Holiday Fares Headed for Stratosphere

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.

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»

Couples can book a row and sleep

(NEWSER) - It’s not “economy” seating—it’s “cuddle class.” That’s the genius innovation cooked up by Air New Zealand, which is fitting its Boeing 777s with new “Skycouches,” rows of three regular seats that can convert into something vaguely resembling a bed. (Aol has a picture here .) Buy out the row—paying full price for two seats and half price for the third—and you should have room for two adults and a small child to sprawl out and nap. More»

$10 will buy option to beat the crowds

(NEWSER) - American Airlines is offering passengers the chance to pay twice for getting on the same plane. The airline plans to start selling passengers the option of being among the first to board a flight and avoid crowded aisles and jammed overhead bins, CNN reports. Early boarding is being offered as part of a package of perks, or for a $10 stand-alone fee. More»

Even after airspace opens, huge backlog awaits

(NEWSER) - Even after airspace closed by volcanic ash reopens, the hordes of would-be travelers waiting at airports around the world shouldn't count on catching the first flight out. "An international airline system is such a carefully orchestrated network that any disruption, especially of this size, is really going to take many days for operations to get back to normal," a rep for a major industry group tells CNN . Getting back to normal could take as long as 6 days. More»