USA TODAY: Today in the Sky with Ben Mutzabaugh

That's the headline from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which writes "domestic passenger traffic on American Airlines plunged more than 19% last month as budget-conscious travelers opted to stay on the ground." The Dallas Morning News adds AA "said Wednesday its traffic plummeted 14.5% in November compared with a year earlier. It said it filled 76.6% of its seats last month, down 4.6 percentage points from November 2007 and its lowest load factor for the month since 2004." The Star-Telegram adds "traffic dropped faster than American’s cut in passenger capacity, which was down about 9% for the month."

Traffic was also down at AA's American Eagle regional subsidiary, dropping 21.5% despite a 15.9% cut in capacity, according to the Tulsa World. With those numbers as a backdrop, Beverly Goulet, vice president of corporate development and treasurer at AA parent AMR, said on Tuesday that AA and rivals must continue to show discipline in keeping capacity in check if the industry hopes to return to profitability. "One only need look at the monthly traffic reports to see that the demand environment has deteriorated rather significantly," Goulet is quoted as saying by the World.

AA, of course, is far from alone. The Morning News notes US Airways' November traffic fell 6.9% despite a 6.1% capacity cut. The Star-Telegram adds Southwest "reported Tuesday that its passenger traffic dropped 8% in November." The Morning News says the November decline could be unusually steep –- at least in part -– because of the timing of this year's Thanksgiving holiday. The paper writes "the end of the Thanksgiving travel period, typically one of the year's busiest, fell into December." That means some of the full Thanksgiving flights typically counted November slipped into the December this year. 

AeroMexico will add service to two U.S. destinations as well as to Toronto, which will be the carrier's first Canadian route. Beginning Feb. 2, AeroMexico will add one daily round-trip flight between Mexico City and San Francisco. The airline adds a daily round-trip flight between Denver and Mexico City on March 2. AeroMexico's expansion into Canada begins Feb. 2 with one daily round-trip flight between Toronto and Mexico City. 

"Launching service in Canada is an important part of AeroMexico's growth strategy for 2009," Frank Galan, AeroMexico’s Vice President – U.S. Division, says in a press release. "We expect strong demand both in Toronto and in Mexico City for this service due to the increase in international business and tourism between the two countries."

In case you missed this in yesterday's newspaper, USA TODAY writes:

"Air travel demand was far lower in November than expected — enough to persuade Delta Air Lines to lock in 2009 capacity cuts of 6% to 8%. The cratering of demand, suspected now for weeks, became starkly visible Monday evening when Continental Airlines reported sobering November results. November passenger revenue for Continental's mainline flying grew 2% to 3%, below the 4% to 6% increase the carrier had been expecting, and way below the double-digit increases in passenger revenue Continental recorded in the summer months. Other airlines don't provide monthly revenue guidance, but Continental's new numbers show they are losing their ability to fill seats without resorting to broader and deeper fare cuts."

Among other items in the story, USA TODAY adds that "won't grow its fleet in 2009 — a first in the 35-year-old carrier's history." And several airlines -– including Continental and United -– appear to be seeing softness in demand for premium-class tickets. Check out the full story.

In an unusual move, private Chinese carrier Okay Airways says it will suspend flights for one month because of a dispute with shareholders. The carrier says the suspension of service will begin Dec. 15. "It's because our shareholders have conflicting opinions about the business," Okay Airways spokesman Li Wei tells The Associated Press.

Shanghai-based Junyao Group, Okay's controlling shareholder and partner airline, refused to comment on the situation. AP adds: "Loss-making Okay Airways, based in the northeastern city of Tianjin, and the Junyao Group agreed in March 2006 to share personnel, routes, marketing and managerial expertise as they struggled for a footing in China's intensively competitive air transport market. Relations between the carrier and Junyao have become increasingly rocky."

Okay, which in 2005 became China’s first private airline, flies more than 20 domestic routes with a fleet of 11 aircraft. 

United will furlough more than 1,000 workers from positions across the country The Associated Press reports, citing "layoff notices and the unions that represent the workers." The Chicago Tribune says "the latest furloughs are among the 7,000 jobs that the Chicago-based carrier had said it would eliminate as it reduces its workforce to match its shrinking airline operations amid the tough economy. United is in the process of grounding 100 airplanes, about 20% of its fleet."

