FTC review taking aim at on line marketing and advertising of booze

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ideas this summer season to endorse approaches the alcoholic beverage field can improved defend underage viewers from seeing its ads on the internet.
Distillers, brewers and wineries pour countless bucks into brand promotion on Twitter, Facebook as well as other social media, and field critics contend they may be not accomplishing ample to avoid youthful people from obtaining these messages.

"We're executing a deep dive on how they are applying the online world and social media," mentioned Janet Evans, a attorney with all the FTC, which can be conducting a year-long review resulting from be released by early summer time. "We're concentrating on underage exposure."

She wouldn't elaborate on any prospective suggestions that may come from the review, which started in April 2012.

The FTC is reviewing information from 14 major producers, Evans explained, which include Beam Inc, the maker of Jim Beam, Diageo Plc, house to Johnnie Walker, and Constellation Brand names Inc, which tends to make Robert Mondavi and Ravenswood wines.

The FTC report "is anything we consider critically and spot at substantial priority," mentioned Karena Breslin, director for digital advertising at Constellation.

The FTC has created two requests for information and facts considering that the review started, she mentioned.

The regulatory agency hasn't mentioned it intends to impose restrictions on liquor firm social media marketing nonetheless it could make suggestions to your business.

The FTC is empowered to file suit to make certain individuals are protected from deceptive advertising and marketing practices, Evans explained, but she stressed that scientific studies of this nature are meant to market greater self-regulation, not offer a basis to get a situation.

Sector executives say alcohol makers and distributors voluntarily adhere towards the similar industry-set conventional for marketing and advertising to underage viewers on social media web pages the sector set for its adverts on Television together with other media. That necessitates that at the least 71.six % of an audience includes adults 21 and older.

"No 1 within their suitable thoughts would choose to promote to individuals who can not legally get their product or service," explained Frank Coleman, senior vice president for Distilled Spirits Council with the U.s. (DISCUS), the trade group that sets the industry's promoting codes.

Coleman also cited latest information displaying the audiences for Facebook and Twitter are skewed heavily in the direction of viewers who're over the legal drinking age.

"According to Nielsen's newest information, the demographic audience for Facebook is 83.five % 21 many years and older, and for Twitter it can be 85 %," Coleman explained.

In June 2011, DISCUS revised its code upwards to 71.six % from 70 %, right after the FTC advised it evaluation the conventional to greater reflect U.S. Census population information.

Marketplace critics, which includes David Jernigen, director of your Center on Alcohol Advertising and marketing and Youth at Johns Hopkins University, and Sarah Mart, study director on the advocacy group Alcohol Justice, contend the market did not go far adequate and should really increase the conventional additional.

Jernigen stated it must be at the least 85 % to properly secure youth, so there might be no greater than 15 % exposure towards the underage drinking population.

"The business says its self-regulating but it truly is ineffective and social media opens up a full new set of difficulties for the reason that their advertisements are all over the place," mentioned Mart.

Coleman mentioned the group now needs members to set up age-checking resources by way of immediate messaging as being a gateway to Twitter feeds and also other branded Internet platforms that inquire the consumer for any birth date ahead of admitting them.

During the initial 9 months of 2012, beer, wine and spirits makers spent an estimated $35 million for paid Net show marketing, but sector executives estimate lots of millions extra have been spent on site creation, video manufacturing for platforms like Google's YouTube and social media promoting efforts.

"We've drastically adjusted extra dollars to digital for on-line video, sites, Facebook and Twitter material," stated Kevin George, international chief advertising and marketing officer for Jim Beam, which spends 30 % of its media invest for on the internet outlets, up from ten % in 2008, he stated.

Numerous firms are expanding their digital workers. Wine maker Constellation employed Breslin 3 many years ago to initiate digital advertising and now features a crew of 5 reporting to her.
A lot of alcoholic beverage corporations flocked to Facebook mainly because it needs consumers to publish their birth dates when signing up.

Final year Twitter partnered with Buddy Media to offer you a screening instrument that sends a direct message to followers who click on an alcoholic brand. The message sends the fan a website link to a web site that asks for date of birth.

Salesforce.com purchased Buddy Media final June, and that is now folding the platform into its advertising and marketing cloud portfolio.

