Why it's never been easier to fly to Asia -- Until 2012, most trips to Asia followed a familiar and exhausting pattern. Travelers would hop a flight to connect at a major U.S. hub-Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, or San Francisco-then continue to a major Asian city-Beijing, Seoul, or Shanghai-where they might then catch another flight. But in the past three years, new and more fuel efficient aircraft have made many of these stops unnecessary, and airlines have started connecting smaller cities with point-to-point flights more convenient for business and leisure travelers. Brian Sumers/ Cond� Nast Traveler

Chinese airlines overtake US carriers across the Pacific. The big dilemma: US-China open skies? -- There were two prominent themes at CAPA's Americas Aviation Summit in Las Vegas on 27/28 Apr-2015. First was the intensity with which some US airlines fear competing with Gulf carriers, which operate under open skies regimes to the US. Second - and of more lasting importance - was how important North America, and especially the United States, will be to international growth from Chinese airlines.  CAPA Centre for Aviation

Uncomfortable airline seats are travelers' top gripe -- Several of the nation's largest airlines have reported record profits for the first three months of the year, thanks in part to lower fuel costs, steady travel demand and the growing use of thin-cushion seats that allow carriers to squeeze more passengers into each plane. Although airlines have proclaimed that the new seats are just as comfortable as traditional seats, travelers disagree. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times

Rhapsody, a lofty literary journal, perused at 39,000 feet -- As airlines try to distinguish their high-end service with luxuries like private sleeping chambers, showers, butler service and meals from five-star chefs, United Airlines is offering a loftier, more cerebral amenity to its first-class and business-class passengers: elegant prose by prominent novelists. There are no airport maps or disheartening lists of in-flight meal and entertainment options in Rhapsody. Instead, the magazine has published ruminative first-person travel accounts, cultural dispatches and probing essays about flight by more than 30 literary fiction writers. Alexandra Alter/New York Times

LAX's Slurpee runneth over -- Can't wait for your next Slurpee or Big Gulp drink? Soon, you will finally be able to quench that thirst at Los Angeles International Airport. The first-ever 7-Eleven store inside an airport in the United States is set to open in a few weeks at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. It will be the first store in a new retail area on the arrival level outside the security screening perimeter - which means it will be accessible to all airport visitors and workers. The 950-square-foot store is the product of a joint effort by terminal concessions operator LS travel retail North America of Toronto and terminal retail consultant Westfield Group of Los Angeles. Howard Fine/Los Angeles Business Journal

Airlines are looking for a big tax break in California -- Here's something you may not know: The airliners that carry you into, out of, or within California are subject to state property tax from the moment they cross the state line until they leave. In 2014, commercial airlines, along with cargo companies such as FedEx, paid roughly $80 million to 11 counties with major airports, based on calculations by county assessors that valued their fleets at more than $7.7 billion. Michael Hiltzik/Los Angeles Times

Reform still an issue at troubled Port Authority --The indictments against two former allies of Gov. Chris Christie and the guilty plea of a third, all stemming from the George Washington Bridge lane closing scandal, and the still-looming investigation involving the former chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have underlined the need for reform at the agency. David Porter & Meghan Barr/AP

Southwest Airlines looking at possible expansion in Pittsburgh -- It's been 10 years since Southwest Airlines first touched down in Pittsburgh, helping to drive down high fares and giving the region a much needed shot in the arm in the dark days after US Airways shut down its airport hub. Since then, Southwest has more than tripled its number of daily flights and nonstop destinations from Pittsburgh International Airport, rising to become the second largest carrier behind the new American Airlines. And now, as it celebrates its 10th anniversary in the Steel City Monday, it may be ready to take the next big step in the relationship. Mark Belko/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Sunday Sitdown: Rev. Mike Zaniolo, O'Hare Airport chaplain -- As the full-time chaplain at O'Hare Airport, the Rev. Mike Zaniolo is used to giving spiritual guidance, comfort and advice - and doing it very quickly. One minute, the Northwest Side native is leading services for a group of kids headed out on vacation with their family. Then, he's having a private word with someone rushing home to be with a dying parent. And don't forget airport employees. They need counsel, too.  Diana Novak Jones/Chicago Sun-Times

Syracuse airport worker made terrorist threat, said he'd 'shoot everybody,' police say -- A contract employee at Syracuse Hancock International Airport was charged Saturday with making a terrorist threat after he said he would bring a gun to work and "shoot everybody," police said. Mohammad Salak, a 33-year-old employee of the company Envoy, hired by United Airlines to handle ground services, became the focus of an investigation after fellow employees relayed what he had said on Friday, Lt. Eric Carr of the Syracuse Police Department said. Julie McMahon/Syracuse Post-Standard

Qatar Airways' plans to boost flights may rile U.S. airlines -- Qatar Airways on Monday said it plans to expand its services to the United States, in a move that likely will trigger a backlash from U.S. airlines that accuse it of competing unfairly through state subsidies. The Gulf carrier announced its first direct flights to Los Angeles, Boston and Atlanta from its Doha hub and its second daily flight to New York. The expansion comes as Delta Air Lines Inc, United Continental Holdings Inc and American Airlines Group Inc press for a temporary freeze on new Gulf airline service to the United States. Jeffrey Dastin/Reuters

Doppelganger airlines take jabs at each other -- A Singapore-based airline has accused Florida-based Spirit Airlines of stealing its identity. But instead of filing a lawsuit, the carrier from the island nation is poking fun at its ultra-low-cost doppelganger. In September, Spirit Airlines unveiled its new paint scheme for its planes - bright yellow paint with black lettering. But Scoot airline, which launched in 2012, says the design and some of Spirit's advertising ideas are nearly identical to Scoot's colors and designs. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times

This guy cashed in his frequent flyer miles for a $18,000 suite on a Singapore Airlines flight - here's what it was like -- First class can be plenty luxurious, but it's nothing like Singapore Airline's iconic Suites Class. Travel blogger Derek Low recently cashed in his frequent flyer miles to purchase an $18,125.30 round-trip ticket in Suites Class, and thankfully he took lots of gorgeous photos of his journey. From your own personal cabin and full-size bed to private rooms and classy meals, you've never seen a classier way to fly in style. Steven Tweedie/Business Insider

FAA contractor charged in fire that canceled thousands of flights -- A former Federal Aviation Administration contractor has been formally charged with setting the September fire at the Chicago-area air-traffic control facility that canceled thousands of flights. Brian Howard, 37, of Naperville, Ill., was charged Friday in U.S. District Court with willfully setting the fire at the Aurora center and using fire to commit a felony, according to U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon.  Bart Jansen/USA Today

Hotel booking scams cost Americans up to $220 million per year -- Hotel booking scams are on the rise partly because 1 in 3 vacations is set up online, with many hotel and airline reservations punched in on those tiny, hard-to-read smartphone screens. Now a hotel trade group is asking Congress and the U.S. attorney general's office to take action on the problem, which may be bilking 2.5 million travelers each year. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times

City is paying heavily for LAFD bias suits -- The Los Angeles Fire Department has been hit with a steady stream of personnel lawsuits over the last decade, some of them extraordinarily expensive. Recoiling from a string of payouts, voters in 2009 established a watchdog at the Fire Department to review the agency's handling of employee misconduct cases. What they got instead were more employee lawsuits. But these cases were filed by the very people charged with keeping a lid on legal claims. David Zahniser/Los Angeles Times

Mayor Eric Garcetti disavows appointee's letter trashing LADWP audit -- A spokesman for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Friday said the mayor "disagrees" with a letter the general manager of the city's Department of Water and Power co-wrote attacking an audit that uncovered questionable spending by ratepayer-funded trusts associated with the utility. The letter, written by utility general manager Marcie Edwards and released with the audit Thursday night, offered a curious spectacle. Peter Jamison/Los Angeles Times