Here’s a stunner - this, from Southwest’s blog:

“Brace yourselves. Today Southwest Airlines announced our intention to bid to begin service to New York City’s LaGuardia Airport.”

Southwest is seeking to buy 14 take-off and landing sites at LaGuardia that had been owned by the now bankrupt ATA. According to Dow Jones/CNN, Southwest “submitted a $7.5 million bid to the Indianapolis bankruptcy court that’s overseeing the sale of assets owned by Southwest’s former business partner, ATA Airlines.”

The Southwest blog cautions that this is not a done deal - and it’s not even clear where or when Southwest would fly to and from New York City if they get the slots — perhaps next year - but there’s an undeniable sense of excitement in the air, which we haven’t seen much of in this bleak economic climate. Here’s Southwest’s CEO:

“Even in this volatile environment, we have said we must monitor the competitive landscape and take advantage of prudent market opportunity.” –Gary Kelly, Southwest

So far, the closest Southwest has come to cracking the Big Apple has been Long Island’s MacArthur Airport which is about 50 miles away. If they get the ATA slots, they will have really hit the big time.

Small groups of American Airlines flight attendants picked up their protest signs and marched at the Dallas/Ft. Worth, JFK and Reagan airports yesterday. Their message: raise our pay - or else.

The flight attendants are in the midst of negotiations with American for a new contract; what they’d like to see are raises that in effect restore what they lost when they agreed to concessions back in 2003 - when it looked like the airline might go bankrupt.

“There is a lot of anger and frustration.” -Laura Glading, Assn. of Professional Flight Attendants

American Airlines, for its part, told the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram that ” American attendants are among the industry’s highest paid and still have pensions and retiree health benefits.”

According to a flight attendant union rep, the situation is very close to what happened in 1993 - when flight attendants walked off the job for 5 days - an action that reportedly cost the carrier about $20 million dollars a day.

Want to be part of history? If you are going to be in D.C. this January 20^th for the swearing in of our 44^th President - you will not be alone.

The figures keep rising, even as I write this - but last I heard, officials in Washington are now expecting - four million people!

I’ve already explained that airfares will be up sharply for flights heading to the nation’s capital [see my chart that shows the price hikes] but now it seems, accommodations are going to be in extremely short supply - and the best rooms will come with presidential price tags - including a special package at the Mandarin Oriental that goes for more than $200,00 (to be fair, that’s for 4 nights - plus, you get a chauffeur-driven Maserati, as well).

If you’d like to see more fun facts (how big was that snowfall for JFK’s inaugural?), check out my latest ABCNews.com column - there’s a new one out every Wednesday.

Last year, the President opened up military airspace along the Eastern Seaboard to Thanksgiving travelers.

Today, as expected, Mr. Bush did it again - only on a much broader basis - by expanding the effort to include the Midwest, Southwest and the West Coast of the U.S.

These extra lanes allow aircraft more room to maneuver in order to avoid bad weather, and subsequent delays. However, a spokesperson for the air traffic controllers’ union said this is nowhere near what is needed:

“It is all for show and, frankly, this show is getting quite tiresome to the American traveling public that has gotten fed up with mounting delays and FAA mismanagement that has degraded the system during the current administration.” –Doug Church, National Air Traffic Controllers Association

Ah, but here’s something everyone will like: starting in December, the federal government is increasing the compensation airlines must pay passengers when an airline loses a bag - the amount jumps from “up to $3,000″ to “up to $3,300″.

Great news for travelers heading to the U.S. from Ireland.

U.S. and Irish officials will sign an agreement next week that will allow U.S. Customs screenings and immigration checkpoints to be set up in two Irish airports, Dublin and Shannon.

What this means is, travelers can get through the often hectic process of going through U.S. customs in these quiet airports (as opposed to say, JFK - or massive European airports like London’s Heathrow) - and the travelers will be done with all that fuss and bother before ever setting foot on U.S. soil. Another plus: this means the planes can fly to U.S. domestic terminals.

Shannon will begin offering the service starting this summer; Dublin’s airport will see it sometime in 2010.

This should be a real boon to the Irish airports and the airlines that serve them, and could prove a tremendous boost to Ryanair - which has said it will begin trans-Atlantic service to the U.S. sometime this coming year - for as little as 10 Euros, one-way.

An enthusiastic hat tip to Gadling.

I’ve just read a press release touting the somewhat radical-ish thoughts of Robert Crandall, former CEO of American Airlines. The veteran airline exec made the comments at the Airline Strategy Summit in London.