"These are part of the difficult but necessary actions we are taking companywide to enable United to compete in this challenging economic environment," United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy says to the Tribune. The paper adds that "although U.S. carriers are enjoying a temporary retrieve from crushing fuel costs, they are following through with plans to reduce their flying and retire older planes, capacity cuts that are the equivalent of one large airline."

AP says "United has been working for several months toward reducing its headcount by 7,000 positions … . It's been using a combination of leaves, buyouts, and furloughs to eliminate those jobs. The latest furlough plans are part of that 7,000 total, which also includes plans to lay off roughly 1,500 office and management workers." And in one small bright spot from the latest announcement by United, AP writes that the airline "said growing international departures would mean some growth in activity at Washington Dulles airport."

Earlier this week, AP wrote in a separate story that United “would be willing to cut more capacity to get profitable, but does not believe it will need to do so, the chief financial officer of parent UAL said on Tuesday. (United) said in October that it expects overall capacity to shrink 8% to 9% during 2009. Asked whether it would aim to reduce flying even further, CFO Kathryn Mikells said, ‘We are clearly willing to do whatever it takes to get back to profitability. At this time we are very comfortable with the capacity cuts we put in place.’ “

Continental Airlines announced this morning it plans to add nonstop service next year between Houston Bush Intercontinental and Frankfurt. The carrier says in a press release that the service will begin Nov. 1, 2009, "subject to government approval." Continental will fly the route with Boeing 767-200 aircraft, seating 25 passengers in BusinessFirst and 149 in coach. Frankfurt will be Continental's fourth European destination from its Houston hub; London, Paris and Amsterdam are the others.

Though Continental makes no mention of it in its press release, the Frankfurt route comes as Continental plans to switch from the SkyTeam frequent-flier alliance to the Star Alliance. As part of that, Continental is pursuing anti-trust exemptions that would allow it to bolster scheduling and passenger-sharing options with Star Alliance members United and Lufthansa. Lufthansa, of course, operates its largest hub at Frankfurt.

AirTran Airways will end service to Mississippi's Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport on Jan. 5. AirTran has flown to the Gulf Coast airport since 1999, and currently offers nonstop service from Gulfport/Biloxi to Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa. AirTran says it is ending the service after local casinos did not renew a contract with the carrier, according to Atlanta Business Chronicle.

"It is an unfortunate but necessary decision to discontinue AirTran Airways' service to Gulfport-Biloxi," AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver writes in an e-mail to the Mobile Press-Register. "We have flown under a contract with the casinos since we began the market in 1999. The casinos have made the decision to not renew the contract, and the market is just not financially viable for us without that support — especially in today's volatile economic times."

WLOX-TV of Biloxi writes that "AirTran came to the (Gulfport-Biloxi) under a partnership with the Beau Rivage (Casino) nearly ten years ago. The casino subsidized flights with the carrier. The Grand and the IP (casinos) also jumped on board. But with the tough economy, all three are now backing out …," the station says on its website.

However, some casino officials tell the Biloxi Sun Herald the move caught them off guard. LuAnn Pappas, vice president of marketing and non-gaming operations at Harrah's Grand Biloxi Casino, tells the paper: "We were flying an average of 1,500 customers a month. They were great markets because they were short, direct flights." She says news of AirTran's pullout "came as a complete surprise and a shock. There was no evidence we weren't working toward a successful contract."

Gulfport-Biloxi airport director Bruce Frallic acknowledges AirTran's move will affect the airport. "Anytime there is a change in air service, it's kind of traumatic," he tells WLOX. "The difficulty here was that the casinos couldn't get together with AirTran on their contract so they are announcing that they are going to end the service in January."

From USA TODAY's Airport Check-in column: "John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Calif., is the latest airport to feature electronic boarding, a pilot program operated by the Transportation Security Administration. It allows passengers on American Airlines to receive electronic bar-coded boarding passes via e-mail on their cellphones or PDAs. American Airlines recently introduced the service at Chicago O'Hare and Los Angeles International.  ... Heineken will open a branded lounge at Newark Liberty on Dec. 17. The Dutch beer company already has several bars at airports in Europe and Asia, including Hong Kong and Amsterdam. It will feature private cabanas, Wi-Fi, TVs, movies and other entertainment."

