Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines, popular in the Pacific Northwest and known for customer service, will begin daily nonstop flights between Seattle and Philadelphia, starting June 11. The Seattle-based carrier is the second airline in the last month to announce it is coming to Philadelphia International Airport. Virgin America Inc. said in January it would begin nonstop daily flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco from Philadelphia beginning in April. "We are very excited to bring Philadelphia an airline that has distinguished itself among travelers and industry experts," said Philadelphia airport chief executive officer Mark Gale.

Alaska Airlines has become the first airline on which customers can book their own tickets from home or office using the Internet, a goal most commercial carriers are moving toward. Booking tickets by computer has been possible for several years, but only by going through a middleman - reservations systems like those used by travel agents and available on computer services such as Prodigy and America Online. But in late December, Alaska Airlines began accepting bookings on the global computer network, a move that will allow it to reduce the costs of providing tickets.

A 1960 graduate of Bridgeton High School who was the copilot of the Alaska Airlines jet that crashed last week into the Pacific Ocean was described by friends yesterday as a fun-loving man who liked to hike the trails around his California home, cook Italian food, and - perhaps most of all - fly around the world. William J. Tansky, 57, who grew up in Deerfield Township, Cumberland County, had flown with Alaska Airlines since 1985 after retiring from the Navy as a commander with 20 years of service.

Capt. Stephen Galle was in the cockpit of the future on an Airbus A330 just landed in Philadelphia from Manchester, England. Rather than shuffling through paper navigation charts, route maps, weather information and airport diagrams, the US Airways pilot flicked on a tablet computer, a little larger than an Apple iPad. Like other digital innovations - the paperless boarding pass for travelers and global-positioning satellite technology to guide airplanes - the so-called electronic flight bag is a software alternative to 40 pounds of paperwork that pilots traditionally carry in well-worn black flight cases.

DALLAS - Instead of giving consumers a temporary price break, airlines are grabbing the benefit of lower federal taxes on travel tickets. By Saturday night, nearly all the major U.S. airlines had raised fares to offset taxes that expired the night before. That means instead of passing along the savings, the airlines are pocketing the money while customers pay the same amount as before. American, United, Continental, Delta, US Airways, Southwest, AirTran, and JetBlue all raised fares, although details sometimes differed.

SEATTLE - Win some. Lose some. We didn't get everything airline-passenger-rights groups pushed for when new federal consumer-protection rules took effect last month, but some of the changes are significant, and there's more to come. Here's what changed: Bumping. It happens. You have a confirmed reservation, paid for months in advance, then you get to the gate and find out the flight is overbooked. Gate agents first offer incentives to get people to voluntarily give up their seats.

Airline passengers, no longer surprised that they must pay for food and beverages, now increasingly face another change - credit-card-only flights. When USA3000 switched in May to a cashless cabin for onboard purchases, flight attendants loved it. They no longer had to carry around wads of cash, or to be responsible for stashing money on overnight layovers. "It's much easier than making change," said lead flight attendant Laura Korpel, on a recent USA3000 flight to Fort Myers, Fla. "We've had great reception from passengers.

Airline food is poor, but nobody seems to care. What really bothers passengers is delays - and what ticks them off the most is not being told how long the delay will last. The most appreciated innovation is personal display screens at each seat. These are the key findings of the year-long Zagat Survey of 31,500 frequent fliers, released yesterday. Midwest Express, with its chocolate-chip cookies baked in flight, continues to be Americans' favorite airline. "People like it in every way it is possible to like an airline," said Tim Zagat, who, with his wife, also publishes restaurant and hotel guides.

DALLAS - The great tax holiday of 2011 for air travelers is just about over. By Monday, most U.S. airlines had raised fares to reap the benefit of lower federal taxes on airline tickets. A few airlines that were passing the savings on to consumers changed their minds. Several federal taxes on airline tickets expired over the weekend after Congress failed to pass legislation to keep the Federal Aviation Administration running at full speed. Raising the fares allows the airlines to charge the consumer the same amount as before, while pocketing money previously collected for the government.

