Microjets linking small towns nationwide
Microjets linking small towns nationwide — If the nation’s 429 commercial airports are too crowded, there is an alternative, aviation visionaries say: using a new generation of microjets, with two engines and just five or six seats, as air taxis or charters to connect the 5,400 airports scattered around the country that now have no scheduled service at all. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Northwest jet makes emergency landing in Iran — A Northwest Airlines DC-10 made an emergency landing in Tehran on Sunday after reporting a technical problem in its cargo section, airport officials said. Flight 41 was en route from Bombay, India, to Amsterdam, Netherlands, with 255 passengers and crew, according to a spokesman for the Iranian civil aviation authority. No injuries were reported. (CBS News)
Varig files for bankruptcy — Viacao Aerea Rio-Grandense, Latin America’s biggest airline and the carrier responsible for most of the international flights from Brazil, filed for protection Friday from creditors in Brazil and the U.S. as it seeks to restructure $2.8 billion of debt. The airline, known as Varig, will operate normally for the next 180 days, executives said. The company, a member of the Star Alliance group of airlines, also said the filing won’t affect its frequent flier program. (LA Times)
Northwest Chairman sells more stock — Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWAC) Chairman Gary Wilson, who has attracted attention for stock sales amid the carrier’s declining fortunes, reported Friday selling another $138,420 in company shares. Wilson sold 26,100 shares Wednesday and Thursday at $5.23 to $5.45 each under a prearranged stock-trading plan he adopted in April. Including the latest transactions, according to data from the Washington Service, Wilson has sold roughly 2.9 million shares in the last month - or about 65% of his company stockholdings as of May 2. (Smart Money)
Police furious as ‘Raffles’ hotel thief talks his way out of jail and disappears — A conman jailed for bluffing his way into the world’s top hotels to steal guests’ jewels, has now smooth-talked his way out of prison in Kent. Little more than two months after Juan Carlos Guzman-Betancourt, a Colombian, was jailed for three and half years, he convinced staff at Standford Hill Prison, on the Isle of Sheppey, that he should be let out on his own to visit a dentist. (Telegraph)
BA: What to do if the seat’s too small — Saturday Star Travel has received many calls from unhappy economy-class travellers who find themselves seated besides obese passengers who by default occupy more than the space of their own seat. If the plane is not full, the solution is to move to another seat. However, there have been instances where this is not possible as the economy-class section is full. What should the passenger who is being uncomfortably squashed do? (IOL)
Never mind the concierge, where’s the D.J.? — Who is a hotel’s most important employee? The general manager, concierge, chef or even the chief housekeeper might come to mind. But at many newer properties, especially boutique hotels aiming for a younger crowd, the answer could be completely different: the D.J. (NYT)
Pilots leader sees recovery on horizon for some airlines — U.S. airlines are expected to lose about $5 billion this year. Yet the head of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said at least some of the so-called Big Six appear ready to break out of their financial holding patterns and remake themselves. (Star Tribune)
Correspondents: Leslie Friedman, Charles Leocha, Stephanus Surjaputra