Overall health advocates and sector critics are crying foul. "Facebook along with other interactive platforms are poorly monitored and never properly age-protected," mentioned Jernigen of Johns Hopkins University. "Anyone can say they are 21 and click yes."

checkers game

In spite of hoax, 'Sad Irish Fan' to help keep up cancer operate

When Dan Tudesco's disappointment went viral ¡§C ESPN's coverage with the BCS nationwide championship captured the Notre Dame alumnus while in the stands, distraught above the one-sided reduction to Alabama, and he was quickly referred to as "Sad Irish Fan" ¡§C he stated he figured establishing an anti-cancer fundraiser while in the memory of Manti Te'o's deceased girlfriend was a good approach to capitalize over the interest.

Tudesco explained he was pleasantly astonished on the response to your campaign ¡§C via Thursday evening, about $4,400 had been donated in tiny in excess of every week.

However like most all people else, he was stunned to find out the lady didn't exist.

"The hoax is past comprehension," Tudesco mentioned, including: "We believed Manti had suffered a substantial reduction. In light of what is come up, we have eliminated Lennay's title from your web-site."

Now, the work is often known as the "Sad Irish Fan Campaign." But Tudesco, who explained he graduated in 2006 and now performs in public relations in New York, explained he ideas to carry on the on the web campaign with money funneled by way of the internet site indiegogo.com likely to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Inc. He explained the initial goal when the web page went on the web Jan. 9 was to raise $5,000.

The fundraising campaign was poised to get a boost when a video crew from UND.com, Notre Dame's official internet site, contacted Tudesco after seeing Twitter conversation about the campaign. An interview with Tudesco was posted Tuesday around the Notre Dame athletic department's YouTube channel. But according to Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, the school had recognized with the hoax since Dec. 26. The video has since been taken down.

Tudesco, who says he hasn't been in contact at any point with "anyone official at Notre Dame or the administration or with Manti himself," mentioned he didn't believe the video crew knew the story was a hoax.

"I don't think there would have been anyone (within the video crew) while in the loop on this in the time the interview happened," Tudesco explained.

Tudesco says he planned to carry on the fundraising campaign past the initial goal.

"The inspiration for this doesn't really change," he explained. "We still feel inspired by the stories around the team this year, and that included Manti.

"We did this for reasons that echo past Manti."

21food

Challenging Flu Season Hits Elderly Difficult

Federal officials on Friday warned that this season's worse-than-normal flu virus is hitting the elderly especially tricky, plus they urged health professionals to promptly deal with sick sufferers with antiviral drugs.

Thomas Frieden, the director of your federal Centers for Ailment Management and Prevention, mentioned the U.S. is from the middle of the flu season that appeared to peak in late December, about a month earlier than typical. The price of hospitalizations to the flu between people today age 65 and older surged this month.

In all, 48 states are reporting widespread flu action, in line with the CDC. Dr. Frieden explained you can find proof the flu is waning in some components in the U.S. as outpatient visits for flu-like illnesses dropped for your 2nd consecutive week. Nonetheless, the influenza virus is marching throughout the U.S. since the variety of health practitioner visits for your malady improved in California and Oregon to the week ended Jan. twelve compared together with the prior week.

Some hospitals during the Northeast, including Montefiore Health-related Center in Bronx, N.Y., reported their emergency-room division had returned to standard. Other spots are not seeing any indicators of the slowdown in flu sufferers.

"This has become our most significant season in ten many years," mentioned Christopher Harrison, director in the Infectious Illness Investigate Laboratory at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Mo.

To date, it has noticed one,340 confirmed flu situations, compared with 37 precisely the same time final yr.

The government tracks the distinct variety of pediatric deaths which are flu-related and tracks grownup deaths as being a percentage of complete deaths inside a offered week.

Inside the week that ended Jan. twelve, eight.3% of deaths reported within a surveillance procedure that consists of 122 cities had been flu?aor pneumonia?arelated, up from seven.3% the prior week.

9 far more little ones died final week, bringing the complete quantity of pediatric deaths up to now this season to 29.

Wellbeing officials urged anybody who has not been vaccinated against the virus to obtain 1 and explained sick people?aespecially the elderly?aneed prompt treatment method with antiviral medicines like Tamiflu, sold by a unit of Roche Holding ROG.VX -1.68% AG.

"Overall, what we're seeing is just not as lots of people today as we'd like acquiring taken care of with Tamiflu," Dr. Frieden stated. He explained remedy with Tamiflu or an additional drug, Relenza, produced by GlaxoSmithKline GSK.LN +0.40% PLC, can sharply reduce flu-related issues and death charges.

