Airlines

Airline passengers who are fed up with all those extra fees now charged by carriers are in for some bad news: More of the same is yet to come. That was the message from the Ancillary Revenue Airline Conference in Huntington Beach last week, a gathering of airline executives and businesses that serve the industry. Throughout the three-day conference, the executives got tips on how to collect more "ancillary fees" without drawing the wrath of passengers. The terms "ancillary fees" and "a la carte pricing" are business-speak for charges for products and services that passengers used to be given free, such as checking a second bag, or that airlines have recently added, such as wireless Internet.

U.S. airlines' on-time performance, baggage handling and domestic cancellation rates were not as good in November as in the previous month but still improved over a year earlier, the Transportation Department said. Airlines recorded an on-time arrival rate of 83.3% in November, an improvement over November 2007's 80% rate but below the rate of 86% recorded in October.

Delta Air Lines Inc. posted a fourth-quarter loss that exceeded analysts' estimates. Excluding one-time costs for fuel hedges and stock grants related to buying Northwest Airlines, the loss was $340 million, or 50 cents a share, Delta said. Revenue was $6.71 billion, which also trailed some projections. Delta was hurt when jet fuel prices fell in the second half of 2008 after it had locked in fuel contracts at higher rates. The airline plans to cut capacity by as much as 8% this year.

If you want a pillow and blanket in coach on US Airways, it's going to cost you $7. US Airways said it would begin charging for its "Power-Nap Sack" on Feb. 16. It's following the lead of JetBlue Airways, which announced a similar policy last summer. Airlines are adding fees on checked luggage and now pillows and blankets to raise more money as they battle a downturn in travel caused by the recession. US Airways reported that January traffic fell 6.2%.

Delta Air Lines Inc. said that more than 2,100 employees had volunteered to accept buyout packages to leave the company as part of its latest job-cutting effort. Severance offers were made to a majority of the 75,000 employees of the airline's mainline operations, though pilots weren't eligible.

Re "Passenger traffic falls 31% at Ontario airport; number of LAX fliers also dips," Feb. 25 I can't make a reservation with a live person without paying an extra fee. I can't take a suitcase without paying an extra fee. I can't depend on an airplane taking off and landing when scheduled -- or at all. I am expected to be a self-serve person on board, providing my own meals, drinks and pillow. I can't use my frequent flier miles without booking sometimes six months ahead of time and flying at the most inconvenient times.

Airlines worldwide lost as much as $8 billion last year after a larger-than-expected fourth-quarter decline prompted by the recession and fuel-hedging losses in the period, the International Air Transport Assn. said. The loss was wider than the $5-billion deficit estimated by the association in December because of an unanticipated $4-billion deficit in the last quarter, it said. The association had forecast a 2009 industry loss of $2.5 billion in December. The 2008 figures come as signs mount that this year may be worse than originally forecast.

Pilots at Southwest Airlines Co. voted down a new contract that would have given them pay raises during a slump in the airline industry. The vote was close, with less than 51% against the five-year contract, the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Assn. said. It was the first time the union rejected a contract at Southwest. Union President Carl Kuwitzky said the proposed contract -- which the union board had recommended -- "contained too many other negative aspects to ratify it."

Regarding Catharine Hamm's "On the Spot" column [ "A Fare Gamble," May 31]: In November 2008, after I learned the date for a grandson's graduation in North Carolina, I purchased an air ticket and used mileage to upgrade. Imagine my surprise when I received an e-mail and then a travel document making a slight change in the flights and providing a voucher for $115.60, good for a year. This was done by United Airlines, without any request from me, and is unlike the ordeal with American that Hamm described in her column.

Don't be surprised if you're asked to provide your date of birth and gender when booking plane tickets this summer. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has launched a program to improve security and reduce misidentification of passengers who have names similar to individuals on government watch lists. As part of Secure Flight, airlines will ask passengers buying tickets to provide their names exactly as they appear on the government-issued identification they plan to use when traveling.