|
|
|
|
Southwest to add Missouri, Mexico Routes from JWA -- Southwest Airlines said it would start flying to Kansas City and St. Louis from John Wayne Airport on Nov. 22. It also plans on Nov. 7 to add an additional flight to its current Cabo San Lucas/ Los Cabos route, and a second flight to its new, previously announced, Puerto Vallarta route, which begins service June 7. One more flight each to Phoenix and San Francisco is planned to begin Nov. 1, Southwest said. Paul Hughes/Orange County Business Journal JWA Press Release
|
|
United Airlines is getting an LAX makeover and yes, there will be charging stations -- United Airlines will embark on a $573-million upgrade of Terminals 7 and 8 at Los Angeles International Airport that will include a new check-in area and a redone baggage claim. The renovations, scheduled to be completed in December 2017, will also include an expanded security screening checkpoint with 12 lanes for the United terminals. There also will be charging stations for electronic devices in the gate waiting area and an indoor-outdoor United Club in Terminal 7. Mary Forgione/Los Angeles Times
|
American Airlines flight returns to LAX after possible bird strike -- American Airlines plane heading to St. Louis on Thursday morning returned to LAX after the crew reported a possible bird strike. The plane, with 132 people on board, landed safely at 6:40 a.m. and taxied to a gate, said airline spokesman Andrew Christie. The crew reported a possible bird strike shortly after takeoff at 6:24 a.m. and decided to return to LAX "out of an abundance of caution," Christie said. Maintenance crews are inspecting the Airbus A319, he said. Brittny Mejia/Los Angeles Times AP
|
Surf Air drops plans for service to Sonoma County -- Members-only airline Surf Air still plans to start flying next week into Wine Country, but its eight-seat aircraft won't be landing in Santa Rosa. The Santa Monica-based company has dropped plans announced in April for service to the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport. Instead, it will make Napa its new North Bay destination. The change came about after feedback from both existing and potential members, said Surf Air president and CEO Jeff Potter. Robert Digitale/The Press Democrat
|
Southwest reveals details on international flights out of Hobby Airport -- Southwest Airlines will offer nonstop flights to Costa Rica, Belize and Jamaica from Hobby Airport's international terminal that opens this fall, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said Wednesday.Kelly, at a press conference Thursday, added Liberia, Costa Rica, to the list of previously ann ounced international destinations that Southwest will serve from Houston. He also, for the first time, revealed when flights would begin at the five-gate terminal. Erin Mulvaney/Houston Chronicle
|
|
The Emirates strike back: Persian Gulf carriers go on the offensive vs U.S.' Big 3 -- One by one this week leaders of the three feisty, fast-growing and, apparently world-threatening state-owned airlines of the Persian Gulf region - Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways - publicly denounced the Big 3 U.S. airlines - American, United and Delta - for their aggressive, months-long attack campaign against the finances, character, and integrity of the Gulf carriers. Dan Reed/Forbes
|
U.S. lawmakers seek answers soon on Gulf airline subsidy claims -- U.S. lawmakers have stepped up pressure on the Obama administration to take a stance on allegations that three Gulf airlines received market-distorting subsidies, asking it to answer several questions by May 20. In a letter released to media on Thursday, 19 House Judiciary Committee members including its Republican chairman and ranking Democrat said they wanted to know whether the government was aware of foreign airline subsidies, and if so, how it would respond to them. Jeffrey Dastin/Reuters
|
|
In trade fight, Etihad alleges US airlines got $70B in bankruptcy benefits -- The three largest U.S. airlines received $70 billion in benefits from bankruptcy reorganization since 2000, according to research that rival Etihad Airways released Thursday. The report is the latest salvo in a raging dispute over whether three Persian Gulf airlines - Emirates, Etihad and Qatar - receive unfair subsidies from their governments that totaled $42 billion in the last decade. Bart Jansen/USA Today
|
U.S. airlines are like a "low-cost bus company," says Emirates chief -- Let's get ready to rumble. Emirates airline president Tim Clark spoke with The National about the big three U.S. airlines that are calling for restrictions on Persian Gulf-based carriers offering international flights to U.S. customers: "What they should focus on is the appalling state of the US domestic market. It's happened because the big three were allowed to absorb the rest of the industry...Tom Gara/Buzzfeed
|
A range of reactions to airline's removal of autistic child -- A United Airlines pilot's decision to divert a flight to remove a family with an autistic daughter has set off a firestorm online, with some calling for a boycott of the carrier. On Twitter, hundreds of the family's supporters have admonished the airline with the hashtag #boycottunited; and a report by ABC News, published on Yahoo.com, has received more than 10,000 comments in less than 24 hours, ranging from harsh criticism of the family's parenting practices to reprimands of flight attendants for being insensitive to passengers with special needs. Rachel Lee Harris/New York Times
|
