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Home Airlines Airports Destinations Fidelity Programs Travel Health Travel Tech Travel Tips Aircraft Air Safety Air Security NEWS News Center Events FLIGHTS Flight Status Flight Schedules Airport Status Airport Guides City Guides AIRGUIDE Subscribe Advertising Marketing Content Info Services About Us Contact Us Site Map	AIRLINES Delta Air Lines says it will probably close its Cincinnati crew base as it focuses on the Pacific Northwest for more flights to Asia. About 225 pilots would be affected by the move, and the airline also extended its buyout offer to some 1,000 additional employees at CVG. Report suggests Southwest's no-bag-fee strategy could pay off. Many airlines are charging increasingly higher fees for passengers to check their luggage in an effort to bolster revenue. But Southwest has maintained its commitment to forgo luggage fees. The consultancy IdeaWorks recently issued a report that says Southwest has lost out on millions of dollars of revenue, but the strategy likely will benefit the carrier in the long run as more passengers switch airlines to avoid the charges. Experts see better 2010 for the airlines, but caution a slow recovery. Analysts and industry insiders see a better year for airlines in 2010, though they caution that the nascent recovery appears slow and uncertain. During January earnings calls, airline CEOs reported improved revenue trends but noted that comparisons were easy due to extremely poor numbers for the previous year. Meanwhile, Standard & Poor's Ratings Service warned in a report last Friday that improving economic conditions could have a downside for the industry. "We are concerned that global economic growth, particularly in healthier regions such as Asia and the Middle East, could cause an upturn in oil prices that outpaces weak economic (and consumer) recovery in the U.S., causing a drag on airlines' earnings and cash flow gains," the company said. Reported by The Dallas Morning News Airlines Adding Checked-Baggage Charges. Emboldened by the revenue success of checked-bag fees, several carriers this week said they are implementing new charges, including Alaska Airlines' plan to follow legacy carriers in implementing a first-checked-bag fee, US Airways' plan to add a $5 surcharge for customers paying to check bags at the airport and Delta Air Lines' intention to bring its second-bag fee to international markets. US Airways said economy customers traveling on or after July 9 would have to pay an additional $5 if they elect to settle checked-bag charges at the airport. The carrier, like all of its domestic legacy carrier competitors, already levies a $15 fee for the first bag and $25 for the second. The carrier today began enabling customers to prepay first- and second-bag fees as they check in online through its Web site. Delta Air Lines and United airlines have added more days next year that will be subject to holiday- and peak-travel airfare surcharges. Most airlines have imposed $20 one-way surcharges on peak days near Thanksgiving and Christmas and heavy-traffic days in the spring. Delta, which merged with Northwest, and United have upped the going rate, now charging an extra $30 for March 14, 20, 21 and 28, and April 5 and 11. New surcharges and dates include $10 on March 7-10, 15, 18, 19, 22, 25-27 and 29; April 1-4 and 8-10; and $20 on Feb. 12. A $50 one-way surcharge will be imposed by Delta/ Northwest on Feb. 8 &emdash; the day after Super Bowl XLIV in Miami &emdash; for travel from South Florida airports to most of the cities it serves, said Rick Seaney, whose FareCompare.com also tracks fares. US Airways, which has not matched the new surcharges, plans a 5 percent surcharge for all flights beginning May 8, Parsons said. Other airlines will watch how the traveling public reacts to US Airways' higher fares. Parsons said airlines are looking for new revenue in a down economy, and the surcharges may mean higher fares next summer. British Airways and Spain's Iberia is delaying and could even ground the carriers' plans to merge due to the global financial uncertainty, sources close to the deal and analysts have said. Analysts say that volatile markets have made it almost impossible to value the two airlines, both are more focused on fighting the worst sector downturn in a generation, and a power struggle for control of Iberia's biggest shareholder has put the deal in jeopardy. The Spanish airline said on Thursday it was unlikely to make a profit this year and would propose scrapping its 2008 dividend in the light of weak demand from Spaniards, sliding business traffic and general price pressure. An official at Spain's UGT union said on Thursday the Spanish flag carrier made a EUR100 million euro operating loss in the first two months of 2009. Friday's edition of Spain's La Vanguardia newspaper cited sources close to Iberia as saying business was so uncertain at the moment that it made it practically impossible to move merger talks forward. A Spanish source familiar with the matter said that if a deal was done, it was unlikely to be struck before Spaniards returned from their summer breaks in September. "We are hearing that the merger could be delayed until after the summer," he said. A spokesman for Iberia said only that "merger talks are ongoing". Delta Air Lines. said Friday it will begin flights to and from Dallas Love Field this summer. The move will put Delta, the world's largest airline operator, head-to-head against Southwest Airlines, the dominant carrier at close-in Love Field. To meet with legal restrictions at Love Field, Delta will operate three daily nonstop flights between Dallas and Memphis, Tenn., with 50-seat regional jets. Federal law limits nonstop flights from Love Field to states far from Texas, including Tennessee, but there is an exception for planes with 56 or fewer seats. Atlanta-based Delta said the service would begin July 6 and be operated by Pinnacle Airlines under the Delta Connection name. Delta affiliates already offer three daily flights to Memphis from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. more airline news...	Subscribe
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