S.F. Bay boat tours go wireless

NEW narrated boat tours of San Francisco, using wireless technology, are scheduled to begin May 24, departing from the city’s Ferry Building.

Passengers on the 90-minute cruises will don wireless headsets and choose among three recorded programs on the city’s architecture, natural history and Native Americans.

An on-board cafe will sell Boudin Bakery bread, Ghirardelli chocolates and other local foods, including some from gourmet stalls at the Ferry Building, said Tom Escher, president of the new Ferry Building Line.

“We won’t have any hot dogs,” he added.

The new line is operated by the Red and White Fleet, which has long offered San Francisco Bay tours from Fisherman’s Wharf.

The new tours, departing Wednesday through Sunday, will use the renovated, 300-passenger Harbor King boat.

Tickets will cost $39 for adults and $26 for ages 5 to 11; under age 4 is free. Information: (415) 901-5253, www.ferrybuildingline.com.

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Delta Queen

for sale again

A company in Newport Beach plans to buy Delta Queen Steamboat Co. in New Orleans, known for its historic paddle-boat cruises, from Delaware North Cos.

In an April 6 statement, Ambassadors International Inc., a diversified company whose many holdings include the American West Steamboat Co. in Seattle, said it expected the sale to close by the end of this month. Officials of Ambassadors International Inc., whose chairman is Peter V. Ueberroth, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

If completed, the sale would be the second in four years for Delta Queen, which operates three boats; in 2002, Delaware North acquired it in bankruptcy proceedings after its parent company went out of business.

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Attendants aren’t thrilled with $15 fee; Northwest is

DESPITE objections from some flight attendants, Northwest Airlines is sticking to plans to expand a program, involving about 5% of its domestic seats, that charges coach passengers $15 extra to book some aisle and exit-row seats.

This summer, said spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch, the airline will add the program, called Coach Choice, to flights between the United States and Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

“It is exceeding our expectations in terms of sales,” he said last week, and could generate up to $15 million per year for the financially troubled airline.

In another change, he added, Northwest’s elite-class frequent fliers are now exempt from the fee.

In a letter to Doug Steenland, Northwest’s president and chief executive, the Professional Flight Attendants Assn. said Coach Choice was “ill-conceived” and could result in fliers who are unqualified to perform safety duties being assigned to exit rows.

Ebenhoch said that the screening process for exit-row passengers is the same, whether under Coach Choice or not, and that fliers found to be unqualified for such seats can get a refund of the extra coach fee.

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Cruise line adds

fire-safety steps

PRINCESS Cruises this month, confirming that a fatal fire March 23 aboard its Star Princess started on a balcony, said it has added safety measures.

In a statement, the company said it has implemented a 24-hour fire watch on ship balconies and revised safety training of crew, among other measures.

-- by Jane Engle