Alghero Sardinia Airport

Ryanair loses its appeal on access to aid investigation

2010-12-12T07:15:00.000-08:00

RYANAIR has lost an appeal it took to the European Union's General Court after it had been denied access to information about investigations undertaken by the European Commission into state aid provided to airports, Independent.ie reports. Ryanair had sought details of investigations of state aid investigations undertaken by the Commission into Alghero airport on Sardinia, as well as Schoenefeld in Berlin, Lubeck airport in Hamburg, Bratislava airport in Slovakia, France's Pau airport close to the Pyrenees, and Aarhus airport in Denmark.
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IATA critics on airspace closures due to Vulcanic ashes

2010-05-18T03:03:00.001-07:00

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on European governments and air navigation service providers to urgently develop more precise procedures to identify ash contaminated air space and allow more flights. The call came in the wake of 1,000 flight cancellations on Monday (17 May) as a result of the continued volcanic eruptions in Iceland.

“This problem is not going away any time soon. The current European-wide system to decide on airspace closures is not working. We welcome the operational refinements made by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) in their theoretical model but we are still basically relying on one-dimensional information to make decisions on a four-dimensional problem. The result is the unnecessary closure of airspace. Safety is always our number one priority. But we must make decisions based on facts, not on uncorroborated theoretical models,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

Bisignani noted some successful exceptions which provide examples to follow. “France has been able to safely keep its airspace open by enhancing the VAAC data with operational expertise to more precisely determine safe fly zones. Today, the UK Civil Aviation, working with the UK NATS (the air navigation service provider), announced another step forward by working with airlines and manufacturers to more accurately define tolerance levels while taking into account special operational procedures. Both are examples for other European governments to follow,” said Bisignani.

Bisignani called for (1) more robust data collection and analysis (2) a change in the decision making process and (3) urgency in addressing the issues.

Data Collection and Analysis
“Numbers show that the current system is flawed. Over 200,000 flights have operated in European airspace identified by the VAAC as having the potential presence of ash. Not one aircraft has reported significant ash presence and this is verified by post-flight aircraft and engine inspections. We must back the theory with facts gathered by aircraft to test ash concentration. France and the UK are showing that this is possible. If European civil aviation does not have the resources, it should look to borrow the test aircraft from other countries or military sources,” said Bisignani.

Changing the Decision-making Process
“We have lost confidence in the ability of Europe’s governments to make effective and consistent decisions. Using the same data, different countries have come to different conclusions on opening or closing airspace,” said Bisignani.

“Ultimately the industry needs a decision-making process for ash clouds similar to the one used for all other operational disruptions. Every day airlines make decisions whether to fly or not to fly in various weather conditions. Airlines collate the information available and make informed decisions placing safety first and with full access to all the latest weather reporting. Why should volcanic ash be any different?” said Bisignani.

In the US, which has a lot of experience with volcanic activity, the government identifies a no-fly zone where ash concentration is the highest. For all other areas, it is the responsibility of the airline to decide to fly or not based on the various data sources available. “The US has well-established, safe and effective procedures for tracking the hazards of volcanic ash. In recent years, the industry had no recorded safety incidents from volcanic activity in US airspace. Europe has a lot to learn,” said Bisignani.

Urgency
“Volcanic ash is a new challenge for European aviation. We can understand that systems need to be developed to cope. But what is absolutely inexcusable is the failure of Europe’s governments to act urgently and collectively to provide real leadership in a crisis. We have vast amounts of data from over 200,000 safe flights ready for analysis to support an urgent review of the current processes. The UK is finally moving in the right direction. But what about the other affected European governments? The next transport ministers meeting is scheduled for June 24. What kind of leadership waits more than a month to make crisis decisions? European businesses are dependant on air travel and passengers certainly cannot wait that long for initiatives like the UK’s to be implemented continent-wide,” said Bisignani.

To enhance the industry’s long-term ability to address volcanic ash issues, Bisignani is traveling to Montreal for urgent meetings with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). “IATA and ICAO have been working intensely on this issue since the crisis first struck in April. IATA is strongly supporting the ICAO task force which is reviewing ash tolerance thresholds with operators and manufacturers. The responsibility of manufacturers is critical in providing performance information to back decisions,” said Bisignani.

Tomorrow Bisignani will meet Roberto Kobeh-Gonzales, President of the ICAO Council and Raymond Benjamin, ICAO Secretary-General. “It is important that we act urgently and globally to better deal with this crisis and to lay a solid foundation for better decision making in future eruptions. Even as Europe stumbles with its fragmented approach, IATA is working with the global community through ICAO and by tapping into the experience of leading regulators like the US FAA to facilitate harmonized solutions,” said Bisignani.

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Ryanair flight disruptions Christmas period 2009

2009-12-25T10:33:00.000-08:00

Original message from the Ryanair website from December 24th, 2009:

Due to 4 hour Spanish Air Traffic Control (ATC) slot delays the flights from Lanzarote to Dublin and to Brussels Charleroi have now been cancelled. Due to the refusal of Oslo Torp Airport to remain open after 15:00hrs CET the Oslo (Torp) to Frankfurt Hahn flight is also cancelled. Ryanair sincerely apologise to passengers for these cancellations which are beyond our control.

Ryanair intends to operate the remaining flight schedule for today. Weather conditions are still causing some limited delays however passengers should present at the airport as normal. Please consult the Ryanair website to monitor live flight information.

Latest flight information is available here and will be continuously updated throughout the day.

Ryanair apologises sincerely for any disruption to passengers as a result of the adverse weather across Europe.

Passengers who were due to travel and were booked to travel on one of the below cancelled flights can move to the next available flight free of charge or apply for a refund on their unused flight(s) by clicking on one of the below links

TO REBOOK FREE ONLINE:

Customers who are booked to travel on one of the below cancelled flights can rebook to the same destination airport on an alternative flight free of charge, subject to availability, by clicking on the link below. Customers can access this link up to the 26/12/2009 for travel on flights up to the 27/12/2009.

Click here to rebook your flight

However, please note that if your booking has a return flight included and you have already checked in for this flight you will NOT be able to transfer your flight to a different departure airport online. If you wish to do this you will need to call our reservation centre on the following number. Alternatively, go to the airport ticket desk and they will transfer you onto an alternative flight. We have instructed airports that passengers affected by these flight cancellations may not be able to check-in online and therefore airport staff will reissue boarding passes at the airport free of charge.

Ryanair Reservations +44 871 246 0000 - Monday 21st - Wednesday 23rd - from 08:00 to 18:00 hours (GMT) and Thursday 24th from 09:00 to 16:00 hours (GMT)

TO APPLY FOR A REFUND ONLINE:

Customers who are booked on any of the below flights, who wish to cancel and claim a full refund on the unused flight(s) can do so directly by clicking on the link below and entering the required details. Refunds will be processed in 10 working days back to the form of payment used to pay for the booking.

Click here to apply for a refund of a cancelled flight

Click here for the written notice setting out the rules for compensation and assistance in line with the Regulation EU Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004.

24/12/2009

Flight No.	Departure Airport	Arrival Airport	Dep.	Arr.
FR8175	Lanzarote	Brussels Charleroi	10:20	15:35
FR7125	Lanazrote	Dublin	10:50	15:15
FR9829	Oslo (Torp)	Frankfurt (Hahn)	13:45	15:35

23/12/2009

Flight No.	Departure Airport	Arrival Airport	Dep.	Arr.
FR7683	City of Derry	Glasgow Prestwick	10:10	10:55
FR1169	City of Derry	Birmingham	13:40	14:55
FR9885	City of Derry	Liverpool John Lennon	14:15	15:10
FR8086	Riga	Charleroi Brussels	14:25	16:00
FR5444	Madrid	Paris Beauvais	16:35	18:45
FR5445	Paris Beauvais	Madrid	19:10	21:25
FR5303	Madrid	Valencia	19:30	20:25
FR2734	Riga	Tampere	19:45	20:50
FR1424	Liverpool	Belfast City	20:10	21:00
FR5304	Valencia	Madrid	21:05	22:00
FR2735	Tampere	Riga	21:15	22:20
FR2149	Kaunas	London Stansted	21:20	21:50
FR7843	Murcia	Prestwick Glasgow	21:20	23:20
FR1425	Belfast City	Liverpool	21:25	22:15
FR1215	Kaunus	Birmingham	21:50	22:45
FR2972	Kaunas	Dublin	22:20	23:35
FR157	Leeds-Bradford	Dublin	22:30	23:20

22/12/2009

Flight No.	Departure Airport	Arrival Airport	Dep.	Arr.
FR1941	Stockholm Skavsta	Milan Bergamo	06:50	09:25
FR1942	Milan Bergamo	Stockholm Skavsta	10:00	12:30
FR1943	Stockholm Skavsta	Milan Bergamo	20:50	23:25
FR1944	Milan Bergamo	Stockholm Skavsta	17:55	20:25
FR2149	Kaunas	London Stansted	21:20	21:50
FR29	Paris Beauvais	Dublin	22:20	22:45
FR305	Salzburg	London Stansted	10:05	10:55
FR3254	London Stansted	Dusseldorf Weeze	13:25	15:35
FR3255	Dusseldorf Weeze	London Stansted	12:50	13:00
FR3467	Kaunas	London Luton	21:55	22:40
FR4015	Milan Bergamo	Pescara	08:05	09:15
FR4016	Pescara	Milan Bergamo	06:30	07:40
FR4184	London Stansted	Milan Bergamo	06:30	09:30
FR4185	Milan Bergamo	London Stansted	09:55	11:00
FR4231	Milan Bergamo	Paris Beauvais	06:30	08:05
FR4232	Paris Beauvais	Milan Bergamo	08:30	09:55
FR4273	Milan Bergamo	Barcelona Girona	08:40	10:05
FR4274	Barcelona Girona	Milan Bergamo	06:50	08:15
FR4311	Bologna	Katowice	14:55	16:50
FR4312	Katowice	Bologna	17:15	19:10
FR4391	Milan Bergamo	Lubeck	10:25	12:05
FR4392	Lubeck	Milan Bergamo	12:30	14:05
FR4522	Brussels Charleroi	Milan Bergamo	06:20	07:55
FR4523	Milan Bergamo	Brussels Charleroi	08:20	09:55
FR4542	Milan Bergamo	Rygge	13:00	15:35
FR4543	Rygge	Milan Bergamo	16:00	18:25
FR4631	Milan Bergamo	Valencia	07:45	09:40
FR4632	Valencia	Milan Bergamo	10:05	11:15
FR4634	Zaragoza	Milan Bergamo	19:00	20:50
FR4635	Milan Bergamo	Seville	06:25	08:55
FR4636	Seville	Milan Bergamo	09:25	11:25
FR4658	Milan Bergamo	Bari	06:30	08:00
FR4659	Bari	Milan Bergamo	08:25	10:00
FR4702	Milan Bergamo	Porto	06:35	08:15
FR4703	Porto	Milan Bergamo	08:40	12:15
FR4708	Milan Bergamo	Alghero	10:40	12:00
FR4709	Alghero	Milan Bergamo	12:25	13:45
FR4732	Berlin Schonefeld	Milan Bergamo	11:40	13:15
FR4733	Milan Bergamo	Berlin Schonefeld	09:40	11:15
FR4734	Milan Bergamo	Rome Ciampino	06:30	07:40
FR4735	Rome Ciampino	Milan Bergamo	08:05	09:15
FR4862	Brussels Charleroi	Bologna	15:15	16:55
FR4863	Bologna	Bussels Charleroi	17:20	19:10
FR5192	Milan Bergamo	Lamezia	07:15	08:55
FR5193	Lamezia	Milan Bergamo	09:20	11:00
FR5203	Milan Bergamo	Frankfurt Hahn	06:40	08:00
FR5204	Frankfurt Hahn	Milan Bergamo	08:25	09:40
FR5393	Lamezia	Milan Bergamo	13:35	15:15
FR5932	Milan Bergamo	Lamezia	11:30	13:10
FR5991	Madrid	Milan Bergamo	06:00	08:15
FR5992	Milan Bergamo	Madrid	08:40	11:00
FR6226	Dusseldorf Weeze	Venice Treviso	18:55	20:30
FR6227	Venice Treviso	Dusseldorf Weeze	20:55	22:35
FR6876	Milan Bergamo	Krakow	07:00	08:50
FR6877	Krakow	Milan Bergamo	09:15	11:05
FR7702	Dusseldorf Weeze	Agadir	14:05	16:55
FR7703	Agadir	Dusseldorf Weeze	17:20	22:10
FR7748	Milan Bergamo	Cagliari	08:20	09:50
FR7749	Cagliari	Milan Bergamo	06:30	07:55
FR799	Venice Treviso	London Stansted	22:25	23:30
FR8142	London Luton	Knock	09:40	11:05
FR8143	Knock	London Luton	11:30	12:50
FR8262	Bristol	Milan Bergamo	06:30	09:45
FR8263	Milan Bergamo	Bristol	10:10	11:10
FR8636	Dusseldorf Weeze	Marrakesh	14:50	17:45
FR8637	Marrakesh	Dusseldorf Weeze	18:10	23:15
FR8892	Milan Bergamo	Palermo	06:30	08:10
FR8893	Palermo	Milan Bergamo	08:35	10:15
FR9003	Billund	Girona Barcelona	13:20	15:55
FR9079	Leeds Bradford	Alicante	19:55	23:35
FR9091	Milan Bergamo	Trapani	08:30	10:05
FR9092	Trapani	Milan Bergamo	06:30	08:05
FR9426	Dublin	Milan Bergamo	06:25	10:05
FR9427	Milan Bergamo	Dublin	10:35	12:15
FR9461	Rome Ciampino	Milan Bergamo	06:30	07:40
FR9462	Milan Bergamo	Rome Ciampino	08:05	09:15
FR9462	Milan Bergamo	Rome Ciampino	08:05	09:15
FR9634	Billund	Rome Ciampino	09:50	12:35
FR9671	Rome Ciampino	Dusseldorf Weeze	19:45	21:55
FR9672	Dusseldorf Weeze	Rome Ciampino	17:10	19:20

