Winging It

We're resuming normal operations today after a nine-day break to do other work. A little later, we'll be posting recent news stories we want to make sure you see. For the moment, here's an article to lighten your day, about PHL being ranked No. 1 in something. A survey says it's a good place to meet people.

The most important air-travel news we've seen this week is a report from the Government Accountability Office about "runway incursions," those times when aircraft come too close together at airports or too close to other vehicles on ramps and taxiways. This report got some national media coverage -- we saw it on the ABC network last night -- but not too much locally. So here's a full AP story.

PHL is in the report: It had about 35 incursions in the six years (federal fiscals 2001 through 2006) covered, although the vast majority at PHL were not graded as "serious," meaning two airplanes narrowly or barely avoided a collsion that could have cost many lives. Many more of the serious incursions occurred at Los Angeles International and Chicago O'Hare airports. Click on the full GAO report to learn more.

Airlines are beginning to test ways to access e-mail in flight, led by a JetBlue service scheduled to be available next week. Don't worry: This isn't expected to change the prohibition on making voice calls on cell phones in flight, a widely despised idea. Read more about what is coming here.

We take a look at how fewer airline seats for sale this winter can mean higher fares and more revenue for carriers facing higher fuel costs. Read the full story in today's print column.

Worried about global climate change? Here's something of that could be of great importance to your offspring. A major study of what America's rail network could look like in 50 years has called for investing hundreds of billions of dollars to create a better system. You may want to learn more about what a bipartisan panel of leaders recommended last week. We haven't found any comprehensive news stories by the mainstream media so you will have to see how the story was reported by organizations that advocate for better rail service. Here's a link to the National Corridors Initiative Inc. Website. Its very solid report on the study group's work is the second entry under "News items..."

Here's an update to the message below. As expected, US Airways and Delta on Tuesday issued advisories for travel from Oklahoma to Chicago, allowing for changes to restricted tickets without penalty. Stand by for further developments.. There is good news for Tuesday for PHL fliers: Arrivals and departures are better than average, above 80 percent for most of the day.

Remember last Valentine's Day, and a nasty Friday a month later at PHL? Ice pellets and freezing rain put a damper on air travel even faster than snow does, as anyone who experienced those particularly troublesome days last winter can attest. Today, an ice storm is moving across the heartland, from northern Texas northeastward to southern Michigan, Snow is falling to the north of the band of ice, and rain to the south of it. United Airlines already has issued the usual advisory about expecting delays and relaxing rules for ticket changes; other carriers will probably do the same. So be careful out there, and check on the status of your flight if you're traveling today or tomorrow.

Reading e-mail at 35,000 feet started today on one plane in JetBlue Airways' fleet. Business travelers say what they think about it in an AP story found here.

Boeing Co. says depsite early production problems, its next-generation jet, the 787 Dreamliner, remains on schedule for its first flight in early 2008 and deliveries to airlines late in the year. Read more about it here.

Congress last night had some good news for commercial airline pilots who aren't ready to retire at age 60. Legislation would raise the mandatory retirement age to 65, a sensible change to a regulation that had not been updated in decades. The FAA should have dealt with the issue years ago but was slow in rewriting the rule through its administrative process, prompting Congress to take the issue away from the agency and act itself. Read more here. And tell us what you think about allowing older pilots in good health to continue flying airliners.

For those of you who visit here before going to philly.com, here's this morning's weather report about the winter storm plowing through the region. An update on current PHL conditions and delays can be found in the links in the right-hand column to the airport, www.phl.org, and www.flightstats.com.

Lufthansa, Europe's second-largest airline, has taken a stake in JetBlue Airways. Analysts are mostly reacting favorably today to the investment and what it will do to help the discount carrier. Read more here.

PHL may have escaped a heavy hit by snow or sleet but the big winter storm still has created havoc with flight schedules today. There have been multiple cancellations and delays so make sure you check ahead with your airline if traveling tonight, or tomorrow as carriers work to recover.

This could be an important week for those concerned about flight delays at PHL. Find the Road Warrior column that was in print yesterday here

The federal government will limit flights at Newark and Kennedy airports in the New York area, starting in March, as away to try to ease congestion. Read about that here. .

At PHL, the FAA began using two of the new takeoff headings designed to speed up traffic -- the ones Delaware County residents are worried about. Fresh video on what some local residents think is posted on the www.philly.com homepage. Here is our Inquirer staff report on the first day of implementation.

The latest threat to the FAA's airspace redesign plan that affects Delaware and Gloucester county residents came from New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez. Read more here.

Like many of you, we took a long weekend, but that meant we were out of place to post the usual link to the Monday Road Warrior column. It includes news you can use about WiFi access at PHL and a ruling by a federal judge in Albany, N.Y., that could have implications for all air travelers. Read the column here.

Complaints to us about US Airways service at PHL have dropped sharply. What does it mean? Find today's column here. ,