United to launch Rome link this weekend

United Airlines will inaugurate a new link between Washington D.C. and Rome on Sunday (April 1).

Flight 966 will take off from Washington Dulles for the first time at 6:16pm, touching down in Leonardo da Vinci International at 8:50am the following morning, local time. Flight 967 will leave Rome at 11:15am and return to DC at 3pm on Monday afternoon, Eastern Time.

First Class and Business-Class passengers will be treated to a selection of Mediterranean cuisine and regional wines on the link with the Italian capital, with a choice of entrees such as pecan chicken in alfredo peppercorn sauce, or pasta rotollo with marinara sauce.

Avianca invests in ten 787 Dreamliners

Columbia's flag carrier Avianca Airlines has ordered ten next-generation Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets worth approximately $1.5 billion.

The Barranquilla-based operator, which flies to Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and New York, is the first South American carrier to order the fuel-efficient aircraft. It has also acquired purchase rights for an additional ten.

Due to enter service next year, the lightweight Dreamliner is constructed from composite materials and has capacity for up to 330 passengers. Boeing is expected to unveil the finished article in July this year.

Korean Air's terrific Business-Class deal to Tokyo

Face it, transpacific travel is taxing. It's about a 12-hour jaunt from the United States to the Far East, give or take an hour. What fliers want on a trek like that is comfort, but that comes at a price. The price is more manageable thanks to Korean Air's Prestige (Business) Class sale to Tokyo Narita (NRT) from Los Angeles (LAX). The roundtrip tariff is $3,156, but you've got to act very fast to grab this discount airfare.

Book and buy by Saturday, March 31. Then, travel by May 15.

As you might imagine, Prestige-Class seats are limited at this deep discount airfare. You'll have to fly Monday through Thursday, on off-peak days, and travel only on Flights KE002/KE001. Neither taxes nor fees are included in this quote.

Convert ATA points to Southwest awards

The special relationship between discount airlines ATA and Southwest continues to flourish. The relationship began when Southwest got many of ATA's gates at Chicago Midway Airport (MDW) a few years ago and the two airlines established a code-share pact.

Now comes word that ATA Travel Award frequent-flier members can redeem 7,250 Travel Awards points for one Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards award. The upshot is that ATA Travel Awards members gain access to more than 50 additional domestic destinations served by Southwest.

There's already a relationship between the carriers' two frequent-flier programs. Members have been able to earn either ATA Travel Awards Points or Southwest Rapid Rewards credits for a while now. What the new wrinkle permits is conversion of ATA points to a Southwest ticket.

United's luscious London discounts

The UK is making a concerted effort to entice more Americans to fly there these days. This should help. United Airlines is offering deep discount airfares from several key US cities to London Heathrow (LHR), with one-way rates starting at $165.

You'll have to act exceedingly fast to grab one of these discount airfares. Book and buy by Monday, April 2. Then, depart by May 17. Travel on off-peak days, and stay over at least one Saturday night. Do that and Buckingham Palace is yours (at least experientially), so too the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and the extraordinary British Museum

All the discount airfares quoted below are one-way, and predicated on a round-trip purchase. Neither taxes nor fees are included.

WestJet extends sales to handle Harmony fliers

Word that Harmony Airways will cease scheduled service soon has prompted discount airline WestJet to extend its existing seat sales on some key leisure routes.

Harmony will axe Toronto (YYZ) flights at the end of today (Friday, March 30). All other scheduled service stops on Monday, April 9.

Specifically, WestJet is extending sales to Honolulu (HNL), Maui (OGG), and Las Vegas (LAS). These discount airfares are subject to availability, and WestJet will decide - on a day-to-day basis - whether to further extend the deals.

Iberia's Spanish springtime savings

Consider springtime in Spain for sun, food, shopping and genuine Iberian hospitality. Iberia is offering savings to a slew of Spanish cities from key US airports with round-trip discount airfares as low as $487.

You'll have to purchase tickets no later than April 9. Then, travel through May 27. Fly on off-peak days (Monday through Thursday). Stay over at least one Sunday, and purchase passage at least seven days in advance. Neither taxes nor fees are included in the discount airfares quoted below.

While Iberia also offers some sensational rates to Bilbao (BIO), Malaga (AGP), Santiago de Compostela (SCQ), Seville (SVQ) and Valencia (VLC), discount airfares to Madrid (MAD) and Barcelona (BCN), the two most popular cities in the peninsula are quoted here.

JetBlue launches business booking program

JetBlue has unveiled a new product that helps businesspeople plan transcontinental meetings and offers competitive fare deals for corporate travel around the US.

The CompanyBlue Meetings program boasts a fully dedicated support desk, and gives frequent-fliers access to a slew of incentives to book their travel with the low-cost carrier.

Developed using feedback from corporate meeting planners, the initiative is specifically designed to make group booking simple. To prove it, JetBlue will give travel planners ten free one-way tickets for sending 15 passengers to the same destination on the same day, by July 1.

Lufthansa to launch new kids' menu

German flag carrier Lufthansa is to launch an imaginative and healthy range of in-flight food for younger fliers this May.

Adventurous children can tuck into culinary creations such as "snake noodles in a tomato jungle", chicken-filled pancakes known as "tiger tail", or fish fingers labeled "pirate's hand".

Martian faces formed from mousse and strawberry puree, with liquorice sticks for antenna; impeccably decorated "sweet butterflies" (or vanilla and custard pancakes) are among the sweeter recipes on offer.

US and Argentina agree Open Skies pact

The number of flights between the US and Argentina will double in the next two years, thanks to a significant new agreement ratified yesterday (Thursday, March 29).

Mary Peters, US Secretary of Transportation, explained that passenger capacity between the two countries would increase over the coming weeks.

Current capacity on the route is 56 commercial flights per week. Once the agreement takes effect, this figure will rise to 77. By March 2009, 112 journeys between the countries will be permitted every seven days.