AIRLINES Northwest Airlines, Eagan, which has a joint marketing agreement with Delta Air Lines, said Tuesday that it has received federal approval to expand its code-share flights with Delta on transpacific travel. Both carriers' codes will be placed on flights from the Twin Cities, Detroit and Honolulu. In addition to placing the Delta code on Northwest's flights from the Twin Cities to Tokyo, the Northwest code will be added to Delta flights from Atlanta to Tokyo.
Company news
August 20, 2008 at 2:38AM
Delta hopes to acquire Northwest by the end of the year. Northwest has code-sharing agreements with several carriers, which allow passengers to travel on multiple airlines for a trip but be treated as if they are flying on one airline.
DEBT AND EQUITIES Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd., St. Louis Park, announced its first closing, the Rogers, Ark., location. Since opening in October 2007, the Rogers location failed to generate positive cash flow and had approximately $1.3 million of net loss. Granite City operates 25 restaurants in 11 states.
Medtronic Inc., Fridley, is suing NuVasive Inc., San Diego, a maker of medical devices for spinal surgery, for patent infringement in federal court in San Diego. Four spine-related product categories and 12 patents are at issue. NuVasive said it is assessing its legal options, including a possible counterclaim.
NEW PRODUCTS Ecolab Inc., St. Paul, introduced its Preoperative Antiseptic Bathing Kit with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG), a new product developed for hospitals to reduce the risk of surgical-site infections. The new kit contains a 4-ounce bottle of Ecolab's Endure 400 Scrub-Stat 4, a 4 percent CHG cleansing solution, along with two individually wrapped wipes and an instruction sheet. The kit was designed for hospitals to provide to patients for use in the shower or bath on the night before and the morning of surgery.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS U.S. Bancorp, Minneapolis, announced that its lead bank, U.S. Bank, has agreed to purchase the ATM and kiosk terminal management services, cash management and vault cash operations of the Electronic Banking Solutions Division of Palm Desert National Bank. The new business will become part of Elan Financial Services, a business of U.S. Bank that provides electronic funds transfer and payments services to banks, credit unions and independent sales organizations.
about the writer
A spinoff company has been formed to produce a hormone supplement that reduces lung damage, but researchers still need to convince federal regulators of its safety and effectiveness.
