VivaAerobus shuts down Austin flights

VivaAerobus, the low-cost Mexican airline that began service out of Austin in 2008, is grounding its local flights citing a decline in revenue and passengers that followed the swine flu scare.

After only a year in operation, the airline will stop its flights from Austin to Cancun and Puerto Vallarta on May 31.

During the month of May alone, half of the airline's booked passengers asked to cancel their flights and the number of passenger "no shows" went as high as 30 percent, officials said.

VivaAerobus operated exclusively out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport's South Terminal. With the airline terminating its flights, the low-cost dedicated terminal will also shut down at the end of the month.

Those who have bought tickets on VivaAerobus flights scheduled after May 31 will receive an immediate full refund, the airline said.

AirTran to offer Wi-Fi on all flights

AirTran Airways announced plans Tuesday to equip all of its planes with Wi-Fi access this summer. The airline hopes to become the first in the nation to offer the service on all its flights.

The airline will have full inflight Internet service across its entire fleet of Boeing 737 and 717 aircraft, which will be available to passengers for a fee based on the length of the flight. The cost for access is $9.95 for flights under three hours, $12.95 for flights longer than that and $7.95 for Blackberry/iPhone access.

The company deliberately kept the launch quiet until it was confident in its ability to meet the proposed mid-summer deadline, AirTran Senior Vice President Kevin P. Healy said.

Orlando Fla. based-carrier, which offers low-cost flights within the United States, currently serves 58 destinations nationwide.

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