,” said Jim Compton, Continental’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer.  “Seats with additional legroom are higher-value seats, and we want to offer them to customers who recognize that value.”

Customers will be able to purchase these seats on-line or at the airport kiosk during the normal check-in period, beginning at 24 hours prior to departure of the first flight in an itinerary.  Pricing for the premium seats will vary depending on a number of factors, including the length of the flight and market.

www.continental.com.

Wednesday, 3 March 2010: Late on Tuesday (2 March) the Chilean aviation authorities opened Santiago International Airport (Arturo Merino Benitez - SCL) to a limited number of commercial flights.

TAM’s first flight out of Chile since Saturday’s earthquake left Santiago Airport for São Paulo, Brazil at 21.00 on Tuesday while at 01.00 on Wednesday a flight left São Paulo for the Chilean capital. TAM is currently using an Airbus A330 on the route with a capacity for 223 passengers, 67 seats more than the A320 normally used on the route.

Once TAM Airlines is given permission it will be putting on extra flights and larger aircraft - including Boeing 777s and 767s and the Airbus 330 - to clear the backlog in the shortest possible period of time for passengers wanting to fly to-and-from Santiago and Brazil.

All passengers affected by the airport closure in Santiago and holding TAM Airlines’ tickets (TAM 957 / PZ692) on flights JJ, PZ and JJ* (code share routes operated by LAN), may change their tickets for alternative dates of travel up to 30th March 2010 without incurring any penalties for refunds or revalidation, subject to availability in the cabin of the original reservation.

In the UK passengers effected by the change in TAM’s flights and schedules to Santiago can get more information by calling 020 8897 0005.

AirAsia today launches its “Big Sale” promotion offering flights from London to Malaysia and beyond. The booking period for this offer is 3rd -7th of March 2010, and the travel period is 1st November 2010 -13th of February 2011.

The deals start with a one way fare from London Stansted to Kuala Lumpur from only £189

The sale is part of a major Asia-wide promotion including all of AirAsia’s destinations from the airline’s nine hubs (Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Penang, Kota Kinabalu, Bangkok, Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya and Bandung).

Virgin Atlantic, has announced that it will be launching flights between Heathrow and Accra, the capital of Ghana, from 24 May 2010.  They plan to operate three services a week, subject to government approval, using an Airbus A340-300 aircraft with 240 seats onboard -34 Upper Class, 35 Premium Economy and 171 Economy. 

Steve Ridgway, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, commented: “We are delighted that we are able to launch services to this fast growing and vibrant capital city with its historic links to Britain, thriving economy and growing oil and gas industry.  Virgin Atlantic’s new services will bring much needed competition onto this route, breaking BA’s virtual monopoly. Nearly 200,000 people fly between London and Accra each year and our new services will give them more choice and better value for money.

Ghana is a beacon for economic success in West Africa, and with Africa showing greater economic resilience and growth than other global regions, we are thrilled that this will be our fifth route in Africa.  We look forward to offering the best possible service to travellers between Ghana, the UK and the United States.”

www.virginatlantic.com

Marking a pioneering milestone in the history of aviation, Oman Air became the first airline in the world to offer both mobile and broadband internet on board its flights. Offering in-flight connectivity is part of Oman Air’s ongoing drive to continuously enhance their customer travel experience and offer them innovative services commensurate with the latest technological developments.

Incorporating a cutting-edge most advanced technology that gives the instant convenience of connecting to the internet and mobile phone from their seat, barring the take off and landing time, passengers can use their mobile phones.
 
When using their mobile phones on board, the services will be of a roaming nature, as on a foreign network. Users must then dial the full international numbers. Onboard communications will be charged by the home mobile service provider at international roaming rates, as is the case when one uses their mobile phone abroad.

The rates for the mobile and Internet connectivity are fixed as follows: Passenger price plan for Internet on laptops (Wi-Fi), would be (pilot pricing) $29.95 for 26 MB per flight. Additional usage would be at $ 0.006 per KB, for the webmail (only body copy) would be at $ 9.95 and for the attachments it would be $.006 (per flight). For the Webchat the rate would be $ 4.95 for unlimited. (per flight)

JAL faced massive debts when it collapsed in January
Japan Airlines (JAL), which entered bankruptcy protection last month, has announced a massive increase in loses.

The airline said it lost 177.9bn yen ($1.99bn, £1.3bn) in the last nine months of 2009 - up from a loss of 1.9bn yen a year earlier.

JAL is continuing to operate flights while it undergoes major restructuring under court supervision.

Source: BBC - Read full story  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8538347.stm 

Iberia today posted its results in 2009, one of the most difficult years in the airline's history, when the world economic crisis and stiff competition led to a steep decline in operating income. After 13 consecutive profitable years, Iberia reported a net loss of 273 million euros in 2009.

Throughout the year Iberia adapted its supply of flight services to the changes in the different markets, cutting seat supply overall by 6 per cent, which brought an overall passenger load factor of 79.8 per cent, similar to that of 2008, and one of the highest achieved by any European network carrier last year.

As of December 31, 2009, the Iberia Group has net assets of 1,551 million euros, down 0.8 per cent for the year. The impact of the net loss of 273 million euros in 2009 was offset by better hedging operations valuation and the rise in value of British Airways shares. Iberia's available balance came to 1,974 million euros, 377 million less than a year earlier.

Continental Airlines has announced the expansion of its mobile boarding pass service to London’s Heathrow Airport, becoming the first carrier to offer paperless boarding passes on nonstop flights from the United Kingdom to the U.S.

The service allows customers to receive boarding passes electronically on their mobile phones or personal digital assistants (PDAs) and eliminates the need for paper boarding passes.

“We are pleased to add Heathrow to the growing list of airports we serve with mobile boarding passes,” said Martin Hand, Continental’s vice president of reservations and eCommerce. “Customers have told us this is the type of product improvement they want, and we will continue to expand the self-service technology to more of our domestic and international destinations.”

In addition to boarding passes, Continental provides access to enhanced flight information through mobile devices.  Customers may view onboard amenities and standby lists, as well as track the status of their flights.

US Airways is open to merging with another U.S. carrier, its chief financial officer told Reuters on Tuesday, adding that the domestic airline industry has too many major players.

Speaking at the Reuters Travel and Leisure Summit in New York, Derek Kerr said US Airways is not in merger talks with another carrier because "it takes two to tango."

US Airways, the fifth largest U.S. airline, is not interested in merging with a foreign airline, Kerr said, because that would not cut capacity in the domestic market.

"I don't think that will make a difference," he told Reuters. "Domestic is where there is too much fragmentation and there are too many airlines."

US Airways is no stranger to mergers: it was acquired by America West in 2005 and it tried, and failed, to buy Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) in 2007 through a hostile bid.

"It's five major carriers. It's too fragmented," Kerr told the Reuters Summit of the U.S. airline industry. "You have too many hubs, all chasing the same passengers trying to connect through the country. We believe that it needs to be consolidated."

The full text of the story is on Reuters.com at: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61M5OG20100223

Source: Reuters