Wilma strengthens to Category 5 storm
Hurricane Wilma strengthens to Category 5 storm — Hurricane Wilma jumped from a Category 2 to a dangerous Category 5 storm in mere hours Wednesday, with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph — and possibly the lowest recorded barometric pressure, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday. (CNN)
Baltimore tunnel reopens after threat — Federal agents were questioning “a couple” of people Tuesday in connection with a terror threat that prompted Baltimore authorities to temporarily close one of two downtown tunnels under Baltimore Harbor and restrict traffic through the other, U.S. officials said. (CNN)
Northwest projects $1.7 billion loss for year — Northwest Airlines is predicting a pretax loss of $1.7 billion for the year  its largest in history  due to many factors including high fuel costs, weak pricing power, and high labor costs. (AP)
Number overstated for storm evacuees in hotels — The Red Cross and federal government said Tuesday that they had been significantly overreporting the number of Hurricane Katrina evacuees in hotels. Instead of 600,000 people, 200,000 remain in hotels, the charity said. (The New York Times)
Northwest smokers face healthcare surcharge — Northwest Airlines plans to impose a health care premium surcharge on workers who use tobacco products and is joining a growing number of companies that won’t provide health insurance if spouses or domestic partners have access to it at work. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Southwest Airlines petitions senators on Love Field flights — The president of Southwest Airlines says the carrier could move from its longtime home if Congress won’t let it fly anywhere in the country from Dallas Love Field. (AP)
MTA stresses need for expansion — Rail transit operators and experts met yesterday to discuss two of the most daunting challenges facing mass transit in the New York metropolitan region — service expansion and security. (Stamford Advocate)
American says it has green light to work with Lan Peru — American Airlines said Tuesday it has won antitrust immunity from the federal Department of Transportation for a deal that will allow it to coordinate marketing and scheduling with Lan Peru. (AP)
Travel travails – saga of a trip up North — This infrequent flier from Florida won’t be up for another trip West any time soon. The hassles, from the security lines to self check-in, were too much. (Sun Herald)
American shows united front — With Delta and Northwest now in Chapter 11, American Airlines stands alone as the only traditional U.S. carrier never to seek protection in bankruptcy court. And American, the world’s biggest airline, stands apart on another point: It alone among industry peers has gone more than two years without demanding labor givebacks or threatening to default on promised pensions. (USA Today)
Fatties to the front, says airline — A holiday airline is investigating an incident in which passengers reported how cabin staff asked “fat people” to move to the front of the aircraft to help with weight distribution. (Daily Mail)
EU agency sees no need to panic over bird flu — Europeans should not panic about bird flu as there is only a slight risk of humans contracting it and there is no immediate threat of a pandemic, a European Union disease prevention agency said on Wednesday. (Reuters)
Florida orders tourists from Keys as Wilma approaches — Florida officials ordered tourists out of the Keys today as Hurricane Wilma moved across the Caribbean Sea on its way toward the Gulf of Mexico. (Bloomberg)
Airlines waging classic dogfight — Airline experts are split over who the winners and losers will be when the battle between legacy airlines and low-cost carriers shakes out. But one thing is clear — Las Vegas isn’t likely to suffer, since both have a presence at McCarran International Airport. (Las Vegas Sun)
Carrie Charney, John Frenaye, Charles Leocha, Marge Purnell, Valerie Schneider, Mary Staley, Stephanus Surjaputra, Richard Wong.