Press Releases

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Boost Mobile, a division of Sprint Corporation (NYSE: S), today announced the company will suspend traveling charges for Boost customers in Louisiana and Texas in an effort to ease the transition for those displaced by Hurricane Gustav.

Boost Mobile will suspend the traveling fee of 15 cents per minute for all calls made outside their normal home calling area (HCA) for customers in the New Orleans and South Texas HCAs. The New Orleans HCA includes the greater New Orleans metropolitan region. The South Texas HCA includes the greater McAllen, Corpus Christi and Laredo metropolitan region.

"I was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and my parents still live there so I know first hand how hurricanes can disrupt the lives of family and friends," said Boost Mobile President Matt Carter. "We want to quickly get the word out to our customers in Louisiana and Texas who may need to temporarily relocate out of the area, and provide them with some relief during this difficult time."

About Boost Mobile

Boost Mobile is a division of Sprint Corporation (NYSE: S) that offers wireless phones and services with no contracts, credit checks or activation fees. Boost has approximately four million customers, the majority of which are 18 to 34 years old.

Source: Boost Mobile

GERMANTOWN, MD -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 08/30/08 -- WeatherBug, a leading provider of live, local weather information, announced today that Gustav is now a strong category three hurricane and is quickly becoming a category four hurricane. WeatherBug analysis also shows that the path of the storm has turned from a west northwest track to a steady northwest track, resulting in a significant deviation of more than 50 miles from earlier forecasts significantly changing the path of the storm to the eastern side of the Isle of Youth, south of Cuba.

Forecast models continue to indicate a steady track toward the central Louisiana coast with a slowing of forward motion and a turn toward Texas. WeatherBug analysis also shows a much closer track to the lower Florida Keys.

"This deviation could have significant impact on the future track and forecasts and expected landfall scenarios," said Mark Hoekzema, chief meteorologist at WeatherBug. "For the U.S., the shift could be a signal showing an increased threat that New Orleans could be in the path of a direct hit. We also see eastern Cuba under the gun for potentially catastrophic damage from storm surge and high winds. Additionally, there is a higher threat for stronger winds and gusts beginning late today and into Sunday for the Florida Keys."

WeatherBug has more than 1,500 weather stations across the entire Gulf Coast. These weather stations monitor current conditions in real-time, such as wind speed, wind direction, temperature, rain rate and barometric pressure. Several of WeatherBug's weather stations are also located at sea on oil platforms in the Gulf Coast.

About WeatherBug®

WeatherBug (http://weatherbug.com and http://weatherbugprofessional.com) is a trusted source of dynamic weather information enabling people worldwide to make more informed weather-related decisions. By combining its proprietary asset-the world's largest, most dense network of live weather stations and cameras-with aggregated weather data from around the world, the WeatherBug Network delivers highly precise weather information and forecasts for the most accurate, neighborhood-level weather available. WeatherBug is a brand of AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc.

Contact
ara Radis
Director of Corporate Communications
301-250-4017 (office)
301-512-5134 (mobile)
Email Contact

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, today provided a statement regarding evacuation procedures in advance of Hurricane Gustav:

"As Hurricane Gustav approaches the Gulf Coast, ticketed passengers and those wanting to leave the area should contact the individual airlines directly and travel to the airport as soon as possible. Government officials are advising individuals to leave the area immediately. Starting Sunday, only those with tickets will be permitted to enter the airport. The New Orleans airport tentatively will stop all operations by approximately 6 pm Sunday. We encourage ticketed passengers and those wanting to leave the area to contact the airlines as soon as possible."

Airline Weather Advisories and Travel Policies for Hurricane Gustav (http://www.airlines.org/news/releases/2008/GustavUpdates.htm)

ATA airline members and their affiliates transport more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic. For additional information about the industry, visit www.airlines.org.

SOURCE Air Transport Association of America

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Boeing Company's public acknowledgement that outsourcing is causing problems with the 787 program is lip service until action is taken to correct problems created by a global network of suppliers and inexperienced workers, according to the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001.

Officials at SPEEA and other unions, including the International Aerospace Machinists (IAM), repeatedly warned the aerospace giant that it was a mistake to part out highly complex aerospace products to inexperienced workers around the world. More than one year after a ceremonial "roll out" of a 787 shell, the same aircraft remains in the factory incomplete and missing parts from suppliers.

"Continued statements that everything is fine with the 787 global supply network just don't fly," said Ray Goforth, executive director of SPEEA.

