It is common knowledge that some low-cost carriers are basing airline ticket prices on demand. And, this has happening at a frenetic pace. The customers have also been expecting for quite some time that traveling the day after a holiday would be more expensive than traveling midweek before it. But as the low-cost carriers continue to be at some trick or the other to increase fees and earn big revenues, have you ever thought of the very fact that even basing ticket prices on checked-bag fees on demand would be implemented. Yes, this sounds as much true and might soon become a reality. Thanks to the ultra low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines which charges fee for almost all its services!

Spirit Airlines has a fee for virtually everything. The airline prides itself in making the largest chunk of its revenues from fees alone. Spirit Airlines’ modus operandi is unlikely to change in the future, and it will continue to find itself in difficulty by showing up on time and keeping its customers happy.     

Spirit Airlines has indicated that it is now devising a new plan on how to levy a fee with its new idea. The airline is seriously considering a plan under which it is going to charge a higher rate to check a bag or pick a seat on a flight during a peak travel day, such as right before or after a holiday. The airline will however continue to keep the fees lower on a less-full flight, perhaps in the middle of the week. Media reports quoted Ben Baldanza, CEO of Spirit Airlines, as saying that the airline has been thinking about this for a while, but it is yet to arrive at a final conclusion.

American Airlines and US Airways have finally decided to go ahead with their merger plans and the process is back on track. The two airlines have finally agreed to give up slots and gates at seven airports. Media reports recently said that American Airlines and US Airways have arrived at a deal with the U.S. Department of Justice which has now put an end to the need for a court trial. The U.S. Department of Justice was scheduled to hold a court trail over the merger issue starting from November 25, 2013. The deal has now paved way for the creation of an enlarged American Airlines next month.

The U.S. Department of Justice said that under the terms of the agreement the six U.S. states plus the District of Columbia, American Airlines and US Airways will be relinquishing the slots and gates to low-cost airlines. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, this is necessary to enhance system-wide competition in the airline industry that would ultimately provide more choices and more competitive airfares for the customers.

Media reports indicated that American Airlines and US Airways would be giving up 52 slot pairs at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. and 17 pairs at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The two carriers would also hand over two gates at each of Dallas and Love Field, Los Angeles International Airport, Boston Logan Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Miami International Airport.

Aerolineas Argentinas, the leading South American carrier, has finally decided to exit the Australian market with dropping its flights to Sydney from Buenos Aires. The airline is currently offering thrice weekly service between Sydney and Buenos Aires, but said that it has canceled the service as of April 2, 2014. The airline has declined to further comment on its move, but profitability might be one of the issues that led Aerolineas Argentinas to take this step.

Earlier, Aerolineas Argentinas started offering direct services between Sydney and Buenos Aires in April 2012. It started the service after dropping its previous Auckland stopover as part of a worldwide route overhaul with an aim to boost focus on Europe and developing more South America routes.

The airline’s decision to stop flying on Sydney-Buenos Aires route has brought inconvenience to travelers from Australia who want to go to Buenos Aires or other South American destinations. However, Aerolineas Argentinas’ move has also come as a boon for Qantas Airways and LAN Airlines. Both the airlines, who are also members of the oneworld alliance, will now be solely offering direct services between Sydney and South America. However, their flights presently arrive into Chile’s capital Santiago. The Australian travelers who want to go to Buenos Aires will now be looking increasingly up to LAN Airlines as it offers flights to various other destinations from its hub as Santiago.

Virgin Atlantic Airways and Delta Air Lines have announced their plans to operate flights on trans-Atlantic routes jointly during the summer of 2014. The announcement has come as part of the two airlines’ trans-Atlantic joint-venture partnership. The partnership is likely to boost competitiveness and provide opportunity to the customers to get cheap tickets. Media reports said that the two airlines have decided to combine their slots at London Heathrow Airport offering maximum convenience to the customers, particularly business travelers.

