Virgin Upper Class Sale

Virgin Atlantic have announced the sale of Upper Class seats on a range of flights out of London Heathrow and Gatwick, with prices starting as low as £1,099 return to New York.

The promotion also includes flights to Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Delhi, Mumbai, Shanghai, Dubai, Lagos and Nairobi, for tickets purchased before June 24, for travel until December 31.

The Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Experience starts with a complimentary chauffeur driven car service to and from the airport. Your seat is more like a suite, with a table and extra seat for a guest / business meeting, and the seat reclines into a fully flat position, converting into a wide and very confortable bed. The 'snooze pack' includes all kinds of goodies to help you relax and enjoy the flight, including Cowshed beauty products and essentials such as toothbrush, eyeshades, socks and earplugs.

New Ryanair Route Between Manchester & Frankfurt

Ryanair has announced a new flight route between Manchester Airport and Frankfurt Hahn, starting October 26.

Flights will operate four times per week, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Ryanair expects to carry 60,000 passengers per year on the route.

This brings the total of Ryanair destinations available from Manchester to 7.

Early Morning Heathrow Flights Challenged In Court

Wandsworth and Richmond councils will go to court next week in an attempt to reduce the number of early morning flight arrivals at Heathrow Airport. There are currently an average 16 flights arriving at Heathrow between the hours of 04.30 and 06.00.

The move follows the councils' previous 2005 challenge against the government's night flight arrangements, when it was discovered that some flights before 06.00 fell into the wrong noise category. These included the popular Boeing 747-400 RR.

The judicial hearing will be heard for 3 days from May 20, by Mr Justice Sullivan. The challenge is also backed by Hounslow, Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham, and Hillingdon councils.

New £10 million Security Area For Manchester Airport

Manchester Airport has opened its new £10 million security area, in an attempt to speed up the security check process. It was recently voted one of the worst airports in the UK by passengers.

New X ray machines, costing £2.2 million, offer 3D, full-colour images of the contents of hand baggage, and vapour testing machines will test liquids to ensure no unauthorised substances get through the security area.

Additional measures to speed up the security process include additional security lanes, and the creation of a security hall, designed to make the whole process less stressful.

Jet2 Launches New York Flights

Jet2.com has launched a new flight service between Leeds Bradford Airport and New York (Newark).

Jet2holidays.com has also launched a series of 3 night shopping breaks, with prices starting from £699 per person. Prices include flights, 3 nights accommodation and all taxes and flight charges.

This is the first direct New York flight to be launched from Leeds Bradford, so it will be interesting to see how much demand there is.

Eastern Launch New Direct Flight From Newcastle To Norway

Eastern Airways have today launched a new direct daily service between Newcastle Airport and Stavanger, on the south west coast of Norway.

Flights leave Newcastle at 09.50, landing at Stavanger at 12.40. Return flights depart Stavanger at 13.10, arriving in Newcastle at 14.00.

The route is popular with business travellers working within the gas and oil industries, as Stavanger is the energy capital of Norway. However, Stavanger has also been named European Capital of Culture 2008, so the route should also appeal to leisure travellers.

Foreign Visitors Allowed Into UK Unchecked

The Terminal 5 debacle shows no sign of disappearing from the news, as it has been revealed that a number of international flights into Heathrow Airport T5 were wrongly treated as domestic, with passengers subsequently taken through the airport without proper immigration and customs control.

The Telegraph reported yesterday that amid the recent chaos at the new terminal, international passengers were allowed to enter the UK without passing through the correct immigration and customs channels. Passengers arriving on a flight from Libya were even allowed to pass through the airport without showing their passports, which is a disturbing breach of airport security and immigration control.

BA admitted that there had been a very small number of errors of this nature, but said that they were confident that the problem had been addressed and new processes put in place.