Continental Airlines Offers Cheap Flights to New York

New York City has a reputation for being expensive. Fortunately, flights to New York City don’t always match that reputation.

Continental Airlines has put flights to New York/Newark on sale. If you’re destination is New York, but you’re landing in Newark, be sure to research the various means of travel between Newark airport and Manhattan.

Sample fares are round-trip without taxes:
Boston flights from $148
Tampa flights from $198
Chicago flights from $218
Denver flights from $238
San Francisco flights  from $278

PetAirways Launches Cheap Flights for Pets Tomorrow

Fluffy just got upgraded from cargo to main cabin: PetAirways launches its first fur-friendly flight tomorrow.

The animal-loving carrier is the first to offer pet-only flights in the US. Routes operate between New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles. Just drop off your pet up to 72 hours before the flight, and they will be fed, walked, and played with until departure. Once on board the flight, each beloved critter gets individual attention every 15 minutes.

Ryanair Makes Big Changes to Cut Flight Costs

Ryanair, the UK’s well-known low-cost carrier, is making changes in order to reduce costs, cut back on time spent in airports, and to potentially lower fares.

The airline plans to do this by eliminating checked luggage, replacing airport check-in with online check-in, and by adding online gambling opportunities in-flight.

To work around checked baggage, Ryanair plans to have passengers bring as much luggage as they want to the airplane’s steps, and as they enter the aircraft, staff will place heavy or large items in the cargo area. This should lower airport costs, speed up baggage processing, and lower fees. 

PetAirways to Offer Cheap Flights for Pets

If you’ve ever worried about Fido whimpering with the other dogs in the cargo section of the plane, then consider boarding your little critter with PetAirways – the first airline in the country to service pets only.

Beginning July 14, cats and dogs can wander around their very own airport lounges, hop on board the main cabin of a Beech 1900 and ride in individual crates to their owner’s desired destination. Each plane has room for 50 crates. With attendants checking on them every 15 minutes, and frequent “potty breaks” when the plane actually lands and each animal is taken outside, PetAirways is changing the face of travel.

Discount Airfare: Flights to New Zealand from $698RT

If the land down under has been on your must-see list, now may be the time to book a trip. Air New Zealand launched some cheap flights to New Zealand, starting at just $698 round-trip.

To get these discounted rates, simply fly to Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, or Hamilton on Air New Zealand from July 25-Sept. 1, 2009.

One catch: You have to act fast - this sale is only good for today, June 17.

Discount Airfare: Aer Lingus Cheap Flights to Dublin, Shannon

We'll spare you the pun about saving green on a cheap flight to Ireland and get right down to the details.

Aer Lingus is offering cheap flights to Dublin and Shannon when you book by tomorrow, June 16 at 7 p.m. EST. Several travel windows are available and prices fluctuate based on when you travel. The sale fares are good between July 4 and Oct. 29.

Note to Airlines: Good Customer Service More Important Than Ever

Here’s a solid piece of advice to airlines: Your employees foster customer loyalty. A good experience will lead to repeat use, a bad experience could lead to more than a loss in loyalty (especially in these days of Twitter and Facebook usage). In this tough economic and competitive environment, you need every loyal traveler you can win --  consider that an important safety tip for your use.

I recently went to Bermuda with my family for an early summer vacation (more on this later). We flew on a direct flight with a well known major airline. As we approached Bermuda, the flight attendants walked through the cabin handing out customs forms to anyone who needed them. When I was handed a form, I asked the flight attendant three times whether this was the only form I needed. She assured me it was.

Ryanair CEO 'Serious' About Toilet Fees

When it comes to travel I'm pretty flexible. I have friends who need to be sedated before going through security. My mother is one of those flyers who talks on the phone while the flight attendant is reminding us to turn the phones off. I didn't fight with the airlines when I was seated next to the lavatory on a recent flight to London. I didn’t complain when I was served stale food that turned into a bad case of food poisoning, which resulted in a very long 8-hour flight to Rome.

I would have complained, however, if during that gut-wrenching flight I was forced to pay to use a sick bag – that’s the latest fee being proposed by Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary.

$9 Flights from JetAmerica on Sale Now

JetAmerica, the low-cost carrier which is said to have been modeled after low-cost European carrier Ryanair, is selling $9 flights from New York, Detroit, Orlando, Michigan and Minneapolis starting today (May 27). 

The routes are simple:

JetAmerica will fly to/from New York's Newark Airport; Toledo Express Airport (Detroit); Minneapolis/St. Paul; Lansing, Michigan; South Bend and Orlando (via Melbourne, FL).

Report: Airlines Improve Customer Service

Seems the decrease in airfares and increase in airline fees have leveled for fliers.

Travelers gave the airline industry a 64 out of 100 in the customer service department - a 3.2% increase from last year - according to a recent consumer survey.

According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, which randomly surveyed thousands of consumers across the U.S., travelers gave major airline carriers improved scores in customer service. But compared to other industries, where to airlines rate overall in terms of customer service? At the bottom.