AirTran cutting fares
 AirTran Airlines is cutting summer fares on flights from Knoxville
 to several Southern cities.
 The Orlando, Fla.-based carrier said the lower fares will be valid
 for travel from April 27 through Sept. 30 and seats must be
 purchased by May 7.
 Ticket prices ranging from $39 to $89 one way will apply to flights
 from McGhee Tyson Airport to Orlando, New Orleans, New York,
 Tampa, Fla., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and Jacksonville, Fla.
 The deal requires seven-day advance purchase but doesn't require a
 round trip purchase or Saturday night stay.
 Seats are limited, subject to availability and all fares are non-
 refundable and do not apply to new city promotional fares.
 Blackouts apply for systemwide travel during the periods May 22-25,
 July 3-6, and Sept. 4-7.
 -------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Landair Services earnings up
 GREENEVILLE -- Landair Services Inc., a truckload carrier and
 contractor to the air cargo industry based in Greeneville, is
 reporting record first-quarter earnings and operating revenue.
 Operating revenue increased 29 percent to $52.9 million for the
 quarter ended March 31 compared to $41 million for the same quarter
 in 1997.
 Net income for the period was $2.2 million, a 185 percent increase
 vs. $771,000 in the prior-year quarter.
 Diluted earnings per share of 35 cents also set a record, an in-
 crease of 169 percent from 13 cents a year ago.
 Scott M. Niswonger, Landair chairman and chief executive officer,
 credited staff performance and growth in forward air and truckload
 operations for the increases.
 -------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Lockheed Martin earnings down
 BETHESDA, Md. -- Lockheed Martin Corp., fighting for federal
 approval of a $8.3 billion merger with Northrop Grumman Corp., said
 Tuesday its profit dropped 7 percent in the first quarter.
 Lockheed, the nation's largest defense contractor, reported earnings
 for the quarter ending March 31 were $269 million, compared with
 $290 million a year ago.
 Diluted per-share earnings were up 5 percent to $1.42, from $1.35 a
 year ago. The Bethesda-based company retired 29 million shares in a
 deal with General Electric in November.
 The Justice Department has sued to block the proposed merger with
 Los Angeles-based Northrop, saying the combined company would
 discourage competition. If it goes through, the merger would produce
 a company that would take up 25 percent of the Pentagon's budget.
 Lockheed Martin, which makes products such as the F-16 fighter and
 the Trident missile, employs about 173,000 people worldwide. It also
 operates facilities for the Department of Energy in Oak Ridge. Sales
 surpassed $28 billion in 1997.
 Sales were $6.2 billion for the first quarter of this year, down
 from $6.7 billion a year ago. Adjusted for divestitures, first-
 quarter sales would have been 1.4 percent higher than comparable
 sales from a year ago, the company said in a statement.
 Lockheed stock rose $1.50 a share to close at $115 on the New
 York Stock Exchange.
 ===
--- DB 1.39/004487
---------------