This just in from The Associated Press: "Lufthansa said Wednesday its supervisory board had approved a deal to acquire Austrian Airlines, giving one of Europe's biggest airlines more routes across the continent and beyond. The Cologne-based Lufthansa said its board had agreed to acquire the 41.6% stake held by Austria's privatization agency, or OeIAG, for euro366,000 ($463,000) and, pending the Austrian airline's performance, pay another 162 million euros."

"The deal is subject to regulatory approval along with OeIAG's supervisory board, which meets on Friday. Also key to the deal is approval by the European Union that 500 million euros in restructuring aid floated by Austria's government be approved, one of the conditions that Lufthansa set in October to ensure that Austrian's debt would be assumed by the state." See the full story.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge has approved Southwest's bid for the assets of bankrupt ATA Airlines. Those assets include 14 daily flight slots -– enough for seven daily round-trip flights –- at New York's LaGuardia airport. "Southwest Chairman and Chief Executive Gary Kelly said his airline was only interested in the LaGuardia slots and will not take on ATA assets such as employees or planes," The Associated Press writes. The Dallas Morning News adds "the deal won't go into effect until ATA emerges from bankruptcy court protection with a plan of reorganization, an action anticipated for early March."

However, Southwest's gain could spell trouble for low-cost rival AirTran. Bloomberg News writes that ATA has leased its "LaGuardia and Reagan slots to AirTran for terms that expire from October 2009 to December 2010. AirTran dropped an earlier bid to buy the airport slots. ATA hasn’t disclosed whether there are potential buyers for its two slots in Washington." No word yet on how AirTran might react to the move.   

Back to Southwest, it already has indicated it could grow at LaGuardia if its initial seven daily flights are a success. Kelly says New York airport officials have assured him they can make a gate available to Southwest. "And if we decide to grow in the future beyond the 14 slots, I'm reasonably comfortable that we can get more facilities at New York LaGuardia," Kelly is quoted as saying by the Morning News.

Kelly adds that he views the New York service as "a modest opportunity for us. It's a very important market to customers." Plus, with Southwest's position as the USA's top domestic carrier, Kelly says he thinks the airline can draw enough customers "arguably without even advertising in New York City. So I think it will be very successful from the get-go."

Some customers flying out of Tucson International won't have to pay fees for overweight bags. At least not for the time being. That comes after the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures conducted a surprise inspection that found problems with all 15 scales used by Delta and United to weigh luggage, according to The Associated Press. "United failed because security seals on the scales were missing and Delta workers had put wood and foam rubber pads under its scales," Weights and Measures spokesman Steve Meissner says.

Delta spokesman Anthony Black tells the Tucson Citizen the carrier will correct the problem. He adds Delta does not think many customers were adversely affected. At United, spokesman Jeff Kovick tells the Citizen the company had just certified its scales in June and will look into what caused the scales to fail the test. "Both airlines say customers won't be charged for overweight bags until the scales are fixed," Tucson TV station KVOA News 4 writes on its website. Both Delta and United assess fliers extra fees for bags weighing more than 50 pounds.

As for the inspections, the Arizona Daily Star writes Meissner "said (Tucson International) scales were last checked in 2004, considerably less frequently than the once-a-year inspection schedule the agency tries to maintain at Phoenix's Sky Harbor airport." Meissner cited staffing in southern Arizona for the less-frequent inspections. The airlines face fines of $300 or more for each violation of the scales. Meissner tells the Daily Star he doesn't know when inspectors would be back to test the scales of the airport's other airlines. The latest report from Tucson comes after previous inspections found few problems with airline scales in New York and Phoenix.

UPDATE (Wednesday, Dec. 3, 10:40 a.m. ET): The airport shown in this week's photo is Portugal's Lisbon Airport. Congratulations to reader thepilate for being the first (and only) reader to correctly guess the airport's identity. And thanks for reader C. Whitney Mandel of Washington, D.C., for submitting the photo. Come back Thursday to see this week's photo.

