Air India Express announces change in schedule of Mangalore - Doha flights

Due to a long standing demand from Indian expatriate community to improve the timings of both Mumbai and Mangalore flights from Doha, Air India Express has announced changes in schedule of its flights between Mumbai- Doha - Mumbai and Mangalore- Doha -Mangalore flights effective 12th January 2009.

Both of these destinations were being served with a single aircraft and therefore, there were too many constraints. With the latest addition of B737-800 aircraft to its fleet, Air India Express has de-linked the Mumbai and Mangalore flights.

According to the press release from AIE in Doha, effective 12th January, 2009, the three Mangalore flights will operate on WED/FRI/SUN instead of TUE/THU/SAT with a departure from Mangalore at 10 O clock in the morning and arrive into Doha at 1150 hrs. The departure will be at noon 1235 hrs and will arrive into Mangalore at 2020 hrs. (Local Time) or 0820 pm ex Doha.

The Mumbai flights operating on TUE/THU/SAT will depart Mumbai in the afternoon at 1320 hrs (0120 pm) and will depart from Doha 1745 hrs ( 0545 pm) in the evening and arrive into Mumbai at 2310 hrs (1110 pm).

This will benefit passengers traveling onward to Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Chennai, Bangaluru, Kochi & Thiruvanathapuram as it will offer connections to Air India flights from the same terminal with customs and immigration at final destination.

AIE in its press release has stated that the airline is also in the process of adding more frequencies to Thiruvananthapuram and will now operate two frequencies to Thriuvanathapuram a week on FRI/SAT in addition to the existing Monday flight. The two additional frequency will be non stop from Doha to Thiruvananthapuram.

Air India Express flights commenced from Doha in Summer 2007 and currently operating 13 frequencies - daily to Kerala , 3 times to Mumbai and Mangalore.

Source:mangalorean

UK airlines slash prices

Major British airlines have slashed airfares to India and other holiday destinations to attract customers who have largely preferred to spend Christmas and New year holidays at home due to the economic downturn.

Major airports such as London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow have reported a sharp fall in the number of people going abroad for holidays during the Christmas-New Year season.

To attract customers, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have slashed prices by up to 25 per cent to their lowest levels since the 1980s. These include tickets to New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Prices of tickets to India have dropped significantly following last month's terror attacks in Mumbai. BA has cut prices to Delhi by 121 pound to 359 pound, to Mumbai by 91 pound to 329 pound and to Kolkata by 71 pound to 359 pound.

Both BA and Virgin sought to outdo each other on competing routes, while others such as Lufthansa and Emirates are also cutting prices amidst fears that the economic downturn will lead to plummeting ticket sales.

British Airways and Virgin have already cut its fuel surcharge by a third last week. BA announced its sale with flights to more than 75 destinations coming down in price. A return flight from London to New York is now just 259 pound.

Virgin Atlantic's offers include Dubai from 298 pound, Los Angeles from 338 pound, Delhi from 359 pound, Mumbai from 329 pound, Orlando in Florida from 308 pound and Chicago from 288 pound.

Source:hindu

Jet and Emirates get closer

India's Jet Airways and Emirates Airline have inked a reciprocal frequent flyer arrangement and unilateral code share agreement.

Effective December 15, 2008, the two airlines will launch a reciprocal frequent flyer arrangement with the exception of flights between India and Dubai.

The same day, Emirates will also commence a unilateral code share on Jet Airways' daily flights from Mumbai and New Delhi to and from Dubai.

Source:impactpub

Airlines cut fares on domestic routes up to Rs. 400 per ticket

Major airlines including Kingfisher, Jet Airways, Indigo and Air India have reduced fuel surcharge on all domestic flights by Rs.400 pet ticket, following successive cuts in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices by oil marketing companies.

The country's second biggest carrier Kingfisher Airlines and IndiGo on Saturday reduced fuel surcharge by Rs.400 per ticket.

Travel by Kingfisher Red (formerly Air Deccan) will cost Rs 1,950 for distances up to 750 km, Rs 300 less than the Rs 2,250 earlier. Distances over 750 km will cost Rs 2,700, Rs 200 less than the Rs 2,900 earlier.

For the full-service carrier, Kingfisher, flights up to 750 km will cost Rs 1,950, Rs 400 less than the Rs 2,350 earlier. Fares for traveling more than 750 km will be down to Rs 2,700 from Rs 3,100. Earlier, Jet Airways, JetLite and Air India took similar cuts.

The reduction in fuel surcharge is expected to stimulate domestic air travel market, which has been reporting sluggish growth in traffic for the past few months. ATF prices account for about 45% of an airline's operating costs and has seen a price drop of nearly 50% since August.

Source:rttnews

Flights of most foreign airlines back on schedule

While most of the European and American carriers which cancelled a few flights to Mumbai last week in response to the terrorist attacks
have resumed their schedules, Italy's flagship Alitalia continues to cut its links with the city.

