Sun Country is having a Fall Fares Sale with one-way fares for off-peak travel at $79, and peak travel fares at $99. These fares do not include any taxes or fees. Once you are at the airline's website, the displayed fares will already include any taxes and fees.

To/From Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) with the following destinations:

• Boston, Dallas/Ft.Worth, Ft. Myers, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York (JFK), Orlando, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, or Washington DC (Dulles).

Whew! The fine print on this fare is a little difficult to get through, especially the rules on what's peak and off-peak travel. Here are the rules:

Off-Peak Travel:
- from Minneapolis/St. Paul: flights from 12Noon Saturday through Wednesday.
- to Minneapolis/St. Paul: flights from Tuesday through Friday

Peak Travel:
- from Minneapolis/St. Paul: flights from Thursday through Saturday morning
- to Minneapolis/St. Paul: flights from Sunday through Monday

Travel is valid between September 8 through November 19, 2009. Purchase tickets at Sun Country by July 15, 2009.

"What would you like?" Flight attendants ask passengers that question dozens and dozens of times each flight.

Recently, one of our Airfarewatchdog fans asked us to compile a list of drink and snack prices for domestic flights. Beer, wine, cocktails and/or snacks are usually offered on each flight yet prices and menu items vary from one airline to another. My favorite drink while flying: Salvador's Premixed Margarita on Continental Airlines.

For economy class flights within the U.S., here are the drink and snack prices we found.
 

             




  Flights:

International Flights: Delta and Northwest offer complimentary beer and wine in economy class for international flights of six hours or more. American, United and US Airways? Since there is no written confirmation on their websites, we're still verifying whether or not these three airlines provide complimentary beer and wine for economy class passengers on international flights.

Credit/Debit - No Cash: Most airlines now have cashless cabins where payment for drinks or snacks will only be allowed by credit or debit card. For those who do not have a credit or debit card, some airlines will allow you to buy in-flight coupons or vouchers. These vouchers must be bought before you get on the plane. Check with your airline representative at the ticket counter or gate so you know how to pay for a drink or snack.

Drink Deal! Purchase a Southwest $15 drink coupon book at a ticket counter or gate, and receive 4 drink vouchers. 4 drinks for the price of three - just for you and your friends.

As a reminder, alcoholic beverages are for adults 21 and older. Flight attendants will not be afraid to ask you for your ID, so keep your credit card and identification handy.

Remember; moderation is key when drinking on a flight. The last thing you want to do is get into trouble with a flight attendant while having one too many cocktails. Play it cool and have a nice trip!

How could Continental have "misdirected" two unaccompanied minors, in two separate incidents, onto the wrong flights over the last few days? In one case, a Continental flight attendant walked the child down the Jetway, at the end of which two regional jets were waiting, one headed for Cleveland (right destination) and one for Newark (wrong destination).

Not surprisingly, Consumerist.com reports, at least they offered free flights and frequent flyer miles in compensation. And as the parent of one of the children noted on his blog, Continental staff in Cleveland " 'graciously' offered to refund the unaccompanied minor fee. My father-in-law laughed when they made the offer, it was so outrageous. You can bet they'll be refunding a lot more than that fee by the time I'm done with them." Read the comments in his blog posting and you'll see that this sort of thing happens more often than is generally realized.

So what are some practical steps to take to prevent a horror show like this happening to your little solo flyer?

One sure fire plan is to see your child get on the right plane with your very own eyes. But of course, the TSA won't give you gate access unless you have a ticket or a gate pass, and even if you have a gate pass, without a ticket for your child's flight you'll have no access to the Jetway and the plane itself.

So buy a ticket. A fully-refundable ticket that you don't plan to use.

Sure, these fares cost a small fortune, but remember, you'll get your money back. Bring the kid on the plane (we're presuming with his $100 unacompanied minor airline employee escort), sit him down, buckle him up, make sure he has his Gameboy, kiss goodbye, go back through security, and then apply for a refund of your fare. Helicopter parenting? So be it.

And if you really want to play it safe, have whoever is meeting the child on the other end obtain a gate pass to meet the flight and make sure this person arrives at the gate well before the scheduled arrival time (assume there will be a traffic jam or other delay and play it safe).

Sounds a bit radical you think? Unfair to the airline, because you're holding a seat you're not going to use? Maybe. But until airlines can guarantee they will never screw this up again, it's your only guarantee that your unaccompanied minor will get on the right plane. Other than writing your child's flight number, aircraft tail number, and gate number in Magic Marker on his forehead, this seems to us to be the best plan. Comments? Feel free.

Oh, and as an aside, a couple of weeks ago I took Browser for an off-leash walk in Central Park and he disappeared beyond my sight for a few minutes into an area with low bushes and underbrush. When he didn't respond to my calls and whistles, I was in a panic, even though I knew he had to be in there somewhere. Can you imagine how this parent felt for a couple of panicky hours? I smell a rather large legal settlement.

See more tips for kids flying solo here.

Starting Sunday, June 28th, Southwest will begin service to New York's LaGuardia airport from Baltimore/Washington (BWI) and Chicago Midway (MDW). 3 daily nonstop flights from Balitmore/Washington and 5 daily nonstop flights from Chicago Midway.