21/12/2009

Flight No.	Departure Airport	Arrival Airport	Dep.	Arr.
FR757	Frankfurt Hahn	London Stansted	23:20	23:40
FR65	Paris Beauvais	Glasgow Prestwick	22:35	23:05
FR2317	Bratislava	London Stansted	22:30	23:45
FR4806	Genoa	Cagliari	22:25	23:45
FR4806	Genoa	Gagliari	22:25	23:45
FR8364	Seville	London Stansted	22:15	23:55
FR9093	Milan Bergamo	Trapani	22:15	23:50
FR426	Glasgow Prestwick	London Stansted	22:10	23:20
FR4197	Milan Bergamo	London Stansted	22:05	23:05
FR9466	Milan Bergamo	Rome Ciampino	22:05	23:15
FR1395	Rygge	London Stansted	22:00	23:10
FR342	Dublin	London Luton	22:00	23:05
FR8547	Berlin Schonefeld	London Stansted	21:55	22:40
FR4236	Paris Beauvais	Milan Bergamo	21:50	23:10
FR298	Dublin	London Stansted	21:45	22:55
FR108	Shannon	London Stansted	21:45	23:05
FR4643	Bratislava	Milan Bergamo	21:45	23:05
FR2195	Tampere	London Stansted	21:40	22:30
FR9775	Karlsruhe Baden	London Stansted	21:35	22:00
FR1627	Berlin Schonefeld	Stockholm Skavsta	21:35	22:10
FR4446	Dublin	Kerry	21:30	22:20
FR4738	Berlin Schonefeld	Milan Bergamo	21:30	23:05
FR4277	Milan Bergamo	Barcelona Girona	21:25	22:50
FR5207	Milan Bergamo	Frankfurt Hahn	21:25	22:40
FR2149	Kaunas	London Stansted	21:20	21:50
FR969	Gothenburg City	London Stansted	21:20	22:10
FR843	Kerry	London Luton	21:20	22:45
FR9807	Barcelona Girona	London Stansted	21:15	22:25
FR8348	Porto	London Stansted	21:15	23:35
FR4525	Milan Bergamo	Brussels Charleroi	21:10	22:40
FR2835	Brussels Charleroi	Shannon	21:00	21:40
FR5372	London Gatwick	Madrid	21:00	00:15
FR5996	Milan Bergamo	Madrid	21:00	23:30
FR9429	Milan Bergamo	Dublin	21:00	22:45
FR5179	Billund	London Stansted	20:55	21:30
FR4887	Bari	Milan Bergamo	20:55	22:25
FR1943	Stockholm Skavsta	Milan Bergamo	20:50	23:25
FR293	London Stansted	Dublin	20:45	21:20
FR3883	Malta	London Luton	20:45	23:05
FR2054	Palma Mallorca	Madrid	20:40	22:00
FR758	London Stansted	Frankfurt Hahn	20:40	22:55
FR8169	Katowice	London Stansted	20:35	22:00
FR419	London Stansted	Glasgow Prestwick	20:30	21:40
FR9388	East Midlands	Girona	20:30	23:35
FR9465	Rome Ciampino	Milan Bergamo	20:30	21:40
FR4805	Cagliari	Genoa	20:25	22:00
FR341	london Luton	Dublin	20:25	21:35
FR8607	Milan Bergamo	Dusseldorf Weeze	20:20	22:00
FR9094	Trapani	Milan Bergamo	20:15	21:50
FR4445	Kerry	Dublin	20:15	21:05
FR2613	Santander	London Stansted	20:10	21:00
FR109	London Stansted	Shannon	20:00	21:20
FR4642	Milan Bergamo	Bratislava	20:00	21:20
FR4664	Valencia	Milan Bergamo	19:55	21:45
FR4235	Milan Bergamo	Paris Beauvais	19:50	21:25
FR5208	Frankfurt Hahn	Milan Bergamo	19:50	21:00
FR8993	Palermo	Milan Bergamo	19:45	21:25
FR8263	Milan Bergamo	Bristol	19:45	20:45
FR4793	Santander	Milan Bergamo	19:40	22:00
FR4278	Barcelona Girona	Milan Bergamo	19:35	21:00
FR437	Hamburg Lubeck	London Stansted	19:35	20:05
FR4737	Milan Bergamo	Berlin Schonefeld	19:30	21:05
FR1383	Zaragosza	Brussels Charleroi	19:25	21:30
FR842	London Luton	Kerry	19:25	20:55
FR4526	Brussels Charleroi	Milan Bergamo	19:20	20:45
FR5371	Madrid	London Gatwick	19:20	20:35
FR1626	Stockholm Skavsta	Berlin Schonefeld	19:20	21:00
FR4195	Milan Bergamo	London Stansted	19:15	20:15
FR9409	Venice Treviso	Rome Ciampino	19:05	20:05
FR4886	Milan Bergamo	Bari	19:00	20:30
FR2316	London Stansted	Bratislava	18:55	22:05
FR5093	Lamezia	Milan Bergamo	18:55	20:35
FR9387	Girona	East Midlands	18:50	20:05
FR2053	Madrid	Palma Mallorca	18:45	20:05
FR4198	London Stansted	Milan Bergamo	18:45	21:40
FR8546	London Stansted	Berlin Schonefeld	18:45	21:30
FR9774	London Stansted	Karlsruhe Baden	18:40	21:10
FR8347	London Stansted	Porto	18:30	20:50
FR1394	London Stansted	Rygge	18:25	21:35
FR3453	Murcia	London Luton	18:25	20:00
FR8606	Dusseldorf Weeze	Milan Bergamo	18:25	19:55
FR5995	Madrid	Milan Bergamo	18:20	20:35
FR9115	Milan Bergamo	Trapani	18:15	19:50
FR8363	London Stansted	Seville	18:05	21:45
FR4707	Cagliari	Milan Bergamo	18:00	19:25
FR5178	London Stansted	Billund	18:00	20:30
FR968	London Stansted	Gothenburg City	18:00	20:55
FR1944	Milan Bergamo	Skavsta	17:55	20:25
FR2836	Shannon	Brussels Charleroi	17:55	20:35
FR5547	Santander	Madrid	17:55	19:05
FR4538	Liverpool	Milan Bergamo	17:50	21:05
FR8992	Milan Bergamo	Palermo	17:40	19:20
FR9806	London Stansted	Barcelona Girona	17:40	20:50
FR4536	Eindhoven	Milan Bergamo	17:35	19:05
FR9408	Rome Ciampino	Venice Treviso	17:35	18:40
FR4663	Milan Bergamo	Valencia	17:30	19:25
FR9238	Parma	Alghero	17:25	18:40
FR4532	Oslo Torp	Milan Bergamo	17:10	19:35
FR5092	Milan Bergamo	Lamezia	16:50	18:30
FR8168	London Stansted	Katowice	16:50	20:10
FR436	London Stansted	Hamburg Lubeck	16:45	19:10
FR4634	Zaragosza	Milan Bergamo	16:45	18:35
FR4792	Milan Bergamo	Santander	16:45	19:05
FR702	Kerry	London Stansted	16:30	17:55
FR2148	London Stansted	Kaunas	16:20	20:55
FR5546	Madrid	Santander	16:20	17:30
FR4537	Milan Bergamo	Liverpool	16:10	17:25
FR4706	Milan Bergamo	Cagliari	16:05	17:35
FR9464	Milan Bergamo	Rome Ciampino	16:05	17:10
FR5314	Valencia	Madrid	16:00	16:55
FR3882	london Luton	Malta	16:00	20:20
FR5982	Milan Bergamo	Madrid	15:50	18:15
FR4535	Milan Bergamo	Eindhoven	15:35	17:10
FR4028	Santiago De Compostela	Madrid	15:30	16:35
FR5377	Granada	Madrid	14:45	15:45
FR5473	Girona	Madrid	14:45	16:05
FR5313	Madrid	Valencia	14:35	15:30
FR3452	London Luton	Murcia	14:25	18:00
FR4027	Madrid	Santiago De Compostela	13:50	15:00
FR5376	Madrid	Granada	13:15	14:20
FR5472	Madrid	Girona	13:05	14:20
FR2016	Lanzarote	Madrid	12:00	15:40
FR2052	Palma	Madrid	11:35	12:55
FR5316	Santiago De Compostela	Madrid	11:05	12:10
FR2051	Madrid	Palma	09:40	11:00
FR5315	Madrid	Santiago De Compostela	09:35	10:40
FR2015	Madrid	Lanzarote	09:30	11:15
FR4442	Dublin	Kerry	07:45	08:35
FR4441	Kerry	Dublin	06:30	07:20

20/12/2009

Flight No.	Departure Airport	Arrival Airport	Dep.	Arr.
FR6416	Almeria	Dusseldorf Weeze	17:05	20:05
FR4525	Bergamo Milan	Charleroi Brussels	2110	2240
FR9466	Bergamo Milan	Rome Ciampino	2205	2310
FR2167	Berlin Schonefeld	Dusseldorf Weeze	21:40	22:55
FR9704	Berlin Schonefeld	Stockholm Skavsta	08:35	10:20
FR4305	Bologna	Dusseldorf Weeze	20:30	22:20
FR4566	Brussels Charleroi	Figari	11:10	13:15
FR4524	Brussels Charleroi	Milan Bergamo	11:15	13:30
FR3745	Brussels Charleroi	Pisa	10:30	12:10
FR8085	Brussels Charleroi	Riga	10:55	14:20
FR9565	Brussels Charleroi	Stockholm Skavsta	09:05	10:55
FR1911	Brussels Charleroi	Valladolid	11:30	13:30
FR1386	Charleroi Brussels	Porto	2200	2325
FR4526	Charleroi Brussels	Bergamo Milan	1920	2045
FR9567	Charleroi Brussels	Stockholm Skavsta	2140	2330
FR9787	Constanta	Pisa	10:05	11:35
FR962	Dublin	Stockholm Skavsta	09:20	13:00
FR6415	Dusseldorf Weeze	Almeria	13:40	16:40
FR2166	Dusseldorf Weeze	Berlin Schonefeld	20:00	21:15
FR4306	Dusseldorf Weeze	Bologna	18:15	20:05
FR6241	Dusseldorf Weeze	Edinburgh	14:35	15:10
FR9294	Dusseldorf Weeze	Girona Barcelona	13:15	15:25
FR6236	Dusseldorf Weeze	Gothenbug City	10:00	11:35
FR6118	Dusseldorf Weeze	Gran Canaria	13:10	16:50
FR3233	Dusseldorf Weeze	London Stansted	18:25	18:35
FR3259	Dusseldorf Weeze	London Stansted	20:30	20:40
FR8612	Dusseldorf Weeze	Malaga	16:15	19:05
FR8636	Dusseldorf Weeze	Marrakesh	14:50	17:45
FR8606	Dusseldorf Weeze	Milan Bergamo	10:20	11:50
FR6234	Dusseldorf Weeze	Oslo Torp	14:35	16:30
FR6218	Dusseldorf Weeze	Palma Mallorca	14:20	16:35
FR6232	Dusseldorf Weeze	Riga	07:00	10:10
FR9672	Dusseldorf Weeze	Rome Ciampino	09:50	12:00
FR8622	Dusseldorf Weeze	Seville	07:30	10:15
FR1952	Dusseldorf Weeze	Stockholm Skavsta	19:15	21:05
FR6228	Dusseldorf Weeze	Tenerife South	07:00	10:55
FR7523	Eindhoven	Alicante	17:25	20:10
FR5407	Eindhoven	Madrid	10:35	13:15
FR4536	Eindhoven	Milan Bergamo	17:35	19:05
FR7473	Eindhoven	Porto	10:45	12:25
FR9616	Eindhoven	Rome Ciampino	14:30	16:30
FR9626	Eindhoven	Rome Ciampino	19:55	21:55
FR5703	Fez	Frank Furt Hahn	1825	2300
FR7757	Fez	Madrid	1810	2045
FR9293	Girona Barcelona	Dusseldorf Weeze	15:50	18:00
FR6119	Gran Canaria	Dusseldorf Weeze	17:15	22:50
FR7767	Granada	Madrid	2245	2345
FR3232	London Stansted	Dusseldorf Weeze	19:00	21:10
FR3258	London Stansted	Dusseldorf Weeze	21:05	23:15
FR7766	Madrid	Granada	2120	2220
FR8613	Malaga	Dusseldorf Weeze	19:40	22:50
FR555	Manchester	Dublin	14:10	15:05
FR559	Manchester	Dublin	2140	2230
FR8637	Marrakesh	Dusseldorf Weeze	18:10	23:15
FR6235	Oslo Torp	Dusseldorf Weeze	16:55	18:50
FR6219	Palma Mallorca	Dusseldorf Weeze	17:10	19:35
FR9504	Paris Beauvais	Stockholm Skavsta	12:30	14:40
FR3746	Pisa	Brussels Charleroi	12:35	14:25
FR8086	Riga	Brussels Charleroi	14:45	16:20
FR6233	Riga	Dusseldorf Weeze	10:35	11:45
FR9465	Rome Ciampino	Bergamo Milan	2030	2140
FR9625	Rome Ciampino	Eindhoven	17:20	19:30
FR1932	Rome Ciampino	Stockholm Skavsta	10:10	13:10
FR1604	Rygge	Stockholm Skavsta	08:25	09:25
FR8623	Seville	Dusseldorf Weeze	10:45	14:00
FR9703	Stockholm Skavsta	Berlin Schonefeld	06:30	08:10
FR9564	Stockholm Skavsta	Brussels Charleroi	06:30	09:05
FR9566	Stockholm Skavsta	Charleroi Brussels	1905	2115
FR963	Stockholm Skavsta	Dublin	07:10	08:05
FR1951	Stockholm Skavsta	Dusseldorf Weeze	21:30	23:25
FR1823	Stockholm Skavsta	Eindhoven	15:40	17:30
FR53	Stockholm Skavsta	London Stansted	09:40	10:55
FR9503	Stockholm Skavsta	Paris Beauvais	09:50	12:05
FR1931	Stockholm Skavsta	Rome Ciampino	06:50	09:45
FR1601	Stockholm Skavsta	Rygge	07:00	08:00
FR6229	Tenerife South	Dusseldorf Weeze	11:20	17:00
FR1912	Valladolid	Brussels Charleroi	13:55	16:05
FR8093	Venice Treviso	Frank Furt Hahn	2230	2350
FR9409	Venice Treviso	Rome Ciampino	19:05	20:05