Among his suggestions:

• Take the Train: Flying should be banned between cities that are already linked by a good railway system, such as New York City and Washington D.C.
• Too Many Hubs: Crandall appeared to suggest letting “second tier hubs” fade away, as they’ve been “a drain on airlines’ resources for years”
• Mandate Binding Arbitration: Said Crandall, “I’m constantly astonished by the level of animosity between trade unions and management,” adding that better labor relations could be achieved in part through binding arbitration

Now it’s your turn - leave a comment, telling me what you think.

Officials had said they were expecting a crowd of more than a million to converge on our nation’s capital for our new president’s swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20.

Now they say, it’ll be more like 4-million.

Good News: During the week of Jan. 16 through Jan. 23, Virgin America will operate 3 extra roundtrip flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles to Washington Dulles.

According to a Virgin America spokesman, “the flights will operate on new Airbus A320s which will allow for a 23% increase in seats available to guests that week”.

If anyone goes, we’d love to hear about it.

Virgin America was supposed to be flying in and out of Chicago this fall, but that’s been pushed back to late February.

Now, according to the Chicago Tribune, officials with the discount carrier are wondering if Virgin America has any future at all in Chicago.

It’s not the landing rights - the airline already has that. It’s the gates. Other airlines have control of all the gates, through 2018, and talks between Virgin America and American, United and Delta have apparently gone nowhere.

You would think there might be room to negotiate - after all, the legacy carriers in question have undergone deep capacity cuts this year - but apparently none want to part with any gates, at least for now. And that could lead Virgin America to forget about Chicago altogether.

Meanwhile, city officials in Chicago are trying to broker a deal for Virgin - so it would be premature, I think, to count Virgin America out yet.

President Bush will speak to employees of the Dept. of Transportation tomorrow, and announce new measures to ease air travel during the holidays, along with some consumer protection measures.

You’ll remember last year, the president opened up some of the unused military airspace from Maine to Florida - one benefit of that is it gives airlines more leeway, i.e., more room to maneuver, if they need to skirt bad weather.

I suspect we’ll see something similar this Thanksgiving.

Procrastinators, this is truly your lucky day.

This is a REAL Thanksgiving airfare sale from Southwest - for one thing, there are no…

No Blackout Dates!

And, only a 3-day advance purchase is required.

You must purchase by Nov. 29, and travel anytime from Nov. 22 through Dec. 2, and again, this travel is valid for all the days of the week.

See our post on our deals page for more information and sample airfares.

No surprise here: the number of Americans visiting the United Kingdom this past summer was down - down a brutal 21% from the summer before.

Of course, this summer the pound was strong, and the dollar was weak. But things are changing.

The British currency has now lost about a quarter of its value against the dollar - due to the economic crisis - and people who make their living off tourists overseas are hoping that’ll entice Americans back to Britain.

Unfortunately, that same economic crisis has hit the U.S. (and everywhere else), and it remains to be seen if American travelers feel flush enough for an overseas jaunt. But, there are deals: several airlines are featuring winter sales to Europe and there are even bargains on business class airfare to Europe.

See all the sales on our Deals page, and our First Class blog.

We told you that AirTran is adding a $15 fee to check a first bag.

And Midwest and Frontier already have that same fee in place. Which begs the question:

Who’s next?

Southwest had centered a popular advertising campaign around the catch-phrase, “Fees don’t fly with us” (see one of those amusing ads here), and Virgin America and JetBlue have also held out against fees. But for how long?

Are you planning to go to the Super Bowl in Tampa this year? Or maybe looking for a special Valentine’s Day escape? Let us know.

This year, I’d like to hit the “big events” that are important to you - and provide you with information on airfare trends and sales - in plenty of time for you to take advantage of any deals.

Earlier this week, I wrote that many people heading to Washington for the inauguration of our new president will pay an “inaugural airfare surcharge” (and frankly, if you’re in the Northeast, your best bet is probably - take the train). Of course, there will be some decent prices - and the new and improved FareCompare.com is where to go to find them.

Want to go to Hollywood for the Oscars? Let me know. Are you a March Madness fan? Tell me about it. Want to see the Indy 500? I’m here to help.

Leave your comments below - tell me where you’d like to go — and I’ll get busy, doing what I always do - helping you find the very best airfares available.

No real surprise, I suppose, that a federal aviation task force recommended no specific time limits on how long passengers can be kept waiting on the tarmac - without an opportunity to return to the gate.

