Headline News

Northwest Airlines announced new nonstop jet service between its hub at Detroit and Wichita, Kan. Two daily flights will be offered beginning Jan. 12, 2005. With these new flights Wichita will now enjoy service to all three Northwest domestic hubs. The airline currently offers three existing daily flights to Minneapolis/St. Paul and three to Memphis, Tenn. The new service will be operated with Northwest Airlink partner Pinnacle Airlines Corp.'s Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ), which seats up to 50 passengers. Oct 11, 2004

Northwest Airlines has launched its first flight between San Francisco and its Tokyo hub using its new Airbus A330-200. The long-range 243- passenger aircraft are equipped with 32 of Northwest's new World Business Class lie-flat seats, 211 redesigned seats in coach class, and a new entertainment system in both cabins. The aircraft also features Airbus enhanced interior design and according to Airbus, the quietest long-haul cabin in the air. http://www.nwa.com Oct 11, 2004

Payless Car Rental System has opened a new car rental location servicing the Sacramento International Airport. Located at 350 Bercut Drive, the new location offers travelers easy access to and from the airport through a convenient shuttle service. The opening of a second Sacramento franchise brings the total of Payless Car Rental locations in California to nine serving Fresno, Los Angeles, Oakland, Orange County, San Francisco, San Jose and San Diego. Oct 11, 2004

Philippine Airlines and Air Macau have begun a thrice-weekly code-share service between Manila and Macau, with Air Macau as the operating carrier. PAL is now able to offer seats on Air Macau flights between the two cities, giving the Philippine flag carrier a commercial presence for the first time in the former Portuguese territory on China's southwestern coast. The service will enjoy dual designation, with both PAL and Air Macau codes appended to the flight numbers. All flights are by Air Macau Airbus A321 aircraft. http://www.philippineair.com and http://www.airmacau.com.mo/en Oct 11, 2004

Space as tourist destination was in the news after the historic sub orbital flights of SpaceShipOne on Oct. 4 2004. Some enthusiasts are said to have already sent in deposits toward the $150,000 or so it is going to cost to take a trip &endash; fledgling carrier Virgin Galactic having announced plans for sub orbital passenger flights by 2007. There is a fly in the ointment, however &endash; drafting the rules that will govern the industry in the US. Talks between regulators and rocket developers are still going on, and legislation is still before Congress. Officials say the pace of the talks and the final shape of the regulations could determine whether the current enthusiasm for space tourism remains at its current peak, especially among investors. Oct 11, 2004

Swiss International Air Lines will continue to serve 70 destinations worldwide under the new winter timetable, which takes effect on October 31 2004. Alicante was added to the route network in September, bringing to 43 the number of destinations Swiss International serves in Europe. On the intercontinental front Swiss International serves 27 destinations, with flights to Karachi being discontinued. Swiss International Air Lines is improving its product by offering more attractive departure times, optimized connections and more frequencies. In Europe, a total of 43 destinations in 22 countries are served, while intercontinental services comprise 27 cities in 19 countries. The total number of destinations in the route work remains unchanged from the summer timetable, with one more destination in Europe and one less on the intercontinental front. In addition, 13 more destinations are served with code share flights operated by Swiss International Air Lines partner airlines. These flights carrying an LX flight number. Oct 13, 2004