Turkey's Leading Cheap Airline Increases Traffic Over 22%

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LONDON, England  During the first half of 2013, Pegasus increased its operational EBITDAR from 57.0 million TL to 200.1 million TL while increasing the EBITDAR margin by 12.6 bps to 20.4%.

Turkey's leading cheap carrier Pegasus Airlines increased traffic volume by 22.6% for the first six months of 2013 compared to the same period last year (source: Public Disclosure Platform, KAP). This year the company carried a total of 7.55 million guests on both its domestic and international routes, compared to last year's 6.16 million, and grew 1.3 times faster than the domestic passenger market and 1.8 times faster than the international market.

Pegasus Airlines ended the first six months of 2013 with a net profit of 44.1 million TL, an improvement of 114.3 million TL when compared to the same period in 2012, and posted a net profit margin of 4.5%.

Improvement on Load Factors, Efficiency and CASK
During the first six months of 2013, Pegasus offered 15 new domestic and international routes and increased the frequency of flights on its existing routes. Load factor increased from 77.0% to 79.3%. Passengers per cycle increased from 148 to 153 on domestic flights and from 134 to 139 on international flights.

A combination of sales campaigns and effective income management during the first half of 2013, enabled Pegasus to decrease its cost per available seat kilometer (CASK) from 10.48 Kurus (4.49%) to 9.88 Kurus (4.15%).  During this period Pegasus' ancillary revenue increased by 15%, to 19TL (7.99) per pax from 16.5TL (7.07).

Pegasus continued to utilize its fleet more effectively and efficiently in the first half of 2013, with aircraft utilization increasing from 11.1 to 12.1 block hours.  Source: http://www.cheap-flight-4u.com

Cheap Flights Tunes In To Television's Top Settings

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TORONTO--You can tell that summer's coming to an end when almost every other commercial on television is about the premiere dates of the new fall TV line-up. What better way to ease into the chill of autumn than cozied up in front of the TV watching our favourite shows? Have you ever wondered where all the TV magic is made? While many assume Hollywood or somewhere in the US, nowadays, settings and filming locations for TV shows are spread across the globe. So, the travel experts at Cheap flights, the online leader in finding and publishing travel deals, went on a discovery journey and compiled their Top 10 Trips for TV Lovers where you can see firsthand the settings of some of the small screen's most memorable series, current and past.

While many of our choices for TV spots (five to be exact) are, in fact, US destinations, below are the locales to make the list that show that all the world has become a stage for television shows (and fans):
Newbury, United Kingdom - "Downton Abbey" diehards can get a taste of the show's Edwardian era setting at the real Downton Abbey -- Highclere Castle -- a Victorian castle in England situated on 1,000 acres of parkland. The international hit, which chronicles the Crawley family and their servants starting in pre-World War I times, is shot on location at Highclere Castle and has generated international curiosity about the building, which serves as the Crawley family home on the show. Visitors can go inside the castle, explore the gardens on the property, take a woodland walk or sip coffee and tea in the tearooms. The area of Newbury, where Highclere Castle is located, offers plenty to see and do including historic homes, a bustling theatre scene, horse racing and nature reserves. Keep in mind the castle is only open to the public during certain times and you need a ticket to enter, so check their website for availability and pricing before trekking out to Newbury.

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Dubrovnik, Croatia - Creating the mythical continents of Westeros and Essos in "Game of Thrones" is, apparently, no small task. After all, filming locations are everywhere from Iceland to Northern Ireland, and Morocco to Malta. But a trip to Croatia will send you straight to the earthly versions of some of the show's key locations. As of this summer, visitors to Dubrovnik can take a "Game of Thrones" walking tour through the historic city, led by a Dubrovnik local, who is also a huge fan of the show and even a former "Game of Thrones" extra. Tourists will be guided through filming locations for scenes like King Joffrey's name day tournament, the Battle of Blackwater and the King's Landing riot. After trekking through the real locations of these on-screen sites in Dubrovnik, consider knocking a few other "Game of Thrones" destinations off your list; this fantasy series, the brainchild of George R. R. Martin, showcases some of the most stunning destinations around the world.

