The National Weather Service is expected to issue a special Airport Weather Warning for San Francisco International this afternoon. An AWW addresses weather phenomena that may adversely impact ground operations at airports, and is usually issued just prior to the onset of severe weather. Weather conditions, specifically erratic winds, will likely disrupt regular airport operations. In the upper left column of this page is a map of real-time airport delays and problems.

Related: Virgin America announced today a fee waiver policy for flights to/from San Francisco and other VX cities due to winter weather conditions. Passengers holding confirmed reservations between January 3-7th may qualify for waiver of change fees and/or fare differences for switching flights. Details here.

Site Update:
Exciting changes are on deck for inFLIGHTout readers in 2008. Two years ago inFLIGHTout was a simple weekly newsletter to friends and families offering good deals on flights. Then after encouragement from friends, the newsletter advanced to the travel blog you read now, with travel related stories and deals dispatched on a daily basis. This website remains a hobby and an outlet for me to help others find that perfect airfare, best use of frequent flier miles, and generally to ensure people get the most out of their next trip.

Therefore, in order to provide readers with a complete analysis of travel related deals, Thomas Wang will join the inFLIGHTout team, offering informative hospitality-focused content to readers. As an avid traveler with a keen interest in hotels, Thomas hopes to bring you sporadic tidbits and stories of interest as they pertain to the hotel/lodging industry.

By adding this new dimension to the inFLIGHTout blog, Thomas and I hope to keep you readers informed on not only your air travel, but where to stay once you arrive. Thanks for your continued support.

American’s short-hop for short-hauls still available

American Airlines continues to offer its short-hop frequent flier award. With short-hop, you can fly short distances for fewer miles; specifically, destinations 750 miles or less require 15,000 miles instead of the normal 25,000 miles. Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego* are qualifying cities from San Francisco and San Jose Airports. Short-hop is valid for departures thru February 08. More details can be found here.

*San Diego service is from San Jose Airport only.

Oakland – Columbus, Ohio $40.16 round-trip!

Skybus, the ultimate in low-cost-carriers within the United States is selling seats on many routes for $20.08, just in time for the new year. Oakland-Columbus is the only route Skybus operates from the Bay Area, though many other routings throughout the U.S are included in the promotion.

The price of $20.08 is each way + tax, so it will run you about $60 dollars for a round-trip ticket to Columbus, and checking their website this morning, it seems there are plenty of seats left.

Visit SkyBus for more information. Book soon, these prices won’t last.

Also consider: Top 10 things to do in Columbus (From TripAdvisor)