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PARIS -- Sigurdur Helgason, an Icelander whose pioneering 'hippie airline,' then called Icelandic, made low-cost air travel to Europe possible for a generation of Americans, died on Feb. 8 on […]

PARIS -- Demand for so-called premium air travel has fallen sharply along with the economy, leading to recent announcements from airlines like Qantas and British Airways about plans to reduce first-class seating. Yet those who find it hard to fly without Beluga caviar and designer pajamas can take heart. Even as the top class of seats disappears, some airlines are actually expanding their first-class services for long-haul flights -- and offering selective upgrades -- as a way to retain their most valuable customers until recovery comes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The airline industry is expected to have collective losses of $2.5 billion in 2009, according to a forecast from an airline trade association. The report from the International Air Transport Association said the 2009 loss would be half what the group's 230 members expected to lose this year and reflected improving operations in North America, where a sharp fall in fuel prices has brought relief to airlines that did not hedge against the costs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

British Airways sent a glimmer of hope across a stricken aviation industry on Friday by raising its revenue forecast a notch, though some analysts were skeptical that any significant improvement was in store. In an industry that has been hit hard by high oil prices and an economic slowdown, the revised forecast sent the carrier's shares as much as 22 percent higher in a day of volatile trading, before they fell back. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The future of Alitalia, the financially troubled Italian carrier, hung in the balance on Friday as investors threatened to withdraw from a last-ditch plan to keep the airline flying. Negotiations to save the airline were near collapse and the Italian labor minister, Maurizio Sacconi, held out little hope that the carrier could be saved. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Given the misery of air travel these days, private jet makers may seem to have a built-in selling point, particularly among customers in the United States. But manufacturers at the Farnborough International Airshow said this week that they were seeing signs that private jet sales in the American market were beginning to soften. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article describes some of the changes that traveling businessmen are making to avoid wasting more time at airports now that tighter security has created even longer lines. One salesman has decided to fly less and make more phone calls to customers. Another business traveler has decided that if he can drive in 5 hours or less, he'll drive. Most domestic flights, however, were beginning to return to normal and were departing on time.