19/12/2009

Flight No.	Departure Airport	Arrival Airport	Dep.	Arr.
FR4315	Bologna	Bari	630	750
FR4316	Bari	Bologna	815	935
FR9994	Pisa	Palermo	1105	1255
FR9995	Palermo	Pisa	1255	1420
FR9986	Pisa	Trapani	945	1110
FR9987	Trapani	Pisa	1135	1300
FR9926	Pisa	Alghero	950	1100
FR9927	Alghero	Pisa	1125	1230
FR6054	Treviso Venice	Charleroi Brussels	830	1005
FR5557	Haugesund	Bremen	1250	1415
FR9554	Memmingen (Munich West)	Girona Barcelona	1240	1425
FR1235	Pisa	Frankfurt Hahn	1305	1435
FR3746	Pisa	Charleroi Brussels	1235	1425
FR9451	Treviso Venice	Dublin	1415	1555
FR583	Pisa	London Stansted	640	800
FR5599	Haugesund	Alicante	2000	2345
FR4338	Bologna	Brindisi	1945	2115
FR4339	Brindisi	Bologna	2140	2310
FR6423	Bologna	Valencia	1455	1655
FR6422	Valencia	Bologna	1730	1930
FR4301	Bologna	Trapani	630	755
FR4302	Trapani	Bologna	820	945
FR8093	Venice Treviso	Frank Furt Hahn	2125	2245
FR6056	Venice Treviso	Charleroi Brussels	2125	2255

18/12/2009

Flight No.	Departure Airport	Arrival Airport	Dep.	Arr.
FR8776	London Stansted	Limoges	08:00	10:30
FR8777	Limoges	London Stansted	10:55	11:35
FR3882	Luton	Malta	16:00	20:20
FR3883	Malta	Luton	20:45	23:05
FR337	Luton	Dublin	09:25	10:35
FR338	Dublin	Luton	11:00	12:05
FR3515	Luton	Las Palmas	12:55	17:20
FR3616	Las Palmas	Luton	17:45	22:10
FR8142	Luton	Knock	09:40	11:05
FR8143	Knock	Luton	11:30	12:50
FR3768	Luton	Girona	14:30	17:30
FR3769	Girona	Luton	17:55	19:00
FR842	Luton	Kerry	19:25	20:55
FR843	Kerry	Luton	21:20	22:45
FR3461	Luton	Derry	07:25	08:50
FR3462	Derry	Luton	09:15	10:35
FR3452	Luton	Murcia	14:25	18:00
FR3453	Murcia	Luton	18:25	20:00
FR341	Luton	Dublin	20:25	21:35
FR342	Dublin	Luton	22:00	23:05
FR3506	Luton	Marrakesh	06:00	09:35
FR3507	Marrakesh	Luton	10:00	13:40
FR73	Carcassonne	Stansted	14:40	15:35
FR3643	Bremen	Bergamo	14:45	16:50

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A small introduction and facts and figures about Alghero airport

2009-12-06T03:28:00.001-08:00

For many tourists who come with low cost Irish airline Ryanair to the island, the Alghero airport is their gateway to Sardinia. The regional airport of Sassari and Alghero was, until several years ago, only a few timetables of Italian airlines like Alitalia flying in from Rome and Milan. Since 2000, Alghero is regularly used by Ryanair passengers from across Europe. Since 2009, Alghero-Fertilia is base of the Irish budget carrier. The small airport to the coastal town of Alghero allows a year-round international tourism. But although Alghero will handle first time in 2009 more than 1.5 million passengers and passenger numbers have tripled in the last ten years, it is the smallest commercial airport on the island.

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TUI Travel takes Air Berlin stake

2009-10-31T16:17:00.000-07:00

TUI Travel takes Air Berlin stake, BBC reported on October 9th, 2009.
TUI Travel is to take a 9.9% stake in Air Berlin, in a deal that will give Germany's second-largest airline 33.5m euros ($49.4m; £30.8m) in new capital.
Hannover-based TUI says its Leibniz-Service company will complete the transaction later in October.
Air Berlin recently received approval to takeover several routes of TUI's own airline, TUIfly and thus flies to Sardinia (Olbia and Cagliari) from the German cities of Cologne, Stuttgart and Munich into Sardinia under an Airberlin flight number.
The proceeds from the deal will be used for general corporate purposes, Air Berlin says.
In September, Air Berlin and TUIfly scrapped plans for a cross-shareholding deal.

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Ryanair comes back to Alghero - More flights to Sardinia in 2010

2009-10-31T15:55:00.000-07:00

Ryanair will not abandon Alghero (Italy). It will instead increase its presence on the "Riviera del Corallo" airport, as stated by the president of Sardinia's regional government Ugo Cappellacci after a meeting in Dublin with Alghero's major Marco Tedde and Ryanair's deputy CEO Michael Cawely in October. The aim of the low-cost is airline would be to reach 140-150 thousand passengers for its national and international links with Fertilia's airport. "We have verified and shared a path that will now be examined by the heads of the airline with SOGEAAL's managers, to pass the current impasse -Cappellacci stated- Ryanair will restore routes to Frankfurt and Madrid and is ready to study further development hypothesises for Alghero, besides the traditional route to Barcelona". The problem stood out in recent weeks when the Irish carrier announced its intention to leave Alghero in order to point on Cagliari, generating protests from local institutions (see AVIONEWS). "Obviously -the president of the Region said- these solutions are not in contrast or alternate to Ryanair's further development programmes at Cagliari-Elmas airport". (Avionews)

All Ryanair destinations from and to Alghero:

Bari 3,00Bruxelles (Charleroi) 3,00Francoforte-Hahn NEW 3,00Girona (Barcelona) 3,00Madrid NEW 3,00Milano (Bergamo) 3,00Parigi-Beauvais 3,00Parma
3,00Pisa 3,00Roma (Ciampino) 3,00Venezia-Treviso 3,00Verona (Brescia) 9,99Ancona NEW 23,82Billund NEW 23,82Dublino NEW 23,82Düsseldorf (Weeze) NEW
23,82Eindhoven NEW 23,82Liverpool NEW 23,82Londra-Stansted 23,82Memmingen (Munich West) NEW 23,82Oslo (Torp) NEW 23,82Reus (Barcelona) NEW 23,82Stoccolma Skavsta NEW

Fares From Italy:
Ancona
Bari
Bologna
Brindisi
Cagliari
Cuneo
Genova
Lamezia
Milano (Bergamo)
Olbia
Palermo
Parma
Perugia NEW
Pescara
Pisa
Rimini
Roma (Ciampino)
Torino
Trapani
Trieste
Venezia-Treviso
Verona (Brescia)

Longevity Examiner: More from the Sardinian Blue Zone for healthy longevity

2009-10-27T01:15:00.000-07:00

Dan Buettner, author of “The Blue Zone: Lessons for Living Longer from the People who’ve Lived the Longest”, wanted to interview someone younger than 100 in Sardinia, Italy to get a better feel for what exactly makes up the traditional values of the Sardinians that enables them to live long and vigorous lives.

Examiner.com

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bmibaby announce massive expansion plan from East Midlands Airport

2009-09-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

bmibaby has announced a massive expansion plan from East Midlands Airport (East Midlands Airport : Nottingham, Leicester & Derby). The plan breaks down into three key initiatives:
1. Three additional aircraft to be based at East Midland Airport
2. Eight new European routes from the airport to: Alghero (Sardinia), Barcelona, Bastia (Corsica), Cork, Dubrovnik (Croatia), Malta, Newquay and Venice
3. Increased frequencies on key winter and summer routes, with the addition of Palma to the winter flying programme, and a year round service to Geneva and Prague
As a result of the new routes and additional frequencies, the airlines’ capacity will increase by 40 per cent from East Midlands Airport. bmibaby’s expansion plan will mean that an additional 350,000 passengers will fly with the airline from East Midlands Airport in 2010, and an additional 2,872 flights will be operated by the airline next year from the airport. Flights will go on sale today (09 September, 2009) and are available to book at http://www.bmibaby.com/. The news comes just days after easyJet announced its departure from East Midlands Airport.

Flight Schedule for Alghero:

Alghero (Sardinia)
29 May 2010 to 25 September 2010
Saturday
£39.99

bmibaby now offer 24 European destinations from East Midlands Airport: Alghero (Sardinia), Alicante, Almeria, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bastia (Corsica), Belfast International, Cork, Dubrovnik (Croatia), Edinburgh, Faro, Geneva, Glasgow International, Grenoble, Jersey, Malaga, Malta, Menorca, Newquay, Nice, Palma, Paris (CDG), Prague and Venice.
Crawford Rix, managing director, bmibaby, said:
“Our rapid expansion programme at East Midlands Airport is fantastic news for the Midlands. It not only further demonstrates our commitment to the airport, but also to the people of the region, as we continue to offer low fares to a range of exciting new European destinations.
“As well as announcing eight new routes today to Sardinia, Barcelona, Corsica, Cork, Croatia, Malta, Newquay and Venice, we have also increased our capacity on key winter and summer routes to meet the extra consumer demand.
“We are confident that the services will prove extremely popular and we will make sure that everyone who wants to fly can, whether it’s for a sunshine holiday, a city break or for an important business trip.
“We continue to be a champion of the consumer market – currently we are offering no credit and debit card fees on all flights, and skis and snow boards fly free of charge on bookings to any of our ski destinations. Plus all passengers travelling with us are allocated a seat, so there is no need to dash for seat, and customers can enjoy the benefits of the UK’s most generous frequent flyer programme - bmi diamond club.
“bmibaby and bmi have operated from East Midlands since the airport opened in 1965 – and is an embedded part of the local community. We recognise the size of the East Midlands market and its future potential, and we will continue to offer the people of the East Midlands low cost flights with a high quality service. bmibaby is here to stay!”
Penny Coates, managing director, East Midlands Airport, said:
"This is fantastic news for our passengers because bmibaby are not only adding new routes but also extra destinations for summer 2010, a significant increase in the number of flights to popular winter and summer destinations, and the addition of three based aircraft, meaning an even greater choice.
"The bmi group have served the East Midlands region for 45 years; they are a local, long term operator that is committed to the growth of the East Midlands region. bmibaby has continued to go from strength to strength with their East Midlands Airport operation by providing a comprehensive range of business and leisure destinations combined with competitive low fares.
"Offering 24 European destinations shows that bmibaby is committed to the airport and the region and we are looking forward to working with them to make these new routes a great success."

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Looking for a flight - check out Bravofly.co.uk

Ryanair to increase cost of checking in luggage

2009-09-06T03:07:00.000-07:00

Ryanair is increasing its luggage check-in charges from next month, the Guardian reports. The cost of checking in a bag will rise from £20 to £30 for a return flight, while a second bag charge will increase from £40 to £70. Ryanair said the higher fees would reduce the amount of checked-in luggage and cut baggage-handling costs, allowing the airline to cut fares. Seven out of 10 Ryanair passengers now travel with one piece of hand luggage, the budget airline said. It added that a 20% reduction in fares would save passengers €500m (£435m) this year while the bag charges would add just €100m to travellers' costs. (Photo: Flickr)

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Italian airport traffic down less than 1% in July; Bologna and Bergamo up more than 10%

2009-09-06T03:00:00.000-07:00

Latest traffic figures for Italian airports show that in July many airports were once again reporting growth. Overall total passenger numbers are down less than 1% in July, with domestic traffic up almost 1% and international traffic down just under 2%. Bologna and Milan Bergamo are the fastest growing of the major airports reporting 14.1% and 16.9% growth respectively. Palermo, Pisa and Rome Ciampino also reported growth in July, but Italy’s two biggest airports at Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa saw demand fall by 7.3% and 2.6% respectively.

Among smaller airports reporting significant growth in July were Trapani (+113.3%), Cuneo (+35.5%), Perugia (+25.0%), Bari (+21.2%), Cagliari (+21.2%) and Alghero (+19.1%).
Year to date traffic down 6.4%
For the period January to July total passenger traffic is down 6.4% compared with 2008, with domestic traffic down 6.5% and international traffic down 6.2%. However, some of the larger airports have reported modest growth such as Bergamo (6.8% growth driven by a 46% increase in domestic traffic as international traffic fell 1.2%), Bologna (+6.5%) and Pisa (+0.9%).

Source: Anna.aereo

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Car hire shortages at all Sardinian airports

2009-08-19T12:36:00.000-07:00

Holidaymakers across the UK and Europe are facing bigger bills for hire cars - or risk not getting one at all - due to a shortage of vehicles. All Sardinia airports including Alghero report shortages for August.
Hire firms have not replaced fleets because they expected fewer tourists. They have also had difficulty accessing finance, industry figures say.
One of the few hire brokers still having available cars and cabriolets is the America based car hire company Auto Europe:

Car rental discount rates from Alghero airport (in EUR)
Car Hire at Alghero airport (in GBP)

Ryanair Launches 1 Million €8 Seat Sale: Travel in late Sept, Oct & Nov

2009-08-18T06:31:00.000-07:00

Ryanair, the World’s favourite airline, will at midnight tonight (24:00hrs 17th Aug) release 1million seats at an all inclusive price of €8 for travel in late Sept, Oct and Nov. These €8 fares will be available on over 500 of Ryanair’s European routes but must be booked on http://www.ryanair.com/ before midnight (24:00hrs) Thursday (20th Aug).

Ryanair’s €8 tickets include all taxes and charges so passengers who chose to avoid discretionary fees by paying with Visa Electron, travel with carry on luggage only and forego priority boarding can fly for this advertised €8 fare.

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:

“Ryanair provides Europe’s lowest fares and a no fuel surcharge guarantee. We continue to grow traffic rapidly thanks to our low fares and our on-time performance across our 900 routes and we release 1million €8 seats for travel on over 500 European destinations in late September, October and November. These seats can be booked until 24:00hrs this Thursday (20th August) and are sure to be snapped up fast so we urge passengers to book them on http://www.ryanair.com/ today, before they sell out.”