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Copenhagen, Denmark - Danish TV series "The Killing" follows detective Sarah Lund as she traverses Copenhagen trying to solve a murder case involving a high school student. One third of Denmark's population reportedly watches the show, which has cast a spotlight on Danish culture and garnered viewers in 17 countries. Fans of "The Killing" can check out sites used in the show such as the building housing Sarah Lund's apartment, The Danish Parliament and Pentecost Woods (depicted as a crime scene in the series). You can even head to Gudrun & Gudrun to buy the star-patterned wool sweater made popular when Sarah Lund wore it on the show. In addition, successful Danish-Swedish crime show "The Bridge" revolves around a dead body found under the Øresund Bridge, which connects Denmark and Sweden and is the longest bridge in Europe. The show is filmed on location in Copenhagen and Malmö, and features shots of the 10-mile-long bridge. Peter and Ping Literary Walks offers guided tours of Copenhagen filming locations from "The Killing" and "The Bridge".

Toronto, Ontario, Canada - Toronto acts as the backdrop for a rather hefty (and growing) load of TV shows; episodes from more than 100 series were completed in Toronto in 2012 according to the city. Often dubbed Hollywood North, Toronto even serves as the filming location for some TV shows that are set in American cities. Large stages with unobstructed skyline views have come to the outskirts of the city and convinced shows like "Nikita", "Covert Affairs" and "Suits" (from American networks) to put down roots in Toronto. Police drama "Rookie Blue", which chronicles the lives of cops who recently graduated from the police academy, is set in Toronto. The show's characters reference some of the city's iconic streets such as King Street and Yonge Street, and focus on the area covered by Toronto Police's 51 Division (known as the 15 Division on the show).

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A world tour - For the ambitious TV traveller, why not pretend you're "The Bachelor" or a contestant on "The Amazing Race" and set out for an around-the-world tour? Loyal fans of these reality TV series are treated to the stunning vistas and cultural details of exotic locales around the world -- a weekly wanderlust-inducing experience for viewers. "Bachelor" and "Bachelorette" stars have travelled to countless destinations in their quest for true love, including Anguilla, St. Lucia, Tahiti, South Africa, Panama, Croatia, Belize, New Zealand, Bora Bora, Prague and Thailand. "Amazing Race" contestants have navigated language barriers, tackled tough challenges tied to local cultures, and worked against the clock to destination hop around the world. Destinations in Alaska, Namibia, Amsterdam, Scotland, New Zealand, China and Italy are just a few of the stops these on-screen world travellers have made. And for the true die-hard fans in Canada, you can audition for The Bachelor Canada or The Amazing Race Canada, and get an authentic reality show travel experience.

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Rounding out our list are five US locations that are already, or are becoming, hot tourist destinations for TV fans: New York, New York  ("Mad Men", "Girls", "Seinfeld", "Sex and the City" and more); Albuquerque, New Mexico ("Breaking Bad"); New England ("Family Guy", "Cheers", "Boston Legal", "Ally McBeal", "Wings"); Hawaii ("Hawaii Five-O", "Lost"); and Pacific Northwest ("Grey's Anatomy", "Portlandia").
About Cheapflights.ca, part of the Momondo Group

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Momondo Group is an online travel media and technology company that is driven by the belief that an open world is a better world. The group now serves travel search and inspiration to over 13 million visitors a month -- plus 6 million travel newsletter subscribers -- via its Cheapflights (http://www.cheap-flight-4u.com) brands.  Skygate began the sourcing of complex air-travel data in 1992, while Cheapflights pioneered the online comparison of flight deals for users in 1996 and momondo launched meta-search in the Nordic countries in 2006.

The Group has offices in London, Copenhagen, Boston and Toronto, with a consumer base across more than 20 core international markets but users all over the world.

Jet Airways May Shift Away from Cheap Model

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Subsidiary Jet Konnect may be re-positioned as a full-service airline as part of alignment with Etihad Airways

