Southwest Airlines $39 Birthday Sale (Image: Southwest.com)

Southwest Airlines is having their Birthday Bash Sale with $39 Airfares for select markets and select flights. Most flights 450 miles and under per leg are included.

Travel must be booked by 6/24/2010 and completed between Sep 8, 2010 and Nov 17, 2010. Additional fees may apply.

• Purchase from June 22 through June 24, 2010, 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time.
• Travel September 8 through November 17, 2010.
• Travel valid every day except Fridays & Sundays.
• Fares do not include federal excise tax of $3.70 for each flight segment.
• Fares are available for one-way travel.

Additional details at: Southwest Airlines: 39th Birthday Sale

American Airlines has introduced the “Boarding and Flexibility Package,” which allows passengers who buy tickets on the carrier’s website also to purchase perks that include being among the first to board a flight.

The “introductory price” for the package ranges from $9 to $19 one way and varies based on the market and routing.

Read more at: Latest airline fee? Early boarding on CNN.com

1. Denied Boarding Compensation (DBC) must be increased to reflect the rise in consumer prices since 1978.
2. There must be an automatic inflation adjustment on minimum DBC payout levels.
3. DBC to be offered to involuntarily bumped “zero fare ticket” holders.
4. Airlines must also verbally offer a cash or check DBC if they verbally offer a travel voucher.
5. When asking for volunteers for DBC, airlines must also disclose any boarding priority rules and any restrictions for that flight.

Read more at: Everything you need to know about the new denied boarding compensation rules

Iceland Express (Source: IcelandExpress.com)

Iceland Express just announced sale fares to seven European countries in June for $399 roundtrip, including taxes.

Fly from Newark to Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Poland, England, Norway and Luxembourg. All flights stop over in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Click here for reservations

Route:
From Europe to United States, or vice versa.
- Destinations in Europe: Aalborg, Berlin, Billund, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Krakow, London Gatwick, Luxembourg, Oslo, Warsaw.
- Destinations in United States: The Big Apple itself — New York Newark airport.

Booking period: From 25 May to 30 June 2010.

Travel period: From 1 June to 30 September 2010.

The small print: Limited availability and selected dates. Taxes and fees, including the 11 Sep security fee, are included. Please eat your vegetables.

Source & Copyrights: The Daily Beast

Although airplane travel is the safest mode of transportation, and America arguably has the safest air traffic system in the world, there are differences worth noting for the millions of global travelers who will fly a U.S.-based airline this summer. Incidents, and accidents, do happen!

The Daily Beast ranks America’s most dangerous airlines and U.S. Airways and JetBlue came in near the top, while Delta, United and Continental came in at the bottom.

See the results and read more at: America’s Most Dangerous Airlines

Most people heading for European destinations had relatively minor problems despite a few cancellations. But severe disruption continued to hit transatlantic flights as aircraft were forced into long detours around the ash cloud, adding hours to flight times.

All European airports were open this morning after ash concentrations over the continent dispersed, but ash may head back towards Portugal and Spain this afternoon, causing more problems.

Airlines were reducing flights to some destinations but providing bigger aircraft to carry more passengers as they tried to keep to their timetables after another weekend of travel disruption.

The Eurocontrol air traffic body said it expected 28,500 flights in European airspace today, about 500 below average. Traffic levels yesterday were 1,500 flights down as the plume closed airports from Scotland to northern Italy.

Flights to and from the US, Canada and the Caribbean were often several hours late, while Ryanair cancelled 18 flights today, including some between the UK and Faro, in Portugal.

EasyJet, which had to cancel some flights yesterday, said it was operating a near-normal service today with “only a very small number of cancellations”. British Airways said it was trying to keep passengers informed “but it is a challenge when the cloud keeps moving around”.

The Civil Aviation Authority, which agrees no-fly zones based on Met Office data, said current forecasts indicated skies over Britain should remain clear for the next 18-24 hours.

Reported from: guardian.co.uk

If you are reading this and have an internet connection, then you can read CNN’s post on the updates on flight departures, arrivals and opening of airspaces country-wise.

Read at: Developments in volcanic ash affecting air travel

Stranded? Broke? Send us your stories by comments.

