Could Delta, Northwest merge?
Could Delta, Northwest merge? — Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines entered bankruptcy court together this week, and few will be surprised if they emerge together  as a single combined carrier. (USA Today)
Delta OK’d to pay some bills — Delta Air Lines spent its first day in bankruptcy fighting for the right to continue business as usual, with a federal bankruptcy judge Thursday allowing the company at least the short-term ability to continue paying its bills. (Cincinnati Enquirer)
US Airways plan expected to get OK — Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Mitchell is expected Friday to approve US Airways’ reorganization plan, clearing the way for formation of the USA’s newest airline. (USA Today)
Ophelia weakens off North Carolina — Still spinning in the Atlantic off the North Carolina coast and pounding outlying islands with rain, winds and powerful surf, Tropical Storm Ophelia had weakened slightly early Friday and was expected to continue doing so, forecasters said. (CNN)
Gas prices could have leaf watchers in a flutter — Birches and maples already are beginning to blush along the higher ridges of northern Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, a Lake Superior vacation spot that typically draws about 30,000 fall leaf watchers. But just how many visitors will buck near-record gas prices to follow their progress remains cloudy. (USA Today)
After backlash, Amtrak delays fare increases — The next time Amtrak officials decide to spring a hefty fare increase on their most loyal customers, they may want to pass along an early warning to the members of Congress among them. Amtrak said yesterday that it would postpone the increases while it takes more time to explain its plan to elected officials and riders. (The New York Times)
Car rental agencies scramble to keep up with demand — Car rental companies are trucking in thousands of vehicles to Louisiana, trying to keep up with the government and relief agencies and insurance companies that are renting them for a month at a time. (Shreveport Times)
Los Angeles-bound plane makes emergency landing in Tokyo — Smoke was detected in the cabin of a United Airlines flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles today, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Tokyo, an official said. No injuries were reported. (AP)
JetBlue tries to capitalize on Delta’s weakness — JetBlue, the scrappy low-fare airline, has put on its boxing gloves to take on another major carrier for the prized West Palm Beach market. JetBlue  taking lightning-fast advantage of wobbly Delta Air Lines’ bankruptcy filing Wednesday  said Thursday it plans to launch three daily nonstop flights between Palm Beach International Airport and New York’s La Guardia Airport. (The Palm Beach Post)
Greek crash cause still a mystery — One month after Greece’s worst air accident, a conclusive explanation of what caused a Cypriot Helios Airways airliner to crash killing all 121 people on board still eludes investigators, but recent reports suggest pilots may have failed to respond to a cabin pressure warning. (AP)
Cruise ships, spurned by evacuees, are home to displaced city workers and families — They are truly cruises to nowhere. Docked in New Orleans, two luxury liners, the Ecstasy and the Sensation from Carnival Cruise Lines, are temporarily home to thousands of city workers and their families. (The New York Times)
Relief effort disrupts long-planned cruise trips — Katherine Reedholm and her husband booked a seven-day Caribbean cruise out of Galveston as a family Christmas gift for the couple’s four children. Now, she says, Carnival Cruise Lines has canceled the trip to shift around ships to accommodate a $192 million Hurricane Katrina relief contract. (AP)
New Orleans bars get ready to open — New Orleans’ famed French Quarter cleaned up its bars and clubs on Friday to get ready for business, the first step in a long and costly effort to rebuild a wrecked city that has still not picked up all its dead. (Reuters)
Freewheeling Britons face U.S. travel ban — Passengers travelling to the United States who do not provide airlines with exact addresses for their first-night accommodation could be barred from flights. New rules to be introduced on October 4 insist that airlines have a list of first-night addresses or face £1,900 fines per passenger flown to the U.S. (Times Online)
Carrie Charney, John Frenaye, Charles Leocha, Marge Purnell, Valerie Schneider, Mary Staley, Stephanus Surjaputra, Richard Wong.