American Airlines canceled only one of its dozen flights from Sea-Tac Airport today due to the grounding of 80 of its MD-80 airliners for wiring inspections.

The airline canceled its 9:50 a.m. from Seattle to Dallas-Fort Worth and routed passengers to other flights.

American MD-80

American reportedly canceled 334 flights today nationwide according to Flightstats.com to allow maintenance personnel to inspect wiring bundles connected to fuel pumps in the aircraft.

A Federal Aviation Administration inspection of American's maintenance records raised questions about whether those inspections had been carried out in accordance with FAA dictates. The airline grounded the planes for further inspections.

The FAA is reviewing airline maintenance records nationwide for compliance with its "airworthiness directives" after Southwest Airlines discovered it had not performed mandatory checks on 43 of its Boeing 737s to check for fuselage cracks.

The FAA fined Southwest $10.8 million for its foul-up. Southwest grounded those planes last week for inspections, disrupting its flight schedule across the country.

Delta Air Lines has joined United Airlines and US Airways in charging passengers extra for more than one checked bag.

Beginning May 1, Delta will charge $25 per bag beyond the first that passengers check through on its flights. High level frequent fliers and those buying business class tickets will be exempt from the new charge.

The airlines charging the extra fees will benefit two ways: Passengers may pack more economically, cutting the handling costs on the ground and extra weight of a second bag in the air. And they'll realize extra revenues from the second bag surcharges.

The charges, however, could become a competitive disadvantage if competitors fail to join in.

Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and Airbus's A380 megajet and its A400M military transport have new company in the airline penalty box.

Russia's United Aviation Co. says it may have to delay the delivery of its first Superjet 100 airliner beyond its Dec. 31 deadline.

The Superjet is an aircraft designed to carry between 75 and 95 passengers. Its first flight was scheduled for the end of last year, but has still not occurred.

UAC chief Alexei Fyodorov said the company hopes to get the twin-engine airliner flying by the end of April.

The Superjet is Russia's first new commercial jetliner since the fall of the Soviet Union.

It will replace aging Soviet jets such as the TU-134 and Yak-42 aircraft in Russian airline fleets. The company also hopes to sell the jetliner to Western airlines in addition to Russian carriers.

Boeing is now 10 months behind its original schedule to fly its first 787 Dreamliner. Airbus delivered its first 500-passenger A380 this year, some two years later than scheduled. The A400M has still to make its first flight.

If you plan to redeem your Alaska or Horizon Mileage Plan miles for a free ticket or an upgrade, do it soon.

The SeaTac-based airlines are taking down their computer system for more than a week beginning April 14. During that time, members of the airlines' frequent flier programs won't be able to:

* Redeem miles for an award ticket
* Change or reissue an award ticket
* Request mileage credit for prior travel
* Request a mileage upgrade online
* Access Gold or MVP seating online
* Check your mileage balance
* Buy, transfer or donate miles
* Enroll in the mileage plan
* Purchase or renew an Alaska boardroom membership

The computer outage won't affect members' ability to fly on previously issued tickets or to earn miles, the airlines said.

The airlines are shutting down the computer system to perform a major update, they said. The system is expected to be restored by April 22.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Seattle-based port terminal operator SSA Marine plans to study the bid documents for a new $4 billion seaport in Mexico.

SSA Marine develops and operates marine terminals around the world.

You might recognize as the company that partnered with the Puyallup Tribe of Indians to build a new shipping terminal on the Blair Waterway in Tacoma's Tideflats.

The Mexican government is preparing to open bidding on a new port seaport, located on the Baja Peninsula, that some say could eventually rival the ports of LA and Long Beach.

Here's the LA Times story:

Mexico's government is preparing to open bidding on the largest infrastructure project in the nation's history, a $4-billion seaport that could transform this farming village into a cargo hub to rival the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

If completed as planned by 2014, the port would be the linchpin of a new shipping route linking the Pacific Ocean to America's heartland. Vessels bearing shipping containers from Asia would offload them here on Mexico's Baja peninsula, about 150 miles south of Tijuana, where they would be whisked over newly constructed rail lines to the United States.

The massive development, which is to be privately funded, is attracting interest from heavyweights such as Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu. The world's second-richest man is part of a consortium planning an "aggressive" run at the project, according to Miguel Favela, general director of Mexican operations for cargo terminal operator MTC Holdings of Oakland.

Favela said MTC had teamed up with Slim's IDEAL infrastructure company and Mexican mining and railroad giant Grupo Mexico in an effort to nab the 45-year concession.

Mexico's transportation secretariat will release the request for proposal in June and hopes to select a winner by summer 2009, Subsecretary Manuel Rodriguez Arregui said in an interview earlier this month.

=> Read more!

From the Associated Press:

BOSTON — Starbucks has been sued in Massachusetts by a former barista who says the coffee giant wrongly required him to share tips with shift supervisors.

The lawsuit comes five days after a California judge considering a similar case ordered the company to pay baristas in that state $100 million in tips and interest.

In the suit filed Tuesday, 18-year-old Hernan Matamoros claims Starbucks violated a state law that prohibits supervisors from sharing tips reserved for waiters, bartenders and other employees paid below the minimum wage. He worked as a barista at a store in Boston.

Matamoros sued on behalf of thousands of baristas who have worked at Starbucks stores in Massachusetts over the past six years.