Airlines

The unidentified substance found Wednesday on a Baltimore-bound Southwest flight was determined to not be a threat, a spokeswoman for the airline said. Hazmat and rescue crews from Palm Beach County investigated a "suspicious chemical powder" found on a Southwest Airlines 737 jet, determined the powder was not dangerous and then released the plane back into the airline's control, said Ashley Dillon. At about 7:30 p.m., the company was working to get the plane in the air and minimize the delay for passengers, she said.

Beginning next summer, Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport will host Condor Airlines, a German carrier offering service to continental Europe and adding some needed heft to the airport's "international" stock. Condor will provide twice-weekly service to Frankfurt, a major international hub that offers connections to cities throughout Europe and Asia. The seasonal flights begin July 2 and are available now for booking. Jens Boyd, head of revenue management at Condor, recently talked to The Baltimore Sun about Baltimore, German beer and why Frankfurt is the perfect city for a layover.

Too late for the busy holiday travel season, but the federal government will be expanding airline passengers protections next year. Starting Jan. 24: Airlines must include all the taxes and fees in advertised fares. (Hmmm, I wonder if we'll ever see a $39 flight deal anymore, once fees and taxes are added in?) Carriers also must allow you to hold a reservation - without having to put any money down - and cancel without penalty within 24 hours of reserving a seat. That's only, though, if the reservation is made at least one week before the departure.

For the first time in more than a decade, air travelers will be able to board a scheduled commercial jet at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport next summer and fly to continental Europe. BWI officials and Condor Airlines announced Monday that Germany's third-largest carrier will begin twice-a-week service to Frankfurt starting July 2. The seasonal Monday and Thursday flights, scheduled to continue into October, will be the first direct, scheduled connection between BWI and the continent since 1999.

Passengers on a Southwest flight were delayed at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport for about an hour Monday evening as federal and state law enforcement searched their plane for an object that "raised the concerns of the airline," an airport spokesman said. No object was found. Those aboard Southwest flight 2365 from Florida were told to disembark after the aircraft landed at 7:11 p.m. in Baltimore, said BWI spokesman Jonathan Dean. Passengers said they were told to leave the cabin without their purses or personal items.

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.

If you had Caribbean dreams in your travel plans for this week, they're fading rapidly into reality with the arrival of Hurricane Irene , a powerful storm that has targeted Puerto RIco, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas and potentially the entire Eastern seaboard of the U.S. As of this morning, the National Hurricane Center has issued hurricane warnings and watches for several of the Caribbean islands, with the chance for a direct hit over...

AirTran Airways announced this week that it will offer nonstop weekend flights between BWI Marshall Airport and Aruba starting December 17. According to BWI spokesman Jonathan Dean, the Saturday and Sunday service is the first new international route launched by AirTran since it became a subsidiary of Southwest Airlines. Dean noted in a statement that with the new service, Aruba becomes the sixth nonstop international or Caribbean destination offered by AirTran from BWI, after Bermuda; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Cancun, Mexico; Nassau, Bahamas; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Michelle's posts about how many major airlines have raised their prices after the FAA stopped collecting airfare taxes just makes my blood boil. But that information offers a good reminder that monitoring the price of tickets can pay off, even after they have been purchased. Some airlines will refund or offer credits toward future purchases if a fare decreases in price after you buy it --- even if it is technically a 'nonrefundable' fare. Via Consumerist , I found a list on Airfarewatchdog.com of the airlines that do, including the change fees they charge and the form of the refund.

If you thought our government was dysfunctional over the looming debt ceiling debacle, it's really just one example of multiple layers of crazy inside the Washington Beltway. And, as always, it seems to boil down to the dirtiest five-letter word politicians claim to have ever heard: taxes. In this case, we're talking about airline taxes. As of now, travelers should be saving about 7-10 percent on airfares because of a budget meltdown that has put the Federal Aviation Administration into a tailspin and denied it the ability - temporarily - to collect taxes or even function.