Hurricanes Eating Into Industry Profits
Delta, Southwest Airlines, Air Tran, and Continental canceled 137 flights in the Gulf Region Monday, with industry insiders saying the hurricanes may have dashed all hopes of Labor Day Weekend profits. Amtrak also canceled trains around Atlanta, San Antonio and New Orleans because of the storms. It’s also using Atlanta as its southern terminus instead of New Orleans until Sept. 4.
The two hurricanes changed travel plans for those hoping to luxuriate on Caribbean cruises this week. Three cruise lines, Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International changed schedules to avoid the storms. Carnival Cruises has nine ships affected, the Norwegian Spirit will be diverted to Bermuda rather than the Bahamas, and Royal Caribbean also made some changes to itineraries.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which operates Westin, St. Regis and Sheraton brands, also issued a release saying that it would be closing five hotels around New Orleans until Sept. 4.
Bay Area resident and award-winning business journalist Barbara E. Hernandez has covered tourism, real estate and personal finance. Her clients include the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Washington Post.
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