Roundup: Richard Branson trying to break trans-Atlantic sailing record; UAL loses $779 million; win a blogging trip to China

Good morning, travelers! Hey JetBlue fans, The T5 terminal at New York’s John F. Kennedy International (JFK) is officially open today. Get the play-by-play action from JetBlue bloggers. There are some great pics worth checking out.

Sailing news | Sir Richard Branson, his son, Sam, 23, and daughter, Holly, 26, plus a crew of champion sailors have set sail on a 3,000-mile race through the North Atlantic from New York Bay to Lizard Point off the coast of England. They are trying to beat the record for a trans-Atlantic crossing in a single-hulled sailboat. What’s the time they need to beat? Six days, 17 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds. Read: Sir Richard Branson and his children begin attempt to break trans-Atlantic sailing record [Chicago Tribune]

Airline news | United Airlines, the second largest airline in the nation, suffered a big third quarter blow. They reported a $779 million third-quarter loss. They expect to come close to breaking even in the fourth quarter, and cutting distribution costs and the added luggage fees should help. According to the Associated Press, “United said it now expects overall capacity to shrink 8 percent to 9 percent during 2009. That includes cutting domestic capacity 12.5 percent to 13.5 percent and international capacity 7 percent to 8 percent.”

From the Twittersphere | @elliottng has the tip on a free blogger trip to China. If you are into social media this is right up your alley. The trip is centered around the China 2.0 tour (Nov. 10-17). Create a free VisualCV by Oct. 27 that says why you should go and maybe even blog for Mashable. All the details are on the Mashable blog. Read: Win a Free Trip to China: China 2.0 Trip Commences Next Month

– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger

[Photo: Sir Richard Branson and his daughter Holly hang out on the rigging of the mast on the 100 foot "Virgin Speedboat" as it sails along the Hudson river near the Statue of Liberty on Sept. 4, 2008. Mark Greenberg/AFP/Getty Images]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at 10:27 am by Jen Leo and is filed under Airline travel, Celebrity, Good Morning, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.