AIRLINE BIZ

Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger released a statement Wednesday to mark his last day as an active US Airways pilot:

"Thirty years ago last Thursday, I began my airline career. I have been fortunate to have followed my passion for most of my life, working in a profession I dearly love, side by side with thousands of wonderful colleagues, including the man flying my final flight with me, Jeff Skiles.

"Each generation of pilots hopes that they will leave their profession better off than they found it. In spite of the best efforts of thousands of my colleagues, that is not the case today.

"Though I am retiring, I will continue to serve as the same kind of advocate I have always been - not only for aviation safety, but for the airline piloting profession. I will work to remind the entire industry - and those who manage and regulate it - that we have a sacred duty to our passengers to do the very best that we know how to do."

The US Airline Pilots Association says that Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger will share his last flight Wednesday with first officer Jeff Skiles, his partner on the "Miracle on the Hudson" flight in January 2009.

The union also said that he'll officially retire at a private ceremony Wednesday afternoon at the Charlotte airport.

"Sully has always been a pilot's pilot and a fine example of a professional aviator. He has also done a remarkable job of focusing the American public's attention on the need for well-trained and experienced pilots at the controls of commercial aircraft," USAPA president Mike Cleary said.

"Sully's final flight reminds us all that another veteran pilot is leaving the skies - and an experienced, well-trained pilot is the single most important component of safety on any aircraft," Cleary said.

"Congress, airline companies and the flying public should demand that the next generation of expert aviators have incentives to do the hard work to take the place of Sully and the many others nearing retirement age - and not to further tarnish this once-proud profession," he said.

Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger is retiring Wednesday.

And so is Doreen Welsh, one of the three flight attendants aboard Sullenberger's Jan. 15, 2009, flight that landed in the Hudson River.

"I am extremely proud of Capt. Sullenberger and Doreen for their quick thinking and courageous actions on Jan. 15, 2009," US Airways chairman and CEO Doug Parker said.

"They exemplify the professionalism and training US Airways' more than 10,000 pilots and flight attendants demonstrate thousands of times every day across our airline. We will miss them and thank them for all they have given to our customers during their years of service with our airline," Parker said.

US Airways Flight 1549, destined for Charlotte, N.C., had just taken off from New York LaGuardia in mid-afternoon when a flock of geese was sucked into both engines.

While first officer Jeff Skiles tried to regain power in the engines, Sullenberger turned the airplane in a sweeping left turn and quickly decided they could not make it to any available airport.

Sullenberger and Skiles guided the airplane to a landing in the Hudson River alongside midtown Manhattan, with no loss of life and relatively few injuries. The two pilots, three flight attendants and 150 passengers exited the airplane safely.

Welsh was the one crew member injured seriously enough to be hospitalized. She is wrapping up nearly 40 years with US Airways and its predecessor, Allegheny Airlines.

In the months after the crash, Sullenberger, 59, wrote a book, appeared on lots of television shows and was in high demand as a speaker.

He joined the carrier's flight operations safety management team in September. He captained his first post-crash US Airways flight on Oct. 1.

Sullenberger in 1980 joined PSA Airlines, another US Airways predecessor.

Photo credit: Associated Press/Jason DeCrow.

United Airlines said Tuesday it will begin daily service from Washington to Accra, Ghana, on June 20.

That will make it the second U.S. carrier to fly nonstop to Africa, joining Delta Air Lines.

"With the addition of service to Accra, United now offers customers nonstop service to points on six continents," said Mark Schwab, United's senior vice president of alliances, international & regulatory affairs.

"We look forward to offering service to Lagos - subject to approval by Nigerian officials - which will enable our customers to travel between Lagos and Washington more quickly and conveniently," he said.

The new flights will put United in a very small club, joining Delta as the only U.S. carriers to offer flights to six continents.

American Airlines and Continental Airlines fly to four continents, with no flights to Africa or Australia, although Continental Micronesia serves Cairns, Australia, from Guam.

Last week, American Airlines sent out "From the Ground Up," an update on negotiations with its fleet service clerks, represented by the Transport Workers Union.

