Continental content to go it alone, and more

• The big news of the day is that — contrary to many expectations — Continental Airlines has decided not to pursue a merger. CEO Larry Kellner conveyed the board’s decision in a letter to employees yesterday. This is probably the best decision Continental could have made here. [AP via MSNBC; see also PlaneBuzz and Today in the Sky]
• The Italian government’s €300 million “bridging loan” to flailing Alitalia is coming under European Commission scrutiny as “illegal state aid.” [ATW Daily News]
• The Senate has reached a compromise on the long-awaited FAA reauthorization bill by raising business-jet fuel taxes to increase that sector’s share of funding for the national airspace system. [Aero-News.Net]
• Foreigners are photographed and printed when they enter the United States . . . and now Homeland Security wants the same when they leave. And they want the airlines to do it. [BNET Travel Industry]

Image credit: Flickr user Cubbie_n_Vegas. Used through a Creative Commons License.

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