Globe Merchant Travel Blog

The US carrier Delta Airlines has completed a takeover of rival Northwest Airlines to create the world’s leading airline in terms of passenger traffic, overtaking Air France-KLM. The two companies were combined after the US justice department said it had no objections on competition grounds. The airline will be based in Delta’s home city of Atlanta. Over the next two years, Northwest’s uniforms and aircraft insignia will disappear and the group will be run by Delta’s chief executive, Richard Anderson. The enlarged airline employs 75,000 people and has annual revenue of $35bn (£21bn).
Andrew Clark in New York

Travel Dates & Times for Weekend Getaway Fares

Chicago O’Hare, IL (ORD) – Paris Charles De Gaulle, France (CDG) $675
Dallas / Ft. Worth, TX (DFW) – Buenos Aires, Argentina (EZE) $898
Dallas / Ft. Worth, TX (DFW) – Paris Charles De Gaulle, France (CDG) $723
Dallas / Ft. Worth, TX (DFW) – Santiago, Chile (SCL) $898
Dallas / Ft. Worth, TX (DFW) – Sao Paulo, Brazil (GRU) $898
Miami, FL (MIA) – Montevideo, Uruguay (MVD) $828
Miami, FL (MIA) – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (GIG) $848
Miami, FL (MIA) – Santiago, Chile (SCL) $848
Miami, FL (MIA) – Sao Paulo, Brazil (GRU) $848
San Juan, PR (SJU) – Barbados, Barbados (BGI) $445
San Juan, PR (SJU) – Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ) $335

Depart anytime between Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and Friday, October 31, 2008.
Return anytime between Monday, November 3, 2008, and Wednesday, November 5, 2008.
Tickets must be purchased by this Sunday, October 26, 2008, 11:59 p.m. (CT).
Fares displayed are for round-trip coach class travel.

*Taxes, fees and conditions apply.

Additional Fees and
Restrictions May Apply

Visit www.aa.com/netsaaver for additional fare offers for this weekend and other travel dates.

Each Way From To

Boston, MA Amsterdam $260
Philadelphia, PA Amsterdam $275
Charlotte, NC Amsterdam $290
Los Angeles, CA (LAX) Amsterdam $290
Washington, DC (DCA) Amsterdam $300
Philadelphia, PA Mexico City, Mexico $140
Phoenix, AZ Mexico City, Mexico $150
New York, NY (LGA) Mexico City, Mexico $150
Chicago, IL (ORD) Mexico City, Mexico $160
Charlotte, NC Mexico City, Mexico $180

More International USAir e-savers……

Athens – Riot police fired tear gas at protesting youths in Athens Tuesday as the demonstrators hurled rocks in support of a nationwide strike that paralysed air, sea, rail and public services across Greece. The strike was called by Greece’s two largest unions, private sector federation GSEE and public sector union ADEDY, representing more than half of the country’s workforce of 5 million.

The unions are protesting against the 2009 budget, which is expected to go to parliament for debate this week. The unions say it fails to ensure workers will receive either their pensions or protection from privatizations and tax collecting measures.

The demonstrations were also called to protest proposed labour reforms and plans to privatize companies, such as Olympic Airlines.

The country came to a standstill during the latest nationwide strike, which forced Athens’ International Airport to shut down for several hours.

Dozens of demonstrations took place in cities, towns and islands across the country. In Athens, more than 15,000 people protested in two separate demonstrators.

Riot police ended up using tear gas in the second of the two demonstrations after angry youths started hurling objects at them. No one was reported injured.

The 24-hour strike shut down banks, schools, public services and transport. Ferries were forced to remain docked at ports across the country. Lawyers, railway workers and civil engineers also joined the protest. Journalists enforced a news blackout to protest drastic economic policies.

Air traffic controllers stopped work for four hours, forcing the cancellation of more than 200 flights to European destinations such as London, Rome, Paris and Frankfurt.

