It’s a little early, but analysts are already saying that the huge plume of ash from Iceland’s volcano that has disrupted flights and shut down airports in all corners of Europe, is going to be costly.

Say, around $200 million a day. Others say, that’s a “conservative” estimate.

Of course, what’s happening is pretty mind boggling. As a member of Eurocontrol put it (and that’s the body that coordinates flights in Europe), this disruption is “unheard of in the history of European aviation.”

But if you do need a comparison, no need to go back 30 years to the Mt. St. Helens eruption (which saw about 1,000 flight cancelations) – just go back nine years:

“The last time anything approaching this happened was the grounding of all flights in U.S. air space after 9/11″ - Clive Irving, Conde Nast Traveler

The worst of the financial impact is expected to be felt by carriers that depend on a lot of long-haul trans-Atlantic flights, which would include Virgin Atlantic and British Airways, already feeling the impact of that recent strike.

Good news for the airlines: a survey by the National Business Travel Association indicates most companies won’t be cutting back corporate travel in the wake of the foiled Christmas Day terror attempt.

In fact, poll results show only 2% said they would reduce international business travel, and 0% said they’d reduce domestic travel. Respondents were among NBTA members who oversee, on average, corporate travel budgets of $16 million.

What I’d really like to know, though, is — will any of these companies be increasing their travel this year? I think so, but it will be “a slow return to normal.”

Love is in the air at airports across the country this week. We’ve already had the Corpus Christi airport wedding, and now we have the Tampa airport wedding. This one was helped along the way by some bad weather in Baltimore:

“My sister Shawna was supposed to get married Sunday and the Groom Cody, who is in the Army away for training, was snowed in at Baltimore. After hours and hours of trying to get him home, we realized he was not going to make it to the ceremony. My sister decided we should take the ceremony to him! We loaded up several vehicles with friends, family, and the minister, drove from Orlando to Tampa! When he walked into the terminal just after midnight, she was waiting for him holding a sign with his name on it. After a short embrace, we set everything up and had the ceremony right there in front of all the passengers from his flight and others that were stranded in the airport!” (from CNN iReport)

Score another one for romance.

Attention airport goers in the Bay Area: the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is closed in BOTH directions for repairs – and at this point it’s not clear when it will reopen, but check here for updates.

Latest: The bridge will be closed at least through tonight’s commute (Wednesday) – and maybe longer.

Airport Travelers: If you need to find an alternate route to your airport, go to 511.org and they’ll help you out.

Thanks, JoeSentMe, for giving the first heads-up.

If you’ve ever had one of your checked bags go missing, you know how big of a hassle it can be. You also know how much it can end up costing you (even if your bag is only gone for a day) when you have to replace clothes and incidental items.

Airlines have lost/delayed baggage policies in place, but many passengers are convinced those policies aren’t really designed to help them. Well, it turns out that passengers aren’t the only ones complaining. Scott McCartney wrote a great column in the Wall Street Journal chronicling the Department of Transportation’s recent crack down on lost baggage policies:

“Many airlines may be violating federal rules on reimbursing travelers for expenses when baggage is lost, delayed or damaged on domestic flights, and the federal government is finally cracking down to help consumers.”

DOT Goes After Airlines’ Lost/Delayed Luggage Policies

Have you ever wanted to name an airport? Ok, so maybe it’s not on your bucket-list, but opportunities like this don’t come along very often, so – why not?

The new Panama City-Bay County International Airport in northwest Florida – which officially opens in May – is looking for a new name. The airport director notes that since it will serve a larger geographical area than the current airport, the new name could reflect that. But, he’s open to anything – but they must have your suggestions by Sept. 22.

How about a famous name, like Louis Armstrong in New Orleans, Bob Hope in Burbank, or Leonardo da Vinci in Rome?

Or maybe a cool name: I’ve always like Phoenix’s Sky Harbor - or how about Robin Hood airport in Doncaster Sheffield, or the Flamingo in the Netherlands Antilles?

Feel free to try out your suggestions in our comments section.

Just saw this from the BBC: rental car prices are zooming in Europe – when you can find any cars to rent. Apparently Spain is being hardest hit, and some reportedly paying twice the normal rates.

Same thing in the US: earlier this summer, the New York Times noted that rental car companies were cutting their fleets – a matter of supply and demand, much as the airlines have cut capacity – with the result that average rental car prices jumped 65% in some areas.

A friend recently tried to rent a car in Hartford, which she noted “is not exactly a hotbed of tourist activity” – and called five companies before she found one with a vehicle for rent – a huge gas guzzler that she didn’t want, but took anyway. She also noted the daily rates for compacts at some of the companies were listed at $80+.

Well, at least someone in the travel industry is making some money this summer. My advice: don’t put this off to the last minute — if you need a car, rent early.