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Talk of the Bay

Roomier seats could stretch Jetblue profits

By TIMES WIRES
Published February 5, 2007

In the egalitarian, all-coach world of JetBlue Airways, the highest-paying passengers could soon get the roomiest seats. JetBlue is removing six seats from its Airbus 320 jets and rearranging cabins so the first 11 rows of seats have 36 inches of legroom. The rest will have the standard 34 inches. Travel Weekly reports that JetBlue bosses worry that some last-minute, big-buck travelers won't fly the carrier because they can't get upgraded into a first-class seat. CEO David Neeleman tells the magazine that holding back a few of the better seats for high-fliers is "probably the smart thing to do." The new program would probably start soon after JetBlue finishes the new seat set-up for its entire fleet this month.

It's snake eyes for Trump's casino bid

It's not easy being Donald Trump: Rosie O'Donnell's badgering; delays in putting up his namesake tower in Tampa. And now his real estate judgment is being questioned by the Pennsylvania Gambling Control Board. The board in December rejected licensing the proposed $350-million TrumpStreet Casino complex in North Philadelphia. Last week, it gave its rationale. The Trump casino, according to the board, would have been built near an "economically depressed (area) with decaying infrastructure," so that might have dissuaded visitors and would-be investors.

Big game trounced worker productivity

If you wasted valuable time at work last week planning your Super Bowl party, looking for deals on Miami hotels or dreaming of a Bears victory: Well, we'd scold you, except we're guilty, too. U.S. employers may have spent as much as $810-million in lost wages last week, according to estimates from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Really, companies will probably lose more than that when all is said and won. The Challenger estimate does not take into account the continued loss of productivity today as employees analyze the game, rate the commercials or take the easy route and just call in sick.

Annuity launch to add 30 local jobs

New York Life's Tampa office will be the beneficiary of a new program offering income annuities to AARP members. Thirty to 40 jobs will be added to the center this year to handle the AARP Lifetime Income Program, which will provide guaranteed income for the life of the purchaser. The West Shore office, which opened in 1994 with 25 employees, expects to grow to 550 by the end of this year. It was created to administer a life insurance program for AARP members.

Lou Pearlman saga

Keep up to date on all the latest from Lou Pearlman's failed Trans Continental Airlines investment plan at blogs.tampabay.com/money.

[Last modified February 5, 2007, 14:44:04]