Amid grumblings from the airline industry, complete with claims of free-speech rights infringements, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is moving forward with the implementation of rules that will force airlines to show the total cost of airline tickets – fees, taxes and all – in their advertised fares.

As the EU adds the airline industry to its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), the airlines are fighting back, sort of. The message: Stop, before somebody [meaning passengers] gets hurt. In the wallet, that is.

Airlines in the U.S. faced new passenger protection rules in 2011 and more will come next year. After successfully convincing the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to delay implementing some rules until 2012, they are once again asking for more time.

We already know about the increasing number of airline fees for baggage, amenities, seat assignments and ticket changes. But airlines are not the only ones to take a piece of your ticket price. Airports do it too, and in the UK there is a growing call by airlines to repeal the Air Passenger Duty (APD) imposed on flights originating from UK airports.

Depending on what generation of aircraft we grew up with, comfort, speed, reliability and efficiency were all debates many of us had about the features of aircraft from Lockheed Constellations to Vickers Viscounts to DC-10s to Boeing 787s. Yet, no matter how we felt about a particular airplane, there was always a sense of loss among airplane lovers when a familiar model went into retirement. We are once again at that juncture in aviation history.

Every few months, a magazine or some other aviation-linked body issues a list of the world's best airlines. Though the categories are common – seat comfort, meals (when applicable), value and service – is there more to it than just what the passengers think?

For two years, Iberia Airlines of Spain has been trying to create a low-cost subsidiary but has faced strong opposition from its unions. Now IAG, parent company of British Airways and Iberia, has announced the creation of Iberia Express, a medium- to short-haul airline set to launch by the summer of 2012, and the unions are once again threatening action.

It's official: the long-awaited Boeing 787 "Dreamliner" now is in the hands of its first airline operator, ANA. As with the industry fervor over the giant Airbus A380's debut a few years ago, the 787 comes with new claims of comfort and efficiency. Now that Boeing has the delivered the airplane, can the 787 deliver on its promises?

What does it mean to be the biggest airline in the world? Mergers keep producing some of the world's largest carriers but being among the biggest also makes you a target of ambitious competitors.

Flying under the radar can be taken literally or figuratively. For Air Canada, the latter seems to be the modus operandi as it quietly adds a bag fee for flights to the U.S.