Dr. Frieden stated older adults also can consider easy preventive actions for instance staying away from little ones using the flu. "You may not wish to possess a grandparent babysit to get a sick youngster who's household," he mentioned.

In the common flu season, older individuals are additional vulnerable to problems which include pneumonia soon after having the flu, which usually lands them while in the hospital.

When there have already been spot shortages of flu vaccine as folks rushed to drugstores and doctor's offices prior to now handful of weeks, officials stated buyers need to even now manage to obtain a shot if they contact about.

You'll find about 145 million doses of flu vaccine anticipated to get produced and distributed by vaccine makers, with about 130 million doses distributed up to now, as outlined by the CDC.

"We've had retailers that had run from provide but we have been thriving at resupplying them," stated Jim Graham, a spokesman for Walgreen Co., WAG -0.38% which has eight,000 retail outlets from the U.S.

Mr. Graham mentioned that in some New York City and Chicago merchants, "everyone came in at once" in search of a vaccination.

Other important drug-store chains run by Rite RAD +1.91% Assist Corp. and CVS Caremark Corp. CVS -0.12% also explained they've ordered extra flu vaccine and would carry on restocking their merchants.

Foods and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg stated shoppers could also use a government web-site, flu.gov, to uncover destinations presenting flu shots.

Earlier this week, the FDA permitted Tamiflu's maker Genentech to release reserve stocks of Tamiflu capsules to be certain you can find adequate antiviral medicines for your rest of your season. An organization spokeswoman mentioned there happen to be some short-term shortages of an oral version of Tamiflu however the company is operating to expedite shipments. Pharmacists may also make an oral version on the medication from capsules.

james travel

Merck alerts documents to prevent prescribing Tredaptive

Drugmaker Merck & Co. will be suspending it's purchase of the cholesterol levels substance Tredaptive following initial is a result of a study established that it wasn't effective and might raise the probability of a number of severe unwanted side effects.

The particular Whitehouse Stop, D.J., firm said Friday it's sharing with doctors to stop prescribing your capsules, who are not authorized in america, and it also can be offering their advice to individuals to be able to prevent taking the medication just following actually talking to a doctor.

The medical treatment is purchased from with regards to 45 nations around the world, which include European countries. A firm spokeswoman mentioned Feb 5th it may need a few months to apply your suspensions around the world.

Merck mentioned recently first is caused by a major, late-stage examine demonstrated that incorporating Tredaptive for you to classic statin treatment didn't reduced the risk of cardiac event, cerebrovascular event and associated troubles. Your drugmaker explained after that in which medical doctors ought to quit suggesting Tredaptive in order to new patients.

Benefits in addition indicated that people utilizing the cholesterol levels mix supplement had been more likely to suffer some serious, non-fatal undesirable situations that belong to many vast types: bloodstream and also lymphatic system, digestive, infections, metabolic rate, bone and joint, the respiratory system along with skin color. The organization mentioned research workers continue to be examining your unfavorable events, plus it offered absolutely no additional information.

Merck said it manufactured the determination based in element on a European Remedies Firm board recommendation.

Statins really are a type of drug treatments which may have been for a while utilized to 'abnormal' amounts of Bad, or perhaps "bad," cholestrerol levels as well as a little boost amounts of High-density lipoprotein, or even "good,Inches cholesterol levels inside the blood vessels. Tredaptive is really a mix capsule made up of niacin, which boosts excellent cholesterol levels, and also laropiprant, which decreases the cosmetic eradicating a result of niacin.

Your medication is not a significant product or service with regard to Merck. That published merely $13 thousand in income during the 1st seventy-five per cent regarding 2012.

Gives of Merck flower 33 pennies to be able to $43.15 at the end of morning exchanging Fri. They've traded in the 52-week variety of $36.91 for you to $48.

new york funny

Fb Charging $100 in order to Information CEO Tag Zuckerberg

Facebook is not charging for poking, and "liking" a photo continues to be free of charge to the social networking internet site.

But as of late, sending a private message to an individual can price anyplace from $1 to $100 ¡§C if you are sending to a person like Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, that is certainly.

"We are testing some intense selling price factors to view what operates to filter spam," mentioned a Facebook spokeswoman.

