Low-cost airlines Air Costa to take off from Vijayawada

Low-cost airlines Air Costa will start operating next month from Vijayawada. It is owned by Lingamaneni Estates and Projects Ltd (LEPL). It has received the air operator’s permit from DGCA.

This is the first airline company to have a base in Vijayawada. Announcement of flight schedules and sale of tickets will begin soon. Except for IndiGo, all other low-cost airlines are in the red and a big-ticket AirAsia is all set to start in India. ATF tax and rising oil prices to rupee slide have impacted all airlines.

With all the necessary permissions, low-cost airlines Air Costa will start operations with two E-170 and two E-190 Embraer E-Jets having a two-class cabin seating configuration and will offer comfort, class and cheap fares, said CEO (LEPL) Captain K N Babu.

Low-cost airlines Air Costa will link Vijayawada to Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Jaipur and Ahmedabad. Later on, it will fly to Goa, Pune, Madurai, Trivandrum and Vishakapatnam.

LEPL MD Ramesh Lingamaneni said that Air Costa would give a new travel experience to tier-II and III city travellers. The company has been expanding several multiplexes, commercial buildings, and developed a 500-acre satellite city.

The company has presence in power (wind and solar), health care (LEPL Aayush NRI Health Care Pvt Ltd) Hospitality (Rain Treepark Dwaraka Krishna), and education (Ken Bridge Schools).

And, an alliance with Inox multiplex is currently in possession of three Embraer Jets with a seating capacity of 67 each, which are ideal for regional short-haul flights between tier-II and III cities and metros.

Air Costa has bought one jet and leased the others. The idea is to link those markets not served adequately, said the low-cost carrier. The capacity will be kept under control and flights regulated by seasonal demand, said Babu.

The concept of the low-cost airline Air Costa was floated a year back with Vijayawada airport as its maintenance base and headquarters. Its staff have finished necessary training, and in first phase it plans to operate flights to six stations. LEPL says regional air services have a lot of potential with the economy of South Indian cities booming.

http://truthdive.com/2013/09/25/low-cost-airlines-air-costa-to-take-off-from-vijayawada.html

Time to start booking your cheap flights for next year

You may have only just returned from your summer holidays, but it's already time to think about booking your cheap flights for next year after easyJet unveiled its 2014 schedule.

More than 9m seats are now available to purchase for 58,000 flights leaving between 30 March and 15 June next year.

The budget carrier flies from 11 UK airports to 340 destinations in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, so there's a choice to suit every holidaymaker. New flights for 2013 include Gatwick to Bucharest in Romania, Manchester to Venice, Italy, and Liverpool to Larnaca in Cyprus - starting from as little as £25.99.

Commenting on the routes that will be most popular in 2014, Cath Lynn, easyJet's group commercial director, said: 'We believe key summer sun destinations for 2014 will include the sun-soaked Greek Islands and cultural hubs like Moscow and Bucharest, as well as traditional firm favourites such as Alicante and Malaga.'

http://news.opodo.co.uk/NewsDetails/2013-09-05/Time_to_start_booking_your_cheap_flights_for_next_year

Cheap flights this week: Sydney economy return for just CNY5,355 [Ad]

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http://shanghaiist.com/2013/08/15/cheap_flights_this_week_sydney_econ.php

Are cheap long-haul flights coming soon?

A number of budget airlines have tried to bring their no-frills service to long-distance flights. In the past it hasn’t worked out very well. Laker Airlines was the first to try it with a route between London and New York City in the late 70s, but the company went under less than five years later. More recently Oasis Hong Kong Airlines launched low-cost services between Hong Kong and London and Vancouver. Oasis only lasted three years. And, just last year, Malaysia’s AirAsia X stopped flights to Europe to focus on mid-range flights throughout Asia.
Despite all the unsuccessful attempts in the past, Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) — the fourth largest budget carrier in Europe — sees a market for long-haul budget airlines and it intends on taking advantage.
The airline purchased eight of Boeing’s Dreamliners and has numerous orders on new, more energy-efficient, aircrafts from Boeing and Airbus. The initial long-haul services will be between Oslo and New York, Oslo and Bangkok, and Stockholm and Bangkok as NAS receives its Dreamliner orders from Boeing. But why does NAS think the services will be successful this time? BBC reports:

In short, because of new-generation, fuel-efficient aircraft. “The Dreamliner and the Airbus 350 will really be a game-changer in this industry,” Mr [Bjorn] Kjos [co-founder of NAS] said.
“When we did the calculations we could not get the numbers to add up with the old aircraft. We needed the new aircraft. The others did not have the possibility of the Dreamliner and the A350. Before, when you attempted to do low-cost when flying more than eight hours, it just didn’t work.”