Sources said, Alitalia has cancelled all its flights to Mumbai until further notice. "The airline has not started accepting bookings from Mumbai. It operates flights from Delhi and efforts were being made last week to route its citizens through that airport,'' the source said.

The bankrupt Alitalia had announced plans to reduce domestic and international flights last week and cited labour woes and the need to lay off workers as part of a rescue plan by Italian investors acquiring it. "But there were no plans to cancel flights to Mumbai. The Italian carrier cut links with the city after last week's attack,'' the source said.
Other airlines
like Lufthansa, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Air France etc which cancelled some of its flights on Thursday resumed normal operations by Friday. "Lufthansa's cockpit and cabin crew stay in Hotel Oberoi Trident. It was not known whether any of its crew were in the hotel at the time the attack,'' said an aviation source.

"Air France had about 15 of its crew trapped in Hotel Oberoi and so had cancelled Thursday's Mumbai-Paris flight. A special flight was operated on Friday to ferry its stranded citizens,'' said a source. While British Airways' Mumbai-London flights are being operated as per schedule, the British High Commission has deputed special staff at the airport to assist its citizens who have lost their passport or travel documents due to the situation in Mumbai. Temporary documents and certificates were being issued to help such passengers.

Source: indiatimes

Jet Airways offers India-London mileage bonus

In India, Jet Airways' JetPrivilege frequent flyer programme has begun to offer its members who travel on the Mumbai/Delhi-London sectors (for return trips only) the chance to earn Double JPMiles between until 15th January 2009. The Double JPMiles offer is available for flights booked in First Class, Premihre (Business), and Economy, allowing JetPrivilege members to earn over 25,000 JPMiles for a First Class return ticket booked on the London route.

London-bound JetPrivilege members also earn an additional 500 bonus JPMiles when they book their travel online through the airline's web site, and another 250 bonus miles for using Jet Airways' web-based or SMS check in facilities.

Source:thewisemarketer

IndiGo India-Thailand Services for 2009

New Delhi-based budget carrier IndiGo has added Bangkok to its international itinerary with a possible start of scheduled air service between Thailand and India next year.

The Thai capital will be the airlines first overseas destination, however IndiGo plans to add to its international network after it fulfills the regulations requiring it to serve Indian domestic routes for three years before being allowed to fly overseas.

IndiGo, which took to the skies in August 2006, has been contemplating linking Bangkok with main Indian cities such as Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi, according to Pavin Sachaphimukh, chairman of Nancy Group Company.

The Bangkok-based travel management firm Nancy Group was recently appointed as IndiGo's passenger sales agent in Thailand, a move seen as groundwork preparations for its planned launch of air link with Thailand.

Thailand-India has been a high-potential sector for IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe Enterprises, because of the continued robust traffic between the two countries.

Indian tourists have not been deterred by the global credit crunch and Thailand's protracted political problems, with as many as 800,000 Indians expected to visit this year, Mr Pavin pointed out.

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the kingdom is the second most popular Asian destination among Indian tourists. Last year, 536,356 Indians visited Thailand, second only to Singapore, which attracted 749,000.

By planning to launch its services to Thailand, IndiGo plans to take advantage of the relatively untapped low-cost travel segment between India and Thailand to cater to budget-conscious travellers such as youths and students.

The two countries are currently served by four airlines: Thai Airways International, Jet Airways, Cathay Pacific and Air-India Express, which are altogether offering about 90 flights a week.

IndiGo is establishing a network of overseas agents, first tasked to sell tickets on its domestic routes now covering 17 cities in India.

The economic slowdown and decline in passenger numbers have forced several airlines to look at pruning costs including deferring deliveries of aircraft, cutting back on routes and laying off staff.

IndiGo officials, however, claim that they have been seeing healthy growth in passenger numbers and they have expressed that there are no immediate plans to defer delivery of any of the remaining 100 A320 family aircraft it has ordered from the European plane maker Airbus. The airline operates 100 daily domestic flights with 20 Airbus jetliners and plans to serve about 30 Indian cities by 2010, with a fleet of 40 A320s. IndiGo is due to receive all 100 Airbus jets by 2016.

Source:etravelblackboardasia

Air New Zealand Announces World First Flight to Take Off on December 3rd

The world's first commercial aviation test flight powered by a sustainable second-generation biofuel will take place on December 3, 2008.

The jatropha based fuel for the Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 test flight out of Auckland, New Zealand, has been certified as suitable for use by Rolls-Royce.

Chris Lewis, Company Specialist - Fuels, at Rolls-Royce said the fuel is a 50:50 blend of standard Jet A1 fuel and synthetic paraffinic kerosene derived from jatropha oil.

"Laboratory testing showed the final blend has excellent properties meeting, and in many cases exceeding, the stringent technical requirements for fuels used in civil and defence aircraft. The blended fuel therefore meets the essential requirement of being a "drop-in" fuel, meaning its properties will be virtually indistinguishable from conventional Jet A1 fuel, which is used in commercial aviation today."

