A quarter of the 24 gates at Detroit Metropolitan Airport's North Terminal will not be leased when the new facility opens September 17th.

The Detroit News reports a cut in seating capacity by the airline industry is the reason behind the six gates not being in use.

Experts say the gates could remain closed for some time as flights are cut and airlines move toward smaller planes to cope with the high cost of jet fuel.

Capacity reductions by the airlines have ranged from 8 percent to 13 percent.

August 11th, Northwest and Delta pilot groups ratified the joint collective bargaining agreement (JCBA). This is a major milestone in that two separate airline employee groups have never ratified a post-merger bargaining agreement before a merger has been approved.

"We are pleased with today's vote by both pilot groups in support of a combined agreement following the closing of our merger with Delta Air Lines. This is another important step in the process toward integrating our two airlines and one that has never been achieved prior to the closing of any other airline merger. This agreement helps set the stage for what we believe will be the most successful merger in airline history because it will allow us to quickly capture a great share of the $2 billion in synergies we are projecting for the combined carrier," said Doug Steenland.

Alitalia has sought bankruptcy protection, taking the first step in a plan to reshape Italy's financially plagued national carrier.

The company said in a statement that its board had declared insolvency to a Rome court and requested the government appoint an administrator.

Because the carrier expects to operate normally while going through the bankruptcy proceeding ARC (Airline Reporting Corporation) said it will continue processing transactions validated on Alitalia, including sales, refunds and exchanges, as usual.

Alitalia reportedly has been losing some $3 million a day -- hurt by labor unrest, competition from budget airlines and high fuel prices.

Federal regulators announced $7.1 million in fines against American Airlines over maintenance issues and problems with its drug- and alcohol-testing programs.

American Airlines was fined for allowing aircrafts to fly while they knew they needed repairs.

"The FAA believes the large total amount of the fine for these violations is appropriate because American Airlines was aware that appropriate repairs were needed, and instead deferred maintenance," the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement announcing the decision. "In intentionally continuing to fly the aircraft, the carrier did not follow important safety regulations intended to protect passengers and crew."

American can still appeal the fines, the FAA said.

The FAA also found the airline maintained inadequate drug- and alcohol-testing programs and failed to inspect safety lighting on a "timely" basis.

United Airlines on Tuesday, September 2, said it has reversed its decision last month to start charging for food in economy class on international flights departing from one of its principal hubs, Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. The move came before United had even begun implementing the policy, which could have been put in place on United international flights from other hubs, including O'Hare Airport, if the experiment had met with success at Dulles. International economy passengers now will continue to get free hot meals.

A United spokesman said the quick reversal came because of vocal feedback from the carrier's corporate and elite fliers, two groups that are heavy users of the airline and generate a huge chunk of United's revenue. Meanwhile, United pilots were quick to label Tuesday's action a "flip-flop" that demonstrates the airline's CEO Glenn Tilton and his executives "are out of touch with the needs of passengers."

United pilots want Tilton out
Source: copyright 2008, Travel Weekly

The United Airlines chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) last month Monday called for the resignation of United CEO Glenn Tilton.

The pilots said new leadership is required because United "ranks at the bottom of nearly every performance and customer-satisfaction category, and its financial performance is steadily deteriorating."

The pilot union has launched www.glenntilton.com, to broadcast reasons why Tilton should no longer be the CEO.

"Under Glenn Tilton's tenure, United has gone from being the finest airline in the world, with the best route structure and safety record, to a shell of its former self," said Steve Wallach, chairman of the United Master Executive Council. "He has had every opportunity to turn this company around and tap the abilities of its first-class employees, but instead he has run it into the ground. We believe that with the intense challenges facing our industry, United Airlines will not be able to thrive as long as Glenn Tilton, with his proven record of incompetence, continues as CEO."

