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Speaking at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at a reception to mark the inauguration of the airline's new four-times weekly route to Stansted, Maxjet CEO, Bill Stockbridge, confirmed that the airline is in negotiation for a sixth wide-bodied Boeing 767.

"We are looking at new routes out of Stansted," he said. "It might well be that we can introduce a Florida service three or four times a week from next January."

Pressed as to which Florida airport was the focus of attention he confirmed Miami. "We believe that some of the cruise market clientele could be interested in the budget business class service that we offer."

Stockbridge pointed out that under the new 'Open Skies' bilateral between the US and Europe airlines like Maxjet could pick up passengers at Stansted and operate a sector to any country that offered traffic rights, typically Stansted - Dubai.

Until they sort out a better solution Maxjet will be using a common usage executive lounge in what is essentially a temporary building in the centre of Los Angeles Airport approached via a transfer bus. The problem is that with, at the most 102 passengers, the fledgling carrier is suddenly one of the largest business class airlines out of LAX to London.

At Stansted it has is own dedicated operation, easily the finest at the airport.

In fact the large and well air conditioned building is perfectly acceptable, offering the usual range of alcoholic drinks, sandwiches and snacks. Three computer stations and free wireless are provided.

The old fashioned system of a member of staff walking around the facility ringing a bell and displaying a sign, works very well as a flight call and does not disturb the quietness of the place.

From LAX, British Airways offers three Boeing 747 non-stop flights to Heathrow, Virgin Atlantic two with Airbus A340-600s, American Airlines also two with Boeing 777s, United a single 777 flight, and finally Air New Zealand one 747 service.

Maxjet had a full aircraft (with just a single non-revenue passenger) on its inaugural flight out of Los Angeles, and 82 passengers for its second rotation. With the two initial inbound services carrying 40 plus passengers, the prospects appear to be strong.

While it has not yet carried out a detailed survey, Maxjet says that indications are that 25% of passengers are connecting to and from European destinations at Stansted.

"Our high load factors are pushing us not only to expand the airline, but also to expand frequencies from existing destinations as well," said Stockbridge. "Our business model is continuing to win over new customers every day."

Maxjet is listed on the London alternative investment market (AIM) and will report shortly.

After much speculation, Boeing has admitted that the first flight of its new 787 Dreamliner will not take place until later in the year, perhaps even as far off as mid-December. The original suggestion was for a late August, early September maiden lift off.

As suggested by some experts at the time of the much hyped prototype rollout on Sunday 8 July, it was in some ways the unveiling of a glorious mock-up held together by airframe fasteners. These did not meet FAA standards and would need replacing before the initial flight. Changing the parts is proving a long and arduous process.

The manufacturer is also working to fix problems with documentation. Speaking on an international media phone link, programme general manager, Mike Blair said: "There were a number of cases where documentation of work shipped to us [by partners and suppliers] didn't match the work that needed to be done. We're making sure all the paperwork matches how the airplane is being put together."

Boeing is still confident that the aircraft will make its service Introduction, with Japanese airline ANA on time in June of next year. "It's really tight," it said. "It's getting tighter and tighter as we push [the first flight] later into the fall." Assuming that Boeing flies the aircraft this year and makes some deliveries in 2008, it would still represent a significant achievement.

By comparison the much larger, but in some ways less technically advanced Airbus A380 is nearly two years late. The Boeing 777 made its first delivery 11 months after the initial flight. Four Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-powered aircraft will operate the initial 787 test flights in the first months of 2008. Two GE GEnx-powered 787s will follow.

The Boeing 787 is one of the most complex international assembly programmes ever undertaken with major components coming together at Everett, Seattle, and actually manufactured in places as far apart as Japan, Italy and the UK. It is this complexity that has caused eyebrows to be raised, but Boeing says it is confident.

Commercial Airplanes CEO, Scott Carson, commented during the same phone-in: "Barring any other major discovery and there could be a major discovery during flight testing, we will have first delivery in May."

Boeing has logged 706 orders from 48 customers for the 787 Dreamliner.

Brits are raiding their savings to pay for holidays and weekend breaks, according to a survey by Birmingham Midshires.

