Court dismisses Joystar-agent suit
The U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale dismissed a lawsuit brought in March by the bankrupt Joystar against Drew Axelrod, the lead travel agent in the successful effort to force the host agency into bankruptcy. Joystar accused Axelrod of, among other things, "diverting" and retaining $86,000 in commissions generated by a group cruise; Axelrod said the money was not commissions but the markup for convention-related services. Axelrod denied the accusations.
EasyCruise sold to Greek firm
Hellenic Seaways, a Greek ferry company, has acquired EasyCruise, including the 574-passenger EasyCruise Life, from EasyGroup, the company founded by Stelios Haji-Ioannou. EasyGroup recently took a 5.5% stake in Sea Star Capital, one of the main shareholders of Hellenic Seaways. Paul Ellerby, EasyCruise's sales and marketing director, described the move as a "different shareholding structure" to finance the development of the Easy brand and said, "It is business as usual at EasyCruise."
Russo re-elected as ASTA president
ASTA's board re-elected Chris Russo to serve a second one-year term as president and chairman. Other officers are Hope Wallace, vice president and secretary, and Nina Meyer, treasurer. Meyer is director of sales and marketing at Express Travel in Miami, one of the 28 agencies slated to lose access to the United merchant accounts. The board agreed to continue its support for a task force to investigate developing an industrywide credentialing program.
Virgin America to start Fla. flights
Virgin America will begin service from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles and San Francisco on Nov. 18, offering two daily flights to South Florida from each California city. Virgin America said it would be the only airline to fly from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale.
Radisson, Park Inn to open in Nigeria
The Rezidor Hotel Group has signed agreements to open three new hotels in Nigeria. The Radisson Blu Hotel, Victoria Island Lagos; the Radisson Blu Hotel Abuja; and the Park Inn Abuja are all scheduled to open in 2012. The signings will bring to 30 the number of hotels the company operates on the continent.
Travcoa launches independent tours
Luxury small-group operator Travcoa has launched Independent Journeys, a collection of independent travel packages geared to solo travelers, couples, families and small groups. The itineraries include locally guided sightseeing, accommodations, private car transportation and transfers, some meals and Travcoa's medical and travel assistance plan.
Amadeus unveils biz-travel desktop
Amadeus introduced Amadeus One, an agent desktop for corporate travel agencies in North America. Full availability is planned for the second half of next year. Amadeus said the desktop will feature a tool enabling agents to enter cryptic GDS codes at the point of sale and obtain search results in a graphical environment.
Friends & Colleagues
Vickie Singer has joined PhoCusWright Inc. as exhibit and sponsorship sales consultant. A 23-year travel industry veteran, Singer most recently was general manager of TravelCom and vice president of strategic partnerships at the U.S. Travel Association. • • • Wyndham Hotel Group has made two new executive hires. Clyde Guinn is the new president of Wyndham's Days Inn chain, and Martin Armistead has been hired as senior vice president of development for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Guinn comes to the company after serving more than nine years as senior vice president of operations for Stanford Hotels, a San Francisco-based company specializing in the development and management of full-service hotels. Armistead previously served as director and head of hospitality, EMEA, for DTZ Hospitality Group, a London-based real estate and investment banking firm. • • • Wayne Wielgus has stepped down as senior vice president of marketing for Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises to pursue other career opportunities. Wielgus joined the company in March 2008. • • • William Gardiner has been hired as director of national accounts at Lynbrook, N.Y.-based Sceptre Tour. Prior to joining Sceptre, Gardiner and his family owned and operated National Trade Shows. • • • JetBlue Airways appointed David Clark to the position of chief people officer. Clark, previously vice president of human resources at Nike, will oversee the airline's People department including recruitment, benefits, compensation, compliance, diversity and other services for JetBlue's 12,000 crew members.