FAA eyes hefty fines for American Airlines

The Federal Aviation Administration is close to wrapping up a two-year investigation of safety violations at American Airlines that could result in one of the largest fines in the agency’s history, according to government and industry officials familiar with the investigation. Separately, the Transportation Department’s inspector general is due to release an audit in the [...]

Delta Air Lines, US Airways can swap slots

The government says Delta Air Lines and US Airways can swap takeoff and landing slots at airports in New York and Washington, but there’s a catch: They must sell some of the slots to protect competition. A slot is an interval of time during which an airline can takeoff or land its aircraft at an [...]

British Airways’ OpenSkies to fly Washington D.C. to Paris

OpenSkies, British Airways’ all-business class airline, said Tuesday it is launching a new route between Washington D.C. and Paris. The airline currently has a single route from Newark Liberty International Airport to Paris Orly with 17 flights per week. It suspended its route between New York and Amsterdam this summer as the recession pounded demand [...]

FAA investigating Southwest Airlines repairs

Federal officials are investigating Southwest Airlines over the way it handled structural repairs on dozens of jets, according to a person familiar with the situation. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed Tuesday that it is investigating whether Southwest followed safety orders dealing with the maintenance of older planes. Inspectors believe Southwest and a repair shop near [...]

Southwest Airlines launches 3-day fare sale

Southwest Airlines Co. is offering a sale geared toward leisure travelers who want to make short trips this spring. The discount carrier said Tuesday it will sell tickets starting at $39 each way on some routes under 500 miles. As usual, the airline didn’t say how many seats it will offer at the sale prices, [...]

American Airlines to charge $8 for blankets

If you want a pillow and blanket in coach on American Airlines, it’s going to cost you. The airline will charge $8 for a pillow and blanket in coach class for domestic trips and some international flights longer than two hours, beginning May 1. The international flights are to and from Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, the [...]

Some prices can be too good to be true

Royce Smith planned to visit Sydney, Australia during spring break to attend an arts festival and work on a book, when he found an unbelievably good fare on American Airlines’ Web site: A round-trip ticket from Wichita, Kansas, to Sydney for just $1,198. In first class. “I jumped on the deal,” said Smith, an assistant [...]