What’s the magic date for summer travel?

At the end of every summer vacation season, there's a magic date to fly. It varies from year to year but this year it falls on Aug. 25. 

Here's what makes the magic date so special, and why you should take full advantage of it.

• 1. It's cheap.

  

  Reuters
  As far as the airlines are concerned, August 24 is the last day of summer. The magic begins with big discounts to mark the start of the fall season on Aug. 25. By that date, many kids are back in school and family vacations are done - but airlines still have to fill their planes. They do this by lowering fall ticket prices by 10, 20 and even 30% (or more).

• 2. Shorter lines.

  

  iStock
  Imagine smaller crowds at your favorite destination. That's what you may well find starting Aug. 25 and beyond, when lines at popular tourist attractions begin to thin out. Airport security can be a lot faster in fall, too.

• 3. Aug. 25 is just the beginning.

  

  iStock
  The cheaper fall season starts on Aug. 25 but continues through mid-November. Then, airlines gear up for the Thanksgiving travel period and raise their ticket prices dramatically.

• 4. Fewer blackout dates.

  

  iStock
  With the exception of the Labor Day holiday, most airlines don't blackout travel dates during fall sales (though there is always an exception or two). The significant blackout periods occur later in the season, covering the most popular days to fly around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
  One last thing: As noted, the magic date varies slightly from year to year but typically occurs during the last week in August.

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Ryanair Drops 222 Flights for This Summer

According to a report in the Irish Times, discount Ireland-based carrier Ryanair is dropping service to a large bomber of secondary airports as it realigns its strategy. RYAAY stock fell almost 3% in Friday morning trading.

Aviation industry website anna.aero conducted an analysis of airline routing data provided by Innovata and found that Ryanair is cutting 222 routes this summer. While RYAAY is eliminating routes to airports located some distance from popular destinations, Ryanair has also added 138 new routes to larger airports. RYAAY is moving its focus away from secondary airports toward serving primary airports in large European cities as part of an overhaul of its business model.

Ryanair is now adding routes to large airports in Rome, Brussels, Prague, Lisbon and  Athens as it ends service to smaller airports, including a number in Sweden and Britain. RYAAY has said that it plans to boost its appeal to business travelers.

RYAAY stock closed at $51.54 on Thursday.

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U.S. airline group forecasts rise in summer air passengers

The number of people flying on U.S. airlines will rise this summer, aided by a record level of international travelers, an industry group said on Thursday.

Airlines for America, a lobbying association for U.S. airlines, forecasts that about 210 million passengers will fly on the nation's carriers between June and August, up 1.5 percent from last year.

The outlook includes 29.9 million passengers on international flights, the highest level ever, the group added. The top nonstop destinations from the United States were Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, based on flight schedules.

Travel by air "remains one of the best consumer bargains in America, given its superior speed and affordability," John Heimlich, chief economist at Airlines for America, said in a statement.

Summer is a seasonally strong period for airlines as leisure travel picks up.

The group also said lower fuel costs helped U.S. carriers improve their performance in the first quarter as a group even as winter storms forced the cancellation of thousands of flights. Nine publicly traded U.S. airlines collectively had a profit of $401 million in the period, compared with a loss of $552 million a year earlier, Airlines for America said.

Carriers have cited healthy demand heading into the warmer months. Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N) said last week that unit revenue, an important airline measure, could rise as much as 7 percent in both May and June. Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) said on Wednesday that second quarter bookings appeared strong.

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Summer air fares on the rise after airline mergers

Travelers booking flights for the summer may come across some of the highest fares seen in recent memory, a by-product of airline mergers that have reduced the number of competitors and shrunk flight schedules out of the Atlanta airport.

Fares in Atlanta have risen faster than in other parts of the country, and prices for airline flights this summer are forecast to be even higher than last summer.

Summer fares for domestic flights from Atlanta are up 1.4 percent this year compared with last year, while fares for trips to Europe are up 6.1 percent, according to the Airlines Reporting Corp. analyzing fares purchased from online travel agencies and other travel agencies.

“If you want to leave on the most popular days and the most convenient flights, you’re probably going to pay the most you have in history,” said Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.

The rise in air fares comes after both of Atlanta’s hub carriers went through mergers in recent years. Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines acquired Northwest Airlines in 2008, and more recently, Southwest Airlines acquired AirTran Airways and its Atlanta hub in 2011.

Southwest has cut flights in Atlanta that were operated by AirTran, as it downscales AirTran’s operation and prepares to discontinue the AirTran name at the end of the year.

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Schiphol’s summer schedule showcases several new destinations.

It states that KLM will be launching three new weekly flights to Santiago de Chile, as well as increasing its frequencies to the locations such as Athens, Florence, Moscow, New York and JFK.

New destinations the schedule claims are to be added include both CityJet and Croatia Airlines flying once weekly to Avignon and Dubrovnik respectively, Transavia.com to Bari (three times a week) and Thessaloniki (twice weekly), Vueling will be flying to Santiago de Compostela three times weekly and Estonian Air is reportedly flying to Vaxjo eight times a week.

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Thomas Cook flight chaos fear for summer holidays as staff consider strike action over job losses

Thomas Cook holiday flights could be hit by industrial action this summer in a mounting row with cabin crew.

The travel giant is proposing to reduce the number of stewards and stewardesses on its planes to the bare minimum allowed under EU rules.

Crew are furious, claiming the change will push already stressed out staff “past breaking point”.

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