The package “Your choice“  from $9 to $19 each way, depending on length of the flight, also includes other services, such as a $75 discount on changes to your itinerary or “standby” for an earlier flight on the day of  departure.

Note: Travelers with special needs or young children will still board early without a fee. Nice from AA.

Isn’t it a neat way to announce “We’ve found of another way to extract money from you.”

“In the past week Delta, Continental, United and US Airways all raised their fees for checking your bags with them.” For example, American Airlines, looking to goose revenue in a recessionary environment, plans to raise checked-bag fees on U.S. domestic itineraries by $5.

“To add insult to injury, airlines around the globe are implementing all kinds of cuckoo fees in lieu of raising fares, and some of these fees are bound to find their way to our shores. [...] There are also fees for choosing in advance where you’d like to sit. Other new frequent flier fees are becoming more the norm, where redemption of frequent flyer miles on shorter notice than say, 14 days before departure costs more than if you make your plans a month out.Does this one make any sense to anyone out there?”

OK, the recession, the swine flu scare and rising fuel prices have hammered the airlines results.
My guess is none of these fees will solve the airlines’ problems.

Rather Geek than Eat?

Key findings included:

• Biggest Complaint: Dead PC batteries. A combined 67.7 percent of frequent travelers surveyed said a dead battery (41.4 percent) and no place to plug in (26.3 percent) were their largest complaints. Power outlets also are in high demand at the gate and onboard the flight. Twenty-four percent said access to electrical power is the most important technology amenity aboard a plane.
• Almost No One Travels Without Technology. More than 90 percent of frequent travelers surveyed have a notebook and phone in hand. If Wi-Fi were enabled onboard, 70.5 percent would choose their notebook as their primary device for conducting business-related work, with mobile phones (with telephony turned off) at a distant second at 19.8 percent.
• Work Efficiency Drops Dramatically in the Air. Business travelers say they can work efficiently at the airport and their hotels, but efficiency drops dramatically onboard the plane. More than 96 percent of respondents conduct work-related activities at their hotels. Eighty-five percent conduct work-related activities at the airport, but this number drops to 52.6 percent onboard a flight. Travelers say they scramble to conduct work-related items (for example, sending e-mails, making calls) at the gate before they take off (76 percent).

What about you, would you rather geek than eat?

The winglets help increase the plane’s lift without increasing engine power — a combination that improves overall fuel efficiency, saving upwards of 500,000 gallons of fuel per fitted aircraft and generate less carbon dioxide.

American Airlines plans to install Blended Winglet on its entire fleet to Boeing 767-300ERs aircraft by 2011 — that may save the airline upwards of 29 million gallons of fuel each year.

Not bad!