Here a few of this week’s stories that caught the attention of some of my favorite bloggers and reporters:

From Silent Films to Movies on Demand

Gadling highlights a photo essay in Time magazine called “Technology in the Sky.”

It’s a great look at how in flight entertainment has changed over the decades. In a time when we’re gearing up for midair WiFi and debating the use of cell phones on planes, it’s easy to forget that a cockpit intercom was once a really big deal.

Tourism Needs More Disney Magic

If all else fails, call on the folks at Disney. That seems to be the mantra for the airline and tourism industries, anyway. Recently, we’ve seen United hire a former Disney exec to boost customer relations, and Miami International Airport sent its gate agents to Disney school to learn how to treat travelers better.

Now, Disney is here to lend its ears to struggling US tourism. In order to make things more pleasant for international travelers,

“The Walt Disney Co. offered up its vast resources and an award-winning creative team to create “Portraits of America” - a 7-minute film and hundreds of still pictures aimed at welcoming foreign visitors to the U.S.” (From MSNBC)

Disney knows tourism, so we’ll see if it works. As long as they don’t play “It’s a Small World After All” at the gates, we should be OK.

MMMMM. $3 Chips

American airlines is the latest major carrier to embrace the a la carte menu. Over the upcoming holidays they will be selling snacks, fruit/cheese plates, Starbucks products, and more on certain flights. Visit The Consumerist for a full list of prices and food options.

Also, let me know if you’re willing to pay the price for what American is offering.

Mesa to Pay Hawaiian Airlines $80M

There was a time when Mesa Air Group seemed interested in purchasing Hawaiian Airlines. During Hawaiian’s bankruptcy, Mesa was able to view confidential evaluation materials to help them determine whether or not to buy out the airline. Mesa, however, didn’t buy Hawaiian.

Instead, they introduced go!, an airline specifically designed to compete with Hawaiian. They also held onto much of that confidential material. Well, according to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin the courts finally caught up with the Mesa Group and ordered them to pay Hawaiian $80M in damages.

Hawaiian Airlines had hoped go! would be ordered to stop selling tickets for a time, but the Judge felt that the payment was enough.

A Week of Airfare Raises

I have spent the last few days tracking an airfare raise initiated by American Airlines. Some of the Other carriers matched, and then American pulled back. It’s been an interesting week that’s seen quite a bit of activity from the legacy carriers as well as carriers like Alaskan Air.

The story has been picked up in a number of publications, and the folks at Sky Talk have been particularly good about informing their readers when the fare changes occur, so keep checking to see how the airfare hikes affect your travel plans.

Have a great weekend!