(Source: Reuters – UK)

US Airways Group (LCC.N) on Monday said it would stop charging for nonalcoholic drinks in its coach cabin, a practice that drew the ire of customers and put the airline at a competitive disadvantage.

US Airways’ retreat from the fee also may show that there is a limit to how far cash-strapped carriers can push travelers who have suffered fee after fee for items and services that once were complimentary.

Starting March 1, US Airways will no longer charge for in-flight soda, juice, tea, water and coffee. But the airline said it remains committed to its so-called “a la carte” model, which is now common throughout the industry.

“US Airways was the only large network carrier to charge for drinks, and that put us at a disadvantage,” Chief Executive Doug Parker said in a statement.

( Via www.stamfordadvocate.com)

Proposals could generate up to $45 billion over 30 years

HARTFORD — Some options for electronic tolls to raise money to improve roads and to reduce congestion would raise billions of dollars. But they also could backfire by souring the state’s business climate and driving traffic onto local streets, consultants told state transportation officials.

A $5 toll on all traffic crossing Connecticut’s borders could produce $19.5 billion over 30 years that could be used for highway and transit improvements, but it would result in an undetermined number of cars pouring onto local streets to elude tolls, Jeffrey Buxbaum, a consultant with Cambridge Systematics, told a packed hearing of the Transportation Strategy Board on Thursday morning.

“There would be significant economic impacts and environmental impacts,” Buxbaum said.

Board members heard a presentation at the Capitol on the final results of a $1 million report by Cambridge Systematics on the feasibility of reintroducing tolls on Connecticut’s highways.

While a copy of a PowerPoint presentation by the firm was distributed Thursday, the full report of several hundred pages was given only to Transportation Strategy Board members.

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