Your plane tickets to grandma's house for the holidays just got a bit more expensive.  As if peak holiday fares aren't expensive enough, Delta, American, United, and US have added $10 per ticket on peak travel days. This will apply for most fares for travel on Nov 29^th  (Sunday after Thanksgiving), Jan 2^nd and Jan 3^rd.  Most of you will be complaining of course, but the airlines are still cash strapped as mentioned in this blog post last week.  There are ways to avoid the baggage fees, but no real way to avoid this surcharge unless you don't fly on peak days. As long as airlines continue to lose money, we'll see more tactics like this. The most likely new fee? Charging for advance seat assignments, a move already taken by several discount airlines and most recently by British Airways.

Land yourself a seat on the inaugural New York-Paris flight of the new Air France A380, all while helping a good cause! Air France is auctioning off tickets through their Ebay store for inaugural flights from New York to Paris, as well as Paris to New York. Bidding is available for round-trip or one-way tickets in either L'Espace Affaires Business Class or Voyageur Economy Class. Ticket holders are also entitled to "a special itinerary of cultural activities and shoping" as well as discounted rates from Air France hotel partners Marriot and Accor.

And, as we mentioned, Air France will donate all proceeds from their inaugural auction to three different children's charities, providing medical care and education to underprivileged children around the globe. You can read further on charity details here.

Flights begin departing from Paris on November 20, and from New York on the following day, November 21. All 380 seats on board are up for auction, which will take place October 1. More information available at AF380.com.

We have a new store selling (at cost, mind you) AFWD logo items!

Such as hats...

T shirts....

And mugs.....

There's a lot more in the store, and we'll be updating images and items so come back often!

Turkish Airlines has some pretty snazzy fares to Turkey, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, for travel from November through March. These fares have no purchase-by date, and could vanish or sell out anytime, so we suggest pouncing on 'em while you can.

Chicago to Amman, Jordan $698 round-trip, incl. all taxes

Chicago to Beirut, Lebanon $693 round-trip, incl. all taxes

Chicago to Bucharest, Romania $690 round-trip, incl. all taxes

Chicago to Cairo, Egypt $680 round-trip, incl. all taxes

Chicago to Dubai, U.A.E. $736 round-trip, incl. all taxes

Chicago to Istanbul, Turkey $764 round-trip, incl. all taxes

Chicago to Izmir, Turkey $764 round-trip, incl. all taxes

Chicago to Tirana, Albania $709 round-trip, incl. all taxes

United's West Coast Splendor sale is good for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday travel through November 18. Fares require a 14-day advance purchase and a Friday or Saturday night stay. All bookings must be made by September 25.

Los Angeles to Albuquerque $166 round-trip

Los Angeles to Boise $190 round-trip

Los Angeles to Fresno $184 round-trip

Los Angeles to Seattle $132 round-trip

Los Angeles to Salt Lake City $160 round-trip

San Francisco to Palm Springs $152 round-trip

San Francisco to San Diego $94 round-trip

Considering that a couple of years ago fares to Paris were sky high in cramped economy seats, and that even now if you choose the wrong travel dates you could pay over $1000 round-trip for said seats, it's pretty cool that Air France is having a sale on what looks like some pretty plush new seats in their new premium economy cabin on this route.

Fares start at $591 each way plus about $120 in taxes.

The fare is valid for departures October 25 through December 19, 2009 and for departures December 25, 2009 through March 31, 2009. There is a 21 day advance purchase for this fare. A minimum Sunday night stay is required and a maximum 1 month stay is permitted.

This week's sale from AirTran is valid for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday travel through January 27. Steer clear of blackout dates November 25, 28 - 30, and December 18 - January 4.

Fares require a 10-day advance purchase, and all bookings must be made by 11:59pm ET, September 24.

