American Airlines today launched in-flight WiFi Internet access on a limited basis on some if its longer, nonstop flights.  American is offering the service for $12.95 per flight on its 15 Boeing 767-200 planes connecting New York with Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami.  Once the flights reach 10,000 feet, passengers can access corporate virtual private networks, e-mail, instant messaging and the Web using their laptops, smart phones and PDAs.

JetBlue has also been testing free WiFi service on one of its aircraft for the past few months through its BetaBlue program but there are more restrictions on that service than with American's new service.  Southwest has also been testing Internet capabilities on several flights, with an eye toward offering mobile broadband services on every Southwest flight in the near future.  Plans are also underway at Delta, US Airways and Virgin America to test in-flight Internet as well.

With the embattled airline industry under pressure to identify additional revenue opportunities, we'll likely see more carriers follow suit in the months ahead if these early launches prove successful.

I stumbled across this article on Forbes.com opining that what the airlines want from Washington is for the government to magically lower fuel prices. As if. But what was really interesting about this piece was a comment (the only comment when I checked) from a certain Bob Crandall, the former CEO of American Airlines. Bob is a pretty smart fellow, so I'm going to copy and paste his comment in full here (oh, and don't you just love the dig aimed at Southwest, his longtime nemesis? LOL! But he's probably spot on):

"With all due respect, you're wrong that the single biggest issue facing airlines is fuel. While it's certainly important, the airlines would take a revamped and modernized air traffic control system over any intervention in the free market price of oil. You gave that issue one sentence in your piece and I suppose that's because oil is the sexy issue du jour. But ATC is where the real problems lie.

One other correction. You called Southwest an airline. Southwest is a profitable fuel speculation company that runs a money-losing airline on the side.... remove the 474 million they got from fuel hedging in 2Q08 and the reported 321 million profit, which is only (sic) 121 million after special items, becomes a loss.

They're not making it in airline operations and they are not improving their operation as quickly or materially as other carriers."

Well said, Bob! And where are all those airfare taxes going? I thought they were supposed to go into a trust fund to improve the airport and air traffic systems in this country? Probably being used to make the deficit look better instead.

Adding to the Las Vegas line-up, Allegiant Air will begin service between Bozeman, MT and Las Vegas on October 9, 2008 with twice weekly service.  October 12, 2008 is the first flight originating from Las Vegas heading to Bozeman.  Introductory fares start at $79 each way and no round trip purchase is required.  Taxes and fees are additional.  Some restrictions apply.  The $79 fare must be booked by September 3, 2008 and is good for travel through January 31, 2009.  After the introductory period, fares will start at $99 each way.

This new Allegiant Air service will be the only non-stop all jet service between these two cities.  

Now that checked bag fees have quickly become the norm among cash-poor carriers, are pay-to-lay blankets and pillows bound to be the next big thing? It was only last week that JetBlue announced plans for $7 blankets and pillows aboard flights exceeding 2 hours, and now comes word that US Airways will soon follow. The price of their kit has yet to be determined, but - unless we're talking a 4 zillion thread count fancy-pants cotton - it's probably somewhere in the same $7 ballpark as JetBlue.

Personally, after a flight home last week where I encountered what was probably the saddest looking, hardest working, airplane blanket in the history of all airplane blanketry (no, really, it was bad), shelling out a few bucks for a fresh one doesn't sound so bad to me. Heck, I would have paid $7 just for a pair of salad tongs to remove this blanket from my floor space without having to use my actual human hands!

What about you? Would you be willing to part with $7 for a clean new blanket and pillow? Or do you prefer to cart along your own sleepytime stuff from home? Feel free to discuss below!

The latest USA3000 "sale" installment again allows a $10 reduction for each flight segment purchased for domestic travel only between now and April 30, 2009.  Though they advertise these domestic routes to include their service to/from Ft. Myers, St. Pete and Ft. Lauderdale, the fact of the matter is that it largely applies to the Ft. Myers market only.  Service to/from St. Pete and Ft. Lauderdale ends early next week at the very latest.  Tough to book a round trip in those markets, though if you're only looking for a last minute one-way, we suppose it might possibly be useful.