People aged 45 to 54 were the worst offenders, with 24% saying they had dipped into their savings for a trip.

Feeling the pinch of three interest rate rises this year, Brits have withdrawn an average of £400 for various reasons in the last three months - a 14% increase on the last three months of last year.

Londoners took out the most money, on average £716 each, while northerners took out just £242.

Director of savings operations at Birmingham Midshires said: "While homeowners are feeling the pressures following Bank of England rate decisions, there has never been a better time for people to save. Interest rates at a six-year high mean great returns for savers, whatever amount you put away."

BMI has added 17 medium and long-haul destinations from Heathrow - including daily services to Cairo, Amman and Beirut - from the end of October.

The expansion - the biggest in the airline's history - marks BMI's absorption of former British Airways franchise carrier BMED, bought in February, and means more than half its routes from Heathrow will be medium-haul or longer. Ten years ago the carrier flewsolely short haul.

BMI will also begin installing lie-flat beds on services to the US, Caribbean, Riyadh and Jeddah from mid-September, and enhance its premium economy cabin on US and Caribbean flights by extending the leg room to 49 inches.

Chief executive Nigel Turner confirmed there would be a delay in launching US services from Heathrow despite BMI having lobbied 10 years for the open-skies agreement that comes into force next March.

Turner said: "We want to see how the US pans out before we make our decision."

The other new routes, launched in the winter schedule on October 28, are to Addis Abba, Aleppo (Syria), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Ankara, Baku, Bishkek (Kyrgystan), Dakar, Damascus, Ekaterinburg (Russia), Freetown (Sierra Leone), Khartoum, Tbilisi, Tehran, Yerevan (Armenia).

The travel industry is failing travellers with disabilities, according to an investigation by Holiday Which? magazine.

An investigation of 10 of the biggest airlines, airports and tour operators, by Holiday Which? showed there was a lack of awareness about the needs of people with accessibility requirements, as well as a lack of information which would help them travel abroad.

The websites and brochures of Airtours, First Choice, Thomas Cook and Thomson were labelled inadequate while only First Choice guaranteed to meet passengers' disability requirements.

All 10 airlines quizzed in the report asked passengers with a disability to notify them of requirements before travelling - using a premium-rate number. Charter airlines were singled out for providing insufficient and contradictory information.

The report says American Airlines, Ryanair, Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomsonfly have the worst websites for partially-sighted people because text size can't be changed. Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomsonfly and First Choice Airways also charge a fee to travel with an assistance dog.



Holiday Which? editor Lorna Cowan said: "Airports and airlines have made a lot of progress, but there is still a lot of work to be done before foreign travel is truly accessible to everyone."

A Thomas Cook Spokesperson said "Thomas Cook endeavours to follow the Government's voluntary code of practice Access to Air Travel for Disabled People, which targets the needs of individuals with a disability from the moment they book their flight to their return journey home.

A new Beatles-themed hotel is due to open in Liverpool in January 2008 to coincide with Liverpool's tenure as the 2008 European Capital of Culture.

The Hard Days Night Hotel will be situated in the Cavern Quarter of Liverpool close to the Cavern Club where the Beatles first rose to fame.

The hotel will feature 110 rooms, including executive rooms and two penthouses - the specially designed Lennon and McCartney suites. The Lennon suite will feature a white grand piano.

It will also have two restaurants, two bars, conference rooms and a wedding chapel.

The holiday industry is continuing to penalise single travellers by charging over the odds for accommodation.

Nearly half of respondents to a survey by Holiday Which? magazine said they were charged an unfair price for a room when travelling solo. Some 68% said it was unfair to have to pay a supplement for staying alone.

The watchdog asked 2,500 online panel members about their experiences of travelling alone over the last 12 months. Some 38% had stayed for at least one night in a hotel or B&B or gone on a cruise alone.

Just one in ten thought the room they were given and breakfast were inferior to those given to couples. But 24% said they thought they were given a raw deal at dinner.

The report said: "Single travellers should not have to pay more than 50% of the price paid for two people on the same holiday.

"While other industries such as retailing have made strides to cater for singles ­ such as supermarkets providing individual meals ­ the holiday industry penalises solo travellers."