Fares include:

Atlanta to Pittsburgh $148 round-trip

Boston to Richmond $135 round-trip

Charlotte to Milwaukee $158 round-trip

Dallas to Boston $168 round-trip

Houston to Buffalo $146 round-trip

New York to Akron $118 round-trip

Orlando to Atlantic City $138 round-trip

Chicago to Jacksonville $138 round-trip

Philadelphia to Kansas City $164 round-trip

Miami to Philadelphia $118 round-trip

Going overseas for your next vacation? Well you just might want to check those baggage fees before you head out the door. Ever since airlines started charging for bags they did not implement them for international flights and applied them instead just on domestic flights. However this is no longer true. Is this the end of free baggage allowances? Not necessarily as airlines are adding them only to certain international routes or some just charging only for the second bag. It could be a mix of both of those too. Confusing right? For the most part, airlines are currently starting small and primarily only charging for European bound flights. However, with the current volatile state of the airline industry and their need for more cash it would not be surprising if it expanded to all routes.

Keep in mind that you might incur a $5 surcharge if you pay at the airport. So remember to pay online the night before your flight if you want to save a few bucks.Also to note, if you are traveling on a domestic flight with a connection to an international flight you will only pay the fee it costs to check in your bag to your final destination. Example: Flying from Seattle to London with a connection in Minneapolis, you will only pay one fee- the amount it costs to check in your bag to London.This is assuming that you made the booking all in one reservation and not on separate tickets. When traveling on multiple airlines you will typically pay only the fee charged by the first airline you will be flying on.

Below is a general list of baggage fees. For more information we have conveniently linked the pages of the baggage guidelines for all major US carriers that fly internationally.

*All the fees are based upon prepaying online if applicable.

By: Aaron Tam

Chartering a private jet not only costs a lot of money, it also burns a lot of fuel and emits a lot of CO2 into the atmosphere. According to a report out by the Institute for Policy Studies, just one hour on a private charter plane will burn equivalent to one year's worth of gasoline to power your car. Think about all the CO2 emissions that is pumped into the air!

Ever since the backlash of the auto executives flying charters to Washington and as the current recession grew deeper, companies were obviously looking for more financially feasible ways to fly their executives from point A to point B. While executives and the wealthy could and have reverted to flying commercial first class or even driving, there is a new alternative that is available and will not break the bank and also is considered to be somewhat more environmentally conscious at the same time. This new alternative is known as Jet-Sharing.  Many programs that have sprung up to hopefully lure customers back to private charter travel. The basic model of these jet sharing is to utilize more seats on scheduled charter planes. Instead of chartering an entire plane for 2 people you can share the cost plane with other people who are traveling to the same destination at the same time.  The goal is to lower costs, reduce redundant flights and in turn save fuel and emit less CO2 into the atmosphere. By jet sharing you'll still have the amenities of flying a charter jet (avoiding big airports and major delays) but also at the same time be conscious about cost and the impact your flight might have on the environment. You might want to think of charter jet sharing as an airline for the elite.

How jet sharing works:

You can go to a website like GreenJets or Jet It Together and search for already proposed flights or create your own. Currently on the Jet It Together website there is a proposed flight from Las Vegas to Dallas. On the proposal page it shows that 1 person has confirmed a seat. The cost of chartering the entire plane for the flight costs $7080 and has a total of 7 seats.  The hope is that at least 4 seats will be filled and the price per person is $1700 for this particular flight. If the plane is full, then the price per person will obviously be less. So if you can get 6 other people on the plane then it'll be about $1000 per person.

Green Jets also is quite similar to Jet It Together, but if you plan on multiple flights a year you can pay an annual membership fee, which will provide you access to a lower cost per flight.  According to their website, with a membership a flight from New York to Florida will cost about $1100 versus a pay per flight basis quote of about $2100.

What do you think? Is sharing a jet really the best way for executives and the wealthy to fly around? Is it really a more eco-friendly way to fly if you can afford the luxury of a private charter?

Virgin America's 24 hour Business Sale is valid for travel from September 22 through September 30. Main Cabin fares start at $29 each way, and upgrades to Main Cabin Select (Virgin America's Business Class) are available for as little as $89 each way.

All purchases must be made by 7am PT, September 22.

Main Cabin sale fares include:

Los Angeles to Boston $178 round-trip

Los Angeles to Washington DC $178 round-trip

Los Angeles to Seattle $98 round-trip

San Francisco to Las Vegas $58 round-trip

San Francisco to Los Angeles $58 round-trip

San Francisco to San Diego $58 round-trip

San Francisco to Seattle $58 round-trip