In a bid to provide more facilities to its customers, the Australian national carrier Qantas Airways has introduced an advance seat selection facility. The coach class passengers will be able to choose their favorite seat by paying USD 20 while booking their online air tickets from 30th March 2011.

The new service will also be applicable on the business class seats and premium economy seats. The airline expects the new facility to boost the prospects of the national carrier and further adds to its total revenue earnings.

The airline’s move comes after its Oneworld partner British Airways introduced similar service previously charging a fee more than that of Qantas.

The airline said that the fees will remain uniform for all the classes and for the Oneworld Frequent Flyer program members. The passengers who will check-in 24 hours before the departure of air flights will also be able to make seats selection free of charge.

The airline is the only international airline that operates long haul air line flights and thus a fee of USD 20 will seem to be an invaluable to the passengers traveling over the long haul routes.

The Brazilian flagship carrier TAM announced that it has initiated the merger talks with its domestic competitor TRIP, Brazil’s sixth-largest airline in terms of fleet. TAM is planning to acquire a minority stake of TRIP, a smaller regional carrier that currently possesses a fleet of 42 jets operating in 82 destinations.

Both the airlines recently signed a strategic agreement that would complement the existing codeshare agreement between the two. The airline said that if the negotiation talks become successful then TAM will buy 31 percent of TRIP’s total of which 25 percent will be the voting shares and the remaining will be the non-voting stock.

The airline is currently facing a tough competition with the Brazil’s booming air travel market and TRIP is one of the budding carriers in Brazil that operate its air flights over uncovered routes by TAM. The merger is expected to boost profitability.

Sara Delfim, an analyst with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said, "The potential stake sale opens room for further consolidation in the Brazilian market, and could be a long-term positive for TAM."

US Airways recently announced fares starting from USD 119 for the flights that will operate to few Mexico cities from United States. The passengers can board the flight from several departing destinations in United States.

The last date to book your tickets is 4th April 2011 that is valid for the travel period that ends on 29th April 2011.

Sample of destinations and their fares has been mentioned below:

• From Boston to Mexico City at USD 119
• From Baltimore to Mexico City at USD 149
• From Buffalo to Mexico City  at USD 204
• From Chicago to Mexico City at USD 139
• From New York to Mexico City at USD 210
• From Washington D.C. to Mexico City at USD 251
• From Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta at USD 135
• From Dallas/ Fort Worth to Puerto Vallarta at USD 218
• From Denver to Puerto Vallarta at USD 150

Terms and Conditions:

• Fares are subject to change without any prior notice
• No advance purchase is required
• No minimum stay is needed
• Maximum stay of 30 days is allowed
• Roundtrip travel is required
• Tickets are non-refundable
• Fares exclude the international fees and taxes
• Other conditions may apply.

China Southern Airlines recently announced that it will receive its Airbus A380 aircraft this August, which was due for the second half of this year.

The airline also announced its earnings results where the carrier has shown a sharp jump in its 2010 net profit to USD 883.5 million. The figures thus show a vigorous demand for air transport amid rapid growth in China’s economy.

With an aim to boost the links with important financial markets, the Bahrain flagship carrier Gulf Air recently launched its new flight service over Geneva-Manama route.

The airline will operate its Boeing 737-700 extended-range aircraft, thrice a week over the new route. The airline hopes that the launch of new route will attract business and leisure passengers from the Middle East and from Switzerland.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the new launch has come up during the political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. This severely affected the air passenger traffic in February.

In a bid to expand their partnership Hawaiian Airlines and Korean Air have jointly floated a new program allowing Frequent Flyer members to earn and redeem mileage credits on either of the carriers.

“Korean Air has been a great partner to Hawaiian and this addition of frequent flyer benefits gives even greater value to that partnership for our mutual customers,” said Mark Dunkerley, President and CEO Hawaiian Airlines.

The new program will enable the Hawaiian Miles members and Korean Air’s SKYPASS members to earn Frequent Flyer Miles on all the flights that will be operated by both the airlines. The members will be provided with the frequent flyer number which they can use at the time of booking and checking for their flights.

The Hawaiian members will be able to avail their miles as an award for traveling through business class or coach class Korean Air flights, and the same will apply to the Korean Air SKYPASS members as well. However, seats will be subject to availability.

