The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched a new price comparison tool to enable travellers to see a summary of optional charges levied by the top airlines in the UK.

The tool details information of costs of hold luggage, in flight meal charges, seat reservation and other optional airline fees.

Andrew Haines, Chief Executive of the CAA said: “The diversity of UK aviation offers excellent choice and value to UK consumers with airlines adopting various business models. To really benefit from that choice consumers want to know the full price picture. For some passengers and airlines the headline ticket price will be the most expensive part of the booking, whilst for others the impact of optional fees and charges can change their view of the best overall price.

“Our table allows passengers to easily compare the optional fees that airlines charge and it’s important to consider those charges alongside the ticket price and the extra charges that could be applied before making their booking.”

To view the fees and charges comparison table click here: http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/2200/Comparing_airline_charges_1st_Feb_2012_.pdf

The CAA plans to update the charges table on a quarterly basis.

End of year figures for Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA) show that more than 230,000 more passengers used the airport in 2011 compared to 2010 – an increase of 4.5%.

5.3 million passengers travelled through JLA last year, making this its third busiest year ever and almost reaching levels last seen in 2008.

The reason for the year on year growth is down to the record numbers of passengers choosing to fly from JLA last Summer, with over 3.6 million travellers passing through the Airport between April and October.

The months of July, August, September and October were particularly busy, breaking all previous records for the time of year, with the highest month August, seeing over 580,000 travellers pass through the terminal – the busiest month in the Airport’s 78 year history.

Craig Richmond, CEO Peel Airports commented, “News of growth in our passenger numbers is a great achievement for the Airport and one that all the staff here can be proud of, particularly when we recognise that this remains an extremely challenging time for all involved in the aviation industry. The many low cost flights available from Liverpool means the region’s passengers can still afford to get away on holiday even during these difficult economic times.”

“We expect the year ahead to be one of consolidation, however work to improve passenger facilities and standards of customer service will continue as we look to make this the Airport of choice for the region’s travellers.”

Ryanair has announced it will be adding flights to Barcelona and Almeria from Liverpool John Lennon Airport this summer.

The new Liverpool flights, which will commence at the start of Ryanair’s summer season on 25 March 201, take the total number of destinations served by Ryanair from Liverpool to 40.

This is the first time that these destinations have been served by Ryanair. Barcelona is expected to be a popular route for Ryanair passengers looking for a city break destination that combines great year round sightseeing with the added Summer season benefit of a Mediterranean coastal resort.

The coastal resort of Almeria and its surrounding areas in Andalucía, Southern Spain is also a popular holiday area. The city itself holds a great deal of charm and is steeped in history and has one of the sunniest, warmest and driest climates in Europe.

Robin Tudor, Head of PR for Peel Airports commented, “These are two great new destinations that will further complement Ryanair’s comprehensive list of routes from Liverpool. This remains their second largest UK base, with 40 destinations available from here and we expect these two new routes to prove popular with passengers across the region.”

Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA) is once again gearing up for the great Christmas and New Year ‘Getaway’ with around 190,000 passengers expected to pass through the Airport over the holiday period.

The end of school term on Friday triggered the first increase in passengers through the Airport .

As usual, popular flights for passengers over the coming days are expected to be winter ski destinations such as Salzburg, Innsbruck, Lyon and Grenoble, The Canary Islands and southern Spain and Christmas city break destinations.

Christmas is also a time to meet up with family and friends with many passengers taking advantage of flights to Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland. Visitor numbers arriving to the region via Liverpool Airport are also expected to continue to grow over the festive period too.

Helping to put passengers in the holiday mood, World Duty Free has the Liverpool Town Crier in their store in the departure lounge today and on Friday 23 December. A gift wrapping service is also available at certain times too, for any passengers wanting to purchase last minute presents, ready to give to friends and family.

JLA Management is reminding all passengers to allow plenty of time to pass through the Airport during this busy period and that stringent security restrictions still apply, with passengers being urged to arrive at the Airport at least 2 hours ahead of their departure times as usual.

Restrictions on liquids carried in hand luggage are still in place and can cause disruption for passengers, who are asked to think carefully about what items they are intending to pack in hand luggage, before they set off for the Airport – especially those who are travelling with presents for friends and relatives.

With many airlines encouraging on-line check-in and hand luggage only, passengers are reminded that all items in hand luggage including wrapped Christmas presents are subject to search as part of the current aviation security measures that are in place at all UK Airports. To avoid disappointment at the security search point and to help keep security queues to a minimum, passengers are being asked to travel with their presents unwrapped if they are to be carried in hand luggage. Airlines operating from Liverpool do not permit Christmas crackers in hand luggage either.

Paul Staples, Airport Director commented, “We expect another busy Christmas and New Year period here at JLA with passengers taking advantage of the wide choice of destinations available. Whilst many of our staff will be working over the festive period we always look forward to helping get the Christmas and New Year holidays off to a great start for everyone.

Once again we’d like to remind all passengers to help us to help them and avoid some of the disappointment we have seen in previous years by allowing extra time, coming prepared and thinking about what they are carrying in their hand luggage.”

Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline and the UK’s number one domestic airline, has welcomed the Department for Transport’s draft Civil Aviation Bill and, in particular, the requirement that airlines publish information about the environmental impact of their operations.

