A passenger writes that he wants to know the booking class before he books because in some booking classes he earns only 50% of the miles flown and in other booking classes 100%.

So far, he booked on sites of airlines, but recently he tried to do it at Expedia. When he looked for the booking class, however, he could not find it. He uses appropriate language by asking who would want to book a black box.

Each airline has many booking classes – indicated by letters - each with their own fare rules that vary across airlines. For example, in one booking class you cannot change your flight, in another you can change for a fee, and in yet another booking class you

French police have arrested Lucie R., a 47-year old flight attendant of Air France, on suspicion of stealing from passengers, according to the French newspaper Le Figaro.

Police launched an investigation after about €4,000 ($5,165) was stolen from 5 passengers in a Boeing 777 en route from Tokyo to Paris.

The attendant took advantage of sleeping passengers on long haul flights to different countries in Asia, but in particular on flights between Paris and

Airlines sometimes mishandle baggage, even if they belong to officers from the Israeli security service Shin Bet. A bag from agents traveling with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been missing.

The agents were accompanying Mr. Netanyahu for talks with US President Barack Obama. The bag was supposed to be put on a flight from New York to Washington. However, American Airlines put it on a flight to Los Angeles.

European travelers got the possibility of self-boarding a few years ago. It means that passengers scan their bar-coded boarding passes at a scanner, which allows them access to the aircraft. An airline agent is no longer needed. Continental Airlines is now the first airline to implement self boarding in the USA for both domestic and international flights.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) presents it as a significant simplification of passengers’ journeys. However, the reason for implementing self-boarding is not simplification for passengers, but cost saving for airlines. Airlines prefer passengers doing the work rather than their own agents.

Machines are not only cheaper than agents; the use of self boarding also greatly reduces turnaround times. Planes generate revenues by flying, not by parking. Speeding up the boarding process reduces the time planes are on the ground and will therefore increase airlines’ revenues. No wonder that the airline industry aims at 25 self-boarding implementations in 2010.

US airlines are responding to a new rule that prohibits them from permitting an aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than 3 hours without deplaning passengers. May 2010 was the first full month that US airlines operated under the new rule.

Five planes were stuck on airport tarmacs for more than 3 hours. That is a decrease of 85% compared to May 2009, when 34 flights were delayed more than 3 hours. Four of these flights were operated by United Airlines; the fifth was operated by Delta Airlines.

The delays of the United flights ranged from 3 hours and 10 minutes to 4 hours and 41 minutes. The Delta flight exceeded the 3-hour cutoff point by 2 minutes.

Airlines can be fined for keeping passengers hostage. The US Department of Transportation has not yet issued fines against United and Delta because it is still investigating the delays.

So far, travelers to the USA had to submit their details to the US authorities 3 times:

1. From early 2009, all Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers to the USA are required to obtain a travel authorization via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to their departure. This authorization remains valid for 2 years or – if shorter – until your passport will expire.

2. Travelers need to provide most of the ESTA information again plus their address and contact details in the USA when they check in for their flights.

If you see a very low fare, double check it. It seems likely that it is just a teaser and does not apply to you. Here are 5 tips to find low fares that do apply.

1. Be aware that fares can change from one day to the next. To find a low fare you should be flexible as to the days you will fly.

In the USA you should avoid Friday and Sunday as on these days fares tend to be high. You will find the lowest fares for flights on Wednesday followed by Tuesday and Saturday.

Motorists stuck in a traffic jam dream about flying in their car. The Transition ® Roadable Aircraft, or ‘Flying Car’, makes their dream come true.

It is classified as a light sport aircraft. Therefore, it requires a sport pilot certificate to fly. This type of certificate requires only 20 hours of flying time. Watch the video.

The vehicle has received an exemption from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to allow a maximum takeoff weight of 1,430 pounds

A Swiss International Airlines flight Los Angeles-Zurich was canceled due to the eruption of the Icelandic volcano. As passengers have the right of care, Swiss is legally required to reimburse them for the extra costs of stay.

However, Swiss tells a passenger requesting reimbursement for his expenses of €700 ($866) that it can only offer limited compensation as the cancelation was clearly due to ‘force majeure’. As a gesture of

More experiences of a travel agent in Washington, DC, with politicians among his customers:

1. A New Hampshire congresswoman, who wants to go to Cape Town, calls him. The agent tells her about the length of the flight and the passport information, but she interrupts him with: "Sorry, but Massachusetts is not that far and I do not need a passport." If he asks whether she wants to go to Cape Cod rather than Cape Town, she hangs up.

Several readers asked us about hotel rates and earning miles. One of them is a member of the Fairmont Hotels’ frequent guest program called Fairmont president's club. He has opted for earning miles rather than hotel points.

German chancellor Angela Merkel proposes a departure tax on airline passengers departing from German airports. Branded as an environmental initiative, the estimated annual revenues are €1 billion.

The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) response is sharp, but also rash: “This is the worst kind of short-sighted policy irresponsibility. Painting the new tax green adds insult to injury. There will be no environmental benefit from the economic damage caused,” says the IATA in a press release highlighting three major concerns:

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines still serves free meals on intercontinental flights, but it has economized so much on them that they are tasteless or worse.

Since its takeover by Air France, KLM’s service level is ever more approaching Easyjet’s, one of Europe’s biggest low-cost airlines, although the fares remain relatively high.

LHR News, British Airways’ internal staff magazine, covers London Heathrow Airport in an article spelling out the benefits of British Airways’ new mobile-boarding pass system.

The article contains an image of a boarding pass showing the name "Bin Laden/Osama".

Men tend to sleep in flight, whereas women tend to be unable to sleep on a plane. It goes without saying there are many exceptions. One exception is Ginger McGuire, a 36-years old woman who works at a radio station and a local cable TV channel in suburban Detroit.

McGuire falls asleep on her red-eye United Airways Express flight from Washington, DC. The flight – operated by Trans States Airlines lands in Philadelphia just after midnight at 12:27 am.

She remains sleeping during the landing and nobody wakes her up.