American, British Airways and Iberia -- along with fellow Oneworld alliance members Finnair and Royal Jordanian -- plan to file for joint antitrust immunity at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Under the joint business agreement, the airlines would cooperate on flights between North America and the European Union, Switzerland and Norway while continuing to operate as separate companies. The airlines plan to collaborate on fares scheduling and to share costs and revenue, while expanding their codeshare arrangements on flights within and beyond the E.U. and U.S.

The airlines also will file an application with antitrust authorities in the E.U.

American and British Airways have twice before tried and failed to secure antitrust immunity because of the carriers' dominance at London's Heathrow Airport. The airlines said the with the new U.S.-E.U. open-skies deal, conditions have changed.

"We are applying for E.U.-U.S. antitrust immunity in a changed regulatory world where London Heathrow is open to any U.S. or E.U. airline that wants to fly to the United States and where rival alliances have immunity," said British Airways CEO Willy Walsh.

Five U.S. carriers are seeking to launch or re-establish codeshare services to Russia in the wake of a U.S.-Russia agreement that permits the resumption of such services via points in Europe.

Northwest, Delta and American plan to resume their third-country codeshare services to Russia under their existing authority.

United, meanwhile, proposed launching U.S.-Russia services with British Midland, and Continental is seeking to start a similar operation with Swiss International.

The carriers filed notices of their codesharing plans in response to the Department of Transportation's mid-August invitation to airlines to file applications.

The invitation follows the July 26 Memorandum of Consultations between the U.S. and Russia that permits eight codeshare services, six of which can be for passenger services.

Russia had earlier closed the door on such operations, preventing alliance partners from listing U.S.-Russia connecting services under the U.S. carrier's code.

Under the new pact, each such codeshare involving a U.S. airline and a European partner may serve Russia via no more than one European intermediate point and is limited to 14 weekly operations.

DOT spokesman Bill Mosley said carriers with existing codeshare partners for the region, such as Northwest/KLM, Delta/Air France and American/Finnair, need only to send a letter of their intention to resurrect those agreements.

Northwest wants to resume its codeshare with KLM immediately, serving Moscow and St. Petersburg via Amsterdam.

Delta intends to implement its previously authorized codesharing arrangement with Air France, serving both Russian points by offering daily codeshare service via Paris.

American intends to use its existing rights for service to Russia via Helsinki on flights operated by Finnair.

American also is applying for U.S.-Russia codeshare rights via London Heathrow with British Airways and via Madrid with Iberia.

United, which previously operated such service with Lufthansa via Frankfurt, applied for a linkup via London with BMI.

Continental and Swiss International plan to offer codeshare service in which Continental will place its CO code on Swiss flights between Zurich and both Moscow and St. Petersburg.

With the summer travel season in its final throes, travelers such as Barbara Benson of Novi hope troubling flight delays will ease.

Benson, an independent marketing consultant, travels round-trip between Detroit and cities such as New York; Memphis, Tenn.; and Houston to meet with clients about once a week.

"And almost every flight has been a complete hassle," she said. "One-hour delay here, two hours there, cancellations ... I've seen it all: weather, mechanical problems, flight crews not showing up."

Vexed voyagers have a few things happening in their favor. Chief among them: Major airlines are planning to do less domestic flying beginning Oct. 1.

Northwest Airlines Corp., Michigan's largest carrier, plans to carry about 9.5 percent fewer seats beginning next month. Delta Air Lines Inc., which plans to merge with Northwest by year's end, is cutting its domestic flying about 13 percent over last fall.

Other major carriers also have announced capacity cuts.

That means fewer planes in the air, which could help ease traffic into particularly crowded airports like Chicago's O'Hare International, and those in New York, Boston and Washington, D.C.

For fliers leaving Metro Detroit, delays won't be notably worse than anywhere else, according to a report issued by Delaycast. com, a site that tracks historical flight delay information by airport.

About 17 percent of flights departing Detroit are delayed, on par with the national average.

Arriving flights are late about 19 percent of the time, compared with a 21 percent national average.

