Airlines

Even if you're not yet ready to retire, San Miguel de Allende is perfect for a vacation or long weekend getaway. Getting there United and American airlines offer connecting flights (via Texas) to San Miguel's two closest airports, Leon/Guanajuato (BJX), 90 minutes away, and Queretaro (QRO), one hour away. Round-trip airfares start around $600. Multiple airlines offer flights to Mexico City, which is three hours from San Miguel. When to go January may be the sole inclement month to travel, and even then it's nothing compared to a typical Baltimore winter.

As you shop for airfare for your summer vacation, don't overlook the cost of fees for bags or changing a reservation that can add quite a bit to your travel bill. Airlines collected a record $6.1 billion last year in these fees, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That could be because fees are rising as well as more people are flying, said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com, which publishes a list of airline charges. Fees continue to rise this year, with some airlines recently increasing the cost to change a reservation from $150 to $200.

Some days I feel like a harpy and I guess today's just gonna be one of those days. The FAA is back up and running as of Aug. 8, but the whole dispute has left a bad taste in my mouth. Case in point: Soonafter the deal - OK, 10 days ago and I don't know how I didn't see it sooner - the IRS issued guidance on what would happen to those taxes that the U.S. government was unable to collect during the FAA shutdown. The 7 percent or so in ticket fees that many airlines scooped up as part of fare increases instead of passing along as savings to passengers.

Higher airfares and lower fuel prices combined to give Southwest Airlines $59 million in first-quarter net profits, or 8 cents a share, beating Wall Street's predictions. The Dallas-based airline's earnings fell 40 percent from $98 million, or 13 cents a share, of a year ago. Revenue rose 2.3 percent to a record $4.1 billion. The report exceeded the First Call consensus estimate of 2 cents per share. Southwest and its subsidiary AirTran Airways are the largest carriers at BWI Marshall Airport, accounting for 71 percent of all commercial passenger traffic.

M any airline passengers have grown accustomed to sacrificing amenities and even comfort in their quest for cheaper fares. But new rules that take effect at the end of April would draw a line in the sand - or tarmac - by requiring that travelers have access to food, water and working bathrooms during extended delays before takeoff. The enhanced airline passenger protections adopted by the U.S. Department of Transportation also require carriers to develop contingency plans to avoid leaving passengers on the runway for more than three hours and that airlines publish historical data about flight delays on their Web sites.

Two airlines, blaming rising fuel prices resulting from the Persian Gulf crisis, are increasing air fares effective Oct. 1.USAir, the biggest carrier operating at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, said it would boost domestic fares by 4.2 percent.Delta Airlines said it would raise its fares by the same amount. The Atlanta-based airline raised its fares 5.3 percent on Aug. 30.Pan Am is increasing its fares 4.4 percent effective tomorrow.Most airlines raised their fare prices shortly after Iraq invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2, sending oil prices upward.

US Airways could emerge from U.S. Bankruptcy Court protection as early as today and merge with the smaller, low-cost airline America West to create the nation's fifth-largest airline, according to the companies. Both airlines received approvals from their shareholders and the bankruptcy court last week, clearing the way for the move. U.S. Airways entered the court system in September 2004. The airlines expect to maintain two companies for the short term, with reservation systems that will "code share," or book passengers on both airlines.

Fasten your safety belts: Investors in airline stocks have had a bumpy ride in 1991. These stocks were flying high following the end of hostilities in the Persian Gulf and a resulting decline in oil prices. But they later took a nosedive due to continued recession and dismal earnings results.Expect the turbulence to continue. These are definitely not investments for the faint of heart. Within this volatile industry, only the strong survive these days.American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines flex the most muscle in an extremely weak overall economic situation.

The Clipper flying boats, the first jet airliners -- and finally the nose of Flight 103 lying in a Scottish meadow. If Pan American World Airways finally disappears, that last image is the one we'll remember, and not without reason.One reason the airlines are hurting, as everyone seems to admit, is fear of terrorism. But the airlines, and their passengers, would have less to fear if they didn't handle safety the way General Motors handled Ralph Nader's charges against the Corvair: Denial, then a lot of words with very little action, then finally, perhaps, panic.

