Travel Roundup: Air France Replaces Speed Sensors, Sunstone Hotel Investors Default, British Airways Pilot Pay Cut and More

(MoneyWatch)  Air France to replace sensors after pilot pressure -- After a pilot's labor union requested its workers not to fly planes without replaced sensors, Air France decided to immediately replace speed sensors on all of its A330 and A340 jets. Air France said it would replace the Pitot tubes, or sensors, in the next few days. Although investigators have found no cause of Flight 447's assumed crash, many are speculating the Airbus airspeed sensors could be at fault. [Source: New York Times]

Sunstone defaults on W Hotel in San Diego -- Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. reported it defaulted on its June mortgage payment and would turn over the keys of its 258-room W San Diego hotel to lenders. Sunstone bought the hotel in 2006 for $96 million. The investment group owns interests in 43 mostly luxury hotels, a segment hit hard by the recession. Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst Rod Petrik said most hotel loans underwritten from 2004 to 2007 are in trouble because property values dropped dramatically from their peak in 2007. [Source: Associated Press]

British Airways pilots to take voluntary pay cut -- British Airways pilots may take a voluntary pay cut because of airline profit and passenger losses. The vote will be decided on at a pilot's labor union meeting where pilots are going to vote on several penny-pinching propositions. The pilots hope to come up with a package by the end of the month, but seem to have heeded warnings by company management that the airline is dealing with a record slump. [Source: The Times (U.K.)]

IHG opens Crown Plaza Boston-Newton -- The InterContinental Hotels Group announced the opening of the Crowne Plaza Boston-Newton, after an extensive renovation and a conversion from a Sheraton hotel. The new Crowne Plaza Boston-Newton will feature a heated indoor pool, fitness center, business center and a 4,000-square-foot ballroom. The property is owned and managed by Bowden Hospitality Newton LLC. [Source: Hotel Interactive]