Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard signs on with AirTran

By Jason Garcia and Sara K. Clarke, Orlando Sentinel - When AirTran Airways unveiled an Orlando Magic-themed Boeing 717 last week, the newly painted jet came with a celebrity endorsement: NBA star Dwight Howard.

Howard, the Orlando Magic center and a fan favorite, will endorse the airline in radio spots, online advertising and billboards.

Howard joins AirTran's other celebrity endorsers, including NFL quarterbacks Matt Ryan and Donovan McNabb, Major League Baseball players Ryan Braun and Tom Glavine, and race-car driver Danica Patrick.
No endorsements were forthcoming from the Orlando-based airline's pilots union, some of whose members picketed the carrier last week at General Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee, Wis.

In addition to serving as a reminder of extended contract negotiations, the picketing raised concerns about AirTran's agreement with SkyWest, which now flies some regional routes out of Milwaukee for AirTran. While the pilots denounced the arrangement as outsourcing, AirTran said SkyWest is merely flying shorter routes AirTran would not normally operate.

Crisis management

The University of Florida has a new online certification course in tourism crisis management.

The program, offered by the Tourism Crisis Management Institute in UF's Center for Tourism Research & Development, is designed to prepare senior industry leaders and executives to handle and recover from natural and manmade disasters.