Cheap Flights Announced for Holidays in Greece
People considering getting some winter sun may want to look into a holiday in Greece after Aegean Airlines has revealed a new offer on cheap flights to the country.
The company has 4,000 flights available departing from London Heathrow to Athens from just £69 one way.
All taxes and online booking fees are included in the price and travel dates are from October 1st until December 16th 2010.
Travellers interested in taking a relaxing break in the Greek islands do not have long to book, however, as the deal is only on offer until Monday (July 26th).
The airline was recently accepted into the Star Alliance network, which offers more than 1,500 flights to and from Greece from 17 domestic destinations.
Laura Peters recently described in an article for Suite 101 the “blue seas that take visitors’ breath away” and witnessing turtles in the harbours while on a recent trip to the country.
Airlines Bussiness : Airlines Fly Into New Year With Wave of Fare Sales
A wave of fare sales has spread across the airline industry in the early days of the new year as the weak economy continues to put pressure on carriers to fill seats even after they drastically reduced capacity and some expressed willingness to cut more.
Many experts and even executives at some airlines had expected that after deep capacity cuts went into effect starting in September, the number of fare sales going forward would be fewer and farther between. But fuel prices have come down significantly, and the weak economy has eroded demand for air travel.
Even so, on average base airfares outside of the travel periods for the recently launched sale fares are higher today than in the last few years, said Rick Seaney, head of airfare research site FareCompare.com. He noted there were 30 attempted airfare hikes between summer 2007 and summer 2008, two-thirds of which were successful.
It’s not unusual for airlines to announce fare sales in January — there were 17 or 18 announced in January 2008 — but what’s different for several carriers this year is that the discounts are for travel extending as late as April, May or June, Seaney said. The sales last January were typically for travel through March, he said.
Seaney said he believes uncertainty in the economy is the reason for the change.
“They’re not sure what’s going to happen at the last minute,” Seaney said.
A handful of major carriers and discount carriers have launched fare sales since Dec. 31. Others are expected to follow with sales of their own, or to at least match discounts offered by rivals on competitive routes, Seaney said.
Discount carrier AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran Holdings Inc., said Tuesday it was offering a nationwide fare sale with one-way fares starting as low as $39. The fares, available for purchase through Jan. 15, are good for travel to and from Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico, through March 11, while all other sale fares are good for travel through May 20.
“We are uncertain about the economy and we are trying to build business on the books for the winter and spring,” AirTran spokesman Tad Hutcheson said.
Burlingame, Calif.-based Virgin America, a U.S. controlled and operated airline that is a separate company from Virgin Atlantic, also announced a fare sale Tuesday for travel through June 10 to all of the cities the carrier serves. (Billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is a minority share investor in Virgin America.)
New York-based JetBlue Airways Corp. said Monday it was offering a fare sale involving more than 40 destinations in the Northeast, Florida, California and the Caribbean. For most city pairs, travel must take place between Jan. 12 and April 1.
Other carriers that have launched fare sales recently include Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co — for travel between Jan. 15 and April 30; Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR Corp.’s American Airlines — for travel within the U.S. between Jan. 14 and March 4, and between March 5 and April 30 at slightly higher fares; and Chicago-based UAL Corp.’s United Airlines — for travel within the U.S. from Jan. 14 to March 4 and for travel to several foreign destinations as late as April 30.
United’s fare sale was launched Dec. 31. It has done a New Year’s fare sale for several years now, spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said.
Most of the airline offers come with restrictions that vary by carrier from advance purchase requirements to minimum stay requirements to blackout dates.
The matching has already started.
American matched both the AirTran and Virgin America initiatives in markets in which they compete, American spokesman Tim Smith said.
In normal situations, travelers generally see more airline fare sales from September through mid-February, with exceptions for peak holiday periods, Smith said. But now, the economy is sputtering.
“Obviously, less demand has had some effect on fare sales, but again most are aimed at targeted markets and many of the sale fares are at somewhat higher levels than past sales,” Smith said.
Last year, airlines cut jobs, made dramatic reductions in capacity, sold aircraft, raised fares and imposed new fees for checked baggage and other once-free amenities to stem the bleeding from losses that were expected, by one analyst’s estimate, to total $4 billion for 2008, excluding one-time items. If oil prices remain low and the economy doesn’t worsen, some analysts expect the industry to be profitable in 2009.
Federal Aviation Administration Add Workers at Airport for Increase Service Holiday
In a bid to ease congestion during the holiday travel season, President Bush on Tuesday said commercial aircraft would be allowed to temporarily use military airspace across much of the country.
At the same time, the president reiterated his intention to have flight slots sold by auction at the three largest airports in the New York region before he leaves office in January, a move that the plan’s opponents are trying to block in the courts and in Congress.
Last year during Thanksgiving week, the president allowed commercial flights to fly in two East Coast corridors normally reserved for military aircraft, a decision that helped head off some of the delays that had plagued travelers in past years.
This year, the president said military airspace would be made available not just on the East Coast but also in the Midwest and Southwest and on the West Coast. Commercial planes will also be able to fly in the corridors, particularly during bad weather, during the Christmas holidays.