Final month, Facebook introduced "paid messages," a function the place customers spend a $1 charge to possess their private message sent to an individual's "strict filtering inbox" in place of an obscure "other" inbox. Just before the adjust, Facebook customers had been permitted to send a private message free of charge to an individual they did not know or weren't linked with.

"Several commentators and researchers have mentioned that imposing a monetary expense around the sender could be quite possibly the most productive approach to discourage undesirable messages and facilitate delivery of messages that happen to be appropriate and handy," Facebook explained within a Dec. twenty statement.

Facebook informed ABCNews.com the $100 private message present is definitely an experiment not only with Zuckerberg but to these having a important amount of subscribers. Keep in mind, subscribers are folks who are not your pals but can view the material you share with them since they comply with you. Facebook calls these subscribers a broader group of pals.

"This check will give a smaller amount of individuals the solution to pay out to get a message routed to your 'inbox' in lieu of the 'other' folder of the recipient that they're not linked with," stated Facebook. "If you pick rigid filtering, you will see generally messages from pals within your inbox."

Considering that reaching one billion customers final October, the social network giant continues to be revamping its privacy settings and altering the seem and really feel of your Facebook knowledge on the net and in mobile products.

Facebook is "testing intense value factors to get rid of spam" with its new messaging charge, the web site stated. As consumers turn out to be a lot more acquainted using the new messaging charge, they will recognize the quantity of messages obtained is going to be restricted to a greatest of one particular per week.

Facebook informed ABCNews.com there is lots of filtering taking place leading to acquiring the messages which are only meant to suit your needs, the consumer. As far since the reaction to Facebook's new "paid messages" characteristic, Facebook provided no comment.

frame art

Amazon AutoRip services provides out totally free digital copies of CDs

Online retailer Amazon has launched a services that outlets absolutely free digital versions of CDs purchased by way of its keep.

AutoRip, and that is only obtainable inside the US, will immediately maintain a digital copy of eligible CDs within a customer's cloud storage account.

Prospects might be ready to access the music by means of Amazon's Cloud Player about the world wide web or by way of tablet and smartphone apps.

Amazon has drawn up a catalogue of 50,000 CDs which can be eligible for AutoRip.

Music market

The catalogue continues to be compiled from these albums which have proved most well-liked with Amazon clients inside the final 15 many years.

The checklist consists of "Dark Side with the Moon" by Pink Floyd, "Thriller" by Michael Jackson and "21" by Adele.

Any buyer that has purchased a CD inside the catalogue from Amazon considering the fact that the company started off trading in 1998 are going to be eligible to acquire a absolutely free MP3 copy of it. Amazon explained it anticipated producing copies of countless CDs.

"When we picked these 50,000 titles we focused on owning a significant bulk of our physical CD product sales covered," mentioned Steve Boom, head of digital music at Amazon within a statement.

The services probably can make it considerably less complicated for individuals to construct up a library of digital music. In advance of now most CD owners needed to rip the songs themselves to produce digital versions.

The Amazon Cloud Player may be accessed a net browser, together with on Android phones, iPhones, Kindle Fire tablets together with other products.

The move is extensively observed as an try to consider market place share from arch-rival Apple's iTunes music keep.

The Cupertino giant has related cloud storage solutions for music and prospects the marketplace with a lot more than 50% in the marketplace share, though Amazon has lower than 15%. Google delivers a comparable services.

13finance

Is Dr. McDreamy a coffee mogul? Not quite yet

TV doctor and actor, Patrick Dempsey, has apparently beat out Starbucks to buy Seattle-based Tully's Coffee, a bid Dempsey says will retain the company's jobs. Cnbc's Jane Wells reports.

By Martha C. White

Too much coffee can make anybody a little giddy.

Patrick Dempsey, best known as Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd on medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," sent out a celebratory Tweet late last night after his investment group made the highest single bid for Tully’s Coffee in a Seattle bankruptcy auction. “We met the green monster, looked her in the eye, and...SHE BLINKED! We got it! Thank you Seattle!” he wrote.

The “green monster” is Starbucks, and either it or the bankruptcy judge who still has to approve the deal at a hearing next week could throw a wrench into Dempsey’s white knighthood.

The investment group of which Dempsey is a member, Global Baristas LLC, beat out the other six bidders, including the coffee giant, with an offer of $9.15 million for the 47-store chain. In a statement, Scott Pearson, CEO and president of Tully’s parent company TC Global, Inc., called the auction outcome “a big win for Seattle.”

