Something To Declare: New York, Turkey, check-ins with Ryanair

The column that gives the global picture

Supersonic bargain of the week: New York for New Year in style for £2,003

Over the festive season, British Airways does not find it easy to fill its premium services on the world's busiest and most competitive international air route, between London and New York. So the airline has come up with a New Year deal combining Concorde and Club World that dramatically undercuts the normal lowest fare of £5,942 – a price that celebrates the New Year: £2,003.

The outward journey is on BA's flagship service, Concorde flight 1 from Heathrow to JFK. Departure dates for the outbound sector are highly specific: the four days between 30 December and 2 January. You then choose any return flight from JFK or Newark to Heathrow, in Club World (with fully reclining bed).

In a bid to dissaude regular business travellers, there is a minimum stay of three days (and a maximum of a month). Bookings open at noon today, and close as soon as the seats are sold – which, if last year is anything to go by, could be a matter of minutes.

"Our New Year Concorde offer last year sold out in three minutes," says BA's Tiffany Hall.

Subsonic bargain of the week: try turkey in Turkey for £50 return

Germany's second-newest airline is hoping to stuff its rivals with a remarkable deal for people who just have to leave the country in the next 10 days. Germanwings (020-8321 7255; www.germanwings.com) says that it is "suspending its principle of first booked, cheapest served" for flights between 23 December and 1 January.

The airline, part-owned by Lufthansa, is offering a flat fare of £13 each way between London Stansted and its hub at Cologne. If you want to go further than the Rhine, you can pay an extra €19 (£12) to reach any destination it serves – including Istanbul. The £25 each-way price (£50 return) applies, if seats are available, to Barcelona, Berlin, Cologne, Madrid, Milan, Nice, Paris, Rome, Vienna and Zürich – all requiring a change of planes in Germany.

Not surprisingly, the booking conditions are tough. You must buy a minimum of two hours and a maximum of three days before departure, and only online. Test bookings made yesterday for 23 December showed good availability at the quoted prices.

Warning of the week: "Check-in at Stansted airport closes 40 minutes before the scheduled time of departure"

Europe's second-largest low-cost airline, Ryanair (0871 246 0000; www.ryanair.com), has extended the check-in deadline at its principal airport, Stansted. Passengers are now required to check in at least 40 minutes before departure, instead of the 30-minute deadline that has applied for years. If you miss your flight, the official line is that you have no recourse; in practice, you can queue up at the ticket desk to pay a "missed departure fee" of £40 for a seat on a later plane to your destination, or to somewhere near it.

Some good news at last from the Stansted Express – tomorrow and next Sunday (29 December), trains will actually run (to a Saturday service), instead of the now-traditional replacement buses. There will also be trains on Boxing Day, but only between Tottenham Hale and the airport – they will not serve London Liverpool Street.