Travel Roundup: Wynn, Las Vegas Sands Amend Debt, Asia Feels Biz Slowdown, Airlines Cut 27,500 Jobs and More

Wynn and Las Vegas Sands amend debt agreements — Casino operators Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Las Vegas Sands Corp. each said Tuesday that they amended their debt agreements to help repay their billions of debt. The nation’s other two largest casino operators, MGM Mirage and Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. have all tried to get workouts from their creditors. Wynn says its new debt agreement waives certain covenants until 2011 and delays a maturity deadline for higher interest rates. Wynn currently has $4.5 billion in long-term debt.  Las Vegas Sands said in a filing last week it would buy up $800 million of its own $10.5 billion debt. [Source: Associated Press]

Asia feels business travel slowdown– The business travel slowdown has created turmoil in Hong Kong’s $20.4 billion tourism sector. Airport hotels, once brimming with business travelers, are using promotional buffets and spa packages to appeal to locals. Asian and Pacific carriers are also affected by slump, including losing around $1.7 billion this year, according to the International Air Transport Association. Singapore Airlines cut business-class only flights to the United States and demand for premium cabins at Japan Airlines dropped 20 percent. In the last year, hotel room rates also dropped 20 percent in Seoul and 30 percent in Manila. [Source: Reuters]

U.S. airlines cut 27,500 jobs — U.S. airlines cut 27,500 jobs in the year that ended in February, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported. Carriers employed 391,682 U.S. workers in February compared to 418,200 in February 2008. Delta Air Lines Inc. cut its workforce by 6.6 percent since February 2008 to from 48,500 to 45,300 full-time-equivalent workers. Its merger partner, Northwest Airlines Corp., reporting separately, cut its workforce 5.4 percent from 29,400 to 27,800. United Airlines trimmed jobs by the greatest amount, 12.7 percent from 52,400 to 45,800. Southwest Airlines was the only leading carrier to add employees — 1,473 workers. [Source: The Business Review (Albany, N.Y.)]

High-speed rail travel moves ahead — Atlanta is destined to be one of two stops on 10 high-speed rail routes proposed by President Barack Obama. The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration defines high-speed rail as trains averaging more than 90 miles per hour. The European high-speed standard is at least 125 miles per hour, and Japanese bullet trains average speeds of 180 mph. Right now, Amtrak’s only high-speed route, the Acela Express, averages about 86 miles per hour through the Northeast corridor. [Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution]