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LAX begins unannounced inspections of vans, taxis and buses -- Unannounced inspections of commercial ground transportation vehicles, including limousines, door-to-door shuttle vans, taxis and buses, took place Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport. The multi-agency operation began at 7:30 a.m. and was scheduled to continue through 12:30 p.m., said airport police Sgt. Belinda Nettles. "The inspections of commercial vehicles entail both mechanical and administrative requirements," Nettles said. City News Service CBS LA
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Think Bridgegate was bad? The Port Authority is a daily disaster -- What people outside New York don't understand is that Bridgegate is merely an extreme example of a chronic problem: the political infection of one of America's most important infrastructure agencies, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Christie and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo have used the agency to dole out patronage jobs and to steer money and resources from the disfavored to the favored, as have their predecessors. Peter Coy/Bloomberg
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Call It coincidence, or corruption -- In a fabulous coincidence, if you prefer fables to scandal, United Airlines started a twice-weekly, money-losing flight to Columbia, S.C., that just happened to be handy for a powerful public official in New Jersey who had a weekend home nearby in Aiken. A few days after the public official resigned from his position in March 2014, the airline canceled the flight. Just one of those things. Jim Dwyer/New York Times
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Cost to replace Newark airport monorail could top $1B, experts say -- Replacing the AirTrain monorail system at Newark Liberty International Airport could cost well over a billion dollars, transportation experts say. "Just based on the numbers they're going to spend on the planning and technical expertise, they're gong to spend three quarters of a billion to 1.1 billion (dollars)," to construct a new system, said Lawrence Fabian, a New York-based transportation planner specializing in automated people-mover systems for airports. Steve Strunsky/NJ Advance Media
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Sneak peek at DIA's hotel and train station project -- There's probably not a bad view from any of the 519 rooms in the Westin hotel under construction at Denver International Airport. Wednesday was crystal clear, and the views of snow-capped peaks of the Front Range - from Pikes Peak on the south side to Longs Peak on the north side - were stunning. On the north side of the hotel, the view was dominated by DIA's iconic white tents against the sunny slue sky. DIA officials on Wednesday offered the media a sneak peek at the hotel and train station being built at Jeppeson Terminal's south end. Cathy Proctor/Denver Business Journal
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Express train will connect Toronto Pearson with downtown -- What's the difference between a charming city and one that's globally competitive in terms of tourism and business? Often, it's convenient, fast train service between the airport and the downtown core. Hong Kong, London, Tokyo and Stockholm have that sort of service. And soon Toronto will have it too. June 6 has been set as the opening day for a new express train service between downtown Toronto and Toronto Pearson International, Canada's busiest airport, which currently services more than 36 million passengers a year. Harriet Baskas/USA Today
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Alaska Airlines adds three more routes from Seattle -- Things may be heating up again in the ongoing turf war for the Seattle market between Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines. On Tuesday, Alaska announced the addition of new non-stop routes starting this fall from its hub in Seattle to Nashville; Charleston, S.C.; and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. "Nashville and Raleigh-Durham are two of the largest destinations on a passenger basis from Seattle that aren't served non-stop by Alaska Airlines," said John Kirby, the carrier's vice-president of capacity planning, "And the Seattle-Charleston market continues to grow, as Boeing business synergies have served as a catalyst." Harriet Baskas/USA Today
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Nashville airport plans for flight to Cuba -- The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, which announced a nonstop flight to Seattle Tuesday, is planning a connecting flight to Cuba, according to airport officials. Choice Aire airline, launching in May, is seeking for permission from Cuban authorities to chart a connecting flight from Nashville through Miami. If approved, the airline could start flying Nashvillians with appropriate permits to Cuba as early as June, said Trudy Carson, director of air service development. Jamie McGee/The Tennessean
