It took a recession to do it, but US Airways is announcing today that it’s reversing its stance — you’ll be able to get a cup of coffee, a glass of juice or some soda on their flights for free.

The airline couches the announcement by saying the soda surcharge is just distracting from their improved on-time performance and such.  And the airline acknowledges that being the ONLY carrier charging folks for a non-alcoholic drink could cause some issues.

This traveler gulps his water before going through security.

The face of flying has changed dramatically since 9/11. We can’t pack liquids…

A reader brought this story to my attention yesterday in an e-mail. And while the story broke on Monday, it still seems like a worthwhile discussion topic.

An airline passenger forced to cover his T-shirt because it displayed Arabic script has been awarded 240,000 dollars in compensation, campaigners said Monday.

Raed Jarrar received the pay out on Friday from two US Transportation Security Authority officials and from JetBlue Airways following the August 2006 incident at New York’s JFK Airport, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced.

The story goes on to say that other passengers on the flight expressed discomfort, some saying that…

American Airlines announced this morning that beginning June 15, they will charge a $15 fee for EVERY checked bag from their passengers. They cite the increasing fuel costs for transporting passenger’s luggage for the new charge.

Will airplane cabins become even more overloaded as more passengers bring their luggage as carry-ons instead? I can see more passengers bringing their allotment of carry-on baggage making TSA security checkpoint lines even longer as more packages and wheeled suitcases need to be screened.

On top of all this, American’s parent corporation, AMR, this morning also announced “significant reductions” to its 2008 domestic flight schedule.  The say that…