New Delhi: Jet Airways (India) Ltd, which remodeled subsidiary JetKonnect as a budget airline, may re-position it again as a full-service airline as part of its alignment with Etihad Airways PJSC.
The re-modelling, offering free meals, better frequent flier miles and business class seats, may mean that Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways could switch from its 2008 shift of mirroring a low-fare airline like IndiGo to becoming a full-service network carrier. IndiGo charges for meals, has no business class seats and does not reward passengers for loyalty with frequent flier programs.
The plan is to start giving free meals to passengers like it was earlier on JetKonnect and bring the airline at par with Jet Airways in all respects, said a person familiar with the matter who declined to be named, This will be one of the many steps towards aligning with Etihad.
JetKonnect may also offer better reward points to customers like parent Jet Airways in its frequent fliers program. All JetKonnect flights are expected to have eight business class seats, while the rest will be economy, this person said.
The airline was discussing the plan to offer free food internally and may execute it soon, said a second person, who too declined to be named.
An email sent on Friday to Jet Airways spokeswoman remain unanswered.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad is a full-service airline, which means it provides free meals, lounge access, in-flight entertainment, frequent flier rewards within the airfare it charges for business or economy seats.
Jet Airways provides similar features on its international service and most domestic services, but under strain from rivals, it had decided to turn its subsidiary Jet Konnect into a dedicated low-cost airline in 2008 with all-economy seats and food sold on board. Jet Konnect is the re-branded version of Air Sahara the airline firm Jet bought in 2007.
Jet is now in the process of selling a 24% stake to Etihad and is waiting for a final clearance from the cabinet committee on economic affairs after getting a conditional nod from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in July.
After this, it plans to connect 23 cities to Abu Dhabi from where they can fly further to Europe, North America or other continents, mostly on Etihad. This means, for instance, that a Lucknow-Abu Dhabi-New York trip has to have the same service standards throughout Lucknow-Abu Dhabi cannot be low cost and Abu Dhabi-New York full service.
The move to launch JetKonnect led to brand confusion, with passengers unclear about whether they would get a Jet Airways service or a JetKonnect one, analysts said.
The Jet Airways story is very confused. There’s Jet Airways and Jet Konnect and there was JetLite, said Shakti Lumba, an aviation consultant formerly working with Air India and IndiGo. Until it reorganizes, I see little benefit from the oxygen Etihad is supplying.
The JetLite brand was converted into JetKonnect in 2012. Together they now operate over 580 flights daily with 111 aircraft to 76 cities.
A foreign airline executive said it was never a good idea for Jet to have diluted its product. It is never a good strategy to turn an existing full-service airline into an LCC overnight. Just changing colours on the aircraft, and a nice new logo and stopping food service is taking a very shallow, very naive approach to the whole LCC (low cost carrier) thing. It confuses and demoralizes the company staff. It is like white washing a building without fixing the cracks in it. Over time, the paint starts to wear off and you can see the cracks reappear, this executive said, asking not to be identified.
Jet Airways hasn't been profitable in recent years. In the June quarter, Jet Airways posted a loss of Rs.355 crore.
A person with knowledge of the airline said serving free meals will mean at least Rs.100-200 as an extra cost per passenger, which in turn means Rs.50-60 crore in additional cost a year. The success of the move will then depend on whether Jet is also able to raise fares. This person also declined to be named.
The foreign airline executive quoted above said Jet should focus its energies on being a network carrier and leave the low-cost airlines like IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir to their respective models.
Jet was built as a great product carrier silver cutlery, huge cabin costs, over staffing etc. Its response to low-cost carriers’ evolution was to repaint old Air Sahara aircraft, remove food and drop fares and was at best a jugged (make do) sort of thing, a quick fix, he said. More needs to be done. For instance, Jet must start to build a true domestic hub at Mumbai (already happening to some extent) and perhaps one at Hyderabad that offers the space for a hub to be built. It should remain true to itself as a network carrier by differentiating. Let LCCs do what they do best.

New Cheap Airline Launches in South Africa

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Safair set to spread wings even further through launch of Fly Safair
Safair, a trusted and respected name in the airline industry, has been granted approval by the South Africa’s Air Service Licensing Council to launch their own domestic scheduled operation, Fly Safair.  Offering up to ten daily flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town, Fly Safair will be utilizing two Boeing 737-400 aircraft to service the route. The cheap carrier is set to officially launch tickets sales in September and be fully operational by the last quarter of 2013.  “We are extremely excited about this new chapter in Safair’s history and we look forward to further being of service to South Africa’s flying public,” says Dave Andrew, CEO of Safair.  “Having close to 50 years of aviation experience, along with our proven track record of excellence within the aviation industry, the launch of Fly Safair represents a natural evolution of our business.”

Safair is considered to be one of Africa's foremost leading aviation service providers with an established history of enabling airlines and operators to successfully navigate their business in an ever-changing business climate.  The company’s dedication to excellence has been fostered by their years of expertise and experience in providing aircraft leasing, maintenance, special operations, chartering and training services. Safair has a 75% South African shareholding, with the other 25% owned by the Irish ASL Aviation Group.

Since the early eighties, Safair has also been working with international aid partners such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, World Food Program and the United Nations, providing flights and carrying goods and supplies into the rest of Africa, and in fact the world, as part of their commitment to corporate social investment.

