This evening in the 8:00pm EST domestic airfare distribution, US Airways matched the increase initiated earlier in the day by Delta Air Lines on over 6,000 city pairs. This leaves American, Continental, Northwest, and United yet to match of the six remaining legacy airlines.

A quick check of route overlap between US Airways and Southwest Airlines shows the $10 increase in a smattering of common routes with the bulk of overlap city pairs showing no increase. Tip-Toeing around lower cost airlines has been a constant theme in most of the “successful” increases this year…

It happened again today: the 6^th attempted system-wide airfare increase of the year.

This time, it was Delta doing the honors.

The carrier hiked airfares by $10 per roundtrip for over 18,000 of the city pairs Delta flies to.

This will affect the business traveler, and all the rest of us, as well.

What does this mean for those of us looking for cheap airfare deals? I’ll answer that, and other questions, if you just click “more”.

It used to be that a layover at an airport was a time for maybe grabbing a bite to eat or grabbing a paper at the bookstore. Of course, those days are gone. A layover means a few extra minutes to get some work done.

So, which airports do you want to find yourself in if you just have to get wired while waiting for your next flight to take off? Forbes has put together a list of the 30 most WiFi friendly major airports in the world. They measured passenger traffic as related to WiFi stations, pay vs. free, and a variety of other factors to come up with their “overall best” list.

Keep reading to see which airports with WiFi made it into the Top Ten…

I chose one of my favorite topics for my latest column on ABCNews.com: flying first class at coach prices. It must be a hot topic, because it hit the front page on ABCNews.com, and it was highlighted on the homepage of the ABCNews.com business and ABCNews.com travel sections.

I’m glad this topic is getting some notice, because even though I have done my best to let people know that they actually can find first class airline tickets for just a little more or sometimes even less than coach prices, most folks still look at me like I’m crazy. It’s the truth, though. Y-Up or Q-Up airfares give you the chance of flying upfront for far less.

Keep reading to learn more about Y-Up and Q-Up airfares…

I love to share my tips and tricks on finding cheap airfare, and I’ve been doing it for years.

Now, I’ve gathered together my 5-best tips (what I consider to be an essential list), and present them to you here.

Some of these tips are very “basic”; others are a little more sophisticated. But one thing they all have in common is, they work.

But don’t take my word for it. Test them for yourself.

Just click “more” for…THE LIST.

Saw an interesting item about entering Canada with a DUI conviction, from the always interesting Los Angeles Times Travel Editor Catharine Hamm.

You can see her story here; essentially, someone wrote in asking if having a DUI on his record would make it difficult for him to cross the border into Canada.

Difficult?

Short answer: yes.

More about this, and what you might be able to do to change your record, coming up.

If you ask Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic Airlines has just taken a major step towards creating an environmentally-friendly jet. Ask others, and you might get a different take on things. Regardless of whether or not you buy into all that Branson says, the fact is that Virgin Atlantic’s test flight from London to Amsterdam could set the stage for future Green endeavors by major carriers.

The Virgin Atlantic test flight involved a 747 that was partially powered by bio-fuel. It was the first commercial jumbo jet to do so. Now, bio-fuel can mean a lot of different things, so it’s important to point out that this specific flight used a fuel derived from coconut oil and a palm tree-based oil.

Keep reading to get both sides of the debate surrounding Virgin Atlantic’s historic flight…

Saturday evening at 5:00pm EST Northwest Airlines completed the matching by all legacy airlines of the $10 roundtrip increase initiated by United Airlines mid-day Friday.

At the same on time United Airlines rolled back 20% of its initial initiated airfare hike from Friday mostly on city pairs touching smaller regional airports (90% of the rollback).

On Sunday evening at 5:00pm American Airlines rolled back about 15% of its matching increase from Friday evening mostly on city pairs touching smaller regional airports (75% of the rollback).

Remember the song, “Leaving on a Jet Plane”? It was a hit for Peter, Paul and Mary when it was released in 1969, and it’s a perfect anthem for the so-called Baby Boomers.

Why? Because boomers love to travel.

And that’s one of the few characteristics you can ascribe to this group of unique and adventuresome individuals (a group that includes Brad Pitt, Jimmy Buffett, Courteney Cox and Madonna).

If you’re a boomer (born 1946 through 1964), I need your help: tell me where you love to travel to (and please keep reading for details).

In this evenings 8:00pm EST airfare distribution, all legacy airlines including American, Continental, Delta & US Airways — except Northwest Airlines — matched the $10 roundtrip increase initiated by United Airlines at noon today on the bulk of their respective route systems.

American Airlines continues to be wary of increases on popular overlap Southwest Airline routes touching certain cities. (Dallas)

In previous increase attempts Northwest Airlines has been last to match — I fully expect them to match the increase by close of business on Monday.

As noted in previous research notes the fundamentals for sticky airfare hikes firm demand, limited capacity and record fuel prices remains in place. I would expect this particular increase to be relatively sticky and wouldnt be surprised to see at least one more increase this quarter.

Watch for me on the CNN program called “Your $$$$$”

I’m on the show that runs this Saturday (Feb. 23) at 1pm ET, 10am PT and watch for the repeat on Sunday (Feb. 24) at 3pm ET.

My hosts, Ali Velshi and Christine Romans asked me about recent surcharges (because of jet fuel) and, we talked about the effect of mergers on consumers (something I wrote about in my weekly column for ABCNews.com).

