Thanks for finding that article Rachel. I guess it indirectly answered your first question.

http://www.gadling.com/2008/04/04/plane-answers-how-do-pilots-move-up-to-captain/

The second question relating to the bag charge is a bit out of my league. It does seem like a nickel and dime kind of thing to do, and once a few airlines started doing it, the others felt they had to match it apparently.

This has been a tough time for airlines, not just because of the high price of fuel, but because of the volatility. It's hard to know what to charge for your product when the price of fuel jumps so quickly and for so many months in a row.

Someone suggested that there should just be a credit card swiping device at the entrance the jet so the airline could have passengers pay for the fuel at the time of boarding. Who knows what will happen, but I'd have to say this might be a good time to buy tickets somewhere because the prices can't stay at this level unless the price of fuel plummets.

As for the fuel question...

It might vary somewhat from airline to airline, but I've never run into a situation where we weren't allowed to put on extra fuel if we felt we needed it. I've had two flights divert for fuel in the past 15 years, but that was after holding for nearly an hour in one case. We always land with at least an hours worth of fuel on board on clear days and average two to three hours on days with adverse weather. It always depends on where the alternates are (how far they are from the destination).

Some pilots comfort level extends far beyond the FAA minimums. This isn't the most pressing safety issue, in my opinion. But I can only speak about the few airlines I've flown for.

Some question why we don't just fill 'em up. With full tanks on most jets, we'd have to bump some passenger or freight from the airplane as it would exceed the maximum takeoff weight. Also, fuel costs about 10% of it's amount to carry. So that extra 1000 pounds of fuel will cost about 100 pounds just to carry it.

It's still possible to run out of fuel even if the tanks are completely full. So it's up to the pilots to use their best judgement as to when they plan on diverting and where they plan on going based on information from their dispatchers. It works amazingly well, when you consider the nearly 10,000 flights that depart daily.

Thanks again Rachel!