Mardi Gras intrudes on Katrina evacuees
Mardi Gras intrudes on Katrina evacuees — New Orleans is preparing to welcome back tourists who want to celebrate Mardi Gras in the Big Easy. The revelers will be heading to hotels also being used by about 4,000 people who lost their homes amid the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina. (CNN)
Alaska airlines faces proposed FAA penalty over safety issue — The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a $500,000 civil penalty against Alaska Airlines, accused of operating a Boeing 737 on 478 flights without proper emergency lighting. (AP)
United flight attendants object to plan confirmation — Flight attendants at United Airlines are asking a court to reject the No. 2 U.S. carrier’s plan to exit bankruptcy protection, citing plans to pay bonuses to 400 members of management. (Reuters)
Unions sign strike truce for Torino Games — A nationwide strike truce was signed by Italian unions Wednesday for the period covering the Torino Olympics. The agreement will force the postponement of an Alitalia airline strike scheduled for the day of the opening ceremony. (AP)
Windsor hopes Super Bowl can show it’s more than just sin — It’s hard to dispute that many of the 100,000 Super Bowl fans expected in Detroit next month will visit the border city of Windor, Ont., where prostitution and gambling are legal, naked ladies dance in strip clubs and Cuban cigars are for sale in shops along the main street. (AP)
Beach-going tourists likely to avoid Miss. coast — Officials on the Mississippi Gulf Coast have begun cleaning up almost 30 miles of the region’s artificial white sand beaches, but tourism experts say there is little hope of attracting beach-going tourists this year. (AP)
Six destinations to keep on your radar for 2006 — The new year brings with it up-and-coming destinations worth keeping on your travel radar as you begin to plan your vacations for 2006: Albuquerque, China, Croatia, Thailand, the Netherlands and Turkey. (USA Today)
Report: Mesaba’s fleet to shrink — Northwest Airlines’ regional partner Mesaba expects its fleet to be cut in half, according to media reports. Leaving the Minneapolis airline with 50 34-seat turboprops and cutting some jobs, the move will help Mesaba in its efforts to survive. (Memphis Business Journal)
Boeing forms alliance with fast-growing India — Eager to entrench itself in the lucrative Asian airplane market, aerospace giant Boeing plans to invest $185 million in facilities in India and buy nearly $2 billion in products and services there. (USA Today)
Woman scuffles with flight attendants, passengers — A woman scuffled with flight attendants and another passenger on a United Express flight Wednesday, then claimed a bomb was on board after the plane was diverted, authorities said. (AP)
BA pilots may strike over pension dispute — A pilots’ union warned British Airways PLC on Thursday that it could go on strike over a pension dispute. The British Airline Pilots Association, which represents 2,800 BA pilots, said it will fight any plans to make its members pay for a deficit of more than 1 billion pounds ($1.8 billion) in the company’s final salary pension program. (AP)
United CEO could get $15 million in incentives — United Airlines CEO Glenn Tilton could receive stock and options worth $15 million, base pay of more than $600,000 annually and a bonus that could double his salary when the carrier emerges from bankruptcy next month, according to company documents. (AP)
United to halve boarding time — United Airlines will install five state-of-the-art jet bridges at Denver International Airport that allow passengers to board and deplane from both the front and back doors of an aircraft. The airline will use the advanced bridges, developed by Ottawa, Ontario- based Dew Engineering and Development Ltd., for flights involving its low-cost arm, Ted. (Rocky Mountain News)
Southwest adds flights to New Orleans — Southwest Airlines Co. will add five new flights from New Orleans to Dallas, Houston and Orlando beginning March 17. The Dallas-based low-cost carrier is adding one flight between New Orleans and Dallas, for a total of three daily nonstop flights between the two cities. (Dallas Business Journal)
Carrie Charney, Christopher Elliott, John Frenaye, Charles Leocha, Marge Purnell, Valerie Schneider, Mary Staley, Stephanus Surjaputra, Richard Wong.