This week, the union has responded with its own "From the Ground Up" document that gives its view of the same negotiations.

A basic point in the TWU document is that American's mailer discussed what it was willing to give employees, but not what it wanted to take.

John Conley, director of the TWU's Air Transport Division, defends the union's positions in the talks, which began in November 2007:

"These proposals were crafted in ways that would not degrade your contract or do harm to current or future members; they were proposals that would provide AA with long term competitive changes that would address their needs in the long run.

"But they want it all now. Management continues to pass proposals that will degrade our agreements permanently in exchange for pocket change. They seek fundamental modifications but refuse to assign dollar values to them.

"In the end they want a bankruptcy agreement without the bankruptcy."

In its mailer, American said the two sides had made "significant progress" in the talks:

"This progress is the result of working together toward the same end goal: a contract that is in the long-term best interest of our airline, Fleet Service and Ground Service employees, customers and everyone depending on American to succeed."

Conley has said that if talks don't result in agreements, the union is prepared next week to ask the National Mediation Board to agree that talks are at an impasse and release the two sides from further mediation.

That's a step that would American has said would be premature. It's a step that would lead to a potential strike.

Association of Professional Flight Attendants leaders have said they're ready as well to ask an impasse declared if the current talks don't result in a tentative agreement. American and the APFA began meeting Saturday in NMB offices in Washington and are supposed to meet through Wednesday.

Look, I'm getting tired as you are of all these YouTube dubbings of Hilter's rant in the 2004 movie "Der Untergang."

But this version was particularly clever, so I recommend it. It has Hitler discussing weather-related cancellations in Atlanta

Traffic grew in all regions of the world in January, but the slowest increase was in North America, the International Air Transport Association said Tuesday.

Overall, industry traffic climbed 6.4 percent over January 2009, but only 2.1 percent in North America, IATA said. The biggest jumps were shown in the Middle East, 23.6 percent, and Latin America, 11.0 percent.

IATA's conclusion overall for January's results - the industry is doing better, but not necessarily well. "Airlines have lost 2-3 years of growth," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's director general and CEO.

"Demand is moving in the right direction," he said. "The 3.0 percent increase in freight volumes from December to January is particularly encouraging. We can start to see the future with some cautious optimism, but better volumes do not necessarily mean better profits."

Passenger yields, or the average fare paid per passenger per mile, remain 15 percent under their peak, "and we expect 2010 losses to be $5.6 billion," Bisignani said in IATA's press release.

Here's a chart of how the various regions did in January compared to a year earlier:

Traffic is in revenue passenger kilometers, and capacity is in available passenger kilometers, not that that matters. Load factor is percentage of seats filled by paying passengers:

Freight is in tonnage, capacity is how much tonnage could have been carried:

1. American Airlines opened its new cargo facility at New York Kennedy International Airport on Monday.

"After 45 years in our previous facility, we are pleased to provide a state-of-the-art cargo terminal at New York JFK - one of our most important hubs," said Dave Brooks, president of American Airlines Cargo.

"Our investment in high-speed handling systems for containerized freight, expanded dock and storage capacity, and a beautiful interior environment is designed to maximize the experience of our valued customers," he said.

Here's what it touts:

* More than 135,000 square feet of warehouse space

* 24 dock doors

* An "Elevated Transfer Vehicle" handling system which "includes two 20-foot ETVs with a storage capacity equivalent to 385 upper-deck aircraft positions."

* Three coolers for perishable products

* An environmental room

* A live-animal handling area.

2. American's C.R. Smith Museum is focusing on women's aviation in March, with a photographic exhibit. In addition, there'll Saturday movies featuring women in aviation.

The movies start at 11 a.m. with film of Amelia Earhart, followed by film of women's roles in aviation history at 1 p.m. and a film about Women Airforce Service Pilots in World War II.

3. American Airlines is supplying a special Boeing 767 to take aviation pioneers on a morale-building trip to Germany and Southwest Asia. The trip leaves Chicago on Thursday and returns to New York Kennedy on March 13.

