Airports

American Airlines gets OK to take over Los Angeles-Mexico City route -- American Airlines Inc. won the right Friday to take over an Alaska Airlines Inc. route between Los Angeles and Mexico City, staving off a challenge from Delta Air Lines Inc. The U.S. Department of Transportation approved a request from American and Alaska to transfer the Alaska route to American. Fort Worth-based American plans to operate two round trips a day, compared with Alaska's one daily flight. Terry Maxon/Dallas Morning News

Volaris to offer weekly flights between LAX and Mexican city of Leon -- Volaris is offering four new weekly flights from the Mexican city of Leon to Los Angeles International Airport starting June 8, the airline and city officials announced Thursday. The Mexican airline will operate between from Leon, in Guanajuato, to LAX, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The flights leave at 8:30 a.m. from Leon and arrive in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. From LAX, the flight leaves at 11:20 a.m. and arrives in Leon at 4:20 p.m. City News Service

A meager lifestyle for workers who cater to the high-flying -- The airline industry could see record profits this year. Not flying so high? Low-wage airline food workers. Steve Lopez/Los Angeles Times

Palm Springs Air Museum plans new hangar, restaurant -- As the collection of aircraft at the Palm Springs Air Museum continues to grow, there's a need for more space to house these restored relics from World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. As part of the long-term build-out of the 10-acre property on Gene Autry Trail - adjacent to Palm Springs International Airport -plans are underway for a new 20,000 square-foot hangar, two-story restaurant and additional parking. Denise Goolsby/Desert Sun

Long Beach Airport re-opens runway for operations after maintenance, reconstruction -- The Long Beach Airport has announced that Runway 7L-25R officially reopened for aircraft operations on Thursday. The community is advised that said operations will be reinstated in an area that hasn't experienced aircraft activity in over a year. After 20 years of use, the runway was closed in February 2014 for required routine maintenance and reconstruction. The improvements that were made will enhance the safety and extend the runway's life for approximately 30 years, according to LGB. Asia Morris/Long Beach Post

Small plane, helicopter collide at Van Nuys Airport; FAA confirms no one injured -- A helicopter and small fixed-wing airplane apparently collided at Van Nuys Airport on Thursday afternoon, and no one was injured. Aerial video showed the two aircraft seemingly entangled near a runway at about 4:30 p.m. The plane had taxied into a backup helicopter operated by KCBS and KCAL, news cameraman Stu Mundel said in a tweet that included a photo of the collision. No flight was intended and there were no injuries, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said. Melissa Pamer/KTLA5

Virginia's economy needs Dulles Airport to soar again, boosters say -- Dulles matters. That was the message Thursday at an event that was part pep rally, part strategy session and all about turning around the troubled fortunes of Dulles International Airport. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) opened the conversation about the airport's future with the trademark energy he seems to bring to all things Virginia. "I am a huge advocate for Dulles Airport," he told the crowd of more than 300 people gathered at the AOL campus in Loudoun County. Lori Aratani/Washington Post

Dog found abandoned, tied to pole at airport -- A dog found tied to a pole and abandoned at Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson International Airport will soon have a new place to stay. Airport officials found the dog on Thursday. "She was tied up and sitting under a Mercedes. She was covered in dirt, obviously for a couple of hours. People probably walked past her for hours. They probably didn't take it seriously," Khern Forde, Hartsfield-Jackson landside operations supervisor, said. Shortly after receiving the call, Forde rode to the scene and called a K-9 unit. Chivone Smith/WSB TV Atlanta

Aviation Security

Researcher denied flight after tweet poking United security -- United Airlines stopped a prominent security researcher from boarding a California-bound flight late Saturday, following a social media post by the researcher days earlier suggesting the airline's onboard systems could be hacked. The researcher, Chris Roberts, attempted to board a United flight from Colorado to San Francisco to speak at a major security conference there this week, but was stopped by the airline's corporate security at the gate. Jack Gillum/AP

Air marshal left loaded gun in Newark airport bathroom stall, sources say -- A federal air marshal left his loaded gun in a bathroom stall at Newark Liberty International Airport, then boarded a flight he was assigned to protect without it, NJ Advance Media has learned. The incident occurred late last month, when the marshal left the handgun on top of a toilet paper dispenser in the public men's room near Checkpoint 2 in Terminal C, according to a Transportation Security Administration supervisor and a law enforcement source. Steve Strunsky/NJ Advance Media

Airlines
Airline customer satisfaction up, but industry ranks low -- Customer satisfaction with U.S. air carriers has risen, approaching a peak not seen in over 20 years, according to a report released Monday. But airlines still trail virtually all other industries when it comes to making consumers happy. The latest American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which measures how consumers feel about hundreds of companies within 43 industries, found that airlines scored 71 out of a possible 100 on a scale. Charisse Jones/USA Today 

If Spirit Airlines moves you, it's gonna cost an arm and a leg: Larry Wilson -- You know that situation you find yourself in when you recline your airline seat just a titch, as such seats are built to do, and are met with catcalling derision by the person behind when you do lean back a centimeter or two? Budget airline Spirit's new planes have taken care of that. They intentionally have put the seats even closer together than that last luxurious flight in steerage class you took - remember all that leg-crossing freedom? Larry Wilson/San Gabriel Valley Tribune