Ryanair News

Ryanair cuts nine out of 10 routes from Manchester Airport. This means routes to and from Cagliari in Sardinia will cease from October.

2009-08-18T06:21:00.000-07:00

Ryanair has announced it will cut nine out of 10 routes at Manchester Airport from October creating a loss of 60,000 passengers a year.
The low-cost carrier announced its decision yesterday blaming the airport's refusal to lower its charges for giving them no other option.
A total of 44 weekly Ryanair flights will be lost at Manchester from October 1as well as 600 local jobs.
The airline’s decision comes after cuts to its base at Stansted, as well as Dublin, in favour of cheaper airports elsewhere in the UK and on the Continent.

Ryanair said it had offered Manchester an additional 28 weekly flights and 400,000 new passengers which would have created 400 new jobs if the airport 'reduced its high charges' but airport bosses had rejected this offer.
This means routes to and from Barcelona (Girona), Bremen in Germany, Brussels (Charleroi), Cagliari in Sardinia, Dusseldorf (Weeze), Frankfurt (Hahn), Marseille, Milan (Bergamo) and Shannon will cease from October.
Passengers affected will be provided with a full refund from Ryanair or given the alternative of flying to some destinations from 'competing, lower-cost airports' such as East Midlands, Liverpool or the airline's new base at Leeds Bradford.

Traffic record at Alghero airport

2009-08-02T16:33:00.001-07:00

Riviera del Corallo aiport has had record numbers of traffic at the first weekend of August. 300 aircraft movements have moved between 45 and 50.000 passengers this weekend, Unione Sarda reports.

Ryanair cancels flights from Pisa to Alghero and Cagliari

2009-07-24T01:06:00.000-07:00

Ryanair regrets that we have been forced to cancel the following flights (detailed below), due to the earlier runway closure at Pisa Airport. This situation is outside of our control and Ryanair sincerely regrets that as a consequence, we have been forced to cancel the following flights:
Customers who were booked to travel on the cancelled flights can rebook their ticket free of charge, subject to availability, by clicking on the web link below. Customers can access this link up to the 25/07/2009 for travel on flights up to the 30/07/2009. However, if you wish to travel to your booked destination by transiting through another Ryanair airport/hub please go to the airport ticket desk where they adding the additional flight sectors free of charge.
https://www.bookryanair.com/SkySales/FRManageBooking.aspx?culture=EN-GB&pos=MYFLIGHT
Alternatively, for customers who are booked on any of the below flights, who wish to cancel and claim a full refund on the unused flight(s) please click on the link below and enter the required details. Due to the holiday period, refunds will be processed in 7-14 working days back to the form of payment used to pay for the booking.
http://schchng.ryanair.com/refweb.asp
Ryanair sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that these cancellations may cause.
23/07/2009

FR9933
Pisa-Cagliari
20:00-21:25

FR9934
Cagliari-Pisa
21:50 - 23:10

FR9928
Pisa-Alghero
20:30-21:40

FR9929
Alghero-Pisa
22:05-23:10

FR9988
Pisa-Trapani
20:30-21:55

FR9989
Trapani-Pisa
22:20-23:35

Ryanair.com 10 Hour Closure: 24/25 June (19:00hrs-05:00hrs GMT)

2009-06-23T03:17:00.000-07:00

Due to an essential reservation system upgrade the below services on www.ryanair.com will be unavailable on the 24/25 June 2009 (19:00hrs - 05:00hrs GMT). Ryanair strongly recommends that passengers travelling on Thursday 25th June 2009 ensure that they have checked in online and printed their boarding passes by 18:00hrs on the 24th June 2009.
Customers who booked flights on or before the 21st May and selected to use airport check-in will be unaffected and can check in at the airport as normal, please note that check-in desks close 40 minutes before the scheduled departure of the flight.

Online Check-in - Not available from 19:00 hrs(GMT) on Wednesday 24th June 2009 until 05:00hrs (GMT) on Thursday 25th June 2009.
Passengers should check-in online before or after the above closure times. Online check-in is available from 15 days before up to 4 hours prior to the flight departure time (except during the closure period). Customers booked on flights departing on the 25th June 2009 who are unable to check-in online will be reissued a boarding pass free of charge at the airport (please allow sufficient time to check-in at the airport and to obtain your boarding card).

New Bookings cannot be made on Ryanair.com between 21:30hrs (GMT) on Wednesday 24th June 2009 until 05:00hrs (GMT) Thursday 25th June 2009

Flight Changes (date/time/route) cannot be made between 21:30hrs (GMT) on Wednesday 24th June 2009 until 05:00hrs(GMT) Thursday 25th June 2009.

Review Existing Booking - This service is unavailable between 21:30 hrs (GMT) on Wednesday 24th June 2009 until 05:00hrs(GMT) Thursday 25th June 2009.

Airport Check-in/Bag Drop - Customers who booked flights on or before the 21st May and selected to use airport check-in will be unaffected and can check in at the airport as normal, please note that check-in desks close 40 minutes before the scheduled departure of the flight.
All passengers travelling with checked baggage, are recommended to arrive at the airport 2 hours before their scheduled flight departure time.

Carbon-Neutral Growth By 2020: Bold Industry Commitment on Environment

2009-06-08T05:50:00.000-07:00

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the airline industry is committed to achieving carbon-neutral growth by 2020.
“Two years ago we set a vision to achieve carbon-neutral growth on the way to a carbon-free future. Today we have taken a major step forward by committing to a global cap on our emissions in 2020. After this date, aviation’s emissions will not grow even as demand increases. Airlines are the first global industry to make such a bold commitment,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO in his State of the Industry address to 500 of the industry’s top leaders gathered in Kuala Lumpur for the 65th IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit.
The commitment to carbon-neutral growth completes a set of three sequential goals for air transport: (1) a 1.5% average annual improvement in fuel efficiency from 2009 to 2020; (2) carbon-neutral growth from 2020 and (3) a 50% absolute reduction in carbon emissions by 2050.
To achieve these goals, all players in the air transport industry are united in their proactive approach to environment. A cross industry four-pillar strategy on climate change that is focused on improved technology, effective operations, efficient infrastructure and positive economic measures is delivering results. In 2009 the carbon footprint of air transport is expected to shrink by 7%. Of this, 5% is due to the recession and 2% is directly related to efficiency gains from IATA’s four-pillar strategy. “No other industry is as united. And no other industry can point to such good results and progress,” said Bisignani.
Bisignani noted that the airlines’ commitment needed to be matched by governments. “We are ambitious, but our success will be contingent on governments acting effectively. ICAO must set binding carbon emissions standards on manufacturers for new aircraft. A legal and fiscal framework to support the availability of sustainable biofuels must be established. And governments must work with air navigation service providers to push forward major infrastructure projects such as a Single European Sky, NextGen in the US or fixing the Pearl River Delta in China,” said Bisignani.
The commitment to carbon-neutral growth by 2020 recognizes that technology, operations and infrastructure improvements alone will not be sufficient to stop growth in air transport’s carbon footprint. “Positive economic measures are needed to bridge the gap until the full benefits of future technologies—including sustainable biofuels—are realized,” said Bisignani.
The timing of the industry commitment to carbon-neutral growth is significant, as governments prepare for the UN climate change meeting in Copenhagen (December 2009) and the post-Kyoto discussions. IATA reiterated its call for a global sectoral approach for aviation in the successor to the Kyoto Protocol. Under such an approach, aviation’s emissions would be capped and accounted for globally, not by state. IATA would work with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to ensure compliance. “Airlines should get carbon credits for every cent we pay, whether in taxes, charges or ETS payments. And we should pay only once, not several times” said Bisignani.
“We can be proud of going farther and faster than any other industry. Air transport is a model for environment responsibility for other industries to follow. The challenge will be for governments to catch up,” said Bisignani.

Alghero airport bus connections to Alghero city

2009-06-07T16:02:00.001-07:00

Nine-teen bus rides per day connect Alghero Fertilia airport with the city of Alghero. A one-way ride takes about 20 minutes and costs 70 euro cents, to be paid directly to the driver. Bus stops are to the right once you leave the main airport building and are signalled well. Intermeidate stops of the organge Ferrovie della Sardegna busses are Via Vitt. Emanuele,Piazza Porta Terra, Lungomare Barcellona, Stazione Ferroviaria (train station), Via Don Minzoni, Via Liguria, V.le 1° Maggio and Fertilia - Piazza V. Giulia.

Departure times from Alghero city Via Cagliari - Casa del Caffè
05.00 05.40 06.30 07.30 08.30 09.30 10.30 11.30 12.30 13.30 14.30 15.30 16.30 17.30 18.30 19.30 20.30 21.30 22.30

Departure times from Alghero airport (as of June 1st 2009)
05.20 06.00 07.00 08.00 09.00 10.00 11.00 12.00 13.00 14.00 15.00 16.00 17.00 18.00 19.00 20.00 21.00 22.00 23.00

Check out the Alghero airport Official website for up-to date schedules of the Alghero- Alghero Fertilia airport shuttle service.

How to safe space in your hand luggage when travelling with Ryanair

2009-05-03T04:39:00.000-07:00

Next time you travel Ryanair, use your beach towel as a super hero outfit and save space!

Ryanair's extra charge for checked luggage can double the price of your discount ticket to Alghero. To avoid this and waiting around in the airport, it’s much better to fly only with hand luggage when you can and use your own body as an extra storage. But watch out that Ryanair might intoduce an extra body weight tax soon!

Around the world in 80 Mays. Video blog of travels & web 2.0 tips, in 7 languages

Eight thousand passengers on Alghero airport last weekend

2009-04-30T14:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Alghero airport has handled over 8000 passengers, alguer.it reports. April 25th is an Italian bank holiday and thus an interesting city break destination for Italian holiday makers.

Mobile OnAir: Use of cell phones allowed on Rome-Alghero routes

2009-04-30T14:40:00.000-07:00

Ryanair is now enabling in-flight cell phone calls on select aircraft. Other European airlines have tested wireless usage on a single aircraft, but Ryanair has already installed the service on 20 planes, with plans to expand to 50 within six months and eventually the entire fleet if it proves successful, the company said. The news service is called Mobile OnAir.
Ryanair confirmed the first flights to Alghero with inflight-telephone services are the national flights from Rome-Ciampino to North Western Sardinia, Alguer.it reports.

No Ryanair 'fat tax' if it delays flights

2009-04-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

Ryanair will only impose a "fat tax" on overweight passengers if it does not lead to flight delays, the chief executive of the Irish budget airline said Thursday.
"We are not going to introduce a fat tax unless it is easy to administer. If it is going to slow down either our check-in or our turnaround time then we won't do it," Micheal O'Leary told a news conference.
Last week the airline announced it was considering a "fat tax" after 29 percent of the more than 100,000 people who responded to an online poll on cost-reduction measures voted in favour of the measure.
Twenty-five percent of respondents voted to charge travelers one euro to use toilet paper adorned with a picture of O?Leary?s face and 24 percent voted to charge passengers three euros to smoke in a converted toilet cubicle.
Ryanair, which already charges separately for services like food onboard, launched the online poll after O'Leary caused a storm earlier this year by suggesting passengers could be charged to use toilets on planes.
It is now asking travellers online how any "fax tax" could be levied. The four options include charging male passengers who weigh over 130 kilogrammes (287 pounds) or females over 100kg for every extra kilogramme they carry.
Another alternative is charging for a second seat if a passenger's waist touches both armrests simultaneously.
The proposed measure sparked a fresh controversy with some suggesting it would be discriminatory and illegal if it is adopted, a charge O'Leary rejected.
"It is not against the law, we can make it a safety issue," he said.

AFP

Ryanair launches three new Italian bases: Alghero, Cagliari and Bologna

2009-04-07T14:42:00.000-07:00

Ryanair has launched three new Italian bases (now totaling seven) at Alghero, Bologna and Cagliari Airports offering a total of sixty-seven domestic and international routes, generating over four million passengers per annum and supporting four thousand jobs in Italy.

Ryanair will base two aircraft at each of these three airports bringing Ryanair’s total investment in Italy to twenty-six aircraft worth almost two billion dollars.

Celebrating these Italian Base Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:

“Ryanair and Italy today join in the celebration of continued low fares growth across Italy. Our three new bases in Alghero, Bologna and Cagliari will see over four million new passengers pass through these three airports over the next year on sixty-seven low cost domestic and international routes.

Easier.com
“Ryanair’s continued expansion in Italy during a time of economic recession shows the benefit of competition and low fares in Italy. Ryanair will carry over seventeen million passengers to/from Italy this year and will sustain seventeen-thousand jobs throughout the regions. Passengers can continue to beat the recession by choosing Ryanair’s guaranteed lowest fares and no fuel surcharges over Alitalia’s high fare, strike ridden services.

“Ryanair’s guaranteed lowest fares are available to book online at Ryanair.com”.

New flights to Alghero: Cheap flights carrier Ryanair will launch seven new flights to Memmingen next month

2009-03-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

Flights from the southern German town of Memmingen Allgäu, just off the fronierts of Austria and Switzerland, will travel to Alghero (Sardinia), Alicante, Barcelona (Girona), Barcelona (Reus), Dublin, Stansted and Pisa.

"Memmingen, which is approximately 100km west of Munich, provides Ryanair with a first and ideal gateway to southern Germany and the Bavarian region," Ryanair Officials said..

Just a few weeks ago Ryanair announced flights from Alghero to Graz (Austria), Billund (Denmark), Eindhoven (Netherlands) as well as national destinations Parma, Verona und Ancona.

More Route and Flight Cuts at Dublin. No cuts for Dublin Alghero

2009-03-16T10:00:00.001-07:00

Ryanair, Ireland’s largest airline, today (16th Mar) announced a further series of route, flight and frequency cuts at Dublin Airport from July, as the impact of the €10 tourist tax and other Government price hikes cause numbers at Dublin to decline – down 12% in February alone. Ryanair confirmed that these latest cuts were being implemented in response to the decision of the Government owned Irish Aviation Authority to increase ATC charges by 12% this summer, at more than 12 times the rate of inflation.