Tully’s, which filed for bankruptcy in October and closed 19 stores, has more than 500 employees. Dempsey said preserving those jobs was a top priority. “I’m thrilled that we won and I’m even more excited about saving Tully’s Coffee and its hundreds of jobs,” he said in a statement. “I am honored to have the privilege to own Tully’s.”

But his grand plans and talk of ownership are a little premature. “On its face, Dempsey won because he outbid everybody else, but they haven’t won yet,” said Anthony Michael Sabino, a bankruptcy attorney who specializes in corporate restructuring.

Global Baristas still has to get through a hearing on Jan. 11 and have a bankruptcy judge verify that its bid is the highest and best. “The reasonable expectation is very high that the Dempsey group will be the new owner of Tully’s, but it’s not an absolute certainty yet,” Sabino said.

One roadblock could be Starbucks. “We’ve made an offer for 25 locations and another bidder made an offer for all of the remaining assets and the combined amount of our bids is $10.56 million,” said spokesman Zack Hutson, who added that even though the auction is over, the judge hasn’t made her decision yet. 

With a bid nearly $1.5 million higher than Global Baristas, Starbucks or the unnamed second bidder could challenge the results of the auction in next week's hearing. "We're evaluating our options," Hutson said.

Sabino said price isn’t everything in bankruptcy sales, though. “The quality of the bid can sometimes overcome higher [ ones],” Sabino said. The bankruptcy court has to weigh a variety of factors besides the dollar amount, such as how much of an offer is cash or assumption of debt versus equity, how quickly the deal is likely to close, whether or not there is likely to be any regulatory review that could delay the sale and which buyer’s plan for the company’s future will benefit stakeholders the most.

A Global Baristas spokesperson said via email it was confident it would prevail at the hearing “because of the loss of jobs and breakup of company if others were chosen.”

Hutson countered by saying Starbucks also would keep jobs. “If our bid is accepted along with the companion bid, we intend to invite Tully’s employees at the locations we acquire to apply for positions with us,” he said, adding that current Tully’s employees would get preference as long as they met Starbucks’ job requirements.

Despite his onscreen ability to resuscitate the ailing, Dempsey doesn’t have a background in corporate turnarounds, and he began making plans to buy Tully’s only about a week before Christmas. He seemed eager to get involved, sending out Tweets throughout the day on Friday chronicling his visits to different Tully’s shops. “Heading to Clyde Hill Tully's now to meet employees and our customers. Very exciting,” he wrote.

“I will be making Seattle my home away from home and spending a significant amount of time in the community,” he pledged.

Best new cruise ships

Seagoing vacations have come a long way since TV's sunny Love Boat sailed across 1970s screens. These days, passengers can snuggle up to an ice bar, learn cooking with a Michelin-starred chef or plummet down theme park-size waterslides, all from the comfort of stylish, seagoing resorts.

More than 200 passenger vessels ply the world's rivers and seas, and each year brings a new fleet of ships setting sail for new destinations and sporting new amenities. There truly is a cruise ship for every type of traveler. Families, for instance, will appreciate the 4,000-passenger Disney Fantasy, with "enchanted'' art that interacts with guests, over-the-top stage shows and an adults-only zone.

But cruising isn't just about the ships themselves. For many travelers, what matters most is the places they take you. New ships are indeed sailing far and wide, along the Mekong River through Vietnam and Cambodia (Uniworld's 60-passenger River Orchid), past historic castles lining the Danube River (the 190-passenger Viking Longships), and even to the Arctic Circle on Compagnie du Ponant's luxe mega-yacht Le Soleal, which departs on its maiden voyage in June 2013.

73-year-old to sail solo around world in 'bathtub' boat

Wherever you go, whatever the ship, at some point you'll likely find yourself standing on the deck, a glass of champagne in hand. You'll pause to admire views of pirate islands and whales and icebergs going by. Or you'll experience the thrill of sailing into Venice's Grand Canal or Hong Kong's futuristic harbor. And for the moment, at least, you're the admiral of all you see. Read on to find the ship that suits your cruise personality.

Disney Fantasy

Launched: January 2012

Capacity: 4,000

Great for: Kids of every age.

Destinations: From Port Canaveral, Florida, to the Caribbean, with stops in St. Maarten, St. Thomas and on Castaway Cay, in the Bahamas.

