Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Friday, February 27, 1998
Pan Am halts flights, files for bankruptcy
MIAMI -- Pan American World Airways, a regional discount airline with a name known around the world, has stopped all flights and is seeking court shelter from debtors.A 2-year-old start-up based in Miami, Pan Am had been struggling for months, cutting routes, switching marketing strategies, mothballing jets and unsuccessfully courting investors for cash.
All Pan Am flights, now mostly between south Florida and the northern United States, were canceled today amid the heavy U.S. winter travel season.
Parent company Pan American Corp. said two operating units had filed for Chapter 11 protection in Miami but that the corporate parent to attempt to resuscitate the airline.
United adding third daily L.A.-Maui flight
United Airlines said it will boost its Maui service with an additional daily flight this summer, flying three times a day direct from Los Angeles instead of the current two daily flights.Using Boeing 757-200 aircraft seating 188 passengers, the added flight will mean 1,316 additional seats a week between the mainland and Hawaii, said Norm Reeder, United's managing director-Hawaii. The added flight, starting July 6 and running through Sept. 8, fits the busiest period of the year for travel from the mainland to Hawaii, Reeder said.
Visitor industry charity event set for May 16
The visitor industry has scheduled its annual charity walk for Saturday, May 16, and organizers hope to raise $1 million this year.Arranged by the Hawaii Hotel Association, the Visitor Industry Charity Walk takes place simultaneously on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island. Tourist industry workers walk for donations.
Last year more than 13,000 walkers raised more than $700,000 for about 175 island charities. The 1998 walk will mark the 20th anniversary of the campaign, which has raised more than $10 million.
U.S. bankruptcies rose 19% to record in '97
WASHINGTON -- More Americans filed for bankruptcy in 1997 than ever before, federal court officials reported today.More than 1.4 million bankruptcy petitions were filed -- up about 300,000, or 19 percent, from the 1.17 million filed in 1996. The data released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts showed that more than 1.35 million individuals and 54,000 businesses sought protection from creditors in federal bankruptcy courts last year. The figures mean that 1 in 73 U.S. households went bankrupt in 1997.
Apple drops Newton, e-Mate to save money
NEW YORK -- Apple Computer Inc., in its latest move to quell its losses, today said it was scrapping further development of its innovative but struggling Newton hand-held computer.Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple said it would instead use its Macintosh operating software for all its mobile computer products, starting next year. First it would sell out its existing Newton MessagePad 2100s and eMate 300s.
The move ends speculation that Apple would try to sell the Newton division. Last year, Apple said it would spin off Newton into an autonomous subsidiary, then reversed that decision.
After a high-profile but flawed introduction of its Newton line four years ago, Apple greatly improved the hand-held computer's ability to recognize handwriting and communicate as well as its power and memory. But despite praise for the Newton MessagePad, a hand-held device, and eMate 300, a larger computer, the division had disappointing sales compared to 3Com Corp.'s PalmPilot line.
In other news . . .
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- With a $43 billion bailout at stake, President Suharto sought to assure International Monetary Fund officials today that Indonesia has no immediate plans to start a currency board. The IMF -- backed by the United States and European leaders -- says Indonesia's economy is too fragile to support a currency board, which would attempt to stabilize the Indonesian rupiah by pegging it to the U.S. dollar.