UPDATE; The last two days have been quite busy for me and for airline news. I was at Southwest's media day yesrterday, and will report in the column Monday detail on some of its initiatives to be a "greener airline." For now, more major carriers reported earnings for the third quarter today.

On Friday morning, here is Inquirer staffer Linda Loyd's roundup for the earnings reports.

US Airways lost $80 million in the quarter, including $50 million in red ink because of fuel hedges. We weren't able to listen this time to the regular analysts' conference call. Here's a brief report, with more to come.

Delta reported a larger loss than a year ago in the third quarter, and said would cut capacity another 3 percent. Read more here.

I am at Southwest's annual media day, and airline CEO Gary Kelly just announced that service will start next May to the new Northwest Florida Airport near Panama City. There will be at least two daily flights to four destinations to start, but Kelly didn't say what the cities will be. Tickets will go on sale in December, when the routes will be known, This is a big tourist area that now has limited airline service.

Japan Airlines has really been suffering recently and has been considering taking investments from American and Delta. A report that the Japanese government was put the final touches on a rescue plan for the carrier sent its stock up yesterday. Read more ...

ANOTHER UPDATE FROM TUESDAY MORNING AT 10 AM:

Oh joy! Readers have responded enthusiastically since Monday morning to my Winging It column about what I look for in a good hotel room. Yesterday afternoon, I had more than 25 e-mails, and half a dozen comments were posted online, all with additional aspects of what you look for when staying in a hotel.

By Tuesday morning, I had 42 responses, which is a few more than the number I have received in response to each of two columns in the last year about the possibility of allowing cell phone calls during airline flights.  I knew readers held strong opinions about that topic, and now I know a lot more about how hotels retain your business.

Please consider posting your comments as part of the blog entry you see for the column, three items below this one. Thanks for the help, and I will write another column in coming weeks on the suggestions that readers had that I didn't think of or have room for. 

Over the last 18 months or so, in the Winging It column and on this blog, articles and reports have been posted about the increase in U.S. airlines sending their aircraft to foreign countries for heavy maintenance and overhaul. How well the work is being done is an open question, as is FAA oversight of the foreign repair stations. Today, a fresh take on the story was broadcast on National Public Radio and you can listen or read the transcript here.