BEGINNING FEB. 12, 2012:

• $99 each way between Atlanta and Austin – two daily nonstop roundtrips
• $79 each way between Atlanta and Baltimore/Washington – four daily nonstop roundtrips
• $99 each way between Atlanta and Denver – two daily nonstop roundtrips
• $99 each way between Atlanta and Houston Hobby – three daily nonstop roundtrips
• $79 each way between Atlanta and Chicago Midway – four daily nonstop roundtrips

On Sunday, June 26, JetBlue will extend their current booking window to cover dates through February 15, 2012. Fares will become available at noon EDT on Sunday. JetBlue is currently only booking through January 3, 2012.

Consumer Reports says Southwest Airlines has the best customer service among the nation’s largest airlines.

Consumer Reports surveyed fliers on service issues such as ease of check-in, cabin-crew service, cabin cleanliness, baggage handling, seat comfort and in-flight entertainment. The survey reflects responses from nearly 15,000 readers who flew during the 12 months ended January 31, 2011.

The most frequent complaints among all airlines were uncomfortable seats and excessive fees.

Here are the Consumer Reports airline scores, with 100 as highest possible score:

1. Southwest Airlines (87)
2. JetBlue Airways Corp. (84)
3. Alaska Airlines (79)
4. Frontier Airlines (78)
5. AirTran Holdings Inc. (74)
6. Continental Airlines (72)
7. American Airlines (65)
8. Delta Airlines (64)
9. United Continental Holdings Inc. (63)
10. US Airways (61)

Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 27, JetBlue will be extending their schedule through January 3, 2012. Obviously, this extension will include all of the Holiday dates in late 2011 including Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. Book early to get the best rates!

First it was lengthy delays caused by storms on the East Coast. Now air travelers are going to have to contend with higher ticket prices.

United Air Lines and Continental Airlines initiated the increases Monday by adding a $10 one-way fuel surcharge for all flights. Fuel prices have been rising steadily for the last three months. A merger between United and Continental is in the works.

American Airlines and Delta Air Lines responded by announcing a $10 one-way fare increase for all flights. (On Tuesday, United and Continental renamed their price hike, also calling it a “fare increase.”)

In the past, such increases were usually matched by other major airlines.

Effective November 12, 2010, you’ll be able to buy tickets to, from, and within Mexico at southwest.com! Southwest will be partnering with Volaris, Mexico’s second-largest airline, in order to offer their Customers connections between cities in the Western part of their network and five of Volaris’ Mexican destinations—Cancun, Guadalajara, Morelia, Toluca/Mexico City, and Zacatecas—connecting via Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Jose. This will bring up to 85 new roundtrip markets onto the Southwest grid, which will be phased in through November and December! And if your travels take you between cities inside Los Estados Unidos de Mexico, Volaris can take you between 23 Mexican airports, from Tijuana and La Paz in the West to Cancun in the East and Oaxaca in the South.

As interesting as the “what,” is the “how.” You guys may remember a couple of years back when Southwest announced plans to enter into codeshare agreements, including Volaris. However, as Southwest started building the list of requirements and changes we’d need in order to handle international operations—either codeshare or even online with our own aircraft—they realized they just don’t have the technology in their current reservations system to make international travel possible. So Southwest is now busily working to replace their reservations system, which will take at least a couple of years. But because Southwest is so eager to tap the Mexican market, they partnered with Volaris to develop International Connect, an “under-the-hood” process that stitches our two networks together now! Booking international reservations will look and feel almost exactly like any other booking on southwest.com, but behind the scenes, the International Connect portal is conducting two separate transactions—one with Southwest’s reservations system and one with Volaris’—and tying the two reservations together with messages that enable through-checking of luggage and ensuring that our schedules remain in sync.

International Connect is an awesome interim step—true Southwest innovation at its best. It’s a convenient, easy way to give our Customers access to, from, and within Mexico. So plan a trip “south of the border, down Mexico way” with Southwest and our new partner, Volaris beginning November 12, via southwest.com. Vamonos, y’all!

