Airlines are announcing ever more sweeping changes daily to cut costs in the face of huge fuel price increases.

American Airlines, which just last week announced a $15 fee on the first checked bag, announced this week it is cutting more flights from its schedule including flights from Chicago to Buenos Aires and from Boston to San Diego.

Meanwhile in Minneapolis, Sun Country Airlines today announced 10 percent pay cuts for managers. That move comes just six weeks after the airline laid off 125 workers.

And Phoenix-based Mesa Airlines said in a court filing that it faces possible bankruptcy if the court allows Delta Airlines to terminate a contract with the regional carrier for flights Mesa operates as DeltaExpress.

The Olympia Brewery is once again for sale. Well, sort of.

Rather than post a set asking price, broker Colliers International in Olympia is asking for proposals for the Tumwater site, which comprises 890,000 square feet.

Schmidt, Pabst, Miller – several beers beyond the Olympia brand have been bottled at this Thurston County brewery, and so has the artesian water itself. The main building was built in 1903, and Troy W. Dana, Colliers senior vice president and managing director, says the site, with its “rich history and economic potential, has a wide variety of possibilities for future development.”

A brewery perhaps. Or maybe another I-5 water park.

In a move sure to reignite trans-Atlantic fighting over aircraft manufacturing subsidies, Boeing rival Airbus has told European governments it needs $18.2 billion in launch aid for its new A350XWB airliner.

The A350XWB is the European planemaker's answer to Boeing's popular composite-bodied 787 Dreamliner.

Boeing and Airbus are already in a fight before the European Union over prior subsidies.

Boeing says such launch aid violates agreements between the U.S. and Europe, but Airbus counters that Boeing itself receives illegal subsidies from states and the federal government.

In Europe, launch aid typically takes the form of state-sponsored loans to pay the development costs of new airliners.

Those loans are paid back if the plane is successful. The state aid, however, allows Airbus to take on a risky program without having to satisfy bankers that the gamble will be profitable.

A delicate twist to the new request this time is what the governments will require Airbus to do in return. The European company is already at a financial disadvantage to Boeing because of the relatively high cost of the Euro, and it has embarked on a program to cut costs.

Part of that program is to move production of the A330 Freighter to a new plant in Alabama and production of some A320 airliners to China.

The governments, typically make the launch loans on the premise that their generosity will ensure that high-paying aerospace jobs will remain and grow in Europe.

Maybe you’ve got a grocery store, or a cafe. Maybe you own a convenience store. Whatever your business, you may have noticed that energy costs have been going up.

Here’s a way to help them go back down.

Tacoma Power has announced a program called EnergySmart – offering incentives to business owners who want to reduce energy consumption and costs.

The program provides a free energy analysis, plus financial incentives for those who upgrade their existing refrigeration and lighting to use more energy-efficient models. A customized report outlines potential energy savings, rebate amounts, retrofit costs and simple paybacks.

Tacoma Power typically takes responsibility at least 20 percent of the cost for any of the recommended upgrades, and may cover more.

Tacoma Power says that retailers who have participated in this program in other utility service areas have reported energy cost savings of up to $2,000 per month, per store.

All of Tacoma Power’s commercial customers with refrigeration equipment can participate in the EnergySmart program. For more information, visit www.energysmartonline.org or call 800-230-9420.

US Airways, the Arizona-based airline that until recently was thinking about a merger with United, is eliminating free in-flight snacks beginning June 1.

The airline won't say how much money this move will save, but with airlines scrambling for new savings and revenues to pay fuel bills, every buck helps.

So, if you can't endure a few hours without something passing through your lips, buy a bag of pretzels, chips or a piece of fruit at the airport before you jump aboard one of US Airways' Sea-Tac flights to Phoenix, Las Vegas, Philadelphia or Charlotte.

Would you like a latte with that lesionectomy? A cappuccino with your colonoscopy?

If so, then head for Puyallup next week – when Good Samaritan Hospital opens a Starbucks in the main lobby on June 2.

"We have more than 2,200 employees at Good Samaritan who are anxiously awaiting the opening of Starbucks. This is one of the many new relationships we are creating at Good Samaritan to exceed the expectations of patients and their families at a quality institution," said John Long, Good Samaritan president.”

The new outlet will offer a full range of beverages, baked goods and branded merchandise.

Initial hours will be 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Looking for that Karen Kane stretch tank at $40, or the Evian Facial Water Spray at $16.00, or maybe that Martin Dingman alligator credit card case at $195.00? If you’re going shopping at Nordstrom, now you do your buying online and pick up your merchandise at the store.

The company’s pilot project, announced last week and aptly called “Buy Online, Pick-Up In-Store,” currently features 5,669 items – from dresses to scents and shorts to shirts, with a lot in between.

“We’ve heard from our customers for some time now that they want this option and we’re excited to be able to provide it for them,” said Erik Nordstrom, president of stores, in announcing the program.

Here’s how it works. You select your item at www.nordstrom.com, pay with a credit card and then retrieve your purchase at a Nordstrom store. As an alternative, the retailer also offers shipping, should you not wish to make the trip.

Despite ongoing airline misery, higher fares and nationwide air schedule cutbacks, Sea-Tac Airport's passenger numbers remained in the positive column in April.

Those figures show that airline passenger traffic there grew by 3.47 percent, a growth rate down from prior months but still in the plus range.

For the year, passenger traffic has grown a healthy 8.27 percent at Sea-Tac.

Further statistical breakdowns show that the airport's dominant carrier, homegrown Alaska Air Group, parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, collectively owns more than half of Sea-Tac traffic, 50.71 percent.

The airport's 10 largest carriers based on passenger loads and their market shares are:

1. Alaska 35.12%
2. Horizon 15.59%
3. Southwest 9.39%
4. United 7.55%
5. Northwest 6.49%
6. Delta 4.91%
7. American 4.59%
8. Continental 3.93%
9. US Airways 3.08%
10. Hawaiian 1.67%

The big movers on the list were Southwest, which passed United to become the #3 airline at Sea-Tac; United, whose traffic fell 12.7 percent at the airport. and Delta, which passed American, which lost 8.86 percent of its traffic compared with 2007's first four months.