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Reprisal suspected against TSA agents who revealed security lapses at MSP -- Federal authorities are scrutinizing efforts to punish two security agents who revealed risks at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel blocked a forced transfer from the Twin Cities to a Florida airport of Andrew Rhoades, a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) assistant security director, and the suspension of Rebecca Roering, also an assistant security director. Paul Walsh/Star Tribune
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Atlanta TSA agent faked cancer for 5 years, took 280 paid sick days: investigators -- An Atlanta TSA agent faked cancer for five years, taking nine months' worth of paid sick days for made-up surgeries and radiation, officials said. Security officer Marc Bess was arrested for stealing public money and was fired from his tax-backed government job after the Transportation Security Administration caught on to his hoax, WSB-TV reported. The sick scam started in 2009, when Bess told his bosses at the Atlanta airport that he was diagnosed with abdominal lymphoma. Meg Wagner/New York Daily News
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Fresno air fares in the upper 25% nationwide in 2014's fourth quarter -- Airfares at Fresno Yosemite International Airport ranked in the upper 25% of fares among the nation's 100 largest airports in the fourth quarter of last year. The U.S. Department of Transportation this week released its statistics measuring average airfares. At FYI, the average domestic itinerary - the total ticket cost to fly from Fresno to another U.S. destination, including connecting flights in between - cost $433. The figure includes round trips as well as one-way flights. Fresno Bee
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The art of self deception: Airline execs really believe consumers' travel experience is improving -- The data are in and it's true - the emperors of the airline industry have no clothes. That's metaphorically speaking, of course, when it comes to their belief that the customer experience onboard their flights (and in buying tickets, boarding and changing planes, and recovering checked bags) is getting better. Dan Reed/Forbes
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Spirit Airlines' profits jump 83 percent in first quarter -- Spirit Airlines posted a higher profit in the first quarter despite increased competition in some of its key markets such as Dallas, the carrier reported Wednesday. Net income for the Miramar-based low-cost carrier rose 83 percent to $69 million, or 94 cents per share, compared with $37.7 million, or 51 cents, in the same period in 2014. Spirit's total operating revenue jumped 12.6 percent to $493.4 million, up from $438 million a year ago. Arlene Satchell/Fort Lauderedale Sun-Sentinel
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American Airlines shows off its new Boeing 787 Dreamliner -- American Airlines unveiled its newest 787-8 Dreamliner Wednesday morning. It is the first time that employees and journalists have had a chance to view American's configuration of the aircraft since the Fort Worth-based carrier first took possession of the new fleet type in February. The aircraft on display Wednesday, N805AN, just flew in to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Tuesday night from Boeing Field in Seattle. Jason Whitely/WFAA-TV Dallas
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Travelers scramble after iPad issues delay American Airlines flights -- Travelers were scrambling for alternative transportation after a glitch with iPads used by pilots forced American Airlines to ground dozens of flights Tuesday night. Healthcare entrepreneur Dan Webb told USA TODAY via Twitter that he was on board American Flight 1654 that was to travel Tuesday night from Dallas to Austin, his home, when the crew informed passengers of the problem. "Passengers told they could get off if wanted to," tweeted Webb, 32, who took the airline up on that offer. Melanie Eversley/USA Today
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Alitalia CEO wants 5-star airline with flair backed by Etihad -- When Silvano Cassano was offered a chance last year to go back to running a company after working as a consultant, he told himself, "if it's in Italy, no thanks." Today, he oversees not just any company, he's agreed to take on one of Italy's biggest corporate turnarounds: Alitalia SpA. After decades of losses and defecting customers, Cassano is making a last-ditch effort to rebuild the national carrier. Tommaso Ebhardt & Chiara Vasarri/Bloomberg Business
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Democrats take on airline 'personalized pricing' -- Concerned by the possibility that one passenger could be charged more than another for the same seat on the same airline flight based upon personal information, a group of Democratic U.S. senators this morning sent a letter to the Department of Transportation asking the agency to look into the matter. The airline industry and its lobby group, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), received approval from the Department of Transportation last year to establish the New Distribution Capability (NDC), which would replace the antiquated computer reservation system it used for decades. Rich Thomaselli/Travel Pulse
