If you are looking for a cheap long haul flight then the tip below may save you £100 against your booking with British Airways.
British Airways are currently offering to knock £100 of the price off a long haul flight if you book on-line and enter the following promotional code: BAUK-ESCAPE.
This offer is available to passengers who book and economy flight ticket in British Airways World Traveller cabins on flights between 1st July and 31st August 2009. These cheap British Airways flight tickets need to be booked by 31st May so you have no time to lose.
British Airways fly to around 70 long haul destinations around the globe and their inclusive on-line fare includes the often hidden extras such as taxes, fees and charges plus in flight food and refreshment.
Two of the worlds major airlines, Lufthansa and Quantas, are reacting to the slowdown in air travel and declining passenger numbers by delaying orders for new aircraft and ground parts of their existing fleet.
Germany’s largest airline Lufthansa has increased its grounded aircraft to 24, which represents 10% of its fleet. Lufthansa Cargo is also seeing a decline in demand for its services and has introduced shorter working hours for all staff and its managers have taken a 10% voluntary pay cut.
Lufthansa flights from Germany to the UK have been affected by some of these cutbacks. London City has lost its Lufthansa flight to Berlin, as the airline has switched the route to London Heathrow (to allow it to use an Airbus A319 aircraft on the route). However, there are some positives for the UK, for example a third daily service between Edinburgh and Frankfurt is being added, plus there will be a new Inverness to Düsseldorf service for summer 2009.
Australian national carrier Quantas has revealed plans to defer delivery of four Airbus A380 aircraft by around 12 months. 12 Boeing 737-800 aircraft have also been deferred by up to 14 months. The airline is also grounding 10 aircraft, which will result in a 5% capacity drop on domestic routes. Staffing levels will also be adjusted, with the airline expecting to make 1250 full time staff redundant.
Turkish Airlines has revealed highly impressive profits for 2008, in a climate where many airlines are struggling to even break even. The net profit for 2008 was $712 million USD, and this is up more than four times against the figures posted in 2007.
The increased profit is, in part, due to an increase in passenger numbers, which stand at 22.6 million – an impressive increase of 15%. The first part of 2009 also saw a rise in passenger numbers with 3.1 million travelling in the first two months alone,
Turkish Airlines now has a fleet of 127 aircraft and is planning further expansion. Its newest long haul route operates from Istanbul to Sao Paulo, Brazil via Dakar.
Turkish Airlines has an impressive destination list with long and short haul flights serving 152 cities, 116 of which are abroad.
Turkey is proving to be a popular holiday destination for many British holidaymakers, who are searching for cheap flights and deals to the sun in regions outside the Euro Zone.
Thomson and First Choice, both part of TUI Travel, have been forced to delay expansion plans for flights and holidays to long haul destinations due to the delayed delivery of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft it has on firm order.
TUI Travel have 23 of the new Boeing aircraft on firm order and Boeing have pushed the entire delivery schedule back. The introduction of new long haul destinations for both Thomson and First Choice is now no longer possible.
The delay in the delivery of the 787 aircraft is quite significant. First Choice Airways (which became part of the TUI group in 2007) was due to receive the first of the 23 787 Dreamliner aircraft in February 2009. This date has been put back to at least March 2011.
First Choice and Thomson are both now taking bookings for long haul holidays departing in 2010. These holidays can be secured with a deposit of just £100 and include destinations such as Sri Lanka, Cuba and the Maldives.
First Choice boasts some of the best long haul cabins in the UK, with economy customers receiving a generous 33” seat pitch, leather seats and a free pampering pack.
UK holiday makers appear to be reacting to the weak value of the Pound against the Euro by switching their bookings to non Euro Zone destinations such as Turkey, Bulgaria and Egypt.
To meet this increased demand Monarch (www.monarch.co.uk), has announced further expansion to its Turkey flying schedule for this summer as the Pound remains relatively healthy against the Turkish Lira.
An additional charter flight from Gatwick to Antalya will operate weekly from 27 May meaning that Monarch will operate twice weekly flights from Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham to Turkey’s Mediterranean Coast this Summer. Services to Antalya operate in addition to Monarch’s charter flights to Dalaman and Bodrum, which also depart from Monarch’s key UK bases.
Cheap flights to Turkey with Monarch start from £258 per person inclusive of all taxes, charges and 20kg of hold baggage. Flights can be booked via www.monarch.co.uk.
Monarch currently operates a fleet of 31 aircraft, serving over 100 destinations world-wide. Services are split between scheduled and charter flights, with the airline carrying over 7 million passengers per year.
Monarch’s flying schedule to Turkey during Summer 2009 will operate as follows:
Antalya (Mediterranean Coast)
Gatwick – two flights per week
Manchester – two flights per week
Birmingham – two flights per week
Dalaman (Turquoise Coast)
Gatwick – ten flights per week
Manchester – five flights per week
Bodrum (Agean Coast)
Gatwick – two flights per week
Manchester – one flight per week
Birmingham – one flight per week