Highlights: "Enchanted" art that interacts with guests; over-the-top stage shows, such as "Aladdin—A Musical Spectacular;" a waterslide that juts beyond the edge of the ship; and (phew) adults-only areas. disneycruise.disney.go.com.

Oceania Riviera

Launched: May 2012

Capacity: 1,250

Great for: The food-obsessed.

Destinations: From Miami to the Caribbean in winter; Venice, Rome, Istanbul and Athens in summer.

Highlights: Restaurant by Jacques Pépin; Napa-worthy wine cellar; hands-on cooking classes in the Bon Appétit Culinary Center; chef-led culinary tours. oceaniacruises.com.

Carnival Breeze

Launched: June 2012

Capacity: 3,690

Great for: Thrill seekers.

Destinations: From Miami to Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos, Aruba and other Caribbean ports.

Highlights: Touted as a Fun Ship 2.0, it holds a full water park, a 4-D interactive movie theater, a Guy Fieri burger joint and a comedy club with acts curated by George Lopez. carnival.com.

Travel + Leisure: Best Secret Beaches on Earth

Celebrity Reflection

Launched: October 2012

Capacity: 3,046

Great for: Urban sophisticates.

Destinations: Winter and spring from Miami to the Caribbean; summer from Rome to Greece and Turkey.

Highlights: AquaClass Spa Suites, which have full-time butlers and private verandas; a lawn club with grills and live grass; a Turkish hammam. celebritycruises.com.

Uniworld River Orchid

Launching: January 2013

Capacity: 60

Great for: Soft adventurers.

Destinations: The Mekong River, from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, Vietnam, including stops in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Highlights: Panoramic open-air restaurant; high staff-to-guest ratio; an exterior promenade; sampans (small boats) on loan; film screenings; VIP check-in at onshore hotels. uniworld.com.

Travel + Leisure: America's Best Family Hotels

Norwegian Breakaway

Launching: April 2013

Capacity: 4,000

Great for: Stuntmen and the people who love them.

Destinations: Year-round from New York; winter to the Caribbean, Florida and the Bahamas; summer to Bermuda.

Highlights: A ropes course, including a "walk the plank" (with a harness) feature; large aquatic park; restaurant by chef Geoffrey Zakarian; Rock of Ages Broadway production; three-story sports complex; oceanfront "boardwalk" lined with bars and restaurants. ncl.com.

Royal Princess

Launching: June 2013

Capacity: 3,600

Great for: Revelers of every age.

Destinations: Summer Mediterranean sailings from Barcelona and Venice; winter Caribbean itineraries from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Highlights: "SeaWalk" cantilevered over the ship's edge with a private bar; enormous upper-deck pool with an evening light show; private poolside cabanas at an adults-only pool. princess.com.

Travel + Leisure: World's best islands

Ponant Le Soleal

Launching: June 2013

Capacity: 264

Great for: Jet-setters.

Destinations: Summer in the Arctic Circle; fall in Russia or Asia, with stops from Japan to Vietnam.

Highlights: Mega-yacht ambience; private butler service; French cuisine; unique itineraries with naturalist guides; Carita spa. en.ponant.com.

Viking Longships

Launching: 2012 and 2013

Capacity: 190

Great for: Culture vultures.

Destinations: The Danube, Rhine and Main rivers.

Highlights: Panoramas from a 360-degree-view sundeck; staterooms whose glass walls slide open, turning them into private verandas; two Explorer suites with wraparound terraces. vikingrivercruises.com.

Fliers can expect higher airfares, fewer airlines, more fees, experts say

Well, that didn't take long. Just four days into the new year, United Airlines and its Star Alliance partner Air Canada have launched the first attempted airfare increase of 2013.

The carriers are attempting to hike more than 1 million fares across their system, reports Rick Seaney, airfare analyst and CEO of FareCompare.com. The increase is between $2 and $5 each way.

As of Friday afternoon, Delta matched United's fares, and "there has been minimal matching by American Airlines and US Airways," according to FareCompare.

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

A US Airways plane and an American Airlines plane share a terminal at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington in this file photo taken last April. The carriers could announce its plans to merge as soon as next week.

Uncertainty often looms large when air travelers turn their calendars to January. Will airfares keep climbing? What new fees will airlines come up with? Is merger mania about to engulf more carriers?

