Nov. 16, 2010 at 9:41 a.m.
Filed under:
Transportation,
Travel
By Wailin Wong
Terminal One of O'Hare International Airport. (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune)
More than 2 million Illinois travelers will fly or drive to a destination over Thanksgiving weekend this year, a nearly 12 percent increase from the 2009 holiday, AAA Chicago said Tuesday.
The motoring organization said 2.25 million Illinois residents are expected to travel, with 2.1 million in cars and 87,000 flying. The average cost of an unleaded gallon of gasoline is $3.05 in Illinois and $2.90 in neighboring Indiana, AAA Chicago said.
The projected increase in Illinois Thanksgiving travelers is slightly more than what is forecast nationwide. AAA expects an 11.4 percent jump in the number of travelers from 2009, with 42.2 million people going at least 50 miles from their home. Of that amount, 94 percent — 39.7 million people — will be driving. Get the full story »
Nov. 15, 2010 at 4:29 p.m.
Filed under:
Transportation
By Associated Press
Transportation company GATX Corp. said Monday it bought a fleet of approximately 2,500 freight cars for $150 million. Get the full story »
Nov. 12, 2010 at 4:35 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Transportation
By Reuters
Discount carrier JetBlue Airways Corp. has named to its board Stanley McChrystal, the retired general who lost his job as the top U.S. Afghanistan commander after making inflammatory comments about the Obama administration this year.
Get the full story »
Nov. 12, 2010 at 9:00 a.m.
Filed under:
Transportation,
Travel
By Julie Wernau
Greyhound will launch new express bus routes in the Midwest Dec. 1 to take passengers from Chicago to Milwaukee, Madison, Indianapolis and Lafayette.
Tickets start at $1 for the one-stop service, the company said Friday, on new buses that feature reserved seating, free Wi-Fi access, additional legroom and power outlets. Dave Leach, president and CEO of Greyhound said the company is adding the routes in response to Megabus competition and higher demand from travelers looking to hop between popular Midwest cities. Get the full story »
Nov. 12, 2010 at 6:48 a.m.
Filed under:
Jobs/employment,
Transportation
By Associated Press
A war of words is heating up between Wisconsin Gov.-elect Scott Walker and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn over job creation. The Republican Walker said Thursday he plans to persuade Illinois companies to come to Wisconsin. He says he’ll emphasize that Quinn has proposed massive tax increases.
Walker’s comments come one day after the Democratic Quinn encouraged train maker Talgo Inc. to move south from Milwaukee. Talgo had said it would move from that facility if Wisconsin follows through on its promise to abandon high-speed rail. Get the full story »
Nov. 11, 2010 at 1:12 p.m.
Filed under:
Retail,
Transportation
By Dow Jones Newswires
FedEx Corp. expects its busiest day in company history to be Dec. 13 as consumer activity peaks in a holiday shipping season the shipper projects to be about 11 percent bigger than last year.
Shares rose on the news but were still down 14 cents at $88.34 in recent trading on broader market declines. Get the full story »
Nov. 11, 2010 at 10:09 a.m.
Filed under:
Policy,
Politics,
Transportation
By Associated Press
Gov. Pat Quinn says a Wisconsin trainmaker is welcome to move its jobs to Illinois.
Quinn is inviting Talgo Inc. to come to the state after Wisconsin’s newly elected Republican governor said he wanted to give back federal money for a proposed high-speed rail project or use it for something else.
Nov. 9, 2010 at 2:46 p.m.
Filed under:
Policy,
Politics,
Transportation,
Updated
By Associated Press
Wisconsin governor-elect Scott Walker speaks to reporters Nov. 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
High-speed rail projects in Wisconsin and Ohio appear close to derailment, with Wisconsin’s outgoing governor saying Monday he’ll leave the future of his state’s project to his Republican successor, who has vowed to kill it, and Ohio’s incoming governor saying again he plans scrap his state’s project.
Jim Doyle, Wisconsin’s outgoing Democratic governor, told The Associated Press that although he thinks a high-speed rail line to connect Milwaukee with Madison is a good idea, he feels obligated to leave the project’s future up to Republican Gov.-elect Scott Walker.
Minutes after Doyle made his comments, Walker said he remains opposed to the $810 million project. Get the full story »
Nov. 5, 2010 at 1:11 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Airplanes,
Airports,
Transportation
By Dow Jones Newswires
A second Qantas Airways Ltd. plane made an emergency landing at Singapore’s Changi airport with engine problems, the Australian flag carrier said Friday.
“Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft operating at QF6 from Singapore to Sydney experienced an issue of one of its engines. As a precautionary measure, the captain sought primary clearance to return to Singapore and the aircraft landed safely a short time later without incident,” Qantas said in a statement. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 9:54 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Manufacturing,
Transportation
By Reuters
FreightCar America Inc. posted a much wider-than-expected quarterly loss, hurt by challenging market conditions and low demand for coal-carrying railcars, and said it expects tough competition to continue to hurt pricing. Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 4:17 p.m.
Filed under:
Transportation
By Reuters
United Parcel Service Inc. said Monday that it would raise rates by a net 4.9 percent starting Jan. 3.
UPS, the world’s largest package delivery company, said the net increase was for ground packages, all air express and U.S. origin international shipments. Get the full story »
By Reuters
The U.S. Thanksgiving holiday will see more airline passengers, higher fares and packed planes this year as a stronger economy stokes travel demand.
The number of travelers is seen up 3.5 percent from a year ago, according to the Air Transport Association, an airline industry trade group. Get the full story »
Oct. 29, 2010 at 12:33 p.m.
Filed under:
Manufacturing,
Transportation,
Travel
By Reuters
A Caterpillar worker ties down a machine part to a flatbed rail car with steel banding. (David Klobucar/Chicago Tribune)
Caterpillar Inc., a U.S. heavy equipment maker that has been moving aggressively into the rail business, will announce plans on Friday to open a railcar facility in Indiana, the (Muncie) Star Press newspaper reported on Friday.
Citing unnamed sources, the paper said Caterpillar’s Progress Rail unit would take over a huge vacant factory in Muncie that has doors in the rear that allow trains to enter and exit.
The report did not say whether the plant would be used to service locomotives and other railroad rolling stock or to manufacture new equipment. It said the facility, in east-central Indiana, would eventually employ 650 workers. Get the full story »
Oct. 28, 2010 at 5:37 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Transportation,
Travel
By Julie Johnsson
Southwest Airlines is aiming for a larger slice of the Big Apple, and the corporate travel market, as it launches a slew of new flights from Chicago to Newark next spring and firms plans for onboard Internet service.
Texas-based Southwest said Thursday that it would enter Newark Liberty International Airport March 27, with six daily flights from Midway and two from St. Louis. Southwest also unveiled plans to begin charging a flat $5 per-flight fee for broadband connections. Get the full story »
By Associated Press
A federal jury says FedEx must pay $66 million to now-defunct ATA Airlines, saying the package delivery company broke a contract that ultimately pushed ATA into bankruptcy. Get the full story »
