NOT VERY CRICKET

British Airways was fined $300 million Thursday after pleading guilty to antitrust charges and admitting that it fixed some prices on international flights.

QUEEN OF GREEN

"Say what you want, she runs a helluva hotel."

A 1995 ad campaign in reference to Leona Helmsley and the Helmsley hotels

• Of note: Helmsley, who was reviled as the "queen of mean," and went to prison as a tax cheat, died Monday at 87. The New York Times said the campaign contributed to a 63 percent rise in hotel occupancy in the space of four months.

Source: Advertising Age

AHOY, PASSENGERS

$50 "head tax" per person is being imposed on Alaska cruise ship passengers. The tax is expected to raise about $50 million in revenue for the state annually.

MORE FOR PASSPORTS

$18 more will be charged to people acquiring a new passport, raising the total to $97, or $82 if you're under 16.

OVERTIME CUTBACKS

GM has cut overtime shifts at six of its full-size pickup and SUV plants in North America as high fuel prices and the housing slump crimp demand.