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Southwest hosts concert at 35,000 feet -- A ticket for Southwest Airlines' inaugural non-stop flight from Dallas Love Field to Memphis on Tuesday didn't just guarantee a seat; it also provided admission to a live concert in the air. "Today we have the Black Cadillacs on board with us flying from Dallas to Memphis," Southwest's Michelle Agnew announced to passengers. Once the seat belt sign was turned off, band members took their positions by the jet's front door. Jason Whitely/WFAA-TV Dallas
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Why this CEO believes new airlines ETF will soar even though jts predecessors went down in flames -- Frank Holmes, the CEO and chief investment officer of U.S. Global Investors, believes he can soar where others went down in flames. Holmes is launching a new airlines exchange traded fund on the stock market Thursday - U.S. Global Investors Jets ETF (JETS) - even though its predecessors were shuttled to ETF heaven for lack of investor interest. His San Antonio, Texas-based mutual fund firm oversees $927 million in assets. Trang Ho/Forbes
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FAA raised questions about Andreas Lubitz's depression before Germanwings crash -- The Federal Aviation Administration raised questions in 2010 about whether it should grant a pilot's license in the United States to Andreas Lubitz, who in March flew a Germanwings jetliner into a French mountainside, but was assured by his doctors in Germany that he had fully recovered from an episode of depression the year before, according to newly released documents. Nicholas Kulish & Nicola Clark/New York Times
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FAA's big new headquarters lands in Des Moines (Wash.) -- The Federal Aviation Administration's new regional headquarters will be built at Des Moines Creek Business Park, officials said Wednesday. The FAA is consolidating operations, mostly from Renton, at the new headquarters that Panattoni Development Co. will build just south of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Cities and developers have been angling for several years to land the facility, where 1,600 people will work. Marc Stiles/Puget Sound Business Journal
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FAA chief: Gyrocopter 'indistinguishable' from birds, kite -- A small gyrocopter that flew through miles of the nation's most restricted airspace before landing at the U.S. Capitol was "indistinguishable" from other non-aircraft such as a flock of birds, a kite or a balloon, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told a House committee that the slow-moving gyrocopter appeared as an "irregular symbol" on radar monitored by air traffic controllers. Matthew Daly/AP
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NASA successfully tests shape-changing wing for next generation aviation -- NASA researchers, working in concert with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and FlexSys Inc., of Ann Arbor, Michigan, successfully completed initial flight tests of a new morphing wing technology that has the potential to save millions of dollars annually in fuel costs, reduce airframe weight and decrease aircraft noise during takeoffs and landings. J.D. Harrington/phys.org
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Women fast outside L.A. City Hall in push for $15 minimum wage -- More than a dozen women fasting outside Los Angeles City Hall for the past two weeks marched into the City Council meeting Wednesday to push for a citywide $15 minimum wage. Gilda Valdez, president of the $15 per hour minimum wage campaign launched by the labor union Service Employees International Union, told the council that the women have taken drastic measures "because only in extreme situations do people resort to such extreme tactics" as fasting. City News Service
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Second straight LAFD recruit class is all male after women exit -- All female recruits have been eliminated from the Los Angeles Fire Department training class set to graduate next month, dealing a setback to Mayor Eric Garcetti's drive to increase the number of women in the agency's ranks. Last December, four women were among the 43 recruits picked to enter the grueling boot camp required to become a city firefighter. All four have left, city officials say, putting the department on track to graduate its second consecutive all-male class. Ben Welsh/Los Angeles Times
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Los Angeles parking ticket fines stay where they are in mayor's new budget -- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's budget for next fiscal year maintains the city's current parking ticket fines, so residents who fail to move their cars on street sweeping days or forget to refill a parking meter won't catch a break. Parking advocates want Garcetti to lower the city's parking fines, which average $68. A group convened by the mayor issued a report earlier this month recommending most parking fines be slashed to just $23. But Garcetti's budget, released last week, doesn't include any adjustments on those fines. Dakota Smith/Los Angeles Daily News
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