Seaney and other air travel experts weighed in on the developments that may shape your flying experience in 2013.

Airfare trends
There were seven attempted domestic airfare hikes in 2012 and that number will likely grow slightly this year, which should raise ticket prices about 7 percent or so, Seaney said.

But some routes may see bargains. Expect Southwest Airlines to try to expand over water, with Hawaii on the carrier’s radar, Seaney added. It may even try to fly to parts of Canada, he predicted.

“As Southwest tries to become more like a legacy airline, the legacy airlines are trying to become more like Southwest. So it’s sort of a strange thing that’s going on,” Seaney said.

International fares will still be expensive because of fuel surcharges, but globetrotters may see some price breaks if they depart from U.S. cities where foreign carriers are expanding their service, said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com. Turkish Airlines is starting to fly from Houston this spring and that’s putting downward pressure on international airfares in that region, Hobica said.

Possible merger between American Airlines and US Airways
All of the travel experts who talked with NBC News said the merger – which would reduce the number of U.S. legacy carriers to three – would likely lead to higher airfares and cuts in capacity.

“It’s a bad thing for travelers. Any time that competition is eroded, consumers lose,” said Charlie Leocha, director of the Consumer Travel Alliance.

Still, an announcement appears imminent. The board of directors of American's parent company, AMR Corp., could vote on a merger with US Airways as soon as next week, NBCDFW.com reported.

The carrier declined to confirm whether a decision on the merger would be made then.

“We can’t comment on the timeline or our board meeting, but we remain committed in our efforts to secure the best outcome for our financial stakeholders, our people and our customers,” American Airlines said in a statement to NBC News.

If American does merge with US Airways, expect fewer flights on overlapping routes and be prepared for some computer hiccups – similar to the glitches that plagued United Airlines last year after its merger with Continental – when the carriers try to combine their systems.

But travelers accruing frequent flier miles with either airline or those who have earned elite status have nothing to worry about, said FareCompare.com's Seaney.

“Typically, you see newly merged airlines bending over backwards to make sure all their loyal customers are taken care of,” Seaney said. “The last thing you want to do as a merged airline is alienate your best customers. I would expect them to offer more things than they normally would as opposed to cutting back.”

The next generation of fees
With carriers demanding extra money for everything from early boarding to on-board snacks, what else can they possibly charge for? Don’t worry – the number crunchers are still coming up with new ideas.

“Every time we think that the airlines can’t think up a new fee, they surprise us,” Leocha said.

Travelers will likely see a further push to self-service at the airport, so they may be asked to check themselves in for their flight and if they don’t, they’ll pay a fee, said Hobica.

Airlines could also introduce “disincentives” to talk with airline personnel at the airport, he added.

Another trend is airlines offering fees in bundles – so you have the option of buying a package deal of extra services rather than purchasing them individually, Leocha said.

For example, American Airlines last month introduced “choice” fares that bundle extras such as early boarding, one checked bag and the ability to change flights for flat fees that range from $68-$88.

The next step? Carriers will be taking those bundles and discounting them, Seaney said.

New round of passenger protections
Under the latest proposal, the government would require that airline fees be displayed through “all sale channels,” but last month, the Department of Transportation delayed action on addressing the issue from January to May.

“The real battle now is about comparison shopping. Consumers love to comparison shop, airlines hate it and they don’t want to give the comparison shopping sites their bundles of fees,” Seaney said.

The goal is to get the carriers to release their fees so that third-party websites, such as Priceline and Travelocity, can display them in real time and dynamically as they change, Leocha said. The debate over the issue will take place this year, but he doesn’t expect any changes to be implemented until 2014.

“Nothing moves quickly in Washington,” Leocha said. “(Still,) this has been by far the most consumer friendly Department of Transportation that we’ve ever had.”

A better flying experience
Can it be true? Will you actually enjoy flying this year? Perhaps enjoy is a strong word, but chances are you will see some improvements.

Airlines are going to take delivery of a “boatload of new aircraft” and those planes will have mood lighting, better breathing air, more legroom and other creature comforts, Seaney noted.

“I think people will finally, for the first time in over a decade, have a little bit better flying experience,” he said.

Wi-Fi will become prevalent on most flights, for a fee, Lisa Gill, senior editor at Conde Nast Traveler, told TODAY. Also expect to see more lie-flat beds in business class on long domestic flights, she said.