ORIGINAL POST: Here is this week's "name that airport" photo.

Submit your guess by clicking on the comment link and typing your answer there.

Come back Tuesday morning, when I'll reveal the airport's identity.

Schedule update: As you might expect, there will be no live updates today for Today in the Sky. But for those of you taking a break from the Thanksgiving festivities, I've added a few small items from the past week to help keep the blog going through the holiday. Today in the Sky will return to its normal format Friday. Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

JetBlue plans to add service from its Fort Lauderdale focus city to Cancun, Mexico, and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The airline says in a press release that it intends to begin daily service on both routes, "subject to receipt of government operating authority."

Today's chat begins at 1 p.m. ET. Ask a question by clicking here and typing your question there. Or, just follow along (same link).

Photo: As you may have noticed, I was on vacation Monday and Tuesday. (Thanks to Ben Abramson, Rebecca Heslin and Roger Yu for stepping in to write Today in the Sky).

I snapped this picture on Thursday of a laptop charging station at Miami International. Our own Roger Yu had just written about these stations last week in his Airport Check-in column. Here's what they look like.

Commercial flights have resumed in Bangkok. The Guardian of London writes "the first passenger flight to Suvarnabhumi international in more than a week arrived today, bringing travelers from the resort island of Phuket. The airports authority warned it would be several days before the arrival of the first international flight, though the hope is normal services will resume soon to take 230,000 trapped tourists home." AFP says the resumption of flights comes "after protesters ended a crippling siege" of the airport.

Southwest Airlines chairman and CEO Gary Kelly announced good news and bad news today.

The good news? The airline won't be cutting capacity quite as sharply as previously announced. The bad news? "The growth-happy carrier won't expand its fleet next year," according to the Associated Press. The airline will be reducing capacity in the first quarter of 2009 by 4% to 5%, instead of the previously announced 5% to 6% reduction.

Kelly told the news service that "October was a bang-up month, almost unexplainably strong. The trends changed in November." The Dallas-based airline reported its number of paying passengers in November dropped 10.7% from last year, but the number of seats remained consistent.

As for the airline's fleet, Kelly said SWA plans to take a delivery of 13 Boeing 737 jets in 2009. Three jets are already slated to retire and Kelly said they must "manage" 10 additional aircraft to keep the fleet at its current size, but he didn't specify what "manage" meant. --Rebecca Heslin

Phoenix Sky Harbor is America’s healthiest airport, according to Health magazine. In ranking 10 healthy airports, the magazine looked for amenities and services that promote healthy living and lower passenger stress. The observed criteria included food, relaxation zones, walking paths, music, lighting, environmental programs and safety technology. Industry data and a panel of experts were used in compiling the list.
Phoenix Sky Harbor was cited for its "healthful" restaurants, video-paging system that lists and announces names, two pet parks and clean bathrooms.
Other airports on the list, in order, and the amenities cited by the rankings: Baltimore/Washington (soft music and lighting, a spa, and a hiking path near the airport); Chicago O’Hare (healthy restaurant food, children’s play areas, and the fitness facility in its on-site Hilton Hotel); Detroit Metropolitan (“storm ready" police officers and employees who are trained as bad weather spotters, healthy restaurant food); Denver (solar energy panels, recycling of de-icing fluids, an art collection, free Wi-Fi, and healthy restaurant food); Washington National (an art collection, a walking-and-biking trail); Dallas/Fort Worth (children's play areas, hybrid/CNG vehicles, healthy restaurant food); Boston Logan (environmental initiatives, CNG shuttle buses); Portland (a paved bicycle-and-walking path, covered bicycle parking, recycling of cooking oil, local musicians playing in the terminals); Philadelphia (a health clinic, free Wi-Fi weekends). --Roger Yu

Delta Air Lines announced today that it will reduce its capacity domestically by 8% to 10% in 2009, and reduced 3% to 5% internationally when compared to 2008.

