ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, September 27, 1996 TAG: 9609270056
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
Sour marriage won't spell USAir's divorce
ARLINGTON - British Airways plans to keep its stake in USAir, despite the American airline's complaint that British Airways is cheating on the corporate marriage, an airline spokesman said Thursday.
Robert Ayling, the London-based carrier's chief executive, told USAir executives that his company had no intention of selling its shares, British Airways spokesman John Lampl said.
USAir, which has struggled financially for years, once welcomed British Airways as a white knight. But USAir wants out after the British carrier's recent plans to ally with USAir's rival, American Airlines.
In July, Arlington-based USAir sued British Airways in federal court. USAir asked a New York judge to order British Airways to sell its 24 percent stake in the airline and pull its representatives off USAir's board of directors.
USAir complained that British Airways has used the relationship to keep USAir out of key markets worldwide, and as a ``listening post'' to cripple USAir as a competitor.
USAir said it will not comment on Ayling's remarks.
- Associated Press
The new Pan Am finds friendly skies
MIAMI - Pan American World Airways Inc. took to the air again Thursday with an inaugural flight from New York's Kennedy International Airport to Miami.
Pan Am collapsed four years ago amid high costs, a crushing debt load and intense competition. A new Miami-based airline using the former airline's name and colors initially will offer service between New York, Miami and Los Angeles.
Pan Am on Monday merged with Frost Hanna Mergers Group Inc., an investment company. Boca Raton-based Frost Hanna, a publicly traded ``blind pool'' company created to search out acquisitions, is providing $10 million of the $40 million Pan Am needs to begin operations.
The merger enabled the new Pan Am to go public without going through the process of registering an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Pan Am's stock, which began trading Tuesday at the American Stock Exchange, fell 3/8 to 16 1/4 Thursday.
- Bloomberg Business News
Briefly ...
Williams Supply Inc., a lighting fixture retailer and electric wholesale supplier, this week opened a branch at 455 E. Spring St. in Wytheville. The 50-year-old Roanoke-based company also has branches in Harrisonburg and Collinsville, with lighting showrooms in Roanoke and Forest.
British Broadcasting Corp. is expected to announce next week a $500 million venture with Discovery Communications Inc. to distribute BBC programming in the United States and jointly develop programming and channels internationally, people familiar with the transaction said Thursday.
LENGTH: Medium: 59 linesby CNB