After all, that task force that submitted these recommendations to Dept. of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, is - according to the AP report in USA Today - dominated by the airline industry.

It has been pointed out that a strict time limit could actually hurt passengers - for example, if a plane has to return to the gate, even though it will be ready to fly a short time later - the aircraft will have lost its place in the take-off line — and could actually further delay passengers.

However, some of the other recommendations seem awfully “loose” to me, like this one:

“Airlines should make reasonable efforts to be keep airplane restrooms usable.” –Task Force recommendation

You have to wonder - what’s a “reasonable effort”? And please - someone define, “usable” for me.

I got a comment on the blog yesterday from Marilyn - who is rightly upset that I recommended buying holiday airline tickets early this year - she followed that advice, and then watched as prices plummeted in the past 2 weeks.

In hindsight, I have to admit I blew the call - although I did follow my own advice, and bought my Thanksgiving tickets back in June, firm in my belief it was the right call. And back then, it was the right call - but things changed - did they ever!

I don’t think anyone anticipated all the late summer/fall drama on the economic front. But let me go back, and review for you what led me to my “buy now” recommendation:

• Attempted airfare hikes: There were 21 attempted airfare hikes - almost one a week in the first half of the year - corresponding to the run-up in fuel prices to nearly $150 a barrel. And remember, major financial institutions were predicting $200 a barrel oil by the end of the year. At that point I expect to see at least 5-8 more airfare hikes before the end of the year
• Seat cutbacks: airlines announced massive seat cutbacks for holiday travel - cuts of 200,000 seats daily which are now in place. Full Planes = Higher Airfares
• Airline losses: airlines had lost billions of dollars and were very unlikely to be in the holiday spirit this year as they struggled, not so much for profits - they struggled to survive
• Checked bag fees: fees for bags (and other services) - which were not all completely in force at the time - would have tacked on as much as $130 roundtrip to a ticket

I wish I had known that oil was going to drop in 4 months from $150 to $60 a barrel - and not increase to $200 as energy experts predicted. Although that in itself wasn’t going to drive down prices as the cutbacks in seats were already in place.

I wish had known that there would be an epic global meltdown sending us into financial crisis that may take years to climb out of - a crisis that no one seemed to anticipate (and if they did, they sure didn’t raise the alarm). This caused millions of potential travelers to re-evaluate - and forget about flying.

Believe me, had I known about the financial crisis, I sure would have taken steps on behalf of my 401K - which I guess today should be more properly referred to as a 201K.

So what can Marilyn do now?

• Rebook to the New Lower Price for Free: Some airlines don’t charge a fee to rebook for the same flight at a new lower price, up to the date of departure - these airlines include Alaska, JetBlue, Southwest and United
• Rebook to the New Lower Price at Discount: As long as you are staying on the same flight most other airlines have a lower “rebooking same flight fee” rather than the normal (and steep) $150 domestic change fee (change = different flights); these airlines include AirTran - $15; Northwest - $50; Delta - $100; Midwest up to $100; and Hawaiian (note that the fee is $150 on American and US Airways for any changes).
• Rebook for the $150 Change Fee if Savings are Greater — If the price has dropped more than $150, for the same days or even other days, Marilyn should change her ticket and pocket the difference in a voucher - almost all non-refundable domestic tickets now have a $150 change fee (up from $100 in the past year); note that Southwest doesn’t have any change fees - while Virgin America charges just $75 and JetBlue charges $100

We spend countless hours each month working on technology to help people make better buying decisions and we will continue to do so and make recommendations that we feel are in the best interest of every air traveler.

In the new generation of flying, procrastinators will generally not be rewarded - outside of unforeseen external events.

Marilyn, I apologize for being off on my call, but I promise to work even harder for you and your fellow air travelers to make sure they make the best purchasing decisions year in and year out - with a combination of both technology and educational information - on FareCompare.com.

Lower-cost carrier AirTran has joined the ranks of the airlines that now charge a fee for checking any luggage: $15 for a first checked-bag, and it will maintain its $25 for a second bag fee.

When asked why the airline is doing this, an AirTran spokesman was blunt:

“We need all the revenue we can get.” –Tad Hutcheson, AirTran

The new fee goes into effect for new bookings, for travel on Dec. 5 or later. Those who bought tickets before today will not be charged a new fee. There is more information regarding this on AirTran’s website.

There is reason for optimism in 2009, according to a survey of people who’ve flown at least once in the past year.

