Delta Air Lines passengers will soon be able to charge their phones and order in-flight meals while waiting at the gate at some airports across the country. A new iPad food ordering system from OTG Management is being tested at New York’s John F. Kennedy (JFK) and LaGuardia (LGA) airports. Apple iPad kiosks have been installed for passengers to select gourmet meals that will be delivered to them by an OTG server. Two recharging stations, each featuring six standard, 110-volt outlets and two USB ports, will be available at Delta gates in 19 U.S. airports beginning early next year. Passengers will also be able to charge smartphones and mobile devices on recharging pads in all domestic Delta Sky Club locations.

Gogo Inflight Internet is available on all Wi-Fi enabled laptops or mobile devices once the plane is in flight and electronics are allowed to be used. Go to freeholidaywifi.com for more information.

Airline fees are certainly helping to turn around the industry’s finances. The nine largest airlines together made $1.86 billion in profits on $31.7 billion in revenue during the three-month quarter that ended June 30 this year. Delta Air Lines posted the biggest numbers, earning $467 million in profit, its biggest quarterly profit in a decade. The BTC isn’t asking for fees to be eliminated; that’s the new business model. It just wants fees to be more transparent to the traveler. Airline fees can be particularly irritating to frequent travelers such as meeting planners. The fees can really add up, and they make it difficult for organizations or corporate travel managers to correctly budget for travel expenses when their employees head out of town, as noted by The New York Times. Rejuvenate also reported earlier this year how planners feel about the “most annoying fee” according to the BTC survey: carry-on baggage charges.

Southwest requires passengers to book a second seat if they are unable to lower both armrests or compromise any portion of adjacent seating. American and United use three tests: inability to fit into a single seat, put the armrests down or properly buckle the seatbelt with a seatbelt extender. Delta Air Lines doesn’t list its criteria but allows employees latitude in making decisions based on the safety of a flight and the best interests of the passenger.

The price for a second seat varies on airlines based on discounts, refunds and upgrades. But the most important factor influencing the cost of a second seat is availability and whether or not a flight is oversold.

According to TripAdvisor’s Second Annual Air Travel Survey of more than 3,200 U.S. respondents, “Seventy-four percent think passengers of size should be required to purchase tickets for two seats on flights. Twenty-one percent of travelers think that airlines will add passenger of size fees in 2010.”

The Charleston Area CVB began a massive rework of charlestoncvb.com in 2009 and is currently in the first phase of the project. The first phase of the Web site is designed to lay the foundation for future enhancements and achieve overarching goals including improving its business listings database, navigation and structure and its ability to create revenue opportunities.

If your organization wants to remember or revisit the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Dream,” the touchstones of the civil rights movement now welcome visitors eager to learn more about one of the most fascinating periods in U.S. history. A new Web site, civilrightstravel.com, helps visitors plan trips to such moving places, many now preserved as museums and memorials. It includes videos, hotel and restaurant recommendations, and links to an audio tour and map. The site was founded by award-winning journalist and Connect contributor Larry Bleiberg, former travel editor of The Dallas Morning News.

Positively Cleveland is revealing a redesign for positivelycleveland.com on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 1 p.m. The site features online staffers available to instantly answer questions about the destination via a LiveChat feature to suggest itineraries. The destination marketing organization’s site’s last major overhaul took place in 2007.