Starwood Hotels and Resorts is expanding in the Middle East with three new properties slated to open in Dubai and one in Iraq. The Sheraton in Iraq that's on the drawing board will mark the chain's re-entry to the country after 20 years.

Starwood currently operates 15 properties in Dubai, which represents the largest concentration of the company's hotel brands in a single city outside of New York City. The new properties — a St. Regis, W Hotel and Westin — will add 1,675 rooms to the city when they open in 2017.

Located on a one million square-foot property on Sheikh Zayed Road, the new hotels will have views of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa . Each will offer distinct food and beverage options, signature spas and traditional amenities you normally experience at each brand, such as the signature "St. Regis Butler Service" — a dedicated personal assistant who greets arriving guests, handles room customization requests and will even run errands outside of the hotel for guests' personal matters.

"Dubai has surged over the years as a top destination for international travelers," says Roeland Vos, president, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Europe, Africa and Middle East in a press release . "This landmark project underlines Starwood's commitment to continued growth in the region and further strengthens our long established position as one of the leading hotel operators in the Middle East."

Body scans, missed connections, fighting for overhead bin space, annoying passengers in flight — there are many things about flying that can make your head pound. But some researchers are documenting yet another kind of pain from air travel, which they call the "airplane headache."

In a paper published online in the journal Cephalalgia, Italian neurologists report on 75 people who suffer from what they describe as a "peculiar headache." It's peculiar because it tends to occur while on a plane and usually lasts less than 30 minutes. It also seems to mostly affect men, and it typically flares up during the flight's landing.

To gather up information about airplane headache, researchers gave people affected by them a written questionnaire. From these completed surveys they found that everyone described the pain as severe. The headache causes a stabbing or jabbing pain that starts suddenly usually on one side of the head. It mainly affects the area of the forehead above the eye.

Within minutes of the plane touching the ground, the headache usually goes away.

If you're flying this summer, you'll probably pay more than you did last year. And the price for a ticket to ride will likely keep rising for months to come.

Summer fares for trips in the USA are up 3 percent on average over last year and 18 percent compared with 2010, according to booking site Travelocity.

The increase is steeper for international trips, with the average ticket costing 20 percent more than it did two years ago.

Airlines will likely push prices as high as they can, fare watchers say. "I would expect about a hike attempt a month, with about half being successful," says Rick Seaney of Farecompare.com , which tracks ticket prices.

Airlines already have tried to boost fares six times this year, and three have succeeded, Seaney says. The next attempt likely will come before Memorial Day, the start of the prime summer travel season.

American Airlines' AAdvantage frequent-flier program took home more awards than any other carrier at the 2012 Freddie Awards Thursday evening.

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ncluded in American's four-Freddie award tally was the coveted "Program of the Year" title for airlines in the Americas. That ended a two-year run by the Air Canada-affiliated Aeroplan program, which did not win a single Freddie after winning five total awards in 2011 and three in 2010.

American's generous promotions throughout the past year were key to landing it in the top spot and the award gives the airline a nod from the group most critical of airlines — the passenger.

The three other finalists for "Program of the Year" in the Americas were Air Canada's Aeroplan, Delta's SkyMiles and Southwest's Rapid Rewards.

The annual "Freddie" awards recognize the world's top airline and hotel loyalty programs. The awards are determined by votes by frequent fliers and hotel patrons, recognizing six "best of" categories for both airlines and hotels in each of three global regions. The Freddies also honor the best loyalty credit cards in each of the regions.

Sheraton Hotels, in cooperation with parent company Starwood Hotels and Resorts, announced several of its flagship properties around the world will unveil $350 million in renovations.

The Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers will complete its $160 million renovation this month, where 1,780 guestrooms and suites underwent a significant expansion. The property's club lounge also saw improvements.

"As business and leisure travel continues to gain momentum, Sheraton is well positioned to meet the increased demand for high-caliber lodging with upgraded brand offerings and a line-up of freshly renovated landmark hotels in key cities across the globe," says Hoyt Harper, global brand leader for Sheraton in a press release .

If you've got a long connection at one of the major airports, step away from the fast food lines and consider dining in style.

Many airports across the country now feature deluxe and unique eateries you would find on any popular city street with quality to match.

With the help of TripAdvisor, we looked at traveler reviews of restaurants at the busiest U.S. airports and focused on those with the highest Popularity Index. We've summarized them and put together a tour of 10 of the best airport restaurants . Take a look.

Singapore Airlines is consistently rated one of the world's best airlines . From in-flight service to innovation in passenger entertainment, Singapore is highly admired by both passengers and competing airlines alike. My flight with them this past weekend supports their achievements and I offer a summary of my experience in this installment of "Road Warrior Tested."

Route: New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Frankfurt.

Aircraft: Airbus A380. This behemoth of a double-decker airplane seats 471 passengers in three classes of service — "Suites" (first class), business class and economy.

Cabin/Seat Assignment: Business Class featuring 60 lie-flat seats on the upper deck with 55 inches of pitch between rows. Each row contains four seats in a 1-2-1 configuration (single seats along the windows and two seats together in the center of the cabin) allowing every passenger direct aisle access. I had seat 14A along the port-side windows, which offered an incredible amount of privacy.

Service: Stellar. Singapore Airlines is known for their customer-centric focus and they didn't disappoint. I was greeted at the boarding door by two smiling flight attendants and they directed me up the enormous staircase, where two ground workers were ready to assist if I couldn't manage bringing my carry-on bags to the upper level.

Low-cost airlines have a penchant for poking fun at trendy news items.

Spirit Airlines last week launched a sale to Cartagena, Colombia in the wake of the Secret Service prostitution scandal. But a South African airline one-upped the ante by targeting its country's president.

South African president Jacob Zuma married his fourth wife this past weekend and the nation's low-cost carrier, Kulula Airlines, launched a "Fourth Wife Flies Free" promotion on Facebook .

"We're pleased to announce another world first with the launch of a 4thwife flies free special," reads the offer. "Inspired by regular VIP travelers with sizeable spousal entourages, the offer is open to all fourth wives when the family travels together on the Jo'burg to Cape Town route."

Southwest and AirTran frequent fliers can now put their flight credits toward travel on either carrier.

The move, announced Monday by Southwest, allows customers to convert Southwest Rapid Rewards credits into AirTran A+ Rewards credits and vice versa.

It stops short of combining the two airlines' loyalty programs. But it does provide at least some reciprocal benefits between the carriers for the first time since they closed on their merger in 2011.

The new feature is especially noteworthy for Southwest customers, who can now convert Southwest frequent-flier credits into AirTran points that can be used for flights to AirTran's international destinations in Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean. And AirTran customers can now convert their frequent-flier credits into points that can be put toward free Southwest flights.

"While the two loyalty programs remain separate for now, the ability to redeem rewards for more destinations represents an enhancement to both programs," Southwest says in a press release announcing the change.

Virgin Atlantic introduced its new "Upper Class Suite" this past weekend on a flight from London Heathrow to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. They managed to out swank themselves from the previous version of the suite with new features and other cabin comforts.

"We've re-engineered and reinvented our Upper Class Suite, creating a fabulous new onboard experience with great new features," reads the introduction on the company's webpage devoted to highlighting all the new bells and whistles.

As far as the seat itself, recline has increased up to 50 percent in the lounger configuration and it boasts 1.5 inches greater width than the previous version. In lie-flat mode, the new espresso colored leather seats provide an 87-inch bed surface, purported to be longer than any other airline offers in business class. The addition of a window built into the wall of each suite provides more light, but is opaque to allow for privacy from passengers seated in adjacent rows.