On the trip will be Neil Armstrong, the first man to step on the moon (followed very shortly afterward by Buzz Aldrin); Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon; and Jim Lovell, the last man who was supposed to step on the moon and didn't.

Also participating are test Bob Gilliland, the first man to fly the SR-71 Blackbird, and Steve Ritchie, the only Air Force pilot ace after the Korean War (he bagged five MiGs in 1972 during the Vietnam War).

New York Kennedy doesn't have a lot of nonstop flights from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, but the closing Monday of its longest runway for four months will cause problems for many airlines and many passengers.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is having Runway 13R-31L resurfaced and widened from 150 feet to 200 feet. The runway handles about a third of Kennedy's flights every day.

In 2008, Kennedy was the 13th busiest airport in passengers handled, according to Airports Council International, and sixth busiest in the United States. What's more, it consistently ranks poorly among 31 major airports in on-time arrivals.

In 2009, Kennedy ranked 28th with only 73.5 percent of its flights arriving on time or within 14 minutes. That left ahead of only Atlanta, 72.6 percent, and the other two major New York area airports, LaGuardia, 68.7 percent, and Newark, 65.8 percent.

The New York Post had this paragraph:

"I understand you have to keep the infrastructure up, but JFK's already a mess, so no one might even notice," said Roberto Giovanni, a 42-year-old fund manager from Manhattan, as he waited for his wife and daughter to arrive yesterday.

The airport has a parallel runway, 13L-31R, that is 10,000 feet long, or nearly 7/8 of a mile shorter than the one that's closing. JFK also has two other runways, 4L-22R at 11,351 and 4R-22L at 8,400 feet.

This is the first major rework on Runway 13R-31L since 1993. Here's how PANYNJ described the project when officials approved it in February 2009:

"The proposed authorization would include removing six inches of the existing runway surface and replacing it with 18 inches of Portland cement concrete, widening the runway surface from 150 feet to 200 feet, taxiway fillet widening, improvements to access taxiways, runway safety area re-grading, new runway lighting and electrical infrastructure, a new electrical feeder system to the runway and accommodations for future navigational aids."

From D/FW Airport, American Airlines has one daily round trip to JFK on an MD-80 and Comair operates a daily round trip aboard a CRJ-900.

Travelocity has looked at popular spring break destinations and put out a list with some popular places where prices are down.

"Airfare is up, but not everywhere," Travelocity senior editor Genevieve Shaw Brown said in a press release.

"Travelocity found popular spring break destinations where both airfare and hotel rates are down compared to last year," she said. "Travelers who are flexible with their destinations should search these spots for travel deals and book vacation packages to save even more money."

Here's a chart that shows some of Travelocity's findings:

Winter blizzards, summer crowds, spring thunderstorms, fall thunderstorms -- there are a million reasons why some months do more havoc to airline schedules than others.

That's gives us our question for this week: Name the month that has the worst on-time record.

Bonus question: Name the month that has the best on-time record.

Our answer is based on the 15-year average from 1995 through 2009 of the monthly numbers reported by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. An on-time arrival is a flight that arrives within 14 minutes of schedule.

Answers below.

Last call -- Sunday is the last day that Tom Thumb shoppers can earn AAdvantage miles with their purchases. It's also the last day that Onepass members can earn miles from sister grocery chain Randalls.

As Dallas Morning News retail writer Maria Halkias reported in January, Safeway has decided to quit offering frequent-flier miles to shoppers as part of its effort to lower its costs and its prices. Safeway is the parent of Tom Thumb and Randalls.

Here's the explanation from Tom Thumb:

"We listen to our customers and understand that in the current economic climate there's an overwhelming need for lower prices. To fulfill that low price need while also providing the high-quality products our customers expect, we have decided to refocus the value previously offered through our Airlines Partnership into lower prices on the items all customers need."

That means that as of Monday, it won't be offering miles from AAdvantage, the American Airlines program. Similarly, Randalls won't be offering miles from Onepass, the Continental Airlines program, to shoppers.

"Tom Thumb was a great partner for many years and will be missed," an AAdvantage spokeswoman said Friday.