The new Frequent Flyer agreement indicates the deepening relationship between the two airlines. The two carriers have also signed mutual agreement on codesharing of flights where the Hawaiian Airlines passengers are able to travel through Korean flights within South Korea and to Bangkok. Similarly, the Korean Air passengers were able to travel by Hawaiian transpacific and interisland flights.

United Airlines recently announced great low fares starting from USD 460 R/t for their newly introduced non-stop service between Washington Dulles and Grand Cayman. The fares are valid for the travel period that will begin from 2nd April 2011 until 30th April 2011.

Terms & Conditions:

• Fares are valid for Saturday travel only
• A three day advance purchase is required
• Fares are subjected to change without any prior notice
• Minimum stay of Saturday night is required.
• Fares exclude Government taxes, security taxes and passenger facility charges.
• Additional fee of USD 250 will be charged for travel to some countries, additional airport, transportation, embarkation, security and passenger service taxes/surcharges.
• Other conditions may apply.

Alitalia recently announced its business class summer sale on flights departing to Europe from United States.

The last date to book your tickets and experience the exclusive class is 31st May, 2011. The tickets are valid for travel period that commences from 28th June 2011 to 4th September 2011.

A detail of destinations and their applicable fares is mentioned below:

• From New York to Rome at USD 2700 R/t
• From New York to Catania at USD 2933 R/t
• From New York to Milan at USD 2658 R/t
• From Chicago to Rome at USD 2760 R/t
• From Miami to Rome at USD 3400 R/t
• From Boston to Rome at USD 3200 R/t
• From Miami to Milan at USD 3358 R/t
• From Las Angeles to Rome at USD 3900 R/t

Terms & Conditions:

• Fares are subject to change without any prior notice
• Minimum of Saturday overnight stay is compulsory
• Maximum of three months stay is allowed
• No advance purchase required
• Fees of USD 300 will be charged for any change and the applicable fare
• Ticket are non-refundable
• Other conditions may apply.

LAN Airlines one of the leading international airline alliances in South America recently announced low coach class fares that start at USD 814 R/t to several destinations in Peru from United States.

The last date to book your tickets is 12th June 2011.

A sample of destinations and their fares for premium business is mentioned below:

• From New York to Lima at USD 814 R/t
• From Miami to Lima at USD 862 R/t
• From Los Angeles to Lima at USD 1009 R/t
• From San Francisco to Lima at USD 1079 R/t
• From New York to Arequipa at USD 984 R/t
• From Miami to Arequipa/ Puerto Maldonado at USD 1092 R/t
• From Los Angeles to Arequipa/ Puerto Maldonado at USD 1239 R/t
• From San Francisco to Arequipa/ Puerto Maldonado at USD 1309 R/t
• From New York to Puerto Maldonado at USD 1044 R/t

Terms & Conditions:

• Fares are subject to change without any prior notice
• Minimum stay varies according to the choice of destination
• Maximum stay of three months is allowed
• A 14 day advance purchase before departure will be required
• Date change is not permitted after the flight departures
• Tickets are non-refundable
• Fares exclude the government tax and other applicable surcharges
• Other conditions may apply.

The regional associate of American Airlines, American Eagle Airlines recently announced its nonstop flight service between Dallas/ Fort Worth and Morelia, Mexico. Beginning from 9th June 2011, the new daily nonstop flight service will be operated by 44 seat Embraer ERJ-140 jet aircraft, however, the airline is waiting for the government’s consent.

“We are pleased to expand American’s network in Mexico with flights to and from Morelia. These daily nonstop flights will link customers from throughout the state of Michoacan and those on the Pacific coast with American’s largest hub, offering convenient connections throughout the oneworld global network,” said, Gary Foss, Vice President of Marketing and Planning for American’s regional network.

The new flight will depart daily from Dallas/ Fort Worth at 06.20 pm from 10th June 2011 and will arrive at 08.50 pm in Morelia. The return leg will depart from Morelia at 06.45 am and will arrive in Dallas/ Fort/ Worth at 09.20 am.

Gloria Guevara Manzo, Mexico’s Minister of Tourism, said, “This announcement is important because it confirms the strength of our nation as a leisure destination at an international level. My administration will keep working to increase service to all of Mexico’s desirable destinations.”

The two carriers, American Airlines and American Eagle Airlines together serve around 18 destinations in Mexico and operate more than 300 weekly flights to several Mexican destinations such as Acapulco, Aguascalientes, Cancun, Chihuahua, Cozumel, Guadalajara, Leon (Guanajuato), Los Cabos, Mexico City, Veracruz, and now Morelia.