Travel Roundup: Southwest Pays, Stewardess Lands Plane, Harrah's Lays Off and More

(MoneyWatch)  Southwest pays $7.5 million for La Guardia landing slots -- Southwest Airlines is willing to pay $7.5 million for bankrupt ATA Airlines' landing slots and operating certificate at La Guardia Airport. If approved by a bankruptcy court, Southwest will buy 14 slots giving the Dallas-based airline seven daily takeoffs and landings. The closest airport Southwest now serves is Islip MacArthur Airport on Long Island but the carrier has no presence at La Guardia, John F. Kennedy International or Newark Liberty International airports. [Source: Star-Ledger/Bloomberg]

Air Canada flight attendant helps land plane -- When an Air Canada copilot went bonkers and had to be physically restrained and sedated, a flight attendant with flight experience assisted the pilot during an emergency landing in Dublin, an Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit reported. The Boeing 767 was headed to London from Toronto with 146 passengers in January when the 58-year-old pilot was forcibly removed and sedated by two doctors on the plane. No injuries were reported. [Source: AP]

Harrah's Entertainment lays off 250 in Memphis office -- Harrah's Entertainment Inc. will close its Memphis office, laying off 250 employees. About 50 employees from Memphis will be moved to Las Vegas next year. Harrah's officials cited consolidation of its departments as the reason behind the decision. In another report, chairman and chief executive Gary Loveman said that his company and others need to change how they handle financing and budgets, including making sweeping financial decisions to improve the bottom line.[Source: AP, AP]

Gaylord pulls out of San Diego area resort -- Gaylord Entertainment decided to pull out of plans to develop a resort hotel in Chula Vista, saying that the long wait for approval and permits pushed costs sky-high. Gaylord also pulled out of proposed redevelopment of Westin La Cantera Resort in San Antonio this year, but nevertheless reported it planned to develop a resort hotel in Mesa, Ariz. The company said the economy wasn't a factor in the cancellation of the Chula Vista project. [Source: Hotel Business]

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