InsideTrip.com - Compare the flying experience across multiple airlines
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Gripes about air travel are very common. But what if you could know fares and the quality of flights before you booked? That's the premise of a new website called InsideTrip.com. You can shop fares and learn about the load factor on flights, leg room, the age of the fleet, the rate of baggage loss and much more. InsideTrip.com offers Consumer Reports-type rankings with a system of little circles and a numerical ranking. The consistent No. 1 airline seems to be Milwaukee-based Midwest Airlines, while United Airlines is usually the worst. Little surprise there!

For those of you who have been giving Clark some heat over his support of nuclear power, this note's for you: There are now plants generating solar energy by using rotating mirrors to follow the sun's path. These plants are popular in the Mountain West where there's fantastic sunlight. In fact, the sun gets so intense that Clark's brother -- who lives south of Phoenix -- has to flee to San Diego for about a month every year! The New York Times reports there are 2 of these mirror-equipped facilities already on the grid, while 8 more are in the planning or construction stages. It's good to know that there are new solutions on the supply side. On the demand side, meanwhile, Americans now are using less fuel thanks to fuel-efficient vehicles. Clark recently got a question about whether it was smart to ditch a 4-year-old SUV and buy a new fuel-efficient vehicle. The answer is no, you must instead buy a 4-year-old used fuel-efficient vehicle. Remember, let somebody else take the hit on depreciation.

CLARKONOMICS: Everyday during these Clarkonomics segments, Clark brings you all kinds of woeful news about the economy. So it's nice to be able to finally bring some good news. Each year, a temporary employment firm called Manpower Inc. compiles a very comprehensive hiring survey. Their spring report really wowed people because it found that more than 1 in 4 employers expect to increase total net employment during the next 3 months. Less than 10% expect to reduce head count. The remaining companies surveyed foresee things remaining level. That's fantastic news if you're job-hunting.

Meanwhile, Clark recently read that the number of weeks it takes to find a new job once you're unemployed has increased because of the slowing economy. So it may take longer to turn the ship around, but that ship will sail. If you're worrying about a future layoff, get your money together for leaner times. Clark believes that you really lose confidence during prolonged unemployed. So you've got to have an action plan. First, get out and volunteer in some activity you believe in; you could end up with a job through that alone. Second, take a job doing anything, at least part-time, so you can pay your bills. Even if you're embarrassed by the gig, at least you're putting money back in your wallet.

Were you one of those cruise customers who got hit with a fuel surcharge fee after you booked on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity? Florida's attorney general has reached a deal to refund this rip-off surcharge to customers. The cruise industry is controlled by a small number of players who act in utter arrogance, so Clark is pleased to see this latest development. He completely supports the right of any business to jack their rates to whatever they want before a sale. But to tack on bogus fees after the fact is disgusting. While the attorney general deserves kudos, where was the FTC on this issue?