06.22.2007 | 9:52 am | Flight Comparison
Flyglobespan cited poor passenger numbers as it announced that it is to reduce its frequency of flights from Liverpool to New York.
The transatlantic service was launched just last month by John Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono with a view to bringing in more visitors to the European Capital of Culture 2008.
Originally, flights to New York left the north-west airport daily, though the airline has now confirmed that this will now be scaled back to four or five services a week, effective immediately.
“Unfortunately, load factors indicate that in the near future we will have to reduce the frequency to four or five times a week,” said a spokesman for Flyglobalspan.
“At some point in the future, we would like to return to a daily service to New York from Liverpool, but our experience would suggest that to make it viable we would have to introduce a secondary stop on the route, similar to our Liverpool John Lennon to JFK flights which fly via Knock in Ireland.”
The news comes as Zoom Airlines begins its low-cost flights from London Gatwick to New York, with one-way prices for the four-times a week flights costing from £129 all inclusive.
06.21.2007 | 10:57 am | Flight Comparison
Travellers are set to benefit from budget accommodation at Gatwick Airport, with the opening of the innovative cabin hotel, Yotel.
Inspired by Japanese capsule hotels, the new venture from the firm behind Yo! Sushi, also draws on the latest first-class airline cabin innovations for the design of the small rooms.
Each cabin contains its own en-suite bathroom in addition to free Wi-Fi internet access and entertainment systems.
More importantly for travellers, however, is the fact that the new hotel is located within the terminal building of Gatwick, thereby being just a few minutes away from the check-in desks.
“Travelling can be a painful experience so we are looking to make it as pleasurable as possible for Yotel customers,” said Yo! founder Simon Woodroffe.
“We expect this radical approach to be extremely popular with a range of consumers and are looking to expand Yotel globally.”
The news comes as increasing numbers of low-cost flights from Gatwick are launhed, with the transatlantic carrier Zoom offering flights to New York for as little as £129 one way.
06.20.2007 | 9:30 am | Flight Comparison
The Eastern-European low-cost airline Wizz Air has announced that it is to open its seventh operational base at Pozan, in the West of Poland.
The development will also see the airline add to existing services between the UK and Poland, with a further two routes to be offered from the end of January 2008.
In addition to the current service from Luton Airport, Prozan will also be made directly available to passengers flying from Doncaster Sheffield and Glasgow Prestwick Airports, the airline confirmed, with one-way flights to cost as little as £13.50, inclusive of all taxes and charges.
“Wizz Air continues to pursue its expansion strategy in Poland with the establishment of the Poznan base early next year following the developments in Katowice, Warsaw and Gdansk,” said Jozsef Varadi, Wizz Air chief executive officer.
“The move is expected to create hundreds of local jobs and significant revenue uplift for the tourism industry in the region.”
Earlier this month the airline announced the launch of a new service linking the UK to the Transylvania region of Romania.
06.19.2007 | 12:10 pm | Flight Comparison
The budget airline Thomsonfly has announced that it is to launch the first low-cost service between the UK and Israel.
In a recent statement, the airline confirmed that, starting November 1, it will be offering three flights a week from both Luton and Manchester airports to the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
One way fares for the trip will start at £79.99; considerably lower than the prices currently quoted by traditional carriers.
“Our decision to launch into Tel Aviv will satisfy the huge demand for direct flights to the exciting Israeli city,” said Guy Stephenson, Thomsonfly commercial director.
“The Israeli economy is strong and visitor numbers from the UK are up this year, which is a positive backdrop to the launch of new services.”
The news follows on from industry rumours that one of the many European low-cost airlines would begin to offer flights to Israel, with Ryanair also believed to be considering the country as a potential new destination.
Over the past few years, UK passengers have benefited from increasingly long-haul destinations being offered by the low-cost airlines, with both Ryanair and easyJet offering regular services to Morocco.
06.18.2007 | 9:59 am | Flight Comparison
The Eastern-European low-cost carrier Wizz Air has announced that it is to open an additional base in Romania which will see increased services between the country and the UK.
Currently, the airline offers a service between the Romanian capital, Bucharest, and Luton, though from October it will be offering a link to the city from Liverpool in addition to the launch of a service from Luton to Tirgu Mures, in the region of Transylvania.
Until the Bucharest International Airport is re-opened, Wizz Air will be basing its operations from inside the Henri Coanda Airport, from where a new Airbus A320 aircraft piloted by a Romanian crew, will fly.
Commenting on the development, Jozsef Varadi, chief executive officer of Wizz Air, said that the opening of the new base comes as a result of growing demand for flights to Romania.
“Wizz Air, the largest low-cost operator in Eastern Europe, has established itself in the UK with flights available from a number of airports, including several new routes set to launch in coming months from Durham Tees Valley, Coventry and Bournemouth,” he said.
