Best Buy executive Armando Alvarez was hosed last Monday when he was denied boarding onto a United flight from Washington Dulles to Connecticut because he was wearing a tracksuit. He showed up for his flight and upgraded his seat at the counter from coach to first, using miles. Once it was time to board, an employee stopped him at the gate and reprimanded him for his dress, saying he was not dressed appropriately for first class and was denied entry, and ultimately, his flight. "I was humiliated," Alvarez is quoted as saying to FOX 5 reporter Will Thomas following the incident. "I was embarrassed and when some of the passengers were boarding behind me they said, 'Hey, what just happened?' And I said the agent just said I wasn't properly dressed to go in first class today. And they said, 'Was he kidding?' I said obviously not because I'm boarding and not getting in first class."

In an unprecedented move, Expedia has dropped their phone fee, which is great news for those of us with complicated flight booking needs, or those of us who just prefer to actually talk to someone instead of clicking through a website. As of yesterday, the $20 fee to speak with a real, live agent has been dropped completely. This gives Expedia an edge in both customer service and in cost. Not only can you talk to someone live, it's now going to be cheaper to go through Expedia because most airlines charge ridiculous booking fees over the phone.

This guy either has the worst luck in the world, or he's part of an elaborate scheme to continue making hit videos. David Carroll, of the popular United Breaks Guitars YouTube video series -- wherein he sings, polka-style, about United Airlines breaking his $3,000 guitar --has gotten the short end of the stick once again, this time with United losing his luggage. Carroll was on his way to Denver to give a speech about customer service when his luggage was lost. Quite a coincidence.

Those of you who already Twitter-savvy might know about the deals beginning to seep into the newsfeeds of big corporations. Companies are tweeting out last-minute deals and steals in all arenas. JetBlue and United have decided to give it a go and are tweeting out special deals to those that follow them on Twitter. The airlines are giving out seats on less-than-full planes for unbelievable deals; see JetBlue's "Cheeps," i.e. $9 fares from JFK to Nantucket. The deals are usually dispersed on a Monday, giving followers about eight hours (or as long as there are seats) to book a flight for the next weekend.

With all the cuts and slashes in service in the airline industry, it's no surprise getting a bite to eat in-flight is as rare as getting an entire row to yourself. Meals have been cut for flights under three hours, and on the magical three-to-six-hour flights, there's no particular standard. Over on Virgin America, it'll cost you upwards of $9 for a (decent) fruit and cheese plate, while on JetBlue, they bombard you with free chips, cookies, and Dunkin' Donuts coffee (I always want hot chocolate to appear on the menu, but it hasn't happened yet). Beyond those two airlines (and Continental) though, it's not likely you'll run into anything worth sticking your fork into on a domestic flight.

The idea of an airline "fat tax" for heavy passengers is making the rounds again. This time, United Airlines is taking a decidedly anti-robust stance. The policy, which is a little convoluted, says that if (and only if) there is enough room (har) to seat the larger passenger next to an empty seat, they will. However, if the flight is full, the passenger needing "extra space" will have to pay for said extra space by way of purchasing another ticket. If the flight is full, how can they buy another ticket? Anyway, how do you know if you're too big?

United Airlines is pulling the plug on their customer service call center in India, effectively cutting off all hope of actually talking to someone on the phone when you've got beef with UA. The service center will be shuttered as of April, and UA is already working to erase all traces of the phone number from their site and all company publications. The way they're spinning this move?

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.

NBC travel correspondent Peter Greenberg is predicting bankruptcy for United Airlines. He says they are being "devalued by the hour." Perhaps he's capitalizing on the widespread panic brought on by the more high profile bankruptcies of late, or perhaps he's predicting the future. Some in the travel industry do not agree: "Having been a travel agent 30 years -- I find most of what Peter Greenberg says to be incorrect," says one commenter on Budget Travel. Even if it survives, UA's hardly alone among troubled domestic airlines. Time to start cashing out those frequent flier miles.