Air New Zealand's Chief Pilot and General Manager Airline Operations, Captain David Morgan, today announced the date and time of the flight.

"The two-hour test flight is scheduled to take off around 0900 on 3 December with the jatropha blend fuel to power one of our Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400's Rolls-Royce RB211 engines.

"Various procedures will be carried out during the test flight to confirm and measure the performance of the engine being operated with this fuel."

The test flight is a joint initiative between Air New Zealand, Boeing, Rolls-Royce and UOP, a Honeywell company, as part of commercial aviation's drive for more sustainable air travel for future generations.

The jatropha oil Air New Zealand has sourced and refined for its test flight comes from South Eastern Africa (Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania) and India. It was sourced from seeds grown on environmentally sustainable farms.

Jatropha is a plant that grows to approximately three metres high and produces seeds that contain inedible lipid oil that is used to produce fuel. Each seed produces between 30 and 40 percent of its mass in oil and jatropha can be grown in a range of difficult conditions, including arid and otherwise non-arable areas, leaving prime areas available for food crops.

The partners have been non-negotiable about the three criteria any environmentally sustainable fuel must meet for the test flight programme. These are social, technical and commercial.

Firstly, the fuel source must be environmentally sustainable and not compete with existing food resources. Secondly, the fuel must be a drop-in replacement for traditional jet fuel and technically be at least as good as the product used today. Finally, it should be cost competitive with existing fuel supplies and be readily available.

The criteria for sourcing the jatropha oil required that the land was neither forest land nor virgin grassland within the previous two decades. The quality of the soil and climate is such that the land is not suitable for the vast majority of food crops. Furthermore, the farms are rain-fed and not mechanically irrigated.

The test flight partners engaged Terasol Energy, a leader in sustainable jatropha development projects, to independently source and certify that the jatropha-based fuel for the flight met all sustainability criteria.

Once received from Terasol Energy, the jatropha oil was refined through a collaborative effort between Air New Zealand, Boeing and leading refining technology developer UOP, utilising UOP technology to produce jet fuel from renewable sources that can serve as a direct replacement to traditional petroleum-based fuel.

About Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand offers more direct flights to the South Pacific than any other airline, including non-stop flights from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, and Vancouver to New Zealand, as well as Los Angeles non-stop to the Cook Islands and Samoa. Other popular destinations include Australia, China, Japan and Tonga. In addition to flying non-stop Los Angeles-London, Air New Zealand's newest route, between London and Hong Kong, now allows customers to fly round-the-world on one airline. Consistently rated among the world's best international airlines, Air New Zealand's most recent accolades include recognition by the Conde Nast Traveler Reader's Choice Awards, the Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards and Business Traveler Magazine. United Mileage Plus, US Airways Dividend Miles and Air Canada's Aeroplan members earn and redeem mileage on select flights. Flight and vacation essentials can be booked on AirNewZealand.com. Flight and vacation bookings can also be made by calling 1-800-262-1234 in the USA and 1-800-663-5494 in Canada.

Source: Business Wire

Best Air launches Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur services

Best Air started operating five flights weekly, flying on Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur vice versa route every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, utilising MD83 aircraft with 162 seats configuration.



KLIA already has Biman Bangladesh Air operating seven flights weekly and GMG Airlines which operates seven flights weekly. Dato’ Seri Bashir Ahmad, Managing Director of Malaysia Airports said: “Malaysia Airports is delighted to welcome Best Air to KLIA. Best Air’s confidence on the load factor between Kuala Lumpur and Bangladesh is evident by starting with five flights weekly, and we hope they will further increase their frequencies to fly daily to KLIA soon.”

Dato’ Seri Bashir added: “Passengers will benefit greatly in terms of connectivity and flying options as now KLIA has three airlines flying direct to Bangladesh. We expect the passenger movements between Malaysia and Bangladesh to increase based on these services.”


Best Air obtained License in 2006 from Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh to operate Passenger Service in the International & Domestic Sectors. Best Air will start with a fleet of two B-737 aircraft to operate in the Regional Destinations such as Kolkata, Jaipur, Bangkok and Kunming; Domestic Destinations like Chittagong and Sylhet. The second phase will include Far-East, Middle-East, Europe and USA by using Wide Bodied Aircraft.

Source:indiaaviation.aero

Air India Express raises connectivity at reduced fare

The economy class carrier, the Air India Express, will enhance its connectivity to Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Mangalore from Nedumbassery airport at a reduced fare of Rs 999. The fare is inclusive of all taxes in the winter schedule which commenced on October 26, said Air India Deputy Manager (Corporate Communications) Aby George.

The Air India will increase the daily direct flight service in the Kochi-Damam sector leaving Kochi at 7.45 am. It was operating only two services in the sector in a week during last summer.