06.15.2007 | 11:28 am | Flight Comparison
One of Britain’s most famous budget airlines, easyJet, has announced its plans to develop a new, eco-friendly airplane.
Already in talks with Airbus and Boeing, the airline believes it could have the plane in service as soon as 2015, and has presented a scale model of some preliminary designs.
“This is not Star Trek technology,” said easyJet chief executive Andy Harrison.
“This is technology that is well within our reach. We are talking to Boeing and Airbus. We are working with manufacturers to get this aircraft delivered in 2015.
“We are currently spending £4 billion…on aircraft [and] they are listening to us,” he added.
Some noteworthy features of the plane displayed at the press conference are that the body is noticeably slimmer than most small Boeings, and that the rotor engines are fixed to a larger tailfin.
Aviation body ACARE has set guidelines for the airline industry to reduce 50 per cent of its carbon emissions by 2020.
06.14.2007 | 11:27 am | Flight Comparison
Nine people have been released from
Miami airport after complaining of illness onboard an Aeromexico flight.
There were originally reports that 11 passengers onboard the flight from Merida, Mexico to
Miami, Florida were ill, although the number complaining of a particular stomach upset was nine.
A spokesman from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the illness complained of was of a gastrointestinal nature, although nobody was hospitalised as a result of the illness.
Some clues as to where the bug was picked up were provided by an Aeromexico spokeswoman Gemma Liebanas.
Ms Liebanas said: “I think that the people who got sick, it must have been from something they ate at the airport, because no food is served on the flight from Merida to
Miami at that hour of the day.”
The flight landed at
Florida at around 1pm.
06.13.2007 | 12:02 pm | Flight Comparison
Travel passengers of the future are one step closer to booking their trip to space today, following the announcement that Virgin Galactic has accredited eight European space agents.
Carolyn Wincer, head of astronaut sales for Virgin Galactic, said: “A good travel agent is a trusted advisor on travel experiences to their clients so when we decided to take our experience to the European market, we sought only the best travel agents to sell our suborbital spaceflights.”
The flights are currently pegged at $200,000 - a snip compared to the $2 million currently paid by space tourists - and will feature a three day training trip which culminates in a trip 70 miles from the Earth’s surface.
Once the passengers reach the 70 mile-high mark, the engines will switch off and passengers will be able to experience the “silence of space”.
Views will stretch to 1,000 miles in any direction, and the curvature of the Earth will be seen.
The space agents are companies accredited with the right to market and sell trips in to space with Virgin Galactic, and include Spain’s Bru & Bru, Portugal’s Caminho Das Estrelas, Austria’s Deluxe Travel, Germany’s Designreisen, Greece and Cyprus’ Extravegant Travel, the Czech Republic’s TYP, France’s Voyageurs du Monde and Italy’s Your Private Italy.
06.12.2007 | 10:49 am | Flight Comparison
Flybe, the Exeter-based low-cost airline, has announced that it is to ban its passengers from eating their own food on its flights.
With the budget airlines, including Ryanair and Monarch, increasingly looking to in-flight sales to increase revenues and thereby allow them to offer the lowest possible fares to customers.
While Flybe has claimed that the move has been made to protect passengers with allergies to certain foodstuffs, including peanuts following customer complaints, the Air Transport Users’ Council (ATUC) has criticised the proposed ban.
Commenting on the initiative, an ATUC spokesman said: “It would be mean for an airline to do that.
“It appears to be a way of forcing passengers to pay extra to buy food.
“We do not like passengers being forced into a corner like this.
“We would urge airline to calm down and stop taking things to extremes.”
As with its fellow operators, Flybe has substantially improved its in-flight menu, with its “Deli in the Sky” service offering passengers a choice of sandwiches, snacks and hot and cold drinks.
06.11.2007 | 11:14 am | Flight Comparison
Following on from its Gatwick to New York JFK route, Zoom Airlines has announced the launch of a new service to the Caribbean island of Bermuda.
With one-way flights starting at £199, including all taxes and charges, the new service offers passengers a significantly more affordable ticket to the sun.
The Canadian airline will offer the service from London’s Gatwick twice a week, initially departing the UK on Mondays and Fridays.
From June 23, departures will change to Wednesdays and Sundays, with the return journey on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
According to the airline, British Airways has provided the only flights to Bermuda from the UK since 1967, and therefore its new service breaks “the longest-running monopoly on an air route in the world”.
In comparison to the £1,232 return ticket offered by British Airways to passengers looking to fly in June, the cost for the same trip with Zoom Airlines costs just £360, representing a saving of 71 per cent.
In addition to complimentary refreshments in all classes, passengers can also benefit from upgrades for just £99, while there is only a minimal charge for changing reservations.
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