Airline fees make it hard to shop for best deal

Finding the best deal on a flight has become a lot more difficult, thanks to hefty baggage and service fees that consumers often don’t know about until they show up at the airline counter, congressional investigators say. Those fees are not part of the ticket price, meaning they can easily go unseen until it’s too [...]

Delta Air Lines apologizes for putting kids on wrong flights

Delta Air Lines blamed a paperwork mix-up for sending two children to the wrong cities as they flew under the airline’s unaccompanied minors program. Delta said the children were connecting through Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Tuesday when they were put on the wrong connecting flights because of a “paperwork swap.” Delta spokesman Paul Skrbec [...]

Websites to help you manage frequent flier miles

What good are a million frequent flier miles if they expire before you can use them? All of the major airlines except Continental have slapped expiration dates on their frequent flier miles, generally one to two years. Activity on the accounts — like flights or credit card awards — will prevent expiration. But even frequent [...]

Delta Air lines to launch nonstop Asia flights from Detroit

Delta Air Lines Inc. plans to start nonstop flights this week from Detroit to Seoul Incheon International Airport and Hong Kong. The routes, together with expanded flights to Shanghai, are part of Delta’s effort to build its hub in Detroit into a gateway to Asia. Delta said Tuesday that it offers nonstop service from Detroit [...]

5 major US airlines won’t charge for carry-ons bags

U.S. airlines never met a fee they didn’t like. Until now, it seems. Five major carriers on Sunday agreed not to follow the lead of a small Florida airline that plans to charge for carry-ons bags. Their commitment comes just in time to keep travelers from running for the exits during the peak summer flying [...]

5 tips to keep in mind when shopping for fares

You may be thinking of a vacation after seeing some tempting sales on spring and summer travel from Southwest and other airlines. But while the price may be right, the conditions might not be ideal. You may have to fly on odd days of the week or times of day to get the best fare. [...]

10 ways to maximize your miles

If you’re not able to redeem your miles or points for the flights you want, it could be that either you’re in the wrong program or you’re not employing the new tools and strategies you need in this changing landscape. Here’s a step-by-step plan for using your miles to fly where you want, when you [...]