United Airlines to reward hackers who help squish nasty bugs... just not in its planes -- United Airlines claims to have become the first airline to offer a bug bounty programme, pledging to reward professional hackers with air miles for finding vulnerabilities in its systems. But, just a month after it banned security researcher Chris Roberts for tweeting about potential hacking of on-board Wi-Fi from flying with United again, it isn't going to let anyone tinker with the systems inside its aircraft. Thomas Fox-Brewster/Forbes
|
Airlines left behind as relations normalize between Cuba and US -- With 30 percent of United States adults planning or considering a trip to Cuba in the next two years , it is easy to see why the island nation known for communism and cigars is looking like a big business opportunity to the American travel sector. However, as the logistics of normalizing relations come into play - the two countries' heads of state recently met for the first time in 50 years - it seems that online travel companies like CheapAir.com, Airbnb or Kayak have been better positioned to capitalize on the easing of restrictions on travel and trade rather than the bigger, more traditional sectors of the travel economy like the airlines. Alexandra Talty/Forbes
|
American looks to avoid repeat of 2007 fiasco as reservation systems merge -- In March 2007, a year and a half after they merged, US Airways and America West sought to merge their reservations systems. The result was unfortunate. The intent was to move from the US Airways Sabre system to America West's Shares system, with a one-day transition. But agents on one system couldn't see reservations made on the other, airport kiosks couldn't access many reservations and pilots couldn't access weight and balance numbers. Ted Reed/The Street
|
|
Alaska Airlines launches new seating with more legroom, and a cocktail -- Alaska Airlines, one of the busiest airlines connecting Hawaii with the West Coast, has opened its preferred seating category to all customers that gives more legroom, a cocktail and priority boarding, for a fee. Alaska Airlines' Preferred Plus seating in the bulkhead and exit row is now available for paid upgrades, but only after its Mileage Plan MVP, MVP Gold and MVP Gold 75k members have had an opportunity to reserve them. Jason Ubay/Pacific Business News
|
TSA air marshal reinstated after Supreme Court win -- The Transportation Security Administration has reinstated an air marshal who was fired after disclosing proposed agency cutbacks, but was later deemed a justified whistle-blower by the Supreme Court. Robert MacLean, an air marshal who flew undercover and armed to thwart terrorists, told MSNBC in 2003 that TSA was planning to reduce marshals on overnight flights. Bart Jansen/USA Today
|
Airline pilots, employees slip through security loophole -- A new government report is calling into question whether bomb detecting scanners and X-ray machines at the nation's airports are properly maintained. That's one concern, but there is another. Why are airline employees sidestepping the security equipment and walking right onto the planes? This is happening at all Bay Area airports. At Oakland International Airport, while you wait to get your bags checked, flight crews line up at a door clearly marked do not enter. Eric Thomas/KGO-TV San Francisco
|
|
|
|
Boeing 767 ranked 2nd-best widebody by United passengers -- The Boeing 767 is today considered an older aircraft that is rarely sold to passenger airlines, which invariably order its younger, sleeker, more fuel-efficient competitors. Yet United Airlines passenger surveys continue to come across a surprising result: Among United's 164 widebody international aircraft and four widebody aircraft types, the 30 Boeing 767s that have gotten remodeled interiors since 2011 are the second most popular, after the 16 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, the newest and most innovative airplanes in the fleet. Ted Reed/The Street
|
|
Q&A with U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on L.A., Amtrak -- U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx came to Los Angeles on Thursday to urge Congress to keep money flowing for state highway, bridge and transit projects. In two weeks, unless Congress acts, federal officials' ability to give money to state and local governments will expire, which could leave road and highway projects across the country in the lurch. The source of that money, the Highway Trust Fund, is expected to go bankrupt sometime this summer. Laura J. Nelson/Los Angeles Times
|
|
Lawmaker's push to expand L.A. County board could add a Latino supervisor -- A proposed state constitutional amendment is the latest in a long line of attempts to expand the five-member Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and potentially add a second Latino seat. Some observers are skeptical of the prospects for the bill offered by state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia). And one board incumbent, Don Knabe, accused the lawmaker of trying to carve a landing spot for himself when he's termed out of state office. Abby Sewell/Los Angeles Times
|
|
Mayor Eric Garcetti concerned about paid time off in L.A. wage plan -- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Thursday that a City Council proposal to raise the minimum wage should not move ahead without further scrutiny of a largely overlooked piece of the plan that could also require businesses to grant their workers a specific number of paid days off. "It's unstudied, and it's big; I would be very uncomfortable without any study," Garcetti said of the provision, which went mostly unmentioned in Wednesday's deliberations over the plan to hike the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020. Emily Alpert Reyes, David Zahniser & Peter Jamison/Los Angeles Times Dakota Smith/Los Angeles Daily News
|
|
|
|
|
|