In any event, the nitty-gritty of the matter is that you'll need to access the USA3000 site to book and enter the word "BIRD" in the promo box.  Be sure to check the flexible traveler box to find lowest fares, which range from $65 to $100 each way to/from Ft. Myers and Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and St. Louis.  Travel is permitted from now through April 30, 2009 and you know by now that not all dates will yield these fares.  Seats are limited and taxes and fees are additional.  We've listed the fares on our site already reflecting the "BIRD" reduction.  Tickets must be purchased no later than 11:59 p.m. EST on August 18, 2008.

So, even if you can't travel very soon and/or at the sample fares mentioned above , put $20 bucks in your pocket.  And pack light - no second bag- or you'll give that $20 and $5 more back to the airline as a second checked bag fee! 

On various dates in October, Allegiant Air will start to service 4 additional destinations from Phoenix -Mesa.  Fares to Eugene, OR and Great Falls, MT as well as to Medford, OR and Springfield-Branson, MO will range from $69 one-way to $109 one-way depending on the route.  These fares are currently easy to find on Allegiant's user-friendly booking calendar.  Bookings must be made by August 27, 2008  and travel completed by January 31, 2009.  Some restrictions apply and can be found on their site only.   These routes are  served twice weekly in each direction at present.   Get 'em while they're hot!

As you know, our fare widget appears on several airport web sites, including Dayton International. Well, yesterday we got a call from the Dayton Airport asking if we could help a passenger in distress. Seems that Airtran had cancelled her flight to Charlotte, but she absolutely had to get there last night for a volleyball tournament the following morning. Airtran was willing to refund her $220 fare (under Rule 260, involuntary refunds, in its contract of carriage); but they would not Rule 240 her on United or USAir (they just don't do that, pretty much ever, as our Rule 240 chart explains). She was welcome to buy a last minute "walk up" $440 RT ticket on USAir, however, but that was way beyond her student budget.

So what, Dayton International wondered, should they do (by the way, it was very nice of them to help her, don't you think). Well, the answer, as it turned out, was bidding for travel on Priceline.com. So we bid $200 RT for the flight and were offered a $230 RT fare for travel that night that would get the stranded passenger to Charlotte "sometime between 6 PM and 1 AM the following day." Sure, we had no idea what the airline was, or the flight times (that's the way it is with bidding on Priceline) but this was a pretty decent last minute fare.  We know some of you don't love Priceline (maybe it's those TV ads). But if you are looking for a last minute deal, they are your best and sometimes only hope. Tracy has used them several times this year in family emergencies, so we practice what we preach.

Gabriel, our crack Senior Fare Analyst, has discovered some crazy low $106 RT  "travel any weekend" fares on United to or from Cincinnati and to or from Salt Lake City. This means you can depart any Friday or Saturday and return any Monday/Tuesday for a full 330 day period! For example, Cincinnati to LA is just $106 RT, or $148 RT with taxes. We haven't seen crazy low fares like these in ages. And note: you DO NOT have to return the following Mon/Tue. It can be ANY Mon/Tue within 330 days, subject to holiday sell outs.

In fact, we found 113 routes so far in this sale. Check out our Cincinnati and Salt Lake City fare pages to see them!

Here's an example:

Delta Airlines announced today that they are adding WiFi to flights in the 48 states. The entire fleet of 330 planes flying in these states should be outfitted by next summer. You'll pay a flat fee of $9.95 on flights of three hours or less, and $12.95 on flights of more than three hours.

With all the new charges brought about by the airlines these days we have to contemplate whether we will take a second bag, splurge for a bulkhead seat, or get that $3 bottle of soda.

One thing that we thought was non-chargeable was sleep. But now that is history. Jetblue Airways announced yesterday that they will begin charging $7 for a pillow and blanket for flights longer than two hours.

The low cost airline announced that it is doing away with the old recycled blankets and pillows and will now be offering an "eco-friendly" travel blanket and pillow. Jetblue claims the advantage of these new products will be a cleaner pillow and blanket that blocks dust mites, mold spores and other in-flight airborne goodies.The new sleep kits also includes a $5 coupon to Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Jetblue hopes to generate a large annual income due to this new policy, and they aren't the only ones. Word is that US Airways will follow suit before the end of the year as well.