Workers at partially-privatized telecommunication company OTE, and the state-run Public Power Corporation joined the demonstrations, as did state hospital employees, leaving hospitals to operate with a small handful of emergency staff.

Urban transport such as buses, trolley buses and trams were also disrupted as employees staged numerous work stoppages throughout the day.

Last month, the Greek government launched a tender to sell off the ailing Olympic Airlines, saying it would find new public sector jobs for its workers. But union leaders have pledged to halt the privatization.

The conservative government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, has been rocked by recent scandals. It said it will push forward with reforms and privatizations despite union opposition. It has promised to protect Greece’s population from rising inflation.

San Francisco Chronicle

As oil prices fall, both U.S. and foreign airlines are cutting fuel surcharges on most flights to Europe, a move that will save fliers $50 on flights to Paris, Rome and Madrid, and more than $60 on flights to London.
Images

Getting to Florence will be a bit cheaper as airlines cut…
Tom Parsons, chief executive of the discount travel site Bestfares.com, has been tracking the surcharges since October 2007. He says the fuel fee from San Francisco and other West Coast cities to the majority of European cities has dropped from $330 round trip to $280 round trip, about 18 percent. London fuel surcharges that were at $428 round trip from the West Coast have dropped to $366 round trip, about 17 percent.

“The only cities we have not seen a drop in fuel surcharges to London are from select East Coast cities, such as Boston, New York City or Washington,” where the fuel surcharge still remains at $302 round trip, Parsons said.

The only major European destinations with flights not cutting their fuel surcharges were Frankfurt, Munich and other German cities; they are maintaining their full fuel fees, which are $210 for round-trip flights.

Combined with the dollar’s rise against the euro, “Europe is starting to look like a bargain compared to those who visited in summer 2008,” Parsons said.

– John Flinn

Athens, 17 October – A mishap for the president of Greece, Karolos Papoulias: he is stuck together with his staff in Vietnam, where he had been making an official visit lasting four days, as his official Airbus has broken down. This was reported by the national flagship airline, Olympic Airlines, which provides the presidential aeroplanes. What happened was that, due to a short circuit, the fire detection sensor in one of the four engines failed, reporting inexistent flames just as the Hellenic delegation was about to depart. At the site, no other aeroplanes could be found which were available to hire and so the Greek carrier had to send a Boeing 737 from Athens to Hanoi with technicians and spare parts. The length of the ‘rescue’ journey and the time necessary to carry out the repairs forced Papoulias to prolong his stay in the Asian country, experiencing unfortunately the inconvenience which usually only happens to mere mortals, and certainly not to heads of state.

ON SALE: AMSTERDAM, FRANKFURT AND SCANDINAVIA

Sample Fares:

Depart from Boston to:

+ Amsterdam from $582*
+ Frankfurt from $607*
+ Oslo from $610*
+ Stockholm from $626*
+ Copenhagen from $604*

Depart from New York-JFK to : (best travel dates listed)

+ Amsterdam from $536*

Depart Nov 3,10,12,14,15,17,19,22,24,26,28.
Return Nov 9,11,13,15,16,18,20,22,23,25,29. Dec…

+ Frankfurt from $529*

Depart Nov 8,12,19,22,27,29.
Return Nov 16,17,23,24,27,28, Dec…

+ Oslo from $565*

Depart Nov 4,8,10,11,12,13,15,17,18,19,20,24,25,26,27,28.
Return Nov 9,12,16,17,19,23,24,26,30, Dec…

+ Stockholm from $585*

Depart Nov 11,12,13,18,19,20,25,26,27.
Return Nov 16,17,18,19,23,24,25,26,27,28,30, Dec…

+ Copenhagen from $534*

Depart Nov 10,15,17,24.
Return Nov 17,18,22,24,23,27,29, Dec…

These fares on sale beginning October 16, 2008 . All fares are valid for new purchases only. Availability is very limited. Fares are subject to change and are not guaranteed until purchased.

Book here