Hurt by an autumn strike and shrinking airline demand, Boeing Co.'s passenger jet deliveries fell 15 percent in 2008, ensuring that archrival Airbus retained its rank as the world's top plane maker.

A wave of fare sales has spread across the airline industry in the early days of the new year as the weak economy continues to put pressure on carriers to fill seats even after they drastically reduced capacity and some expressed willingness to cut more.

American Airlines said Monday that traffic fell 8.2 percent in December compared with the year-earlier month, with both domestic and international business slowing.

Goldman Sachs upgraded shares of Continental Airlines Inc. on Monday and raised price targets on several other airline stocks, but lowered its target for Southwest Airlines Co.

Several of the nation's largest airlines have joined in a lawsuit to block stronger federal rules on crew rest during the longest international flights.

The pilots' union at Continental Airlines Inc. said Wednesday they have reached tentative agreements on parts of a new contract but not on major issues including pay and benefits.

The meteoric rise and fall of the price of oil was the story for the airline industry for much of 2008, but as the year that brought big losses and hefty stock declines for many carriers drew to a close the erosion of demand for seats due to the recession was the main headline.

Northwest Airlines, due to poor market conditions in light of the weakened global economy, is the latest carrier seeking to delay or cut back long-coveted U.S.-China service.

Southwest Airlines is still negotiating with the Federal Aviation Administration over alleged safety violations four months after regulators gave the airline a deadline to pay a $10.2 million penalty.

A blast of snow and freezing rain knocked out power, threatened wheat crops and could ruin the last shopping weekend before Christmas as a storm moved from the U.S. upper Midwest to the country's Northeast on Friday.

U.S. airlines' on-time performance and baggage handling improved in October, and the carriers overall posted a lower rate of domestic cancellations compared to the same month a year ago, the Transportation Department said Wednesday.

Passengers on American Airlines will be able to get boarding passes electronically on their mobile phones or PDAs at some airports beginning Thursday, avoiding the need for printed passes.

Low-cost carriers top the rankings of U.S. airlines for being on-time and uniting bags with passengers, while big guys such as AMR Corp.'s American Airlines are bringing up the rear, according to a new study on airline quality.

U.S. airlines' on-time performance and baggage handling improved in September, though the carriers overall posted a higher rate of domestic cancellations compared to the same month a year ago, the Transportation Department said Friday.

The recent declines in the price of oil make airline stocks such as Delta and Continental attractive at current "fire-sale" prices, Ray Neidl, airline analyst from Calyon, told CNBC.