Business briefs
Avis teams up with Waymo on self-driving car program
Avis is teaming up with Waymo on a self-driving car program. The partnership aims to support Waymo’s fleet and its early rider program, which has a public trial in Phoenix. Avis Budget Group Inc. said it will provide fleet support and maintenance services for Waymo’s program at its Avis and Budget car rental locations. Under the multiyear deal, Waymo’s cars will receive automotive services such as oil changes from Avis and be allowed to park at its locations. Waymo, owned by Google parent company Alphabet Inc., will continue to own and run its self-driving cars and will continue with its existing partnerships.
Ritz-Carlton hotels launching a cruise line
Who says hotel companies can’t dabble in cruising, too? In a hospitality industry crossover, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is launching a luxury cruising yacht line scheduled to hit the water in the fourth quarter of 2019, the company said. In doing so, it follows a path similar to Disney when it founded Disney Cruise Line in 1996. Ritz-Carlton, part of Marriott International, is planning to build three 298-passenger yachts for its new Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, to be based in Coconut Grove, Fla.
Rocket engine plant announced for Alabama by Bezos’ company
A private spaceflight company owned by Amazon-founder Jeff Bezos plans to build a powerful new rocket engine in Alabama for space flight, the company and state officials said. Blue Origin president Robert Meyerson said his company is seeking a production contract with United Launch Alliance, a private company that provides satellite launches for the U.S. government and others. He said the company will locate a production factory for the BE-4 rocket
engine in Huntsville upon a contract being signed. Blue Origin is considered a leading contender for the contract after it and ULA entered into a partnership last year with the U.S. Air Force to develop a rocket propulsion system to power Vulcan, ULA’s new rocket designed to carry heavy payloads into space. A spokeswoman for ULA declined to discuss the status of the project, saying it is an ongoing procurement.