Today’s travel briefing highlights airfare sales, safety surveys from 2007 and new laws protecting airline travelers. Although flight safety was the highest it’s ever been in 44 years, performance in the areas of customer service and passenger rights were highly questionable. In 2008 major carriers and federal agencies are working together to improve the travel experience.

Airlines to face penalty if fail to give basic facilities

“Air travelers in New York state have something to celebrate on the New Year Day as a new law, came into force, which would penalise the airlines heavily if they fail to provide adequate services to passengers stuck on the airport tarmac…”

Survey: 2007 was a good year for aviation safety

“Last year was one of the safest in aviation history, with the lowest number of crashes in 44 years, an independent watchdog said Wednesday. There were 136 serious accidents in 2007, down from 164 crashes the previous year, the Aircraft Crashes Record Office said.”

Airfare Sales: JetBlue and Skybus Ring in ‘08

“Skybus, which already offers some $10 fares, is selling lots of seats for $20.08, for travel between January 9 and the end of February. That’s a deal for one-way tickets that would normally go for $35-$75. With the right timing, that means you can get from “Boston” (Portsmouth, New Hampshire) to St. Augustine, Florida for just $52 all-in.”

Airborne Internet Might Bring Turbulence

ABC News posts an interesting article regarding the question of flight etiquette when it comes to Airborne Internet. “Seat 17D is yapping endlessly on an Internet phone call. Seat 16F is flaming Seat 16D with expletive-laden chats. Seat 16E is too busy surfing porn sites to care. Seat 17C just wants to sleep.”

Despite One Failure, Growth Is Seen in Coachless Flights

Last week we reported on the closing of Maxjet Airways. This week the New York Times discusses the coachless business market and what other airlines are doing. “Maxjet Airways, a pioneer as a discount all-business-class airline, failed Dec. 24. Is the concept that it helped invent two years ago fated to die as well? Judging from what the competition is planning, the answer is no. For one thing, the remaining three start-up carriers still flying discount-fare all-business-class routes across the Atlantic — Eos Airlines, Silverjet, and l’Avion — are all looking to expand.”