I also told my CNN hosts that, if you’re sitting on a lot of Frequent Flier miles from legacy airlines, now might be a good time to use them (click here for the transcript of the CNN program).

Take a look, and tell me what you think.

Earlier this week, oil prices crested over $100 a barrel, and apparently, United couldn’t resist.

The carrier filed a $10 airfare increase across the bulk of its domestic U.S. system.

More than 16,000 city pairs will be affected.

Which means, most domestic United fliers will be affected.

Keep reading for more details!

What IS it with poor Southwest, that they keep attracting attention-seeking hotties?

We all remember Kyla Ebbert (if not, click here). Now there are two new young women (Nisreen Swedberg and Sarah Williams, aged 18) who say Southwest “discriminated” against them– but why?

“I think they were just discriminating against us because we were young decent-looking girls…[The flight attendants] were like older ladies. We were younger. Who knows, they could have been just jealous of us because we were younger.” — the “youthful” Sarah Williams

My goodness! What prompted all this? Keep reading (and see the video!).

From time to time, I’ve told you about lost/delayed baggage by U.S airlines. So how’s it going in Europe? Among the major European carriers?

Well, they’ve had their troubles over the past year.

The biggest loser (of luggage)? A bit of a surprise (hint: it’s not a British airline).

Keep reading for the winners and losers of 2007.

Put me down as a fan of this idea: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has got two “experiments” going to try and ease long security lines.

And cut down on air travel frustration.

The TSA is trying something akin to the way ski trails are marked (makes sense: the experiments are being conducted in Salt Lake and Denver).

It’s a simple idea: 3-different security lanes, for 3-different kinds of travelers.

Keep reading, I think you’ll like this.

After two “sticky” airfare increases in January 2008 (on four attempts since the first week of 2008), the current domestic fuel surcharge sits at $40 roundtrip for most flights.

One way to correlate the effect of these 2008 airline ticket price increases and surcharges — along with the 17 other system wide domestic airfare hikes in 2007 — is to check inside the numbers …

Yesterday, the Air Transport Association released January U.S. airline revenue numbers showing that airline ticket “yield” (average airline ticket price passengers payed to fly one mile) was up over January of 2007 reflecting the continued trend in solid demand, higher airline ticket prices and seat supply restraint…

An investigation is still underway.

So not all the facts are in.

But here’s what we do know (and it’s not pretty)…

Keep reading.

I’m starting to get in the groove now! Today is my second column for ABCNews.com; in case you missed it, I am now one of their regular (weekly) columnists.

My latest? Well, I talk about finding the cheapest airfare — how it’s getting harder than ever — but how it can still be done. Click “more” for details.

You may have noticed on our “Cheap Airline Ticket Air Travel Deals Blog” that a number of airlines are running “one-day” airfare sales; we even did a post on these short-lived airfare sales a week or so ago.

Since then, we’ve seen more of this, including a Northwest Vacations airfare sale that only lasts 20-hours!

Clearly, the airlines are up to something. But what? Let me explain.

I have been closely following the proposed Delta- Northwest merger for the past several weeks and, since it looks like it could happen any moment, I thought I’d share some things to watch for.

Some…”surprising” things.

I actually came up with a total of 11 surprises; let’s count them down together.

We seem to be hurtling toward a Delta-Northwest merger. What’s the rush? Here’s the inside story.

Some of Delta’s biggest shareholders just want it done: Delta creditors had earlier refused an offer to merge with US Airways, and the stock price dropped by a third. Now, says an airline industry analyst, the feeling is it’s time to make a deal, because unlike that popular TV show, there’s not going to be a last minute appearance by “The Banker” with a better offer.

Meanwhile, Northwest has problems because of its aging fleet. It needs to upgrade, but doesn’t have the cash. Merging can fix that.

But more than a few passengers are asking, “What’s your hurry?” Let me explain.

Just as the airways are “opening up” between the US and Europe, we’re similar changes in open skies policies with Australia. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced that new Open Skies policies will basically eliminate restrictions for carriers in both countries:

“This agreement will strengthen the already close ties between the United States and Australia,” said Secretary Peters. “Today’s agreement begins a new era where American and Australian consumers, airlines and economies can enjoy the benefits of lower fares and more convenient service.” (From DOT)

Keep reading to see how these new Open Skies policies will affect you…

Did you know that some of the most gorgeous views of Manhattan are available to you from the Staten Island Ferry?

I am talking about “Wow!” views of the Statue of Liberty, the New York City skyline, and more.

And did you know, the Staten Island Ferry is free? Well, it is for now, anyway.

Better keep reading…

Starting in May, JetBlue will begin flying out of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

The lower cost carrier will add 3-flights a day between LAX and New York and one between LAX and Boston.

But, wait just a minute! Doesn’t JetBlue already fly out of Los Angeles??? Keep reading!

See Rick Seaney’s new column on ABCNews.com on merger mania!

Starting today, I am a weekly columnist for ABCNews.com; you can see my first column by clicking here. It’s all about the potential merger between Delta and Northwest, and I explain how it may affect all of us financially, and in terms of the number of flights available to us, as well as the whole “flight experience.”

ABCNews.com recruited me to share my “wisdom” and my tips & tricks with their website readers, so I’ll be talking about everything from cheap flights to First-Class travel and news about, well, future mergers and more.

But…I’m going to need your help with comments (please keep reading, and I’ll explain).