L.A. tourism breaks records in 2014 -- Last year was a record-setter for L.A. tourism, with 2014 breaking previous records for the number of visitors, visitor spending, hotel occupancy and number of rooms sold in the county, the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board announced Tuesday. The board had previously announced estimated figures for the year. New, final number show the number of visitors to the county hit 44.2 million, up 4.8 percent from the previous year. Carol Lawrence/Los Angeles Business Journal

Bob Hope Airport sees a bump in passengers -- The number of passengers traveling through Bob Hope Airport rose by 5.2% in March compared to the same month last year, beating budget projections by the same amount, according to airfield officials. There were 337,432 passengers in March, compared to 320,787 in March 2014, according to a report released Monday by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. It's the second straight increase in passenger numbers after declines of less than 2% in both December and January. Chad Garland/Burbank Leader

ONTARIO AIRPORT: LA defends its control in court -- Los Angeles has defended contracts that gave it ownership of Ontario International Airport, denying the city of Ontario's claims those agreements are so flawed they should be voided, despite decades passing since they were signed. Ontario wants to overturn a lower court ruling that upheld the contracts in its ongoing 2013 lawsuit against Los Angeles. Riverside County Judge Gloria Connor Trask had ruled the agreements were voidable, but the statute of limitations to challenge them ended in 1989. Richard K. De Atley/Riverside Press-Enterprise

Tommy Scott Memorial 5K/10K LAX Run -- Register now for the Tommy Scott Memorial Run on Saturday, May 16. Los Angeles Airport Police Officer Tommy Scott, age 35, was the first Los Angeles Airport Police officer killed in the line of duty. Officer Scott died heroically on April 29, 2005, while protecting the aviation community from a man intent on crashing a vehicle into an airplane on the LAX airport runway. Click here for more information and to register on line.

Baltimore rioting caused 10 flights to be canceled at BWI airport -- As rioting broke out last Monday evening in Baltimore, Southwest Airlines canceled 10 flights scheduled to depart the following morning from nearby BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. "Many factors go into the decision to proactively cancel flights. At the time this decision was made, transit was down and school had been canceled" for city students, Southwest said in a statement. Kevin Rector/Baltimore Sun

DC-area lawmakers to Congress: Stay out of our airport business -- Lawmakers who represent districts in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area have a message for the rest of Congress: stay away from our airports.  Lawmakers who represent parts of D.C., Maryland and Virginia said in a letter released on Tuesday that Congress should not meddle with the number of flights at Ronald Reagan National Airport because it negatively affects nearby Dulles International Airport. Keith Laing/The Hill

Lawmakers working together to fight O'Hare airport noise -- State and federal lawmakers banded together Monday to push for passage of legislation they hope will distribute noise from O'Hare jets more equally around the region. State Sen. John Mulroe of Chicago is seeking to prohibit Chicago from retiring two diagonal runways at O'Hare International Airport. That bill is pending in the House as is a second proposal he is sponsoring that would increase the number of runways allowed under the O'Hare modernization program from eight to 10. Marni Pyke/Daily Herald

Charlotte airport kicks off major new round of construction projects -- Officials wrapped up an eight-year, $1.5 billion round of construction projects at Charlotte's airport Monday and promptly kicked off a 10-year, $2.5 billion program that will change the roadway passengers use, the terminal and the airfield itself. The new construction, starting with work on the airport's new, eight-lane road in front of the terminal this summer, will cause disruptions for passengers, officials said. Ely Portillo/Charlotte Observer

'Serial stowaway' Marilyn Hartman arrested at Chicago's O'Hare -- Marilyn Hartman, who became known as the "serial stowaway" after numerous attempts to sneak onto airplanes, was arrested at an airport twice last month - this time in Chicago - after she was spotted in a restricted area without a ticket, authorities said. On April 23, and then again the next day, Hartman was taken into custody on suspicion of misdemeanor trespassing at O'Hare International Airport, a police spokesman in Chicago said. Kale Williams/San Francisco Chronicle 

Lufthansa's operating loss narrows on lower fuel costs -- German airline Lufthansa, still coping with the aftermath of the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525, saw its operating losses narrow in the first quarter as fuel costs fell in the wake of lower oil prices. Its operating loss of 167 million euros ($185 million) compared with a 240 million-euro deficit a year ago. Fuel was 14% cheaper - 36% when the airline's hedging of fuel costs on financial markets is considered. AP

