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Your support makes all the difference.Bargain of the week: North America for less than ever
The pain being suffered by the airline industry is evident in the prices being charged for transatlantic flights. Virgin Atlantic is no doubt relieved that it sells a proportion of seats on its transatlantic flights from Heathrow to Continental Airlines. To try to shift its allocation, Continental has cut fares to a range of US destinations, but you have to book by 9pm tonight, through Airline Network (0870 241 0010, www.netflights.com).
The best deals are available for departures until 10 April and from 21-30 April. Through the website www.opodo.co.uk, Heathrow to New York JFK is available for £188 return, with Washington DC for £193.
California looks even better value: £222 to Los Angeles and a pound more to San Francisco. Travel on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday incurs a £8 supplement.
Fares for Virgin flights at this time of year have never been so low. In May, prices rise, but remain highly competitive: £304 for LA and £330 to San Francisco.
Even though your ticket will say "Continental", the aircraft and crew are from Virgin Atlantic. This has at least two advantages: better inflight entertainment, and free drinks in economy class.
Business-class bargains are available if you fly out before 10 April and change planes at Amsterdam. Book through Airline Network before 2 April, and KLM will get you from one of several UK airports to Boston for £1,428, San Francisco for £1,628 or Toronto for £1,472.
Warning of the week: dengue Down Under
An outbreak of dengue fever has been reported this month in Cairns, the travel capital of far north Queensland. According to the travel health specialist Masta (09068 224100; www.masta.org.uk), 85 people have been diagnosed with the disease. It is transmitted by daytime-biting mosquitoes, and no preventative medicine has yet been devised. The only protection is to avoid bites.
Cairns is a favourite base among travellers learning to scuba dive or venturing into the tropical rainforest of northern Australia.
Destination of the week: most of western Germany, for less
A vicious fares war is rumbling between the two new German no-frills airlines, Hapag-Lloyd Express and Germanwings. Both are based at Cologne-Bonn. Hapag-Lloyd Express (0870 606 0 519, www.hlx.com) flies there from Luton and Manchester; Germanwings (020-8321 7255, www.german-wings.com) goes from Stansted and Edinburgh.
Now Hahn airport in the Moselle Valley has joined the fray, offering a subsidised bus to Cologne in a bid to entice travellers to the flights offered by Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) from Bournemouth, Prestwick and Stansted. The 100-mile trip costs just €5 (£3.50) each way.
Other bus links to a wide variety of destinations are available from Hahn airport, though not at subsidised fares. Connections include Frankfurt (€11/£8), Heidelberg (€16/£11), Koblenz (€12.25/£8.50), Saarbrücken (€13/£9), Luxembourg (€15/£10.50) and Mainz (€10/£7).
The best source of schedules is online at www.hahn-airport.de, or you can call 00 49 65 50 92 00.
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