Travel Roundup: AirTran's Obama Flights, Vultures Circle Eclipse, Harrah's Drops Plans and More

(MoneyWatch)  AirTran creates new flights for Obama inauguration -- AirTran Airways announced that it's responding to consumer demand by adding more flights between places like Atlanta and Milwaukee and the Washington, D.C. area because of President-Elect Barack Obama's inauguration Jan. 20. New flight schedules are available on the company's Web site and a spokesman said the carrier would consider adding more flights if planes fill quickly. [Source: AirTran]

Eclipse Aviation in death spiral? -- Albuquerque-based Eclipse Aviation Corp. employees returned to work this week after being told last week the company couldn't make payroll. The company has since reported it dispersed checks but declined to answer questions on whether the company can get the $200 to $300 million financing needed to stay aloft. Eclipse raised the price of its Eclipse 500 light jets from $1.5 to $2.5 million suddenly in June -- and at least one Indian company claims that Eclipse failed to deliver a jet in July. So far, 10 customers have filed lawsuits seeking more than $7 million from the company. [Source: AP/Boston Globe]

Harrah's partnership drops plans for Kansas state-owned casino -- Harrah's Entertainment, part of a partnership to create a $535 million state-owned casino and resort in Kansas, backed away from the project citing bad economic conditions and tight financing. Despite an earlier confident statement in August, Harrah's now says the resort is "impossible" to finance. The Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board chose Sumner Resorts-Harrah's Kansas 4-3 over Penn National Gaming and Marvel Gaming. [Source: Hotels/Las Vegas Review-Journal]

MGM Mirage names new CEO -- James J. Murren takes the place of outgoing chief executive J. Terrence Lanni, who resigned amid allegations he lied about his academic record, effective Dec. 1. Lanni will continue on as a member of the company's board of directors. Murren was appointed chief financial officer for MGM Mirage in 2007 and has been with the company 10 years. Murren previously was an equity analyst before becoming director of research and managing director of Deutsche Bank. [Source: MGM Mirage]

Photo courtesy of Barack Obama