In light of current economic conditions and the impact on travel agents, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises have created an extraordinary support program expressly designed to help agents offset today’s business challenges. On the heels of suspending fuel supplements, the three brands today announced “ASAP,” or Agent Support Action Program.

Air France-KLM Group reported a net profit of 28 million euros ($35.4 million) for the July-September period, down 96 percent from 736 million euros a year earlier.

The Spanish owner of Argentina’s largest airline says it will sue if the Argentine government expropriates the carrier before reaching an agreement on its value. Vicente Munoz is the director of Madrid-based Grupo Marsans, which controls Aerolineas Argentinas and its subsidiary Austral.

Not two months ago we were talking about expensive airfare for Thanksgiving, but now it looks like Christmas will be cheap. Cash-strapped customers have been cutting back on travel, and now airlines are trying to woo them back with specials.

Despite the financial crisis, business jets have become more and more popular. According to a study by the supplier Honeywell Aerospace, the development of the market for business jets is disproportionate.

Budget brands and cruises are thriving online in the economic downturn, according to the latest figures from Hitwise. UK Internet traffic to travel websites overall fell by 4.6 percent between September 2007 and September 2008, but hits to budget travel brands increased by 5.3 percent. The top 10 budget travel companies in the UK accounted for 7.1 percent of traffic to travel websites in September 2008, up from 6.4 percent the previous year.