Lufthansa-Lufthansa has been forced to operate to a special timetable until Monday, December 20, 2010, in which numerous flights on German and European routes into and out of Frankfurt will have to be cancelled. This measure is necessary in order to reinstate flight operations on their customary stable basis. Lufthansa long-haul flights are not affected.There is a dedicated phone number for changes/cancellations.
Ryanair-Passengers who were booked to travel on one of the below cancelled flights can either apply online for a refund of their unused flight(s) OR transfer to the next available flight free of charge (a) online, (b) the airport ticket desk or (c) by calling our reservation centres…
Easyjet – can rebook or request a refund online for affected flights.
KLM / Air France – can apply for refund for canceled flights through December 19. Can also make changes to bookings with departure dates up to December 23.
United Airlines – travel waivers issued for London and Paris.
Delta Airlines – If your flight is canceled or significantly delayed, you are entitled to a refund. Even if your flight is not canceled, you may make a one-time change to your ticket without fee if you are scheduled to travel to, from, or through the following cities on Delta, Delta Connection, or Delta-coded flights during the specified time periods listed…Cities include Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London and Paris, and travel dates of December 17-20.
American Airlines – One time change without fee for affected flights – you’ll need to contact reservations regarding potential refunds.
Air Canada – Changes are permitted, refunds are permitted and if you are scheduled to travel to affected areas in the next few days changes / refunds without fees are also permitted. Air Canada does advise  Air Canada deeply regrets the inconvenience caused by the cancellation of our Heathrow flights by circumstances outside of our control. Unfortunately, we do not anticipate resuming normal services at Heathrow for at least 48 hours. Furthermore, due to the tremendous backlog caused by the closure of Heathrow over the past two days, our ability to provide seats to customers of already cancelled flights will be severely limited by already full flights during the Christmas holiday peak and the scarcity of available slots at Heathrow airport.The flexible policy mentioned above is for all affected European routes, not just London.

Qantas – may rebook without penalty but new travel date must be before December 27, or use ticket as a future travel credit.
Air New Zealand – for London,If you decide not to travel, you will be entitled to re-book on another Air New Zealand flight (conditions apply) or, if you have not yet commenced your travel, you will be entitled to claim a refund (even if your ticket is non-refundable). Our Contact Centre is able to assist with this. Free phone 0800 737 000 from within New Zealand or 0064 9 357 3000 from outside New Zealand.

My colleague, who covers Germany Travel, weighs in, and provides links for the major German airports. And over at Paris Travel  a brief look at how the snowy weather is affecting air travel in France.Regardless of the policies, even as snow is plowed off the runways, skies clear, and planes take-off – expect delays as airlines scramble to catch up after the major snowfalls and with the busy holiday season upon us – already full flights to boot.

The airline’s A320 aircraft on trans-Tasman and Pacific services will have one-class and 171 seats. But customers can chose from four options. A Seat option allows one carry on bag of 7kg, tea, coffee and water and access to some entertainment options but no new release entertainment.A Seat Plus Bag option allows one carry on and one checked bag, tea, coffee and water and some entertainment. The Works option has a meal and drinks and a seat request.

Works Deluxe allows two priority bags, a carry on bag, a seat request, a meal and drinks, a guaranteed empty seat next to you, premium check in, lounge access and better entertainment options.General manager short haul, Bruce Parton, said the fastest growing part of the trans-Tasman market was at the leisure market.Businesses really aren’t flying a lot in business class. They just won’t pay it, he said. A Works Deluxe airfare would be $500 to $600 cheaper than a business class airfare and the seat-only option would be “in exactly the same place” as budget airlines.

Seat-only will appeal for children. Where there is a family going across, Mum and Dad may book The Works and the kids get booked as Seat, he said.He said the product range announced today was world leading.Certainly no one has done it on an international sector, he said.The airline was also introducing automated check in procedures similar to those currently used on domestic flights. A chip in a passport could be used to check in.

Christchurch would be the first market to receive the new product offering, with fares on sale from April 29 for travel late August, before it goes on sale network-wide in early September with travel rolling out from late-November.Closer to launch time we will be revealing how much we will be slashing the cost of travel, but it would be fair to say the savings on lead-in fares would buy an extra night’s accommodation for a family of four on their holiday to the Gold Coast.

