United to upgrade Los Angeles LAX customer experience -- United Airlines offered a sneak preview on how it will bring its customers traveling through Los Angeles International Airport  convenience, comfort, and class. The airline held a small event at LAX on Wednesday with employees from each of the airline's work groups, United executives, Eric Garcetti the mayor of Los Angeles, Tom LaBonge a Los Angeles city councilmember, Sean Burton the president of the Los Angeles World Airports Board of Commissioners, and Gina Marie Lindsey the executive director of LAWA. Jack Harty/Airways News City News Service Gregory Karp/Chicago Tribune BrianSumers.com United-LAWA Press Release

Is United Airlines two-timing Chicago? -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his new aviation chief should take note of a new construction project at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. United Continental and the city of Houston broke ground this week on a 265,000-square-foot terminal that will clear the way for additional expansion at Bush. Meanwhile, Chicago-based United still won't commit to a timetable for finishing the multiyear expansion of O'Hare International Airport, its hometown hub. Crain's Chicago Business

John Wayne Airport showcases Aliso Viejo resident's lively oil paintings -- A selection of colorful oil paintings by Nina Kolarek-Cullen (Nina K Cullen) is on display in the Thomas F. Riley Terminal as part of John Wayne Airport's Community Focus Space Program. The paintings can be viewed on the Departure (upper) Level near the security screening areas in Terminals A, B and C, and on the Arrival (lower) Level adjacent to Baggage Carousels 1 and 4, now through June 15, 2015. JWA News Release

Delta says FAA proposal for New York airports could harm consumers -- Delta Air Lines Inc. is concerned proposed changes at New York's airports could limit airlines' flexibility, increase delays and congestion, and drive up costs. In January, the Federal Aviation Administration proposed changes at John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia and Newark airports aimed at problems caused by high demand combined with limited ability to increase the airports' capacity. David Allison/Atlanta Business Chronicle

MSP airport appears set to raise minimum wage to $10 -- Ahead of a decisive meeting, the Metropolitan Airports Commission appears set to raise the minimum wage at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to $10 an hour, a step that would leave neither side satisfied in a roiling debate over what to pay low-wage employees of airline subcontractors. MAC chief executive Jeff Hamiel recommended in a memo that commissioners at a meeting next Monday set a minimum wage for airport workers that is $1 an hour higher than the state minimum wage. Adam Belz/Star Tribune

Tevlin: Airport doing right on pay, but it's too late for fired Delta worker -- It looks like the big shots are about to follow the advice of Kip Hedges, who was fired in December for giving it. Four months ago Hedges worked for Delta Air Lines, where he had held several labor jobs over the past 26 years. Hedges had been part of an effort to raise wages of airline industry workers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, where the people who load and unload planes, help seniors and disabled passengers get around and issue tickets earn as little as $8 an hour, with no benefits. Jon Tevlin/Star Tribune

Pittsburgh airport officials talking with Qatar Airways -- Officials at Pittsburgh International Airport are in talks with Qatar Airways about starting nonstop service to Doha. Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, met with representatives from the airline today in Doha. Bob Kerlik, an authority spokesman, said the talks are "very preliminary." Mark Belko/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Push to take Charlotte airport control from city gains new life -- Charlotte's airport could be heading into more political turbulence: Members of an oversight board have asked Gov. Pat McCrory and legislative leaders to change the makeup of the commission set up to run the airport, which could open the door to ending Charlotte City Council's control. And Republican Sen. Bob Rucho of Matthews, who engineered the commission's 2013 creation, said he'll explore the possibility of new legislation. Jim Morrill & Ely Portillo/Charlotte Observer

How many Germans does it take to plan an airport? Apparently, more than exist -- Three years have passed since the June 12, 2012, official opening date for Berlin's grand new airport. Unfortunately, despite six years of construction and a full year of intense publicity and planning leading up to that date, the airport hasn't actually opened. And, perhaps more unfortunately, as this dubious third anniversary approaches, it appears the opening may be three years in the future. At 10 times the initial cost estimate. Matthew Schofield/McClatchy DC

United Airlines to lease up to 25 used aircraft from AerCap Holdings -- United Continental Holdings Inc on Wednesday announced plans to lease up to 25 used aircraft from AerCap Holdings NV, one of the world's largest aircraft lessors, to reduce its dependence on smaller, 50-seat jets. The Chicago-based airline said it expects delivery of 11 used Airbus Group NV A319 aircraft over the next two years, with the right to add up to 14 more of the single-isle planes over the next five years, subject to certain conditions. Jeffrey Dastin/Reuters

Delta, Southwest see $7.7 billion for holders in airline rebound -- Delta and Southwest announced plans to return a total of $7.7 billion to shareholders through stock repurchases and dividend increases, signaling the industry's return to strength. Other carriers may be forced to follow. After a $58 billion run of losses last decade, airlines in the past three years have once again started returning money to investors. Michael Sasso/Bloomberg Business

Airline fees not going away: Delta CEO -- Airline fees are here to stay for one specific reason, Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson said Wednesday. "Consumers want choice and consumers want to pay for their own desires in terms of how they specify a product, so I think you'll see a lot more unbundling not just in the airline business, but also in all consumer businesses," Anderson said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." This trend has led the airline giant to add a fare cheaper than its economy fare called "basic economy," Anderson added. Fred Imbert/CNBC

Emirates airline could use European hubs to expand in Americas -- Dubai's Emirates airline could expand its route network by using European hubs to fly into North and South American cities, its president said, a move that could anger U.S. carriers which accuse it of competing unfairly through state subsidies. Emirates is considering plans to open new routes to U.S. cities from Dubai, as well as flying new routes from European airports under "fifth freedom" rights linked to Open Skies agreements with U.S. authorities, Tim Clark told The National newspaper. Reuters

