Airlines continue to tighten their collective belts as demand for flights steadily drops nationwide. Even with the recent decrease in oil prices, increased baggage fees, and third-quarter capacity cuts, the picture still looks fairly grim for the industry. Delta and United are considering more layoffs and more capacity cuts, Southwest is holding off on previously planned expansions, and AirTran is cutting domestic capacity 3 to 7 percent. However, lonely optimist US Airways CEO Doug Parker is predicting a resurgence in travel demands as early as January.

Big airline carriers American and United tanked in customer satisfaction rankings in 2008. More bags were lost, more flights were delayed, and more pissed-off passengers bitched about the air giants, while low-cost carriers like Southwest and Jet Blue continue to earn high marks and happier passengers. For its part, Southwest airlines plans to offer connecting service to both Canada (2009) and Mexico (2010) and is hinting about possible Caribbean travel as well. And they're in talks to partner with Volaris for Mexico flights and WestJet for Canadian flights.

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Delta has joined six other airlines intent on making you a light packer; come December 5, they're enacting a $15 fee for your first checked bag and $25 for the second. Here's a quick list of who charges what. Strangely, no one's talking about reducing these fees, despite the plummeting cost of fuel ...

Remember when travelers complained about airplane food, yet scarfed it down anyway? Now, most complaints revolve around the absence of airplane food -- or at least the absence of free airplane food. Airlines are on the ropes due to high fuel prices, and they're sticking it to customers in turn. Time.com has a brief rundown of the cheapest airlines, and I'm not talking about ticket prices. JetBlue's charging for blankets and pillows now, and US Airways just started levying fees for the simple, humble inflight (nonalcoholic!) beverage. On the plus side, econo-line Southwest doesn't charge for its famous peanuts (yet), and Virgin America still lets you check one bag for nothing. As for the most cash-strapped airlines, soon they'll charge for lifejackets in the unlikely event of a water landing.