At more than 1.58 million square feet, the new JFK terminal offers travel industry’s premier international arrival and departure facilities. The terminal

includes 84 ticketing positions, 44 Self-Service Check-In machines with both domestic and international check-in capabilities, security checkpoints capable of handling 1,800 travelers per hour, a new U.S. Customs and Immigration facility that can handle 1,600 travelers per hour, as well as a state-of-theart, in-line security baggage system to expedite passenger processing times. Other recent

improvements include two new Admirals Club® Lounges and a new Flagship Lounge® for international First Class passengers, a combined $12 million investment.

JetBlue Airways announced a partnership with Bill Me Later®, a non-credit card form of payment for customers purchasing JetBlue travel. The payment method allows customers to safely and conveniently make JetBlue travel reservations at www.jetblue.com using the innovative payment system of I4 Commerce. "We are constantly looking for new ways to enhance our customers' experience, and Bill Me Later is another great example of that," said Andrea Spiegel, Jet- Blue Airways Vice President, Sales and Marketing. "This creates the opportunity for even more travelers to fly with us and experience our award-winning customer service and in-flight amenities." "JetBlue's adoption of Bill Me Later allows travelers the ability to pay for tickets more quickly, and without entering credit card information," said Vince Talbert, vice president of marketing for I4 Commerce. "

JetBlue Airways is expected to add new daily nonstop service from Boston's Logan International Airport to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, beginning in December. The discount carrier initially will operate the flights Dec. 12 through Jan. 15 and then assess whether bookings merit year-round daily service. JetBlue is targeting the large and growing population of native Dominicans who have settled in Massachusetts

and New England. The flights will be aboard Airbus A320 aircraft, which hold about 150 passengers. They will leave Logan's Terminal C at 11 p.m. daily, and return flights from Santo Domingo will arrive at Terminal E at 7:50 a.m.

United Airlines said it would use part of a $1.2 billion capital improvements budget to upgrade in-flight entertainment on domestic flights and conduct deep cleanings of aircraft more often. The plan, which will replace VCRs with digital servers on narrow-body aircraft, aims to lure more domestic travelers. Domestic flights account for more than 60 percent of United's capacity. "There is no doubt that some of this work is overdue, and these efforts are critically important," UAL Chief Executive Glenn Tilton said. UAL previously said it would spend USD$1.2 billion -- USD$550 million in 2007 and USD$650 million in 2008 -- to upgrade seats and make other improvements to its fleet. United said it would add the digital video systems to 269 Airbus A320s and Boeing 757s as well as 20 767s and 777s.

Accepts Equity Firm Bid Midwest Air, which had been fending off hostile suitor AirTran, said it accepted a raised bid of USD$450 million from private equity firm TPG Capital and Northwest Airlines. AirTran, which had wanted to combine Midwest's hubs in Milwaukee and Kansas City with its presence on the East Coast, ended its dogged pursuit of Midwest, which began in October. "We accept the Midwest board's decision," AirTran Chief Executive Joe Leonard said in a statement. On Sunday, AirTran let a lower bid expire and said it would focus on a growth strategy that did not include Midwest. The carrier later revived its takeover plans with a higher bid on Tuesday. During the 10 month saga, AirTran raised its bid for Midwest at least four times, ultimately reaching USD$16.25 a share, and succeeded in getting three nominees elected to Midwest's board of directors. But in the end, it was unwilling to match TPG's USD$17-a-share offer.

Delta TechOps will provide component, auxiliary power unit and landing gear maintenance, along with inventory support services. Las Vegas-based Vision Airlines operates a 27-aircraft fleet that offers commercial passenger service, tour operations and charter services. "This is another example of Delta's TechOps professionals putting their highly valued skills and vast experience to good use," said Tony Charaf, senior vice president for Delta TechOps. "As the world's largest operator of 767s, Delta TechOps is perfectly positioned to perform this maintenance for Vision and our reputation for customer service and quality work continues to garner attention in the industry." Delta TechOps' customers include World Airways Inc., Air Berlin and AeroMexico.

In an announcement from last month, AirTran Airlines plans to add nonstop service between Newburgh, N.Y., and West Palm Beach starting Nov. 7. The carrier will fly one daily roundtrip flight on the route. AirTran also offers nonstop service from Newburgh to Atlanta, Orlando and Tampa. The new service will put AirTran into direct competition with low-cost competitor JetBlue, which is scheduled to resume its seasonal nonstop service between Newburgh and West Palm Beach on Nov. 1.

North West Airlines subsidiary Compass Airlines will fly new jet in September It has no middle seats, comes with a handicap-accessible lavatory and has enough room for a full-size carryon bag overhead. It also has a firstclass cabin and leather seats with adjustable headrests - the kind that keeps your head from falling over on your neighbor. If there is a downside to the new regional jet that Compass Airlines

will debut this month, it is that service to its largest hub -- Detroit -- will have to wait until January. Compass, a subsidiary of Northwest Airlines Corp., debuts the first of 36 new 76-seat Embraer 175 jets on Tuesday, with service to and from Minneapolis; Nashville, Tenn.; Omaha, Neb.; Missoula, Mont., and Dallas.

Southwest Airlines. the domesticonly discount carrier already has eclipsed American's combined domestic and international traffic during the first five months of 2007, according to a government tally. Southwest carried 40.3 million passengers on domestic routes between January and May, an increase of 4.2 percent from last year. "We're thrilled to watch our customer base grow," said Brandy King, of Southwest. who attributed the growth to the company's tradition of friendly customer service. "With so many airlines offering low fares, I think customer service makes all the difference in the world." American, owned by AMR Corp., carried 40 million passengers during the January-May period, down 1.8 percent from last

year's levels. American's international traffic for that five month period was 8.7 million, up 0.3 percent in the first five months; its domestic traffic of 31.3 million was down 2.4 percent. Last year, Dallas-based Southwest was the No. 2 airline worldwide, according to International Air Transport Association passenger traffic statistics.