RyanAir to Begin Testing Standing Room Only Tickets

Never lacking creativity, Low-cost-carrier RyanAir said it has plans to sell standing room tickets on some of its short-haul routes. The European-based airline says it hopes to remove the last 10 rows of seats aboard flight less than 1-hour in length, and replace them with 15 rows of vertical seating. But current European Aviation rules prohibit such a "seating" arrangement, and Boeing - who supplies RyanAir with 737-300 aircraft said they are not considering standing-only accommodations.

This begs the question: A prank from Ryan Air - or something that might just fly in the years to come?

Ethiopian Airliner Crashes Near Lebanon; 90 Aboard

Breaking News

An Ethiopian airliner carrying 83 passengers and 7 crew members crashed early Monday morning while enroute to the Ethiopian capital of Addis Abada. The plane disappeared from radar shortly after takeoff from Beirut around 2:30 a.m. local time Monday. Stormy weather was reported at time of takeoff. Officials are searching an area off the Lebanese coast where the plane was thought to have gone down.

Turkish Airliner Crashes in Amsterdam, 9 dead

The Associated Press is reporting a Turkish Airliner with 135 people on board has crashed at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. The crash occurred on Wednesday as the plane was attempting to land. Early reports show nine death and 50 injuries. Officials on the ground say it was a miracle there were not more deaths. Read More from the AP.

Fares Drop To Orange County Ahead of Southwest & Virgin Service

By Mike Grasso

Last night, American and United Airlines dropped airfare between San Francisco and Orange County/John Wayne Airport. Both carriers now charge just $139 roundtrip "all in" (including taxes and fees), for travel between April 30 and June 10, 2009. Historically fares on this route averaged over $200 because United and American had a stronghold on this market, as the sole airlines operating flights between the two cities.

Why the sudden drop in fares? 10 new daily flights down to Orange County.

Come April 30th, Virgin America will intensify competition by operating five daily flights between SFO and Orange County. Then, Southwest starts service between the two cities on May 9th, also operating five times each day. Passenger capacity (available seats) on the ten new daily departures will increase significantly as well since both Virgin America and Southwest operate mainline aircraft which carry at least 120 passengers on each flight.

To compare, American flies smaller 44-seat regional jets and United uses a mixture of mainline and regional aircraft between the two cities. The total number of available seats will climb sharply just in time for the Summer, and with demand for air travel easing, airlines have no choice but to cut airfares.

So now is a great time to start planning that family vacation to Sunny Southern California and Disneyland. Click any of the travel search engines on the left column to begin your airfare search.

Oakland to Tijuana Flights Coming Soon?

Low-cost-carrier Avolar Airlines has applied to the U.S Government to operate flights between Oakland Airport and it's base in Tijuana, Mexico. In their application, the airline asks to operate flights 3 times a day between the two cities - as soon as possible, utilizing Boeing 737 aircraft.

Avolar has operated within Mexico since 2005. In the past several months however, the airline has earned some rather unfavorable publicity after having routes temporarily suspended for financial reasons. This left some passengers stranded in Tijuana.

We'll keep you posted on the progress of Avolar coming to the Bay Area.

Russian Airliner Crashes, Killing 88

An Aeroflot plane crashed in the Russian city of Perm early Sunday, reportedly killing all 88 passengers and crew on board. Witnesses reported seeing the plane hit the ground sharply, perhaps at a 30 or 40 degree angle.

Investigators suspect technical failure was the cause of the crash, and reports from the ground indicate the plane's engines were on fire before the crash. One witness said it look like a burning comet racing toward the earth, followed by a massive explosion. Those killed include 21 foreigners, including one resident of the United States.

Alaska Airlines Ends San Francisco to Vancouver Flights

On August 24th, Alaska Airlines will discontinue the San Francisco to Vancouver route. The airline operates two daily Boeing 737 flights between the city pair. Passengers will need to connect through the airlines' Portland or Seattle hub in order to continue into Vancouver.

United Airlines To Slash Capacity, Drop Ted

United Airlines will be reducing domestic seat capacity by 12%, including grounding 70 non-fuel efficient 737 & 747 aircraft, and slashing over 1000 jobs by 2009. Additionally, the airline is dropping Ted Airlines, its all-domestic fleet, and reinstalling first class seats. All this in response to record high fuel prices. Read More.

Southwest Grounds 38 Boeing 737's for Review

The Airline is reporting irregular operations and grounded aircraft after a review of maintenance records led it to question whether required testing had been done on some of the Boeing 737 aircraft. As of Wednesday afternoon, Southwest reported 4% of scheduled flights had been cancelled Nationwide, including from Oakland Airport.
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