Timeshare owners of the still-closed Royal Oasis are disheartened by the assertion of the new intended buyers that they will not be responsible for any past debts accrued by the prior owners or other companies previously involv-ed with the property.

Harcourt Development Company, based in Ireland, secured the bid nearly four months ago to purchase the 427-acre property. The deal includes a towers, country club, timeshare units and two golf courses.

But while owners had hopes their timeshare points would be redeemable upon the sale and renovation of the resort, Harcourt's announcement has dashed those plans.

The resort became inoperable in September of 2004 following Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne and while many had hoped it was only a temporary shutdown, it was revealed months later that the property was on the market.

Since then, points accumulated by timeshare owners had been frozen and now a group of them have filed a class action suit against the owners of the resort, Driftwood Freeport Limited, and Lehman Brothers, the mortgagees.

Initially, government had revealed that the timeshare owners were being given consideration during talks, but the declaration has left both the timeshare owners and hundreds of employees still owed redundancy pay in limbo.

"I think it's horrible," Darlene Barber of Virginia told The Freeport News yesterday.

She and her husband, Chuck, like many others, had not heard anything from the resort or Driftwood Freeport for several months and keep themselves abreast via e-mail and checking the Internet periodically.

"It is not affecting the original owners because they are still in business and making money," she said.

Barber had also expected the resort owners would have thought to at least transfer their ownership somewhere else.

"And I did my research on the company that I was buying it from. You'd think a reputable company would at least had something in place for this kind of eventuality," she rationalized.

The timeshare owner also pointed out that the resort owners should have put something in place in the agreement with the new buyers to safeguard their interest.

"The way it works, they simply file bankruptcy, change their name, open a new company and it would not hurt them. Meanwhile, I'm out $12,000. It's a shame," she added.

Barber says she loves The Bahamas and was with the resort when it was the Bahama Princess, but they haven't been back since 2004.

She said the timeshare arrangement they had was convenient and she was quite comfortable with the layout of the property.

That, she said, was the main reason for them buying timeshare here.

"I felt safe. I liked the way everything was inclusive and they had like three restaurants and two golf courses. My husband loves to golf so it suited all of our needs," she said.

While they can still go on with their lives, Barber noted that there are people who can't take a vacation because they lost so much money.

"I don't think they really care about us, to be honest with you," she said of the resort owners.

She said she receives magazines from other timeshares inviting them to use their points to book with them but when she phoned in to find out more details and they learned who they were with, she was told that they were delinquent

But Barber says she would gladly pay the maintenance if there was something to pay it to.

Diane Sgro, of Vernon, CT, maintains the ordeal has been a great loss financially to her and her family and, like everyone else, all she wants is to at least be able to exchange her points elsewhere.

In the meantime, Minister of Tourism Neko Grant has disclosed that October is pegged to be the magic month for the Royal Oasis Resort.

Eliot Spitzer is expected to announce on Wednesday that an agreement has been reached that will allow the proposed Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park to move forward.

Spitzer has scheduled an "economic development announcement" for 9:15 a.m. at the Holiday Inn on Washington Avenue in Kingston, and people with knowledge of the governor's plans said on Tuesday that the announcement will involve the resort.

What, exactly, the governor will say was not clear on Tuesday, as all parties involved in discussions about the resort have agreed to a gag order, but he could announce a resolution of differences among the various parties that have been in closed-door negotiations about the project for several months.

As recently as two weeks ago, the project's principal developer, Crossroads Ventures boss Dean Gitter, said he didn't know what was happening in terms of reaching an agreement.

The most recent proposal for the resort included two hotels and spas, two 18-hole golf courses, timeshare units, a conference center and a 21-unit residential subdivision, all on 600 acres to the east an west of the state-owned Belleayre Mountain Ski Center in northwestern Ulster County.

Spitzer's announcement could include significant changes to those plans.

Crossroads' proposal has been on the table in various forms since 1999 and has pitted pro-development forces, who say the project would be good for tourism and the local economy, against local residents, who say it would be too large for the area and would damage both the environment and nearby water supplies.

