Airports

LS travel retail opens four stores at Los Angeles International Airport -- LS travel retail North America has opened four new stores in Los Angeles International Airport. Opened in the past few weeks, the four concepts - USA TODAY Travel Zone, Bienvenida Flowers & Gifts, iStore and Malibu Shades - are all located pre-security, in the Arrivals level of the new Tom Bradley International Terminal. The four stores were awarded by Westfield through a Competitive Evaluation Process, which LS travel retail won in partnership with the Los Angeles-based ACDBE firm Concourse Concessions Inc.  Melody Ng/The Moodie Report

Coast Guard searching for new base for helicopter crews -- The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday that it is looking for a new base of operations for helicopter crews serving the greater Los Angeles area. The Coast Guard has operated since 1962 out of leased hangars and support buildings at Los Angeles International Airport, but is being displaced as of September 2016 due to airport expansion plans. Although the planning for a new air station has been underway for some time, a location has not been chosen. City News Service

Passenger traffic inches up at Burbank Airport -- Passenger traffic at Burbank Bob Hope Airport improved by a little over 2 percent in February. The airport served 284,496 passengers, an increase of 2.2 percent from the 278,420 passengers served in February 2014. The passenger results are a turnaround at the San Fernando Valley's only commercial airport, which experienced decreases in December and January. Mark Madler/San Fernando Valley Business Journal

No passenger gains for start of 2015 -- First-of-the-year passenger traffic for Ontario International Airport was described as "virtually flat" Monday, April 6. During a presentation to the Ontario International Airport Commission, executive director Al C. Boling gave a report on regional airport traffic for the first two months of 2015. Of the region's six passenger airports, only Long Beach had negative numbers for the first two months of 2015. Richard K. De Atley/Riverside Press-Enterprise

Mooney International expands operations at Chino Airport -- The airport in Chino is seeing growth. Mooney International, a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, has expanded its operations at the Chino Airport. The airplane manufacturing firm chose the airport to better serve customer expansion in the United States and into China, executives said. It opened its Chino operation at the airport in 2013, the same year the company became a subsidiary after being acquired by Soaring America Corporation, with its parent company, Meijing Group, based in Cheng Zhou, China. Neil Nisperos/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Only in Portland? Old airport carpet gains cult hero status -- Visitors and Oregon locals lined up inside Portland International Airport to have their photos taken with an odd celebrity - a piece of nearly 30-year-old carpet. Before the day was over, more than 800 photo booth-style pictures were snapped of people standing next to the segment of floor covering, hung up for an event called PDX Carpet Fest. It was classic Portland, a city known for keeping it weird: a farewell party for the airport's trademark teal carpet, which is being replaced after three decades under travelers' luggage wheels. Sheila V. Kumar/AP

Harlem man tried to drive stolen truck through Kennedy Airport security checkpoint -- A 20-year-old Harlem man stole a truck, drove it to Kennedy Airport and then tried to run past a security checkpoint Friday morning, officials said. Claudio Duran was busted after he asked a Transportation Security Administration agent for a bathroom, then dashed through a door to Gate 37 at Terminal 8 about 6 a.m., according to a Port Authority spokesman. Barry Paddock/New York Daily News LAAPOA Statement

At the Movies

Emirates holds movie premiere on special Los Angeles flight -- On a short flight to nowhere over the Pacific Ocean, Emirates held a preview for the National Geographic movie, Living in the Age of Airplanes.  The 47-minute film, narrated by Harrison Ford, opens in theaters on April 10. As you might guess, the move celebrates airplanes. BrainSumers.com Watch Trailer

Airlines

Southwest Airlines celebrates opening day--adding the Los Angeles Dodgers to the lineup - Southwest Airlines announced its newest sponsorship as the Official Airline of the LA Dodgers. Dodgers fans got a taste of the airline's bold new look on Opening Day with the new addition of an outfield wall sign prominently displayed in Dodger Stadium. Southwest will extend its brand presence and engage with ballpark fans further into the baseball season. In addition to the carriers' sponsorship of the LA Dodgers, Southwest Airlines is the Official Airline of the Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, and recently welcomed the San Diego Padres to the lineup this season. Southwest Press Release