• Balitmore/Washington to New York LaGuardia - $98 round-trip
  
• Chicago Midway to New York LaGuardia - $178 round-trip

Taxes not included. 14-day purchase required. Purchase by 11:59PM PT, June 28, 2009. Travel valid from June 29 to October 28, 2009. Blackout days include July 2-6 and Sept. 3-8. Offer good for travel on Monday through Thursday. Seats are limited.

Hot dogs, hamburgers, American flags, fireworks and a parade. The joys of an Independence Day weekend. Try something new this year and catch all the festivities in another U.S. city.

Midwest Airlines is having a 4th of July Sale to/from their Milwaukee, Kansas City and Omaha markets. Here are some of the cities on sale for an Independence Day getaway:

Milwaukee:
- $198 to/from Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis or Nashville
- $228 to/from Atlanta, Boston, Denver, NY LaGuardia or Washington DC
- $268 to/from Los Angeles or San Francisco

Kansas City:
- $218 to/from New York LaGuardia
- $258 to/from Los Angeles or San Francisco
- $278 to/from Boston, Philadelphia or Washington DC

Omaha:
- $238 to/from Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis, or Nashville
- $278 to/from Atlanta, Dallas/Ft.Worth, Newark, Philadelphia or Pittsburgh

Outbound travel valid for June 26th to July 4th. Return travel is valid for July 4-7th. Minimum one-night stay required. Purchase tickets at Midwest's website by midnight Central time, Monday, June 22nd. Seats are limited.

Oh look, another $9 Fare Club sale from Spirit Airlines! This one happens to be good for July-August travel. Don't forget, you must register as a member of the $9 Fare Club to actually purchase these fares, which are available only on select days. Piecing together a round-trip from the handful of available dates may seem tricky at first, but it is possible.

Atlanta to Ft Lauderdale $18 round-trip

Atlantic City to Boston $18 round-trip

Detroit to Myrtle Beach $18 round-trip

Fares range from $9 to $69 each way for Fare Club members and $74 to $164 each way for non members.

Book by June 17, 11:59 pm ET.

Swine Flu, Schmine Schmu! Alaska Airlines is offering 25% off Mexican beach destinations for travel between June 16 and October 31. Just enter promo code ECBEACH09 on Alaskaair.com at time of purchase.

Destinations include: La Paz, Loreto, Los Cabos, Ixtapa, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, and Zihuatenejo.

This offer expires today at 11:59 pm PT, so you'd best get on it!

As any international traveler can tell you, the difference between sitting in economy and business class can be huge. The first time I flew business class to Europe I thought I was in heaven. Then I was kicking myself for missing out on the luxuries of business class during my previous international trips when I had the miles to use.

Well, if you are traveling to Japan anytime soon, don't miss out on this upgrade offer. ANA (All Nippon Airways) is offering their Mileage Club Members a discount on an upgrade for trips from the U.S. to Japan. Half the miles are now required. A 50% discount!

Upgrade from Economy to Business Class on ANA:
- 12,500 miles from Los Angeles or San Francisco                   (normally 25,000 miles required)
- 14,000 miles from Chicago, New York or Washington DC       (normally 28,000 miles required)

For a round-trip ticket, Japan Airlines (JAL) requires 50,000 miles for a similar upgrade while United requires 30,000 miles and Delta can cost between 25,000-50,000 miles depending on your purchased fare.

Boarding Period for this offer is June 15th to September 30, 2009. Boarding for Narita-New York begins July 1st. An upgrade can be requested up until the day prior to your departure. Valid for all ANA international routes except for Narita-Honolulu. All upgrades must be completed online.

To upgrade your existing ticket, login to your Mileage Club account to book your award reservation/upgrade.

Here we go again. Another round of coupon offers from Spirit Airlines. They had this promotion last week and they have brought it back again. Hurry as these two offers are only good on tickets bought tonight before 11:59PM, Monday, June 15th.

Save $24: Use Promotion Code "24HOURS" (all caps, no spaces) when booking your flight at Spirit's homepage. Travel is valid from July 8 to August 31, 2009.

Save $35: Use Promotion Code "35HOURS" (all caps, no spaces) when booking your flight at Spirit's homepage. Travel is valid from September 1 to November 17, 2009.

Once you have entered the promotional code, the displayed fares will already include the promotional discount of $12 or $17.50 each way for a total savings of $24 or $35.

A down under getaway always seems alluring even when it might be Fall/Winter in Australia. Qantas is having an airfare sale to Australia from Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), and New York (JFK). Here are the routes on sale:

Los Angeles to Brisbane or Sydney- $458 round-trip
           Travel Aug. 9 - Sept. 21; Nov. 1-30, 2009

Los Angeles to Melbourne - $458 round-trip
           Travel July 26 - Sept. 21; Oct. 27 - Nov. 30, 2009

San Francisco to Sydney - $458 round-trip
           Travel July 26 to Sept. 27; Oct. 18 - Nov. 30, 2009

New York to Melbourne or Sydney - $578 round-trip
           Travel Aug. 11 to Sept. 15; Nov. 9-30, 2009

Don't forget to add in taxes and fees of up to $200 for the trip. Book your flight at Qantas. Sale ends Tuesday, June 16th.