Up in the air . . .

NEW age airline #Vietjet is certainly no stranger in the aviation arena, making headlines for its innovative campaign executions and exponential growth in recent years. It comes as no surprise that the airline was recently bestowed the inaugural Best Ultra Low Cost Airline Award 2018 title by AirlineRatings.com – the world’s only air safety and product rating review website. Joining the likes of Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines, Vietjet was named a winner of the Airline Excellence Awards by the website which promotes excellence in the airline industry.

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Best Low Cost Airline Europe 2017 is . . .

Norwegian has been awarded the title of ‘Best Low Cost Airline – Europe’ for a fourth consecutive year by leading industry website www.airlineratings.com.

Airlineratings.com attracts over 14 million visitors from 232 countries, with the website announcing its Airline Excellence Awards each year to celebrate and promote excellence in the airline industry.

In selecting Norwegian as Europe’s Best Low Cost Airline for a fourth consecutive year, the website’s editorial team praised Norwegian for its innovation of bringing affordable and safe travel to millions of passengers across Europe and beyond.

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Norwegian - new Canary Islands routes

#NORWEGIAN is launching its busiest ever winter with brand new low-cost flights from Manchester to Gran Canaria and Tenerife the perfect excuse for a winter getaway with fares available to the Canary Islands from £39.90.

Flights to Gran Canaria will operate twice-weekly starting on November 30 and the carrier’s brand new twice weekly flights to Tenerife commenced on Monday 1 November. These new routes will be exclusively serviced by brand new aircraft offering all passengers free inflight Wi-Fi and live TV on board.

The new route to Gran Canaria will operate throughout the winter while Tenerife will be a year-round service.

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Bargain Africa

LEADING specialist safari operator Expert Africa reports a stark truth: fly-drive holidays to #Namibia and #South Africa are now selling at the same price as ten years ago.

The South African Rand (which is tied 1=1 to the Namibian Dollar) is weaker than it’s ever been making travel to these two countries in 2016 remarkably inexpensive.

To put this in context, Expert Africa’s 14-night Caracal Self-drive Safari - taking in the main highlights of both southern and northern Namibia, including the Namib Desert, Swakopmund, Damaraland and Etosha – costs in 2016 from just £1,057 pp (based on two sharing) including half board accommodation for nine nights, bed and breakfast for five nights, and car hire, but excluding international flights.

In 2011, an almost-identical itinerary was priced from £1,723 pp - 60% more than the 2016 prices. Ten years ago, in 2006, the same trip was priced from £1,059 pp - almost identical to today’s cost.

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Picture Credit:opalpeterliu 57551150@N00/29109048020 2016 08 04 Desert Horse Inn at Klein Aus Vista - morning sun IMG_1347 via photopin.com

Ryanair targets agents and touts free air fares

A RYANAIR website for groups will seek to take business off travel agents as the airline strives to further drive down air fares – even raising the prospect of free tickets.

The carrier will launch a website for group bookings in September to counter the trade, which it claims directs group bookings to the more expensive legacy carriers.

Ryanair chief marketing officer, Kenny Jacobs, said: ‘Groups have often been left in the hands of travel agents who often steer them down the legacy carrier route.”

Also in September, Europe’s largest low-cost carrier will unveil a schools trip-booking service, Ryanair School Travel, which it describes as a ‘dedicated travel agency for school tours’. Mr Jacobs said school tours ‘cost too much’ and the service would offer savings and more choice.

Ryanair also revealed its latest plans to drive bookings to its website and reduce air fares. Asked whether the carrier intended to stick to its vow to reduce fares to an average of €25 (£19.84) chief executive Michael O’Leary indicated it may go even further. ‘I would like to say average air fares for Ryanair will be €10 (£7.93) in the next five years,’ he said. ‘Why not free or €1 (79p) in 10 years’ time? Why can’t we keep driving down the cost of air travel? The more optional [ancillary] services we can sell, the more the underlying air fare can fall.’