United Airlines seen as candidate to take stake in Brazil's Azul -- Azul SA's quest for an alliance outside Brazil to win more passengers makes United Continental Holdings Inc. the best possible partner, according to analysts at Raymond James and Imperial Capital. "It's a good idea that makes a lot of sense from both sides," said Savanthi Syth, an analyst from Raymond James Financial Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida. "There could be a spectrum of opportunity." Christiana Sciaudone/Bloomberg Business

United makes changes to limit unplanned European fuel stops -- In effort to curb unplanned fuel stops, a hassle for customers, United Airlines will switch from Boeing 757s to Boeing 767s on four key European routes from Newark. United will now fly twin-aisle 767s year-round from Newark to Madrid, Berlin, Hamburg and Barcelona. The new policy starts on Oct. 25.  United had already announced plans to switch Barcelona and Berlin to 767s, but only for the summer season. BrianSumers.com 

Airline, airport officials defend proposed American Airlines fuel tax break -- Officials in Charlotte on Friday defended a state bill that would extend a tax break for American Airlines, arguing that Charlotte needs to remain cost competitive to maintain its status as an American Airlines hub. The airline's use of Charlotte as its second-largest hub is based largely on its relatively low operating cost, which makes it cheap for American to fly from the city. Katherine Peralta/Charlotte Observer

Southwest Airlines' new seats are wider with "streamlined" armrests -- The newest seats on Southwest Airline planes are expected to give passengers what they've been demanding: more breathing space. The seats to be installed on Boeing 737-800 planes starting in 2016 will offer about half an inch of extra width on each seat, as well as a new "C-shaped" design to the bottom seat frame, replacing the old "L" shape, thus giving passengers a bit more room around the shins. But Southwest won't say how it was able to squeeze an extra half inch out of each seat without narrowing the aisle. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times 

Southwest Airlines may replace Chase for credit cards program -- Southwest Airlines is considering replacing JPMorgan Chase as the issuer of its credit card rewards program, according to two people familiar with the matter. One of those people said Southwest has hired investment bank First Annapolis as an adviser as it reviews the relationship with Chase. John Grund, who manages the credit card M&A advisory business at First Annapolis, did not respond to calls. Spokespeople for Chase and Southwest declined to comment. Dan Freed/The Street

Airlines slash routes to Moscow in latest sign of Russia's growing isolation -- In 2012, British discount airline EasyJet beat Virgin Atlantic Airways in a fierce competition for the rights to fly from London's Gatwick to Moscow's Domodedovo airport, a route that became available when its former operator was swallowed up in a merger. British aviation regulators gave the nod to EasyJet, which hailed the decision as a milestone in its international development. Carol Matlack/Bloomberg Business

Aviation Safety
Airbus warns against reducing pilot's role -- The chief of Airbus's jetliner division, Fabrice Br�gier, on Friday cautioned against downgrading the role of pilots in flying airliners in the wake of the Germanwings plane crash. Flight 9525--an Airbus A320--slammed into the French Alps in late March in an apparent co-pilot suicide that killed all 150 people onboard, raising questions about whether greater automation could prevent a repeat incident. Robert Wall/Dow Jones Newswires
FAA

GOP files bill to privatize air traffic control -- A Republican House member has filed a bill that would privatize some facets of the nation's air traffic control as the Federal Aviation Administration struggles to meet deadlines to upgrade the system. The measure would create a new private corporation that would oversee air traffic control functions that are currently handled by the FAA. The legislation's sponsor, Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), said the measure would drastically improve the efficiency of air traffic control in the U.S. Keith Laing/The Hill

Travel & Tourism

Tijuana, San Diego Tourism Authorities launch regional collaboration -- San Diego and Tijuana authorities have revived collaborative efforts to boost regional tourism after more than five years of inaction. Joe Terzi, CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority, said an informal cross-border tourism marketing collaboration had largely come to a stop because of fears tied to drug violence south of the border. "It just hasn't been an appropriate discussion to have because of the level of uncomfortableness with what was happening in the region," Terzi said. Jean Guerrero/KPBS

Aviation Data & Analysis
US Airline February Jet Fuel Prices Up Slightly Over January
Courtesy Oliver Wyman PlaneStats
City Government

L.A. restaurants push for tips to count toward minimum wage -- The battle over boosting the minimum wage in Los Angeles has turned to the dollar bills tucked under an empty coffee cup, the spare change dropped into tip jars and the hasty calculations jotted down on meal tabs. As L.A. leaders weigh raising wages for businesses across the city, scores of local restaurateurs argue that the city should count tips toward the added amount they would have to pay workers to reach the proposed $13.25 or $15.25 minimum wage. Emily Alpert Reyes/Los Angeles Times

Subscribe to Eye on L.A. Aviation (1,397 Subscribers)
Follow Eye on L.A. Aviation on Twitter (1,295 Followers)