Question: We want to visit Alaska soon. What's the least expensive way to get there? B.S., Philadelphia Answer: Even with last month's air-fare reductions, getting to Alaska is a pricey proposition. Recently, the lowest economy-class air fares from the East Coast to Anchorage have been about $530 round trip. Count on higher fares during the peak tourist season. By flying first to Seattle, you might take advantage of a fare war between several carriers. Recently, Alaska Airlines and MarkAir have been dueling with some Seattle-Anchorage fares as low as $200 round-trip.

Alaska Airlines, popular in the Pacific Northwest and known for customer service, will begin daily nonstop flights between Seattle and Philadelphia, starting June 11. The Seattle-based carrier is the second airline in the last month to announce it is coming to Philadelphia International Airport. Virgin America Inc. said in January it would begin nonstop daily flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco from Philadelphia beginning in April. "We are very excited to bring Philadelphia an airline that has distinguished itself among travelers and industry experts," said Philadelphia airport chief executive officer Mark Gale.

SEATTLE - Win some. Lose some. We didn't get everything airline-passenger-rights groups pushed for when new federal consumer-protection rules took effect last month, but some of the changes are significant, and there's more to come. Here's what changed: Bumping. It happens. You have a confirmed reservation, paid for months in advance, then you get to the gate and find out the flight is overbooked. Gate agents first offer incentives to get people to voluntarily give up their seats.

It's hard to say which is more disturbing - Congress' failure to fund Federal Aviation Administration operations before it left town for a month, or the greed of the airlines that raised their fares to rake in the cash the federal government isn't getting because its airline-ticket tax expired when Congress didn't pass the FAA funding bill. Start with Congress. After lawmakers waited until the 11th hour and 59th minute to pass a debt-ceiling deal and avoid self-inflicted economic calamity, Americans might have thought the dysfunctional institution was charting a new, more responsible course.

DALLAS - The great tax holiday of 2011 for air travelers is just about over. By Monday, most U.S. airlines had raised fares to reap the benefit of lower federal taxes on airline tickets. A few airlines that were passing the savings on to consumers changed their minds. Several federal taxes on airline tickets expired over the weekend after Congress failed to pass legislation to keep the Federal Aviation Administration running at full speed. Raising the fares allows the airlines to charge the consumer the same amount as before, while pocketing money previously collected for the government.

DALLAS - Instead of giving consumers a temporary price break, airlines are grabbing the benefit of lower federal taxes on travel tickets. By Saturday night, nearly all the major U.S. airlines had raised fares to offset taxes that expired the night before. That means instead of passing along the savings, the airlines are pocketing the money while customers pay the same amount as before. American, United, Continental, Delta, US Airways, Southwest, AirTran, and JetBlue all raised fares, although details sometimes differed.

Capt. Stephen Galle was in the cockpit of the future on an Airbus A330 just landed in Philadelphia from Manchester, England. Rather than shuffling through paper navigation charts, route maps, weather information and airport diagrams, the US Airways pilot flicked on a tablet computer, a little larger than an Apple iPad. Like other digital innovations - the paperless boarding pass for travelers and global-positioning satellite technology to guide airplanes - the so-called electronic flight bag is a software alternative to 40 pounds of paperwork that pilots traditionally carry in well-worn black flight cases.

NEW YORK - You've paid $15, $20, even $35 to check your bag on a flight. Then the airline loses it, but you don't get your money back. The government wants to change that, tackling two of the biggest complaints about air travel - poor service and the explosion of fees. Major airlines, which collect $3.3 billion in bag fees each year, are opposed. Under current rules, if luggage is never found or is damaged, passengers can ask for a fee refund as part of their lost-property claim.

Airline passengers, no longer surprised that they must pay for food and beverages, now increasingly face another change - credit-card-only flights. When USA3000 switched in May to a cashless cabin for onboard purchases, flight attendants loved it. They no longer had to carry around wads of cash, or to be responsible for stashing money on overnight layovers. "It's much easier than making change," said lead flight attendant Laura Korpel, on a recent USA3000 flight to Fort Myers, Fla. "We've had great reception from passengers.

US Airways continues to improve its on-time performance, finishing first among major airlines in January and helping lift Philadelphia International Airport's ranking to one of its best on-time levels in years, according to federal reports issued yesterday. While US Airways Group Inc., Philadelphia's largest carrier, remains among the worst in complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation, it has moved up to the middle of the pack in reports of lost or damaged baggage, the reports said.