Travel Roundup: Extended Stay's Bankruptcy, Boeing's First Order in Paris, Carnival's Overboard Passengers and More

Extended Stay files bankruptcy — Extended Stay Hotels, the Spartanburg, S.C. chain with 680 properties in 44 states, filed bankruptcy Monday. New Jersey-based Lightstone Group LLC purchased the company from Blackstone Group LP two years ago with $7.4 billion in financing – it had only $7.1 billion in assets and was $7.6 billion in debt by the end of 2008. Lightstone, a newcomer to the hotel industry, bought while real estate and deal-making was high. [Source: Bloomberg]

Boeing gets first order at Paris Air Show — Boeing Co. received its first jet order Wednesday at the Paris Air Show from MC Aviation Partners, a division of Mitsubishi Corp., for two of its updated 737-800 aircraft, worth about $153 million. Despite the order, Boeing is still trailing behind its rival, the Airbus A320, which has taken numerous orders. So far, Airbus has made more than $6.2 billion in sales at the show. [Source: Associated Press]

Carnival addresses spate of passengers falling overboard — In the last three weeks, Carnival Cruise Lines reported passengers falling overboard twice into the Gulf of Mexico. The cruise company said it was still a rare occurrence, with only a handful of its 3.8 million passengers tumbling into the water. A spokesman said that ship railings are 44 inches high and the ships have uniformed security that patrol the vessels. Nevertheless, one passenger fell off a cruise ship this week, 47-year-old Larry Miller of Seminole, Fla. who leaned over the railing and fell into Tampa Bay. Miller was hit by a passing boat but managed to swim to a buoy and was rescued. [Source: Tampa Tribune]

Two girls put on wrong Continental flights — Continental Airlines said miscommunication was the culprit after two unaccompanied girls were placed on wrong Continental Express flights over the weekend. A College Station, Texas girl, age 8, was sent to Fayetteville, Ark. instead of Charlotte, N.C., and a 10-year-old Massachusetts girl was sent to Newark, N.J. instead of Cleveland, on planes operated by Expressjet, a Continental contractor. A Continental spokeswoman said that in both cases flights to different destinations were being boarded at the same time from the same doorway, and there was “miscommunication” among employees. Both girls were rerouted to their correct destination, she said. [Source: Associated Press]