By Norm Heikens Republic Airways Holdings, the Indianapolis-based parent of Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America, said yesterday it will accelerate its schedule to do away with a small, 37-seat jet used to carry passengers for Delta Air Lines. The 11 remaining Embraer E135 aircraft will be removed from service by Sept. 30 instead […]
It’s not just the beat-up airline industry that’s troubling locally based Republic Airways Holdings, it’s the aircraft itself. About half the regional jets flown by Republic for major airlines are of a type quickly falling into disfavor with the majors as they buckle under high fuel prices. About 118 of Republic’s 226 aircraft have fewer than 50 seats-too few passengers over which to spread the higher cost of jet fuel to make many of the routes they fly profitable. That’s…
On July 4, my college-aged sons came to visit. We grabbed a late lunch, talked for a while, and sat down in the family room to await the big party in the neighborhood courtyard. Austin and Zach got out their laptops and started browsing. I turned on the TV and started surfing. I landed on HBO’s production of “John Adams.” As we watched, the Continental Congress was in session in 1775 and 1776. The delegates-during and between meetings-were arguing various…
The flooding that socked central and southern Indiana on June 7 created more than $100 million in damages to Cummins Inc., the Columbus diesel engine maker. Insurance will cover all costs but the deductible, the company told The Republic of Columbus. Most of the damage was confined to the Technical Center, and the research and […]
In the late 1980s, Lafayette native Robert Meitus set off for Los Angeles with his band East of Eden in an attempt to make it in the music business. The group that shared management with Guns N’ Roses [singer Axl Rose grew up in Lafayette] never reached a sliver of its fame, however fleeting. But the experience did give Meitus an introduction to what ultimately would lead to a burgeoning career as an intellectual property lawyer. Capital Records came calling,…
Intense bidding yesterday from parties in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the United States pushed the auction price of a Claude Monet painting owned by Columbus industrialist J. Irwin Miller and his wife, Xenia, to $80.45 million. A spokesman for Christie’s Auction House said the “Le Basin aux Nympheas” nearly broke a record for […]
Mid-sized companies are a lot like middle children in a family, a new Indiana Chamber of Commerce study has found. They tend to achieve a lot, but don’t get the attention they deserve. The businesses amount to only 3 percent of all businesses in the state, yet generate 30 percent of the jobs and more […]
At the ripe age of 71, Sen. John McCain is poised to become the Republican nominee for president. Simply put, McCain is a senior. Years ago, we would’ve called him a senior citizen. If elected president, he would be 72 years old when taking office. While there is a minimum age of 35 to be elected president, there is no maximum. This raises the question: How old is too old to be a leader? Would a win for McCain be…
The war in Iraq is intolerable and interminable. We are struggling with a recession, a flawed energy policy, a weak dollar and an enormous government deficit. President Bush has earned a lower approval rating than Cinderella’s stepmother-and I’m sitting here thinking, “What if the election of 2000 had gone the other way?” Join me and pose that question to Ron Klain at the men’s edition of Mickey’s Camp this summer. Klain is arguably one of the most well-known national Democrats…
Sluggish demand for Dodge Ram pickup trucks has prompted Cummins Inc. to announce plans to lay off 125 workers at its diesel engine plant in Walesboro, just south of Columbus, from June 8 to mid-August. Rising fuel prices are hurting Ram sales. In October, the Columbus-based diesel engine maker ended contracts with 90 temporary workers […]
Shoot, if I’d known city leaders were going to resurrect Dennis Hopper-Shooter, from my alltime favorite flick, “Hoosiers”- for the Super Bowl bid video, I would have suggested they also use Hickory High player Merle and paraphrase his memorable line: “Let’s win it for all the smaller NFL-designated market areas that never had a chance to get here.” Yes, we are the nation’s 13th-largest city. Thank you, UniGov. But in terms of market size, we’re 26th or so. Certainly not…
If you’re wondering how the voting action went behind closed doors for the 2012 Super Bowl site Tuesday in Atlanta, this is what several team owners and executives told IBJ.
Indianapolis, followed by Phoenix, then Houston made separate 15-minute pitches. Only four…
Many a back was slapped in Indianapolis and among the Indy troops in Atlanta yesterday when the NFL team
owners opted for Indianapolis over Phoenix and Houston to host the 2012 Super Bowl.
Elsewhere, though, the reaction was mixed.
The Arizona Republic…
The art collection in the estate of Columbus industrialist J. Irwin Miller and his wife, Xenia, could bring $80 million next month at a Christie’s auction in Europe, according to The Republic of Columbus. The collection includes works from artists including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Andy Warhol, among others. A painting of water lilies […]
Jill Long Thompson says she knows it will be tough to unseat Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels in November, and she already has come out swinging. Just hours after squeaking out the Democratic gubernatorial nomination over Jim Schellinger last week, the former Indiana congresswoman verbally jabbed Daniels. “Four years ago he went through the state wearing […]
The topic of health care sparked the most spirited comments from business leaders interviewed by IBJ ahead of the May 6 presidential
primary. When asked whether they thought Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton would be better for business, executives in manufacturing,
exporting, computer technology, logistics and education largely demurred.
Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are locked in a virtual dead heat in Indiana, according to the latest Howey-Gauge Poll. Hoosiers favor Obama over Clinton by the slim margin of 47 percent to 45 percent. In the race for governor, Democrat Jill Long Thompson holds a commanding lead of 45 percent to […]
Two airlines that filed bankruptcy this month might cost creditor Indianapolis International Airport $1 million, airport financial records indicate. And high jet fuel prices that helped doom ATA Airlines and sent Frontier Airlines restructuring this month could become a bigger blip on Indianapolis’ radar later, if airline dominoes keep falling. The health of airlines that fly here bears watching because Indianapolis needs to sustain strong revenue streams from airline rents and fees to cover the cost of the $1.2 billion…
Indiana’s business community is divided in its support during this presidential election. Many Republicans are disenchanted,
which has contributed to slow contributions to their candidate, Arizona Sen. John McCain. But those looking to support Democrats
are torn this year, as the fierce competition between Clinton and Obama has made Indiana’s normally sleepy May primary a battleground.
Primary isn’t one-party affair May 6 contest should matter to all Primary elections in Indiana are usually fairly quiet affairs. Only about 20 percent of registered voters typically show up at the polls, compared with about 60 percent in the general election. This year’s primary election, though, should be different. There are plenty of reasons to get even the most passive political followers from both parties excited about the May 6 event. For the first time in 40 years, votes…