Today, Southwest Airlines announced, after many months of price tests, Customer surveys, and industry observations, that they are revealing a special introductory flat rate of $5 for wi-fi aboard Southwest flights! That’s right … for only $5 you can have full access to the Internet from departure to arrival. Southwest plans to stay at a flat rate of $5 for all flight lengths and device types (laptop or handheld) as they continue to add to their growing number of WiFi-enabled aircraft. As of today, Southwest has 32 planes installed with the Row 44 system, and they are adding to that number weekly.

So, how will you know you’re on a WiFi plane? During the installation phase, Southwest plans to roll out Customer notification and advance-purchase options. In the short term, we will be sending e-mails to Customers scheduled to be on a WiFi plane 24 hours before departure. Once onboard, Customers will be met by their new WiFi signs announcing they are onboard a “Southwest Airlines WiFi Hotspot.” And, of course, their wonderful airport Employees and Flight Attendants will be helping them spread the word as well!

Once the Flight Attendants announce it is safe to turn on electronic devices, you simply have to boot up, select “Southwest WiFi” and launch your Internet browser. You will then have access to limited free content including a flight tracker, games, shopping, and all that southwest.com has to offer via the “Southwest Airlines WiFi Hotspot” portal. You can then choose to spend your time exploring the free portal or pay the low introductory $5 to check e-mail, visit Facebook, watch YouTube … the opportunities are endless! (Please note: VoIP–Voice Over Internet Protocol–is blocked).

Southwest will bring their brand of Freedom, Low Fares, and GREAT service to Newark/Liberty International Airport beginning March 27, 2011!  Initially, Southwest will offer six weekday roundtrips between Newark and Chicago and two daily roundtrips between Newark and St. Louis, with connecting service beyond Chicago and St. Louis to 48 other Southwest destinations.  Later in 2011, Southwest will be adding even more flights, fully utilizing the 18 pairs of slots they recently acquired—so be on the lookout for more info coming soon!

You’ll find Southwest in Terminal A, where they will operate out of A10, A14, and A15.  From Liberty International Airport, it’s super easy to get into Manhattan, with NJ Transit providing frequent, quick, and inexpensive train service from the airport straight into Penn Station in Manhattan.  It’s also right on the New Jersey Turnpike (Man A:  “I’m from New Jersey.”  Man B:  “Yeah?  What exit?”) so whether you’re heading to the Garden State or the Empire State, Newark will be a great choice!

Passengers, as any other customer in their way to buy something, will always look for cheap ways to buy their ticket when they plan to fly to a certain destination. Various factors can help you get affordable prices even for the last minute airline ticket.

• First of all consider the flights that are connected to get you to that destination. These ones are the cheapest as a direct flight is generally the most expensive one. You will get a longer trip but you will be able to save more money on the airplane ticket.
• Check for online booking to receive the information that you need for the available cheap flight tickets. In here you can get the best deals that come as cheap last minute airline tickets.
• Surfing the internet will offer you the possibility of buying this option from al over the corners of the world. With the cell phones you can as well browse for various internet options, in this way you are given this alternative in case you do not have a PC to operate with.
• Last minute airline ticket can be bought in a matter of minutes if you own a credit card and introduce your details on sites such as Hotwire, Priceline, Orbitz, Expedia. They are known to have great deals on airfares as long as there are seats that are not taken. Visit the sites and get the quotes for the last minute airline tickets and get the cheapest version of them.
• Many sites will ask you to join them in order to deliver you all their latest news on daily basis while you will be presented with listing of available deals for potential passengers. Joining the airlines miles club and having enough points to get qualified you can as well benefit from upgrades and free tickets.
• On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays there are less passengers traveling, therefore you could face very cheap deals when purchasing your travel for one of these days.
• The same goes with travelers during the off season times when standby fares are available.
• Look for ‘Ticket Consolidators’ inside the travel section of the newspaper and see there if airline tickets you are interested in are found at cheaper price. These consolidators purchase a large amount of airline tickets and then have them sold as last minute airline tickets to passengers if the plane hasn’t completed its seats.
• Your travel agent should always keep you informed on cheap airfares that are offered on the market. Consider also the option of an off-peak travel time rather than the normal flight schedules.

