Twenty die as New York tour boat capsizes
Twenty die as New York tour boat capsizes — Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board will try Monday to determine how and why a tour boat capsized on an upstate New York lake, killing 20 passengers. (CNN)
Air service to New Orleans makes slow return — Airlines are slowly ramping up flights from New Orleans, but it will be months, if not years, before air service there returns to pre-Hurricane Katrina levels. (USA Today)
Sky-high price of jet fuel forces cancelled flights — Hurricane damage to Gulf Coast oil refineries has sent jet fuel prices to alarming new highs, prompting one airline to cancel some flights. (USA Today)
FAA inspections of Northwest raise questions — Reports filed by federal aviation inspectors during the first month of a strike by Northwest Airlines Corp.’s mechanics challenge assertions by executives that operations are running smoothly, according to a review of records by the Star-Tribune newspaper. (AP)
Officials worry about space for Astros’ fans — The Houston Astros clinched a spot in the playoffs Sunday night, but a serious question lingers amid the revelry: Will there be room for all of the out-of-town visitors who bring in much-needed tourist dollars? (KHOU)
Cruise lines set their sites on Asia — Travel agents are marketing sailings in Asia to cruise veterans and accomplished travelers as an alternative to destinations in the Caribbean and Europe. (The New York Times)
El Al to buy to Boeing 777s — El Al Israel Airlines said on Sunday it signed an agreement with Boeing Co. for the purchase of two 777-200 ER jets for about $246 million. (Reuters)
Astronauts, U.S. businessman arrive at space station — A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying the fare-paying “space tourist” Gregory Olsen has docked with the International Space Station. (Bloomberg)
Airline workers facing job losses look to new fields — Twenty-one years as an aircraft mechanic at Northwest Airlines qualifies Mike Bauer to fix just about anything, so he is putting his skills to use as a handyman in South St. Paul, Minnesota. Bauer says it’s a good way to make a living now that his airline career seems to be over. (Reuters)
Boat wake caused NY capsize tragedy, captain says — Wake from a larger boat caused a tour boat to capsize, killing 20 elderly people on Sunday in picturesque Lake George, New York, the captain of the stricken vessel reported, officials investigating the tragedy said on Monday. (Reuters)
Conserving fuel makes dollars and sense for airlines — In less than two years, the price of jet fuel has doubled. For American Airlines, that translates to almost $3 billion in additional costs annually. Other carriers have been similarly hit, of course, but American has taken measures to deal with the rising cost of fuel. (USA Today)
Aviation buffs to mark Wright brothers’ flight — This week, the Wright brothers’ hometown will shine the spotlight on Huffman Prairie, Ohio as the city celebrates the 100th anniversary of a flight that allowed the brothers to declare that they had built the world’s first practical airplane. (AP)
Other tourist destinations fill void left by Katrina — Tourism promoters have a ticklish job in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: scooping up business from flooded-out New Orleans and the storm-ravaged Mississippi coast without seeming too crass. (AP)
U.S. touts familiar images to lure foreign tourists — The U.S. government for the first time is spending federal dollars to promote the USA abroad. Foreign tourism to the USA still has not rebounded to pre-Sept. 11 levels. So the federal government this year is spending $6 million on an ad campaign in the United Kingdom, the USA’s No. 1 overseas tourist market. (USA Today)
Airlines, employees both a tough sell for caterer Gate Gourmet — Every time a Dulles passenger peels off the foil from a beef-in-gravy dinner, a layer of the troubled airline industry is revealed. And Reston’s Gate Gourmet International, which prepares many of those meals, is right in the middle of those difficulties. The company, which serves an average of 534,000 in-flight meals a day around the world, says it is losing money with nearly every forkful. (Washington Post)
Carrie Charney, John Frenaye, Charles Leocha, Marge Purnell, Valerie Schneider, Mary Staley, Stephanus Surjaputra, Richard Wong.