Airline

Baggage fees are still a source of anger, but passengers are more accepting of them, according to a survey on airline satisfaction. In fact, overall satisfaction with air travel has increased to the highest level since 2006, according to the J.D. Power & Associates airline satisfaction study for 2013. Airline satisfaction improved to 695 points on a 1,000-point scale, up 14 points from 2012, according to the study, which measured satisfaction on such factors as cost, in-flight services, boarding and flight crew.

The nation's airline industry continues to rebound from several years of financial calamity, with the top 10  carriers reporting a combined $5.3 billion in profit for 2012. The latest financial data for the industry, released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, show a slight improvement in several categories over 2011. Annual profit for the top 10 airlines rose from a combined total of $4.9 billion in 2011, with a profit margin that increased from 3.2% in 2011 to 3.7% in 2012, the latest data show.

In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, federal aviation officials sharply restricted what could be brought into the cabins of airliners. The rules have been revised several times over the past decade and passengers are sometimes confused about what the Transportation Security Administration allows. Test your knowledge of the rules with this quiz. For more information about the rules, click here. After you take this quiz, try your hand at more more business-related quizzes by clicking here.

Airline mergers, a deep recession and surging fuel prices have led to sharp cuts in airline service around the country. Hardest hit: medium-size airports. Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, LA/Ontario International Airport and other mid-size airports lost an average of 26.2% of their flights from 2007to 2012, according to a new study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology's International Center for Air Transportation. The cuts are a result of airlines eliminating less-profitable routes and focusing on more popular, high-profit routes, the report said.

Some answers to readers' airline questions: Question: I understand that London's Heathrow Airport has a horrendous arrival fee. Is the same true for Stansted and Gatwick, London's two other airports? Answer: I'm not sure if you're referring to the airport landing fee, which is assessed based on the size of the aircraft and does vary from airport to airport but is paid directly by the airline, or Britain's air passenger duty, which is, essentially, a tax levied on airline tickets and varies depending on the class of service (economy or premium)

Spirit Airlines, the Florida-based no-frills carrier that introduced fees for carry-on bags, has found another way to pass on its costs to its passengers. The airline quietly replaced its toll-free customer help numbers with regular toll-charge number. "Our new numbers are allowing us to keep our costs low, which we in turn continue to pass along to our customers by way of the ultra-low fares they have come to know and love," said airline spokeswoman Misty Pinson. Quiz: Test your knowledge about airport security The Spirit phone numbers all have 801 area codes, which corresponds to an area near Salt Lake City.

As part of its effort to create a new corporate identity, Turkish Airlines has banned red, dark pink and other loud colors of lipstick and nail polish worn by its flight crew. In announcing the new policy, the airline said that “personnel who work in services sector are preferred to be artless and well groomed with a make-up in pastel tones.” The airline has also hired Turkish designer Dilek Hanif to come up with a new crew uniform that “combines elements from the east and west, has the potential to embody the brand image for many years, and fuses traditional Turkish values with the expectations of the modern world.” The airline has yet to decide on a uniform but has published photos of a few ideas under consideration, including high-collar, knee-length dresses with dark stockings and pant suits for women.

Frontier Airlines announced that this summer it will become the third U.S.-based airline to charge passengers a fee to bring carry-on bags into the cabin. Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air already impose a carry-on fee. But Frontier added a twist. Passengers can avoid the fee ($25 if paid in advance, $100 at the gate) by booking the flight directly through the airline, at FlyFrontier.com. (There is also no charge if the bag fits under the seat.) By directing fliers to book with FlyFrontier.com, the airline avoids the booking fees it pays when passengers buy tickets through travel sites such as Expedia.com or Orbitz.com.

Question: As a human resources consultant, I sometimes receive travel inquiries from one of my clients. Here is one: An employee, using a company credit card, purchased a $1,200 airline ticket for a business trip. The ticket is in her name and is nontransferable. She then resigned from the company, and the company (which is paying for the ticket) contacted the airline. The airline initially told them there was no problem but later said no changes (regardless of fees paid) could be made to the ticket and even added the comment "Guess you just gave your former employee a nice trip.