Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is raising the bar for the treatment of airline passengers this spring. You'll see more transparency in ticket pricing, better deals for bumped passengers, and reimbursement of luggage fees when checked bags are lost or delayed.
Thousands of stuck holiday travelers are just the beginning: Airlines' new policy of pre-emptively canceling flights to avoid snowstorms is lowering their losses, but will likely leave many more passengers without a flight home in the future.
Southwest Airlines is flying high: It's proven consistently profitable, and it serves more passengers than any other U.S. carrier. But as the airline expands its service, CEO Gary Kelly says volatile jet-fuel prices are his biggest concern going into 2011.
The International Air Transport Association expects airline profit to plunge 40% this year as fewer passengers travel during the recession and as fuel prices rise. But that doesn't mean you'll necessarily be able to score a good deal: Airfares are likely to keep climbing.
Will airline travel plunge after two bombs were discovered on board cargo planes?
Delta, US Airways and AMR, the parent of American Airlines, all posted higher-than-expected earnings for the peak summer travel season. Airlines have pushed fares up by limiting the number of seats for sale, and have also seen growing international and corporate travel.
Considering how often airline industry executives complain about how hard it is to run a profitable carrier, one might expect their efforts could go unrewarded -- at least monetarily. Not so at the new United Continental Holdings, where big post-merger raises are coming for top management.
Steven Slater's daring departure from a JetBlue airplane last month made him the darling of disgruntled airline employees everywhere. But the former flight attendant is showing less braggadocio these days, having agreed to a mental evaluation as he attempts to avoid jail time.
Brazilian and Chinese visitors led a resurgence in foreign tourism spending within the U.S. in the first half of 2010, giving hope to domestic hoteliers, airline companies and others that the travel-spending slump of 2008 and 2009 is over, according to a report released Wednesday.
American Airlines was hit with a record $24.2 million fine by the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday for failing two years ago to comply with mandatory safety rules.