Read more at: Most Travel Insurance Companies Covering Travelers Affected by Iceland Volcano Eruption Says US Travel Insurance Association

Update:
We just read this post on a UK-based website that Co-operative Bank will honor travel insurance claims for volcano ash. Here’s what the post says:

The Co-operative Insurance said its travel insurance customers will be covered on an ex gratia basis, subject to standard policy limits. “Although the volcanic eruption would not be ordinarily covered under The Co-operative Insurance’s travel policy, as a customer centric organisation we have taken the decision to honour any customer claims on an ex gratia basis for the delay or cancellation of flights and/or accommodation,” said a statement issued by the insurer. “We would also advise customers to contact their flight provider or travel agent directly.”

Customers with a Co-operative Bank or smile packaged current account have been told they will also be covered for their travel insurance on a similar ex gratia basis.

Read more at: Travel insurers to honour volcano ash claims

Also read: Direct Travel Insurance to Pay Claims for Travellers Impacted By Volcanic Ash Cloud

Original Post:

Source: dailymail.co.uk

We all know how much chaos the Iceland volcano has created in the last few days. Sources say that an estimated 7 million passengers are stranded world-wide because the airlines have grounded the planes. To add to the woes of these cash-stricken passengers, travel insurance companies are refusing to cover claims brought on by the disaster, says the Wall Street experts.

Here’s what the Wall Street Journal says:

As of April 13, travel insurance policies generally stopped covering the disruption that resulted from the ash cloud from Iceland.

It’s called the theory of the burning house. If your house is ablaze, you can’t go out and quickly buy homeowners coverage. In travel, as soon as a storm or event is known, you can buy all the insurance you want but it won’t cover those “known’’ events. Once a hurricane is named, most policies won’t cover it if the insurance was sold after the moment the storm was identified.

“In general, travel insurance policies don’t cover events related to natural disasters that are in progress or that have just happened. Even an approaching hurricane wouldn’t be covered if officials have already given it a name,” said Chris Harvey, chief executive of Squaremouth.com, a travel insurance comparison site.

Even if purchased before April 13, travel insurance can be of limited utility to travelers. If airlines refund tickets for canceled trips, for example, there’s no claim with insurers. If you haven’t left home, you won’t get money for hotels and accommodations under most policies. And many policies have limits on daily expenses if you are stranded away from home.

Are you stuck and reading this? Did you purchase travel insurance before this calamity? Send us your thoughts by comments.

Read original post: Travel Insurance Warning: No Ash Coverage Anymore
Also read: Insurers See Millions in Claims by Travelers

A spokesman for Arlanda airport in Stockholm said all transatlantic flights there were taking a longer route south to avoid the ash.
Cohenhagen airport is reporting severe disruptions. The Danish part of North Sea air space is closed, Danish air traffic controller Navair said, with further sectors of air space expected to be closed throughout the day as the ash cloud moves across the country. Ryanair said it would try to operate some flights out of southern Ireland today. The national carrier, Aer Lingus, canceled at least 40 flights in or out of Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Belfast. A spokesman for Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport said about 40 inbound and outbound flights had been canceled, mainly from Britain, Scandinavia and Russia.

The United Kingdom’s airspace was closed about noon Thursday (7 a.m. ET) and will be closed until at least 7 a.m. (2 a.m. ET) Friday, air traffic authorities said.

Some of the links or news articles that may be important:
- Google News on Iceland Volcano
- CNN: U.S. airlines cancel Europe flights
- Daily Mail UK: Icelandic volcano ash cloud cuts UK off and leaves thousands of passengers stranded
- Times Online: Volcanic ash cloud grounds flights over Britain
- CNN: Explainer: Why ash cloud endangers aircraft
- National Post: Airplane versus the volcano: why ash and planes don’t mix
- The Star: Volcano eruptions in Iceland could last for years
- New York Times: Volcanic Ash Shuts Down Air Traffic in North Europe

• $20 online if you’re a Spirit club member,
• $30 online for non-members and
• $45 at the airport.

Spirit Airlines Carry-on Baggage Fees

In addition to this new fee, the checked rates have gone up to $15 online for members on domestic/$20 on international, $25 online for non-members on domestic/$30 on international and $45 for anyone checking their first bag at the airport. Additional fees apply for additional bags.