Qatar Air CEO decries 'bullying tactics' of rival U.S. airlines -- The chief of Qatar Airways is the latest CEO from the big three "Gulf carriers" to fire back at subsidy allegations made by the three biggest U.S. airlines. "The claim of subsidy and competitive harm should be rejected for what they are: a transparent attempt to block competition and limit consumer choice," Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said Wednesday at the upscale Hay-Adams hotel, located just across the street from the White House in downtown Washington. Ben Mutzabaugh & Bart Jansen/USA Today

Champagne in coach class as Singapore Airlines plays catch up -- Want something more than the plain-vanilla coach-class airline seat? Singapore Airlines Ltd. is selling a new premium economy version: Pay a fair bit more than standard economy and you'll get champagne, a broad selection of wines and food, a bigger TV and seats that are as much as 1 1/2 inches wider. Usually considered a trend setter in the industry -- in 2007 it became the first airline to put a double bed, mattress and duvet on a commercial plane -- Singapore Air now is playing catch up.  Kyunghee Park/Bloomberg Business

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370's fate is an ongoing mystery -- Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared in March 2014, and no trace of it has been found. The location of the missing Boeing 777 passenger jet remains a mystery to searchers and continued heartache for the families of the passengers and crew, who vanished with the plane and are presumed dead. Search officials from Australia, China and Malaysia said that if MH370 is not located this spring, they will double their search area to more than 46,000 square miles, about the size of Pennsylvania. Kurtis Lee/Los Angeles Times

Airlines don't have to honor 'mistake' fares, U.S. agency rules -- Those airfares posted in error that promise an insanely cheap price? U.S. carriers no longer have to honor them, the U.S. Department of Transportation has ruled. Airfare price mistakes aren't uncommon, and consumers snap them up after the word spreads quickly on low-fare websites such as FareCompare, FlightFishing and Airfarewatchdog or by social media. Mary Forgione/Los Angeles Times

Air New Zealand takes viewers on a Surfing Safari -- Air New Zealand has assembled some of the greatest surfers of all time to deliver its latest on board safety video, filmed at legendary surf breaks across three countries. Surfing Safari features 2014 world champion Brazilian Gabriel Medina, three time world champion Australian Mick Fanning, American big wave legend Laird Hamilton, popular American surfers Alana Blanchard and Anastasia Ashley plus some of the greatest surfing talent from Asia and New Zealand. Scoop New Zealand

JetBlue April Traffic Up 9% -- JetBlue Airways Corp on Tuesday said its traffic in April rose 9% from a year ago to 3.46 billion revenue passenger miles. The airline said its capacity in April climbed 6.6% year-over-year to 4.04 billion available seat miles. Its load factor for the month improved to 85.7% from 83.9% in the prior year, the airline said. RTT News

Southwest Airlines announces service to Liberia, Costa Rica, its 97th destination -- Southwest Airlines chairman and CEO Gary Kelly announced Wednesday that Southwest Airlines will add Liberia, Costa Rica, its 97th destination, on Nov. 1. The daily service will be from the new Houston Hobby Airport international terminal, scheduled to open Oct. 15. Southwest previously had announced that it would fly from Hobby to four cities in Mexico, plus San Jose, Costa Rica, and Belize City, Belize, beginning Oct. 15 and Montego Bay, Jamaica, on Nov. 1. Terry Maxon/Dallas Morning News

Faster, cheaper, free Wi-Fi, no TSA: How a Greyhound bus beats flying -- Here was the question that faced me recently: Should I rent a car and drive from Miami to Sebastian, Fla., about 160 miles? Fly? Or take a ... wait for it ... Greyhound? The answer was easy and not one that occurred to me at first blush, which makes me blush with embarrassment. Dropoff charges for a rental car put a four-day rate at more than $200. Option 2:  I'd fly, but that was going to cost almost double the rental car rate. Catharine Hamm/Los Angeles Times

Long Beach's answer to Uber and Lyft: Cheaper taxi fares -- Long Beach officials loosened restrictions on local taxi fares Tuesday, a move aimed at keeping cabs competitive with the flexible pricing models of ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. At its meeting in downtown Long Beach on Tuesday evening, the City Council voted, 9-0, to allow Long Beach Yellow Cab, which holds the city's exclusive franchise agreement, to charge passengers less than the metered fare. The company will now be able to offer discounted rates and free rides. Laura J. Nelson/Los Angeles Times

Bombardier sees momentum for CSeries -- Bombardier is hoping momentum from announcing Swiss International Air Lines as the launch operator for the CS100 combined with a certification process that is 70% complete will help it sell more CSeries aircraft, Bombardier President Fred Cromer told Aviation Daily. Installed after a housecleaning of senior executives, Cromer has been on the job for only four weeks, while chief salesman Colin Bole only joined the company this week. Brian Sumers/Aviation Daily

Washington to be sole West Coast aircraft assembly site as Boeing kills C-17 production -- Washington soon will be the only West Coast state producing Boeing aircraft, now that the company has started auctioning off giant C-17 production machines at its Long Beach plant. The auction, reported Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal, includes the machines that assembled the military transport aircraft's wings and fuselages. Boeing last year announced plans to shut the plant, citing insufficient demand. Steve Wilhelm/Puget Sound Business Journal

Stephen Cheung named as new president for World Trade Center-Los Angeles -- Stephen Cheung, who has previously held trade-related positions for Los Angeles' city government, has been named as the new president of World Trade Center-Los Angeles. Cheung's most recent job was in Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's office where he worked as Secretary General of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He also served as Director of International Trade for the Port of Los Angeles and said Tuesday he took his new job due to his interest in promoting trade-related business across all of Los Angeles County. Andrew Edwards/Long Beach Press-Telegram