Few people realize just how involved Safair has been in the South African aviation sector over the last few years, having served as a commercial support partner for most other local airlines.  This involves Safair being contracted to operate the other airlines’ schedules whenever they have an aircraft out of service due to technical reasons or crew shortages. In these instances, Safair provides their own unbranded aircraft and crew, and operates under the company name of the airline it is assisting.

Due to this support service, Safair can already boast a history of flying a large number of the South African general public.  Andrew concludes that Fly Safair has the necessary experience, expertise and record of excellence needed to provide world-class and industry leading services to the low cost airline industry in South Africa.

 “Although many people have commented that the airline industry is an unfavorable environment for new entrants at the moment, we would like to remind the public that we have been flying commercially for almost half a century already and we have no doubt that Fly Safair will only serve to further grow the domestic market.  Owing to our reputation of success, we assert that our new carrier will operate proficiently, and offer the highest standards of excellence and service to our customers – all at a price that they can afford. We look forward to welcoming you on board again.”

Cheap Flights to be Opened in Ukraine

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Five new Cheap Flights will be opened this fall to the UK, Germany, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Vilkul announced.
"There are 9 cheap airlines in Ukraine, which account for about 20 percent of aviation operations. Since the beginning of this year, the air carriers have launched 7 new flights to Georgia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway, and Latvia. In autumn 5 new flights will be opened," Vilkul said. He noted that the government promotes the work of cheap airlines that provide the public with the ability to fly at low prices.

Skyscanner is simple and fast. And it’s free to use! Compare Cheap Flights then book your airline tickets to Ukraine directly by clicking through to agency and airline sites.If your travel dates are flexible we can show you the cheapest days in the month to fly. And if you’re in the mood for adventure you can search on Skyscanner from your chosen departure airport to everywhere. So the only question left is... where to now?

Cheap Flights Site Skyscanner to Recruit 250 New Staff

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Travel website http://www.cheap-flight-4u.com , based in Edinburgh, to fund doubling of workforce through profits, with 2012 turnover at £33.5m

Skyscanner is re-investing its profit in doubling its workforce. Photograph: Luke Macgregor/REUTERS
Skyscanner, the online flight search service, is to double its workforce to 500 in the next year.

The Edinburgh-based site is to fund the expansion through cash flow and operating profits, according to the Financial Times.

Skyscanner, which takes a cut on each booking or a commission on each click through to an airline website http://www.cheap-flight-4u.com which converts into a sale, turned over £33.5m in 2012.

Founder Gareth Williams told the Guardian last year that the site would expand tenfold in the next three or four years.

Williams told the FT that the site was already bigger than rival Kayak outside the US "and not far behind them globally".

More than half of the new jobs are expected to be in Scotland.

 Watch our video interview with rival travel startup GoEuro, which compares flights with coach and train connections across Europe. 

Russia's Aeroflot to Launch Cheap Airline Amid Effort to Revamp Brand

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Russia's state airline, Aeroflot, will invest £65m in creating its own budget carrier to begin flying in March, Russian media reported. But while low-cost carriers are infamous for their flight delays, it's hard to imagine how Aeroflot's delays could get any worse, as the airline's existing customer service, like its hammer-and-sickle logo, often seems to be a relic of Soviet times. Aeroflot, once the Soviet national airline and still the largest carrier in Russia, will spend the money over the next two years on establishing a subsidiary company on the model of Ryanair and Jetstar, according to a presentation given to Aeroflot's board of directors last Thursday and reported on Monday. Although the airline will start with domestic flights, it may eventually include international routes to popular destinations such as Barcelona, Istanbul, Kiev and Yerevan.

The move comes as Aeroflot tries to revamp its image both at home and abroad. This month the airline became Manchester United's first Russian sponsor. "This means that with the help of 660 million fans we are now going to promote Russia and Aeroflot on the European market," Aeroflot's general director, Vitaly Savelyev, told the television channel Rossiya 24.

Meanwhile, in Russia, a company owned by the TV presenter and socialite Tina Kandelaki has won a 27.5m-ruble (£550m) contract to gain Aeroflot 190,000 followers on social networks in the course of a year, state media reported on Monday.

Aeroflot celebrated its 90th anniversary in March. In Soviet times, the ubiquitous advertising tagline "Fly Aeroflot" was often the subject of jokes, since there weren't any other carriers. The phrase "Aeroflot chicken," a derogatory reference to the airline's unappetising fare, also became a meme.

Although service has improved since the Soviet era, Aeroflot still draws complaints. Most recently, Dmitry Muratov, the editor of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, wrote a column in June about the overnight delay of an Aeroflot flight to the Crimea. Visit our website http://www.cheap-flight-4u.com