When you spend a large portion of your day combing airline websites for deals, stories, and the latest fees, they can all start to blend. Those generic FAQs may or may not be of any assistance at all, and will be dry and no fun read.

Even if you call the airline, it can take forever to speak to a human, and sadly they don’t always have the answers either. Thankfully, I have discovered Alaska Airlines online help, and I have fallen in love with a girl named Jenn. (Visit Alaska Airlines and click “Ask Jenn”, and you can meet her yourself.)

Sure Jenn is semi-animated and her voice resembles that of a robot, but she answers all the questions I have about the airline, and her pleasant demeanor never waivers. I can ask about fees, booking, baggage–anything, and Jenn seems to always have the answer. I really think we have a connection.

This digital help desk beauty is never thrown for a loop. Even when I ask Jenn if she loves me, she responds simply with “I love helping people.” OK, so we’re keeping it professional, I understand, but I believe her. I don’t know why, but I do.

Man, I need to get out more.

Pretzels are the latest casualty of rising fuel prices. US Airways, battling escalating costs and shrinking profits has decided to do away with pretzels in coach. Sure, you fancy first class passengers can still enjoy a snack, but the majority of fliers will have to go without.

As reported by Travel Weekly (subscription required):

Beginning June 1, US Airways will no longer serve free snacks to coach passengers on domestic flights. The airline said high fuel prices prompted the change. Passengers will still receive complimentary beverages.

Alas, the perks just keep disappearing. Hey, at least we don’t have to pay for checking bags…oh, right.

Maybe the middle seat isn’t as bad as we all think it is. JetBlue passenger Gokhan Mutlu would have loved a middle seat. Instead, he claims he was forced by the airline to spend a large portion of his California to New York flight sitting on the toilet, and he’s now suing JetBlue for $2M.

Mutlu was flying on a “Buddy Pass,” and he was told that a flight attendant would give up her seat and sit in the jump seat, so Mutlu could fly. Mutlu claims, though, that about 90 minutes in he was told that the flight attendant was uncomfortable in the jump seat, and that she wanted her original seat back. Mutlu was also told that due to regulations he could not sit in the jump seat. The pilot came out of the cockpit and allegedly told Mutlu to “hang out in the bathroom.” A brief argument ensued, but Mutlu eventually ended up fighting turbulence on a toilet, no seatbelt in sight.

When I contacted JetBlue I was told the airline “does not comment on pending litigation.” On the surface, this seems like a horrible story with a pilot, flight attendant, and airline breaking FAA regulations and every unspoken customer service rule. However, it seems to me that we’re not quite getting the whole story, so I urge readers and passengers to reserve judgment until we know a little more. In the meantime, think twice before complaining about getting stuck in that middle seat. There are far worse places to spend a flight.

Visit the Chicago Tribune and the New York Post for more on this story.

Never get tired on a Southwest Airlines flight again! The carrier announced that it is now offering Monster energy drinks for passengers who need an extra boost. A taste of Monster’s low-carb liquid energy will cost you $3.00.

Southwest hopes that sales of Monster and other little perks will help create additional revenue streams as they, like all carriers, try to deal with rising fuel costs.

Check out the Dallas Morning News for all the details.

Saw this on walletpop.com — an article called, “Check your airline’s financial health before buying a ticket”.

Alright, and we do that…how?

Direct quote from the article: “Consumers [can] do their own research. Quite simply, when you’re booking a flight, stick with the airlines that appear to be in the best of financial health.”

Oh! Is that all there is to it? Well, thank you, Capt. Obvious but I neglected to get that MBA. I never even became a CPA like Ma wanted. Must continue with current Russian Roulette system: find plane goes to desired destination; if plane is cheap, get on (smart, huh? Knew that GED would come in handy someday).

You don’t have to fly all the time to know that things just haven’t been going that well for the airlines from a customer service standpoint. With tarmac delays, bizarre TSA run-ins, and the seeming disappearance of “frills,” passengers on the whole just haven’t been all that happy of late.