The airline said it would also introduce a new way of selling airfares.The Tasman is one of the most fiercely competitive airline markets in the world, with eight airlines competing for the 5.8 million passengers who fly between Australia and New Zealand each year, said Mr Parton.Air New Zealand had a market share of 2.1 million of these passengers and planned to maintain this.
Air New Zealand operates trans-Tasman 280 flights per week and 72 Pacific Island flights each week.The announcement was welcomed by the Tourism Industry Association (TIA) and Wellington International Airport Ltd.

Wellington airport chief executive Steve Fitzgerald said the changes could be an important step in generating even more travel between New Zealand and Australia.The range of products will further enhance choice and competition, and Wellington Airport is very pleased with the increased capacity that will result, Mr Fitzgerald said.Based on Air New Zealand’s current schedule of services, the reconfiguration of Air New Zealand aircraft will add around 4.7% in capacity on the Tasman for Wellington.

TIA chief executive Tim Cossar said the products provided real choice for every section of the market, at the same time as providing more seats on the crucial trans Tasman route.Simplifying travel into New Zealand for Australian visitors will be a significant new boost for our single most important market, especially as we emerge from recession. Australia has been critical to supporting our tourism industry through the last few difficult months and this move by Air New Zealand will help continue that trend, he said.

John Whittaker, general manager of the domestic airline, said that January 2010 had seen the company’s strongest load factor ever.The increase will take the shape of a 10.5 per cent rise in flight numbers and will be made possible by the arrival of a new Airbus A320 fleet.Mr Whittaker commented: 2011 promises to be a bumper year in New Zealand as the country creates a festival of events spanning 12 months, including arts, culture and sport.

Earlier in the year, the actor Alan Dale, who has appeared in shows such as Neighbours and Ugly Betty, recommended travellers should venture to New Zealand’s North Island as it is a fish eaters paradise”.

Auckland International Airport Ltd supported the flights with VIP handling of arriving passengers. Air New Zealand is repositioning its marketing campaign in Japan by focusing on the  new  New Zealand with the aim of attracting tourists to experience based activities.The airline carried 939,000 passengers in January, up 1.7 percent on the same month last year. Demand was down 6.9 percent and capacity was reduced by 9.7 percent. The group load factor increased by 2.6 percentage points.

Short haul passenger numbers rise 3.9 percent when compared to January last year and long haul numbers rise 8.7 percent. The load factor on short haul was 82.2 percent and on long haul it was 84.7 percent.

Try getting fares form Travel Agencies rather than Airlines directly as most agencies buy tickets in bulk, get discounts and sell cheap fares.Always take not more than 2 hours to shop around when you are checking fares for comparison.Always take name and call back number from all people  agencies you call and note the quoted amount separately to get back to the right person.Book your flights at least 3 to 4 months prior to departure to get your hands on the cheap deals and promotional airfares.In case of last minute reservations, try indirect flights first, ask the time of stop over  change over, if only 2 to 4 hours are involved well, that’s the best don’t miss it cause direct flights will be already taken.If you insist on flying direct, call a whole seller or an agency that has contracts with top airlines such as British Airways, or Virgin or Qantas or other direct carriers.

Calling is better than online reservation as you can ask many questions, ask for the terms and conditions and also check if there are easy modes of payment available. easy mode of payment: installment  deposit plansWith the above techniques and important knowledge necessary to get your tickets, not only you can find cheap flights to New Zealand or Australia but also you can apply the some rules to get cheap flights or accommodations world wide.

Also one important thing is to check that the agency you are booking with is IATA or ATOLL bonded and a responsible company. Secondly, if you are buying early bird offers of making reservation about 6 months or more ahead of departure, always pay another 25-40 pounds extra but do get your self the flight insurance. As you may have seen last Christmas flights with most prestigious carriers like British Airways were cancelled, so if you have flight insurance or a holiday insurance at least you can get all your money back. But moist importantly your company will fight for it, while you will spend you day relaxing. However, the five star airlines such as British Airways are already insured them self are hold a positive repute for refunding

The airline magazine went on to applaud Air New Zealand for its strong financial performance in an otherwise depressing year for the airline industry, and the airline’s efforts to help the environmental challenges that currently face the industry. Air New Zealand conducted the world’s first sustainable biofuel flight in 2009.