Stephanie Serino's Travel Blog

Big news: US Airways  and American Airlines  are engaged! Here's the website created to update us on the progress of the new American Airlines .  Love is in the air!   Don't panic: it usually takes a couple years before the complete merger takes place. It will be business as usual at both airlines (which isn't saying that service has been great with either carrier). Your miles are safe. The frequent flier programs will be merged so you won't lose your miles. However, US Airways will transition from the Star Alliance to the OneWorld program. You have a year or so to consider your options. If you have status with either airline, this is a good time to switch loyalty programs (United or Delta may match your status and miles to woo you). Congratulations to them both on their impending union.

Delta’s proposed takeover of Northwest has the pundits buzzing about what it’ll mean to the airline industry, stock market, and business travelers. Big surprise, but there’s no mention of what it means to us here in Ithaca, N.Y. So for the record, here’s my take on the merger from a Central New York perspective. Pray that Delta lets us keep our two daily flights between Ithaca and Detroit. The city of Ithaca (and Cornell) worked so hard to persuade Northwest to test this market and gave them so many economic incentives for the first couple years that it would be tragic to lose these vital flights now. While the 34-seat Turboprop planes are often full, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are profitable. The fact that the flights are actually operated by Mesaba Aviation for Northwest makes it even more complicated. Who knows if Delta will choose to continue these contracts with regional carriers? On the one hand, Delta wants the expanded market that Northwest’s route network adds. On the ...