Southwest Airlines (LUV) has theoretically managed to squeeze more than $773 million in extra revenue from the flying public by squeezing them tighter into their seats.
 
As the website Unwieldy.net has noted, the airline decided last year to reduce its "seat pitch," better known as legroom, on its Boeing (BA) 737s by an inch, from 33 to 32 inches. By doing so, the fourth-largest U.S. airline was able to add six seats per flight. The Dallas carrier runs about 93,450 flights per month that are about 80% full, with an average ticket price of $141.72.

By Unwieldy's math, that equals exactly $773,074,040 in additional revenue, which for a company that's expected to generate $17.7 billion in sales this year isn't too shabby. A Southwest spokesperson couldn't be reached for comment on the validity of the site's calculation. However, aviation consultant Mike Boyd tells MSN Money that "it passes the smell test. . . . (But) you better have tushies in those chairs." 

Saturday marks the anniversary of the crushing disappointment known as Facebook's (FB) initial public offering. Facebook and Wall Street, however, seem to have moved on just fine.

Facebook shares have never come close to the $38 IPO price, but they've stabilized in the $26-$28 range. After a few months of not knowing what to think about the company or its prospects, analysts have come around. Only one major analyst -- Rich Greenfield at BTIG Research -- has a "sell" rating on the stock. Most everyone else has some version of "buy" or "hold."

So Facebook has settled into the life of a regular Wall Street stock. What's worth noting, however, is what Facebook did not become. 

As an overall trend, union membership rates in the U.S. are declining. The Department of Labor reports just 11.3% of America's wage and salary workers were union members last year, down from 11.8% in 2011. Compare that with 1983, the first year comparable data became available: The overall U.S. union membership rate was 20.1%.

The U.S. labor movement's roots were traditionally found in manufacturing, service and public-sector jobs. But as that factory work diminishes and the economy changes, more white-collar workers are looking at organizing.

 

Some gas stations, convenience stores and other merchants are illegally charging fees for debit card users, as well as putting minimum purchase amounts on customers who use the bank cards, according to a new report. 

A January settlement of a class-action lawsuit allowed merchants to start adding "checkout fees" on customers who pay with credit cards, but it exempted debit card users. Despite this, some merchants still hit debit card users, GoBankingRates.com reports.

Ten states -- California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas -- actually prohibit surcharges for credit card users, but that can be a gray area. For instance, gas stations sometimes offer cash discounts. While that's not adding a charge for credit card users, it still effectively dings them when compared with cash customers. 

 

When the San Francisco Giants invest in a bullpen piece like left-handed pitcher Jeremy Affeldt (pictured), the least they ask of him is not to cost them anything.

Don't cost them runs, don't blow saves, don't shift games that were in the "W" column into "L" territory. Since arriving in San Francisco in 2009, Affeldt's largely upheld those simple criteria by going 10-9 with 10 saves and giving up just two runs in 15 playoff appearances while helping the Giants to World Series wins in 2010 and 2012.

That he also saved the team $500,000 along the way by pointing out a clerical error in his contract didn't hurt, either.

Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle points out Affeldt was set to earn $4 million in 2010 under an existing contract with the Giants when the team negotiated a two-year, $10 million extension.

 

As we approach Armed Forces Day this weekend, take a moment to not only thank your friends and family in uniform but to consider their unique way of life.

The old Navy slogan, "it's not just a job, it's an adventure," may still hold true, but at the end of the day, working in the military remains a job -- with its own job culture, pay scales and unique financial aspects.

Military take-home pay can run from around $16,000 annually for someone just entering basic training all the way up to over $200,000 for a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Members of all four military services work with an equivalent pay grade scale -- E-1 to E-9 for enlisted personnel and O-1 to O-10 for officers.

But military salaries are more than just a person's basic and taxable take-home pay.

 

Say you want to repay a friend for your concert ticket. Or give your roommate half the rent money. Even in this electronic age, most of us handle these transactions the old-fashioned way, by handing over a check or cash.

Shouldn't we just be able to push a button instead?

Financial companies have pursued this type of electronic money transfer for years. PayPal by eBay (EBAY) has probably been the most successful, but even that requires some jumping through hoops. Now Google (GOOG) is giving it a whirl by letting you send money as an attachment to an email message. 

The federal government will turn a tidy profit -- to the tune of more than $110 billion -- from student loans during President Barack Obama's current term, thanks to a form of arbitrage that's helping the government reap more in earnings than some of the country's most lucrative companies. 

What's driving the government's profits from lending to students? It's the fact that while the Federal Reserve is maintaining rock-bottom interest rates, students are obligated to repay their loans at a rate that's three times as high. The Treasury, as the middleman, gets to keep the difference. 

That will allow the government to book profits of about $35 billion in the current fiscal year from its loans to college graduates, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.