"The AAdvantage program continues to offer many ways for members to earn miles other than flying. We encourage members to visit www.aa.com/aadvantage for a complete list of more than 350 brand name retailers to get customers one step closer to their next trip," she said.

Tom Thumb's program offered 250 AAdvantage miles whenever a member spent $250 in qualifying purchases. Randalls offered 125 Onepass miles for every $250 spent.

While no other grocery chains are providing AAdvantage miles, Continental retains its relationship with ShopRite Supermarkets.

ShopRite gives one Onepass mile for every $2 spent, but you have to spend at least $1,000 every quarter to earn the miles. If you spend $999 during that three months, you earn no miles.

You thought you've had expensive meals? An angry guy on a Ryanair flight ate a winning 10,000 euro scratch-off ticket he bought on board because he couldn't redeem it on board.

That equals about $13,600 in U.S. dollars.

Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara, who speaks in exclamations, had these quotes:

"In the last two year's Ryanair's scratch cards have given away 10 cars, over €300,000 in cash prizes and over 100,000 flight vouchers. Passengers have always been delighted to claim their large cash prizes after returning home. Unfortunately our latest winner felt that we should have his €10,000 prize kicking around on the aircraft.

"Yesterday's events prove that while Ryanair's scratch cards offer large cash prizes they clearly taste great too! Crew tried to stop the gourmet scratch card eater by offering him one of our great tasting sandwiches, pizzas or snacks instead, but clearly he had much more expensive tastes!

"Ryanair is now asking passengers to vote on which type of charity Ryanair should donate the €10,000 prize money to with one charity from anger management, eating and digestive disorders to disruptive children's and mental health charities now set to benefit from a real meal ticket!"

The unhappy passenger was flying from Krakow, Poland, to East Midlands, England.

Can the guy claim the prize, once the anger and the ticket leave his system? Just wondering.

This, I believe, is a new one for me.

A Pinnacle Airlines flight, operating as a Delta Connection flight, was cancelled Thursday because two female flight attendants started fighting. The flight was supposed to go from Rochester, N.Y., to Atlanta.

Here's part of the Associated Press story:

A Pinnacle Airlines spokesman in Memphis, Joe Williams, says the spat erupted just as Delta Connection Flight 887 returned to the gate Thursday morning after a passenger became ill. ...

Williams says there was no physical contact and doesn't know the reason for what he termed a "verbal disagreement."

The women were removed from duty pending an airline investigation.

In the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Williams was quoted as saying: "The acts described are not acceptable."

The AJC story added this from another news source:

YNN Rochester, a cable news Web site, quoted a passenger, Steve Mazur, who said the two female attendants "got into a fistfight on the plane. The pilot decided to kick everyone off the plane."

"They told us we had to get off the plane because stewardesses were fighting," another passenger, Corey Minton, told YNN.

USA Today added this, again quoting YNN:

Dozens of passengers on the flight were left to scramble to make other plans. Minton said one person was on his way to Cancun to get married. Another couple left crying, fearful of missing a non-refundable cruise because of the cancellation.

We keep quoting news media quoting YNN. Here's the link to the YNN story.

I watched in amazement Thursday night as the news anchors on a couple of Dallas-Fort Worth television stations reported that American Eagle was installing first-class sections in its Bombardier CRJ-700 fleet.

Well, it was news, back in September 2009 when American Eagle first announced that first-class sections would go into the 25 existing CRJ-700s and the 22 that American Eagle was ordering.

The news on Thursday was that customers could begin buying first-class tickets as of July 2.

But a number of news outlets reported the story as though American Eagle had announced Thursday that it would install first-class sections in the CRJ-700s.

I take note that Andrea Ahles, my competitor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, got it right.

It's a pet peeve of mine, when companies recycle old news and the news media reports it again as though it was new news. In this case, American Eagle didn't seek to mislead, but you had to be following the company over time to know what was new and what wasn't in Thursday's announcement.

How old do you have to be before you move from cranky to crotchety?

1. I want to go to Hawaii, aboard an airplane staffed by happy employees, and stay for two weeks in a Poipu Beach hotel about 50 yards from the water. I'd settle for two warm days this weekend in Arlington, Texas. In fact, I'll get neither Hawaii nor warmth any time soon.

