Delta Expects Profits to Rise.

Delta Air Lines the No. 1 U.S. carrier by sales, said in a regulatory filing that revenue and profit should rise this quarter, aided by stronger business travel and expansion of its number of flights to New York.

But it said it expects to record losses from fuel hedging due to declining oil prices and charges for staff cuts.

Southwest to offer Live TV

 Southwest Airlines plans to sell live television service on five planes and expand it to more aircraft by mid-July.

The airline said Thursday that it would offer seven sports and news channels for passengers to watch on their own devices.

Southwest said it will test prices from $3 to $8 during a trial period. Passengers will need a Wi-Fi-enabled device such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop computer.

Live TV will be offered separately from wireless Internet access and customers won’t have to buy Internet access to watch TV.

The Southwest channels: NBC Sports, MLB (Major League Baseball), NFL Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News and Fox Business News.

Southwest hired Row 44 to provide the service, which the airline plans to expand to 20 planes by mid-July. Southwest said that if the service is successful, it will be added to all the airline’s Wi-Fi-enabled planes by the end of the year.

The airline has about 550 Boeing 737 jets including about 250 with Wi-Fi. It plans to outfit 70 percent of its fleet by the end of 2013.

Airlines have been expanding in-flight entertainment options such as Internet access to distinguish themselves from other airlines that often sell tickets for about the same price.

JetBlue Airways and Virgin America have offered live TV programming on seat-back screens for several years at no extra fee. They provide 36 and 18 channels, respectively. Frontier Airlines sells 25 channels of live satellite TV on its larger planes for $6, with elite-level frequent fliers getting it free. United charges $6 for flights under two hours and $8 for longer ones but hasn’t outfitted its entire fleet.

Separately, Delta Air Lines said Thursday that it will offer Internet access on international flights beginning early next year. Delta’s entire domestic fleet is already outfitted for Wi-Fi, but airlines have been slower to add the service on overseas routes partly because they need satellites to get a signal over the middle of the ocean, not the land-based transmission signals often used within the U.S.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

EasyJet Founder Starts New Airline

A new budget airline backed by EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou will soon take to the African skies, promising to bring low-cost flights to millions of people in the continent.

Dubbed Fastjet, the no-frills carrier is expected to launch in three to four months, aiming to cash in on Africa's robust economic growth and a growing appetite for travel by its burgeoning middle class.

American Airlines asks for more time

The parent company of American Airlines may get more time to present a turnaround plan in federal bankruptcy court. AMR Corp. said Friday that a committee of unsecured creditors agreed to support a three-month extension for AMR’s exclusive right to offer a restructuring plan. 

Singapore Clings to the Luxury Mantle

Tony Fernandes, the flamboyant chief executive of budget airline AirAsia, joked last month that he could buy Singapore Airlines and even displayed an artist's impression of his competitor's plane painted in AirAsia colours.

It was a tongue-in-cheek jab, but one that struck at a painful truth for Singapore Airlines The company has stuck to its luxury image even as low-cost carriers picked off passengers in a weak global economy, and profits have suffered.

The airline reported an unexpected loss in the January-March quarter, its first since the tail end of the global financial crisis in 2009 which crushed global air travel. Its shares are down 29 percent in the past 12 months, while AirAsia's  are up 10 percent.

UK Airlines Join Forces To Force Govt Action

 Britain's aviation industry said the government needs to come up with a clear, long-term policy to address capacity issues at its main airports, or face the prospect of falling further behind European rivals.

Britain will launch a consultation document on aviation next month, with Ferrovial-owned BAA  expected to lobby again for a third runway at Heathrow Airport, which it operates.

A group made up of BAA, British Airways-owner IAG  Virgin Atlantic, Manchester Airports Group, the Trades Union Congress and the Chamber of Commerce said on Monday the government should implement a new policy immediately, and not rule out options favoured by the industry, such as a third runway.

Put Oxygen Back In The Can Says FAA

The government is giving airlines more than three years to restore emergency oxygen to aircraft lavatories, although safety advocates say that's too long to be without the potentially life-saving supplies.

WiFi on Japan's Main Airlines.

JAL will start offering Wi-Fi from July 15 on flights between Tokyo and New York, it said. A one-hour plan will cost US$11.95, while 24 hours of access will cost US$21.95. The Wi-Fi will be offered for free through September for first class and other elite passengers.

The service will be offered on the New York route every other day until Aug. 5, then on every flight. In late August, Wi-Fi will be expanded to flights from Tokyo to Los Angeles and Chicago, and in October flights to Jakarta will also get access.

American Airlines Staff Seek New Talks

Flight attendants and mechanics at American Airlines want to resume contract talks as a deadline nears for a federal judge to rule on whether the airline can impose its own terms on workers.

Separately, the pilots' union board was meeting Tuesday to reconsider whether to let members vote on American's final contract offer.

Tuesday's developments raised the prospect that American could negotiate voluntary cost-cutting deals with all three of its labor unions, which seemed unlikely just a week ago.

MD83 of American Airlines Makes Emergency Landing

Leaking oil forced an American Airlines plane to make an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Airport officials said the pilot noticed the leak shortly after taking off from Raleigh for Chicago around 8:15 a.m. Sunday. The first attempt at an emergency landing was scrapped, but the pilot brought the plane down safely as emergency crews stood by on the second attempt. Authorities say none of the 138 passengers on the MD-83 jet were injured.

Ryanair warn of low profits

Ryanair Holdings Plc  Europe’s biggest discount airline, predicted earnings will fall this year as a slowing European economy prevents it from increasing fares sufficiently to make up for surging jet-fuel costs.

Net income rose 25 percent to 502.6 million euros ($643 million) in the 12 months to March 31, Ryanair said today in a statement. That figure may slip to between 400 million euros and 440 million euros this year, the Dublin-based company said.

The April issue of New York's premier queer monthly publication is out now, loads of features inside, including, Abby Dees is a Los Angeles based civil rights attorney-turned-author, speaker, syndicated columnist and IMRU radio host. Abby wrote the book Queer Questions Straight Talk to help bridge the communication gap between the LGBT and straight communities.   Ruthie Alcaide has appeared on MTV’s Real World Hawaii, and The Challenge programs. She’s now a college lecturer.

There is also a page dedicated to gay writer and broadcaster,  Jason Shaw!

Check out the April issue of Diversity Rules Magazine featuring Abby Dees and Ruthie Alcaide at http://www.diversityrulesmagazine.com

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The Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies Of All Time book launched

Hey, it's been a short while, but at last the first of a series of books from me is out,  The Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies.

Following on from extensive research, watching, calculating and a veritable avalanche of emails the cogitation and compilation is complete and it's now time to unveil the final Top 50 of those wonderful gay movies that hold some sort of influence over us.

Available in printed from at £6.99 

Also available in a digital form exclusive to Amazon Kindle  

This is an exciting time for me and I sincerely hope you will enjoy this comprehensive guide to the most influential gay movies of all time.

All top 50 movies have a full review, complete with synopsis and sometimes some reader/viewer comments and suggestions -  maybe yours is included?

Presented in a clear and easy to understand way, this really is designed to be an  gentle first insight into those special gay movies that have helped shape our emotions and our society.