Travel Roundup: Riviera Holdings Defaults, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Grounds Bombardiers, Disney Cruises Into L.A. and More

Riviera Holdings to default on loans — Riviera Holdings, owner of the Riviera casinos in Las Vegas and Colorado, said it will default on its $227 million credit facility and expressed doubt about the company’s future in its fourth-quarter results. Losses included $12.7 million, about twice what it was last year. Riviera declined to make a $4 million interest payment due Monday to Wachovia, and said it had no plans to make the payment during its grace period. Previously, Riviera Holdings already received a notice of default from Wachovia, and the current default would mean higher interest rates and additional default payments. [Source: GlobeSt]

Atlantic Southeast Airlines grounds 60 planes — Atlantic Southeast Airlines, part of SkyWest Inc., said Wednesday it grounded 60 of its 112 Bombardier CRJ200 jets after paperwork audits on the planes’ engines raised safety concerns. The 60 planes make up about 40 percent of the carrier’s fleet and will cause delays. ASA reported the problem to the Federal Aviation Administration and safety inspections could take up to two days to complete. Skywest is one of Delta Air Lines Inc.’s nine regional carriers and the groundings could affect Delta passengers. [Source: Associated Press]

Disney to base cruise ship in Los Angeles — Disney Cruise Lines announced plans to base the 964-foot Disney Wonder at the Port of Los Angeles starting in 2011. The Wonder, now based out of Port Canaveral, Fla, will makes it way to San Pedro to free up space for two new cruise ships at the Florida port. The Wonder is expected to be based at the port for two years with a three-year extension option and is likely to cruise along the Mexican Riviera. Royal Caribbean, Princess and Norwegian cruise lines also operate out of the Southern Californian port. [Source: Los Angeles Times]

Arctic Club Hotel goes to Doubletree — Seattle’s Arctic Club Hotel will become part of Hilton Hotels Corp. Doubletree Hotel chain and be renamed the Doubletree Arctic Club Hotel Seattle in May. The 120-room hotel opened last July as a luxury hotel and struggled in the current economy. Present owners, The Hotel Group, will continue to manage the hotel and no changes are planned regarding the building’s turn-of-the-century historical architecture, including its Polar Bar lounge and Northern Lights Dome Room. [Source: Seattle Times]

Hilton lays off jobs in Memphis — Hilton Hotels Corp. said it would be laying off an undisclosed number of employees in its Memphis headquarters as part of company cost-saving. Memphis, headquarters for Hilton’s Embassy Suites Hotels, Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn, also is home to some of the company’s corporate operations. [Source: Commercial Appeal]