FareCompare CEO Rick Seaney takes a look at what the latest airline complaint study (they’ were up 60% in 2007) means for airlines, passengers, and the industry. See what Rick has to say in “New Report: Complaints about Airlines are Rising.”

How many times have you sat on a plane and actually paid close attention to the flight attendants as they give their safety demonstration? It’s even easier to ignore when they eliminate the live performance and show the whole spiel on video.

Well, Delta Air Lines wants your attention…or at least the attention of those who find sassy, striking redheads appealing. As Wired reports, the star of Delta’s latest safety video is keeping eyes on the screen and garnering comparison to a certain Ms. Jolie, “the flight attendant has earned the nickname ‘Deltalina,’ in reference to everyone’s favorite Tomb Raider.”

I don’t know if this makes up for the long waits and rising ticket prices, but all of a sudden I do find myself very concerned about how the oxygen mask works and whether or not my seat cushion can be used as a flotation device. Check out Wired for a look at the video.

The FAA is taking a look at whether a couple of Go! Airlines pilots went sleepy-bye on a flight to Hilo. According to this AP report, the feds got a little suspicious when the plane overshot it’s runway by, oh, 15-miles or so.

This wouldn’t be the first time pilots fell asleep on the job; it happened to a couple of Frontier pilots back in 2004. But those guys were on a pretty long flight, from Baltimore to Denver.

Not our Go! guys. Keep reading…

I’m not one to judge you for having a couple of drinks on the plane, but if you get drunk and belligerent, you should know that you will end up paying for it.

A drunken passenger who caused an American Airlines flight departing Seattle and destined for Miami to divert to Denver. It seems he was insulted a flight attendant suggested he should stop pounding the Vodka. The passenger hurled obscenities and allegedly “grabbed the buttocks of a female passenger.”

Keep reading for all the sordid details…

We’re off to cover the biggest travel event in the West. The Los Angeles Times Travel and Adventure Show is this weekend, and we’ll have stories, photos, vacation ideas, and news on everything else that has to do with travel and adventure when we return next week!

The DOT has made its report, and it turns out that 2007 was one of the worst years for air travel in the history of air travel.

Delays were up, more baggage was mishandled, and more people complained about the airlines to the powers-that-be than in 2006.

Keep reading for a glimpse at some of the numbers…

What’s all the whoop-de-doo?

Well, it seems Ireland’s Ryanair ran a provocative advertisement for back-to-school fares, featuring a uniform-clad schoolgirl.

So what, you say? Well, we’re not exactly talking about a 3^rd-grader here, and we’re not exactly talking about your average uniform (the killjoy nuns at my school never allowed midriff-baring blouses).

Okay, okay, you can view the photo here.

But Ryanair isn’t the only airline with naughty ads. Keep reading, you know you want to.

Virgin America is adding flights to Seattle on January 31st. Since kicking things off in ‘07, Virgin America has expanded their route system across the West Coast and added new transcontinental flights.

The move into Seattle throws the gauntlet at Alaska Air’s feet. To learn more about how things are shaping up between the two airlines, visit our Virgin America blog, and for a photo tour of the typical Virgin America plane, read “Like A Virgin? Yeah, I Like a Virgin a Whole Lot.”

You’ve heard this one before; an airline takes your money ($75 in this case) for the “unaccompanied minors” fee, and then, neglects the kid in question.

That’s what happened to a Seattle-area man, who was sending his 14-year old son solo on Northwest to Buffalo, NY.

The boy was left alone in an airport waiting room; he fell asleep. Did the airline personnel forget all about him? Does Frosty-the-Snowman melt in the sun?

Kid missed two flights. Dad is mad.

British Airways (BA) recently suspended one of their cabin crew stewards.

Did he get drunk? Molest a passenger? Pose for naked pictures?

Nah. According this this article, he was punished for “eating a muffin that was discarded on a passenger’s meal tray.”

Ask any cop: that’s always the very first step to a life of crime.

