Delta Doubles Charge for Second Bag to $100

US Airways, Delta in the running

(NEWSER) - Fellow airlines and a private-equity firm are considering buying American Airlines' parent company, which filed for bankruptcy just months ago . Though AMR has struggled in recent years—American hasn't turned a profit since 2007—its decades-old airline holds the No. 3 position among US carriers by traffic. A merger with Delta or US Airways would further shrink the number of major national airlines: There are currently just five, about a third of the number that existed some 20 years ago, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Find tickets, new flights, even lounges

(NEWSER) - Every air traveler armed with a smartphone should load up on these five apps, says the Travel section of USA Today:

• SkyScanner (Free): This app will hunt down the best price for your ticket. It scans not only all of the airlines' websites but all of the online travel agencies (Expedia, Priceline) as well.
• Next Flight ($2.99): Yeah, it's relatively pricey, but worth the cost when needed. If your flight is canceled or delayed, or you just plain miss it, the app provides a list of all available flights from all carriers over the next two days. If none are there, it searches for hotels and car rentals.
• Priority Pass (Free): This app supplies a list of all the lounges at your airport. You can look through photos and amenities before deciding whether to shell out money for a pass.

Fellow passenger took photo of laptop to alert cops

(NEWSER) - An engineering professor from the University of Utah was busted on a Delta flight from Salt Lake City on Saturday after a fellow passenger sent a message to alert police that he was viewing child pornography on his laptop, according to investigators. A passenger behind Grant Smith in the first-class section took a photo of what appeared on Grant's computer, and emailed it to a relative with a message to contact police, reports the Boston Globe . Grant was arrested at Logan Airport in Boston, and investigators found "disturbing images of child pornography" on his computer, said a police spokesman. He has been charged with possession of child porn and will be arraigned today. He has already been placed on administrative leave by the university. More»

They raked in billions more in reservation and change fees

(AP) - You may want to take a deep breath before reading this one: Airlines collected a whopping $3.4 billion in baggage fees last year, up 24% from 2009. Reservation and change fees accounted for an additional $2.3 billion, down 3% from the year prior. The add-ons are one of the few bright spots for an industry that is caught between rising fuel costs and customers who expect rock-bottom airfares. Analysts say without the fees, the industry would be losing money. More»

Robert Sayegh says he may sue

(NEWSER) - Apparently, cursing can get you kicked off a plane—as a Brooklyn man found out the hard way yesterday. After a layover in Detroit, Robert Sayegh and the rest of the passengers on Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 5136 had been waiting at the gate for 45 minutes. A flight attendant overheard him commenting to his seatmate, "What's taking so (expletive) long to close the overhead compartments?" The plane taxied to the runway, but then returned so police could escort Sayegh off. More»