AP Interview: Emirates boss vows to push ahead with global expansion, eyes further US routes -- The man in charge of the Middle East's biggest airline, Emirates, said Tuesday he is pressing ahead with a global expansion that could include more U.S. routes despite opposition from American carriers who accuse the airline of having an unfair advantage. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates' chairman and CEO, said in an interview that several American cities have asked Emirates to launch routes connecting them with its ever-expanding hub in Dubai. Adam Schreck/AP

Emirates: 'We will deal a sledgehammer' to subsidy allegations -- The top executives at Emirates fired back at their U.S. rivals Tuesday on claims that the three big "Gulf" carriers of the Middle East are unfairly subsidized. The response comes after the three biggest U.S. airlines - American, Delta and United - released a 55-page report in March alleging Gulf carriers received more than $40 billion in subsidies during the last decade. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today

Comparing JetBlue and Spirit airlines: It's comfort vs. cost in the skies above Cleveland -- It's Family Dollar versus Nordstrom in the skies above Cleveland, as JetBlue and Spirit -- two new and very different air carriers -- compete for business from Northeast Ohio travelers. JetBlue Airways, known in the industry for its generous legroom and top-rated customer service, last week launched nonstop service from Cleveland Hopkins to Boston and Fort Lauderdale. Susan Glaser/Cleveland Plain Dealer

Alaska Air Group April traffic up 9.8%, load factor declines to 83.6% -- Alaska Air Group Inc. Monday announced a 9.8 percent increase in traffic for April to 2.735 billion revenue passenger miles, while capacity expressed in available seat miles climbed 13.2 percent to 3.273 billion. Passenger load factor was down 2.5 points at 83.6 percent. Alaska Airlines reported a 9.9 percent increase in traffic on a 13.7 percent increase in capacity compared to last year. Load factor decreased 2.9 points to 83.9 percent. RTT News

Malaysia Airlines might be downsizing. Big time. Where will their planes go? -- It's no secret that Malaysia Airlines had a terrible 2014. So terrible that the fate of the airline hangs in the balance. The government, tired of writing blank checks to keep the airline afloat, has demanded restructuring. Hiring Christoph Mueller (of Aer Lingus hatchet-man fame), they were, finally, not going to pull any punches. Part of this is an impressive (rumored) fleet disposition. Bernie Leighton/Airline Reporter

Delta will go head-to-head with Alaska Air on Seattle-Orlando route -- Delta Air Lines is adding nonstop service between Seattle and Orlando, a route that will put it into head-to-head competition with partner Alaska Airlines on yet another route from Seattle. Delta's one daily round-trip flight on the Seattle-Orlando route will begin Dec. 19. The carrier will use Boeing 737-800 jets for the flights. Delta's Seattle-bound flight will depart Orlando at 7 a.m. and land in Seattle at 10:15 a.m., all times local. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today

Let's take a look at airline executive pay -- We've got all the major U.S. passenger carriers reporting the compensation of their top executives, so we've put together a chart that ranks them by total compensation. Our simple, unsophisticated list includes the base salary and total pay for 2014. The top guys at the three largest airlines, No. 3 Delta Air Lines, No. 2 United Continental Holdings and No. 1 American Airlines Group, top the list. Terry Maxon/Dallas Morning News

Southwest Airlines, dispatchers reach tentative contract deal -- Southwest Airlines and its dispatchers union have a tentative agreement to extend their contract through 2019, the airline and Transport Workers Union announced Tuesday. In the announcement, the company and union said the proposed contract "provides adjusted wage-scale increases, as well as continued opportunities for bonuses that are tied to individual and company performances." Terry Maxon/Dallas Morning News

Airlines rake in billions from bag, reservations fees -- U.S. airlines are earning billions, and they are collecting more in fees on checked bags and reservation changes. Whether airlines are making more or less profit than before depends on which figures you use, although the parent company of American and US Airways comes out on top either way. The Department of Transportation said Monday that airlines collected $3.5 billion in bag fees last year, a 5% increase over 2013, and $3 billion in reservation-change fees, a 6% hike. David Koenig/AP

Boeing 767s find new life on United's Newark-Europe routes -- United Airlines has apparently not received the memo that says the life of the Boeing 767 is coming to an end. Rather, United is aggressively updating and reallocating its fleet of 767s, which includes both 35 Boeing 767-300ERs from pre-merger United and 16 767-400s from pre-merger Continental. Last month, United said it would upgrade 11 of the 767-300ER aircraft, investing in winglets, interior modifications and supplemental maintenance. Ted Reed/The Street