Travel Roundup: Continental Cuts Mexico, MGM Mirage Finds $1.8B, Expedia Losing $3M a Month and More

Continental cuts Mexican flights — Continental Airlines Inc. will temporarily cut U.S. departures to Mexico by 50 percent and use smaller planes as fewer passengers travel to the country.  Because of the concern over the swine flu outbreak there, with 300 cases and 12 dead, many travelers are declining to venture over the border. Continental will cut capacity starting Monday, and also extend its waiver policy, allowing customers who booked flights to Mexico to change their itineraries without penalty until the end of the month. The carrier flew about 450 flights a week to 29 destinations in Mexico before it cut capacity.[Source: Associated Press]

MGM Mirage secures $1.8 billion in financing for CityCenter – MGM Mirage secured its $1.8 billion from eight different banks, across four time zones, to complete its beleaguered CityCenter development. The deal, which took months of negotiation, also seemed to lessen the tension between the casino operator and Dubai World, its partner in the project. Dubai World dropped its lawsuit against MGM Mirage over the project. MGM Mirage also worked out a separate deal with lenders to give the company until June 30 to come up with a plan to deal with its $13.5 billion of debt. [Source: Las Vegas Sun]

Expedia’s no booking fees costs $3 million a month — Expedia chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said during a first-quarter earnings call that the company’s decision to eschew booking fees seven weeks ago has cost the company about $3 million a month. So far the company hasn’t made a decision on whether to keep the practice in place or not. The no booking fees promotion goes through the end of May. [Source: Travel Weekly]

BLM halts tundra travel — The Bureau of Land Management’s Arctic Field Office announced that tundra travel in the National Petroleum Reserve is prohibited beginning today. The tundra’s ice roads and trails are now too soft and impassable. The area will open again next winter. [Source: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner]