New Service

USAir to boost BWI departuresUSAir Group Inc. said it plans to offer new service that will increase its daily departures from its Baltimore-Washington International hub to 109 from 97, effective Jan. 5.The company said it will also begin service to and from Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, Fla. USAir said new service from BWI includes flights to Charleston, S.C.; Cleveland; Columbus, Ohio; Newark, N.J.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Norfolk, Va.; Greensboro, N.C., and...

Maersk Line will resume its South American service out of Baltimore, meaning the return of a container ship a week that had been shifted to Hampton Roads, Va., Baltimore's primary competitor in the mid-Atlantic region.The resumption of the weekly service stems from Maersk's decision to enter a vessel-sharing agreement with Transroll/Sea-Land to provide more frequent service to South America.The new service, which begins in mid-June, will feature two weekly departures from the United States to the East Coast of South America, with one service calling at Baltimore and the other calling at Hampton Roads.

Pan American Independent Line, based in Montevideo, Uruguay, has become the third shipping line in the last two months to announce plans to start calling at the Port of Baltimore.The privately owned company said yesterday it will begin tri-weekly container service to Baltimore, perhaps beginning by Monday. The service will mark the company's entry into the East Coast market. Port officials estimated that the new service could bring 54,000 tons of cargo through the port a year.The line is expected to move coffee, confections, earthenware and construction equipment from South America and will transport machinery, steel products, resins and refractory materials south.

Port's foreign trade risesTotal foreign commerce at the port of Baltimore last year rose 4.2 percent, to 26.2 million short tons, the best year since 1989.The figures, released by the U.S. Census Bureau, include most cargo that moves through the port's public and private terminals. In February, the Maryland Port Administration announced that general cargo moving through the state's five public marine terminals jumped nearly 17 percent, to 6.3 million tons.The private marine terminals -- which handle cargo such as coal, iron ore and sugar cane -- accounted for nearly 20 million short tons here.

Amtrak will triple the number of weekday trains offering high-speed Acela Express service through Baltimore, giving travelers a faster option to New York and Boston. The new service, which will begin July 9, is a continuation of Amtrak's goal to replace its Metroliner trains with the new Acela. In the six months since its launch Dec. 11, Acela took in $15.3 million in ticket sales to 130,486 passengers. Revenue was slightly higher than expected and ridership slightly lower than projections, according to Amtrak.

Starting today, Marylanders who simply must know whether it will rain or shine will be able to find out by tuning in to a 24-hour digital weather channel provided by WBAL-TV, Channel 11, Baltimore's NBC affiliate. Available to Comcast subscribers on digital cable Channel 208, the 11 Insta-Weather Plus service will feature continuous local weather updates and five-day forecasts, plus regional and national reports provided by NBC, the station's partner in the venture. In addition, the station's regular meteorologists - Tom Tasselmyer, John Collins, Neal Estano and Domenica Davis - will provide live and taped updates on the new service.

Area cable television companies say they are receiving sharply increased requests for new hookups as the result of Cable News Network's impressively superior coverage of the Persian Gulf war.No wonder. When the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is quoting "my friend Bernie Shaw" as a chief source for bomb damage assessments in Baghdad, you know that basic cable CNN is the network to watch.CNN's "beat" on Wednesday night's bombing raids had anchor Bernard Shaw and reporters John Holliman and Peter Arnett as the only U.S. newsmen with a live open line during the violence and in its aftermath yesterday morning.

Acquisitions Bob Davidson Ford has acquired assets of Towson Ford, which closed its doors this month. To accommodate former Towson Ford and new clients, the Davidson dealership will expand its East Joppa Road sales and service facilities. Expansions Webb/Mason, a national print and brand management company, expanded its corporate headquarters in Baltimore as well as the Chicago office. New contract Eyemaginations, based in Towson, has signed an agreement with the American Optometric Association to provide eye care images and animations for educational and marketing materials.

NEW YORK -- AOL, Time Warner Inc.'s Internet unit, and Intel Corp. started an online video-on-demand service yesterday that lets users watch films, concerts and sports programs on their television sets. The service allows users to search for videos available on AOL with a TV remote control, said Kevin Conroy, executive vice president at AOL. Personal computers based on Intel's Viiv semiconductors and software will make it easier to search, record and watch music and video files. "The partnership with Intel enabled us to bring this experience to the living room," Conroy said in an interview, referring to watching videos online.

Not content with using only traditional media to spread its economic development message, Baltimore has become one of the first four advertisers to post a commercial message on Business Week's new electronic magazine.Business Week Online, launched Dec. 30, is accessible through the America Online computer communications service, which reaches an estimated 1.5 million subscribers.Computer users who click on Baltimore's listing see a headline and block of text, illustrated by a color photograph of the Inner Harbor at night.