The average one-way, domestic airfare paid by American Express Business Travel clients in the second quarter rose 10% year over year, to $260, according to the company's Business Travel Monitor.

The $260 average fare paid was a seven-year high for the second-quarter, said American Express.

High fuel prices, which led many airlines to make capacity reductions and tighten ticketing restrictions, increased the average fare, said American Express. The fare increase spurred clients to buy more tickets in advance.

"During times when economic conditions are volatile, companies step up efforts to stress the importance of purchasing tickets in advance in order to use discount tickets in a negotiated travel program," said Hervé Sedky, vice president and general manager of American Express Business Travel's Global Advisory Services. "Our data shows that during the second quarter of 2008, 89% of tickets purchased were domestic discount coach fares; this shows that more travelers purchased tickets in advance.

"These subtle changes can translate into significant savings - 17% or more in some cases. Looking at the first six months of 2008, the companies that had travelers purchase 8 to 14 days in advance rather than zero to seven days in advance saved an average of $49 per segment."

The average international fare paid for the second quarter of 2008 reached $1,980, a record for the Business Travel Monitor since its inception in 1999. The average international fare rose 11% over the same period in 2007.

Travelers crossing U.S. land and sea borders can now replace their passport book with a new passport card.

Federal passport officials started issuing the wallet-sized cards on July 14.

More than 450,000 people have applied for the card, said Brenda Sprague, deputy assistant secretary of state for passport service.

"The U.S. passport card is a less expensive and more affordable alternative to the U.S. passport book, "Sprague said.

The brand new document - which looks similar to a drivers license - can be used for people returning to the United States from Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda.

The pros: It's cheaper ($45 for the first-time applicant, $20 if the applicant already has a passport and $35 for children), it's valid for the same period as a passport book, and it's faster for border officials to check.

Its technology - a radio frequency identity chip -allows it to be read from up to 30 feet away. "It will make a difference as far as processing times," said Chief Jose Castellano, spokesman with U.S. customs and Border Protection.

With travel prices on the rise and consumers looking for the best deals, the Better Business Bureau of Northern Colorado and Wyoming is warning people that if a travel deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.

The BBB has issued a warning to consumers regarding Elite Escapes International, a travel club operating under numerous names, which is enticing Larimer County residents to spend from $1,000 to $7,000 on memberships with the promise of great travel deals.

But consumers are quickly finding they can't redeem those deals on air travel, gas cards or show tickets, and deals are misrepresented.

The BBB of Northern Colorado and Wyoming began receiving an average of three to five calls a day over the past two weeks regarding South Carolina-based Elite Escapes International, said Barbara Read, communications director for the BBB.

Elite Escapes International, which also operates under the names of Elite Professional Services LLC and VIP Travel, could not be reached for comment.

According to complaints filed with the BBB, Larimer County residents have received fliers in the mail telling them about the program. After calling the phone number on the mailer, consumers are invited to a small seminar and asked for a "fair amount" of personal information, such as income level, Read said.

"The people who have attended the seminars say (the company) uses high-pressure sales techniques," she added.

According to the Myrtle Beach, S.C., BBB, which is compiling all of the complaint information, it reported 142 filed complaints on the three companies.

Promotions for travel companies or buyers clubs are not uncommon, Read said.

"Some are more legitimate than others. It's just always wise, especially if you're being high pressured, to take a step back," she said. "If it's only good for the next two hours, it's a red flag. If it's really a good deal, it'll be available 24 hours from now."

Read added that some consumers who have filed complaints through the BBB have been issued refunds from the company.

But the problem isn't limited to Larimer County.

At the end of July, the Kansas attorney general banned the company from doing business in the state, citing "deceptive business practices."

Yes, it happens here in Michigan also!

"You've won a free vacation"- you just need to fund the taxes and fees. "We'd like to offer you a free condo stay"- just sign here…with a commitment to four add'l stays at a set price. "A group has cancelled and we are calling to offer you their space at a huge discount"…just need your credit card today to guarantee the rate…