American Airlines

American Airlines is suing Yahoo Inc. for trademark infringement, a case similar to one that the nation's largest airline settled this summer against Google Inc.

The airline complains that when computer users enter American's trademark terms such as AAdvantage, the name of its frequent-flier program, in a search they can be directed to competitors who pay Yahoo for the traffic.

American filed its lawsuit last week in U.S. District court in Fort Worth for unspecified damages, legal costs and money to run a "corrective" advertising campaign.

Web-savvy viewers routinely catch up with missed TV episodes online, but networks are split on screening them before their premiere.

For the third year, NBC plans an aggressive campaign to make new series widely available a week before their premieres.

American Airlines has announced the availability of Wi-Fi Internet service aboard three of its domestic routes. Customers aboard American Airlines flights from New York to Los Angeles, New York to San Francisco and New York to Miami can access the Internet for $12.95 per flight on its 767-200 airplanes via the service, called Gogo.

According to AA officials, beta testing in May and early August with real customers on cross-country flights showed that the service would be well received.

The fiercely competitive airline business is turning to technology in the battle for customers.

Since American Airlines began testing Wi-Fi service on live flights in August 2007 and JetBlue Airways began its BetaBlue project in December 2007, other airlines are following suit, including Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic Airways.

On Tuesday, Delta said it would roll out Wi-Fi access to passengers on its entire fleet for a fee. JetBlue, which has been collecting customer feedback, also plans to expand the service throughout its fleet.

Airlines have hit fliers with a lot of extra charges these days. They charge for food, drinks and checking bags. JetBlue even said it would dispense with complimentary disposable pillows and start charging $7 for a take-home pillow-and-blanket set.

On Tuesday, however, Delta Airlines announced a service that few people should complain about paying for: Wi-Fi. While a number of other airlines have been trumpeting Internet availability, so far that's been a special service available only in business class and first class. Delta is the first airline to offer Wi-Fi in coach.

American Airlines says customers will be able to test in-flight Internet access on two flights beginning Wednesday, with broader service expected to begin in the following couple weeks.

Facing record high fuel prices, airlines are looking at entertainment and information services as ways to make a few more bucks per passenger.

American's technology partner, Aircell LLC, will charge $9.95 to $12.95 for Internet service, depending on flight length. Aircell and American share the revenue, officials said.

Need some last-minute travel information? A growing number of airports are sending messages and alerts to e-mail, BlackBerry and cell phone users.

Travelers need to sign up, but the service transmits information about flights, parking, ground traffic or security waiting times electronically for free. It's also available at many airports' Web sites.

I’m on my first train ride of my adult life…right now. Actually, the train hasn’t even started moving. As a (ashamed) fairly frequent flier, I’m used to airplanes. And, somehow, I thought they were simply the best way to cover long distances.

But I’ve been on this train for less than 10 minutes and I’ve already spotted about 20 things that make this a much more pleasant experience than flying.

I’m on my first train ride of my adult life…right now. Actually, the train hasn’t even started moving. As a (ashamed) fairly frequent flier, I’m used to airplanes. And, somehow, I thought they were simply the best way to cover long distances.

But I’ve been on this train for less than 10 minutes and I’ve already spotted about 20 things that make this a much more pleasant experience than flying.

It's Memorial Day weekend, which marks the beginning of the driving season, and gas prices have topped $3.75 per gallon. And yet the question remains, will the dramatic increase in the price of gas, combined with concern about global warming, actually affect people's driving habits?