Why use Uber to LAX when you can take a bus? -- To the editor: In response to technology industry consultant Neal Ungerleider's call to allow ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft pick up passengers at Los Angeles International Airport, people sometimes forget that simply taking the bus to and from the airport is a heck of a lot cheaper and, many times, just as convenient as taking a car. ("How to simplify the LAX experience: Grant ride-share services access," op-ed, April 9) I take the Big Blue Bus from Santa Monica. Jerry Rubin/Opinion/Readers React/Los Angeles Times

Airline food workers strike at LAX, affecting international flights -- More than 100 workers who prepare food for airlines flying out of Los Angeles International Airport went on strike Tuesday, saying they are overworked and lack the proper equipment to do their jobs, union organizers said. The strike by employees of airline caterer Flying Food Group is scheduled to last until about 4 a.m. Wednesday, according to the labor union Unite Here, which is supporting the workers. Andrew Khouri/Los Angeles Times Carol Lawrence/Los Angeles Business Journal

Surf Air expands to four new cities, adds leisure travel -- Citing growing capacity and demand, Surf Air is expanding to four more cities for business and leisure travel. The subscription airline said it will begin flying to Santa Rosa, Monterey, Sacramento and Palm Springs in October. Surf Air expects those cities will be popular for leisure travel as well as business. "We have the level of capacity where we can offer on the leisure side," said Chief Executive Jeff Potter. Garrett Reim/Los Angeles Business Journal

Dem senator pushes for more airport employee screening -- The top ranking Democrat on the Senate committee that handles transportation issues said Tuesday that airport employees should have to go through similar screening as passengers.  Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said a 2014 incident at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport involving an employee who was arrested for smuggling guns into areas beyond the facility's security checkpoints and a incident this week involving an Alaska Airlines employee who fell asleep in the cargo area of an airplane that later took off showed the need to increased screening for airport workers. Keith Laing/The Hill

Dublin Airport adds 21 new routes for bumper summer schedule -- The figure represents an 11pc increase in capacity over last summer. In total, the airport is hosting 21 new routes/services this summer, including 16 short-haul routes to continental Europe and five new long-haul routes to Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, Addis Ababa and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The boost should see Dublin Airport's busiest summer since passenger numbers reached their peak in 2008, according to its Managing Director, Vincent Harrison. Pol O Conghaile/Independent.IE

Prague airport train line didn't budget for escalator -- The good news for visitors to the Czech capital: the newly expanded A line of Prague's subway network that opened this week will comfortably take them from downtown closer than ever to the city's international airport. The bad news: To board the No. 119 bus that covers the final 5 miles between the Nadrazi Veleslavin station and Vaclav Havel Airport, they have to climb 32 steep stairs from the subway to the bus terminal. AP

Badgerys Creek airport plans show it could rival New York's JFK, double capacity of Sydney Airport -- Confidential plans for Sydney's second airport at Badgerys Creek have revealed construction could begin next year on a facility that could eventually double the size and passenger capacity of Sydney's present airport at Mascot. The plans show the first stage of the airport would include a single east-west runway of 3.7 kilometres and a small terminal servicing international and domestic flights, as well as a cargo terminal. Megan Levy/Sydney Morning Herald

Cramped airline seats may spark fights, health concerns -- Sitting still on long flights is what threatens a rare risk of blood clotting, rather than necessarily how close seats are squeezed together on airliners, a Transportation Department consumer panel heard Tuesday. And the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection also heard arguments that placing more seats on planes is how low-cost carriers are able to offer cheaper fares. Bart Jansen/USA Today

This airline wants to give you a wider seat in economy cabin --Southwest Airlines Co. will give passengers something extra with its newly designed aircraft seats -- more than one-half inch of extra width. At 17.8 inches (45 centimeters) across, the bottom seat cushions will be the widest in the coach cabin of any Boeing Co. 737 in the U.S., according to Southwest, the biggest operator of 737s. The plane is the world's most widely flown jetliner. Mary Schlangenstein/Bloomberg Business

U.S. airlines have paid the government $250 billion -- amazingly, some claim they are subsidized -- Of all misguided statements that have been in the debate regarding the $39 billion government subsidies of the three Middle East carriers, the most misguided ones suggest that it's fine because U.S. airlines are also heavily subsidized. A government report that surfaced recently shows that U.S. airlines received $155 billion in federal subsidies between 1919 and 1998. Ted Reed/The Street

Southwest Airlines opens unwelcome chapter: Writers on a plane -- Just when you thought flying couldn't get any more unpleasant comes this unwelcome bit of information: Southwest Airlines is introducing public readings in the air. According to Slate, an author named Eric Greitens, head of the veterans nonprofit organization The Mission Continues, read and answered questions about his new book "Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life" last week on a Southwest flight from St. Louis to Washington, D.C. David L. Ulin/Los Angeles Times

Strong dollar offsets airlines' cheap fuel benefit -IATA -- The stronger U.S. dollar has offset "quite a lot of the benefit" of lower oil prices for airlines that are not earning much in that currency, International Air Transport Association Director General Tony Tyler told reporters on Tuesday. While Tyler said IATA will update its airline profit forecast in June, the remarks reflect the currency challenges carriers face just as some begin to report first-quarter 2015 earnings. Jeffrey Dastin/Reuters

JetBlue wants to turn former TWA terminal into hotel -- JetBlue Airways Corp. is angling to get into the hotel business, joining the growing ranks of developers and investors looking for lodging opportunities inside major U.S. airports. The low-cost airline and its partner, New York-based hotel developer MCR Development LLC, are in advanced negotiations with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for the rights to turn the iconic Trans World Airlines terminal at Kennedy Airport into a modern hotel, according to people familiar with the matter. Craig Karmin & Ted Mann/Wall Street Journal

United Airlines is going purple for a good cause -- United Airlines is seeing purple. That's right. The Chicago-based carrier is set to unveil on Thursday its new purple plane. The Boeing 737-900 ER aircraft has been painted and branded to commemorate the airline's 10th year of support for the March of Dimes, the well-known philanthropy that raises funds to support research on premature birth, infant mortality and birth defects. Lewis Lazare/Chicago Business Journal

Worker on Alaska Airlines flight 'knowingly violated' policy with nap -- A contract worker who fell asleep Monday in the cargo hold of a departing Alaska Airlines jetliner "knowingly violated" the policies and procedures of his employer, Menzies Aviation, the company said Tuesday. Menzies, a global provider of airline handling, said the worker "hid in the hold of an aircraft to take a nap," forcing the plane the turn around and make an emergency landing. The matter remains under internal investigation, the company added. Susan Carey/Wall Street Journal

A call for warnings about airline frequent-flier changes -- Airline loyalty programs can change on a dime, but consumer advocates told a Transportation Department panel Tuesday that travelers deserve more warning. Airlines have disclaimers in their frequent-flier programs saying the rules can change anytime for any reason without notice. The Supreme Court upheld that policy, deciding unanimously in April 2014 that an airline has sole discretion to dump a frequent flier who complained too much. Bart Jansen/USA Today

Money-saving ideas get $450K in funding from L.A.'s 'innovation fund' -- The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday approved $450,000 to fund seven money-saving ideas submitted by city employees, with more than half of the funds going to a proposal to hire nurse practitioners to help the Los Angeles Fire Department improve its response to medical calls. The grants will come out of a $1 million "innovation fund" that Mayor Eric Garcetti set up last year to encourage employees to come up with ideas to improve the way the city operates. John Schreiber/City News Service