On Monday, at Big 12 media days in Kansas City, Mo, Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach told reporters that he thought DFW airport was “a confusing mess.” Connecting to Lubbock through the smaller Love Field, he said, was a better option for those hoping to interview his team’s two Heisman Trophy candidates.

As you might imagine, that comment didn’t sit too well with the folks at DFW. So airport officials sent out an open letter inviting Leach to stop by for a visit. The letter said “Your comments hit home because we’re very proud of DFW — and most of us are big time college football fans!” and went on to offer the coach and his family a complimentary flight to DFW on American Airlines, a tour of the facilities, and a steak dinner.

Coach Leach called the invitation a “thoughtful gesture” and said he might have time to stop by next December.

The Dallas News has all the details.

United Airlines and US Airways recently announced they will join American Airlines and start charging passengers to check a first bag. That means a lot more people will start packing a lot more stuff into their carry-on bags.

“Not so fast” say the airlines. They’re cracking down on over-sized carry-on bags by posting staff at the security checkpoint lines in an effort to ‘head ‘em off at the pass.’

Find out more in my Well-Mannered Traveler column on MSNBC.com.

US Airways just announced a new cost-saving measure: no more free snacks for coach passengers. Complimentary soft drinks are still on the menu, but probably not for long.

Now more than ever, travelers need a little relief.

In my Well-Mannered Traveler column today, I offer a round-up of some of the gas-rebate offers travelers can take advantage of out on the road this summer. The list includes everything from hotels offering gas rebate checks and free car washes to a car rental agency throwing in a free tank of gas.

One offer I didn’t list in today’s column is Kimpton’s “We Got Your Bag” offer. Through September 9^th, the hotel chain is offering travelers rebates of up to $25 to offset those new charges airlines are charging to check-in second bags. There are, of course, some restrictions, so be sure to read the fine print.

Through the end of June, Air France is testing cell-phone service on one of its A318 airplanes.

Passengers boarding this plane don’t know cell-phone service is available until a flight attendant makes an announcement or they look in the seat back pocket and find this laminated notice.

Um.. unless someone has taken it home as a souvenir.

On Tuesday Air France officials were in Everett, Washington to take delivery of the company’s 50^th Boeing 777-300ER airplane. The flight home to Paris had room for a few guests.

Highlights of the trip:

• A chance to see – and smell – a brand new airplane. Turns out, like new cars, new airplanes definitely have a very recognizable fresh smell.
• The chance to explore the upgraded entertainment system, with personalized instruction from one of the designers. Passengers can choose from 85 on-demand movies (I squeezed in three fresh French comedies on the flight between Washington state and Paris) and create personalized music play lists from a very extensive and somewhat eclectic list of CDs. The first screen of jazz and blues options, for example, included complete albums from John Coltrane and Ray Charles.
• By far, though, my favorite part of the entertainment system: Seatback Berlitz language classes, which provide lessons in key words and valuable phrases, such as “Somebody call the police!,” in 23 different languages.

Next time you travel through O’Hare International Airport, Chicago’s Midway International Airport or the O’Hare Air Transit System (ATS), listen up.

The Department of Aviation just launched a re-vamped overhead music program – Terminal Tunes - that features instrumental versions of songs by blues, jazz, country and classical artists who are either from the Chicago area or record for Chicago-based record labels.

That’s great news. As I wrote in a recent USATODAY.com column, there are just a few airports where local music is front and center.

Chicago’s new overhead music program replaces and old one which dated back to the early 1990’s. The new program includes a high-tech twist: artist and album information, audio samples and play list logs will be posted on the Chicago Airport System’s website, www.flychicago.com.

So if you hear a catchy tune while rushing to catch a plane, you can go on-line and track down the music. Soon, you’ll also be able to purchase Terminal Tunes CDs from shops in the airports as well.

Air France-KLM is currently testing in-flight mobile phone services on some European routes. Today the European Union (EU) announced that other airlines may offer the service as well – as long as they comply with licensing and equipment regulations and keep a lid on the cost of those high-flying calls.

Still, uh, up in the air, is the issue of in-flight phone etiquette. If the price is right, plenty of travelers will want to use the service, although one EU spokesman hopes that “some people will still use the aircraft as a moment of tranquility and not disturb other passengers.”

And who will regulate that?

Hungry, environmentally-conscious travelers at Oregon’s Portland International Airport (PDX) now have another place to drink organic beer and dine on organic meals, including the “Tree Hugger Scramble.”

Already wildly popular in Portland, the Laurelwood Public House and Brewery has just opened a second airport branch. This one is on Concourse E. The menu includes Oregon-brewed organic beers and dishes prepared with beef, chicken, pork and produce from local farmers.

It’s a good fit for PDX, which is already known as one of the most environmentally-friendly airports. In addition to an aggressive recycling program, the airport turns used cooking oil into biodiesel fuel and converts table scraps and coffee grounds into compost.

Since December 2007 Air France has been testing a service that allows travelers to use their cell phones in-flight for communication services that include SMS and e-mail, but not for voice-calls.

As of today, travelers can also use their cell-phones to make and receive voice calls – but only on one Airbus A318 that’s used for various routes in Europe.

Seat-back leaflets and cabin crew announcements will let travelers know if they’re on the “lucky flight.” Feedback will be gathered to determine if customers prefer data only or data and voice.

For now, the system allows the downloading of email attachments, unlimited SMS and emails, and up to six simultaneous calls. But OnAir, the company providing the service, says adding phone call capacity is easy.

Hopefully not too easy….

For more information, read the Air France press release.

Although most airlines now charge for in-flight snacks and meals, many airlines still serve complimentary soft drinks and water.

Sometimes Coke gets swapped for Pepsi, but in general the beverage offerings seem to stay the same. But starting April 1, 2008 both Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air will begin serving complimentary Jones Sodas.

The Seattle-based company is best known for a variety of sodas with wild colors and wacky names. Sadly, the deep dark Chocolate Fudge and bright yellow “Fun” sodas have been retired, but you can still find the Blue Bubblegum and FuFu flavors.

Alaska and Horizon will serve Jones’ tamer offerings: a cola, a lemon-lime soda, and a cream soda.  There’s no mention of whether or not Jones’ popular Whoopass energy-drink will be added to the menu, but we are promised periodical new soda flavors.

So be sure to keep your eyes on the beverage carts, especially around the holidays.  Seasonal Jones offerings have included Turkey and Gravy soda, Creepy Cranberry and Monster Mojito sodas, and a Christmas Ham soda.

Photo courtesy Jones Soda