Flybe, which is getting ready for one of their busiest bank holidays ever, has stated that the demand has set records for traveling to traditional regional spots for holidays as well, which include flights in and out of the Channel Islands, as well as to Scotland and the Isle of Man. The result of the significant rise in demand has Flybe predicting an 11% increase overall in their number of passengers during the summer season of 2008 in comparison to that of last year, and they have received a boost from the 10% rise in sales for the bank holiday by itself, which lasts four days.

It has been the last-minute decisions to run off to Spain, Portugal, and France instead of to a regional holiday destination that has been so surprising in the demand compared to past years. Travelers, specifically those holidaymakers that are departing from Southampton and Exeter airports, are demonstrating that Britons have had it with the dreary and rainy days of the holiday in their own yards, and they are determined to do anything that they can in order to spend their bank holiday weekend in the sun.

Visit www.flybe.com to find out more.

On Monday, 16 businessmen met in order to talk about the potential measures for rescuing Alitalia. The plan visualizes a one billion euro cash injection, according to reports from the media. The future of Alitalia has been put on hold since the walk out of Air France KLM during discussions over them taking over Alitalia. The carrier has now been losing 200 million euros every day.

A vow has been made by Premier Silvio Berlusconi to save the carrier, keeping it in the hands of Italians. His government made Intesa Sanpaolo the adviser of trying to sell their 49.9% hold in the carrier. The government has been scheduled to have a meeting on Thursday, and they are anticipated to talk about the potential measures of saving the airline. According to reports recently, the Cabinet may talk about changes of bankruptcy protection laws. The reports said that the government is looking at breaking Alitalia into two companies. They have not announced their plans, and the center-left opposition on Tuesday renewed their call of a Parliament briefing from the Cabinet on the issue.

Learn more at: www.alitalia.com

The 737 was on its way to the Barcelona-Girona Airport of Spain from Bristol of Britain when a powerful depressurization made the plane drop 8,000 meters in only five minutes, according to police. The passengers, which were terrified, told about how they were afraid for their lives while the plane plummeted in midair, dropping down the oxygen masks. Out of the 7 crew and 169 passengers, 26 of them were taken to the hospital with minor injuries to their eardrums, according to emergency workers.

The inspection of the aircraft didn’t show any causes for the incident, said the police. Ryanair operated another plane to Limoges, which left at 3:30 in the morning with only 127 people, of whom wished to continue their journey immediately. The remaining passengers were anticipated to depart for Girona later on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the airline pilots union of Spanair, which threatened to go on strike before the crash happened last week, killing about 150 people, said on Tuesday that the aircrafts of the carrier are safe. The union said in a statement that the planes and flights of Spanair are completely safe and that the carrier respects all of the operational security standards.

Learn more at: www.ryanair.com

OeIAG, which is the holding that owns nearly 43 percent of the stake in Austrian Airlines, set an August 24th deadline for possible bidders to send a letter in about their intent to bid on the stake of 157 million euros. A representative of OeIAG didn’t comment any further on the transaction. Aeroflot expressed interest in partaking in the bid at first, however, they announced late in July that they are not going to place a bid.

Lufthansa, the second biggest airline in Europe, confirmed their interest in purchasing part of the holding on Monday. Bettina Rittberger, a spokeswoman for Lufthansa, said on Monday that they have expressed their interest in the transaction. She, however, declined to give any details on how much of the stake that the carrier was thinking of purchasing or as to if the purchase from another airline would hurt the existing ties of both carriers.

The sale is going to take place with the condition that 25 percent of Austrian Airlines be held by an Austrian investor, which came after the collapse of the agreement that they had in May for selling 20 percent of the stake to a Saudi investor.

Visit www.aua.com -or- www.s7.ru/en to learn more.

Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, greeted the team when it touched down just a little after 3 in the afternoon at Heathrow Airport. The plane, which was renamed Pride, had a message on the fuselage stating that it was proud to bring them home. Fans were urged to keep their distance from the airport that day, however, there is a victory parade planned for the athletes in October. Team Great Britain still had a rapturous welcome from the airport’s staff, with Steve Williams, gold medalist rower, saying that they looked out the windows to see everyone waving flags.

After a superb performance from the team in Beijing, an earnest countdown for the London Olympic Games in 2012 has begun. Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, received the flag for the Olympics from his counterpart in Beijing at a spectacular closing ceremony on Sunday, while billions of viewers around the globe watched a special 8-minute segment for London, which showed a preview as to what can be expected in 4 years. Handover flags were lifted at over 700 venues internationally, including over 440 in towns throughout the United Kingdom, as part of a civic ceremony to welcome the Olympics of 2012, and London performed an event in celebration of the hand-over.

