LOW cost carrier Virgin Blue is expected to make a decision soon on it will begin long-haul flights to the US.

Overall, Virgin Blue is now well positioned and we expect benefits from revenue and cost initiatives developed in the past year, to deliver further value,” Chairman Mark Rowsthorn said at the airline’s annual general meeting in Brisbane today.

Hopfully any action taken to move into the US will cause a price war, and flights will get a little cheaper…a guy can dream right?

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Northwest Airlines Corp. said it plans to begin flying the new Boeing 787 “Dreamliner” in October 2008.

The Eagan-based carrier said Thursday that it has reached agreements with Boeing and engine maker Rolls-Royce for the delivery of 18 of the planes over three years.

Financial details were not revealed. The planes list for about $150 million apiece, though airlines typically negotiate lower prices. The airline, which is under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has not yet decided whether to buy or lease the planes.

The 787 boasts faster speeds, greater fuel efficiency and more cargo capacity. Passengers will see a new interior layout, newfangled seats, wider aisles, bigger windows, less cabin pressure and higher humidity.

Northwest, Michigan’s largest passenger air carrier, is the first North American carrier to place an order, but Chicago-based Boeing Co. says 34 airlines have ordered 432 of the planes, worth more than $68 billion.

Northwest plans to use its 787s on flights to Asia and other overseas routes. Its international fleet is now comprised largely of Boeing 747s and Airbus A330s. Its 787s will be configured to seat 36 passengers in business class and 185 in coach.

“The agreements reached with Boeing and Rolls-Royce are key accomplishments in our efforts to modernize and restructure the Northwest fleet as part of an overall plan to position Northwest for the long-term,” chief executive Doug Steenland said in a statement.

The fleet restructuring is a major component of Northwest’s plan to cut $2.5 billion in annual operating costs to return to profitability and emerge from bankruptcy in the first half of 2007.

Beth Kassab

Celebrity chefs and fancy wine lists are being snatched up by aviation executives as the latest airline accessory in the realm of plush leather seats and personal televisions. As carriers have begun to rebound from the post-9-11 slump, they are clamoring to win loyalty among customers, especially from those passengers willing to pay for premium-class services. And though airline food is not a meal most travelers look forward to, it has fast become an easy and rapidly changing vehicle for legacy and low-cost carriers alike to set themselves apart. “Now that they’re getting so incredibly competitive, everybody’s got to pull a rabbit out of the hat and come up with something,” said Michelle Bernstein, the celebrity chef of Food Network fame who has been hired by Delta Air Lines to develop entrees for its new international BusinessElite class. The airline says her meals — such as grilled salmon with sauteed Napa cabbage, shiitake mushrooms and a red wine glaze, served with a cauliflower puree — have been a hit since they debuted in August. Delta Vice President Joanne Smith said the airline has learned that “great food doesn’t cost a lot more, it’s really just how it’s prepared.” Presentation also counts for something. Bernstein’s creations are served with real flatware (except for plastic knives) on real plates — the kind that can break — versus the disposable options that have become so common. Those touches don’t go unnoticed by passengers. Internet message boards abound with self-appointed dining critics. “Dinner was excellent,” said one first-class Delta flier of a meal during a trip last March. “The presentation of the meal, the worst I’ve ever seen. Paper tablemats, paper napkins, plastic silverware (try cutting a steak with plastic utensils), and plastic wine cup. Tacky.” Comments, like that one on Airlinemeals.net, show how important the details can be as airlines struggle to establish themselves as leaders in fine dining after a long stretch of no-frills service. Delta isn’t the first to sign a celebrity chef. British Airways, Qantas, Air Canada and Air New Zealand, among others, have used big kitchen names for years. Some have toiled to perfect the special science behind successful airline food. India’s largest in-flight catering network, SAJ Flight Services, developed a menu that it says has a “healing touch” and “relieves the occurrence of flatulence, deep-vein thrombosis and other flight-induced discomforts,” according to published reports. Peter Jones, a professor at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom who teaches a course on airline food and its history, said airlines are pushing the notion that “the food on board is as good as you get in top restaurants.” “While this is so, the problem is that consuming food in an aircraft is not the same as on the ground,” Jones said. “It is not just low humidity, but also the relatively low air pressure that affects passengers digestion and taste buds.” That means that flavorful food on the ground typically tastes more bland at 30,000 feet. Bernstein said that for that reason she tasted all of her creations for Delta in the air and used a specially designed airplane oven on the ground to perfect her work. The recent spate of chef hirings and upgraded service are ways some airlines are “strategically seeking to differentiate their service, whilst others are simply competing on price,” Jones said. To keep prices down, low-cost domestic carrier AirTran Airways, for example, does not serve meals but offers complimentary beverages and snacks. The company has found that even tiny bags of pretzels are capable of sparking repeat business. But it has less to do with the pretzels and more to do with the packaging, which has become a canvas for marketing campaigns. “So the pretzel bag has instructions on how to open it and how to save money on your next flight,” AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver said. AirTran also hypes its partnerships with certain companies, such as a deal that allows passengers to test new Coca-Cola products on board — Black Cherry Vanilla Coke and Coke Zero were both given trial runs on flight attendants’ drink carts. It also promoted the opening of the new Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, where AirTran operates a large hub, by serving Stauffer’s whale-shaped cheese crackers with ads for the aquarium on the packaging. That experiment proved that decidedly unsophisticated culinary treats can also get attention. “I’m amazed at the number of people who e-mail me about where can they find the whale crackers,” Graham-Weaver said.

