Seems that German low-cost carrier Germanwings really does want to be all modern and innovative. In its latest move to be something more than a budget airline, Germanwing has announced its Smart Connect service, which enables you to buy two connecting flights with just one ticket.
So, if you want to fly from London to Moscow, you could book a Germanwings flight going through one of the main German hubs like Stuttgart or Berlin, and although you'll have to recheck your baggage (security requirements), Germanwings promises that the connection will be easy and the flight will be cheaper than the old way where you had to buy two separate tickets. Let's wait and see if it works in practice, but the idea isn't too bad.
The LCC industry is still a tooth-and-nail fight over in Europe, with new budget airlines entering the market from eastern Europe and alternatives like buses and trains trying to steal back the passengers. LCC Germanwings, which flies from pretty much anywhere in Germany to nearly everywhere in Europe, came up with a new promotion this week, but it sounded better than it really is.
Our first impression of the "The more people who fly, the cheaper it gets!" deal was that you could book tickets for more people and pay the same package price. It ain't quite so great: if you book for 4 to 5 people, prices drop by between 10 and 20 Euros per person, and if you book for 6 to 9 people, they drop another 10. Not a huge reward for all that diary coordinating needed to get your pals to all book the same flight. But if you are a big family and planning a trip around Europe, you have to book before July 1 for travel until September.
Skybus is the hottest low cost carrier to launch since JetBlue, but wait, JetBlue launched out of JFK not CMH, right?
In any event, Skybus is redefining no frills by selling ad space on the outside of their aircraft and telling you to bring your own book--all in the name of offering $10 airfares. On May 22nd Skybus will go wheels up, however their website, which is the only way to get in touch with the skimpy airline, is already busy booking passengers.
This first group of passengers will no doubt set the Skybus buzz to positive or negative, so what are they saying? Here's what we have heard thus far from tipsters and airline boards around the web:
· I'm scheduled for the inaugural GSO-CMH on May 29th, returning on the 30th. All in, it was $36, and I then added $6 for trip insurance since Skybus will not pay for food or lodging if a flight is cancelled for any reason.
· I'm going to try and sneak a water bottle on board May 22nd and see what they do.
· I live in Virginia Beach, so it will be almost a 2 hour drive to RIC, so we'll see if it will be worth it in the long run, assuming on future flights I can snag the $10 seats (I did on the ones I booked)
· I am going to Seattle for a great price, how much on board selling (beside soda and food) will I have to go through (ie clothing, perfumes etc). Otherwise I am excited to see this get off the ground. I hope the pilots and crew will be happy, though which has me a bit concerned; the Airline BBSs seem to say everyone will be underpaid, the pilots by half of the average wages for A319s.
FYI, we are moving to Vancouver. As if the awesome weather and gorgeous environs weren't enough, Vancouver has now officially snagged long-haul budget carrier Oasis Hong Kong Airlines. According to Oasis, via the AP, non-stop flights from YVR to Hong Kong will commence in June. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, and the lowest fares ($255 one-way) will probably go like Tickle Me Elmos, so you best get those virtual kneepads ready for the battle.
OHK's competitors on the route are Air Canada and Cathay Pacific, the latter having a good reputation that often seems unshakable. Oasis was supposed to add Oakland, California, as its second destination, but plans to bless us Americans have since been complicated. And to that, we say: Blame Canada!
As if it wasn't bad enough that they named their airline AdamAir, and on top of that have a habit of losing their airplanes (and unfortunately sometimes their occupants), now Indonesia's el-cheapo AdamAir have hit the headlines after they bent one of their aircraft.
That's right, they bent a plane. It was landing in Surabaya about a week ago and, according to officials, "made a hard landing but did not crash." This landing was so hard that the Boeing 737-300 was bent in the middle, with its tail hanging closer to the ground than normal. Parts of the plane were also cracked, and heavy rain got lumbered with most of the blame. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, but we still don't want to be flying around in bendable aircraft.
Here's a factoid for you: while the number of air travelers around the world has spent the last 15 years rising, in Russia it's dropped from 130 million passengers per year during the times of the Soviet Union to just 20 million now. Why? It got expensive, true, when the USSR collapsed, but a key reason is people thought it was just too plain dangerous. The safety record of Russian domestic flights was simply way too unfriendly.
So why, we ask, would anyone want to fly a Russian budget airline? Although there's no evidence to support this, we all secretly assume that budget airlines cut corners and that if you pay about $20 for a flight you can't always expect to get to your destination without a hiccup. Despite this, newcomer SkyExpress has proudly launched flights from Vnukovo airport in Moscow to three destinations around Russia, with an opening special of 500 rubles a flight ($19).
A quick note: if you'd rather work for SkyExpress than just fly with them, there's an opening:
We are looking for: Girls and young men from 18 years with a pleasant appearance, growth 165 - 175 cm.
If you think your appearance is pleasant enough, get in contact with SkyExpress.
· Silverjet, the all-business class transatlantic carrier that serves Newark and London-Luton (as opposed to JFK and London-Stansted), took off yesterday. Firsthand opinions will probably star rolling in next week. For now you can check out some multimedia goodness, including a video tour of a Silverjet cabin, here--the plane innards debut at the 3:00 minute mark in the video.
· Sky Express, Russia's "first budget airline," is set to make its inaugural flight on Monday. Sky Express, the venture of KrasAir director Boris Abramovich, currently flies two 737s out of its hub at Moscow-Vnukovo.
· Lufthansa is offering a mileage bonus to doctors who fly with them. Just in case their notoriously lousy economy seats make you sick.
· An Air New Zealand passenger was the first to narc out Jaguar Distribution (an airline movie distributor) for censoring the word "god" out of The Queen. If you watch "opinion news," you'll probably be hearing about this well into the weekend.
If you're a Bears fan heading down to the Miami area for the Super Bowl, don't expect too much in the way of discounts from your favorite LCC. Round trip flights on Spirit airlines are already gouged to $853 for a non-stop. The official dates of Super Bowl weekend are February 1-5, when many hotels have a minimum stay.
One-stop flights are currently pricing out at $634 on JetBlue, and in the $500 area on American (into Miami). As for lodging in Miami, HotelChatter's got you covered for options including the $90 Miami Sun Hotel. The official Super Bowl visitors' site is here, but it charges a mysterious $45 non-refundable processing fee for room reservations.
On the up side, if you're looking for a car at MIA, you can still get passable rates for the weekend. Prices are slightly higher at your alternate airport, FLL.
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by amandak
