Retired Coke executive dies

Charles Beck Harman Nicholson, a retired Coca-Cola executive who played a key role in international operations, died Friday at 88 years old.

A native of Columbus, Nicholson spent 39 years with Coca-Cola before retiring in Atlanta in 1985. He held a variety of positions, including deputy general manager of the Italian Division. He served as chairman of two subsidiaries of the Coca-Cola Export Corp. in Italy.

“Harman’s contributions to the company helped us build the international business we have today and for that, we thank him,” Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent said in a message to employees.

Funeral arrangements have been made through H.M. Patterson and Son, Spring Hill. The funeral will be held Thursday at St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal Church. JOE GUY COLLIER

Chick-fil-A testing spicy sandwich

Chick-fil-A’s flagship fried chicken sandwich could be getting a fiery sidekick.

The Atlanta-based fast-food chain said Tuesday it is testing a new spicy chicken sandwich in its California restaurants and considering adding the item nationally. Chick-fil-A already has been testing a spicy chicken sandwich in Baltimore and Jacksonville, Fla., but is expanding the test to its California outlets.

“When asking our customers what more could we do to enhance their overall customer experience when dining at Chick-fil-A, they have consistently requested that we add a spicy chicken sandwich to our menu,” said Woody Faulk, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of brand development. JOE GUY COLLIER

Delta offers bonus for online booking

Delta Air Lines is returning to the old practice of offering bonus miles for bookings on its Web site.

Atlanta-based Delta is offering its frequent flier members 500 bonus miles for round-trip bookings at www.delta.com through May 31.

Frequent flier members at Delta’s merger partner Northwest can also earn 500 bonus miles for bookings at Northwest’s Web site.

It’s part of Delta’s effort to increase bookings on its Web site to lower costs. The company aims for 40 percent of its North America bookings to be made at its Web site this year. KELLY YAMANOUCHI