A few days ago, BMI Regional announced that they were closing their service between Edinburgh and Stornaway due to insufficient demand. The airline ensured there would be no inconvenience to their customers already booked by transferring their tickets to the continuing British Airways service.

When the route was introduced a couple of years ago, many might have been puzzled as to why a remote Scottish island would be interested in another daily service to the capital. However, increases in tourism, and the developing governance of the Scottish Executive would have been good reason to believe that passenger numbers were likely to increase. Whilst numbers have increased, so has the capacity of the Loganair planes, and there are simply too many empty seats to make it worthwhile for BMI to continue.

We're pleased that BMI have immediately rebooked passengers on the alternative flights. It contrasts with the practice of some low cost carriers who try to avoid rerouting passengers, instead thinking that a refund will be satisfactory. We take a brief look at passenger rights when a route is closed.

In a recent interview given to the Manchester Evening News, British Airways Chairman Willie Walsh has expressed satisfaction with the launch of its low cost offering, BA Connect.

BA Connect was launched in March 2006, and is a makeover of its regional airline CitiExpress. With the exception of the London City to Edinburgh route, complementary food service has been withdrawn, but otherwise things are much the same.

The largest difference with BA Connect is its pricing structure. The cheapest seats now start from £25 each way, flights are available as single legs, and a premium service for business travellers offers flexible ticketing and lounge access. The biggest savers will be those booking first, with few last minute bargains available, as is common with all low cost carriers.

The broadcasting watchdog has prevented further airing of a British Airways television advertisement that claims that the airline is the only one offering customers the possibility to check in and print a boarding pass online.

The action came once the British Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC) were made aware that a rival airline, KLM, offered a similar facility to that of British Airways. The claim was true when the ad was first broadcast, but ceased to be so once KLM had introduced a similar service.

British Airways today opened its new low fares operation BA Connect, connecting UK regional and European destinations.

BA Connect is essentially a rebranding of BA's regional airline British Airways CitiExpress, bringing a number of features similar to those of the low cost carriers. Complimentary food is no longer on the menu, but customers will now be able to purchase one way tickets and make changes before departure.

Fares for flights within the UK start at £25 including taxes, rising to £35 for flights to Europe. Flights will also be eligible for BA Miles, the company's loyalty programme.

British Airways regional subsidiary BA CitiExpress is set to increase competition with low cost and budget airlines.

From 26th March, the airline will rebrand itself as BA Connect, aiming to attract cost conscious leisure and business travellers alike. Full details are due to be revealed next week, although fares are expected to start from £25 each way including charges and will be non-restricted and changeable.

The two class service will be withdrawn, with all customers sharing a single class, in common with many short haul flights. In flight catering will be available but no longer included in the ticket price.

Low cost airline Flyglobespan is to stop services on its Glasgow and Edinburgh to London routes, and will not move ahead with a planned link between Edinburgh and Bournemouth.

The surprise announcement has been blamed on poor ticket sales and a need for the airline to concentrate on its European routes out of Stansted. Flights will continue to be operated through to the end of February.

The Scotsman newspaper reports that hundreds of customers have been left high and dry and simply had their fares returned, being advised to make alternative arrangements.

With the emergence of a number of so-called flight comparison engines we decided to use one to help us bag the best deal on a forthcoming trip from London to Edinburgh.

We chose the flight finder operated by TravelSupermarket. It's website advertises "one search for the cheapest flight fares from the following websites" and lists a number of well known sites including airlines easyJet, British Airways and Ryanair.

Our trip is for an evening meeting on 8th February. This enables us to be flexible about our flying times, which should get us a better deal. We're coming back on the 9th February.

We checked the options chosen by the TravelSupermarket against the airlines individual websites. We found significant errors. easyJet's website had a better price by over 20%, and despite being "Sponsored", the British Airways price found by Travelsupermarket was £9 more than the best deal.

With many airlines now having a festive sale, it's a good time to remember to be careful checking flight prices. There is no longer a good flight comparison site, so it's time to do some research before you part with your cash.

Ryanair are advertising many fares free until 5th January, and if you can pick up one of these it's unlikely that you'll find any better deal. Remember that the flight is not actually free; you have to add in taxes, fees and surcharges to get the final price.

Advertising guidlines state that where offers are advertised as "from" an amount, that at least 10% of the seats should be available at the promotional rate.

We have a quick look at how this offer stacks up a busy domestic route - London to Glasgow.