More on this story in Wednesday's print and online editions of the Freeman.

The owner of the Aspen Club plans to submit in the next two weeks a development application that includes building 19 fractional townhomes and transforming the club into a destination holistic health facility.

The proposal is similar to the one that Michael Fox submitted and subsequently withdrew in 2006 because of a lack of support from the Aspen City Council and the club's neighbors.

Fox said he has tweaked the proposal in many ways, with a focus on environmental sustainability and input from the club's neighbors.

Called "Aspen Club Living," the plan has been accepted into a new pilot program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) is a third-party reviewed rating system that integrates the principles of smart growth, new urbanism and green building into the first national standard for neighborhood design.

"We will be the first place in the country where sustainable development merges with holistic health and Aspen is the best place to do it," Fox said.

One significant change from the old proposal is the elimination of a parking garage underneath the club. Instead, several auto disincentives will be employed, including paid parking at the club's 95-space lot.

When the proposal was going through the review process two years ago, neighbors came out in full force against the project. They formed an opposition group, hired an attorney and distributed thousands of glossy fliers campaigning against the project.

They argued the city had no justification for approving an overlay to the club's underlying residential zoning and said it would create more traffic on Ute Avenue.

Fox's new plan claims to lessen traffic on Ute Avenue and Crystal Lake Road through eco shuttles, stricter employee commuting requirements, and car- and bike-share programs. Fox plans to buy electric or air-powered vehicles for use by guests and employees coming into town.

For the past year, Fox said he has been talking with residents who live near the club, hearing their concerns and creating a development they can live with. In his first attempt, Fox didn't do that.

"I did a lousy job listening to the neighbors," he said. "The town wasn't ready for it and we hadn't thought it through."

The number of fractional units on site hasn't changed, however. The proposal still calls for 13 townhome units where the club's tennis courts are currently located, and six other timeshare lodge units above the existing club building. Fox estimates the units would go for between $150,000 and $400,000 for two-week blocks throughout the year.

The employee housing component would consist of 12 two-bedroom units - about 900 square feet each - located behind the club.

"I had an epiphany about six months ago and decided to take out the parking garage and replace it with affordable housing," Fox said.

In total, the development footprint would be 40,000 square feet and would cost about $20 million to build. Another $7 million will go into remodeling the club, which would include new locker rooms, an outdoor pool and fitness areas, as well as new programs and activities. The project would be financed by investors and cash flow from the club's operations, Fox said.

Fox's financial plan predicts that the owners of the residences will help fund the club's operations. Through homeowner fees and weekly participants in new health programs, the revenue will offset the basic costs of running the club, Fox said.

"We envision Aspen Club Living as a place where families will come annually for a healthy retreat," Fox wrote in a letter to city officials. "These families will stay in the same units for the same weeks as 18 other families every year."

When the units aren't being used by owners they will be available for groups, families and single travelers who participate in special one- and two-week healthy lifestyle programs.

Those programs focus on a wide array of health issues: stress and weight management, diabetes, integrative medicine and aging, as well as retreats, workshops and seminars. Weeklong programs include yoga, Pilates, meditation, cancer survival, biking, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, mountaineering and more.

"Health has changed a lot," Fox said. "We want to integrate medical and alternative health and define health for the 21st century."

Fox said the concept is designed around other world-class health and spa facilities like Canyon Ranch in Arizona and the Duke Center for Living in North Carolina.

The difference, however, is that Aspen Club Living would be an environmentally sustainable neighborhood, Fox said.

The LEED-ND program focuses on design and construction elements that bring buildings together and relate the neighborhood to its larger landscape through environmentally friendly construction and technology, alternative transportation and its linkage to trails.

The Aspen Club sits on 5 acres, and is able to utilize geothermal fields for heating and cooling the facility through ground source heat pumps and geothermal exchange. It also has an acre of rooftop space for solar panels that could generate a good portion of the club's electric needs.

Fox also proposes to reduce energy consumption with more efficient insulation, green roofs, better HVAC systems, and using pools for thermal storage and heat exchange.

"We are dealing with two crisises today - health and the environment," Fox said. "This project addresses health and sustainability, that's the exciting part."

