Stranded Brits Expected Home on Schedule

Find tickets, new flights, even lounges

(NEWSER) - Every air traveler armed with a smartphone should load up on these five apps, says the Travel section of USA Today:

• SkyScanner (Free): This app will hunt down the best price for your ticket. It scans not only all of the airlines' websites but all of the online travel agencies (Expedia, Priceline) as well.
• Next Flight ($2.99): Yeah, it's relatively pricey, but worth the cost when needed. If your flight is canceled or delayed, or you just plain miss it, the app provides a list of all available flights from all carriers over the next two days. If none are there, it searches for hotels and car rentals.
• Priority Pass (Free): This app supplies a list of all the lounges at your airport. You can look through photos and amenities before deciding whether to shell out money for a pass.

Even after airspace opens, huge backlog awaits

(NEWSER) - Even after airspace closed by volcanic ash reopens, the hordes of would-be travelers waiting at airports around the world shouldn't count on catching the first flight out. "An international airline system is such a carefully orchestrated network that any disruption, especially of this size, is really going to take many days for operations to get back to normal," a rep for a major industry group tells CNN . Getting back to normal could take as long as 6 days. More»

After test flights, carriers push for reevaluation; UK hold extended

(NEWSER) - Some airlines have conducted their own test flights and want the ban on most flights over Europe ended, but UK airspace will remain closed until tomorrow evening at the earliest. Air Berlin, Air France/KLM, and Lufthansa have sent aircraft through the cloud of volcanic ash that's crippled air travel for 4 days, and the head of KLM tells the BBC he wants to "get permission as soon as possible to partially restart our operations." More»

Airlines ramp up discounts in promotional offers

(NEWSER) - The latest airfare deals aren't online or at travel agencies—they're targeted promotional fares, being emailed and tweeted to customers who sign up to receive them or who enroll in frequent-flier programs. These under-the-radar offers, an inexpensive form of advertising increasingly popular with recession-battered airlines, range from 10% discounts to buy-one-get-one-free ticket deals, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Ballot authorizing walkout illegal; holiday job action may not proceed

(AP) - Britain's High Court has granted British Airways an emergency injunction to stop a 12-day strike by its cabin crew over the Christmas and New Year's break. The court today backed BA's claim that the ballot of around 13,000 workers by the Unite labor union was illegal because it included members no longer employed by the airline. More»