Airline Fees

United Airlines is waiving change fees this weekend for thousands of customers across the nation who were stranded by a computer glitch that started Friday night. On its website, the airline said Saturday that it was "in the process of resuming normal operations. " Passengers on affected flights are being allowed to cancel or rebook without penalty. But they have a limited time to act. They must rebook travel within seven days, according to the airline's detailed rules . Disruptions could last several days, experts said, because many flights are already full of passengers.

  The all-suite, all-balcony Regent Seven Seas Mariner is the venue for four NPR and PBS journalists —Scott Simon, Gwen Ifill, Joseph Rosendo and Mark Samels — who will be presenters and panelists for onboard lectures and discussions about politics and culture. The journalists will also host private dinners and receptions. Itinerary: Venice to Split and Dubrovnik, Croatia; Valetta, Malta; Sicily, Florence and Pisa, Italy; Monte Carlo, Monaco and Rome. Dates: Nov. 10-20 Price: Starting at $5,799, double occupancy, including round-trip airfare from select U.S. cities, onboard meals and alcoholic beverages, shipboard gratuities, 24-hour room service and all airline fees, surcharges and taxes.

Airline fees and cramped seats are top complaints of air travelers, according to a Consumer Reports survey that also found fliers rating Southwest Airlines as the best carrier and US Airways as the worst. The results, released Tuesday, were based on a survey of 14,861 Consumer Reports readers who flew between January 2010 and January 2011. Although they “might not reflect the U.S. population as a whole,” the magazine acknowledged, the results of its first airline survey since 2007 were intriguing.

Despite improved service rates among commercial airlines in 2010, passengers filed nearly 25% more complaints than in the previous year, according to statistics released Thursday by the U.S. Transportation Department. The nation's largest airlines reported a slightly improved on-time performance rate and lower rates of lost luggage and of ticketed passengers denied boarding. Yet the number of complaints filed with the Transportation Department against the airlines jumped to 10,985 in 2010 from 8,821 in 2009.

Ready for new airline fees for traveling with an infant or perhaps bringing a carry-on bag? George Hobica, founder of the travel website Airfarewatchdog.com, predicted airlines will be tempted to adopt new fees to compensate for higher fuel costs. After all, the nation's airlines collected more than $6 billion from such fees in the first nine months of 2010, according to federal statistics. Hobica drafted a list of possible new charges, some of which he said have already been imposed in the U.S. or Europe.

With commercial airliners more crowded and heightened security measures threatening long delays at airports, private charter jet companies and rental car agencies may be beneficiaries of the growing airport headaches. A Zogby International poll released last week found that 42% of likely voters said that enhanced pat-down search techniques and the increased use of full-body scanners by the Transportation Security Administration would cause them to use a different mode of transportation.

If you plan to fly with your favorite board to catch gnarly surf, get ready for a wild ride — financially, that is. Many airlines charge $100 or more each way to take surfboards as checked baggage. A few charge nothing. So check it out before you check it in. And be glad you're not a professional surfer. "It's mind-blowing how expensive it is to travel with surfboards," said Hawaiian pro surfer Fred Patacchia Jr. "I just recently went to Europe on American Airlines and was charged $150 per board, traveling with nine boards.

A new zip line in Las Vegas Tourists can now fly down an 800-foot-long zip line at the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas, gliding at up to 30 miles an hour under the arched metal canopy that displays the hourly light show. Canada-based Greenheart Conservation Co. has set up the temporary rig above Fremont that will operate until early January. If all goes well, the company hopes to install a permanent attraction that will span the five-block length of the Fremont Street plaza.

As we hurtle toward Thanksgiving and Christmas ( please tell me you have booked your flights by now), SmarterTravel.com has prepared some tips on how to survive the holiday crunch — by paying some airline fees . Yes, you heard right. SmarterTravel's Carl Unger, not Grinch, has written a convincing stress-busting guide to holiday travel titled "Seven Annoying Airline Fees Actually Worth Paying This Holiday Travel Season. " Unger contends that the busiest time of the year for air travel is the only time it makes sense to pony up for extras that bring a little TLC. From more legroom ($10 to $50)

If there is any upside to airline fees (besides millions in industry profits ), Southwest Airlines may have found it with its Help Us Help Them EarlyBird Check-In campaign. The program promised  that for every $10 fee paid by passengers for preferred boarding and early seating between Sept. 21 and Oct. 4, Southwest would donate $1 to help wildlife and habitats in the Gulf Coast recover from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill . The potential amount raised would be capped at $100,000.