Flybe has long-since blazed a trail on transparency in this area, most notably in the form of its groundbreaking Ecolabel Scheme. Launched in June 2007, the ‘ecolabel’ provides Flybe passengers, at the time of booking, with a detailed but user-friendly breakdown of fuel consumption, carbon and NOx emissions as well as noise levels for the aircraft to be used on their journey. Modelled on the EU white good labelling scheme and therefore more readily recognised by the consumer, the ecolabel is not only emblazoned on the side of every single Flybe aircraft by the passenger door but also clearly displayed online and also published in the Flybe in-flight magazine.

The ecolabel was subject to an assurance process by the international consultancy firm Deloitte and Touche and was welcomed by the Treasury Select Committee in February 2008. Its report into the economics of climate change suggested that IATA “… might get involved in promoting the kind of ‘eco-competition’ made possible by the Flybe scheme” and that “… airlines should adopt a system of eco-labelling, so that consumers can compare the environmental footprint of each airline when purchasing their tickets.”

Commenting on the draft bill, Jim French CBE, Flybe’s Chairman and Chief Executive said: “Flybe welcomes the government’s move to insist that all airlines publish their environmental data. It will not only give passengers a very clear choice but will incentivise airlines to invest in newer, lower emitting fleet; something Flybe has done over the last 10 years to the tune of $2.5billion, giving us one of the youngest fleets in global aviation.

“Flybe’s ecolabel is an off-the-shelf solution to the challenge of environmental transparency and we stand ready to work with the Civil Aviation Authority and the DfT to share our expertise and knowledge in making transparent reporting a reality.”

With the draw having now been made for the Group stages of the 2012 European Football Championships, football fans across the North West can now take full advantage of the region’s only scheduled flights to each of the Polish host cities direct from Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA).

Next Summer’s tournament is to be hosted jointly by Poland and Ukraine and both low cost airlines, Wizz Air and Ryanair, who have recently launched their Summer 2012 schedules, will once again be operating the only direct services from the North West to all the Polish host cities. Wizz Air will be flying to Gdansk and Warsaw and Ryanair will be flying to Poznan and Wroclaw.

Whilst England are due to play their group matches in Ukraine, keen England fans can also fly direct from Liverpool with both easyJet and Ryanair to the Polish city of Krakow, which plays host to the England team as their base during the tournament.

The tournament will kick off on 8 June and run until 1 July 2012. For those that miss out on tickets, ‘fan parks’ will be set up to watch the games on big screens across Poland in a great atmosphere with other football fans.

Robin Tudor, Head of PR for Peel Airports commented, “Flights to Poland from Liverpool have always been popular from Liverpool, having been well used by the many Polish nationals living in the region for a number of years. We expect that Euro 2012 will see football fans from across the North West wanting to travel to Poland too, perhaps for the first time.

“With the only direct flights from the North West to any of the Polish host cities available from Liverpool John Lennon Airport, the region’s fans will be able to travel to the tournament from their local airport. With demand for flights expected to rocket, I would urge fans interested in attending the tournament next year to book early with Wizz Air and Ryanair to avoid disappointment.”

The war of words over border control strike action continues in the press and it is unknown how badly affected airport passengers are going to be by the action – reports vary from minor disruption to significant.

Border control will be affected from the evening of Tuesday 29 November until midnight on Wednesday 30 November – strike action start times will depend on shift patterns.

Any delays will affect passengers arriving into the UK that need to pass through passport control – outgoing flights should not be affected.

Tips to help avoid delays:

• Use e-Passport gates where available
• Have travel documents, including passports, ready
• Fully complete landing cards
• Stay in family groups.

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has said that it has robust arrangements in place to maintain the security of the border and that it has

• trained managers, staff and contractors to carry out border checks
• requested overseas staff to provide cover
• asked airlines and ports to identify potential pressure points.

Rob Whiteman, chief executive of the UK Border Agency, said: ‘Securing the border is our priority and over the last weeks and months we have considered all options to ensure we are prepared for union action.

‘We always aim to minimise any disruption caused by the decision of unions to strike, but travellers could see longer waiting times at some ports and airports.’

For up-to-date UKBA information visit  http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/

Wizz Air had today introduced a brand new service called ‘Wizz Reserved Seat’.

By purchasing this service, passengers can get a guaranteed seat located in the first 2 rows of the aircraft and are also entitled to use the priority boarding option ‘Wizz Xpress’.

“We are proud to provide these enhanced services on our entire network of 205 routes across 23 countries, offering greater choice, flexibility and comfort to our passengers,” said John Stephenson, Executive Vice President of Wizz Air.

Both services can be purchased on wizzair.com during the booking process or via the Call Center for EUR 8, or at the airport for EUR 16 from today.

Servisair ground-handling staff are set to stage two two-hour strikes tomorrow, 23 November 2011, at Liverpool Airport – the first in a series of strikes.

Servisair staff, members of the GMB union, voted 85% in favour of industrial action over company plans for compulsory redundancies.

Strike action is scheduled to take place twice daily – two hours each morning and each afternoon – on 23, 25, 27 and 28 November 2011.

Airlines set to be affected include FlyBe, KLM, Ryanairand Hungarian WizzAir – easyJet, which is the largest airline at Liverpool, does not use Servisair for baggage handling.

Watch out if you are flying Ryanair from Liverpool Airport. This is Money has reported that check-in staff acting for the airline are receiving bonuses for identifying oversized cabin baggage.

According to the paper, Servisair staff at Liverpool receive 50p for every time they spot hand luggage that is too big to fit into Ryanair’s overhead lockers – staff are paid £5 for every ten passengers charged.

Ryanair charges £35 to check in oversized hand luggage at the check-in desk or £40 at the gate.

For the full story check here.