Travel Roundup: Airbus Warns of Jet Speed, Hotel Leaders Cope With Economy, US Airways Worker's Gun Smuggling and More
Airbus reissues jet speed warning after Air France investigation – Airbus reissued emergency warnings about jet speed to pilots after experts said a missing Air France jet may have had false speed readings. Investigators said that messages broadcast by the plane before it vanished showed the plane’s systems were giving different speed readings. The Airbus A330 jet disappeared Monday over the Atlantic, carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. A spokesman for Airbus said that a notice had been sent out reminding pilots what to do when given conflicting speed read-outs. [Source: BBC News]
Hotel leaders discuss the industry’s problems – A panel that included Eric A. Danziger, chief executive of Wyndham Hotel Group, Stephen P. Joyce, president and chief executive of Choice Hotels International and Frits van Paasschen, president and chief executive of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., met at the New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference to discuss the state of the industry. They debated two areas of particular trouble, the lack of business travel and conventions and the collapse of the luxury segment of the market. Suggestions included cutting rates and offering free amenities like breakfast and transportation. [Source: GlobeSt ]
US Airways employee arrested for suspected gun smuggling — The FBI arrested two men Thursday, one a US Airways Group Inc. employee, on suspicion of smuggling a gun on a Philadelphia-Phoenix flight. The gun was smuggled by one man allegedly handing it to Roshid Milledge, 38, an airline employee, who bypassed security. A witness notified police and US Airways Flight 1195 was searched. Milledge and Damien Young, 29, are now in custody facing federal charges. Both are from Philadelphia. [Source: Phoenix Business Journal]
MGM Mirage dolphin dies of lung problems — A two-year-old dolphin named Sgt. Pepper died of lung complications at Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the MGM Mirage. The dolphin is the 14th dolphin to die since the attraction’s opening in 1990. A spokeswoman for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said the group would formally request an investigation of the dolphin’s death by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. [Source: Las Vegas Sun]
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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