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The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 8, 2008

TAMPA BAY AREA

TIA Timely Flights Ranked

On-time flight arrivals slipped to their worst record in March since 1995, with bad weather and crowded airways blamed for the performance.

Tampa International Airport ranked 17th nationwide in on-time departure performance in March, with 75.4 percent of flights leaving within 15 minutes of schedule compared with 80.1 percent in March 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation said Wednesday. The airport ranked 22nd nationwide in arrivals performance, with 71.9 percent of flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule compared with 74.6 percent on-time arrivals in March 2007.

A sleet and snowstorm in Dallas on March 6 kept a Tampa-bound American Airlines flight on the ground for four hours and 16 minutes after taxiing from the terminal for take-off, the report stated.

STATE

DayJet Cuts 100 Jobs

DayJet Corp., an on-demand personal jet service launched in October to carry from one to three passengers to small airports in five Southeastern states, said it laid off 100 of its 260 employees Tuesday.

The Boca Raton-based carrier, which serves airports in Lakeland and Sarasota, said the job reductions will not affect flights. DayJet said it could not get $40 million in financing to meet expansion plans and will slow its growth.

Stork Among Appointees

Gov. Charlie Crist recently made several appointments to the Florida Commission on Tourism: Thom Stork, who heads The Florida Aquarium in Tampa; Orlando marketing consultant Ty Christian; Miami Seaquarium general manager Andrew Hertz; and Levy County Visitors Bureau director Carol McQueen.

NATION

Video Game Burns Rubber

"Grand Theft Auto IV" raked in more than $500 million in its first week in stores, selling more than 6 million units worldwide, the video game's publisher said Wednesday.

The highly anticipated title from Take-Two Interactive Software has received stellar ratings along with criticism for its violent content. The game follows Eastern European immigrant-turned-gangster Niko Bellic on crime missions around a fictional Liberty City.

The title sold about 3.6 million units April 29, its opening day, bringing in roughly $310 million. This is $10 million more than what Microsoft's "Halo 3," another blockbuster game, took in during its first week last fall.

The game has lifted sales of Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3, the two consoles for which it is available.

ENERGY

Oil Price Bumps Again

Light, sweet crude oil for June delivery hit a trading record of $123.90 in after-hours activity Wednesday in New York after settling up $1.69 at a record close of $123.53 a barrel.

The average national price of a gallon of regular gas rose Wednesday for the first time since last week, adding 0.8 cent to $3.618, said AAA. Gas prices are back within a cent of the record $3.623 a gallon set last week, and are expected to rise to an average of $3.73 a gallon next month, said the Energy Department.

A staff and wire report

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