Archive for February, 2008

US Airways to start charging for bags

Posted by admin on February 28, 2008

photo by Typophiles
Less than a month after United Airlines announced that it would be charging most passengers $25 to check a second bag, US Airways has announced that it would do the same, starting on May 1. US Airways claims that higher fuel costs are partly to blame and said that this new luggage fee [...]

World’s largest airport terminal to be inaugurated in Beijing

Posted by stephen on February 28, 2008

Beijing’s new international airport terminal, which will open for trial operations on February 29, will be the largest and most advanced airport building in the world. The $3.5 billion project was designed by UK architects Foster & Partners and was completed in just four years.
Terminal 3 has a dragon-like form with a soaring aerodynamic roof [...]

Aer Lingus manages to avoid SIPTU strike action

Posted by stephen on February 25, 2008

The BBC claims the threat of industrial action at Aer Lingus has been lifted after management and union SIPTU reached an agreement on costcutting and work practices. The airline has confirmed that it will operate a full schedule of services.
Aer Lingus had threatened to suspend staff if they failed to cooperate with new [...]

British Airways strike could impact 100,000 passengers at Easter

Posted by stephen on February 24, 2008

The Easter travel plans of more than 100,000 British Airways passengers face severe disruption unless peace talks avert strike action by pilots.
According to the Guardian newspaper, BA and the pilots’ union, Balpa, have agreed to take their dispute to a mediator after 3,000 BA pilots voted for a walkout yesterday. Balpa did not set strike [...]

Virgin flies 747 using Coconuts and Babassu nuts as fuel!

Posted by stephen on February 24, 2008

The first flight by a commercial airline to be powered partly by biofuel has taken place.
Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson said the flight marked a “vital breakthrough” for the entire airline industry, as a Virgin Atlantic jumbo jet flew between London’s Heathrow and Amsterdam using fuel derived from a mixture of Brazilian babassu [...]

Ryanair closes website, claiming ‘expansion of capacity’ is needed.

Posted by stephen on February 22, 2008

Ryanair, the budget airline, is closing its website for three days after missing a deadline set by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to remove misleading prices from the site.
The expensive shutdown will allow Ryanair to revamp its website and meet the OFT’s rules for including taxes and other charges within headline fares.
It could [...]

Virgin America expands to San Diego

Posted by stephen on February 19, 2008

Virgin America commenced service to San Diego, CA from its base of San Francisco International Airport on February 12. It is the sixth destination for the low-fare carrier, which aims to serve as many as ten major U.S. cities within its first year of operation.
Virgin America will initially operate three flights a day on the [...]

JetBlue Airways announces major expansion of service including Los Angeles, Austin and Seattle

Posted by stephen on February 14, 2008

On self-proclaimed customer-favorite JetBlue Airways’ website, it’s announced a major expansion of service in the western United States, with new premium low-fare service at Los Angeles International Airport plus new intrawest routes from other Southern California regional airports to Austin, Las Vegas, San Diego, San Jose, and Seattle, all beginning this May.
Award-winning JetBlue already offers [...]

US Airways frequent-flier change: Short flights earn fewer miles

Posted by stephen on February 14, 2008

US Airways will end its practice of awarding at least 500 miles per flight, something frequent-flier critics will likely point to as what they say is yet another sign of the diminishing value of the airline loyalty programs, according to http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/. Of all the U.S. carriers that use mileage-based loyalty programs, US Airways becomes the [...]

Princess hunts for ‘The Greatest Romantic’

Posted by stephen on February 9, 2008

Get your video camera ready! Princess Cruises is starting a nationwide video contest asking “Are You the Greatest Romantic?” The contest launches Valentine’s Day on company’s new Department of Romance at www.princess.com/romance, where all “romantics at heart” are invited to submit a video telling why they deserve this honor. It can be a poem, a [...]