Last week, the company announced plans to place full-time Boeing inspectors at key suppliers to reduce flaws and maintain quality. The announcement, reported by the Puget Sound Business Journal, said Boeing will first target about one dozen problem companies.

SPEEA's Goforth said more inspections at suppliers escalates cost and avoid the real problem - Boeing's great experiment to outsource large parts of the engineering and manufacturing of the next major leap in air travel failed.

"It's time for Boeing to stop the lip service and take real action," Goforth said. "Face the fact that the global network is a failure and bring the critical work back so the experienced employees can get the 787 back on track."

Boeing's original plan for the 787 called for the first flight in August 2007. By now, large sections were expected to be arriving complete in Everett. The goal was to snap the large parts together in as little as three days. Instead, the program is 18 months behind schedule with no firm date for a first flight. Earlier this month, Azerbaijan Airlines became the first airline to cancel a 787 order.

Boeing needs more than paid advertising and internal campaigns to regain the trust of customers and employees. The most recent Rittenhouse Ranking Survey of corporate candor ranked Boeing 98th, six spots below Exxon Mobil. The annual survey evaluated 100 Fortune 500 companies and CEOs for fair, open and sincere communications.

Facing a strike by the IAM and preparing to open contract talks with SPEEA in October, Boeing last week launched a radio advertising campaign in the Puget Sound region aimed at convincing employees and the public of its good intentions. The advertising bolsters an intense internal workplace campaign aimed at employees and their managers.

"Instead of thanking and rewarding employees for correcting the errors of suppliers and management, Boeing is banking profits and shifting costs onto employees," Goforth said.

On October 28, SPEEA begins main table negotiations with Boeing for 21,000 employees in Washington, Kansas, Oregon, Utah and California. Negotiations begin in May for 700 engineers at Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. in Wichita, Kan.

A local union of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), SPEEA represents more than 24,731 aerospace professionals at Boeing, Spirit, Triumph Composite Systems, Inc., in Spokane, Wash., and at BAE Systems, Inc., in Irving, Texas.

Source: Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As Hurricane Gustav approaches the Gulf Coast, home oxygen providers across Louisiana are implementing plans and procedures in advance of a potential healthcare crisis, threatening to disrupt immediate access to area patients' lifesaving oxygen therapy. In preparation for this pending disaster scenario, the home oxygen community throughout Louisiana is working vigorously to ensure that any patients in need of care as the storm hits are quickly located, identified and provided the equipment, supplies and services they require to maintain their therapy throughout the duration of the crisis.

All home oxygen patients have unique needs that require different oxygen treatments, which can become complicated when planning delivery schedules before a hurricane. Providers across the state have completed their delivery routes and have been supplied extra carts of cylinders for emergency use. If power goes out in any branch, phones will be remotely routed to other areas so patients have access to 24-hour emergency response service. Providers are also constantly monitoring the storm and will advise their drivers individually when reports of high winds exceed recommended levels for delivery trucks to stay on the road.

"We have addressed emergency plans in each location and have contacted high acuity patients to make sure they are safe and understand their own evacuation plans," said Andy Ingram, Apria Healthcare's Vice President of Operations, Mid South Region. "We have also connected those patients with other locations around the region. We have contacted all our oxygen patients and explained to them that we have set up at least 12 depots in local towns where they can come by and get supplies, if needed."

The effects of a hurricane can wreak havoc on home oxygen patients, leaving thousands of oxygen users in need of emergency respiratory assistance to access life-saving oxygen therapy. Many patients will remain at home during this hurricane and widespread blackouts could leave them without the use of their stationary oxygen concentrators, which generate the medically-pure oxygen they require from ambient room air. If patients are unable to maintain their oxygen therapy as prescribed, they can become oxygen deficient and require hospitalization to stabilize their condition. If this should happen, patients are encouraged to contact emergency services.

"With the lessons we learned from Katrina and other hurricanes, we feel that we are prepared to handle anything that is thrown at us," added Ingram.

The Council for Quality Respiratory Care is a group of the nation's leading home oxygen therapy providers and manufacturers. CQRC members include AirSep Corporation, American HomePatient, Apria Healthcare, Invacare, Lincare, Pacific Pulmonary Services, Praxair, Inc., ResMed, Inc., Respironics, Inc., Rotech Healthcare Inc. and Sunrise Medical, Inc.

SOURCE The Council for Quality Respiratory Care