Find out more on the homecoming at: www.britishairways.com

This new ship will be introduced as the first of four from the Solstice Class. As it is the first ship from this class, the ship will reveal the new vision of Celebrity innovation combined with style and service. Celebrity Solstice has numerous new features, as well a truly innovative design, having 2,850 occupancies and promising to give an unparalleled experience to its passengers. Those who win the giveaway will get the chance to have a refined experience of contemporary elegance, a luxurious spa, and so much more. Those lucky 25 winners will be some of the first that will sail on board this new and extraordinary ship.

Michael Drever, the President and Chief Executive Officer for Expedia CruiseShipCenters, says that the cruise industry keeps showing a tremendous amount of success, and it is continuously thrilling to celebrate a launch for a brand new ship. The giveaway of these 25 cruises comes after Expedia setting a record with their One-Day-Sale at the beginning to of summer, booking 13.5 million dollars in cruises. That sale day, as well as CruiseShipCenters’ phenomenal growth, makes it clear that taking a cruise for a holiday is still popular. Holidaymakers will truly have something to enjoy with more ships from the Solstice Class on the way.

Visit www.expedia.com to find more information.

Gardai performed a detailed search of the hand luggage that the passengers were carrying also, but they didn’t find any signs of weapons or other cartridges. The passengers were given permission to board the aircraft again, following another screening from the security staff of the Dublin Airport. The flight took off eventually at almost 1:00 in the afternoon, following a received ‘all-clear’ from authorities.

Meanwhile, the Dublin Airport Authority says that there is no way that the cartridge went through the airport to end up on the aircraft. A spokesperson for the Dublin Airport Authority said that the plane landed at the airport, but could have originally come from anywhere throughout the network of Ryanair. It was clearly on the plane before it arrived, they continued. A passenger came upon the cartridge as they were putting their luggage up in the overhead cabin, they said, and this is a matter that the carrier has to deal with. The Dublin Airport Authority isn’t going to launch an investigation for this incident, concluded the spokesperson. Gardai confirmed on Friday night that they have launched a full investigation.

Visit www.ryanair.com -or www.dublinairport.com to learn more.

Adnan Kazim, the Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations in the Gulf, Iran, and the Middle East for Emirates, said that they are happy to have the chance to revise their fares with the latest reducing of the price of fuel. Even though the price of fuel has gradually fallen in recent weeks, the cost is still about 60% more than the average it was last year, he continued. However, he added that the high prices on fuel are still a major challenge for the carrier, and they are monitoring the issue closely.

The fares for Emirates from Dubai to Amman, Damascus, Beirut, and Cairo are going to decrease by 4%. Middle Eastern travelers will see lower fares for flights with Emirates to points throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council as well. The Gulf Cooperation Council includes the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain. The carrier is currently operating flights for 101 cities over 6 continents. In the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Middle East, their network covers more than 200 flights every week for 15 cities.

Learn more at: www.emirates.com

The first reports said that an engine on the port-side seemed to have exploded, catching fire when the plane was taking off, but other witnesses have said that the aircraft was on the ground still. The plane swerved off of the runway, stopping about 300 metres away, breaking up and bursting into flames about 3:45 in the afternoon in Madrid. Only minutes after the event, there was a convoy of over 40 fire engines, 70 ambulances, and other vehicles on there way to the accident. There were even 2 helicopters dropping water to extinguish the aircraft’s flames. Desperate relatives began to arrive at both Madrid Airport and Las Palmas Airport, as the news of the incident was received. Special lounges were set up with psychologists, medical staff, and social workers for the relatives at both of the airports. Spanair also chartered a flight especially for the people who wished to visit Madrid to see the survivors or victims.

Find out more at: www.spanair.com/web/en-gb

The vehicles will vary depending on the market, and they may be bio-ethanol, as well as a combined fuel and electrical engine, which will give the traveler better fuel efficiency to make them the most friendly vehicles to the environment within the car hire market. The cars that are available include Ford Focus C-Max, Ford Focus, Saab 9-5, Toyota Prius, Volvo S40, and Volvo V50. The cost for hiring the Hybrid cars begins at 23 pounds a day, and that is based on hiring the Ford Focus for seven days in France.

Also, next month Holiday Autos is going to launch their carbonwise scheme, where the customer will get the opportunity to offset the driving emissions of their trip and are taken to a calculator to determine the amount of emissions that they offset during the trip. The starting cost is 14 pence for 100 miles with a Ford Focus Hybrid. Customers can also choose to drive the Fuel Ford Focus for 18 pence each 100 miles that they drive.

Visit www.holidayautos.com to learn more.