Fraud detection tools and payment fraud losses are top of mind according to a recent webinar and poll of airline fraud investigators. The survey results, released by 41st Parameter report insufficient rules and defense mechanisms in place at most airlines. The results forecast the continued emergence of new reservation booking vehicles and a shift in the payment landscape. READ MORE

Three new premium Visa credit cards have been announced by United and Chase Card Services including the United Mileage Plus Club Visa Card, The United Mileage Plus Access Visa Card and The United Mileage Plus Select Visa Card.

According to the companies, "with these new cards, cardholders will receive exclusive benefits, including Red Carpet Club membership, Economy Plus seating, up to 5,000 or 10,000 miles that count toward elite status, or double and triple miles toward redeeming an award ticket."

Note that these three new premium cards have annual fees ranging from $130 to $375 annually. READ MORE

Ingenico has announced a three-year partnership with Ryanair to develop the world’s first self-service passenger kiosks with chip and pin technology to allow passengers to purchase optional services such as priority boarding when they arrive at the airport. READ MORE

SunTrust and Delta Air Lines have announced that consumers and businesses will soon be able to earn Delta miles on all signature-based purchases made with a new SunTrust SkyMiles Check Card, launching June 22. According to the two companies, "this will be the first time Delta has offered mileage-earning opportunities through a check card, and is the first co-branded check card relationship for SunTrust." The card will have a minimum annual fee of $20. READ MORE

Emirates has announced it has implemented GlobalCollect’s payment processing service to offer alternative payment solutions for bookings on www.emirates.com. Starting in 37 countries across the world, customers can choose from a range of alternative payment methods hosted by GlobalCollect, including local credit and debit cards, local bank transfers, real time bank transfers, cash (Western Union Quick Pay), direct debits, and eWallets (PayPal). READ MORE

CyberSource has announced the availability of its Airline Online Fraud Report, a study of the impact of online fraud on the airline industry. CyberSource commissioned the study in association with Airline Information LLC. It can be downloaded at: http://forms.cybersource.com/forms/airlinefraudpr. READ MORE

Ukash has announced an agreement with UATP which will make it possible for consumers to pay for flights over the Internet using cash, it was announced at the annual Airline Distribution conference today. READ MORE

41st Parameter has announced that US Airways has selected FraudNet to detect and prevent Card Not Present (CNP) fraud across multiple reservation channels including online, kiosk and phone. READ MORE

American Airlines has announced that it will begin this summer to transition to cashless cabins onboard flights within the United States and to and from Canada. "On these flights, American will only accept major credit cards or debit cards for onboard purchases such as headsets, fresh light meals, snacks and alcoholic beverages."

"Moving to a cashless cabin allows us to streamline the inflight sales process for both our customers and flight attendants," said Lauri Curtis, American's Vice President - Onboard Service.

Flight attendants will use a hand-held Onboard Sales Recorder to charge credit and debit cards, eliminating the need to search for small bills or change. The airline has been using these user-friendly devices since May 2006. American Express® and other major credit and debit cards will be accepted. Receipts will be provided to passengers upon request.

Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP), the payment network privately owned by the world's airlines, has announced record charge volume and profits for calendar year 2008. UATP CEO Ralph Kaiser stated,

"UATP continues to prosper even in today's economic environment. While we see challenges from an overall decrease in travel spending in the upcoming year, there are enough growth drivers in our business to continue to be optimistic about our performance in 2009."

AirTran Airways has announced that it is making it faster for travelers to buy tickets online by offering PayPal Express Checkout. PayPal Express Checkout uses the information on file in a member's PayPal account to speed through checkout and bypass the need to enter passenger contact information and financial details. READ MORE

Universal Air Travel Program (UATP) has announced that it has partnered with Moneta to support Moneta's online payment wallet for the 250 airlines utilizing UATP payment gateway services. Moneta offers consumers, airline and merchants an alternative payment method which is distributed and marketed through the consumer's bank. Airlines using the UATP payment gateway connection can activate Moneta on their retail checkout site with no infrastructure investment and minimal configuration. READ MORE

American Airlines has announced that it is now accepting PayPal for ticket purchases made on its AA.com website. READ MORE

In an article titled "Airlines Want Cash. Card Firms Stiffen Terms. Who'll Blink?", Robin Sidel and Susan Carey write for the Wall St. Journal about negotiations between US airlines and credit card issuers over negotiations to provide the airlines with more capital.

