Airline News.

For more airline news, data and analysis, please go to: http://www.airguideonline.com/order_formsubs.htm Aug 21, 2006

Ban on water concerns frequent fliers. Many travelers say they are concerned about new rules preventing them from bringing water on flights, The Wall Street Journal's Scott McCartney writes. Some suggest airlines hand travelers bottles of water as they board. Aug 18, 2006

Bees take a break in airports, disrupting flights. Africanized honey bees resting in airport jetways, baggage-loading equipment and terminals are increasingly disrupting flights. The bees, which do not present a serious threat to planes, are attracted to the smell of jet fuel and the color yellow. Some airports have hired pest-control companies to remove bees. Aug 16, 2006

First wave of radio tag passports expected soon. American travelers will soon use passports implanted with radio tags that can transmit personal information including name, nationality and gender. Critics of the tags say they could infringe on travelers' privacy, but the State Department says they are tamperproof. Aug 16, 2006

IATA figures for the half-year show an overall 6.2% gain in RPKs for the Asia/Pacific region, placing it third behind the Middle East and Africa. However, Birch noted that "the Asia/Pacific is the most profitable region for the global airline industry with IATA projecting 2006 net profits of $1.7 billion against a backdrop of an overall global airline industry loss of $3 billion for the year." According to the Abacus report, the region enjoyed a load factor of 73.8%. India is the shining light, with domestic travel growing 24% to June and Birch predicting that it will keep growing at 25% per year to 2010. China's growth rate was 12%. Aug 16, 2006

Travel tip: consider photographing luggage. Travelers should put their names on the outside and inside of their luggage in case tags fall off. Having a picture of your luggage also makes it easier to describe missing bags to workers at the claims desk. If your bag is lost, report it to the airline within 24 hours. Aug 16, 2006

Competition for business fliers may lead to more mergers. Some analysts expect more mergers in the airline industry because too many carriers are competing for business travelers. Industry experts caution, however, that conflicting labor contracts and management styles, incompatible fleets and other problems mean there's no guarantee merged companies will survive. Aug 15, 2006

Sales of jet cards surge amid airline delays. The demand for time cards that allow a traveler to fly a certain model of jet by the hour surged during last week's flight disruptions, the New York Times' Joe Sharkey writes. Companies that offer the cards say their clients fly on commercial jets most of the time but use private jets for emergencies and special occasions. Aug 15, 2006

Ultralong nonstop flight is fast growing category. More airlines are taking advantage of the fact that many travelers are willing to pay up to 40% more to fly nonstop, even on the longest flights. This month, an average of 30 flights departed daily from the U.S. with flight times of 14 hours or longer, compared with an average of 18 daily departures four years ago. Aug 14, 2006