Well…plenty. FareCompare shows 24-airlines with scheduled flights, and the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal list 44-airlines with offices in Nepal.

That’s nice, you’re no doubt thinking, but here’s the good part: the airlines’ names. Cool names like Cosmic Air (oh wow, man) or Fishtail Air (steady on, there!).

But the very best? Yeti Airlines. I keep picturing these very odd looking pilots…

Yes, Ireland’s 2-airlines, Aer Lingus and Ryanair combined to triumph over all other European Union carriers, in attracting the most passenger complaints.

Those leprechauns over at Ryan air said, “Oh, for the love of God, tisn’t so bad, we’re getting a wee bit less than 10-complaints for every 1-million passengers.” Well, maybe they didn’t say it exactly like that.

Okay, lengthy article on airline food in USA Today telling us that while airline snacks are getting healthier, they still have a long way to go.

But, United can be proud; according to a rating system, UA serves the most nutritious stuff (they got high marks for their “vegetarian-friendly, trans-fat-free” Smartpack, which sells for $5 and contains granola, organic peach applesauce, cheddar cheese and other items. (Yeah, let’s definitely get that…shudder).

Somebody’s missing the point here: I for one, like my airfare cheap. So do you really think I’m going to spend a whole FIVE-DOLLARS on a snack?

That’s why it’s always nice to visit with the folks. You know your mom will pack you a lunch. It’s what they do.

With apologies to Kermit, what the heck’s going on??

On the one hand, you have the International Air Transport Association (IATA) furiously fighting the European Union on their “Emission Trading Scheme” (scheme = Britspeak for plan) which would force airlines to cutback on their carbon dioxide emissions, or pay for it (this is where those “carbon offsets” come in-isn’t that like bribing your way out of greeness?). But wait, there’s more…

It was only a matter of time before Fred Reid stepped down as Chief Executive of Virgin America (VX). There were rules put in place to ensure that the Virgin America was actually run by Americans. So, Mr. Reid, who has “close ties” to foreign investors, was given a finite time to run things.

That time has passed. Enter C. David Cush, American’s senior vice president of global sales. As reported by the Dallas Morning News, Cush will replace Reid and help lead Virgin America out of its infancy. The Virgin camp believes Cush is the perfect man for the job. That remains to be seen, but the move does solidify Virgin America’s place among US-based carriers, so get used to them, they might just be here to stay.

Dallas radio station KRLD did an interview with Cush (you can listen here); Cush muses about “making travel fun again.” Here, here.

Delta has been in talks with United regarding a potential merger. It is a step that many major airlines have considered over the past several years in order to remain competitive.

However, as air travelers, we can see reduced competition and higher airfares if mergers of this magnitude take place. Visit RickSeaney.com to get an in depth view of the Delta/United talks and the effect airline mergers can have on us all.

As reported by The Consumerist, a US Airways flight departing from Washington and bound for Boston had to return to Washington when crew members started complaining about an unusual smell.

Turns out, the smell was coming from fumes riddled with carbon monoxide. Upon returning to Washington, passengers and crew boarded a new plane, but the few unlucky crew members who had been exposed to the fumes, did become ill. Do you think Airborne protects you from this kind of thing?

Virgin America is having what it calls a “Victorias Secret Supermodel PJ Party“ on their Nov. 28^th flight from JFK to LAX. I know what you’re thinking: flannel.

Anyway, you can be there too, if you win the tickets Virgin is giving away. Check the link above for more info, and join in on all the family fun!

So, you shelled out some serious cash for one of Singapore Airline’s Airbus A380 bedroom suites. You went the extra step and got one with the double bed, even.

Oh yeah, you’re a romantic. You’ll wait for the gourmet meal and the champagne, and then, shall we say, the magic will happen. Get your head out of the gutter! Singapore Air doesn’t approve of that sort of thing. In fact, they have asked their passengers not to join the mile high club aboard their Airbus A380s (or any other of their planes for that matter):