Gwinnett Daily Post

Charge it: Airlines no longer taking cash onboard

NEW YORK - Don't bother hitting the ATM before boarding your flight - your airline may no longer be accepting cash.

Starting Aug. 5, Alaska Airlines will become the latest carrier to go cashless for in-flight purchases such as headphones, cocktails and snacks.

Others that have gone cashless include Frontier Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue, AirTran, Virgin American and Midwest Airlines.

The 'cashless cabin' is fast becoming the norm as more goods are sold in-flight and the hassles grow for making exact change, said Mike Boyd, a Colorado-based aviation consultant.

Northwest Airlines still accepts cash only for purchases on domestic flights. Delta Airlines accepts cash and credit cards, a spokeswoman said.

62,000 US jobs lost in June

WASHINGTON - The nation lost jobs for a sixth month in a row in June, a storm of pink slips drenching this year's July Fourth holiday for more than 60,000 Americans and leaving thousands more worried about the future.

Weighed down by energy prices and the housing crisis, employers laid off workers in stores, factories and forsaken building sites.

With more job cuts expected in coming months, there's growing concern that many people will pull back on their spending later this year when the bracing effect of the tax rebates fades, dealing a dangerous setback to the shaky economy. These worries are rekindling recession fears.

In June alone, employers got rid of 62,000 jobs, bringing total losses so far this year close to a staggering half-million - 438,000, according to the Labor Department's report released Thursday. The economy needs to generate more than 100,000 new jobs a month for employment to remain stable.