INTERACTIVE MAP: State-by-state airline cutbacks

In a memo to employees obtained by AP, the airline's president Ed Bastian and CEO Richard Anderson wrote "Once again, Delta must take the necessary steps to adjust our business accordingly and make certain seat capacity meets customer demand. These economic hurdles are difficult, and we remain committed to building our company on a durable financial foundation with industry-leading liquidity. Remember that speed wins so we will be decisive and not delay."

The Associated Press is reporting that the airline also "hinted ... that more job cuts could be on the way." Employees were notified that as capacity cuts take place, staffing reductions will be necessary.

Bastian described the situation as a "blip," saying Delta plans to end the year with $5.6 billion in liquidity.

"When you look at the demand picture for the airlines, obviously it is soft," Bastian said. "But we do have a fairly significant benefit coming to us in the form of crude oil."

Over at rival United Airlines execs, don't think such cuts will be necessary. According to the Associated Press, "United Airlines would be willing to cut more capacity to get profitable, but does not believe it will need to do so, the chief financial officer of parent UAL Corp. said on Tuesday."

United Airlines -- the nation's third-largest carrier -- announced in October that it expects to cut capacity by 8% to 9% in 2009.

CFO Kathryn Mikells told the AP that the airline is "clearly willing to do whatever it takes to get back to profitability. At this time we are very comfortable with the capacity cuts we put in place."--Rebecca Heslin

The Telegraph is reporting that "the leader of a group of anti-government protesters in Thailand says the week-long siege of Bangkok's airports will end on Wednesday morning."

The Telegraph writes "a government official said the first flights out of Suvarnabhumi international airport will leave for Rome and Sydney on Dec. 5."

The announcement brings an end to a seven-day airport takeover situation in which government protesters blocked Bangkok's main arteries into the city.

The Washington Post writes "Thailand's Constitutional Court on Tuesday banned Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from office and dissolved three political parties involved in the ruling coalition after concluding that the current government was involved in vote buying and other irregularities in elections last year." The announcement to reopen the airport on Dec. 3 came hours after the court decision was made. --Rebecca Heslin

British Airways announced today that it is in merger talks with Australia's Qantas Airways, according to the Associated Press. The potential merger would be added to a list of airlines BA is pursuing, including a revenue-sharing deal with American Airlines and Iberia.

AP quotes BA in statement to the London Stock Exchange as saying "There is no guarantee that any transaction will be forthcoming and a further announcement will be made in due course, if appropriate."

Bloomberg reports the potential merger "would involve a dual-listed company structure." --Rebecca Heslin

Delta Air Lines says Continental's plans to join the Star Alliance would bring reduced competition for East Coast travelers. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Delta has filed court papers criticizing Continental's plans to form alliances with new international partners as harmful to Europe-bound customers and claiming that Continental could come to dominate select international routes. 

The Delta-Northwest merger was a catalyst for Continental, which had been a partner with the two airlines in the SkyTeam Alliance, to shift alliances, with the paper noting  "the merger plans tilted SkyTeam toward Delta-Northwest." As part of the move, Continental is required to get an antitrust exemption that will allow the carrier to share flight information with foreign airlines such as Lufthansa.

Continental is quoted by the Plain Dealer as responding: "From what we have seen, there's nothing new here," it said. "It looks like another attempt by the world's largest airline to prevent others from competing with it." Continental also pointed out in its filings that Delta received similar government approval for antitrust immunity earlier this year in a deal involving Northwest and four foreign airlines.

With Cleveland's hub status, local officials strongly support Continental's plans to shift alliances. Says Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, "These new relationships will mean that my constituents will have access to more destinations worldwide, a greater inventory of seats, more route possibilities and more price options." --Ben Abramson

The Associated Press is reporting that budget airline Ryanair is renewing a takeover bid for Aer Lingus "seeking to capitalize on labor unrest at its Irish rival and Ireland's economic difficulties."

Ryanair currently stands as Aer Lingus' largest shareholder and attempted a takeover of the airline two years ago. Ireland's Transport Minister, Noel Dempsey, told the AP that the government's retention of its current stake in Aer Lingus was an attempt "to prevent hostile bids."

"Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary, who formally launched the bid at a Dublin press conference, argued that the economic and regulatory environment had changed drastically this year, making the case for the government to sell so Ireland's two main airlines could combine forces," AP writes. "'The world has changed dramatically over the past two years, as high oil prices and deep recession have caused a flood of airline bankruptcies, consolidations and capacity cutbacks,' O'Leary said. 'Aer Lingus, as a small, stand-alone, regional airline has been marginalized and bypassed as most other EU flag carriers consolidate.'" --Rebecca Heslin

According to the Associated Press, the protests that have besieged two of Bangkok's airports are intensifying. "Protesters trying to force the prime minister's resignation brought in thousands of reinforcements to occupy Bangkok's two besieged airports Monday, extending the political paralysis that has stranded 300,000 travelers," AP writes.

Analysts say that by shutting down the airports, the protesters have in essence taken the country hostage. Panitan Wattanayagorn, a professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok told the International Herald Tribune that "the gateway to the country is now blocked. This is an acute problem for the government."

The Tribune added that Suvarnabhumi airport is the world's 18th largest in terms of passenger traffic. "It is the main conduit for tourists and businesspeople arriving in Thailand and is a major transit hub for Southeast Asia."

Reuters is reporting that the cost of the airport closures was "incalculable," quoting Thailand's Board of Trade director. "But a senior board member offered a figure, telling the Nation newspaper lost export earnings ran at around 3 billion baht ($85 million) a day," the news agency continued. --Rebecca Heslin

Cleveland Hopkins airport is teaming up with the area's transit authorities to encourage passengers to take advantage of the city's rapid transit train that runs from the airport to downtown. The train line has been running since 1968, yet continues to see shrinking numbers of passengers.

According to the Associated Press, the train attracted nearly 4,000 passengers a day when it opened, and now garners only 300. Cleveland was the first U.S. city to have a train running between the airport and center city. Airport officials hope this joint marketing plan will boost its ridership. --Rebecca Heslin

Holiday travelers hit a snag on Sunday as weather ranging from rain to snow plagued airports and highways across the country.

"Flights in Philadelphia and Newark, N.J., were delayed nearly four hours, and fliers in Boston and the New York City area were waiting 2½ hours for their planes to take off, the Federal Aviation Administration," told USA TODAY.

The Associated Press reported that more than 50 flights were canceled at Chicago O'Hare Airport Sunday, and up to 8 inches of snow was expected overnight in parts of Illinois. On the West Coast, fog was to blame for a ground stop at San Diego International Airport. According to the Mercury News, "Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Olga Romero says 40 of the airlines' arriving and departing flights were affected by the ground stop."

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta expects traffic to grow this morning. "More than a quarter-million people are expected to pass through Atlanta’s airport, making the Sunday after Thanksgiving the busiest travel day of the year. However, the busiest single period of the holiday weekend will occur between 7 and 11 a.m. Monday, said Hartsfield-Jackson spokesman John Kennedy. What’s more, snowy conditions across the Midwest and East Coast could lead to significant delays Monday for air travelers."

Overall, USA TODAY predicts "those on the move today will face fewer obstacles." Mark Ressler, lead meteorologist at The Weather Channel told USA TODAY that "the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic will have an increasingly dry day. I don't think delays should be as horrible as they were" on Sunday. --Rebecca Heslin

According to the Wall Street Journal, Delta plans to switch up a significant portion of its Boeing orders as the airline integrates with Northwest's fleet.

"Most notably, the company is likely to scale back a Northwest order for Boeing's new, but delayed, 787 Dreamliner, and ask the manufacturer to expand a Delta order for the 777-200LR, a long-range aircraft that carries at least 50 more passengers and would better enable the combined carrier to continue pursuing Delta's strategy to shift a greater percentage of its flights to long overseas routes," the WSJ reports.

The news has not been confirmed by Delta yet, and no changes have been made in the order books at Boeing. The aircraft producer did hint that such changes would not alter its manufacturing schedule. The news would make Delta one of the first to pull out of a 787 order. --Rebecca Heslin

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport will unveil its new perimeter taxiways on Monday, the first phase of a project the airport says will increase safety and decrease taxi times, reports the Dallas Morning News. The system will route jets around runways, reducing the risk of runway incursions. In its current configuration, DFW has 1,500 runway crossings a day, a figure the paper says will "drop dramatically, lowering the chances of accidents."