From July 2009 Ryanair will close four routes from Dublin to Basel, Doncaster, Oporto and Teesside, and reduce frequencies on eight more routes from Dublin to Aberdeen, Biarritz, Billund, Bournemouth, Carcassonne, East Midlands, Malaga and Rome (Ciampino). These cuts will result in one additional based aircraft (five in total) being switched from high cost Dublin Airport to a low cost Ryanair European base in July.

Ryanair flights from Dublin to Alghero are not concerned by cuts and reductions, so far.

Ryanair News

New flights to Alghero from Billund, Eindhoven, Hamburg Lübeck, Graz, Parma, Verona and Ancona

2009-03-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

Ryanair announced new flights to Alghero starting from June: Billund in Denmark and the Dutch airport of Eindhoven as well as the German airport of Hamburg Lübeck and Graz in Austria are on the 2009 summer schedule. New national destinations are Parma, Verona and Ancona.

Ryanair To Go 100% Web Check-In From October and closes all traditional airport check in desks

2009-03-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

Ryanair, Europe’s announced it will move to 100% web check-in from 1st October 2009. This move will allow all passengers, including those travelling with checked baggage, to check-in online thereby avoiding time wasting queues and delays at airport check-in desks.

Ryanair’s web check-in service is open from 15 days to 4 hours before the scheduled departure time of each flight. Web check-in can be accessed via ryanair.com using booking confirmation numbers or flight details to retrieve each reservation.

Having printed their boarding cards at home passengers without check-in bags can continue to proceed directly through airport security while those with check-in bags can simply present at one of Ryanair’s “drop desks” before proceeding through airport security to the boarding gate. This will free passengers from wasting hours at airports prior to departure and will dramatically reduce travel times for all Ryanair passengers.

Ryanair will phase in the introduction of its 100% web check-in as follows:

· Phase 1: From 19th March 2009, Ryanair’s web check-in service will be extended to (a) non EU/EEA citizens, (b) passengers travelling with checked baggage and (c) reduced mobility customers.

Customers choosing web check-in and travelling with only carry-on bags will continue to enjoy this service free of charge. A web check-in fee of £5/€5 per person/per flight will apply to passengers travelling with checked baggage, while customers who wish to use airport check-in will be charged an airport check-in fee of £10/€10 per person/per flight at the time of booking.

· Phase 2: From 1st May 2009 all new bookings will be required to use web check-in, and the use of traditional airport check-in desks will be phased out over the summer months. The web check-in fee of £5/€5 per person, per flight will apply to all new bookings (except promotional fares) from 1st May 2009. In order to dissuade passengers from using airport check-in desks, the fee for airport check-in will double to £20/€20 per person/per flight at the time of booking.

· Phase 3: From 1st October 2009 airport check-in desks will no longer be available at any Ryanair airport. All passengers will be required to web check-in and those who have checked in bags will use the airport “bag drop” desks, if required. From this date, children under the age of 16 will no longer be able to travel unaccompanied and passports and national ID cards will be the only accepted forms of photo ID on Ryanair flights.

Ryanair insults bloggers about o Euro booking screenshots. Is it a Marketing strategy?

2009-03-01T05:51:00.000-08:00

Jason Roe wrote in his blog about what he thinks is a bug in RyanAir’s website. Some RyanAir employees saw it and left some pretty rude comments.

Ryanair's (Social) Marketing Strategy is some sort of “Any publicity is good publicity” and Guerillia Marketing actions.

This Blog post fom Jason Roe caught attention in the UK, Germany, Italy and many other countries and guaranteed free coverage for Ryanair! However, there are not going to be any customers that ever booked a Ryanair flight because they offer customer-oriented and friendly service and user-friendly and well designed website. Then again - isn't strange that blog author Jason Roe announces his presence at the Irish Blog Awards? Did this news posting help the Blogger to gain attention as well?

Low price car rental with Auto Europe from Alghero airport

2009-02-28T03:05:00.000-08:00

Auto Europe provides carhire in Sardinia and guarantees the best prices and the highest quality service to its clients.

Advantages when booking with Auto Europe

No cancellation or amendment fees when Auto Europe is advised 48 hours prior to the rental start date.
Excess Refund Cover from Auto Europe on most of our destinations.
Call Center support available 7 days a week, on: +49 89 244 473 702.
”All inclusive” prices on many destinations.
Simple to use online booking engine.

Please note the following before picking up your rental car:
You have to present your drivers license, personal ID card and Auto Europe printed voucher locally at pick up.
You should check the rental car regarding any damages (e.g. scratches) and inform the local rental company, before driving away.
You should not forget a city map or to request for a GPS in advance.
If you purchase a car hire upgrade locally, you will pay local car hire rates, which are usually higher than the great deal you have with Auto Europe.

About Auto Europe
For over 50 years, Auto Europe has been a leader in worldwide car rental services. In recent years, we have expanded our services to include over 4,000 car rental locations worldwide; over 2,000 three, four and five star European hotels; chauffeur and transfer services; prestige and sports car rentals; and motorhome rentals.

Ryanair to Eliminate Check-in Counters

2009-02-26T12:56:00.000-08:00

Ryanair hopes to eliminate all check-in counters by the end of the year and replace them with a self-service bag drop. Customers would check-in on line and then bring their bags to a designated area of the airport. The move is part Ryanair's overall goal to cut services and thereby reduce costs. Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary told the Telegraph of London, "Ultimately, we want just one in five people to check in luggage."
The European low-cost carrier also recently announced it will begin charging a £28.50 for duty-free shopping if those purchases cannot fit into a passenger's carry-on luggage.
Ryanair's business model is simple, and no secret: Passengers who need the bare minimum (basically a seat aboard the plane) can travel cheaply, but people who need anything beyond that minimum service will be hit with expensive fees left and right. In my mind, however, these moves push the carrier a bit beyond reasonable "no-frills" service and toward something more like cheap bus travel. I'm sure Ryanair has a plan for its "bag drops," but the idea seems fraught with potential issues. How easy would it be for a passenger to make a mistake somewhere along the check-in process? How secure is the bag drop? And charging passengers to bring duty-free purchases aboard seems downright cynical to me, though it will keep the overhead bins less crowded, which is largely Ryanair's goal.

Smartertravel

New York Post: Getting a Goat’s View of Sardinia’s East Coast

2009-02-26T11:03:00.000-08:00

On the ruggedly gorgeous coast of the Orosei Gulf, in eastern Sardinia, purple limestone cliffs erupt from the Mediterranean like thousand-foot-high walls of some unconquerable redoubt. Ravines wild with goats tumble onto isolated beaches. On hot days when the sirocco wind blows, the land can smell of wild rosemary and thyme.

Orosel Gulf For all its physical flamboyance, the Orosei (pronounced oh-roh-ZEYE) offers a quieter holiday than the Costa Smeralda, its tony neighbor about two hours north. There, Italian playboys and Arab oligarchs moor their megayachts in twinkling harbors while the paparazzi have a field day.

“The Costa Smeralda is not for us,” said Cosci Vasco, a butcher from Val d’Aosta who was vacationing last summer on Sardinia’s eastern shore with his wife, Paola, a librarian. “The Orosei is very pretty.”

Breathtaking is more like it. About half a dozen remote beaches sit tucked into the limestone folds along the roughly 35 miles of gulf coast, and the customary way to reach many of them is by boat.

Read More

Launch of Europe’s 1st Fleet Wide Inflight Mobile Phone Service

2009-02-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

PASSENGERS CAN NOW CALL & TEXT ONBOARD 20 RYANAIR AIRCRAFT

Ryanair, Europe’s largest low fares airline, today (19th Feb) launched its in-flight mobile phone service initially onboard 20 of its (mainly) Dublin based aircraft. This is the first step in fitting Ryanair’s entire fleet of over 170 aircraft to allow all passengers to make and receive mobile calls and texts on all Ryanair flights.

Passengers on Ryanair’s 20 OnAir enabled aircraft can now make and receive voice calls at (non- EU) international roaming rates (€2-€3 pm) text messages (50c+) and email (€1-€2) using their mobile phones, BlackBerrys and other smartphones. These price tariffs are set by each mobile service provider and are subject to each customer’s individual price plan.

The service will initially be available to “02” and “Vodafone” customers and to customers of over 50 other mobile phone operators across Europe. At the launch OnAir confirmed that it is working with other Irish mobile operators (“3” and “Meteor”) to ensure that their customers can also keep in touch with the office, family and friends when travelling.

Michael O’Leary said:

“Today’s launch by Ryanair and OnAir is the first step to offering in-flight mobile phone services onboard our entire fleet of over 170 aircraft over the next 18 months. This service will allow passengers to keep in touch with the office, family or friends. We expect customer demand for this service to grow rapidly and hope that customers of all Irish mobile operators will soon be able to call or text home from 30,000 feet to tell loved ones of yet another on time Ryanair flight.”

Benoit Debains, CEO of OnAir, said

“Mobile OnAir is the most advanced in-flight communications service in the world and this European fleet-wide rollout marks a real milestone in aviation. We are proud to work with Ryanair, the world’s largest international scheduled airline, and to provide their 67 million passengers with access to this new technology which will enable them to send and receive emails, text messages, download attachments and make and receive calls just as they would on the ground.’

Ryanair.com

IATA: More Accidents But Fewer Fatalities in 2008

2009-02-19T06:32:00.000-08:00

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the
aviation safety performance for 2008. The total number of fatalities from aviation accidents
dropped from 692 in 2007 to 502 in 2008. This resulted in a 56% improvement in the fatality ratefrom 0.23 fatalities per million passengers to 0.13 per million passengers.
The global accident rate (measured in hull losses per million flights of Western-built jet aircraft)
stood at 0.81—or one accident for every 1.2 million flights. This is a slight deterioration on 2007
performance when the accident rate was 0.75—or one accident for every 1.3 million flights.
There were 109 accidents in 2008 compared to 100 in 2007. The number of fatal accidents
increased from 20 in 2007 to 23 in 2008.
IATA member airlines significantly outperformed the industry in safety. With 33 accidents, IATA members drove their accident rate downwards from 0.68 in 2007 to 0.52 in 2008. That is equal to one accident for every 1.9 million flights.
“Safety is the industry’s number one priority. Today’s statistics confirm that travelling by air is one the safest things that a person can do,” said Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of
IATA.
The IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) is the global industry standard for airline safety
management. As of 1 January 2009, IOSA is a condition of IATA membership. Currently, 204
member airlines are among the 282 carriers on the IOSA registry (www.iata.org/registry). A further21 IATA member airlines are undergoing quality control checks. Airlines that have not passed the quality control process by 31 March 2009 will have their memberships terminated.
“IATA is a quality association. And the mark of that quality is safety. While we will be strict in
upholding the IOSA standards, which are recognised by governments around the world, our goal is to raise the bar on safety with a transparent global standard and bring all of our members on
board,” said Bisignani.
There are significant regional differences in the accident rate.
North Asia had a perfect record of zero hull losses in 2008. North America (0.58), Europe (0.42)
and Asia / Pacific (0.58) all performed better than the global average.
Africa had an accident rate that was 2.6 times worse than the world average (2.12). However, this extends a year-on-year trend of significant improvements. In 2005, for example, the Africa rate was the worst in the world at 9.21. There was one Western-built jet hull loss with an African carrier in 2008.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) had the worst accident rate in the world at
6.43 (7.9 times worse than the global average). The relatively small fleet of Western-built jet
aircraft operated in the region means that even a few accidents can skew the numbers
considerably. In 2005 and 2007 there were no accidents in the region. In 2006 two accidents drove the hull loss rate to 8.6. Last year there were three Western-built hull losses with CIS carriers.
Latin America and the Caribbean had a hull loss rate of 2.55 (3.1 times worse than the global
average). The region’s carriers had five hull losses during 2008. Addressing infrastructure issues
remains a top priority. Middle East and North Africa saw its accident rate worsen to 1.89 in 2008 with two accidents involving carriers from the region.

Three issues emerged in 2008:
· Runway excursions accounted for 25% of all accidents in 2008. IATA will launch a Runway Safety Toolkit in 2009, which it has developed with Flight Safety Foundation. The toolkit will also be incorporated with IATA’s broad ranging safety data tools in the IATA Global Safety Information Centre to be launched later this year.
· Ground damage accounted for 17% of all accidents in 2008. To improve safety and combat this US$4 billion annual industry cost, IATA has launched the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO). This is the first global safety standard for ground operations. A total of 80 audits are targeted for this year.
· A total of 30% of all accidents in 2008 noted deficient safety management at the airline level as a contributing factor. IATA has incorporated a requirement for Safety Management Systems (SMS) into the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and is working with carriers at an individual and regional level for effective implementation.
These initiatives are consistent with IATA’s comprehensive Six-point Safety Programme which focuses on (1) infrastructure safety, (2) safety data management and analysis, (3) operations, (4)
Safety Management Systems, (5) maintenance and (6) auditing.
“Our record on safety is impressive. But the accident in Buffalo last week and all the 502 fatalities in air accidents in 2008 are human tragedies reminding airlines, regulators and industry partners everywhere that safety is a constant challenge and we must always strive to do better. Our target is zero accidents, and zero fatalities. Nothing less is an acceptable result,” said Bisignani.

Bad weather: snow and freezing cold at least until Sunday on Italy

2009-02-13T15:17:00.000-08:00

"Snow at low altitudes, strong winds and a marked decrease of temperatures: these are the significant phenomena expected for the next days. The bad weather wave will continue at least until next Sunday, caused from intense artic flows on Italy that, as announced in the last days through issue of adverse conditions notices, is interesting the Peninsula.

From this morning, snowfalls are predicted on Central-Southern regions and on the major Isles. The snowfalls are expected also on sea level on all Adriatic side and on Central regions, from Friday to Sunday.

In addition, the awaited fall of temperatures on all Country, with minimal temperatures that will decrease below zero, will favor diffused frosts that on North will result persistent and interest also the valley zones.

Storms and downpour to continue in the next days, in particular on Southern Tyrrhenian side, but on Friday will interest also the rest of Central-South and Sardinia, also if in a minor measure.

Strong winds will persist on major part of Italian regions, favoring a general increase of wave-motion: in particular, very uneasy basins are expected around the major Islands until Friday".