The Air India Express has increased its service in the Kochi- Sharjah sector operating 10 flights in a week. In an effort to standardise the flight schedule, the daily flight to Sharjah was fixed at 9.15 am and to Dubai at 7.15 pm.

The fare could be brought down by 20 percent following the introduction of service by the low-cost carrier - Air India Express - to Kuwait.

The airline has plans to augment the quality of service in its no-frill Air India Express flight by serving vegetable hot meals on board. With this, the Air India Express will become the only lowcost carrier to offer free food at the given rate, said Aby George.

The Air India Express will serve dishes like vegetable biriyani, vegetable pulao and other hot meals for its passengers.

The Air India Express will be the major service provider from Kochi in the international sector with 42 landings a week. The Air India and Air India Express flights have made changes in the schedule to facilitate the re-carpeting work of the runway at the Nedumbassery airport. The departure of the Riyadh-bound flight was changed to 7.30 pm and Damam flight to 7.45 am.

HAJ OPERATIONS

The Air India operated its first charted Haj flight from Kochi on Friday carrying 420 passengers. It was a 747-type aircraft.

AI also plans to operate its second charted flight, an A-310-type aircraft, carrying around 200 pilgrims on Monday.

The AI will also operate two more flights on November 10, Aby George said.

Source://expressbuzz.com

Jet Airways launches Bangalore-Brussels flight

Indias biggest private airline Jet Airways started operating direct flights between Brussels and Bangalore from Friday.

Jet Airways already has daily flights between Brussels and Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, reports EuAsiaNews.

With this new destination, Jet Airways is extending its current schedule of direct flights between India and its European hub at Brussels airport.

From Friday, Jet Airways will be flying four days of the week (i.e. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday) between Brussels and Bangalore, said the airline in a press release here Friday.

From Dec 15 to Jan 14, 2009, the carrier will serve Bangalore by daily direct flights.

From Jan 16, 2009, onwards these flights will be reduced once again to four a week (Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday).

The new flight gives passengers arriving at Brussels airport the opportunity of a smooth transfer to other Jet Airways flights to the United States (New York JFK and Newark) and Toronto in Canada, noted the press release.

This, the airline said, is being done to meet increased Europe-bound traffic during the holiday season.

The airline recently announced scrapping its service on the Mumbai-Shanghai-San Francisco sector from Jan 13, seven months after it was launched. Instead, it will service the San Francisco-bound traffic through its London gateway in association with partner airlines.

Jet runs flights to 64 destinations in India and overseas, including New York, Toronto, Brussels, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Bangkok and Kathmandu.

source://mangalorean.com

Air fares to go up despite huge decline in oil prices

A new round of consolidation has hit the Indian market and this time it's between the unlikeliest of partners: arch-rivals Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines.

The two are controlled by rival billionaires, Jet's Naresh Goyal and Kingfisher's Vijay Mallya. Jet is the more established player and Kingfisher made no secret since its 2005 launch that its goal was to unseat the incumbent as India's largest airline group.

But with both seeing losses balloon as a result of overcapacity, a drop in demand and rising costs, a surprise partnership has been forged. Although some have expressed concern that it could be anti-competitive, it is being billed by its supporters as the only option to ensure the sustainability of India's air transport sector, which despite huge growth in recent years is in a delicate state.

The deal was announced on 13 October, after a surprise meeting between Goyal and Mallya. It marked the start of a rollercoaster week for India's air transport sector, culminating in an emotional soap opera-like press conference by Goyal that was televised live on Indian news channels.

Jet and Kingfisher together account for nearly 60% of domestic market share and their partnership will see them codesharing on domestic and international flights as well as interlining. They have also agreed to jointly manage fuel purchases, join forces in ground handling, integrate and rationalise their networks, link frequent-flyer programmes and share flight crews. Until a few months ago such a partnership would have been unthinkable. But India's air transport sector is in serious trouble, and the country's airlines may lose as much as $2 billion this year.

Jet and Kingfisher expect to save as much as Rs15 billion ($310 million) by sharing resources and eliminating duplication. Although co-branding will be explored, they insist that no equity links are planned. The two have portrayed the alliance as one that will "enable a stabilisation of the Indian aviation industry in the larger public interest". India's civil aviation minister, Praful Patel, has given his backing, saying it could be beneficial provided it does not create too dominant a player.

Analysts were ­supportive in general, but noted that there are no quick fixes to the problems facing India's airlines. "While the alliance is a step in the positive direction, we believe that the revival in traffic growth, at profitable yields, and the ability to raise equity funds is the key to the sector's performance," says CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.

It will put further pressure on already struggling Air India, which has seen its domestic market share fall in recent years, and the Indian government is considering giving financial aid in the form of a low-interest loan. It will also put pressure on smaller independent carriers such as GoAir, IndiGo, Paramount and SpiceJet. Many industry observers say these carriers may now look to forge partnerships of their own.

