airline

Today, Virgin America plans to become the latest airline to offer in-flight Wi-Fi Internet, a service with a problematic past that still promises far-ranging flexibility in entertainment.

The San Francisco-based carrier has scheduled the service for one Airbus A320 aircraft, joining American Airlines as the only carriers in the world to offer full Internet access.

Australian company Solar Sailor has signed a deal with the largest Chinese shipping line COSCO to fit their tankers with large solar-powered sails.

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.

I miss Ben Bradlee.

Not just Ben Bradlee, but everyone like him. Bradlee, in case you don't know, was the crusty executive editor of the Washington Post from 1968 to 1991 and one of the main reasons I became a journalist years ago. Basically nothing of note was printed in The Post unless Bradlee took a look at it first.

When I was a city editor, the newspaper worked that way, too. Nothing was printed in terms of local news unless I read it and approved it. And after I read it, another editor after me read it just to make sure I was doing my job.

Recently we wrote about how a UK railway is telling its engineers to shut off one of their engines while coasting downhill and to close doors sooner on tardy passengers. Now the FAA is looking at simple ways to reduce fuel use as well.

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.

Virgin Galactic opened the hangar today at the Mojave Air and Space Port to reveal its suborbital aircraft, the WhiteKnightTwo. The aircraft is a mother ship capable of ferrying its component airship, the SpaceShipTwo, into a suborbital trajectory where it can easily exit the Earth's atmosphere into space.

Sir Richard Branson, iconic CEO of Virgin, and Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites, lead designer of the project, were on hand for the unveiling. SpaceShipTwo -- still under wraps at the facility -- has yet to be shown.

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.