Vueling carried a total of 6,219,605 passengers during 2007, an increase of 77.20 percent in relation to 2006 as the carrier reported. Annual average load factor was 73 percent, 3.61 points above last year’s.

For the month of December, system traffic on a consolidated basis for Air Canada and Jazz rose 2.4 per cent on a capacity increase of 1.6 per cent system wide. This resulted in a load factor of 78.8 per cent versus 78.2 per cent in December 2006, a record for the month. Load factor for the full year was 80.6 per cent on a combined basis, a record for the fourth consecutive year.

Delta’s board met January 11 and reportedly considered a proposal from CEO Richard Anderson to let him begin discussions with United and Northwest about a potential merger with one of the carriers.

In yet another troubling sign for the greenback, at least one of the seven wonders of the world is now off limits if you have only U.S. currency in your pocket. India’s tourism minister said Thursday that the dollar will no longer be accepted at the Taj Mahal and other national tourist sites.

2007 was a good year for the UK hotel industry with double-digit growth in revenue per available room (REVPAR) in the capital and a healthy increase across the regions. Latest results from the HotelBenchmark Survey by Deloitte’ show that during 2007 REVPAR in London increased by 10.8 percent.

Although many in the airline trade believe the stars have aligned for mainline consolidation to occur, industry sources hint that a tie-up of Delta Air Lines and United Airlines may not be realized despite discussions between the carriers.