Because of the all the stop-and-go crossings, passengers have long complained about the time it takes flights at DFW to reach their gates. The paper notes this was backed up by data: "In 2007, D/FW's "taxi-in" times averaged 10.5 minutes, ranking fourth-longest among big airports, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics."

The airport says perimeter taxiways should help decrease taxi times by up to two minutes per flight -- and up to ten minutes for planes on the outer perimeter -- when they're installed around the  whole airport (the lanes opening Monday are only in the southeast corner and the airport hopes to finish construction on all quadrants in two years).

American Airlines, DFW's biggest carrier, says the new routing may actually increase overall taxi times as flights may have greater distances to cover, but cites the safety benefits of the new perimeter system. AA spokesman Tim Wagner tells the paper, "If it helps decrease incursions, we're pleased with it."

-- Ben Abramson

"AirTran Airways, once seen as a likely casualty of the stunning oil price spike that claimed several smaller rivals this year, seems to have found its way out of the woods and may be positioned for profits in 2009." That's from Reuters, which adds that "by some estimates, the low-cost airline (faced) … a brush with oblivion in the first half of this year as oil and jet fuel raced to record highs and pummeled the airline industry."

Rueters says AirTran is off the ropes, thanks to steps to boost its once-shaky liquidity "and a few lucky breaks." Reuters notes "AirTran also rescheduled airplane deliveries, sold some aircraft, sold other equipment and leased it back, reworked deals with certain business partners and slashed capacity." Steven Rossum, AirTran's executive vice president of corporate development, says: "We had a tough year, but we managed through it. We've worked hard at managing our liquidity, and it requires a lot of our management time."

In case you missed this story in this morning’s newspaper, USA TODAY writes:

A security breach at Orlando International Airport last year that led to increased scrutiny of airport workers nationwide was mishandled by officials, possibly in violation of security rules, a federal report says. The incident on March 5, 2007, in which an airline worker for Delta subsidiary Comair sneaked 14 guns on board an Orlando-to-Puerto Rico flight, prompted calls for the Transportation Security Administration to screen everyone working at an airport.

The plane, Delta Flight 933, landed safely at the San Juan airport where the worker, Thomas Anthony Munoz, was arrested. A Homeland Security Department inspector general report says the mishandling raises broader concerns. "Delta might have failed" to follow a security procedure requiring airlines to immediately notify the TSA of a possible security threat, the report says. TSA chief Kip Hawley blamed the Orlando Police Department, which protects the airport.

Check out the full story.

Continental's break-up with the SkyTeam Alliance and partner Delta may not be a smooth one. The Washington Post writes that Delta on Tuesday "formally objected to a request by Continental Airlines for antitrust approval that would allow Continental to deepen ties with major airline partners in the United States and overseas. Continental is seeking immunity from antitrust rules so it can partner with United and Lufthansa on transatlantic flights, and eventually on trips to Latin America and Asia. Without clearance from the Department of Transportation, Continental would be breaking U.S. laws that forbid airlines from sharing information on schedules, costs or the prices they plan to charge."

Delta's objection: That Continental's proposed ties with United would give the duo an unfair presence on routes to Brazil and China. For its part, Delta has been granted wide-ranging immunity to work with its own international partner, Air France-KLM. "Continental attributed Delta's filing to industry rivalry," the Post writes. "From what we have seen, there's nothing new here," Continental spokeswoman Mary Clark says in a prepared statement quoted by the Post. "It looks like another attempt by the world's largest airline to prevent others from competing with it. We are confident the government will see through Delta's attempt to suppress competition."

The Delta-Continental alliance flap comes as airlines increasingly look to alliances and partnerships as a way to benefit from pooling resources with other carriers. The Post notes "alliance-related antitrust fights are becoming increasingly common in the highly competitive airline world. Airlines see alliances as one of the few tools the industry has to bring about consolidation across borders." Of  course, another U.S. carrier –- American –- is caught up in antitrust talks in an effort to bolster its oneworld alliance ties with European partners British Airways and Iberia.