2. Coming out of a recession is like coming out of an operation - you didn't die, but you don't feel so good.

3. One last thought on that Kevin Smith issue, without taking sides. The fact that the passengers on each side of him said he was okay doesn't mean he was okay. Passengers don't want to be the referee and declare that their neighbor is too wide, too smelly or too weird. They want the airline to take care of it.

All Nippon Airways is introducing the ultimate answer to men who refuse to put the toilet seat down: Go find your own toilet.

As of Monday, ANA will offer women's only toilets on its international flights, except those operated by narrow-bodied Boeing 737 or Airbus A320s. Says ANA:

Following numerous requests from passengers for this service, one women-only lavatory will be designated in the aft section of the passenger cabin (location may differ depending on aircraft and configuration) and will be available for use by women passengers in all classes of service.

Well, admittedly, we're pigs, and who among us hasn't grimaced at the wet, sticky floor caused by poor-aiming guys? Blame it on turbulence. I do.

ANA noted that "in most cases, men will be restricted from using the women-only lavatories." However, a man might be allowed to sully the women's-only facility in certain cases:

・ When required for safety reasons, just prior to the seat belt sign being turned on during take-off and landing.

・ When a passenger is not feeling well and a personal emergency requires such use.

・ When there are very few female passengers and the women-only designation has been lifted for the flight.

ANA said the crew will make an announcement if it's open seating, toilet-wise.

Do other airlines have anything like this, readers?

I know that the queen of England has reserved for her exclusive use a toilet in first class when she flies British Airways, large enough for her and an attendant. That would be a royal flush, I guess. But that's not a women-only toilet so much as a one-woman-only toilet. I pity the commoner who tries to enter that facility.

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants is gearing up for five days of contract negotiations starting Saturday by talking tough, while also promising that no American Airlines flights will be disrupted.

It is asking members to:

• Wear their red "got guts" pins on their uniform beginning Friday.

• Send American's contract-update brochure back to management, with an added message of "My Negotiating Team Speaks for Me."

• Send email message to top AA executives "asking them to invest in their most important asset - frontline employees."

APFA president Laura Glading has promised to ask the National Mediation Board to release them from mediation if there's no deal in the upcoming talks at the NMB's offices in Washington, D.C. She was going to do so after a stiff round of talks in January, but the NMB scheduled this new round of talks before she made such a request.

For comments from Glading and a summation of American's goals, keep reading.

American Airlines said Thursday it has made comprehensive contract proposals this week to two negotiating committees of the Transport Workers Union, representing stock clerks and technical specialists.

The TWU's take on technical specialist talks: "The Union and the company remain deadlocked over the most significant issues: Pay, Vacation, Holidays, Sick Leave, etc. No breakthroughs took place nor are any expected to take place in the near or foreseeable future."

The TWU's take on stores negotiations: "After reviewing the latest Company Proposal, the Stores Negotiating Committee unanimously rejected American Airlines latest offer and restated our current table position as a formal response."

We take note that the National Mediation Board mediator has canceled talks between American and negotiators for TWU mechanics and related employees. Those sessions were scheduled for March 1-5. We'll see how that messes up the TWU's stated intent to ask for a release from mediation March 8 without a deal.

Last year, American Eagle placed an order for 22 Bombardier CRJ-700s. The real news then was that it was going to add a first-class cabin to those 22 and 25 other CRJ-700s that American Eagle was already flying.

On Thursday, American Eagle said that customers can start booking first-class seating on any CRJ-700 flights for travel July 2 and afterwards.

"We're pleased to introduce first class service on our CRJ-700 aircraft," American Eagle president and CEO Peter Bowler said.

"By July we will have our fleet of 25 CRJs converted by American Eagle mechanics to the new first class and main cabin design, and we will have taken delivery of the first two of our 22 new CRJs that will also feature first class comfort and amenities," Bowler said.

The CRJ-700s are being concentrated on American Eagle flights in and out of Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. At D/FW, that aircraft will fly to Cleveland, Milwaukee, Bentonville/Springdale, Ark., and Little Rock.