It’ll be an interesting experiment, but don’t expect skeptics to buy in unless NAS can prove that there’s a market for cheap tickets on eight hour flights with no meals.
But if they’re right, it could make international travel easier, if only on the bank account.

http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/are-cheap-long-haul-flights-coming-soon/21840

How to get a cheap flight

From shopping around to paying with reward points, there are loads of ways to cut the cost of flying.

Whether you're flying for business or pleasure, there are plenty of ways to save money.
Shop around
There are number of flight comparison sites out there, so make sure you use them to do the hard work for you. Try the likes of Kayak, Skyscanner, Momondo and Fly.com.

Once you've done that, take a look at the cheapest airlines' own websites, as they may have special deals on offer or a sale. If you're going to a popular holiday destination, check charter airlines such as Thomas Cook and Thomson, as well as scheduled airlines, as they may be cheaper.

Play around with dates
It can often be cheaper to fly mid-week, so if you're not restricted by dates, see if you can cut the price even further by changing when you go.

Compare the total price
If you're comparing so-called full-price airlines with budget ones, make sure you compare prices accurately. Budget airlines are notorious for levying extra charges for everything from checked-in luggage to paying by credit card.

Play your cards right
There are several credit cards that will offer you free flights, or enough reward points to pay for one. Ryanair's credit card offers you a European return flight (you just pay taxes and fees) if you spend £100 in the first 90 days after you take the card out. Spend £1,500 over a six-month period and you'll receive another return flight or spend £3,000+ and you'll get two return flights.

The Flybe card offers one return flight (again you just pay taxes and charges) to select UK and European destinations as soon as you spend on the card (you can spend as little as you like).

Apply successfully for the Lloyds TSB Duo Avios credit cards (you get an American Express and Mastercard), spend a minimum of £500 a month for the first three months and you'll receive 15,000 Avios – enough for a return flight to Western Europe (you'll have to pay £30 on top).

Meanwhile, the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold charge card will give you 20,000 Membership Reward points if you spend £2,000 in the first three months you hold the card.

These points can be converted into Avios, Nectar points or frequent flyer points for 15 airlines.

Note that this is a charge card so you have to pay off the balance in full each month. And there's normally a £125 membership fee, which is currently being waived for the first year.

Use points to pay
If you're a member of a reward or loyalty scheme, either directly or via a credit card, you could use the points to pay for flights. Here are the top general schemes.

Avios: formerly Aimiles, this scheme divides the world into zones based on distance. The Avios required to pay for them increases correspondingly. Return flights from the UK to other UK and Western European destinations cost 9,000 Avios and then the cost increases incrementally up to 100,000 Avios for a return flight to Australasia. However, all flights have taxes and fees added on to them, from £30 for European flights to a whopping £600 for Australia. As such, it's now only really worthwhile redeeming them on shorter flights. You can earn points via a variety of reward credit cards and by shopping online via the Avios store.

NatWest/Royal Bank of Scotland YourPoints: you can use these points to pay for flights from both easyJet and online travel agent ebookers. It costs around 11,000 points for a return UK flight (compared to 9,000 Avios), but that does include taxes and charges. You can collect these by spending on a NatWest/RBS Your Points credit card.

Nectar: 500 points is worth £2.50 off easyJet flights. Note that admin and credit card fees apply for all bookings made via Nectar. You can earn points at a host of retailers, including Sainsbury's, and via Nectar credit cards.

Tesco Clubcard: £10 in Clubcard vouchers is worth £15 of rewards tokens on Monarch flights; £2.50 in vouchers is worth 625 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles, 600 Avios or 600 BA Executive Club Avios.

Many airlines also have their own loyalty schemes which reward frequent flyers. Some, such as FlyBe's Rewards4All and Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club, also allow you to earn points if you spend using their branded credit cards (Virgin also rewards you for making online purchases via its shopping website).

Go as a courier
Many moons ago, this used to be a good way of getting a cheap flight in exchange for carrying some documents. Sadly, now the only route operating is from London Heathrow to Tokyo Narita with British Airways. The return fare starts at £532 in the low season, which is up to half the normal cost. For more information, call British Airways World Cargo on  0870 320 0301 .

Look for age discounts
If you're a student, or under 26, it's worth checking out STA Travel. Not only will they help you tailor your journey, but they also have fares especially for younger travellers.


http://money.aol.co.uk/2013/04/29/how-to-get-a-cheap-flight/