Business Notes Airlines

No industry has been hurt more by the outbreak of international terrorism than the airlines. Advance bookings on U.S. carriers flying to southern Europe have plummeted by about 50%, analysts say. Pan Am, the largest U.S. overseas carrier, is now fighting back with a security program called Alert to reassure passengers that the skies are safe. Pan Am has formed a security force, which will begin patrolling its international terminals on June 12 and whose services it will sell to other airlines. Pan Am says some of the squad's units will be armed, but it will not specify how heavily or at what airports.

British Airways, meanwhile, has taken a different tack to lure customers back to the skies. The company last week unveiled an unusual $8 million sweepstakes, in which it will give away all 5,200 seats on its June 10 flights between 15 U.S. cities and London. People who want to take one of those trips can send in an entry now, and the winners will be drawn on May 29. Customers who had booked seats for June 10 before the contest was announced are automatic winners. In addition, passengers on all British Airways flights this summer will be eligible for other prizes, including the use of a Concorde Jet Liner and crew for eight hours, a $100,000 Rolls-Royce and a five-year lease on a London town house.