Northwest asks for vote on its offer
Northwest asks for vote on its offer — Northwest Airlines, set to begin hiring replacements for striking mechanics today, made a last-ditch appeal to union leaders Monday, urging them to allow striking workers to vote on the airline’s latest contract proposal. (Star Tribune)
Airlines to return to New Orleans — Passenger flights return to New Orleans this morning after a 16-day hiatus but on a drastically reduced schedule. “There’s a real question of what the demand will be in the first few weeks,” says Roy Williams, the airport’s aviation director. But, he says, “It’s very important that the airport is up and running.” (USA Today)
Ophelia slow, but forecasters warn: ‘Take it seriously’ — Hurricane Ophelia weakened slightly Monday to a tropical storm, but meteorologists warned that it would still bring heavy rain and wind up the coast when it reaches the Carolinas on Wednesday. (USA Today)
A $79.95 opportunity to breeze through security — What do you think of paying $79.95 each year to obtain an identity card that allows you to pass through airport checkpoints without being treated like a prisoner being hustled to the cellblock? The program is only now in an early test phase at Orlando International Airport in Florida. (The New York Times)
More flights connecting through smaller airports — Utter the word “layover” to an air traveler, and crowded hub airports spring to mind  Chicago O’Hare, Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth. But increasingly, travelers are being presented itinerary options that have them connecting in airports such as Louisville, Little Rock, Tulsa or Akron-Canton in Ohio. (USA Today)
World airlines will pay more than $97b for fuel — Airlines globally will pay more than $97 billion for fuel in 2005 but carriers in Europe could break even while those in Asia are expected to make money, a leading international trade group said Monday. (Reuters)
Cruise ships aid relief effort — Tired but happy, New Orleans police officers began boarding a cruise ship docked at the Riverwalk on Monday, not to take a vacation but to settle themselves and their families into new temporary quarters. “This is going to be home for a while,” said Detective Phillip Clark II, a city police officer for the last 51/2 years. (Gannett News Service)
Big rise in Katrina cost forecast — The spiraling cost of Hurricane Katrina is taking a growing toll on the insurance market, leading firms warn. The world’s second-biggest reinsurer, Swiss Re, now reckons that companies will have to pay out a total of $40bn (£22bn), twice its initial estimate. (BBC News)
Greyhound Bus complains about New Orleans jail name — Greyhound Bus Lines complained to Louisiana’s prisons department to stop referring to a temporary New Orleans jail, that was once its bus station, as Camp Greyhound, a prisons official said on Monday. (Reuters)
Delta wrangles for pilot pay cuts — Delta Air Lines Inc. asked its pilots union Monday to accept new wage and benefit reductions to help address a financial crisis, a spokeswoman at the No. 3 U.S. carrier said. (Reuters)
Gas prices continue to sink — The price of regular unleaded gasoline in the U.S. continued its downward slide Tuesday, according to the AAA’s daily fuel gauge report. The nationwide average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline fell to $2.956, one penny less than Friday’s average of $2.967. the travel club reported. (CNN/Money)
Travel with environment in mind — The cost of executive travel includes more than just the money paid out for an air ticket or a taxi ride; business trips also have an environmental price tag. (CNN)
Stalled Ophelia pounds Carolina coast — More of the exposed Outer Banks chain of islands was ordered evacuated Tuesday as Tropical Storm Ophelia drifted closer to the coast of the Carolinas with pounding surf and a threat of heavy rain. (AP)
More airline turbulence ahead — Despite five years of staggering losses, the nation’s airline industry looks surprisingly close to the way it looked when the good times ended in 2000. (CNN/Money)
America West shareholders approve merger with US Airways — Shareholders of America West Airlines’ parent company on Tuesday approved the carrier’s proposed merger with US Airways, one of the last hurdles in the plan to wed the two geographically distinct airlines. (AP)
John Frenaye, Charles Leocha, Marge Purnell, Valerie Schneider, Mary Staley, Stephanus Surjaputra, Richard Wong.