Significant changes are on the cards as Virgin Atlantic Airways and Delta Air Lines start implementing their joint schedule plans. Delta Air Lines has indicated that it will be shifting its Heathrow flights to and from many important business markets to Terminal 3, which is presently the main base for Virgin Atlantic Airways. Delta Air Lines is currently operating Heathrow flights out of Terminal 4. According to the plans, flights to and from Seattle, New York JFK and Boston would be moved to Terminal 3. Apart from this, the business class passengers traveling by Delta Air Lines will now be able to access the “Clubhouse” lounge being operated by Virgin Atlantic Airways in Terminal 3.

Virgin Atlantic Airways has also planned some significant schedule changes. The airline will now be shifting its London Heathrow-Newark flight from a late afternoon departure to a morning departure. The airline hopes that by doing so it will be able to particularly attract business travelers. Virgin Atlantic Airways will also be shifting its Boston-London Heathrow schedule. The airline plans to reschedule the U.S.-bound flight that will depart London Heathrow two hours later than in the existing schedule. The move is aimed at offering more flexibility to the customers of the two airlines, with Delta Air Line’s London Heathrow-Boston service now departing in the morning.

Alaska Airlines, giant player in the United States aviation sector recently unveiled a pleasant surprise to its customers. The airline-operated service to Seattle/Tacoma International Airport featuring plane inspired from the world popular Disney and Pixar animated series.

The airplane decorated with animations from the Cars series caught the attention and fancy of many passengers at the airport. The Boeing 737-800 plane looked vibrant and colorful from the decorations of characters like Mater, Lightening McQueen, Guido, and Luigi. The airline has named this plane as Adventure of Disneyland Resort and it celebrates its partnership with Walt Disney’s original theme park. The uniquely dressed plane looked adorable as it stood besides other ordinary looking planes at the airport.

In fact, this aircraft is the fifth plane to be born of out of its alliance with the Disneyland Resort. The arrival of the plane spread a wave of joy amongst all at the airport. Usually any plane dressed in a unique décor catches the attention and becomes the talk of the town. The airline said it has been supporting the Make-A-Wish Alaska and Washington since 1986 and has been providing air travel facilities to about 225 children and their families each year. The airline along with its regional airlines operates flights to about 100 cities. It serves destinations located across the United States, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico.

Airline warfare is actually reaching a new high. Many airlines are doing their bit and elevating themselves to new levels in a bid to attract more customers. In this rat race, Air China made an announcement that did not obviously come across as a surprise. The flagship carrier of China is ambitiously pursuing its plan to offer improved versions of dining onboard its flights to destinations in Europe and America.

The carrier is pushing hard to enter the category of a world-class airline and its recent announcement is a testimony to the fact. The carrier has been trying to enhance its offerings on its flights. From the beginning of this year, it has been adding dished like salmon stock, crab meat buns, and mushroom cream soup to its menus. These delicacies are currently being served on First and Business Class flights between Beijing and Frankfurt, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

The airline aims at establishing itself in the league of other top rated airlines of the world that are among other things popular for their culinary innovations. As a part of its larger strategy, it wants to shift focus on bringing the best of wines to its customers. At present, Air China customers are treated to the wines from the French vineyards. It however, wants to create its own Sky Wine Cellar.

Britain and China are expected to begin new talks early next year on increasing air connectivity between the two countries. This follows a recent visit by the British Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin to Beijing. Both the countries had signed an agreement in 2004 limiting the carriers of the two countries to operate a total of 31 return services every week between six destinations in both the UK and China.

For British travelers the existing nonstop options include flights to Hong Kong with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways and Cathay Pacific Airways; flights to Beijing from London Heathrow with Air China, British Airways or Virgin Atlantic Airways; flights to Shanghai with British Airways and China Eastern Airlines; and flights to Chengdu from London Heathrow. China Southern Airlines also flies to Guangzhou from London Heathrow.

