Expect delays of over 24 hours from tomorrow evening (23rd November) for flights to Portugal as a general strike hits the country.

Airports will be hit by strikes from 21:00hrs on Wednesday until 04:00hrs on Friday. Passengers travelling after 22:00hrs on Wednesday are being advised to contact their airline or travel agent before going to the airport.

Portuguese pilots are also threatening to strike for a total of eight days, from 9th-12th December and 3rd-6th January.

Ryanair and easyJet, the big two no-frills airlines, have become increasingly dominant in the UK low-cost flights market, with many smaller players either cutting back or squeezed out entirely. That has led to fears that reduced competition could eventually lead to much higher fares.

So it’s good to hear that Bmibaby, now owned by Lufthansa, has announced seven new holiday destinations as part of its summer 2012 schedule. The additional routes are from Birmingham to Barcelona, Lisbon and Rome (Fiumicino), and from East Midlands to Corfu, Gibraltar, Murcia and Naples.

Bmibaby is increasingly focusing on the Midlands, with the new routes bringing the airline’s tally of destinations served to 31 from East Midlands and 14 from Birmingham. The new flights will start in April 2012.

A similar strategy of regional specialisation has seen healthy growth from Jet2, which concentraties on the North of England. Exeter-based Flybe, on the other hand, has carved out a different niche by using its fleet of smaller planes to serve routes between regional airports with insufficient traffic to fill the larger jets used by the big two.

Ryanair has stopped all flights from Bournemouth during the winter months of November, December and January, blaming the government’s £11 air passenger duty (APD).

Ryanair says its decision to suspend winter flights from Bournemouth will be reviewed next summer when, based on market conditions and UK APD costs, it may return to a 12 month base operation at the airport.

However, the airline has launched four new routes from London Stansted, to Faro and Porto in Portugal and to Bologna and Milan Bergamo in Italy. The flights start on 31 October.

One of Villa Parade

Independent villa company Villa Parade have bolstered their collection of villas in order to cope with increased demand from holiday makers wanting a break on the Mediteraranean cost, adding 40 new holiday properties. Their collection of holiday accommodation includes new villas in Puerto Pollenca and Pollensa Old Town in Mallorca and Albufeira in Portugal.

Villa Parade’s new properties include a traditional family retreat complete with hot tub and views over Pollenca Old Town, and a large property with 5 en-suite bathrooms situated high over the Port of Alcuidia, Mallorca.

Nick Bartholet, operations director at Villa Parade said:  “We’ve introduced twenty new villas in Mallorca, eight in Portugal and twelve in Kefalonia this year as we’re increasingly finding that families and friends are finding villa holidays much more popular due to the value that can be had, while still enjoying high quality accommodation.   Villa bookings were up for us in 2009, so we’re delighted to bring more choice for British holidaymakers for 2010.

“Mallorca and Portugal are always firm favourites with British holiday makers as they’re easily accessible and have a great climate, however we’re finding that the Greek island of Kefalonia is becoming more and more popular with couples and families thanks to its idyllic beaches, unspoilt countryside and the warm and friendly local residents.”

You can save £25 through VillaSeek by using saving code HVVP1 online at Villa Parade‘s website, or call 0844 72 00 40. Villas are available from £395 per week, excluding flights.

Villa Parade are also offering holidaymakers a second week at half price on a selection of villas plus they are providing guaranteed car hire (for grade B vehicle) on bookings made before 31 March 2010. See Villa Parade’s website and individual villa listings for more details.