A deal has been reached to build a $400 million, 1,400-acre resort complex in New York`s Catskill Mountains, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Wednesday.

The agreement lets developer Crossroads Ventures LLC begin building two hotels, 259 timeshare units, a conference center, a spa and an organic golf course in an environmentally sensitive area adjacent to state-owned Belleayre Mountain ski center and within the New York City watershed, Spitzer said.

Crossroads agreed to scale back the size of the resort -- in Shandaken, about 130 miles north of New York -- and shift all development away from 'the highly sensitive and impaired Ashokan Reservoir basin,' Spitzer said.

The development is projected to create 450 permanent full-time jobs, 150 permanent part-time jobs and 1,800 construction jobs over an eight-year construction period, Spitzer said.

The governor credited U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., with providing the 'blueprint' for the scaled-back proposal -- which also involved the state purchasing the environmentally sensitive, 1,216-acre, Big Indian Plateau next to the resort for $14 million and adding it to the 'forever wild' state Forest Preserve.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, cracking down on scams targeting retirees, sued 26 people and companies for their roles in a $428 million fraud involving Mexican timeshare rentals, the agency said.

The ring duped thousands of people by promising stable income from timeshares in Cancun, the SEC said in the suit filed at federal court in Chicago yesterday. Operators instead used money from new clients to make purported rental payments to earlier investors, leaving victims with more than $310 million in losses when the system collapsed, the SEC said.

The suit "shows that the SEC will vigilantly pursue those who target older Americans, no matter what the obstacles," said Merri Jo Gillette, the SEC's regional director in Chicago. The agency "plans to aggressively seek recovery from the defendants to offset the huge losses they inflicted."

U.S. regulators are stepping up efforts to protect retirees as their share of U.S. wealth makes them "prime targets for scam artists and securities swindlers," the SEC's chairman, Christopher Cox, told a Senate committee yesterday. The effort has generated more than 40 enforcement actions in the past two years, he said.

The SEC's suit focuses on Michael E. Kelly, a former resident of Indiana, who was arrested in December and charged by federal prosecutors with engaging in a scheme to defraud. Kelly orchestrated the scam from 1999 until 2005 with help from a national sales network, the SEC said.

Operators sold investors timeshares in several hotels, which were supposed to be leased through an agent, generating fixed returns, the SEC said. When investors wanted out, the leasing agent would buy back their timeshares for the full amount.

The leasing agent, purported to be a large, independent company, was actually a small Panamanian travel agency controlled by Kelly, the SEC said. Brokers pushing the investments received $72 million in commissions, the agency said.

Kelly has pleaded not guilty in the criminal case, and a jury has not returned an indictment, said Jeffrey Steinback, his attorney in that matter.

"Mr. Kelly is very aware that there are a number of people who have voiced concerns about the losses they feel they have suffered," Steinback said. "Mr. Kelly has directed his attorneys to address the issue of restitution, and we are doing that in the context of the criminal matter."

A lawyer for Kelly in the SEC's case didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

The Consumers Association of Singapore's (CASE) has applied for a court order to stop a timeshare company from committing unfair practices against consumers.

The High Court has granted CASE an interim injunction against Global Europ (Asia).

The injunction will hold until further order and does not decide the merits of the case.

CASE is taking Global Europ to court for breaching the Fair Trading Act.

The consumer watchdog is accusing Global Europ of exerting undue pressure on its customers.

52 cases have been filed against the company and 21 of them remain unresolved.

These include complaints that the company gave false information and pressured customers to buy its products.

CASE had said consumers are also claiming between $100 and over $17, 000 from the company.

The total claims came up to $155, 478.80.

Global Europ had also refused to sign a Voluntary Compliance Agreement to stop its unfair practices, at the request of CASE.

This is the second timeshare company CASE has taken to court.

The first was Orion's Belt Network (OBN) in October 2006.

But on September 5, CASE and OBN announced that they had reached an out of court settlement in August this year, after a mediation session at the Subordinate Courts.

As part of the agreement, OBN will refund consumers who have unresolved cases filed with CASE.

OBN and CASE also agreed to work together to avoid similar problems in future.