Budget Airline News

Norwegian Air Shuttle has revealed it is considering long-haul, low-cost flights to New York, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Beijing. Currently, Norwegian Air Shuttle is the fourth largest budget airline in Europe and its furthest destination is Dubai, UAE. The airline is considering long-haul destinations now that it will be acquiring wide-body Boeing 787 aircraft in 2013. Other possible destinations are Tokyo and the west coast of the USA.

Norwegian Air Shuttle considering routes to USA, Asia is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

Ryanair has announced it will be cutting its base at Edinburgh Airport from 7 to 6 aircraft. This will result in the termination of 5 routes with effect from April 2012. The terminated routes are from Edinburgh to Berlin, Malmo, Murcia, Ibiza and Tallin. The total number of Ryanair flights from Edinburgh Airport will drop by 21% from 140 to 110.

Ryanair cuts routes to Edinburgh Airport is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

After months of rumors about ownership restructuring, it has been announced that Vietnam Airlines will become the new majority stake-holder in budget airline Jetstar Pacific. Vietnam Airlines will hold approximately 70% of the shares with Australian Qantas holding the other 30%. Under the new structure, the struggling Jetstar Pacific airline will receive $25 million in funding to upgrade its fleet. The new Jetstar pacific CEO and Chairman are expected to be named in the following weeks.

Jetstar Pacific now majority-owned by Vietnam Airlines is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

Mandala Airlines has announced plans to re-launch operations in April 2012. The Indonesian budget airline was grounded in 2011 as it was facing bankruptcy. Before it was grounded, Mandala Airlines flew 16 domestic routes in Indonesia routes and four international routes. The routes for the re-launch have not yet been announced.

Mandala Airlines to Re-launch in April 2012 is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

Friday, February 17, 2012 - Air Australia has grounded all flights indefinitely. The airline is facing bankrupcy and has reportedly run out of money to even refuel its planes.

All Air Australia flights have been cancelled, stranding more than 4,000 people in overseas destinations like Thailand and Indonesia. Travelers are advised to seek alternative transportation and should not rely on Air Australia to rebook their flight. Jetstar and Qantas may add extra flights to accommodate travelers affected by the collapse of Air Australia.

Air Australia grounded, thousands of travelers stranded is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

Bahrain Air has announced it will offer daily direct flights from Bahrain to Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), India. Service will commence on March 15, 2012. Flights will depart from Bahrain at 9:25 PM and arrive at Thiruvananthapuram International airport at 4:15 AM. The return flight will depart Thiruvananthapuram at 5:00 AM and arrive at Bahrain International Airport at 7:30 AM.

Bahrain Air to fly to Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes has revealed that the budget airline group is eying the Middle East as its next potential market. Speaking at a press conference in Doha, Fernandes said "As a low cost carrier, we are into creating new markets. The key is to create really low fares which I think the Gulf hasn't seen". Fernandes was in Doha, Qatar, to mark the opening of the first Tune Hotel, an AirAsia franchise, in the Middle East. AirAsia is also rumored to be considering flights between Doha and Kuala Lumpur.

AirAsia eyes Middle East is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

Southwest Airlines officially began flights to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport on February 12, 2012. The budget airline will offer 15 daily flights from Atlanta to domestic destinations like Austin, Chicago, Washington, Denver, and Houston. Southwest will also be adding direct flights from Atlanta to Las Vegas and Phoenix starting March 10, to Los Angeles starting June 10, and Louisville, Norfolk/Virginia Beach and Seattle on August 12.

Southwest Airlines now serving Atlanta is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

Tiger Airways will operate direct flights between Singapore and Kochi, India, starting on April 27, 2012. There will be four flights per week on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. This will be the budget airline's fifth destination in India, including Bangalore, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, and Tiruchirappalli.. One-way fares start from $110 SGD.

Tiger Airways to fly Singapore – Kochi is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

Starting on May 27, 2012, Wizz Air will add Stavanger, Norway (SVG) to its destinations accessible from Vilnius (VNO). The new Vilnius - Stavanger service will operate 2 times per week, Wednesdays and Sundays. Wizz Air is the largest low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe and, with the new route, flies to three major Norwegian cities including Bergen, Oslo and the newly added Stavanger.

Wizz Air to offer Stavanger – Vilnius flights is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

Ryanair has announced it will fly new routes from 8 European cities to Modlin Airport in Warsaw, Poland. Modlin Airport is a new passenger airport and scheduled to open on July 16, 2012. Ryanair will offer direct flights between Warsaw-Modlin and Dublin, London, Milan, Oslo, Rome, Stockholm, Brussels, and Budapest. The new routes will come into effect from mid-July.