The debt of the nation's three largest airlines -- American, United and Delta -- was downgraded yesterday to junk-bond level, one of the lowest points in many years.While the downgrading to below-investment grade reflected the uncertain economic outlook for the carriers, industry executives and analysts doubted that it would have much effect on the companies, few of which will be borrowing large sums of money in the next several years."The biggest impact is that the pool of funds available for borrowing is much smaller and at higher rates," said Paul Karos, airline analyst for First Boston.

Southwest offers flights to four new cities from BWI Southwest Airlines is now operating flights from Baltimore to four new cities as it continues its integration of subsidiary AirTran Airways. As of April 14, passengers can book flights on the airline from BWI-Marshall Airport to Charlotte, N.C.; Flint, Mich.; Portland, Maine; and Rochester, N.Y., all cities where AirTran has ended service. In addition, Southwest is now offering flights beyond the contiguous 48 states for the first time in its history.

A Baltimore-bound United Airlines flight was diverted and a local family removed from the plane after the parents complained about the content of an in-flight movie. The February incident resulted in the passengers being escorted off the flight by police at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, the family said, relaying the experience anonymously in a response to an article about air rage posted on The Atlantic Monthly's website . In a statement released to The Sun, United Airlines said Flight 683 from Denver to Baltimore was diverted to Chicago after the crew reported a disturbance involving a passenger.

As a proud employee of Southwest Airlines, I read your article ("Is Southwest Airlines losing the luv?" Feb. 9) with dismay. Within the article you acknowledge the fact that Southwest is still the only airline allowing two bags to fly free while simultaneously berating the company for "swelling its bottom line. " While most of the reporting in this piece is technically accurate, the omission of information is unfortunate at best and could easily lead readers to believe that the opinions reflected by the few customers quoted here represent a majority.

For the third consecutive year, BWI Marshall Airport set a record for commercial passenger traffic, with 22.68 million travelers passing through its terminal in 2012, airport officials announced. The 1.3 percent increase over 2011 comes during a time of expansion of airport facilities and by commercial carriers. "This is great for the region and great for the businesses we support," said Paul Wiedefeld, executive director of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines will be starting daily nonstop service between Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Las Vegas on April 25. The flight, announced Wednesday, will leave BWI at 7:30 p.m. and arrive in Las Vegas at 9:22 p.m. The return flight departs Las Vegas at 11:47 p.m. and lands at 7:20 a.m. Spirit, which shifted its operation to BWI from Reagan National Airport outside Washington last September, also...

When it comes to the Super Bowl, Ravens fans are ready to go. Literally. In less than 24 hours since winning the AFC Championship, fans have booked just about every flight out of town to New Orleans. “[Demand] is overwhelming…” said  Buzz Levin, owner of The Travel Committee, a group and corporate travel agency based in Owings Mills. Levin said his company doesn't normally work with the general public, but being based locally and seeing the enthusiasm of the Ravens nation has caused him to make this Super Bowl an exception.

Maryland is an innocent bystander caught in the middle of battle between titans. One pair of titans is USAir, the dominant air carrier at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, and British Airways, which is bidding to become the largest international airline through a virtual merger with USAir. Arrayed against them are the three strongest U.S. airlines, American, Delta and United, which are battling to prevent the combination.Simultaneously, the Bush administration is trying to induce the British government to relax the tight grip British Airways has on Heathrow Airport just outside London, a major international hub and choicest gateway to Europe for trans-Atlantic travelers.

A broad coalition of donors — including casino giant MGM, Delta Airlines, a Washington nightclub and thousands of individuals across the country — together gave nearly $6 million to the campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland, providing a financial advantage that supporters say was critical to the effort's success. Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the main group working for approval of Question 6 on this month's ballot, raised $5.9 million — more than twice as much as opponents of the measure, according to campaign finance reports filed this week.

An annual survey of airline food gave Virgin America the top spot with the "healthiest" food choices in the sky, with Air Canada a close second and Alaska Air not too far behind. The 2012 Airline Food Survey conducted by the website DietDetective.com rated foods for 12 airlines, assigning an overall health score based on seven criteria: health of meals, health of snacks, food variety, calories, improvement from last year's survey, menu innovation and cooperation in providing nutritional information.