Not good news for expats and regular travelers in Spain who travel tourist class with Iberia as they have announced they will be charging for second suitcases checked into the hold from 1st March 2010, in an attempt to lighten the planes, save fuel costs and speed up operations ….. no mention of making more money or reducing costs to passengers you note!

Although many are warning that Britain is at risk of plunging back into recession based on the remarkably low growth figures (0.1%) compared to an expected 0.4%, the 18 month recession has officially ended and early indications are that it is good news for the travel industry, and therefore one hopes for expats living in Spain hoping to see the tourism related business that so many depend on for their income pick up.

Spanish Air Traffic Controllers are threatening to disrupt flight plans for thousands of expats living in Spain either wanting to fly back to the UK to spend time with their families and take advantage of the current exchange rates, or wanting to fly out to their holiday homes and get some sunshine over the Easter break.

The Telegraph has an excellent article highlighting the best routes by air, rail, and ferry to Sain for 2010, and explains how to save money on car hire. With more and more flights getting cut, and ferry services scheduled to stop later in the year this is a pretty comprehensive guide.

Unfortunatley it doesn’t say if flights are winter, winter and summer, or just summer but it does list the web sites and phone numbers for the various companies.

Overweight passengers who cannot squeeze into a single plane seat are to be charged double to fly with Air France.

People who cannot fit into a standard seat will be asked to pay for two seats, or not be allowed on board for “safety reasons”, according to the airline.

Air France spokeswoman Monique Matze said: “We have to make sure that the backrest can move freely up and down and that all passengers are securely fastened with a safety belt.

Gatwick Airport has suspended all flights while it clears snow off the runway. It does not expect flights to resume until at least 4pm. Passengers should check with their airline before travelling to the airport.

Heathrow Airport is open but warning of flight delays and cancellations due to the weather. Passengers should check with their airline before travelling to the airport.

Stansted Airport and Luton Airport are open and operating as normal.

Gatwick Airport, Heathrow Airport, Stansted Airport, Luton Airport and London City Airport are all open but warning of some delays and cancellations. Check with your airline before travelling.

The Stansted Express, Heathrow Express and Gatwick Express are running as normal.

Southampton Airport’s runway reopened at approximately 10.30am. Flights have started to arrive but departures have been delayed as they clear the backlog. Passengers are being advised to check in as normal.

Gatwick Airport is open and flights are operating, but the runway is subject to intermittent closure to enable clearance of snow and ice. Delays and cancellations are ongoing.

Heathrow Airport , Stansted Airport , Luton Airport and London City Airport are all open but warning of some delays and cancellations. Check with your airline before travelling.

The Stansted Express is subject to delays, cancellations and alterations. The Heathrow Express and Gatwick Express are running as normal.

News and travel advice following widespread airport closures, flight delays and flight cancellations due to snow.

Heathrow Airport is open but is advising passengers to check with their airline before leaving for the airport and leave extra time to get there. The live departures and arrivals board is showing some delays but minimal cancellations. The Heathrow Express rail link is operating as normal.

Services to Madrid, Paris, Amsterdam and Toulouse are the worst effected by the cancellation of around 80 flights around Europe by EasyJet, with 24 flights relating to Spain having to be cancelled.

The prime reason is the continuing bad weather in the UK which apart from causing havocs with the airports, has messed up the flight crew schedules with many exceeding their flight allowance limits, and many crew members are simply stuck in the wrong places.

All on board escaped unhurt after unconfirmed reports of an explosion in one of the engines

A Spanair flight en route from Madrid to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria had to make an emergency landing in Sevilla in the early hours of Wednesday, owing to ‘problems’ on board the aircraft. Authorities at Sevilla’s San Pablo Airport activated their emergency protocol, but AENA Spanish airports have confirmed that there were no incidents or injuries as flight JK5042 touched down in the Andalucía capital at around 2am.

Spanish airline Air Comet announced today that all its flights have been suspended owing due to financial problems due to which it is unable to pay its debts. The airline has a fleet of 13 planes and around 1500 passengers use its services everyday.

The service is operated by Air Nostrum with tickets expected to cost 100 Euro

The new air link between Almería and Sevilla, operated by Air Nostrum, is to commence operations on 15th January, covering the 422 kms which separate the two cities in just under one hour. The President of the Junta de Andalucía, José Antonio Griñán, was in Almería province this Saturday and announced in Vícar that the service will operate two flights daily each way from Mondays to Fridays, with one flight a day in each direction on Saturdays and Sundays.

THE EU Court of Justice has ruled that airlines passengers who suffer delays of more than three hours have the right to compensation equivalent to those whose flights are cancelled, as it has considered that the loss of time and other problems caused by such a delay are the same as in the case of a cancellation.

In a landmark judgment the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg said passengers whose flights were significantly delayed should receive up to £535 (600 Euros), the same as if the flight was cancelled.

The ruling means an airline would only be entitled to refuse compensation if it could prove that the delay was caused by “extraordinary circumstances” beyond its control, and would not include a plane suffering technical difficulties.

The first flights will be within 3 months once the contract has been confirmed

A new air link between Almería and Sevilla is to be operated by Air Nostrum, a route which has been authorised as a public service and which will be funded by Andalucía’s regional government.

Airline approaches to Spanish airports are set to change in 2010

It’s hard to be green at the best of times, but even more so during a recession.

I imagine that few expats, booking their Christmas flights online, are currently ticking the carbon offset box, to clear their conscience about the size of their footprint.
And maybe that the box to pay is no longer there anyway, some airlines have recently removed it.

Iberia have cancelled 34 flights in Andalucía as a result of continued strike action by cabin crew, most of them in or out of Málaga airport.

There are 18 cancellations today and 16 tomorrow, Wednesday. Sevilla and Granada have had 8 flights cancelled and Jerez has had 6 cancelled.

There are currently plans to continue the strike action during December. (Via Nerja Today)

Proposals drawn up by the European Commission would see the 100 ml limit being scrapped at major airports in April 2012 and completely two years later.

The first concession, under the Commission’s blueprint, would come into force next April. It would mean passengers from outside the EU would no longer have to surrender liquids they bought from duty free shops at the start of their journey if they were changing planes for an onwards transfer.

The number of flight delays in the UK is at its lowest level for 14 years, as demand for air travel continues to decline.

Punctuality statistics, released today for ten major airports in the UK, show that 82 per cent of scheduled flights were on time in April-June this year, up from 71 per cent last year.

“On time” is defined as leaving or arriving at the aircraft stand within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.