India's market started growing in 2003, when Air Deccan launched as the country's first low-cost player. Until then only Jet and Air Sahara were the competitors to state-owned Air India and Indian Airlines, but Deccan's launch was followed by the start of many other new carriers. Consolidation was seen last year, when Air India merged with the former Indian, Jet bought the former Air Sahara and Kingfisher acquired the former Deccan. The three groups now together control nearly 75% of the market.

Two days after announcing the Kingfisher deal, Jet said it was laying off 1,900 employees, or 15% of its workforce. It denied it was related to the Kingfisher deal, insisting it had already decided to "suspend" its expansion programme. But its timing was terrible, and politicians seized on it with one even threatening to bar the carrier from operating out of its Mumbai base.

Jet quickly rescinded, with Goyal holding a press conference to say his conscience did not allow him to see so many employees lose their jobs. But the airline still intends to operate 15% fewer flights in the winter schedule than originally planned and it will need to find new ways to slash expenses to slow its losses.

Some observers see Kingfisher as the one that needs the partnership more, as it has been bleeding cash in part as a result of its international expansion. Jet also has a fledgling international operation but it is more established, and there is speculation that it agreed to the tie-up in return for a pledge by Kingfisher that it will drop its international expansion for at least a few years.

Analysts say there is no guarantee the deal will lead to profitability any time soon, but what the unlikely partnership shows is that desperate times call for desperate measures.

Source://flightglobal.com

Qatar Airways starts Sialkot cargo service

Qatar Airways Cargo has added yet another freighter service to its network with the launch of non-stop flights between the airline's operational hub of Doha and Sialkot in northeast Pakistan.

The new service, which was launched yesterday, will operate every Monday using an Airbus A300-600 freighter and will capitalise on the city's strong reputation for exporting high quality medical, sporting and leather goods.

Additionally, Sialkot, which is in Pakistan's Punjab province and is one of the country's most populated cities, is also famous for producing and exporting textiles due to its close proximity to Kashmir.

With such a high volume of products being exported from the city, Qatar Airways Cargo - the freighter arm of leading five-star airline Qatar AirwaysQatar Airways
Qatar Airways- saw the huge potential in operating a direct cargo service into Sialkot District, of which Sialkot is the capital city.
The addition of this new route takes the freighter network of Qatar Airways Cargo up to 20 destinations worldwide, including Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan. Other destinations from Doha are Algiers, Amsterdam, Bahrain, Chennai, Colombo, Dhaka, Dubai, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Khartoum, Luxembourg, Milan, Nairobi, Sanaa, Tunis and Zaragoza.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker explained that with impressive growth of the passenger business over the years, there was now a concerted effort to build the airline's cargo operations.

"This is the second new freighter service launched by Qatar Airways Cargo in the space of just two months having begun cargo flights to the Spanish city of Zaragoza in September," he said.

"We now have plans to grow the number of freighters operated by Qatar Airways which will allow us to carry on adding to what is an already impressive international cargo network.

"We have a strong commitment to strengthen our cargo network as we explore diverse and exciting cities such as Sialkot, which has an established export business in the textile, surgical and sporting goods industries. Sialkot is a perfect addition to the airline's already strong Pakistan network, where we have two other cargo and four passenger routes."

Source://zawya.com

Save big on holiday travel using the Web

Many of us won't be traveling on vacation anytime soon. After all, tough times call for tough measures. But, that doesn't mean you can't spend the holidays with your family. Start planning now, and you can save a bundle.
The Web makes it easy for anyone to plan and book travel. It also makes it easy for you to reduce travel costs. Here are some handy tips for getting the best deal. You'll find links to sites mentioned at www.komando.com/news.
Start early

Flight rates fluctuate with demand. The holiday season is one of the busiest travel times. So, book your flights well in advance. Last-minute deals will be scarce or nonexistent.

Book three weeks in advance, minimum. Fares will increase after that. Early booking will increase your chances of getting the flight you want at a price you can live with.

The day you book flights also matters. This is less true than with last-minute flights, but Tuesday evening through Wednesday is best for advance purchases.
Be flexible

A little flexibility in your plans can save you big bucks. You want to fly off-peak. For example, the Wednesday before and the Sunday after Thanksgiving are peak times. Instead, consider flying that Tuesday and Saturday. Early-morning or late-night flights are also often cheaper.

Consider changing the departing and arriving airports to ones farther out from big cities. You'll need to arrange for ground transportation, but your savings will probably outweigh the cost.

There are many variables here. Fortunately, most travel sites do the work for you. Look for an option that lets you compare prices at nearby airports and dates.
Comparison-shop

As with any purchase, comparison-shopping is important. No site lists all airfares. That doesn't mean you must check each airline individually.

Start with aggregator sites like Kayak and Yahoo Travel. These scan many major airlines and even sites like Orbitz.

Each aggregator site searches different airlines. So, visit several before buying tickets. And remember, Southwest flights are only available online at its Web site.