“In other words, we innovated last year to ease the travel; it worked, and now we’re expanding that innovation this year,” the president said, speaking at the Department of Transportation’s headquarters in Washington.
The president said the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration and the airlines would add workers at airports to speed check-in and boarding, and to help passengers whose flights were delayed or canceled.
The Air Transport Association, the trade group for airlines in the United States, said last week that it expected the number of passengers to decline 10 percent this Thanksgiving holiday compared with last year, the first dip in seven years.
But because airlines have been cutting flights, a greater percentage of seats on planes are likely to be taken. As a result, travelers who miss flights may have a harder time getting seats on other flights.
“Make no mistake: The airports will be busy and many flights will be 100 percent full,” said James C. May, the chief executive of the association.
Congestion in the New York region, home to three of the nation’s busiest airports, has been a big source of the delays. To alleviate tie-ups, the administration has added a new departure route from the metropolitan area, capped the number of flights from Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International Airports, and provided $89 million to help upgrade the taxiways at Kennedy.
The president said Tuesday that the administration would go through with its plan to auction flight slots at the airports in January. In all, 90 slots at Kennedy, 90 slots at Newark and 113 slots at La Guardia Airport would be auctioned. One-fifth of those slots would be auctioned on Jan. 12.
The airlines would pick half of the slots to be auctioned and the government would choose the other half. Transportation officials said the auctions at the three airports could raise about $150 million, which would be used to expand runways and make other improvements.
But airlines, some lawyers and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the three airports, say auctions will lead to higher fares because the cost of the slots will be passed on to passengers. The airlines also consider the auctions unfair because they have invested in airport terminals that they may not be able to fully use if they lose slots.
Senator Charles E. Schumer, a New York Democrat, said auctioning slots “perpetuates half-measures rather than making real change.” The senator wrote a bill that would ban flight slot auctions; it has been included in the economic stimulus package now being considered by the Senate.
The Port Authority, which prefers an overhaul of the F.A.A.’s air traffic control system, has sought an injunction from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to block the auctions.
Cheap flights to Tenerife from Norwich this Christmas
This Christmas and New Year you can fly from Norwich airport direct to Tenerife in the Canary Islands. This is marvellous news for our clients in East Anglia say specialist cheap flight travel agency Airflights.co.uk. Cheap flights to Tenerife are in great demand over Christmas and New Year from all departure airports in the UK. It is wonderful news that that our clients who want to fly from Norwich airport will be able to This Christmas say airflights.
Cheap flights to Tenerife get you to the beaches, year round sunshine and blue waters of Tenerife. With cheap hotels in Playa de Las Americas, Costa Adeje, Los Gigantes and Los Cristianos who wouldn’t want to go say airflights! These special flights for the festive season depart Norwich on the 19th and 26th of December and are expected to be extremely popular with Holiday makers from the East Anglian region who normally have to travel to Birmingham, Luton, East Midlands, Stansted or even London Gatwick. Book cheap flights to Tenerife from Norwich and all other airports with airflights.co.uk either on line or call them free on 0800 093 2615. Airflights.co.uk offer cheap flights to beach destinations in Europe including cheap flights to Skiathos,Samos, Rhodes, Salonica Corfu, Kefalonia, Zante in Greece.
Heraklion and Chania in Crete, Malaga, Alicante in Spain, Dalaman, Izmir Adnan and Bodrum in Turkey, Paphos and Larnaca in Cyprus, the Canary islands including Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Arrecife in Lanzarote as well as Cheap flights and All Inclusive hotels to Egypts famous Red Sea resorts of Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada which are famous for the world class scuba diving.
To book with airflights visit www.airflights.co.uk on line or call free on 0800 093 2615. Car hire, transfers and Airport parking is also available at discounted rates.
source : airflights.co.uk
Continental Airlines 2Q Lobbying Tab Dips To $290K
Continental Airlines Inc. slashed its lobbying spending in the second quarter to $290,000 while successfully promoting its bid for antitrust immunity when it joins a new airline alliance this fall.
Continental disclosed in a July 20 filing with the House clerk’s office that it lobbied on its application for antitrust immunity to work closely with United and other airlines on international routes.
The Transportation Department granted the request with a few limits in July, and Continental plans to join the Star Alliance of airlines in late October.
Continental spent $810,000 on lobbying in the first quarter, and $313,870 in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to its disclosure reports.
In the most recent period, the Houston-based carrier also lobbied on air traffic control issues including congestion and delays, airline industry financial issues, transportation security, and pilot training and rest regulations.
In February, a Continental Connection flight operated by a subcontractor crashed near Buffalo, killing all 49 people on board and a man on the ground. An expert who testified at a hearing about the crash said the judgment of the pilot and co-pilot were probably impaired by fatigue.
Obama administration officials have said they soon will propose new limits on how many hours pilots can fly, a move that has been suggested for two decades by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Besides Congress, Continental lobbied the White House, the departments of Transportation, Justice and State, and the FAA in the April-June period.