With the slogan "Keep Your Cash", Southwest Airlines has announced that beginning September 9th, you'll not be able to use cash in the cabin to purchase onboard drinks, etc. [Hat tip: CreditCards.com]

Bill Me Later has announced a strategic partnership with Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP), the airline-owned corporate travel payment network. The partnership enables airlines to integrate Bill Me Later by utilizing their existing UATP Network for processing Bill Me Later transactions. READ MORE

Frontier Airlines and First Data have announced "an agreement with respect to the continued processing of Frontier's Visa and MasterCard charges without any interruption. The agreement provides First Data with appropriate protection for continuing its processing work for customer credit card purchases on a "business as usual" basis." READ MORE

Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP) has announced an alliance with Stored Value Solutions (SVS) that focuses on supplying gift cards to the global commercial airline community. READ MORE

American Express and Delta Air Lines have announced the launch of Delta Reserve Credit Card and the Delta Reserve for Business Credit Card, new premium co-branded credit cards for U.S.-based consumers. According to the two companies, 'the Delta Reserve Credit Cards are designed to cater to the needs of Delta’s on-the-go customers and provides Cardmembers with a greatly enhanced travel experience through benefits such as the ability to earn Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) faster, share MQMs with family and friends for the first time ever, access to the dedicated Breezeway priority boarding lane and frequent traveler security line, Delta Crown Room Clubs access, and 24-7 concierge services.' The cards have an annual fee of $450. READ MORE

A comment on the Rocky Mountain News website by Louise M. Furche suggests that First Data Corp. got what it deserved from how it handled its credit risk management of Frontier Airlines. She suggests that "a better route for First Data would have been to sit down face-to-face with Frontier since they are both based in the Denver area and a meeting could have taken place with less than a 30-minute drive to a neutral location."

In an article titled 'First Data: We were surprised, too', David Milstead reports for the Rocky Mountain News that First Data spokeswoman Staci Busby said today that "we [First Data] were taken by surprise when Frontier Airlines filed for bankruptcy. In our numerous conversations with them, they never informed us that filing for Chapter 11 was even a consideration."

Felix Salmon writes for Conde Nast Porfolio about credit card holdbacks, merchant acquirers and Frontier Airlines. READ MORE

Chris Walsh writes for Denver's Rocky Mountain News about the Frontier Airlines bankruptcy filing late last week and the need to move quickly to resolve a dispute with its credit card processor, First Data Corp. Walsh writes that "the carrier initially will look to resolve a dispute with its credit-card processor, First Data, over the amount of money the company can withhold on Frontier's ticket sales."

Aldo Svaldi writes for the Denver Post about Frontier Airlines chapter 11 bankruptcy filing which resulted from what Svaldi reports as a significant increase in the reserve requirements that First Data, as Frontier's merchant acquirer, was imposing. [Editor's note: We first reported the Frontier/First Data news last Friday morning here on Payments News.]

The Denver Business Journal cites a statement issued earlier today by First Data Corp. on the Frontier Airlines bankruptcy filing.

Frontier Airlines this morning announced it had voluntarily filed to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code late last night. The airline is continuing normal flight operations today. READ MORE

JetBlue Airways has announced that customers booking at www.jetblue.com now have the option to purchase flights using PayPal.

Bill Me Later, has announced that 'Continental Airlines is offering customers that pay with Bill Me Later $20 off the total price of their airfare. The discount is available to new Bill Me Later customers that purchase tickets at continental.com or by calling Continental reservations at 1-800-523-3273 through April 23. In addition, customers that pay using Bill Me Later can take advantage of special promotional financing offers including no payments for 90 days and no payments for six months on purchases of $1500 or more.'

A reminder that the Airline Payment Summit is coming up in Toronto, Ontario on April 9-10, 2008. "As airline yields come under downward pressure, Airline Payment Summit (APS) will examine leading-edge low-cost payment solutions within the landscape of traditional forms of payments such as credit cards."

Northwest Airlines has announced that it is "offering cash back into customer PayPal accounts when they purchase a ticket at www.nwa.com using PayPal for payment. PayPal is offering $50 USD cash back into customer PayPal accounts when they purchase tickets of $250 or more by March 27, 2008. Travel must take place between April 1 and June 14, 2008, and tickets must be purchased at www.nwa.com."