When you find a deal, check the airline's site directly. The airline may have a special available only on its site. For a list of all airlines' Web-only deals, visit Airfare Watchdog.
Jump on a deal

If you see a good price on a ticket, book it fast. Prices will probably only go up with demand.

How do you know if you're getting a good deal? Check the historical prices of tickets on FareCompare and then you'll know whether to keep shopping.

Farecast also uses historical data. It makes predictions about whether a fare will rise or fall.

Keep in mind that airfares have increased in the past year. Prices will be higher in general.
Keep watching prices

It is unlikely, but flight prices could decrease after you book tickets. So, keep an eye out for price drops.

Some sites like Orbitz offer price guarantees. If a fare drops, you get a refund. Make sure you research these guarantees. Some sites offer automatic refunds. Others do not. Coverage may differ, too.

You should also track prices for your flight on Yapta. If you find a cheaper flight after you buy, Yapta helps you get a refund from the airline.
Save on more than flights

You'll find rental cars and hotel rooms online, too. Check travel sites for package deals. You'll often get steeper discounts that way than when booking each individually.

You may decide to ship your holiday gifts. That way, you'll avoid fees for extra luggage. To compare shipping prices, visit RedRoller.

Economy parking will be crowded during the holiday season, so consider parking off-site. You can reserve a parking spot in advance. AirportParkingReservations.com and ParkRideFlyUSA.com will help you find off-site parking.

Source://shreveporttimes.com

Pacific Blue to Increase Flights Between Brisbane and Nadi

Pacific Blue Airlines, the New Zealand-based subsidiary of Australian airline Virgin Blue, has announced that it will increase services between Brisbane, Australia and Nadi, Fiji from 14 to 16 flights a week from December 19, 2008.

The additional flights will arrive late into Nadi on Friday and Sunday evenings, returning early on Saturday and Monday mornings. Everyday fares between Brisbane and Nadi start from A$349 one way on the net.

Brett Godfrey, CEO of Virgin Blue, said: "The strong statistics and ongoing support has given us the confidence to commit further resources to this route and the additional flight between Brisbane and Nadi is a clear indication of our faith in the Fiji market and its long-term viability."

Source://redorbit

Number 1 European Airline in Asia Pacific: Lufthansa

German airline Lufthansa has been reported as the number one European airline in Asia-Pacific Lufthansa is reported to offer the most flights between Europe and Asia-Pacific, with network information to 194 destinations in 79 countries as of European winter 2008. The airline employs over 100,000 staff worldwide, making Lufthansa a leading long-haul European carrier with its group fleet of over 500 aircraft. Lufthansa's Australian headquarters are at Sydney, with sales teams located in Melbourne and Brisbane.

Melbourne is also home to one of Lufthansa's nine customer service call centres globally. Together with its Star Alliance partners, the airline offers more than 160 flights per week from all major Australian cities via 12 gateways in Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul, Ho Chi Min City, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Johannesburg, Vancouver, Los Angeles and San Francisco, connecting with Lufthansa flights to over 116 European destinations via Frankfurt and Munich.

Lufthansa integrated the former Swiss International Air Lines following regulatory approval in 2005. Swiss presently serves 76 destinations in 42 countries. Globally, Lufthansa was the first airline to build its own terminal for First Class guests in Frankfurt. The airline offers like personal assistant and Mercedes S-class and Porsche Cayenne limousine services directly to the aircraft. Passengers can board aircraft conveniently and calmly at Frankfurt, as it has implemented boarding on two levels already, almost a year in advance of the scheduled arrival of the Airbus A380 there.

The boarding terminal is equipped with generously proportioned passenger bridges, each of which has four escalators, resulting in no queues. The open and spaciously laid out gates for Economy passengers on level 2 have comfortable and contemporary interior design. For First and Business Class passengers and status customers, waiting areas on level 3, better known as the Priority Gates, are designed in the style of a Business Lounge, with all amenities. Right next door is a Senator Lounge, equipped with W-LAN technology, private areas for working, a bistro and bathrooms with showers. Munich is part of the Top 5 airport globally, and was voted as the best airport in Europe for the fourth consecutive year. It was also ranked second world-wide in the "Best Transit Airport" category, and moved up to third place in the "Best Airport Dining" category.

A number of the reasons for this ranking of the airport are housed in Terminal 2, which is used by Lufthansa, Star Alliance and Lufthansa's partner airlines. Lufthansa introduced five weekly non-stop flights between Singapore and Munich, starting June 2008. These additional flights expand Lufthansa's network in the Asia-Pacific region, providing further linkages in the region to Lufthansa's hub in Munich. Under the new schedule, Lufthansa's flight LH791 departs Singapore (except Tuesday and Sunday) in the morning, arriving in Munich in the afternoon on the same day. The return flight LH790 departs Munich (except Monday and Saturday) in the early afternoon, arriving in Singapore in the early morning on the next day.

