American pilot’s widow awarded $2.1 million
American pilot’s widow awarded $2.1 million — A federal jury Thursday ordered the Little Rock National Airport to pay more than $2.1 million to the widow of a pilot killed when his American Airlines jet crashed during a severe thunderstorm six years ago. While the National Transportation Safety Board had cited errors by Capt. Richard Buschmann, his widow Susan sued the airport in an effort to clear his name. She said the airport had a runway safety zone that failed to meet government standards. (AP)
Gate Gourmet union rejects contract, may file for bankruptcy — Union members working for airline caterer Gate Gourmet have voted 3,860 to 240 to reject cuts in wages and benefits sought in a final proposal by the company. Gate Gourmet, a US-based company with operations in a number of European countries including the UK, had warned that a rejection could mean bankruptcy for the company. (Personnel Today)
For car rental firms, it’s peak season — The June through August months are the peak driving season, which experts say shouldn’t be hampered by higher gas prices and rental rates. They say there still are good deals to be had if consumers compare prices online, call several agencies and make reservations months in advance. (Florida Today)
Travel agents losing out to airline sites — Back in the distant cyber-past (two or three years ago), the big question was, do I spend hours searching the Web for the best travel deal, or do I pick up the phone and talk to my friendly travel agent? The question today is, should I book on an airline site or a travel agency site such as Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Opodo or Zuji that offers a huge choice of options for airlines and fares but is biased toward favorite wholesalers and may not always show the best combination of flights, connections and fares? (IHT)
Marriott predicts revenues will climb 10 percent — Marriott International bragged of surging profits and promising trends Thursday in predicting up to 10 percent growth in per-room revenues this year, the latest dose of encouraging news for the nation’s hotel industry. “2004 turned out spectacularly well,” Chief Financial Officer Arne Sorenson told financial analysts Thursday at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach, noting he was fairly pessimistic when he spoke to the same group at the end of 2003. “And 2005 is off to a great start.” (Miami Herald)
Clearwater asks: Where are all the hotels? — The Clearwater, Fla., City Council Thursday took steps to slow the creep of condominiums on Clearwater Beach, toughening rules to transform hotel rooms into residences. “The condos in some instances are a fine thing,” Mayor Frank Hibbard said. “But too many of them are not. We want to maintain our tourism industry.” (St. Petersburg Times)
Judge: Alaska doesn’t have to rehire ramp workers — A federal judge Thursday declined to reinstate 472 unionized ramp workers laid off by Alaska Airlines at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez said he did not have jurisdiction over the dispute, which falls within the purview of a national review board. He also found that the airline had a right to replace the workers with subcontractors three weeks ago. (Anchorage Daily News)
Look who’s calling the shots at US Airways now — New investors in the proposed merger of US Airways and America West Airlines will have a larger collective stake in the new company as the result of last Friday’s $150 million commitment from Boston-based Wellington Management. Wellington and four other investors would end up with a 49 percent share, according to new documents filed yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, up from 41 percent originally due the first four — Air Canada, PAR Capital Management, Peninsula Investment Partners and Air Wisconsin Airlines. (Post-Gazette)
Business travel recovering slowly — Demand for business travel services is recovering slowly, although there are some preliminary signs this segment of the market is poised for growth in the year ahead according to the recently-released Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell 2005 National Business Travel Monitor. (TND)
Will Alaska buy merged US Airways/America West? — A third airline may yet join the America West Holdings-US Airways party. On May 19, the two airlines announced final plans to merge and form a new company of which America West shareholders would own 45%. Analysts put the value of the deal at $6 per America West share. Now some pros close to the industry say Alaska Air Holdings, which owns Alaska Airlines, may make a bid to buy AWA, without disturbing the proposed merger, leaving Alaska the bigger shareholder in the new merged company. (BusinessWeek)
Gambling bill on Miss. paddlewheelers sinks — A bill to legalize gambling aboard paddlewheelers that cruise the Mississippi River in the state fell four votes short of clearing the Louisiana House on Thursday, but its chief sponsor said he will bring the measure back for a second try. The House voted 49-44 for House Bill 114 by Rep. Danny Martiny, R-Kenner, but 53 votes are needed for most bills to pass the House. Martiny did not say when he would try the bill again. (Times-Picayune)
Correspondents: John Frenaye, Leslie Friedman, Mary Staley, Stephanus Surjaputra.