Southwest Airlines CEO gets 24 percent boost in compensation -- Southwest Airlines Co. earned a record profit last year and the CEO benefited with a 24 percent increase in compensation, to $5 million. Southwest detailed 2014 compensation for Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly in a regulatory filing Monday. The bulk of Kelly's compensation came in stock awards, which the Dallas-based airline valued at $3 million when they were issued, up from $2.25 million in 2013. David Koenig/AP

Union withdraws bid to organize Delta flight attendants -- Delta Air Lines flight attendants won't be voting on whether to join a union after all. At least not th is year. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said Monday it is postponing a drive to organize Delta's attendants. The union said it's doing so after it learned some worker authorization cards were submitted with "insufficient information or questionable signatures." Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today

Can airlines protect passengers from malfunctions and misuse? -- Technology plays a major role in alerting flight crews to potential aircraft problems, guiding them through stormy weather and protecting them from unruly or dangerous passengers. The recent tragedy of Germanwings Flight 9525, however, makes it clear that, no matter how simple or sophisticated a technology, the human factor is pivotal in determining the likelihood that a flight will end with a safe landing. Larry Greenemeier/Scientific American

Crisis of the Week: Lufthansa's response to Germanwings crash -- The subject of the Crisis of the Week is airline company Lufthansa Group and how it has responded following the deliberate crashing of its Germanwings plane by one of its pilots. That pilot was found to have been suffering from depression, and had been treated for the illness but still allowed to fly. Lufthansa said it knew of the pilot's condition but didn't prevent him from working. Ben Dipietro/Wall Street Journal

Flight attendants vs. Nicole Kidman: More's going on here than just hypocrisy about women's rights -- Actress Nicole Kidman may be an Oscar winner, but the union that represents American Airlines' 25,000 flight attendants probably thinks she deserves a Razzie for her new starring role as the TV pitch woman for Etihad Airways. Dan Reed/Forbes

Hospitality

Business travelers opt for Airbnb listings instead of hotels -- Travelers who first used new services such as Airbnb and Uber outside of work are now using them to book rides and rooms during business trips. That acceptance demonstrates how the San Francisco startups have gone mainstream, and show a fertile ground for further expansion. Even while both companies continue to fight regulatory battles, many big corporations are already tacitly endorsing them by reimbursing employees who opt for apartments over hotels, and Uber cars over taxis. Carolyn Said/San Francisco Chronicle Also: Airbnb to begin charging hotel taxes in Malibu on April 20

Aviation Safety

Aviation agencies to issue new safety guidance after 2014 Mali plane crash -- European and U.S. aviation agencies are poised to issue safety recommendations as a result of last year's crash of Air Alg�rie Flight 5017 in Mali. Engine sensors on the MD-83 jetliner appear to have been blocked by ice buildup, triggering a sequence of events that ended in the crash, the French air accident office, the BEA, said. The crew appears not to have activated a deicing system, said the BEA, which is aiding the crash probe. Robert Wall/Wall Street Journal

FAA

FAA computer systems hit by cyberattack earlier this year -- Hackers earlier this year attacked a Federal Aviation Administration network with malicious software, agency officials said Monday. In early February, FAA discovered "a known virus" spread via email on "its administrative computer system," agency spokeswoman Laura Brown told Nextgov. "After a thorough review, the FAA did not identify any damage to agency systems," she added. Aliya Sternstein/Nextgov

Metro

Metro makes first 'Business Interruption' payouts -- A fund set aside by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to help businesses affected by the construction of transit projects made its first payments Monday, paying a combined $66,310 to four Crenshaw Boulevard businesses. Metro's board of directors launched the Business Interruption Fund to pay up to $10 million a year for the next four years to small businesses that can demonstrate revenue losses related directly to construction of the Crenshaw/LAX rail line, the Purple Line subway extension and the Little Tokyo section of Metro's Regional Connector subway project. Carol Lawrence/Los Angeles Business Journal

Aviation Data & Analysis
Virgin America Leads US Carriers In Baggage Handling
Courtesy Oliver Wyman PlaneStats
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