AVIONEWS

Ryanair specials for Valentine`s day

2009-02-07T16:31:00.000-08:00

Ryanair Gift Vouchers - available from only £25/€25 up to £200/€200
Gift vouchers will be emailed to you or your intended recipient, including a personalised message!
Choose from our extensive & expanding route network, over 800+ routes across 25 countries
Quick and Easy gifts!
Let friends & family decide where and when they want to go

Ryanair gift vouchers are redeemable online at www.ryanair.com
From £25 and €25

View Ryanair Gift Voucher Terms and Conditions

UK Flight Disruptions - Heavy Snow 02-03/02/2009

2009-02-03T06:57:00.000-08:00

Due to the continuing severe weather (heavy snow) across much of the UK, the following flights have been cancelled on February 2nd and 3rd, 2009.
To Rebook Flights OnlineCustomers who are booked to travel on one of the below cancelled flights can rebook their flights free of charge, subject to availability, by clicking on the web link below. Customers can access this link up to the 05/02/2009 for travel on flights up to the 15/02/2009.
https://www.bookryanair.com/SkySales/FRManageBooking.aspx?culture=EN-GB&pos=MYFLIGHT
However, passengers may also travel to their booked destination by transferring their flight to travel from another Ryanair airport/hub. Passengers are requested to make such requests at the airport ticket desk or call centre where this will be arranged free of charge.
We also have a Flight Disruption line operating today on +353 1 2480857 To contact our main call centre click here for details - http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs.php?sect=CONTACT&div=call_ctr
Alternatively, for customers who are booked on any of the below flights, who wish to cancel and claim a full refund on the unused flight(s) please click on the link below and enter the required details. Due to the holiday period, refunds will be processed in 7-14 working days back to the form of payment used to pay for the booking.
http://schchng.ryanair.com/refweb.asp
Ryanair sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that these cancellations outside of our control may cause.
02/02/2009
.
Cancelled Flights Listed Alphabetically
FR
713
Aarhus
London Stansted
FR
9066
Alicante
Billund
FR
9887
Alicante
Liverpool
FR
5562
Alicante
London Gatwick
FR
5568
Alicante
London Gatwick
FR
1506
Alicante
London Stansted
FR
8383
Alicante
London Stansted
FR
8927
Altenburg
London Stansted
FR
125
Ancona
London Stansted
FR
9775
Baden Baden
London Stansted
FR
3769
Barcelona Girona
London Luton
FR
3465
Barcelona Reus
London Luton
FR
29
Beauvais Paris
Dublin
FR
1425
Belfast City
Liverpool
FR
6122
Belfast City
London Stansted
FR
6128
Belfast City
London Stansted
FR
8543
Berlin
London Stansted
FR
8547
Berlin Schonefeld
London Stansted
FR
6023
Bezier
Bristol
FR
3457
Bezier
London Luton
FR
747
Biarritz
Birmingham
FR
373
Biarritz
London Stansted
FR
9067
Billund
Alicante
FR
6633
Billund
Edinburgh
FR
5173
Billund
London Stansted
FR
1212
Birmingham
Bydgoszcz
FR
669
Birmingham
Dublin
FR
2185
Birmingham
Dusseldorf Weeze
FR
1072
Birmingham
Porto
FR
746
Birmingham
Biarritz
FR
667
Birmingham
Dublin
FR
9457
Bologna
Dublin
FR
195
Bologna
London Stansted
FR
6603
Bournemouth
Edinburgh
FR
6605
Bournemouth
Edinburgh
FR
5944
Bournemouth
Malaga
FR
6643
Bratislava
Edinburgh
FR
2315
Bratislava
London Stansted
FR
2317
Bratislava
London Stansted
FR
3617
Bremen
London Stansted
FR
3631
Bremen
London Stansted
FR
3633
Bremen
London Stansted
FR
1906
Bari
London Stansted
FR
6022
Bristol
Bezier
FR
505
Bristol
Dublin
FR
507
Bristol
Dublin
FR
509
Bristol
Dublin
FR
9336
Bristol
Girona Barcelona
FR
8404
Brno
London Stansted
FR
47
Brussels Charleroi
Dublin
FR
1024
Budapest
Dublin
FR
4323
Budapest
Liverpool
FR
1213
Bydgoszcz
Birmingham
FR
2463
Bydgoszcz
London Stansted
FR
73
Carcassonne
London Stansted
FR
9885
City of Derry
Liverpool
FR
612
City of Derry
London Stansted
FR
9848
Cork
Dublin
FR
9856
Cork
Dublin
FR
902
Cork
London Stansted
FR
906
Cork
London Stansted
FR
908
Cork
London Stansted
FR
515
Dinard
London Stansted
FR
666
Dublin
Birmingham
FR
668
Dublin
Birmingham
FR
9456
Dublin
Bologna
FR
508
Dublin
Bristol
FR
46
Dublin
Brussels Charleroi
FR
1023
Dublin
Budapest
FR
9849
Dublin
Cork
FR
536
Dublin
East Midlands
FR
9989
Dublin
Frankfurt Hahn
FR
448
Dublin
Liverpool
FR
118
Dublin
London Gatwick
FR
1126
Dublin
London Gatwick
FR
338
Dublin
London Luton
FR
342
Dublin
London Luton
FR
332
Dublin
London Luton
FR
334
Dublin
London Luton
FR
202
Dublin
London Stansted
FR
206
Dublin
London Stansted
FR
208
Dublin
London Stansted
FR
216
Dublin
London Stansted
FR
294
Dublin
London Stansted
FR
556
Dublin
Manchester
FR
558
Dublin
Manchester
FR
176
Dublin
Newcastle
FR
26
Dublin
Paris Beauvais
FR
778
Dublin
Prestwick Glasgow
FR
504
Dublin
Bristol
FR
9857
Dublin
Cork
FR
538
Dublin
East Midlands
FR
816
Dublin
Edinburgh
FR
818
Dublin
Edinburgh
FR
7036
Dublin
Girona
FR
156
Dublin
Leeds Bradford
FR
224
Dublin
London Stansted
FR
288
Dublin
London Stansted
FR
298
Dublin
London Stansted
FR
7156
Dublin
Madrid
FR
9428
Dublin
Milan Bergamo
FR
856
Dublin
Oslo Torp
FR
3253
Dusseldorf Weeze
London Stansted
FR
3259
Dusseldorf Weeze
London Stansted
FR
8606
Dusseldorf Weeze
Milan Bergamo
FR
537
East Midlands
Dublin
FR
539
East Midlands
Dublin
FR
1702
East Midlands
Milan Bergamo
FR
1924
East Midlands
Murcia
FR
6632
Edinburgh
Billund
FR
6642
Edinburgh
Bratislava
FR
819
Edinburgh
Dublin
FR
817
Edinburgh
Dublin
FR
6618
Edinburgh
Poznan
FR
9272
Eindhoven
London Stansted
FR
9274
Eindhoven
London Stansted
FR
751
Frankfurt Hahn
London Stansted
FR
757
Frankfurt Hahn
London Stansted
FR
2002
Friedrichschafen
London Stansted
FR
2004
Friedrichschafen
London Stansted
FR
2373
Gdansk
London Stansted
FR
7037
Girona
Dublin
FR
9807
Girona
London Stansted
FR
404
Glasgow Prestwick
London Stansted
FR
426
Glasgow Prestwick
London Stansted
FR
965
Gothenburg
London Stansted
FR
969
Gothenburg
London Stansted
FR
5733
Graz
London Stansted
FR
2133
Grenoble
London Stansted
FR
8397
Jerez
London Stansted
FR
8169
Katowice
London Stansted
FR
708
Kerry
London Stansted
FR
843
Kerry
London Luton
FR
702
Kerry
London Stansted
FR
8143
Knock
London Luton
FR
806
Knock
London Stansted
FR
2433
Krakow
London Stansted
FR
2437
Krakow
London Stansted
FR
157
Leeds Bradford
Dublin
FR
8777
Limoges
London Stansted
FR
9886
Liverpool
Alicante
FR
1424
Liverpool
Belfast City
FR
4322
Liverpool
Budapest
FR
9884
Liverpool
City of Derry
FR
449
Liverpool
Dublin
FR
4538
Liverpool
Milan Bergamo
FR
9618
Liverpool
Torp Oslo
FR
9602
Liverpool
Treviso Venice
FR
2469
Lodz
London Stansted
FR
5563
London Gatwick
Alicante
FR
5567
London Gatwick
Alicante
FR
119
London Gatwick
Dublin
FR
1127
London Gatwick
Dublin
FR
3456
London Luton
Bezier
FR
331
London Luton
Dublin
FR
333
London Luton
Dublin
FR
8142
London Luton
Knock
FR
4152
London Luton
Milan Bergamo
FR
3256
London Luton
Nimes
FR
1323
London Luton
Shannon
FR
3768
London Luton
Barcelona Girona
FR
3464
London Luton
Barcelona Reus
FR
337
London Luton
Dublin
FR
341
London Luton
Dublin
FR
842
London Luton
Kerry
FR
3882
London Luton
Malta
FR
3452
London Luton
Murcia
FR
712
London Stansted
Aarhus
FR
1507
London Stansted
Alicante
FR
8382
London Stansted
Alicante
FR
8926
London Stansted
Altenburg
FR
124
London Stansted
Ancona
FR
9774
London Stansted
Baden Baden
FR
6123
London Stansted
Belfast City
FR
6129
London Stansted
Belfast City
FR
8542
London Stansted
Berlin
FR
8546
London Stansted
Berlin Schonefeld
FR
372
London Stansted
Biarritz
FR
5172
London Stansted
Billund
FR
194
London Stansted
Bologna
FR
2314
London Stansted
Bratislava
FR
2316
London Stansted
Bratislava
FR
3618
London Stansted
Bremen
FR
3632
London Stansted
Bremen
FR
3634
London Stansted
Bremen
FR
1905
London Stansted
Brindisi
FR
8403
London Stansted
Brno
FR
2462
London Stansted
Bydgoszcz
FR
72
London Stansted
Carcassonne
FR
611
London Stansted
City of Derry
FR
901
London Stansted
Cork
FR
905
London Stansted
Cork
FR
907
London Stansted
Cork
FR
514
London Stansted
Dinard
FR
203
London Stansted
Dublin
FR
205
London Stansted
Dublin
FR
207
London Stansted
Dublin
FR
211
London Stansted
Dublin
FR
225
London Stansted
Dublin
FR
227
London Stansted
Dublin
FR
293
London Stansted
Dublin
FR
297
London Stansted
Dublin
FR
3252
London Stansted
Dusseldorf Weeze
FR
3258
London Stansted
Dusseldorf Weeze
FR
9271
London Stansted
Eindhoven
FR
9273
London Stansted
Eindhoven
FR
752
London Stansted
Frankfurt Hahn
FR
758
London Stansted
Frankfurt Hahn
FR
2001
London Stansted
Friedrichschafen
FR
2003
London Stansted
Friedrichschafen
FR
2372
London Stansted
Gdansk
FR
9806
London Stansted
Girona
FR
407
London Stansted
Glasgow Prestwick
FR
419
London Stansted
Glasgow Prestwick
FR
964
London Stansted
Gothenburg
FR
968
London Stansted
Gothenburg
FR
5732
London Stansted
Graz
FR
2132
London Stansted
Grenoble
FR
8396
London Stansted
Jerez
FR
8168
London Stansted
Katowice
FR
701
London Stansted
Kerry
FR
709
London Stansted
Kerry
FR
805
London Stansted
Knock
FR
2432
London Stansted
Krakow
FR
2436
London Stansted
Krakow
FR
8776
London Stansted
Limoges
FR
2468
London Stansted
Lodz
FR
434
London Stansted
Lubeck
FR
436
London Stansted
Lubeck
FR
5994
London Stansted
Madrid
FR
6538
London Stansted
Marseilles
FR
6542
London Stansted
Marseilles
FR
4184
London Stansted
Milan Bergamo
FR
4196
London Stansted
Milan Bergamo
FR
4198
London Stansted
Milan Bergamo
FR
632
London Stansted
Montpellier
FR
8027
London Stansted
Murcia
FR
4242
London Stansted
Nantes
FR
3918
London Stansted
Palermo
FR
8386
London Stansted
Palma Mallorca
FR
4214
London Stansted
Parma
FR
586
London Stansted
Pisa
FR
582
London Stansted
Pisa
FR
8343
London Stansted
Porto
FR
8345
London Stansted
Porto
FR
8347
London Stansted
Porto
FR
2336
London Stansted
Poznan
FR
2642
London Stansted
Riga
FR
3002
London Stansted
Rome Ciampino
FR
3004
London Stansted
Rome Ciampino
FR
3006
London Stansted
Rome Ciampino
FR
3014
London Stansted
Rome Ciampino
FR
302
London Stansted
Salzburg
FR
304
London Stansted
Salzburg
FR
306
London Stansted
Salzburg
FR
2612
London Stansted
Santander
FR
8378
London Stansted
Santiago de Compostela
FR
8363
London Stansted
Seville
FR
103
London Stansted
Shannon
FR
105
London Stansted
Shannon
FR
109
London Stansted
Shannon
FR
52
London Stansted
Stockholm Skavsta
FR
2466
London Stansted
Szczecin
FR
2194
London Stansted
Tampere
FR
32
London Stansted
Torp Oslo
FR
34
London Stansted
Torp Oslo
FR
36
London Stansted
Torp Oslo
FR
38
London Stansted
Torp Oslo
FR
168
London Stansted
Trieste
FR
464
London Stansted
Turin
FR
8321
London Stansted
Valencia
FR
684
London Stansted
Vasteras
FR
796
London Stansted
Venice Treviso
FR
798
London Stansted
Venice Treviso
FR
8405
London Stansted
Wroclaw
FR
2634
London Stansted
Zaragoza
FR
5554
London Stansted
Zweibrucken
FR
435
Lubeck
London Stansted
FR
437
Lubeck
London Stansted
FR
7157
Madrid
Dublin
FR
5993
Madrid
London Stansted
FR
5482
Madrid
Porto
FR
3883
Malta
London Luton
FR
559
Manchester
Dublin
FR
557
Manchester
Dublin
FR
149
Manchester
Shannon
FR
6539
Marseilles
London Stansted
FR
6541
Marseilles
London Stansted
FR
9429
Milan Bergamo
Dublin
FR
8607
Milan Bergamo
Dusseldorf Weeze
FR
1703
Milan Bergamo
East Midlands
FR
4151
Milan Bergamo
London Luton
FR
4185
Milan Bergamo
London Stansted
FR
4195
Milan Bergamo
London Stansted
FR
4197
Milan Bergamo
London Stansted
FR
633
Montpellier
London Stansted
FR
1925
Murcia
East Midlands
FR
3453
Murcia
London Luton
FR
8028
Murcia
London Stansted
FR
4243
Nantes
London Stansted
FR
177
Newcastle
Dublin
FR
3257
Nimes
London Luton
FR
857
Oslo Torp
Dublin
FR
3919
Palermo
London Stansted
FR
8387
Palma Mallorca
London Stansted
FR
4215
Parma
London Stansted
FR
583
Pisa
London Stansted
FR
587
Pisa
London Stansted
FR
1073
Porto
Birmingham
FR
8344
Porto
London Stansted
FR
8346
Porto
London Stansted
FR
8348
Porto
London Stansted
FR
5483
Porto
Madrid
FR
6619
Poznam
Edinburgh
FR
2337
Poznan
London Stansted
FR
777
Prestwick Glasgow
Dublin
FR
2643
Riga
London Stansted
FR
2734
Riga
Tampere
FR
3003
Rome Ciampino
London Stansted
FR
3005
Rome Ciampino
London Stansted
FR
3009
Rome Ciampino
London Stansted
FR
3015
Rome Ciampino
London Stansted
FR
303
Salzburg
London Stansted
FR
305
Salzburg
London Stansted
FR
307
Salzburg
London Stansted
FR
2613
Santander
London Stansted
FR
8379
Santiago de Compostela
London Stansted
FR
8364
Seville
London Stansted
FR
4636
Seville
Milan Bergamo
FR
2116
Seville
Reus
FR
1322
Shannon
London Luton
FR
102
Shannon
London Stansted
FR
104
Shannon
London Stansted
FR
108
Shannon
London Stansted
FR
148
Shannon
Manchester
FR
53
Stockholm Skavsta
London Stansted
FR
2467
Szczecin
London Stansted
FR
2195
Tampere
London Stansted
FR
2735
Tampere
Riga
FR
9619
Torp Oslo
Liverpool
FR
33
Torp Oslo
London Stansted
FR
33
Torp Oslo
London Stansted
FR
35
Torp Oslo
London Stansted
FR
37
Torp Oslo
London Stansted
FR
39
Torp Oslo
London Stansted
FR
169
Trieste
London Stansted
FR
465
Turin
London Stansted
FR
8322
Valencia
London Stansted
FR
685
Vasteras
London Stansted
FR
9603
Venice Treviso
Liverpool
FR
797
Venice Treviso
London Stansted
FR
799
Venice Treviso
London Stansted
FR
8406
Wroclaw
London Stansted
FR
2635
Zaragoza
London Stansted
FR
5555
Zweibrucken
London Stansted
03/02/2009
.
FR9076
Alicante
Doncaster
FR4784
Bournemouth
Milan Bergamo
FR5951
Bournemouth
Glsagow Prestwick
FR6603
Bournemouth
Edinburgh
FR9077
Doncaster
Alicante
FR6602
Edinburgh
Bournemouth
FR5952
Glasgow Prestwick
Bournemouth
FR153
Leeds Bradford
Dublin
FR4783
Milan Bergamo
Bournemouth