Seven weeks after imposing a ban on nearly all liquids in airline travelers’ carry-on bags in response to terrorism fears, US transportation officials today will begin letting passengers carry on small amounts of personal-care products, as well as drinks bought in secured zones of airports.

Starting today, travelers will be allowed to bring 3-ounce containers of health and beauty products such as toothpaste, shampoo, and lotions — but only enough to fit in a single quart-size, clear bag. Coffee and other beverages, as well as toiletries that are bought at stores between security checkpoints and airline gates, will also be permitted to be carried on .

EU security and aviation experts met on Wednesday to consider recommending stricter measures for airport security, with particular focus on hand-luggage and the threat posed by liquid explosives.

The expert meeting, which follows discussions with airline and airport officials last week, was prompted by a recent alleged plot to bomb US-bound planes from Britain in mid-flight.

British authorities announced last month that they had foiled an alleged plot to blow up US-bound airliners using liquid explosives smuggled aboard in drink bottles or other containers.

“PROUD” bosses at Manchester Airport are to throw a staff party and hand out £75,000 in gift vouchers to celebrate the way the terror alert was handled earlier this month.

Around 750 security and customer service staff will each be given a £100 gift voucher to spend at airport shops to reward their “professionalism and dedication”.

And they will be invited to a planned ‘thank you’ bash along with their families at the end of September.

Passengers faced check-in delays on August 10 after the government announced stringent new restrictions on hand luggage to tackle an alleged terror plot targeting flights to the USA.

But travellers at Manchester Airport were not as badly affected as those at Heathrow and Gatwick.

QANTAS is to test new technology allowing passengers to use their mobile phones and personal digital assistants during flights.

Company spokeswoman Lesley Grant said the three-month trial from early next year will be tested on Boeing 767 plying domestic routes.

“Qantas will be one of the first airlines in the world to offer this service,” Ms Grant said.

Ms Grant said the trial follows strong demand from customers, especially for email access by business travelers.

Protocols for using mobiles in-flight would be developed during the trial, Ms Grant said.

Until now phones have been banned because the devices can interfere with navigation equipment, with the new technology developed with Telstra, Panasonic and AeroMobile.

Air Carriers in the United Kingdom may soon be switching their “No Smoking” signs for “No Mobiles” very soon. Airlines are looking for ways to control annoying on-board cell phone chit-chat that force passengers to switch their cell phones off during take-off and landing, as well as during designated “night” periods.

This idea sounds like a great one to me! There is nothing worse than trying to get some sleep on a long flight, only to have the guy next to you talking loudly on his cell phone to his work buddy about the awesome time they had at the company retreat.

The 15,000 people who work at Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport near Montreal are really feeling the strain under the tight new security policies. Transport Canada now stipulates passengers and people who work at the Quebec airport may not take liquids, gels, or aerosols past security checkpoints.

This means that anyone who works past a security checkpoint has to settle for coffee or water from the water fountains for their lunch, something that does not make many workers very happy.

Transport Canada spokesperson Vanessa Vermette states that the rules are clear. No liquids past security checkpoints are allowed.

Transport Canada imposed a partial ban on liquids August 10 in response to a transatlantic airplane bomb plot foiled by British authorities that day.