Lufthansa is a founding member of Star Alliance, which has 21 member airlines servicing around 800 destinations in over 150 countries. The airline has developed one of the most comprehensive alliance networks in the industry, offering customers countless advantages, such as the world's biggest route network.

source://domain-b

Vietnam approves third private airline

The Vietnamese government has approved the Mekong Aviation Joint Stock Company to become the third private airline in the country, Vietnam News Agency reported on Thursday.

The carrier, with a registered capital of 12 million U.S. dollars, plans to start domestic flights in 2010, from its base at Hanoi to destinations such as Nha Trang, Phu Quoc and Can Tho.

It is expected to operate a fleet of about ten 100-seat airplanes.

The first two licensed private airlines in Vietnam are Vietjet Air and Indochina Airlines (a new name for Airline company Air Speed Up). Indochina Airlines will run its first flight in November and Vietjet Airlines' operation is expected to start in April next year.

Vietnam' s existing airlines are flag carrier Vietnam Airline, Jestar Pacific and Vasco.

Source://xinhuanet.com

Save with these travel deals

Europe: Use 1800flyeurope.com in October, and you'll enjoy one-week air-and-land packages to Europe for less than what anyone else is charging. The cost-cutting airfare subsidiary of Auto Europe is currently leading the market in trans-Atlantic travel. All the other packagers (like Go-today.com) require that you wait until November to enjoy one-week trans-Atlantic bargains for under $1,000, including fuel surcharge, but 1800FlyEurope (its telephone number as well as its Web site address) is offering bargain rates throughout October as low as $709 from New York to London (and from other U.S. cities for slightly more), including a few hotel nights and including also the dreaded fuel surcharge. Other packages charge $749, but only starting in November, and not including fuel surcharge, which adds another $250 or so to the price.

• Club Med: On departures through Oct. 18, Club Med Columbus Isle in the Bahamas will charge you only $999 per person (based on double occupancy) for a seven-night vacation with everything -- roundtrip air from Ft. Lauderdale, all meals, drinks, entertainment, transfers. That's at the single most elegant Club Med in all the Western Hemisphere, a high-priced resort. Yet divide the price by seven, and you're paying only $142 a night for everything, including air. (And they'll arrange connecting flights into Ft. Lauderdale for only slightly more.) 800-CLUB-MED

London: The biggest bargain in Britain is a recently opened and centrally located London hostel in a brand-new building. It's one of the newest of all the hostels of Britain's capital city, an official member of the nonprofit Youth Hostel Association (but accepts guests of all ages), and is only a 15-minute walk from Piccadilly Circus. The London Central YHA ( charges as little as 17.95 pounds (about $36) per person per night, an average of 19.95 pounds ($40) and 21.95 pounds ($44). An associate of mine reports that it's a quiet and proper place, entirely suitable for mature people and families.

Cheap sleeps: A recently launched Web site called www.roomorama.com will get you an inexpensive room in an otherwise occupied apartment or home (the apartment or home owner remains in residence) in New York, Boston, Chicago or Toronto. Add the feisty Roomorama to your list of sources for low-cost accommodations in those increasingly expensive cities.

Loaner phone: For the first time, a large, mobile-phone company has launched a service to ''lend'' you a cell phone that will work overseas as you travel on vacation. Reader after reader has been alerting me that numerous offices of Verizon (whose normal phones work only in the U.S. and Canada) will now make available ''loaner'' phones for foreign use, at rates competitive with, and sometimes lower than, those charged by the several cell phone rental companies that deal with travelers leaving the country. The good reputation of Verizon should make this a popular and cost-effective service.

Source://miamiherald

Jetstar Pacific sells $12 tickets for Hanoi-Da Nang route

Vietnam’s budget airlines Jetstar Pacific on September 28 announced to resume its HCM City-Hue air route and sell cheap tickets for routes from Hanoi to Da Nang and Nha Trang.

According to the announcement, the HCM City – Hue air route will be re-opened as of December 5, 2008 to serve passengers during the lunar New Year. The flight, coded BL 8580, will take off at HCM City at 3.10pm everyday and from Hue at 7pm.

As of 6am, September 29 to 11.59pm, October 6, 2008, Jetstar Pacific will sell cheap tickets for the Hanoi-Da Nang route at VND200,000 ($12) per ticket, and VND450,000 ($30) for the Hanoi-Nha Trang route. The cheap tickets are sold for flights from October 15 to November 30, 2008.

The airlines will open two new air routes from HCM City to Bangkok on October 31, 2008 and HCM City to Siem Reap (Cambodia) on November 3, 2008. The airfares for these routes are VND192,000 ($12) and VND640,000 ($40), respectively.

Source://vietnamnet

New airline to fly on Birmingham-Amritsar sector

A new airline, Bilga Air, will operate between Birmingham and Amritsar from Oct 9, when Air India temporarily suspends its flights on this sector.

