Now charging fees for every conceivable in-flight comfort, major airlines are playing follow the leader yet again by prohibiting cash as a means of payment on board. Over the last year, the lengthy list of carriers with plastic-only policies or “cashless cabins” has grown to include American Airlines, Southwest, Alaska, Frontier, jetBlue, AirTran, Virgin America, and Midwest. Last week, Delta (for which credit purchases weren’t even possible a year ago), Northwest, and Continental announced they, too, have made the switch. Read the rest of this post »

Republic Airways Holdings – an airline holding company for regional carriers Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines, and Shuttle America – made a splash in the aviation world this week after purchasing two struggling airlines in just two days. Denver-based Frontier Airlines was purchased for $108 million on June 22, while teetering Milwaukee-based Midwest Airlines was acquired for $31 million on June 23.  Read the rest of this post »