To check flight times please access the Ryanair Live Flight Information - http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/fltinfo.php

Alghero by ferry: Grimaldi ferry boat alternative to Ryanair flights to Rome and Barcelona

2009-01-26T16:30:00.001-08:00

Through an unprecedented initiative, the Grimaldi Group (Naples) has announced the contemporaneous launch of nine new motorways of the sea for passengers and freight. The new maritime links will be operating as from the end of January and will be managed by Grimaldi Lines with the “Low Cost” formula through the deployment of the most modern Cruise Ferries as well as traditional ferries, linking Sardinia to Spain and mainland Italy. The new and innovative Motorways of the Sea for passengers and freight are the following:

- Porto Torres / Barcelona / Porto Torres- Civitavecchia / Porto Torres / Civitavecchia;- Civitavecchia / Catania / Civitavecchia;- Civitavecchia / Trapani / Civitavecchia;- Civitavecchia / Malta / Civitavecchia;- Genoa / Malta / Genoa;- Genoa / Catania / Genoa;- Catania / Malta / Catania;- Trapani / Tunis / Trapani.

Are these new Grimaldi ferry boat connections alternatives to the existing Ryanair flights to Rome and Barcelona for passengers with excess baggage?

Heavy Stroms about to hit Sardinia today

2009-01-24T03:59:00.001-08:00

An intense low pressure system has swung east across the Bay of Biscay to pound southwest France this morning. Winds gusting in excess of 90 mph around Bordeaux have brought power lines down and closed the airport. At 8 o'clock this morning, 70mph winds were still battering southwest France, the north coast of Spain, and also the northeast around Reus airport and up to Barcelona.
This vicious little low will head to Italy and the Adriatic for Sunday with a welcome respite for many as the winds ease down.
Another low is set to form in the western Mediterranean on Tuesday bringing gales but nothing as severe as today.

Swept away in Sardinia - The Sydney Morning Herald on Alghero

2009-01-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

Daniel Scott is taken by the tranquillity of a glamorous island gem.

There is a touch of Walt Disney about this beautifully set castle, built in 1880, right on the rocky north-west coast of Sardinia, in the seaside town of Alghero. Maybe it's the crenellations on its roof, or the sandy yellow and Etruscan-red colouring of its exterior. Perhaps it is the fact that it stands alone on its own private promontory reaching out into the Mediterranean behind big electric gates and tropical gardens. Or it could just be that its history has conferred a certain glitz and glamour upon the Hotel Villa Las Tronas.

It was once the Sardinian holiday home of Italian royalty and more recently the bolthole of the queen of '80s pop music, Madonna, and her husband Guy Ritchie, while filming the remake of the classic movie Swept Away on the island.

The attractive town of Alghero will probably never be as glamorous as Sardinia's yacht-infested Costa Smeralda. But with Alghero airport just 20 minutes away and served regularly by Ryanair from London, this old Catalan-influenced town, which faces the northern Spanish coast, is ideal for a quick break from Britain.

The advantage of the Hotel Villa Las Tronas is that, unlike most hotels in Sardinia, it is open all year round. In fact, December/January is a good time to visit Las Tronas, when temperatures in Sardinia are about 10 degrees above those in northern Europe. And, in any case, all is cosy inside.

But it is during the warmer months when the hotel's extensive grounds come into their own, with a large terrace for evening drinks and a lovely open-air sea-water pool right on the rocks above the Mediterranean.

Whatever the time of year, the Hotel Villa Las Tronas remains determinedly quiet and private in feel. This comfy ambience is mainly achieved in the hotel's public areas, from the small seating area in the lobby through the bar area with its collection of sofas, to the dining area set against the hotel's panoramic ground-floor windows.

Sturdy dark wooden 19th-century cabinets rest against the walls of the lounge below heavy, gilt-framed period paintings, while a number of imposing sculpted busts of (no-doubt notable) moustachioed men adorn the room's alcoves.

A hefty marble fountain-piece sits in the middle of it all and there is a wink to Catalan style in the twisty modern standing lamps dotted around the dining room and lounge area. By contrast, crystal-glass chandeliers hang heavily from the ceiling.

Elsewhere on the ground floor there are a few similarly furnished drawing rooms in which to relax with a book.

The on-site restaurant offers accomplished Mediterranean cuisine, the freshly caught fish such as sea bass or monkfish being the best bets. There is usually a Sardinian speciality on the menu, too, such as gnocchi Sardi in a lamb ragu or fregula (a granular pasta similar to couscous) cooked in a variety of ways. Tangy Sardinian cheeses round off the meal and there is a fair wine list including some earthy reds from nearby Santa Maria di Gallura.

But the real attraction of dining at the Villa Las Tronas is the Royal Albert Hall-standard pianist, who must surely be Sardinia's best. For a couple of hours most evenings, this tousle-haired young musician tickles the ivories in an eclectic but always virtuoso style.

This is a small hotel with about 20 rooms and service is suitably personal. It can be a little slow, particularly at breakfast when your cravings for an espresso can remain unmet for a while, but that is hardly an issue in summer when you can sit out on the terrace and let the view of the Med slowly wake you up.

If you have a room at the front of the hotel, you open the shutters to the full glory of the frothy blue ocean bashing against the rocks below. The attractive skyline of Alghero's old town and the distant headland of Capo Caccio is off to the right, and the wild west coast of Sardinia stretches off to the left.

Bedrooms at the Hotel Villa Las Tronas are square, high-ceilinged and a good size, with dark emerald and black tiled floors. The centrepiece is a good, firm king-sized bed on a metal frame and furnishings are elegant, 19th-century style, including the original fixture for holding a lamp. There are charmingly rickety old-style shutters on both the inside and outside of the long tall windows and large mirrored floor-to-ceiling wardrobes add to the sense of space.

The Hotel Villa Las Tronas is not exactly a 21st-century hotel in terms of technology: the in-room televisions are old and pick up only a few fuzzy satellite channels and the phones in the room are '80s-style. There is, however, hidden away under the stairs on the ground floor, a useful internet connection for guests.

But you won't be staying at this individual and quirky four-star Sardinian hotel for its mod cons; you'll be here for the beauty and tranquillity of its setting.

Sydney Morning Herald

Alitalia is born again

2009-01-14T16:30:00.001-08:00

Alitalia, the airline that has flown popes, princes and prima donnas, was reborn as a smaller, privately-owned carrier amid chaos on Tuesday as protests by disgruntled employees delayed or cancelled inaugural flights.
Once a symbol of Italy's post-war economic boom, Alitalia filed for bankruptcy last year, succumbing to labour strife, high costs and mismanagement. A group of Italian investors bought its best parts, leaving the rest to the Italian state.
After months of haggling with unions and frenetic talks with politicians seeking to save local airports, Alitalia flight AZ 676 to Sao Paolo took off promptly at 5:10 a.m. british time from Milan in the carrier's virgin flight under a new network and new owners.
"We've done it. There's no turning back from the new Alitalia now and all the prophets of misfortune have been silenced," said Labour Minister Maurizio Sacconi, whose government had made saving Alitalia a top priority.
But the airline's first domestic flight took off 20 minutes late and 11 flights at Milan's Linate airport were cancelled because all gates for planes were occupied.
In a reminder of the old challenges facing the reshaped carrier, Alitalia workers wary of the impact from a new alliance with Air France-KLM demonstrated at Milan's Malpensa airport by chanting slogans and waving union banners, causing delays.
At Rome's Fiumicino airport, delays of more than two hours were reported as workers marched outside.
Alitalia's unions have been bickering with its new owners for months, accusing them of not respecting prior agreements. Alitalia CEO Rocco Sabelli said the unions were mainly unhappy with their pick of a new cleaning service.

Reuters

Alitalia was merged with the Italian airline Air One that offers regular flights from Rome Fumicino and Milano Linate to Alghero.

Alitalia: no flights from January 12 to 13 due to the switch from the old to the new Alitalia.

2009-01-04T15:26:00.001-08:00

No flights in the night from January 12 to 13 due to the switch from the old to the new Alitalia. Sources in CAI reported this to AGI, specifying that flights will be stopped ''for one night'' to allow all operations requested by ENAC regarding licences and certifications to pass from the 'old0 to the new airline, which will start on January 13. ''We have known'' about the technical stop ''for some time'' the source added. ''It will last several hours''. Alitalia has been merged with Italian carrier Air One that serves Alghero from the Italian hubs of Roma Fuminicino and Milano Linate. However, flights with Air One numbers (starting with AP) are not concerned by the flight block.

Ryanair Flights to Alghero and Rome from £5.00

2008-12-07T05:11:00.000-08:00

Ryanair has again special offers to Alghero and other Italian destinations. 5£ Fares include taxes & charges.
Booking Period: Mon 01st Dec 08 - Tue 09th Dec 08
Travel Period: Mon 15th Dec 08 - Sat 28th Feb 09
Applicable Days: Mon - Thurs & Sat (subject to availability)
Flight must be purchased: 14 Days in advance
Blackout Period: 18th Dec '08 - 05th Jan '09
12th Feb '09 - 23rd Feb '09 to/from IRE/UK

As always with Ryanair offers, all Holidays, School Breaks and Major Sporting Events are excluded from this offer
http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/cheapflights.php?dest=AAR&base=STN

Ryanair cancelled flights from Rome Ciampino Airport, Pisa Airport and Treviso Venice Airport for fog

2008-12-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

Ryanair regrets that due to adverse weather conditions the following flights to Sardinia have been cancelled.

03/12/2008:
FR8854 Rome Ciampino Alghero (1025- 1125hrs)
FR9926 Pisa- Alghero (1200-1310hrs)

FR9935 Pisa- Cagliari (1530- 1645hrs)
FR9936 Cagliari- Pisa (1710- 1820hrs)

04/12/2008:
FR9935 Pisa-Cagliari (0630-0745hrs)

Customers booked on any of these flights may rebook free of charge, using the web link below. Flights can be changed, via this link up to the 09/12/2008. Customers can rebook to travel on flights, subject to availability, up to the 16/12/2008.
Click here to rebook your flights on line.
Alternatively, for customers who are booked on any of the below flights, who wish to cancel and claim a full refund on the unused flight(s) please click on the link below and enter the required details. Refunds will be processed in 7 working days back to the form of payment used to pay for the booking.
http://schchng.ryanair.com/refweb.asp
Ryanair apologises for the inconvenience caused by these flights disruptions.

Sit in of Labour Unions block Alghero Airport

2008-12-02T03:49:00.000-08:00

Members of the Labour Unions Cgil, Cisl and Uil have blocked Alghero Feritlia airport for a few hours yesterday to protest against the closure of Petrochimical Industry facilities at Porto Torres, Northern Sardinia. The block of the airport lasted from 9.30 alle 11.30 and caused delays ofAir One flights to Milan Linate and Rome Fuminicino.

