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For those of you who had paid the high price to get through airport security faster via Clear lanes, then only to be disappointed when the company behind the program went bankrupt last year, there’s good news now! Alclear, LLC has bought out Verified Identity Pass Inc., the original company that owned the Clear security lane system.

The program is set to return to major airports this fall. It’s not certain whether or not that will include all airports that originally supported the fast-track system; it might just be a roll-out process for now. But busy and interested travelers can apply for the program starting some time this summer.

To refresh your memories, Clear is based on a biometric identification platform, allowing customers to speed through thanks to a secure membership card embedded with a chip. Sure, there are some other elite amenities, but really, the point is that everyone just wants to get through security faster. But the price of belonging to this special program separates economy-class from the business and first-class passengers right off the bat, with membership costing either a flat fee of $179.00 per year unlimited use or $229.00 for an unlimited family plan for one year.

While I’d love to make it through security and into that Duty Free shop faster, I think I’d rather save that money for another plane ticket.

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After weeks and months of negotiations, United Airlines and Continental Airlines are set to merge following approval from each airline’s board. Really, it’s United buying out Continental, as The New York Times reports that UAL will “issue 1.05 shares for each Continental share, valuing the acquisition at $3.17 billion.”

The United Airlines name will stay, but so will a lot of Continental’s top execs. In effect, if everything goes to plan and works out by the end of the year (i.e. should they receive approval from respective labor unions, the Justice Department, etc.), it will make United Airlines the biggest carrier on the planet. With their powers combined, the match made in the skies would retain over 20 percent of the domestic market share and 6-7 percent internationally. (Sorry, Delta. Your supreme reign of the friendly skies is over.)

US Airways was originally in talks to merge with United last month, but that negotiation eventually collapsed. Now the poor carrier is all alone, left to fend against the low-fare carriers by itself. Will they regret it?

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While the most of the world will be celebrating Labor Day tomorrow, everyone flying domestically on May 1 should know that Saturday has been declared “Bring Your Own Blanket” Day.

Founded by CrazyAirlineFees.com, the “holiday” is in response both to Spirit Airlines’ decision to charge for carry-on bags and also American Airlines will begin charging $8 for pillows and blankets tomorrow. You could buy your own set at Target for that amount, and it would probably be prettier and more comfortable.

While it might seem like something spawned from a twisted sense of humor, there is a point, which is that all of these in-flight fees are getting to be a bit ridiculous. To AA’s credit, they’re not the first airline to charge for a pillow and blanket bundle, as JetBlue, Virgin America and US Airways already do this. Some others did away with blankets altogether after the H1N1 madness, such as Southwest. In fact, Delta Airlines is reportedly the only airline that still doesn’t charge Economy-class passengers for such a frill. Wonder how long that will last.

Will you bring your own pillow and blanket tomorrow if flying tomorrow? And if so, is that because you don’t want to pay the fees or you don’t like the idea of sharing blankets (even though they’re washed regularly)?

Marseilles, France. October 2009. Photo: Rachel King.

France’s southern coastline is known for beautiful beaches and lovely weather. If you’re looking for a relaxing vacation in the south of France this summer, Marseilles should not be your final destination.

While Marseilles, being the second most-populated metropolitan area in France, is worthy of a visit and an easily accessible city, it’s not France’s best. (It also didn’t help that I went when the garbage department was on strike, although I’m not sure the city would have been much cleaner otherwise.)

Getting There: Marseilles is one of the biggest hubs in France, with a major TGV (high-speed rail) station, buses to many local cities and an international airport, served by many airlines including Air France, Ryanair and easyJet.

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While most of the focus on the travel woes stemming from the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud seems to be very Euro-centric, there are plenty of stranded passengers in major cities across America. And businesses are picking up on this quickly. While the airspace ban is slowly easing today, it’s going to be some time before everyone makes it home safely granted passengers who were grounded are going to be behind those who are already booked on future flights.

The majority of those stranded passengers are most likely at one of New York City’s three major international airports. Thus, the NYC Tourism Board has already set up a lengthy list of deep discounts, including  hotels offering a 15% discount on rooms, airport shuttles also offering 15% off and free/discounted admission to several museums with a copy of your sad and useless transatlantic plane ticket.

Over on the Pacific Coast, there’s plenty of passengers who were planning on a grueling 12-13 hour direct flight to Europe only to be forced to spend another grueling week in California. (Maybe that’s not so bad. After all, this is the perfect excuse for extra vacation time.) Thus, San Francisco’s Orchard and Orchard Garden Hotel are offering an “ash rate” at $75 per night for travelers grounded thanks Iceland’s greatest wonder since Björk: Eyjafjallajokull. For SF, that’s a steal, and you should hope this ash business lasts longer to take advantage.

Have you spotted any other ash-related deals out there?