Ryanair announces new routes to Warsaw Modlin Airport is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

WestJet, the Canadian low-cost airline, revealed plans to create a subsidiary regional airline that will fly to short-haul destinations. The proposed airline will hopefully launch by the end of 2013. WestJet CEO Gregg Saretsky said the proposed subsidiary would still use the WestJet brand, but will have a separate operating certificate. To keep costs down, it will operate a single-type fleet of either Bombardier Q400s or ATR 72-600 turboprops.

WestJet to create regional spin-off airline is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

Jetstar Japan, a new budget airline, has announced it will commence domestic flights on July 3, 2012. From its base at Tokyo Narita Airport, the new airline will fly to Osaka, Sapporo, Fukuoka and Okinawa. This launch date comes ahead of schedule, giving Jetstar Japan an advantage over other up-coming Japanese budget airlines like AirAsia Japan.

Jetstar Japan launching in July 2012 is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

Scoot, the new low-cost wing of Singapore Airlines, has revealed its second destination: Gold Coast, Australia. The airline will offer 5 direct flights per week from Singapore to the Gold Coast starting in mid 2012. Tickets will go on sale sometime during the first quarter of 2012.

Scoot to start flights to Gold Coast in mid-2012 is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

AirAsia Japan, the up-coming budget airline, has officially received its air transportation business license from the Japanese government. This is a major step in getting AirAsia Japan off the ground, and the airline hopes to launch in summer 2012. AirAsia Japan plans to offer domestic flights from Tokyo's Narita Airport to Sapporo, Fukuoka and Okinawa by August 2012. In October, it plans to launch international flights to Seoul-Incheon and Busan, South Korea.

AirAsia Japan OK’ed by Japanese government is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

Thai Smile Airline, the up-coming budget wing of Thai Airways, has announced its first destination: Macau. Direct flights from Bangkok to Macau will begin on July 1, 2012. The initial schedule will see two flights per day and ticket sales will begin in April. Thai Smile is expected to have a fleet of four aircraft by summer 2012. Planned routes for August 1 launch are Bangkok – Chiang Mai and Chiang Mai – Phuket and international routes from Bangkok to Jakarta, Kolkata and Phnom Penh. By fall 2012 Thai Smile will take over Thai Airway's flights Surat Thani and to Gaya and Varanasi, India.

Thai Smile announces first route: Bangkok – Macau is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

Airberlin, the German budget airline, will become a full member of the Oneworld airline alliance with effect from March 20, 2012. Austrian budget airline NIKI, which is a member of the Airberlin group, will also join Oneworld as an affiliate member. This means Airberlin will offer the full range of services, such as frequent flyer points, available to Oneworld members. The addition of Airberlin substantially expands the alliance’s network in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, and throughout South and Central Europe. It will add almost 70 destinations to the alliance’s map, extending Oneworld’s global coverage to some 840 destinations in 150 countries.

airberlin to join OneWorld Alliance is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

Tiger Airways has announced it will be returning to Cairns, resuming its Melbourne - Cairns route starting April 25, 2012. This route has been suspended since July 2011 when Tiger Airways Australia was grounded due to safety breaches. The initial schedule for Melbourne - Cairns flights will be once per day. The flight will depart Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport at 8:50am. The flight from Cairns to Melbourne will depart at 12:45pm Bookings for Melbourne - Cairns flights are already available with one-way fares from $99.95 AUD.

Tiger Airways returns to Cairns is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

Thai Smile, an upcoming budget airline, has announced plans to commence its first flight on July 1, 2012. This new budget airline will be based out of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport and is wholly owned by Thai Airways. Destinations have not yet been announced, but Thai Smile is expected to begin as a domestic airline then expand to being a regional carrier. Potential destinations include Kochi, Hyderabad, Luang Prabang, Yangon, Seoul, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macau, Danang, Phuket, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore.

Thai Smile to launch on July 1, 2012 is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.

AirAsia X, the long-haul wing of AirAsia, will be increasing flight frequency from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Tokyo (Haneda), Japan. Starting March 23, 20120, flights will increase from 3 per week to 6 per week Starting June 22, 2012, the number of flights will further increase to a daily service. The increase in frequency is part of the airline’s realignment plan which will focus the core markets in Southeast Asia, Australasia, China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.

AirAsia X Increasing Kuala Lumpur – Tokyo flights is an article from: Budget Airline News - low-cost airlines information center.