Read article on Unione Sarda (Italian)

Saint-Exupéry in Alghero: The French author landed in Alghero-Fertilia in 1944

2008-11-29T09:54:00.000-08:00

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the author of all-time bestseller The little prince, landed 1944 on Alghero Fertilia airport as part of the French troops in World war II., just two months before he died in an accident.
Saint Exupéry, along with his navigator, André Prévot, crashed in the Libyan Sahara desert en route to Saigon in 1935. The team was attempting to fly from Paris to Saigon faster than any previous aviators, for a prize of 150,000 francs. Both survived the landing, but were faced with the prospect of rapid dehydration in the Sahara. Saint Exupéry's famous fable The Little Prince, which begins with a pilot being marooned in the desert, is in part a reference to this experience.

In 1944, however, the French author spent some time at Fertilia airport before being transferred to the French Island of Corsica. Saint Exupéry's final assignment was to collect intelligence on German troop movements in and around the Rhone Valley preceding the Allied invasion of southern France. On the evening of July 31, 1944, he left from an airbase on Corsica, and was never seen again. A woman reported having watched a plane crash around noon of August the first near the Bay of Carqueiranne off Toulon. An unidentifiable body wearing French colors was found several days later and buried in Carqueiranne that September.

The Exma museum in Cagliari dedicates an exposition to Saint Exupéry's stay in Sardinia until January, 31st 2009

Read full article (Italian)

Airplane crash in Sardinia: desaster simulation at Alghero airport

2008-11-20T11:05:00.000-08:00

A Boeing 737 from Italian carrier Air One, 50 staff on board, fire, emergency and all aiport staff trying to cope with an emergency situation: Allghero airport was the setting for an emergeny training of an airplane desaster at Sardinia's second largest airport Wednesday night. The “Full Scale Exercise” was prepared during emergency trainings during tha last year.
Read full article on Algheronotizie

Finding Spain in Alghero, Sardinia

2008-11-20T11:00:00.000-08:00

It all sounds so romantic now. But as is often the case, this picture- postcard
Spanish enclave is the result of violent conquest. Originally peopled by native
Sardinians, Alghero was later ruled by the Doria shipping magnates of Genoa
before being conquered by the Spaniards in 1353. Spain so thoroughly stamped out
its previous occupants, today the town's language, food and culture are
considered more Catalan than Sardinian or Italian. In fact, Alghero was
primarily settled by people from Barcelona and Valencia. It's truly one of the
most authentic Spanish experiences in Italy.

Finding Spain in Alghero, Sardinia on Examiner.com

Ryanair appeals against EU decisions in the Commission’s ongoing State Aid investigations

2008-11-17T09:18:00.000-08:00

Ryanair lodged appeals against eight separate EU decisions to block Ryanair access to documents in the Commission’s ongoing State Aid investigations against tiny regional airports - Hamburg (Lübeck), Berlin-Schönefeld, Tampere, Alghero, Pau, Aarhus, Bratislava and Frankfurt (Hahn).
Read the whole article on peanuts.aero

Air Malta launches winter schedule of operations and offers flights to Alghero

2008-11-11T22:46:00.000-08:00

Air Malta launches winter schedule of operations, The Malta Independent reports:

Air Malta has launched its new winter schedule of operations running till 28
March, 2009. The schedule presents Air Malta customers travelling from the Malta
base with a choice of 30 direct destinations with over 110 flights every week.
(...)
Apart from its direct flights, the Maltese airline is also offering
other destinations and connections through its main code-share partners,
Lufthansa and Air One. Code-shares are a key initiative that the airline has
taken and are increasingly connecting Malta to offline markets. Through its
code-share partners Air Malta is now offering over 200 destinations in 85
countries and is synchronising its timetable with other carriers.The agreement
with Air One signed in August 2007, with whom Air Malta code-shares on Rome
Fiumicino, is giving Maltese passengers access to various Italian domestic
airports including Alghero, Bari, Brindisi, Cagliari, Genoa, Milan Linate, Turin
and Venice, via Rome.

Ryanair charges: Passengers still misled over hidden charges

2008-11-10T10:10:00.000-08:00

The Telegraph reports today that Ryanair Passengers are still misled over hidden charges:

"Airlines will always quote the cheapest possible fare available at some point
during the dates specified – chances are that this price will not be available
on the day you want to fly,"

said Catriona Bright of What Consumer to Telegraph.
This is what the Irish low Cost Carrier commonly adds to ticket prices:

- Debit/credit card charges (per adult fare, per one-way flight): £4

- Seat allocation/priority boarding (per one-way flight): £6

- Airport check in (per one-way flight): £4

- Checked baggage (per bag, per one way flight): £8.00

- Infant fee (per infant, per one way flight): £16

- Sport equipment/musical instrument (per item, per one way flight): £25

- Call centre charges: 10p per minute

Read the entire article

Ryanair flight to Rome Ciampino cancelled today.

2008-11-10T10:05:00.000-08:00

The runway at Rome Ciampino is still closed and will not reopen this evening, Ryanair reports.

Customers who are booked to travel on the below cancelled flights can rebook their flights free of charge, subject to availability, by clicking on the web link below. Customers can access this link up to the 17/11/2008 for travel on flights up to the 24/11/08.
https://www.bookryanair.com/SkySales/FRManageBooking.aspx?culture=EN-GB&pos=MYFLIGHT
Alternatively, customers booked on any of the below flights, who wish to cancel and claim a full refund on their unused flight(s) can click on the link below and enter the required details. Refunds will be processed in 14 working days back to the form of payment used to pay for the booking.
http://schchng.ryanair.com/refweb.asp

AP reports on the accident at Rome Ciampino airport earlier today:

Birds force Ryanair jet emergency landing in Rome
ROME (AP)
— A Ryanair flight from Frankfurt made an emergency landing at a Rome airport
Monday after birds hit the aircraft, aviation and airline officials company
said.
Three passengers and two crew members were taken to hospital with minor
injuries, Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara said.
The aircraft "suffered
multiple bird strikes" as it was approaching Ciampino airport, McNamara said.
Ryanair spokeswoman Pauline McAlester said the birds were sucked into the engine
as the aircraft was coming in to land.

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Ryanair's airplanes planned to be hosted at Forlí will now fly from Trapani (Sicily)

2008-11-02T08:31:00.000-08:00

Ryanair announced that from May 2009 it will base two aircraft at Trapani and confirmed that it will not open a base at Forli after the airport withdrew the agreement it had reached with Ryanair. Despite the decision not to operate from Forli, Ryanair's new Trapani base will create 2 new domestic and 3 new international routes to/from the island of Sicily.
Ryanair’s Forli routes were due to operate to/from Alghero, Bari, Cagliari, Lamezia, Olbia and Palermo from December. Passengers who were booked on these routes will receive a full refund.
More Info on peanuts.aero

Airone has to land in Olbia for the lack of radio controls in Alghero

2008-11-02T07:50:00.000-08:00

An Airbus of the Italian company Airone had to be detoured to Olbia on Saturday, L'Unione Sarda reports. The couse for the detour were poor weather conditions and the lack of a radio control system that permits airplanes to land in Alghero in foggy conditions. The plane coming from Rome Fumicino airport tried to land twice, then decided to risk no further and asked landing permissions in Olbia. The radio control system in Alghero is out of order since spring 2008 and is only needed in scarse visibility conditions.

Danish low-cost airline Sterling, to file for bankruptcy

2008-10-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

Danish-based low-cost carrier Sterling Airways said today it would file for bankruptcy after its cash-strapped Icelandic investors were unable keep the company airborne, the Guardian reported earlier today. Sterling connects Alghero airport to several Scandinavian destinations with charter flights as well as Olbia Costa Smeralda airport with regular flights to Copenhagen and Billund during the summer months.

Sterling adiveses its customers on their website today als follows:

Information to Sterling Passengers
Customers who have directly purchased their tickets on Sterling’s website will unfortunately not be refunded neither will their return flights. You therefore have to book your return flights with another airline company.
If you have paid for a flight by credit card, we advise you to contact your bank or credit card company to ask for a possible refund.
Customers who have booked their flights through a travel agency or tour operator should initially contact them.
Passengers who have booked their tickets through Sterling, but is flying with Norwegian, should contact Norwegian directly on one of the below phone numbers:
+47 21490015 (from outside Norway)
815 21 815 (from Norway)
Passengers currently staying abroad in hotels, or hiring a car through Sterling business partners, are still able to stay in their hotel or keep the hired car for the relevant period of time, as such services are paid for through our business partners and not Sterling. However as for your return flight, you will need to find alternatives
for your final destination.
Please note that if you have booked your travel/hotel/car through a travel agency or tour operator, please contact them upon your return for possible refund of expenses for your return flight.
We understand that most travel insurance does not protect holders from airline
insolvency but should you have taken insurance please contact your insurance
company for clarification. We will later put on a FAQ and hope that this will
help you in this very unfortunate situation.
Sterling Airlines A/S
29th
October 2008

Ryanair cancels Alghero-Bologna-Forlí connection

2008-10-27T14:47:00.000-07:00

Ryanair might not launch the connection between Alghero - Bologna-Forlí any more. The first connection was scheduled for december 4th but the company might shut down its planned Forlí base, Alguer.it said. Flights are not bookable right now but chances are that Ryanair transfers the planned flights to Bologna's principal airport Marconi. Ryanair might close his Forlí base before even launching the new hub. As local Bologna newspapers report, the Sicilian Carrier Windjet might take over most of Rynair's planned activities.
Only recently Ryanair has closed its operational base in Valencia, Spain, following a dispute with the local council.

Alghero airport is suitable to the European Regulation on persons with reduced mobility (disabled persons)

2008-10-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

Alghero airport (in Sardinia) has adopted the Regulation of the European Community issued last July 25 about persons with reduced mobility. A "Sala amica" is available in the airport, where travellers with reduced mobility receive assistance and can make help requests that arrive at four call points distributed on the airport, Avionews reported.
Eight skilled people with social operator licence and a first level training on airport security work on the airport in Northern Sardinia to give assistance to travellers flying into Alghero airport.

Please also note Ryanair's Terms and Conditions about

Reduced mobility, blind/vision impaired, Medical Conditions or Passengers requiring special assistance in the airport

(as of October 2008)

For safety reasons Ryanair can carry only a maximum of four passengers per flight who have either reduced mobility, or are blind/visually impaired travelling with a guide dog or alone or require special assistance at the airport. Such passengers (including in the case of those who are blind/vision impaired if travelling with a sighted companion) should notify Ryanair of their condition/requirements on the day of booking via your local Ryanair call centre. Failure to prebook may result in the service being unavailable on your arrival at the airport and your being refused carriage.
Ryanair for safety reasons does not permit passengers to bring their own oxygen on board. If oxygen is required for use during the flight it must be reserved for a fee of £100/€148 (or local currency equivalent) directly with Ryanair preferably on the same day of booking or at the latest 7 days prior to travel. Safety Regulations limit oxygen requests to one per flight. Passengers requiring oxygen must carry a letter from their doctor confirming that they are fit to travel and that the oxygen flow we provide is suitable for their patient. Passengers will not be accepted for travel without this letter.
If for medical reasons, passengers need to inject themselves during the flight (e.g. diabetics) they are permitted to carry syringes in the cabin. They will be asked to produce appropriate medical evidence (a doctor’s letter will suffice) when they check in or at security. This should be kept with them at all times.
Due to health and safety requirements special assistance passengers are required to check-in at the airport (any airport check-in fee paid on booking will be refunded at the time that the special services are booked).

Better Access to Sardinia: Ryanair opens new base in Alghero

2008-10-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

Better Access to Sardinia from the north of England and Scotland: Ryanair opens two new bases in Alghero and Cagliari next year, linking Cagliari with Manchester and Edinburgh. The new base that will be opened in Alghero will not serve new UK and Ireland destinations.

However, the list of UK, Ireland and other European and Italian Ryanair connections is yet long: Flights into Alghero start from

London Stansted
East Midlands
Liverpool
Dublin
Oslo
Stockholm
Bremen
Düsseldorf/Weeze
Frankfurt/Hahn
Milan Orio al Serio
Vencice
Bologna-Forli
Genoa
Pisa
Rome-Ciampino
Brussels
Paris
Barcelona-Girona
Madrid

Brief history of Alghero airport: From a military airport to a centre for low cost connections from Sardinia to the rest of Europe.

2008-10-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

Alghero Airport was founded as a military airport during the second world war.In the 1960’s the first air terminal was build in an old hangar. Only in 1968, a proper air terminal was built up; in the 1970's the runway was enlarged from 2,200 metres to today’s length of 3,000 metres.
The airport for years also as a pilot training centre not only by Italian military but also Alitalia. In the 1980’s Alghero Airport became complete airport for civil use. Nowadays, numerous charter planes as well as international low cost carrier connections link Alghero to all mayor European centres
For more information on Alghero airport history see the official website.

Ryanair calls on European Commission to reduce regulatory burden also on Alghero Airport

2008-10-15T00:30:00.000-07:00

Ryanair, called on 14 October 14th, 2008 on the European Commission to reduce the regulatory burden and costs on airlines and to embark upon anti-consumer scams such as fuel surcharges and screenscraper mis-selling in order to keep Europe’s air fares low during this recession. Ryanair also called on the EU Commission to urgently address and reverse many of the expensive, anti-consumer regulations introduced in recent years which have added significantly to the cost of all air travel within Europe, while delivering minimal passengers benefits. Such measures would include to take away the 7 State Aid investigations against Ryanair’s contracts at small regional airports including: Alghero, Palau, Frankfurt/Hahn, among others, Peanuts Online reported.

Germanwings does not serve Cologne/Bonn connection to Alghero in 2008

2008-05-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

The German low cost airline Germanwings does not offer its Cologne/Bonn-Alghero connection any more in 2008, Germanwings said. The company launched a connection from Germany to Alghero in 2007 but too much competition on the market forced the carrier to interrupt the service in 2008. Competitor TUIfly offers connections five times a week from Köln to Olbia Costa Smeralda and three times a week to Cagliari in the South of Sardinia.