You'll get more leg room, and the first-class cabins has 1X2 seating rather than 2X2 (that's updated from my first item, in which I said it would be 2X2 in first class. Thanks, Ryan). You'll also eat better up front, according to the press release:

"American Eagle will offer a complimentary first class dining service that includes a Continental breakfast with cereal or hot oatmeal and yogurt and a lunch or dinner that includes a fresh salad or a sandwich and dessert.

"First class customers receive warm, cleansing towels and mixed nuts prior to their meals, which are served on china. On flights of shorter duration, beverage service will be accompanied by a gourmet snack mix."

Price? A D/FW-Cleveland ticket, unrestricted and refundable, has a top price of $770 each way on Wednesday, June 30, with no first-class seats being sold. On Wednesday, July 7, after the first-class seats go on sale, a first-class ticket is $983 each way.

Reuters reported Wednesday evening that Oneworld "is in advanced talks with China Eastern Airlines" to add that carrier to the global airline alliance.

Oneworld recently persuaded Japan Airlines to stay in Oneworld, announced Tuesday that India's Kingfisher Airlines would join Oneworld and has Qantas Airways and Cathay Pacific as members.

But to finish out Asian, Oneworld really needed a strong Chinese carrier to service the world's most populous nation.

China Eastern is currently a code-share partner for American Airlines, but adding China Eastern to Oneworld would strengthen the relationship and bring in the other Oneworld carriers.

Reuters, which hosted a travel and leisure summit in New York, talked to American Airlines CFO Tom Horton by phone. American is one of the founding Oneworld partners and is its largest member.

The Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association went on record Wednesday opposing any legislation that would let airlines and the federal government listen to cockpit voice recordings at will.

SWAPA said it couldn't support the National Transportation Safety Board's idea to let the Federal Aviation Administration use "de-identified aggregate date" gleaned from the recordings, even thought the NTSB has said such recordings couldn't be used to punish pilots.

But the Southwest union really can't support a proposal from Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., to let airlines review cockpit voice recordings for possible discipline, SWAPA president Carl Kuwitzky said.

"The NTSB recommendation for CVR usage might be an honest attempt to promote safety, but the DeMint proposal is a perfect example of a good intention to increase safety that has the exact opposite effect," Kuwitzky said.

"This proposal and, unfortunately, the NTSB recommendation, are misdirected attempts at promoting safety that will surely backfire," he said.

The NTSB removes, listens to and transcribes the cockpit voice recorders from airplanes involved in crashes and safety-related incidents. However, at present, the CVRs can't be used for other purposes.

SWAPA said its pilots "fear the NTSB recommendation would jeopardize voluntary reporting program integrity that has been successful in increasing airline safety."

Those programs generally provide that pilots won't be punished for reporting errors or safety problems that otherwise would not have become known, with the idea that aviation safety is best promoted by fixing problems, not fixing blame.

DeMint and others raised the idea of monitoring what's going on in the cockpit following the October 2009 incident in which the two Northwest Airlines pilots overflew Minneapolis-St. Paul.

They told investigators they were discussing new owner Delta Air Lines' scheduling software and lost track of time.

By the time they landed in MSP more than an hour late, the cockpit voice recorder's 30-minute continuous recording had overwritten conversations from earlier parts of their flight that would substantiate or contradict their version.

Investigators have criticized non-germane conversations that went on in the cockpit of a Colgan Air regional aircraft that crashed in February 2009 as it approached Buffalo, NY.

Senate leaders said Wednesday they would bring up the long-stalled FAA reauthorization legislation in the next five weeks. Majority Leader Harry Reid characterized the legislation as a bill that would "create thousands and thousands of jobs and it will make our air travel and our surface transportation travel safer."

The House passed its version of FAA reauthorization last year. The House bill is considered more controversial because it includes a provision that would make it easier for FedEx workers to unionize. It also includes a provision that would require the FAA to inspect foreign repair stations twice a year, a measure opposed by European carriers. The guts of the Senate bill is less controversial, and was approved by the Commerce committee in September. It then got stalled behind other legislative priorities, including the healthcare legislation and jobs bills.

