By Catharine Hamm, Los Angeles Times

If you're hoping to book airline tickets for your summer vacation, you may be feeling some extra pain in your pocketbook. A trifecta of factors is playing havoc with airline ticket prices ($1,400 round-trip from LAX to London's Heathrow? Really?) and pinching penny-pinchers' budgets.

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• Travel experts share bargain-hunting tips

By Catharine Hamm, Los Angeles Times

Question: On Jan. 17 I booked four round-trip, nonstop tickets on United to take my 80-year-old mother and my two children to Philadelphia to visit family. I was recently notified by email that our flights had been changed to include a stop, a change of planes and several hours of increased travel time on both legs of the trip. I called United and was given the option of a refund or of flying on United with the new flight and a $75 travel voucher. Neither of these solutions is acceptable. I booked United because the ticket was about $220 less than US Airways, another option. Buying new tickets will cost me about $900 more. I asked United to arrange for me to fly on US Airways. Is that possible?

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• On the Spot: What's the culprit in jet lag?

By Catharine Hamm, Los Angeles Times

Question: The question in On the Spot about Greece's ability to weather its financial crisis ["Greece's Reality," Feb. 5] prompts this question about the consequences of American Airlines' bankruptcy: Two months ago, I bought a round-trip ticket from L.A. to New York City on American for next month. Now I hear that American will slash thousands of jobs and restructure, so is it likely that hundreds of flights will be canceled and I will be forced to wait at airports for hours?

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• On the Spot: How will Greece's economy affect tourists?

• On the Spot: Walking stick won't be flying in carry-on baggage

By Catharine Hamm

Question: Why won't some airlines allow me to select my seat in advance?

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By Catharine Hamm, Los Angeles Times

Question: I traveled out of San Francisco this summer. My flight was supposed to take me to Chicago, where I would connect to my flight to Munich, but it was delayed, so a United agent booked me on a nonstop Lufthansa flight instead. My two children and I had two bags each. I have United elite status so there was no bag fee, but when we checked into Lufthansa, we were told we would have to pay for the second bag. Suddenly, I had $210 in bag fees. I can't seem to get United to refund this. Can you help?

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• On the Spot: Eardrum assault at 30,000 feet

• On the Spot: Travel buddy can ensure elderly mom's safe trip

By Chris Erskine

It's a Thursday evening, and the landing lights of incoming LAX flights glow like torches from Westchester to the San Gabriels. Torch one, 200 lives suspended in air. Torch two, 500. Torch three, 350 awaiting their return to loved ones, bosses, business meetings, auditions and, for many, the soul-saving comfort of their own pillows.

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• 25 things about LAX

• Los Angeles International Airport

By Catharine Hamm

Question: I took a trip to Las Vegas last month on Spirit Airlines. The tickets were expensive, but I didn't have time to book ahead of time. What upset me, though, is that the airline charged me $40 each way for carry-on luggage, which was stored overhead. Isn't this an abuse by the airline?

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• On the Spot: Getting to downtown Paris from the airport

By Catharine Hamm

Question: I would like to know when is the best time to go to Dubai and when it's best to get tickets for a vacation like this one.

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• If an airline downgrades your ticket, you have recourse

• On the Spot: Avis fee for extra driver varies, is hard to explain

By Jane Engle

An American in Paris today may feel like the poet Rodolfo in the opera "La Bohème" — so romantic, so impoverished. A mediocre hotel room in the City of Light can cost $200 a night. Lunch can eat up $30. Summer transatlantic fares can run $2,000 round trip.

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• More for Your Money: The quest for transparent airline fees

• Travel Insider: Don't take a vacation from Internet security

By Chris Erskine

The safety net at LAX became significantly smaller last week when the city of Los Angeles, which operates the airport, ended a $400,000-a-year relationship with the Travelers Aid Society and absorbed the management of the volunteers who run and staff the information booths.

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• Getting around Southern California's airports

By Jay Jones

It's not easy to get a mental picture of the world's largest building. But tour guides at Boeing Co.'s aircraft assembly plant in Everett do their best by using some mind-blowing imagery. At 98 acres, its footprint is as big as 75 football fields — which makes it larger than Disneyland.

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• Boeing factory tour information

• Interactive: Building the 787 Dreamliner

By Jane Engle

On May 1, 1961, Inez Harlow flew into the history books.

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• Airline travel then and now

• Prototype security system

Hugo Martín

If you've had a laptop computer lost or damaged during security screening at Los Angeles International Airport, you are not alone.

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By Mary Forgione

From New York to San Francisco, and as far away as London, American Airlines and American Eagle employees have sponsored airport bake sales to raise money for relief efforts to Japan. And 16,000 members of the airline’s AAdvantage rewards program made contributions to the American Red Cross in exchange for bonus miles. As of last week, American said it had raised $1.64 million from its workers and customers.

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