Apparently some pilots don’t think the airlines are carrying enough extra jet fuel, and according to a report in USA Today, that’s raising concern among pilots.

We know why airlines have been reducing the amount of spare fuel they carry; the less “weight” planes carry, the less jet fuel they’ll burn, and in these days of crazy fuel prices, that’s a necessity. The question is, are they going too far?

Some pilots (who complained anonymously) said the reductions have meant delays and diversions. Keep reading.

Bad news: according to an Associated Press article (via the New York Times), major legislation to help fix our antiquated air traffic control system and provide some “real” passenger rights “faltered” yesterday, and it may be doomed.

And Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), who heads the Senate’s commerce aviation subcommittee found that incredibly frustrating:

“The aviation system is on the brink of collapse. Our air traffic control system cannot handle the burdens of today, much less tomorrow.” — Sen. Jay Rockefeller

Keep reading, and I’ll try to explain what happened and why we should get angry.

Talk about understatements. On the American Airlines’ site it suggests that aircraft inspections may affect “some AA travel.” Sure, if by “some AA Travel” they mean nearly half. After canceling 460 flights on Tuesday, American Airlines has canceled over 1,000 of its 2,300 daily flights on Wednesday, and continues with major cancellations today (about 900) because of the need to re-inspect wiring on a range of MD-80 aircraft.

Safety, of course, is paramount in these situations, but what gets me is that American Airlines still isn’t “getting the word out” to passengers effectively. If you clicked the link they provide on their website’s homepage yesterday, you wouldn’t have even see a mention of the day’s events. This lack of communication had Joe Brancatelli up in arms on Tuesday, and I’m sure it has many feeling the same way yesterday, as once again we saw how passengers are the biggest loser in the battle between the FAA and the Airlines.

If you are affected by the cancellations today or anyday, take a look at our list of “8 Tips on What to do When Stranded at the Airport”. Keep reading, the tips are next.

There is plenty of egg to go around for all the faces of the officials with the FAA and the airlines, after the past month’s revelations on lackadaisical compliance with “air worthiness directives”.

Neither side has had a very proud month; and now we have the FAA trying to “save face” and re-instill confidence in the safety of air travel, by swinging from one extreme to the other. One day, it seems, the agency tells the airlines, “No problem, we’ll catch that inspection later…” But now, the agency has completely changed its tune: “Ground the entire fleet of MD-80’s immediately!”

And stuck in the middle is you…and me. Keep reading!

Go figure.

According to the just released monthly statistics from the Department of Transportation (DOT) for February of this year, more flights were cancelled in February 2008 than in January 2008.

And, the airlines “on time” arrival rate was worse as well, at 68.6% compared with 72.4% for January. The best on time rate? Unfortunately, the prize went to the now defunct Aloha Airlines (ouch!).

Good news? Yes, there was some, and it has to do with our luggage. Keep reading for details.

The Air Transport Association really doesn’t like the Department of Transportation’s idea to allow airports to charge bigger bucks for landing fees at the most popular travel times.

And, the ATA (a trade group which represents all the major carriers) may sue.

Well, something has to be done.

The situation can’t continue (think JFK and Newark). Keep reading for more details.

London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 was set to be the new gateway for British Airways’ long-haul flights. With Open Skies kicking off, Terminal 5 looked to be ready to go. The folks at Heathrow were excited, British Airways was excited, airport execs in the US were excited, and international travelers were excited. After all, Terminal 5 was going to make check-in more convenient, connections faster, and travel to and from Heathrow on BA simply easier to deal with.

So, how did it all work out? Well, not quite how Heathrow and British Airways had hoped. Instead of making life easier for international travelers, Terminal 5 descended into chaos and has left travelers stranded, baggage misplaced, and British Airways losing money.

After five days of service, things don’t seem to be getting better. Keep reading to see what British Airways is doing to try to make things right…

Nasty, nasty weather over parts of the South today.

In fact it got so bad, that the folks at the Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport said their Emergency Operation Center will be active through the night to assist passengers stranded by the powerful thunderstorms.

Actually, being stranded at an airport is precisely what I talk about in my latest column for ABCNews.com. Plus, I’ve got some great links for you! Keep reading for more…

From the classy corps at Consumerist comes word of an AirTran flight that, uh, forgot a few things…like some of their paying customers.

It seems a young couple flying from Baltimore to Boston learned their AirTran flight was going to be delayed. But, being savvy fliers, they knew enough to get to the airport on-time anyway (as we all know by now, “delays” can and do change).

When they got to the gate area, they learned, yes indeed, the flight was still delayed for 2-hours, so they walked down the airport corridor to get some wings (no pun intended).

They sat where they could hear AirTran announcements. Guess what they heard?

Saw this on the always informative Gadling website:

It seems the long awaited “new” Chicago airport is moving forward a bit (about time; it was officially decided that the Chicago area needed a new airport 20-years ago).

The name (at least, so far): South Surburban Airport (I know, doesn’t exactly rock my world, either).

Good news: this could really ease things at O’Hare.

Bad news: well, I have a couple of interesting nuggets of info, if you keep reading…

You see air travel stories in the darnedest places; I saw this one in the New York Post’s famed “Page Six” gossip column:

Here’s the scene: comedian Chuck Nice was at the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport over the weekend, when it was announced his flight to New York was delayed.

That’s when Nice started spouting Shakespeare; and that’s when airline personnel gave his act a very, VERY bad review.

Dept. of Transportation Mary Peters has vowed to “prevent a repeat of the horrors” experienced by airline passengers traveling through Newark’s Liberty Airport last summer, with the result that flights there will be capped.

Airlines serving Newark have agreed to this temporary cap, and, to spread their flights out; what this means is, there will actually be 30-more flights per day than last summer at Newark, but at less busy times of the day.

This should ease the sometimes horrific delays at the airport. But what about competition? Click “more” to find out.

Just saw the Dept. of Transportation’s latest “Air Travel Consumer Report” with all kinds of statistics for last year, especially, “on time” statistics.

I thought it would be fun to compare it to the previous year’s report, and it was.

There were also some surprises: in terms of “percent of arrivals ontime” United Airlines ranked 9^th out of 20 in 2006. Last year, the carrier ranked 20 out of 20!

Want to see how your favorite airline did? Keep reading.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) just released their latest data for 2007 on-time departure percentages at major airports. The report covers January-November (December isn’t yet available).

Sorry, Chicago O’Hare, you ranked at the bottom of the list for the second year in a row. Your on-time departure percentage of 68.15 just edged out JFK and Newark (EWR) for the last spot.

Keep reading to see your chances of leaving on-time from other major airports…