The legislation is loaded with elements that affect the oversight of airlines, background checks for pilots, and protections for passengers stranded on tarmacs. But the headline is modernization of the air-traffic system and how long it will take. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., inserted a provision in the legislation that requires all aircraft to be equipped with the necessary avionics equipment by 2018, instead of the previous target date of 2025. Carriers are worried about the pace of "equipage," but at a speech in Washington on Wednesday, Dorgan suggested it could be done. "If you ask the FAA how long it will take, they will say, 'oh, 2095,'" he joked. "It shouldn't take that long. This ought to be an urgent national priority. Number one, it will create jobs. Number two, it will substantially improve margins of safety in the sky."

The Senate bill doesn't address the mix of excise and ticket taxes that funds most of the aviation system. The Commerce Committee left that out, because it is within the jurisdiction of the Senate Finance Committee. A Republican aide says the financing provisions aren't likely to be controversial this time, and that the Finance Committee should have time to pass a measure that takes care of taxes and fees. That piece would then be added to the Commerce Committee's bill and make its way to the floor.

Alaska Airlines said Wednesday it will use Aircell's Gogo system to provide onboard Internet capability via Wi-Fi on its entire fleet.

This is somewhat of a surprise since Alaska had successfully tested the satellite-based system offered by Row 44, the vendor chosen by Southwest Airlines.

Row 44 seemed to be a better solution for Alaska, with so much of the state of Alaska to cover, than a ground-based system like Gogo's.

However, Alaska explained in its announcement that it "ultimately chose Aircell's Gogo service to speed fleet-wide installation and Wi-Fi availability for customers."

As for issue of coverage, the airline said: "To ensure the service is available to the airline's namesake state, Aircell will expand its network to provide Gogo Inflight Internet service on flights to, from and between key destinations in the state of Alaska."

Aircell has nailed down contracts with a number of other big carriers, including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, AirTran Airways, United Airlines, Continental Airlines, US Airways, Air Canada and others. Virgin America likes to point out that it was the first carrier to have its entire fleet equipped with Gogo's Wi-Fi capability.

A display on Aircell's home page indicates that it has installed its technology on 730 commercial aircraft so far, which might be a little behind.

"With more than 730 systems already flying, Aircell has a proven track record of deploying affordable inflight Wi-Fi services to airline customers," said Steve Jarvis, Alaska's vice president of marketing, sales and customer experience.

"Their reliable, lower-cost equipment can be installed quickly, allowing Alaska Airlines to introduce Gogo service to our customers as soon as possible," he said.

The two companies said they'll install the equipment in one airplane. Once the Federal Aviation Administration certifies the equipment for Alaska, the carrier's entire fleet will get the Gogo treatment.

It'll start with the Boeing 737-800s that fly longer routes, Alaska said.

Endless Vacation Rentalsi is the final stage of its Laugh Out Loud Vacation Contest, and has put the stories of 25 finalists up on its Web page.

Your job, if you decide to accept, is to vote on which one you think is best.

Some stories worry us, like the mom who put her and the kids on a vacant bit of beach, then discovered it was roped off because the area was prone to rogue waves.

There's a couple of stories of mistaken identify, such as the woman who goosed her husband and discovered it wasn't her husband, or the woman in Disney's Space Mountain who slipped her hand under her husband's shirt to rub his back and discovered it wasn't her husband.

There's also the nude or topless stories: The clothes-less couple locked out on their sixth-floor balcony; the woman who goes topless in Mexico and discovers there's someone there from back home that recognizes her; the woman who swims topless in the resort pool, then discovers that the disco overlooks the pool.

But my favorite was the camper who carried trash to a bear-proof dumpster and opened the lid to find a bear inside. The bear reached out to take the trash out of his hands and then reshut the dumpster's lid.

Endless Vacation Rentals, a Wyndham Worldwide unit, will be awarding a week's vacation and $5,000 cash to the grand prize winners. First place will get a week and $2,000, and second place gets a week and $1,000. EVR says the winners will be announced the week of April 19.