3 Tips on How to Get Last Minute Airline Tickets Cheap and Fast

1. To get the last minute airline ticket at a cheap price you need to understand the policy of the airline company. This comes as a matter of demand and supply. The basic idea that can lead you to obtaining great deals when chasing for good airfares is to go for those flights that are not desired by others. Nowadays, with the economic crisis and all, people do not travel that much anymore, thus you can obtain terrific deals on airline tickets as well.
2. After midnight you can call and get the best offers even on the last minute airline tickets. In this way you can see what the cheapest airfares are once the automatic updates kick in.
3. Find a friend who works in the business or at least used to work in the business. These people know all the tricks on how to get low fared last minute airline tickets, so do not hesitate to contact him in case he happens to be a friend of yours!

Flying with kids can be seen as an experience that brings adventure in both your life as a parent and the kids’ enthusiasm. Flying with kids is considered the fastest way to get to holiday destination without allowing your kids to get bored with long travels by bus or by car.

• When flying with kids there are several aspects that you should know about especially when it comes to packing. Flying implies some limitations regarding the things you would like to carry with you especially when it comes to restrict to your budget possibilities. Consider that there are things that you can buy when reaching the destination and as such you wouldn’t have to carry them with you.
• Allow your kids to put in their back pack what they would like to take with them, interfering whenever they are out of the line. Try to induce them to carry things related to their activities they would like to do upon flying and arriving the destination, such as coloring, or reading.
• Take into account the flight schedule and see if your kids can easily adjust to it. Are they going to sleep or you would have to confront with a tired child who is too irritated to cool down. You are the one who knows them the best an d according to that you can decide upon the departure hours.
• Flying with kids at early times is the best method to avoid any delays that might take place. Checking in early will allow you to take care of any other things that could happen as you are not traveling alone but with your kids who have in their turn their needs that you must look after before getting into the plane.
• Older children can be equipped with a watch that is set for the arrival time at the destination, in this way you can make them refrain themselves from asking – How long it takes to get there?
• Get in touch with your travel agent asking him/her to present some of the destination brochures to get more info on this one. These brochures can keep the kids busy helping them to let their imagination run free regarding the moment of their arrival and the time of their vacation.

Flying with kids shouldn’t be considered an exhausting experience especially if you can have some clues on how to travel with them but saving some money at the same time.

The following tips will allow you see the flying with kids as an opportunity to save some money, too:

• Do not pay for a separate seat when having a child aged under two as he can travel in your lap. There are some airlines to charge a fuel fee for the lap kids, but there is way much cheaper than getting a separate seat for him.
• Do not get charged extra for a car seat as this one is for the safety measures.
• When flying with kids ask for a discount. Traveling with a child under two of age doesn’t mean that you have to pay for him as one would pay for a person. The infant is less heavy, he doesn’t have too much luggage and less needs. They do not call the flight attendant every ten minutes. Generally speaking, it costs less to have a passenger a two years old child, then you should ask to pay less.
• Contact the customer support of the airline you have chosen and ask of their policy in flying with kids situations. Ask directly of any discount available, as well. When doing this, be very polite and make yourself understood when explaining that your child is in fact less demanding when being a plane passenger.
• Consider the option of flying with layovers rather than getting a direct flight. This can leave you as well for some time to spent inside the airport where snacks are pretty expensive as well. This inconvenient can be eliminated when flying with kids as long as you have served them a consistent meal before leaving home and have them packed dry snacks in their back packs, too.