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Cruise line
parent relocating
operations

The American Hawaii office
will not be affected

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

American Classic Voyages Co. plans to relocate both its corporate headquarters in Chicago and its main operating base in New Orleans and consolidate them in one location.

The parent company of American Hawaii Cruises and Delta Queen Steamboat Co. is not ready to say what city -- or even state -- it is relocating to, but Hawaii is an unlikely choice because of the scope of the company's expansion on the mainland. Lucette Brehm, American Classic spokeswoman, said only that the Hawaii office will not be affected.

American Classic is having two 1,900-passenger liners built in Mississippi, at a cost of about $400 million each, to go into cruises in Hawaiian waters in 2003 and 2004. But in the number of vessels and frequency of sailings, the biggest expansion will be on the mainland, as the Delta Queen subsidiary adds vessels on the rivers, the Great Lakes, and on West Coast and East Coast cruise routes.

By 2004, the company expects to have a fleet of 10 vessels, up from four now, with a total of 8,000 berthes, compared to a current 2,000.

Delta Queen will maintain an presence at the Robin Street Wharf in New Orleans, where the operating headquarters, now is, said Philip Calian, chief executive officer of American Classic. However, there is no room for expansion there and the company is looking for a new main office location, he said.

The company says it will need more than 700 employees at a central operating base, compared to 300 now.

Employees were told of the decision Friday. By the end of August, the company said, it will have more information about timing, the relocation and the retention package that will be offered to employees.