The announcement follows Air India’s shock decision last week to pull the plug on its Amritsar-Birmingham-Toronto route in order to protect its valuable slots at London’s Heathrow Airport.

Air India said it would now fly on the Amritsar-London-Toronto sector.

Named after a village in Punjab, Bilga Air’s flights will be operated by Britain-based charter airline Monarch.

Although its schedule will vary at different times of the year, its flights will mainly operate Sunday and Monday evenings. While some will have a technical stop for fuelling, more than 90 percent of flights will operate non-stop.

The aircraft cabin will be a mixed configuration of economy and premium economy. Prices will start at 575 pounds return.

Surinder Kanwar, director of Bilga Air, told the Birmingham Post newspaper: ‘Despite threats of an economic slowdown, we believe that Bilga Air has the ingredients to sustain a successful operation due to the ethnically diverse region in which Birmingham Airport sits and first class facility it offers.’

Officials at Birmingham International Airport confirmed they had been told the Air India service - which links Amritsar via Birmingham to Toronto in Canada - will be suspended. The service, which began three years ago, touches Birmingham six times a week.

More than 100,000 people, mostly from the Indian community, have used it since the start of the year, with the airline’s load factor - a measure of how full its planes are - at 85 percent, well above the average for a long haul service.

Air India will start more direct flights from India to the US. As a result it is reducing the number of transit flights it operates at Heathrow, including services to New York.

‘The airline will risk losing its Heathrow slots if it doesn’t operate at least 80 percent of its allocated movements. Given their value, it needs to secure them,’ Peter Vella, Birmingham International Airport’s business development director, said.

‘As a result, Air India will temporarily move its Birmingham flights to Heathrow until the summer 2009,’ he said.

Vella said Bilga Air’s operation will help to fill a very popular market which exists in the Midlands. ‘I’m sure it will be greatly welcomed by the Midlands Asian community.’

Jerry Blackett, chief executive of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the decision boosted the belief that Birmingham was the bridgeway for Europe into Asia.

‘I am not surprised really as it seems to me that the business communities that fly from Birmingham to India was there and it was only a matter of time before another airline came forward,’ he said.

Source://sindhtoday.

WINE AND DINE ON THE WINGS

Being branded as the ‘king of good times’, Bangalore’s very own business magnate Vijay Mallya surely knows a thing or two about auspicious timing. On Ganesha Chaturthi, his dream of spreading wings across the seas took wings as his Kingfisher Airlines launched a daily direct flight to London, meeting a long-felt need of the Bangaloreans.

A wide-bodied brand new A 330-200 Airbus aircraft with 217 seating capacity has been pressed into service in this emerging market as Mallya becomes only the second private player from India to enter international aviation.
Riding on the growing popularity of Kingfisher Airlines, he hopes to launch the Mumbai-Singapore, Bangalore-Hong Kong and Bangalore-San Francisco segments in the next two months.

The maiden flight to London was flagged off by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel as the Airlines’ smartly dressed air hostesses welcomed each passenger on the inaugural flight with a traditional garland and a bag of mementos. “With over 70 per cent seats being taken up on the opening day itself, we are already on the road to success,” Mallya, who also took the maiden journey to the Old Blighty, declared.


The first thing you notice on the brand new aircraft is the amount of leg space even in the ‘economy class’, which Kingfisher calls the ‘KF Class’. You immediately realise that it is in a class of its own as each passenger is provided with a touch-screen television with a choice of programming, including films, songs, games and even ‘live news’ whenever the satellite-flight configuration permits. There’s also Internet and Wi-Fi connections for those inclined to catch up with work.

On the 10-hour non-stop flight, the smokers have to keep their urge firmly in check as smoking is a strict no-no in keeping with international norms, but there is no bar on the bar as the ever smiling air hostesses pamper their customers with a variety of beer, wine and whisky and a choice of snacks to munch.
The lunch, sourced from Sky Gourmet, Bangalore, is a connoisseur’s delight. On many international flights, the vegetarians are given a ‘raw’ deal, but Kingfisher makes sure that Bangaloreans have nothing to complain as hot and tasty food is served.

On the return journey from London, one had a taste of business class ‘KF First’ which was truly something else. The exclusive club of 30 passengers gets Maharaja’s treatment as each cubicle is fitted with a collapsible seat which doubles up as a bed and even offers ‘body massage’ at the press of a button.

In keeping with the requirement of a long flight, Kingfisher has achieved a ‘first’ by introducing a flight bar with a social area where the privileged passengers can relax amidst ambience lighting and enjoy inflight entertainment. For breakfast and lunch, there’s a sumptuous choice of menu sourced from Chutney Mary, one of the best Indian restaurants in London.

The cherubic senior general manager, corporate media relations of the UB Group, Prakash Mirpuri confesses that the Kingfisher fares are slightly higher than the competitors, but adds, “We offer premium amenities at business class price and whoever flies with us once comes back repeatedly as he or she feels the difference.”

Source://deccanherald.

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