New Airline Fees

United and American announced new fare increases of $10 on one-way trips and $20 on roundtrips in response to rising fuel prices. Boooo! We're reasonable people; but it's frustrating considering the airlines have made billions on checked bag fees, exit rows fees, and more. The worst part is these fees don't show up on the fare price on most search engines, it's only on checkout that you'll see them. Our best advice is to book your tickets as early as possible- 21 days if you can- and grab a cheap seat as soon as you see it. Because it you go back later, chances are someone will have snatched it.

Holiday Gift Ideas: Really Last Minute Ideas

You still have a day to choose pricey overnight shipping for your gifts (unless you find a free offer); but an easier option is to give an electronic gift certificate. We wish Santa would bring us an airline gift certificate. Virgin America and American, among others, offer gift cards and virtual gift cards via email.

American Airlines No Longer on Orbitz

We've all got our go-to search engine for booking airline tickets: Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia and others. It's a convenient way to find the best deals; but only because the major carriers participate with the sites. It seems American Airlines and Orbitz couldn't agree on their partnership terms so for now, don't expect to see American's offerings there.

If you've already bought tickets for AA through Orbitz, those tickets are valid and if you need to make changes to your itinerary, do so with AA reservations, not Orbitz.

Since we often use American for our jaunts down to SoBe; we'll check out a rival comparison site for now. Our pick? Try Kayak.com which locates good deals on different sites then redirects you there. Looks like finding cheaper plane tickets just got more complicated. We're hoping other airlines don't follow American's lead. 
photo courtesy of wikipedia.com