A passenger sitting in an airline seat has to put a coin in a slot in order for a tray table to be extended or a window shade to open.

Many of my travel compadres have bemoaned the practice of being nickeled-and-dimed by the airlines and are hoping it doesn't spread.

But in all likelihood, it will. In fact, a new report by Wisconsin-based IdeaWorks, a brand development company that helps companies build market share through research, indicates it's likely that more airlines will charge fees for certain services in a bid to build ancillary revenue as a hedge against rising fuel costs and falling air fares.

Even Southwest is considering some a la carte pricing in the future. And, Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air may be one of the drivers of the trend since it has been successful in developing a formula that generated $15.8 million in its last quarter.

IdeaWorks' report comes in the form of an online survey conducted with more than 140 airline managers from around the world in July. Of the managers surveyed, only 20 percent were from within the United States or Canada, indicating this could be a global phenomenon.

According to the report, 63 percent of those surveyed said charging extra for amenities is becoming more prevalent, while 37 percent said they perceived no clear trend. But none of them said including free amenities is becoming more prevalent.

The most popular feature being charged extra for is making a booking via the airline's call center, with 52 percent saying they already charge a fee.

Meanwhile, 39 percent say they charge for onboard meals or sandwiches, 29 percent charge extra for pre-assigned premium seats or in roomier exit rows, 26 percent charge for onboard light snacks and 26 percent charge for onboard beverages. According to the survey, 20 percent charge a fee for an online payment with a credit card, 19 percent charge extra for onboard video, movies or live television and 13 percent charge for any pre-assigned seat.

Only 8 percent charge for the first piece of checked luggage (most companies charge extra for more than two pieces of luggage or bags over a certain weight limit) and 5 percent charge for making a booking on the airline Web site.

Will there be more fees sought in the future? The IdeaWorks survey indicates that most executives believe onboard video, movies and live TV is where more fees are coming, with one-third of those surveyed believing future charges are in store.

About 28 percent believe more airlines will charge for making bookings via the call center.

About a quarter of those surveyed believe pre-assigned seating, including the premium exit rows or front-of-the-plane seats (to get off the aircraft faster) will see extra charges.

Only 11 percent think more airlines will start charging for soft drinks and even fewer - 8 percent - expect there to be more extra charges for snacks. About 8 percent also believe charges are ahead for checking the first piece of luggage.

"Low-cost carriers have clearly chosen to distinguish their products by offering rock-bottom fares and a la carte pricing," the IdeaWorks report says. "Traditionally, major airlines fought this competitive threat by hyping the value of the amenities included in the price of their tickets."

But times have changed.

With fuel costs a constant concern and competition growing, even the big airlines are looking at how they can make money in somewhat unconventional ways.

IdeaWorks said another element has supported the ancillary-revenue trend - younger Internet-savvy consumers unfamiliar with how flying used to be embrace the low fares and the ability to get just what they want with a la carte pricing.

Look for airlines to charge extra for Internet access on planes, a growing trend in the industry and one the Internet crowd would be drawn to.

Between the airlines' need for cash and the new consumers' willingness to buy into it, nickel-and-diming appears to be the wave of the future.

Two arenas? Can Las Vegas support two sports arenas? The emergence of Anschutz Entertainment Group with a plan to build a 20,000-seat facility just off the Strip led many to write off the similar REI-Neon Warburg Pincus project planned near downtown Las Vegas.

Mayor Oscar Goodman is among those who believe two arenas can survive and he has a good point.

Assuming that among the major tenants of local arenas someday would be franchises of the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League, there is precedence as close as Phoenix for one sport to use one arena and the other sport to use another.

The Phoenix Suns basketball team plays downtown in US Airways Center, while the Phoenix Coyotes play in suburban Glendale, Ariz., at the Jobing.com Arena. That, incidentally, is next door to University of Phoenix Stadium where the Arizona Cardinals play and adjacent to the future spring training home of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In addition, Phoenix is home to Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where the Phoenix Roadrunners minor-league hockey team (in the same league as the Las Vegas Wranglers) plays. Veterans Memorial Coliseum is just up the street from Arizona's Capitol Building and the "Madhouse on McDowell" used to be home of the Suns before the downtown arena, formerly named for America West Airlines, was built.

My point is that Phoenix has four major sports facilities - not counting a handful of other concert venues, spring training stadiums and Arizona State University locations. Las Vegas, the Entertainment Capital of the World, has the MGM Grand Garden, the Thomas & Mack Center, the Mandalay Bay arena and the Orleans Arena. Most major casinos have large entertainment venues as well (Caesars' Colosseum, theaters for various Cirque du Soleil shows, Planet Hollywood's Theatre for the Performing Arts, theaters for various Broadway shows on the Strip).

The companies that hustle will fill those venues with entertainment choices that will keep them financially viable and having two similar arenas will be a blessing for the city, not an albatross.

They may seem like overkill now, but in 10 years, both arenas should flourish if the companies building them are successful in their efforts to secure financing today.

Growth issues: It was clear at the end of Nevada's legislative session in June that the tourism industry was in the center of the discussion about the issues of growth. After all, as new resorts continue to go up, they'll generate more traffic and jam the city's streets and the state's highways. Water use will continue to be a part of the debate as the tourism corridor grows.

The tourism industry has demonstrated that it wants to be a part of the discussion. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, possibly in a defensive move, made sure it was part of the discussion when the state began considering a raid on the room-tax fund.

So, it's good timing that the 2007 Governor's Conference on Tourism - the first with Gov. Jim Gibbons at the helm - will focus on growth issues. The event is planned Dec. 12-14 at Caesars Palace, which is undergoing its own growth plan with a new tower, convention center and renovation of the existing Forum Tower. The program will include a panel of chief executives from Las Vegas hotels discussing the growth explosion.

The high cost of sand: Lost in some of the hullabaloo of the opening of the Venetian Macau last week were reports that Las Vegas Sands' casino project in Singapore could cost up to 40 percent more than initially figured.

Why? Because of the high cost of sand “ a critical ingredient in the manufacture of cement.

William Weidner, an executive with Las Vegas Sands, said in Macau that the price of Singapore's Marina Bay Sands project could rise by as much as $1.44 billion to more than $5 billion, thanks largely to a ban on exporting sand from Indonesia.

The government of Indonesia also is looking into exports of granite. Both sand and granite are used to make cement, one of the key building materials for the project.

Construction began in February and Weidner said he's still anticipating a 2009 opening.