Apparently some pilots don’t think the airlines are carrying enough extra jet fuel, and according to a report in USA Today, that’s raising concern among pilots.

We know why airlines have been reducing the amount of spare fuel they carry; the less “weight” planes carry, the less jet fuel they’ll burn, and in these days of crazy fuel prices, that’s a necessity. The question is, are they going too far?

On Friday, I spoke with James J. Ballough, Director, Flight Standards Service with the FAA, about this story.

Now, you should know that, according to USA Today, some pilots (who complained anonymously) said the reductions have meant delays and diversions. But Ballough has a different take. Keep reading.

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Transportation Secretary Mary Peters held a news conference today (and I’ve got all the highlights here), but this one was a little different.

It was just for bloggers. No other media was present. Just nine air travel bloggers — including yours truly.

As Peters herself said, “if I am going to call for twenty-first century solutions for our transportation system, I better communicate them in a twenty-first century way.”

I think that’s just terrific, and I was honored to be a part of the grand experiment. Look for more posts on my interviews with other leading transportation officials — coming soon.

I just finished chatting with Dept. of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, and of course one of the topics we touched on was the zooming price of oil; “I’m no expert on that,” she said, but “I have a feeling that oil prices will stabilize this summer.” We can only hope so.

She did announce some news to the handful of air travel bloggers who were invited to meet with her (yours truly included); here are some of the highlights (and you can see them all, here):

• BAGGAGE FEES - Peters doesn’t want passengers to be surprised at the airport with hefty baggage fees, so, the DOT is calling for carriers and travel agents “to disclose baggage fees in their internet and print ads before anyone purchases a ticket.” Also, the DOT says “airlines may not impose increased fees or new restrictions for baggage after a passenger has [already] bought a ticket.”

Coming up — the FAA/American mess, and delays — so keep reading!

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Yesterday, a little after 12:30pm EDT our system received its normal distribution of airfares (we are one of the handful of companies in th world that receive the raw airfare and rule information from ATPCO) and our email alert system processed the information and we noticed it sending out tens of thousands of price drop email alerts for a decrease in price.

Lately all we have seen is increases so this was certainly a welcome but odd occurrence. With further investigation we noted the amount of drop was quite large ($130rt for the most part — more on this shortly).

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A FARECOMPARE EXCLUSIVE:

A short time ago, United REMOVED its fuel surcharges in approximately 18,000 of its markets. Most of those fuel surcharges added $130 to the price of their airline tickets. The fuel surcharge is now ZERO.

According to United Spokesperson Robin Urbanski, the surcharge removal was the result of “clerical error”.

UPDATE 6PM EASTERN: United Spokesperson Robin Urbanski now says they are working with their distribution systems for United.com (which includes Travelport and ITA) to reinstate the fuel surcharges “as quickly as possible” which could be within the next hour or two.

Earlier, United said the “fixes” would not be made and filed until 8pm Eastern, and I noted that such changes normally aren’t loaded until Midnight Eastern time. I also understand now that United expects the “fixes” will be made sooner than that on United.com.

And I also understand the airline is reaching out to online sites such as Travelocity. However, let me add that, in my experience, it is unlikely that sites like Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, etc. would be able to make the changes until the standard time after Midnight EDT.

Bottom line: you should be comparing prices on United.com with those of online travel agencies, and if you see the much cheaper fare, grab it. It won’t be there for long.

Attention U.S. citizens (or permanent residents) traveling abroad this year: now you can skip the federal agents and zip through customs.

That is, if you’ll be flying out of JFK, Dulles, or Houston. And, if you don’t mind paying for this service. And, if you don’t mind letting the government get a little personal.

Keep reading for the details.

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We’ve just received the latest figures from the Dept. of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS); the figures, for January and February show that the number of domestic and international passengers GREW by 1.8% for a total of 113.2 million travelers.

But, these figures, I suspect, are a little misleading — we really should wait a couple of months, until the next round of figures comes out.

That’s because we’re already seeing signs of “softening” travel demand — and, we’re seeing NO signs of oil prices coming down.

Interesting news from Travelport this week — the company that owns international global distribution systems (GDS) which drive corporate travel bookings — and part owner of Orbitz.

According to Travelport executives, they are seeing “softness” in both consumer and corporate travel – this according to first-quarter earnings reports.

Segments booked through the company’s Galileo GDS were down 3 percent globally, “with the Americas region creating the greatest drag in the business, registering a 7 percent slip from the same period in 2007.”

Another sign, it seems, that we’re getting closer and closer to “push back” — the fabled tipping point where increasing fuel surcharges lead American travelers to say, “Enough! Let’s stay home.”

I urge you to check out my latest ABCNews.com column. I talk about what air travel could be like when oil hits $200 a barrel (and yes, apparently, that could well happen in the next year or so).

The $200 oil scenario has got some people thinking: was flying really so bad before airline deregulation?

And, is it time for some heroes to step forward? Check out the column, here.

This is the first in a series of reports on the soaring cost of oil; check back here each week for more “Fuel Watch 08″ specials and exclusives

This week, Congress voted overwhelmingly to order the White House to stop depositing oil in a national reserve. The reserve has been getting 70,000 barrels a day.

That’s the proverbial drop in the bucket since Americans have been going through about 20-million barrels a day. But to many in Congress (the measure passed 97 to 1) it’s a gesture to constituents who are getting burned at the pump.

It’s a gesture alright, according to Rep. Joe Barton — a meaningless gesture.

“If all the members of the House would go out onto the steps and clap our hands three times and say, Down prices, down prices,’ that would have as much impact as passing this bill.” — Rep. Joe L. Barton