European inclinations? Delta's deals

With the advent of the new year come some decidedly decent discount airfares to Europe. Consider Delta Air Lines’ latest deals that jet you across the Atlantic for as little as $179, each-way.

Although these deals are quoted each-way, they are predicated on a round-trip purchase. Make that purchase no later than January 8 at www.delta.com to get the lowest discount airfare. Fly out January 9 through March 13; return by April 12.

You'll have to stay over at least one Saturday night to qualify for these discount airfares, and purchase them at least seven days in advance. Taxes and fees are not included in the quote. They're extra.

DOT changes charge-up rules - the battery debate

If you travel with lots of electronic gear, the kind that requires potent, but potentially dangerous, lithium batteries, you're going to want to know about the Department of Transportation’s new rules.

Effective tomorrow (January 1, New Year’s Day), you'll no longer be permitted to pack loose lithium batteries in checked luggage. The idea is to cut the risk of these things catching fire. It has happened.

There's an out, albeit a somewhat confusing and seemingly contradictory one: lithium batteries will continue to be allowed in checked baggage if they're installed in electronic devices or if they're packed in plastic bags in carry-ons.

Dine out at Washington airports

Passengers in Washington have been benefiting from a proliferation of dining options at the city's airports.

That is the message coming from operators in the region, with the 15 new additions in 2007 to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall food and beverage stations and the 17 at Ronald Reagan Washington National underlining the point.

At Baltimore-Washington, the emphasis, says Mark Knight, BAA USA President, is on a premium service. Talking to the Examiner, he explained how competition at the airports was improving choice. "The trend is for higher quality, more choices; they want the experiences they have on the street," Knight commented.

Open Skies will benefit St. Louis

Lambert-St Louis International Airport will see a dramatic increase in flights in 2008, a senior representative has predicted.

The Open Skies treaty, which comes into effect in March, means that more carriers from the U.S. and Europe will be able to operate transatlantic flights. Open Skies will create a slew of new routes and St. Louis is expected to benefit.

Speaking to The Southern, Brian Kinsey, the airport's Business and Marketing Manager, predicted an upturn in routes in the new year. "Open Skies will certainly be an opportunity for airports like Lambert," he said.

Frequent flyers go the extra mile

With 2007 drawing to a close, thousands of travelers are looking to clock up extra air miles in “mileage runs”.

Randy Petersen, editor and publisher of Inside Flyer magazine, explained how it worked to CBS News.

"A mileage run is for a frequent flyer who doesn't quite make it at the end of the year," he said. "They might be a flight short or 3,000 miles short and they're just so close and they say you know what, I don't have any more business travel the rest of the year, I'm going to go out and do a mileage run. So what they do is they simply go to the local airport and fly anywhere - they don't really care."

On-time performance 2007 - the time of our discontent

As in no other year, 2007 was the time of our discontent at least when it came to getting to the gate on time.

The first inklings of what lay ahead began to fall from the heavens about Valentine's Day, when the Northeast was hit by a major ice storm, a storm that hurt operations at a number of airlines. But the carrier that garnered most of the attention was discount airline JetBlue. While legitimately lamentable, stories of flyers stranded for hours on the tarmac at New York Kennedy (JFK) assumed proportions of urban legend. They dominated the news.

Out of the chaos of Kennedy came the airline industry's first Customer Bill of Rights, an in-house deal by JetBlue that compensates passengers, on a sliding scale, for delays or cancellations. JetBlue's then CEO David Neeleman called the storm, and the carrier's problems handling it, “a wake-up call.”

The Cheap Flights Weekly Roundup

In a week of bad weather and high passenger numbers, airlines and airports worked together to get holiday travelers to their destinations on time. Post-Christmas cheer came in the form of several sales and news of airport improvements.

Airline Sales and Deals

Southwest's sizzling post-holiday sale: $49-$99 ow Southwest Airlines is offering $49 to $99 one-way discount airfares for travel between January 10 and May 8.

AirTran's fabulous Florida forays, from $69 The discount airline is offering discount airfares to Florida starting as low as $69, one-way.

South African sojourn: buy-one, get-one free South African Airways is giving two passengers the chance to fly for the price of one through March 14.

Filling the gap - DFW soon to be connected to Amsterdam

For an airport with such global reach, it's amazing that Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) has been bereft all these years of nonstop service to one of Europe's powerhouse airports - Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS). Arch-rival Houston had it since the 1960s, first out of Houston Hobby (HOU) and later from Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH).

That's about to change. Come March 30, long-time alliance buddies KLM and Northwest Airlines will launch nonstop DFW-AMS service with one of the former's new A330-200s, a craft configured for both Business and Economy service.

Why March 30? It's about then that carriers throughout the United States and the European Union let fly with a flurry of new flights, all the result of the dramatic liberalization of air service between the U.S. and the EU. Open Skies is the name of the agreement, and it allows almost unfettered flights across The Pond.

New Frontier fares: round-trip discounts start at $98

Post-Christmas deals aren't confined to the mall. You can find an abundance of them online, discount airfares to be precise. Frontier Airlines' offerings for the new year start at $49, each-way, exclusive of taxes and fees.

You'll have to book and buy fast, no later than 9:49 MST on Saturday, December 29. Do that, then fly through March 5. These discount airfares, though quoted each-way, entail a round-trip purchase.

There's a ten-day advance purchase attached to these discount airfares, and U.S. travel has to take place on off-peak days - Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays only. February 15 and 18 are blacked out. No travel on those days, at least not at these discount airfares.

Midwest, Northwest grow code-share pact

Once fierce rivals, especially out of Milwaukee (MKE), a pair of upper Midwest-based airlines is now enlarging their code-share agreement, allowing flyers to book passage on either carrier via a single ticket on certain routes.

The carriers are Midwest Airlines and Northwest Airlines, and the focus of the latest phase of their code-chare arrangement is Indianapolis (IND). Now, travelers can fly code-share trips nonstop from Indy to Denver (DEN), Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), Orlando (MCO), San Francisco (SFO), Seattle/Tacoma (SEA), and Tampa TPA).

In addition to being able to book on one ticket, flyers can “seamlessly” check bags too, and earn credit in either Northwest's WorldPerks frequent flyer program, or Midwest Miles.