Destination guides, featuring targeted information and offers, are due to be added to the Ryanair website in July.

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Wizz Air launches Gatwick-Bucharest flights

WIZZ AIR will begin direct service from London’s Gatwick Airport to #Bucharest, Romania, from June 18. It will be the only direct connection between the two airports, offering the easiest access to the Romanian capital from Gatwick. 

With a total of four Wizz Air direct flights a day between London and Bucharest, the new Gatwick route adds a second option for travel from London, along with Wizz Air’s direct three-times-a-day flights between Bucharest and London Luton.

Gatwick, a new airport for Wizz Air’s low-fares services, will be the company’s ninth airport in the UK, the others being Luton, Doncaster-Sheffield, Bristol, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Belfast, Liverpool, and Birmingham.

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Picture Credit: 2008 Roemenië 0624 Boekarest</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com

Norwegian passes 500,000 passenger milestone

LOW-COST airline Norwegian has reached 500,000 UK passengers on its long-haul flights to the US.

Norwegian launched low-cost long-haul flights from Gatwick Airport in July 2014.

Norwegian CEO Bjorn Kjos said: ‘The cost of flying to #America has been too high for too long and our transatlantic flights show there is huge demand for quality, affordable long-haul travel. Half a million UK passengers can’t be wrong and this milestone proves that low-cost long-haul travel can succeed.’

Earlier this year, Norwegian launched a record number of seats on its transatlantic routes, with 425,000 seats available on direct flights between the UK and the US.

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Norwegian plans low cost Paris-US flights

NORWEGIAN will begin its first operations from Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport in July, with low-cost flights to Los Angeles, New York JFK, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The airline will offer more than 212,000 long-haul seats in its first full year of operations at Charles-de-Gaulle.

Introductory fares for these routes will be low. Those flying at off-peak times can get tickets for as little as $175 one-way, including taxes. During times of high demand, fares could rise to $350 on-way.

Bjorn Kjos, Norwegian’s founder and CEO said: ‘The choice of Paris as our fifth European long-haul capital clearly underlines our commitment to France. Paris is one of Europe’s main gateways, and we see great potential to expand at Charles-de-Gaulle airport in the future, adding more long-haul routes as well as more frequencies.’

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UK top market for European low-cost airlines

THE UK is Europe’s biggest market for low-cost airlines, with 935 routes in the summer months, according to a study published by Gopili. 

Spain ranked second with 837 routes, followed by Germany (578 routes), France (574 routes) and Italy (546).

London is the best-served European city with 217 low-cost flight destinations. Manchester (106) and Edinburgh (86) are also among the top 15 European cities best-served by low-cost airlines, ahead of capital cities such as Berlin, Madrid, Stockholm, and Geneva.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29057345@N04/8277567491">London Skyline</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

Florida, Las Vegas, best for holiday savings

NEW YORK, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco are the most expensive US vacation destinations of 2015, while Las Vegas (Nevada) and Jacksonville and Orlando in Florida are the cheapest, according to a GOBankingRates study of the most and least affordable cities for holidaymakers. 

The study look at 50 of the most popular vacation destinations in the US, ranking their affordability on factors that impact travellers' budgets the most: hotel prices, airfare, food and drink costs, and transport expenses.

‘You don't have to drive to the middle of nowhere to find a cheap summer vacation,’ said Casey Bond, GOBankingRates' editor-in-chief.

‘Some of the least expensive destinations on our list are also the most popular — with Vegas taking the No. 1 spot. Still, it's important to remember that saving money on vacation doesn't end with finding a cheap flight or inexpensive hotel room; don't blow your budget on squeezing in visits to crowded tourist traps. You can have more fun, spend less money, and get a more authentic experience at some of the cheapest cities in the country.’

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Picture Credit: Las vegas sign night philipp von ostau by Philipp von Ostau - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons , Friendship Fountain at Night by I, Jonathan Zander. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons