Heavy competition appears to be driving down profits a both of Belfast’s airports, according to analysts. Pre-tax profits for Belfast City Airport only amounted to £15,000 this year on a £17.1 million turnover in 2010, marking a substantial drop from the £433,000 seen the year prior. Similarly, Belfast International Airport’s profits dropped a full 11 [...]

British Airways’ parent company International Airlines Group has announced that it has established a new airline in Spain which will cater for short-haul and medium-haul travel. IAG was formed at the beginning of the year after BA and Spanish flag carrier Iberia joined forces. The new airline is to be called Iberia Express. The group [...]

Low-cost carrier EasyJet has announced a special dividend payment and a rise for its profit forecast. The announcement on Monday cited exceptional performance thanks to a ‘robust’ rise in the number of business travellers carried by the no-frills airline. The firm said it is now expecting full-year profits between £240 million and £250 million, up [...]

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the often outspoken founder of low-budget carrier easyJet, has announced that he is to establish a brand new airline to be called FastJet. Sir Stelios and his family currently control 38 per cent of easyJet, but it has not been a particularly easy ride recently with the magnate entering into a number [...]

Britain’s newest royal couple surprised passengers and reporters on Sunday by flying home from Edinburgh on a Flybe jet. The couple was in Scotland to attend the wedding of Zara Phillips, Prince William’s cousin, when instead of opting for first class or a private aircraft chose to sit next to everyday passengers onboard a low-cost [...]

Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair has said it will have to increase its fare prices in order to cope with the high price of aviation fuel. The carrier said that although it has already purchased around 90 per cent of the fuel it will use this year, it has had to pay 18 per cent more [...]

EasyJet passengers in France face possible disruption, as cabin crew announce a 48-hour strike. The walkout will begin tonight at midnight and will continue through to 11.59pm on 13 July. The French union UNAC said strike action had become necessary after easyJet management refused to address issues including levels of pay and social security. Although the [...]

A recent report has shown that a bottled water costs up to 11 times more than those sold in a grocery chain. The report comes via travelsupermarket.com and showed that food items onboard budget airlines see massive mark-ups; a four-person family could quickly spend £45 on a drink, a bag of crisps and a sandwich [...]

New routes from Easyjet will make Southend-on-sea the 6th commercial airport serving London before the Olympics next year. The budget carrier has chosen the unlikely airport for its new gateway to major cultural European hubs including Milan, Ibiza and Barcelona. Commercial operations are scheduled to be underway before London 2010, giving its visitors a chance [...]

Fears that the latest volcanic eruption in Iceland could cause airline fleets to be grounded as an ash cloud spreads towards Europe have caused shares in the largest carriers to drop. Flights in and out of Scotland have already been cancelled and the Civil Aviation Authority has warned airlines to be prepared for further disruption. [...]