Most of those polled said they “expected to fly as much or more” next year as they have in the past and that has got to be music to airline execs’ ears.

Now, about those bag fees - hardly anyone surveyed liked any of the airline fees, but they are willing to pay some of them:

• 53% preferred the cheapest base ticket with the option of choosing “extras”
• 18% preferred an all-inclusive ticket with services, despite its higher price tag

I am not surprised, really, that these once unthinkable fees are now becoming second nature for most of us.

“Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go …”

Well that sounds good in concept, but if Grandma lives 2,000 miles away, chances are some of you weren’t planning on going there this holiday season - and maybe other weren’t planning on bringing the kid home from college for the all-too-brief Thanksgiving break.

Well, I say: Families Unite! And some of you will be able to, thanks to great holiday airfare sales.

But hurry - as noted elsewhere on this blog, in some cases you only have a small window of opportunity - for the big Southwest sale, for example, you only have til the end of this Thursday to book your tickets.

Want to know more about the reasons behind all these last minute airfare sales? Well, for one thing, the airlines weren’t sure they’d be able to fill their planes. Check out the entire column here for more details.

Update: Delta Jumped in Yesterday (while some others sales are expiring, but I look for them torevive them with shorter advance purchase)

I bought my Thanksgiving tickets back in June, because I expected oil to be at $200 a barrel by now - the possibility of cheap flights for the holidays never crossed my mind.

And believe me, I never would have believed cross-counry flights for about $100 one-way would be available as late as Nov. 11^th!

Things got off to a rousing start this morning, with Southwest’s 3-day winter sale - and take a look at these other holiday sales:

• American Airlines Holiday Sales
• Northwest Airlines Holiday Sales
• United’s Domestic and United’s International Holiday Sale

I did some analysis of Southwest’s winter sale, and saw extensive matching by legacy airlines, including the following:

• American, Dallas/Ft. Worth - matched on 57 routes
• Continental, Houston - matched on 56 routes
• United, Denver - matched on 42 routes

Earlier this year, I heard about some travelers who’d started doing the math - on flying vs. driving. If they (or you) opted to hit the road - take another look at the airfares. You may be in for a terrific surprise.

Let me welcome you to the new & improved FareCompare.com - what we think is far and away the best airfare shopping site on the internet. And let me tell you why:

FareCompare.com is now easier to use than ever - we have all kinds of new tools to help you find the best available airfares - faster than ever.

Our new video tips and top five lists will teach you some new airfare finding tricks - and, entertain you, as well.

And have we got options - options that show you everything from where to fly, when to fly and when to buy.

And now, we have a Southwest Airlines airfare feed - adding to the more than 500 other airlines we track around the globe - as well as fares to more than 270,000 domestic and international destinations.

One thing hasn’t changed - thanks to our sophisticated, proprietary software, FareCompare.com still gets the airfares first - up to 6 hours before any other airfare shopping site - and we even get them before the airlines post them on their own sites! We get the fares first, so you can be first - first in line for the very best deals.

I’m so proud of the New FareCompare.com - and I invite you to give it a try, because I want you (and everyone else) to get the best fares available, every time you fly.

The Transportation Security Administration has announced that by Nov. 20, it will have expanded its popular family lanes to all U.S. airports - just in time for Thanksgiving travelers.

The point? To keep the security lines moving.

This is all part of the TSA’s Diamond Self-Select program now at 48 airports. Business travelers and frequent fliers typically breeze through the “Expert” lane, because they know the rules and don’t cause any bottle-necks.

But if you’re traveling with kids, it’s a good bet you will need extra time, and since everyone else in the family lane is in the same boat, you don’t have to be embarrassed about holding anyone up.

Note: the family lane is also for those who have to bring medically necessary liquids, gels and aerosols with them - in amounts larger 3 ounces.

Usually, I leave the bargains and airfare sales to our daily deals page while I opine on “weightier” matters, but - in this tough economy, I think a great airfare sale qualifies for Topic A.

And, this is a great sale from Southwest, but hurry - you must book today, tomorrow or Thursday (Nov. 11 through Nov. 13).

Travel is good from Dec. 2 through Feb. 11 - and fares may not be available during key travel dates (12/20 thrug 1/4) - but that still gives you plenty of room to travel to Grandma’s house or get your college kid home for the holidays.

Bonus Good News: Other airlines are matching Southwest - check here to see the other airlines now offering holiday sales.

Click here for all the Southwest airfare sale details - and start making your plans now.