Delta discloses additional financial problems
Delta discloses additional financial problems — Delta Air Lines, struggling to avoid bankruptcy protection, was hit by a fresh crisis yesterday when it delayed a regulatory filing so it could conclude critical talks to reach a deal with a new credit card processing company. Without a deal, Delta would not be able to accept Visa or MasterCard as payment for tickets, which could cost it business. The disclosure by Delta, the third-largest domestic airline behind American and United, came after its shares sank amid new fears that it would have to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. (New York Times)
Win free airline tickets! — Wanna fly somewhere for free this summer? When you register at Tripso’s forums and make your first post, you’ll be automatically entered to win two tickets on US Airways. The tickets are good through June 30, 2006. But hurry: you have to register and post before August 15, 2005 to be eligible.*
Airliner headed for Phoenix clips two planes at N.J airport — A Phoenix-bound Continental Airlines 737 taxiing at Newark Liberty International Airport clipped two planes. A spokesman for Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the incident happened around 12:30 p-m yesterday. (KOLD News)
London hotel to designate women-only wing — A five-star hotel opening this month in London will feature 68 rooms in a wing for women only, featuring Hollywood-style backlit makeup tables. The Grange City Hotel will also use only female room service staff in the seven-story hotel`s women`s wing, the BBC said. Other amenities include illuminated wardrobes and high-powered hairdryers. (M&C News)
Many tack a holiday on their vacation days — A quiz, for people who are paying attention…what do July 4, Sept. 5 and Oct. 10 have in common? They’re all Monday holidays (Independence Day, Labor Day and Columbus Day), and for Americans who take their vacation seriously, those days are like small chess pieces to move on a board. (LA Times)
Texas man arrested in Southwest bomb prank — FBI agents arrested a San Antonio man Tuesday accused of planting a note on a Southwest Airlines flight claiming there was a bomb on board. The threat forced a temporary shut down at Houston’s Hobby Airport, and the plane had to be evacuated and then searched after a passenger found the note in a seat pocket during a flight from Dallas to Houston on Friday. (Washington Post)
A toast to culinary travel — Imagine being able to prepare a gourmet meal from produce that was picked mere hours before, as an expert chef gives you tips. A wine expert helps you pick the perfect wine to go with the meal. You sit down to dinner with a small group that shares your passion for good food, just as the sun slips over the green French hills. (Asheville Citizen-Times)
Noodle attack delays flight — An angry passenger threw a cup of hot noodles at an air hostess after being asked not to use her mobile phone during takeoff from Bangkok yesterday. The mid-air quarrel resulted in 200 passengers booked on the plane’s return flight being kept waiting for nearly four hours at Phuket airport. (Bangkok Post)
Detroit’s Metro airport poised for a strike — Detroit Metro Airport’s management says it’s confident Northwest Airlines Inc. can weather a mechanics strike without major disruptions. But it is prepared to handle a drop in passengers caused by a strike or a bankruptcy filing at Metro Airport’s financially distressed hub carrier. Detroit Free Press)
Travel firm warned of beds danger — A holiday firm was warned about the dangers of wooden foldaway beds at a Spanish hotel four months before two Tyneside sisters died, it is claimed. (BBC)
The ‘new’ US Airways hopes its ticker symbol will be a sign of things to come — Ticker: A sign of things to come? The new US Airways, if it merges successfully with America West Airlines this fall, will scroll across the bottom of every financial TV-news program and Times Square ticker as LCC. (Post Gazette)
Rare turtle gets first-class plane ride from Twin Cities — Sun Country Airlines expected a special passenger sitting in first class on this morning’s flight from the Twin Cities to Fort Myers, Fla. A rare loggerhead turtle was being returned to Florida, where it was illegally taken from a beach as a baby last September. An agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was accompanying the 7 1/2-pound turtle. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Here’s the fine print on Tripso ticket giveaway: When you make your first post as a registered user, you will automatically be entered to win. Travel is roundtrip in coach class anywhere US Airways flies in the continental United States, Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, and Central America. There are some blackout dates, such as major holidays. Sorry, they must be US Airways flights and their codeshare partners don’t count.
Contributors: Leslie Friedman, Charlie Leocha