The column: Surprising airline optimism, amidst warnings of a travel slowdown

Major airlines believe they may do quite well next year, a combination of higher fares, reduced capacity, "a la carte" pricing and lower fuel costs. But will a downturn in business travel undercut the recovery? The Winging It column today takes a closer look, and can be found here.

Wall Street analysts also are more optimistic than they have been recently about airlines stocks, but warn that a spike in fuel prices is still a threat.

Adding to the mixed picture is a view from the Chicago area about the business-travel outlook for 2009. Here's a Chicago Tribune story about that.