McLoughlin said that a new agreement is now needed reflecting the changing times that the world is undergoing today. He said that the new bilateral agreement would be looking to increase the number of flights and destinations between the two countries that would benefit the tourists and businesses in both China and Britain. He further stated that business travelers from Britain are already traveling to these growth economies, but presently they are doing so via other hubs and connecting routes.

Emirates and Qatar Airways have decided to open new avenues in the East. The two prominent airlines operating out of their hubs in Dubai and Doha have already tasted success in the West. Therefore, they have now decided to expand their presence in Asia.

Emirates announced to launch four weekly flights to Sialkot in Pakistan, making the city its fifth overall destination in the country. The Dubai-Sialkot route will offer passengers a chance to explore new options for travel to the UK and beyond with the carrier with immediate effect. Airbus A330 aircraft that comprises a seating capacity for 54 passengers in business class and 183 in economy class will serve this route.

The flights will depart Dubai every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at 4:15 am and arrive in Sialkot at 8:20 am. The return flight will depart the Pakistani city at 9:45 am and arrive in Dubai at 12:35 pm.

On the other hand, Qatar Airways would commence service to Hangzhou from Doha starting December 20. This new service would mark the airline’s seventh service to China. The airline has launched flights between Doha and Chengdu almost two months ago. Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Chongqing are other Chinese cities served by the carrier. The airline will use the services of Airbus A330 to operate between the city pair. This airline is equipped with a seating capacity for 24 business class passengers and 236 economy class passengers.

The flights will depart Doha every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 2:30 am and arrive in Hangzhou at 3:40 pm. The return flights will depart the Chinese city at 11:00 pm and arrive in Doha at 4:30, the next day.

Foreign airlines are these days giving more attention to India. The carriers like Emirates Airlines and South African Airways have acknowledged India as one of the fastest growing aviation market in the world. Seeing India’s reputation considerably growing in the world aviation market, these airlines have now started wooing the Indian passengers by offering regional films on their in-flight entertainment system. These airlines want to significantly boost their passenger loyalty and are increasingly buying movie rights of regional films.

Media reports said that Emirates Airlines has recently got access to the popular Marathi films like Shaala, Satrangi Re, Premachi Goshta and Balak Palak, and has started offering these to the passengers as part of its regional film fare on their respective in-flight entertainment systems.

South African Airways is also not far behind in the race. Sajid Khan, Country Head of South African Airways, said that the airline is making efforts to give the passengers the latest dose of regional films in many Indian regional languages. He said that since Mumbai is the only centre from where South African Airways is currently operating, Marathi language film listings form the core of their movie menu offerings.

Media reports quoting aviation industry analysts said that the demand for regional film is going to grow tremendously with more and more people from the interiors of the country are flying abroad. According to the current estimates, the number of Indian travelers flying abroad presently stands at around 15 million annually. It is expected that the numbers are set to further increase to over 50 million in the next seven years. Maharashtra is currently among the top three states in terms of outbound tourism.

Miami International Airport has emerged a winner and was named a runner-up for “Best Emerging Airline/Airport” at the recently-concluded 4th Annual SimpliFlying Awards for Excellence in Social Media at a ceremony held in Amsterdam. The ceremony was held in conjunction with the EyeforTravel Social Media in Travel conference. Among other runner-ups included Emirates Airline and Aer Lingus. Qatar Airways received the top honor.

Media reports said that Miami International Airport led all finalists in the Emerging Airline/Airport category. It led with 26 percent of the votes online. However, online voting and presentations submitted to a panel of judges formed the main criteria to select the final winner.

Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. González said that ever since he was named Aviation Director in April one of his top priorities was to enhance the airline’s customer service engagement through social media. He said that tens of thousands of customers have connected with the launch on Facebook and Twitter in June this year. He said that the customers are appreciating the direct access that the airline’s social media channels provide effectively.

The SimpliFlying Awards are presented on the basis of a rigorous process consisting of public voting and judging by a distinguished panel of thought leaders in the travel marketing space. More than 50 nominations were submitted in a two week period and 37,000 votes were collected in three weeks.