CatAir

Catair is the new low-cost airline created by Iberia in an attempt to regain some of the market share it has been losing steadily over recent years to new Spanish low-cost airlines such as Spanair, Vueling and Air Europa and to British companies Easyjet and Ryanair.

CAT (as in Catalunya)-Air will start operating from Barcelona's Prat Airport in October, the company has announced. Barcelona airport experienced a 23.1 percent increase in number of passengers this year, and CATair hopes to capitalise on increased traffic by operating flights linking Barcelona to some of Spain and Europe's major cities.

The company has announced that it plans to operate 10 new routes from Barcelona including the following destinations:

• Malaga,
• Seville,
• Amsterdam,
• Dublin,
• Geneva,
• Zurich,
• Prague,
• Lisbon,
• Oporto,
• Moscow.

The company is currently involved in obtaining new aircraft via leasing, and hopes to confirm new routes and start taking bookings in August or September.

Special offer flights to Spain

Flights to Spain for less than £35 one-way including taxes

Thomsonfly has launched a promotion, with 350,000 flights available for less than £35 one-way including taxes and airport charges.

Spanish destinations included in this offer are Valencia, Barcelona, Palma Mallorca, Alicante, Malaga, Ibiza and the Canary Islands.

The offer is open to passengers who book online before midnight Sunday 18th June and who fly to or from any of the following airports: Doncaster Sheffield, Coventry and Bournemouth. The cheapest prices available are for flights operating between November 2006 and March 2007 but the promotion does not include flights operating on bank holiday weekends.

Low cost airlines in the UK and Spain

According to a study published by Eurocontrol yesterday, the market share of low cost airlines in Europe soared in April and May of this year, reaching an overall share of 16.3percent by the end of May 2006.

The analysis carried out by Eurocontrol shows that low cost airlines have added 2.4 percentage points to their overall market share during the past 12 months.

According to the report, this surge has been most notable in the UK where low cost airlines now operate 32 percent of all flights, followed by Spain and Poland where 21 percent of all flights are operated by low-cost air companies. Despite the rise in market share and passengers, this year there are 50 low cost airlines operating in Europe, compared to 52 last years. The number of flights operated by these airlines has increased by 23 percent in 2006.

London Stanstead is the European airport with the most cheap flights, followed by London Gatwick, Dublin and London Luton. According to the press release published by Eurocontrol, ten of the top 25 low-cost country-to-country flights involve the United Kingdom, but only one out of the top ten - flights between Spain and the UK - is dominated by low cost flights compared the traditional airlines.

Eurocontrol is the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation and its primary objective is the development of a seamless pan-European air traffic management system which fully accommodates the growth in air traffic while maintaining a high level of safety, enhancing cost-efficiency and respecting the environment.

Ryanair

Ryanair profits continue to rise.

This week Ryanair, one of the World's most successful low-cost airlines, announced record profits once again. According to the press release published on the Ryanair website, net profits in 2005 rose to €302m, some €7m ahead of previous expectations. Passenger numbers grew by a tremendous 26% to 35m passengers.

And although fuel costs rose by 74% last year, Ryanair's overall unit costs only rose by 5% enabling after tax profits to rise by 12% and average yields increased by 1%, despite an increase in capacity of 27%.

According to declarations made by Ryanair's Chief Executive, in 2005 Ryanair operated 330 routes with 103 aircraft, and the withdrawal of the company's remaining B737-200’s aircraft reduced the average age of Ryanair’s fleet to 2½ years, the youngest in Europe.

Ryanair has announced 46 new routes and 1 new base for the remainder of 2006, and the compnay expects traffic to grow by 20% to 42m passengers. 30 aircraft will be added to the Ryanair fleet between September 2006 and April 2007.

Ryanair flies passengers to 14 Spanish destinations from varios airports in Britain, Ireland and other European countries.

Cheap flights from Manchester to Tenerife

Jet2.com has announced that it plans to open a new route linking Manchester to Tenerife this Autumn. Tickets are already on sale from £39 one-way (excluding taxes and charges). The company's new Manchester to Tenerife flights start on 31st October and will operate three times a week:

Manchester to Tenerife
On Tuesdays and Fridays: Departs 1.05pm, arrives 5.25pm
On Sundays: Departs 2.30pm, arrives 6.55pm

Tenerife to Manchester
On Tuesdays and Fridays: Departs 6.30pm, arrives 10.30pm
On Sundays: Departs 7.55pm, arrives 12.15am next day (Sunday)

The Canary Islands are a very popular Winter destination for British holidaymakers, and visitors to Tenerife are attracted by the warm weather, the stunning Teide volcano and of course the famous carnaval fiestas in February.

According to Jet2.com, the new Manchester-Tenerife route is the company's response to wide demand from customers in the North West of England. Jet2.com already operates flights to Tenerife from Leeds Bradford, Newcastle, Belfast and Blackpool.