Delta
gets jump on next China slot
Delta applied at the
Transportation Department for new U.S.-China route
rights that become available March 25 of next year, proposing an
Atlanta-Shanghai service.
Delta said it
should be picked because its proposal would inject a new entrant
and establish a new gateway for service to China.
Delta filed for
the 2008 route even though the DOT has not yet issued its final
decision for China route rights that become available March 25 of
this year. In that case, the DOT has tentatively selected Uniteds
Washington-Beijing plan.
AirTran
to launch St. Louis routes
AirTran is laying plans to begin service
to St. Louis, a former TWA hub and now a Southwest
stronghold, with four daily nonstops to Atlanta beginning May 8,
followed by a route to Orlando on June 7. St. Louis would be the
53rd point in AirTrans network.
Ritz-Carlton to flag Rancho
Mirage
The Lodge at
Rancho Mirage (Calif.) is becoming a Ritz-Carlton. The 244-room
lodge, owned by Gencom Group in Miami, will undergo a $500 million
renovation that will add 154 residences and a spa to the 40-acre
site. Plans call for the new Ritz-Carlton, Rancho
Mirage to open in December, with residences and spa to
follow.
Mandarin
Oriental picked for L.A. site
Mandarin
Oriental got the nod to manage a 275-room hotel that will
be part of a mixed-use development on Grand Avenue in Los
Angeles. The hotel is slated to open in 2010, occupying
the first 20 floors of a 48-floor tower designed by famed architect
Frank Gehry.
Port
Authority to acquire Stewart
The Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey got a green light
from its board to acquire the operating lease for Stewart
Airport in Newburgh, N.Y., 55 miles north of Manhattan,
for $78.5 million.
Subject to
legislative approval from New Jersey (New York acted in 1967), the
authority plans significant investments to boost service and ease
congestion at LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark, saying the 2,400-acre
former air base has untapped potential.
Costa
opens China to worldwide sales
Costa
Cruises, which has been marketing cruises from Hong Kong
and Shanghai on the Costa Allegra to the Chinese
market, will soon make the sailings available in other markets,
including North America.
Princess
plugs in at Los Angeles
Princess agreed to turn off the engines on
its vessels and plug in to the local grid when docked in
Los Angeles, beginning in 2008, as part of the
ports Alternative Maritime Power Program to reduce
emissions, Princess said.
The line said it
participated in similar programs in Juneau, Alaska, and
Seattle.
IATA sees
no sense in ARTAs ID plan
IATA blasted ARTAs plan
to start a new system of agency numeric codes and a new ID program,
saying it flies in the face of industry efforts to create a unified
system and would add millions in new costs for the industry. A
statement from IATA, the source of most existing agency ID numbers,
said the plan makes no sense.
Caribbean
lines merge schedules
Merger partners
LIAT and Caribbean Star published
a combined schedule that takes effect Feb. 1. It maintains service
to the 22 destinations previously served by both carriers, but all
flights are listed under LIATs LI designator code.
Beginning Feb. 1,
all passengers must check in at LIAT counters except in Curacao and
Tobago, where check-in will be at Caribbean Star
counters.
Spirit to
Airbus: Well take 30 more
Look for
Spirit Airlines growth spurt to continue. The
carrier ordered 30 more A319 aircraft from Airbus,
for delivery between 2009 and 2013. Coupled with existing orders,
that would bring its fleet to 70 aircraft, up from 33
today.
As for the growth
spurt, the carrier will add Fort Lauderdale-St.
Maarten service on April 20 with three weekly flights, and
will begin its first service to Central America on April 5, linking
Fort Lauderdale and San Jose, Costa Rica.
Star
Cruises plans resort in Macau
NCL parent
Star Cruises will develop a $4.7 billion resort
and casino complex in Macau called Resorts World,
in collaboration with Asian casino magnate Stanley
Ho, who will acquire a 10% stake in Star.
Friends
& Colleagues
Gary
Sain was hired as president of the Orlando/Orange County
Convention & Visitors Bureau. Sain is wrapping up his work as
chief marketing officer of Yesawich Pepperdine Brown & Russell.
He will take over the CVB post vacated by Bill
Peeper, who retired at the end of 2006. " " " Kor Hotel
Group named Barbara Piagari director of sales and
marketing and Julie Shkolnik director of sales for
the Viceroy Santa Monica in California. Piagari was director of
sales and marketing for Le Meridien Sunny Isles Beach in South
Florida. Shkolnik was director of sales for the Chamberlain in West
Hollywood, Calif. " " " Villa Group, a Mexican resort and real
estate company, named Roland Bernard general
manager of the Villa del Palmar Beach Resort & Spa in Puerto
Vallarta. Bernard was general manager of the Crowne Plaza in Nuevo
Laredo, Mexico. " " " Martin Salzedo was named
president and COO of Imperial Majesty Cruise Line. Salzedo most
recently was CEO of Discovery Cruise Line. " " " Carl
Henderson was named general manager of Sandy Lane Hotel in
Barbados. He was general manager of Parrot Cay in the Turks and
Caicos.