Foreign tourists’ spending hits record
Foreign tourists’ spending hits record — Foreign visitors spent more than ever in the USA last year despite their numbers continuing to be held down partly by the war on terror. (USA Today)
Quick action urged on Venezuelan flights — Venezuela’s airline association on Wednesday urged the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to visit “as soon as possible” after Venezuelan officials threatened to restrict U.S. airlines’ flights to the South American country. (Houston Chronicle)
Airport prank still doesn’t fly — A former Southwest Airlines employee who was placed under “mock arrest†during a workplace prank can sue the city of Albuquerque and its police department for its role, a judge has ruled. The judge also ruled that the airline is not liable for damages. (The Washington Post)
Denver airport traffic up with Southwest Airlines debut — Denver International Airport reported an 8.3% increase in passenger traffic during January, helped in part by the return of low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines. (AP)
Reno-Tahoe airport gets new hotel, expansion, flights to Chicago — Reno-Tahoe International Airport is getting an expanded terminal, a Hyatt hotel, a new tower that will wipe out Brookside Golf Course and a weekly Chicago-Midway flight, officials said Wednesday. (Reno Gazette-Journal)
Flight attendants respond to Comair’s move to void contract — The union representing Comair flight attendants asked a federal bankruptcy judge late Wednesday to deny the airline’s request to void its contract with about 1,000 flight attendants. (AP)
Bird flu, Mohammed cartoon tensions hit travel trade — Europe’s biggest travel group TUI AG said Wednesday that worries about bird flu and the tensions unleashed in Muslim nations by the so-called Mohammed cartoons, had hit German bookings for the key summer vacation season. (Expatica.com)
Airline relief gets boost in nonbinding House vote — The airline industry got a lift from a non-binding vote that put House members on record as preferring language in the Senate bill that would give carriers who freeze but don’t abandon their plans 20 years to bring underfunded pensions into line. Companies in other industries would have seven years to correct underfunding. (MarketWatch)
Lawyer: Couple who complained about bedbugs returned to hotel — A couple who claim they were bitten by bedbugs while staying at a Catskills resort in July returned for another stay later that month, according to the hotel’s lawyer. (AP)
Turtle Bay wants to build five more hotels — Developers of the Turtle Bay Resort have unveiled plans to build five new hotels, 20 years after they agreed to make the project more acceptable to North Shore residents. (AP)
Carrie Charney, Christopher Elliott, John Frenaye, Charles Leocha, Marge Purnell, Valerie Schneider, Mary Staley, Stephanus Surjaputra, Richard Wong.