BUSINESS BRIEFS
Air China plans Olympic growth
Advertiser Staff and News Services
SHANGHAI, China — Air China Ltd., the nation's largest international carrier, will add routes and staff as the 2008 Olympic Games fuel demand for travel to its hub, Beijing.
Air China will increase the frequency of flights to the U.K., France and Russia, as well as to the U.S., said Zhang Lan, senior vice president of Air China, in an interview in Beijing. It's also applying to add a route to Pyongyang, North Korea.
Beijing expects 1.7 million visitors for the Olympics, with 1.1 million domestic travelers and the rest from overseas, according to the Beijing 2008 Organizing Committee. The carrier plans to join Star Alliance, the world's largest airline group, by the end of this year, allowing it to sell tickets on its partners' international routes.
UNITED SPIFFS UP BUSINESS CABINS
CHICAGO — United Airlines, the No. 2 U.S. carrier by traffic, is targeting frequent overseas business travelers with its revamped international business-class cabin that it's unveiling today.
Cushier seats that recline flat, larger personal TVs and noise-canceling headphones are among the new amenities that United will begin rolling out this fall for the airline's long-haul business travelers.
The upgrades come as many airlines are souping up business-class cabins to compete for the roughly 10 percent of travelers who will pay up to $10,000 for an international business-class ticket that employers reimburse.
GOLD SPIKE MAY BE GOING UPSCALE
LAS VEGAS — A Miami developer plans to turn the Gold Spike, a downtown Las Vegas casino known for its smoky atmosphere and low prices, into a boutique hotel with room rates in the neighborhood of $125 to $150 per night.
Gregg Covin, a 38-year-old developer of condos and boutique hotels, has a deal to buy the property for $15.6 million from Tamares Las Vegas Properties.
CANNED-FOOD RECALL EXPANDED
Connors Bros. Income Fund expanded a recall of chili sauce, chili, beef and pork products because of an increased risk of botulism, U.S. regulators and the company said yesterday.
The recall, announced by the company's Castleberry's Food on Wednesday, initially covered food produced from April 30 to May 22 and included cans of corned-beef hash, chili and pork in barbecue sauce, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said yesterday.
The company has extended the recall regardless of "best by" date, and has stopped production on the line suspected of under-processing food, Castleberry's said.
