Travel

Summer skies: airlines to fly record number of passengers -- A record number of travelers are expected to take to the skies this summer thanks to a rebounding economy. U.S. airlines will carry 222 million passengers between June 1 and Aug. 31, topping the summer of 2007 when 217.6 million people flew, Airlines for America, the industry's trade and lobbying group, predicted Monday. That figure includes 31 million travelers on international flights, also a record. On average, there will be 2.4 million passengers a day, 4.5 percent more than last summer. Scott Mayerowitz/AP

Amtrak service resumes between Philadelphia and NYC -- Amtrak has resumed full service on the Northeast corridor, almost a week after eight people were killed and more than 200 injured when a train derailed in in Philadelphia. The first train left New York City southbound at 5.30 a.m. ET, and the 5.53 a.m. Philadelphia to New York City train was delayed and departed at 6:07 a.m. Services in that section of America's busiest passenger rail corridor had been suspended since the derailment on Tuesday night. Aamer Madhani & Jane Onyanga-Omara/USA Today Related: Senator warned airlines against price gouging after Amtrak crash

Homeland Security

White House steps up warnings about terrorism on U.S. soil -- Alarmed about the growing threat from Islamic State, the Obama administration has dramatically stepped up warnings of potential terrorist attacks on American soil after several years of relative calm. Behind the scenes, U.S. authorities have raised defenses at U.S. military bases, put local police forces on alert and increased surveillance at the nation's airports, railroads, shopping malls, energy plants and other potential targets. Brian Bennett/Los Angeles Times

Helicopters

Have talks to reduce helicopter noise in Los Angeles County hit a wall? -- Los Angeles County residents fed up with incessant helicopter noise now have a new gripe - what they contend is foot-dragging from helicopter companies and the Federal Aviation Administration to implement measures to reduce the clattering. In fact, activists contend talks have "broken down completely" and that no "real significant progress" has occurred to come up with helicopter routes at higher altitudes they believe will help reduce the noise. That's contrary to the position of the FAA, which released a nine-page report last month on the meetings titled "Significant Progress Report on the Los Angeles Helicopter Noise Initiative." Nick Green/Torrance Daily Breeze

Airports

Plane makes emergency landing at LAX -- A Delta Airline jet made an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday morning after experiencing mechanical problems, officials said. Flight 1471A was scheduled to leave LAX at 5:35 a.m. for Atlanta, according to Delta's website.  At 6:06 a.m., the pilot radioed "electrical smell in the cabin" of the Boeing 757, Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton. The plane returned to LAX "out of an abundance of caution," Talton said. Angel Jennings/Los Angeles Times City News Service

Is Santa Fe airport losing direct flight to Los Angeles? -- American Airlines apparently will eliminate the only nonstop service between the Santa Fe Airport and Los Angeles International Airport at the end of summer. One travel agent who serves Santa Fe said she did not see any connections between Santa Fe and LAX past early September. "September 8 is the last day," said Terry Williams-Keffer of Westwind Travel in Santa Fe. Bruce Krasnow/Santa Fe New Mexican

LAX motor officer completes 10K Memorial Run in full gear -- Los Angeles Airport Police motor officer Raymond Woods completed the 10K memorial run in honor of fallen LAX officer Tommy Scott in full gear on Saturday coming in at just under 1 hour and 20 minutes. Woods, a 14-year department veteran and Medal of Valor recipient, ran the entire course adjacent to LAX in full motor uniform, complete with motor boots, belt and helmet to honor Scott who was killed ten years ago at the age of 35 in a carjacking incident after stopping a suspicious man near LAX. Nixle

AirFest draws thousands to Redlands airport -- The city airport was the destination for thousands of aviation lovers who turned out for Hangar 24's annual AirFest and seventh Anniversary Celebration on Saturday. Aerial performers such as the Just in Time Skydivers, Melissa Pemberton and Jon Melby, brought oohs and ahhs from attendees. "As an air show pilot, I fly about 18 shows a year," said Melby, a pilot from Chandler, Ariz., who has been part of the festivities for three years, "and this is so different because it reminds me of a 'kegger' in high school." Kristina Hernandez/Redlands Daily Facts

Southwest Airlines to add Atlanta - Oakland nonstops -- Southwest Airlines has announced that it will begin new nonstop service linking Atlanta with the San Francisco Bay Area with new flights between Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Oakland International Airport (OAK) beginning November 1, 2015. Bay Area travelers will find great connections through Atlanta to Southwest Airlines' network of flights to cities throughout the southeast US. Oakland Airport Press Release

Bell ringing signals 'new day' for airport firefighters -- Bob Hope Airport firefighters marked "a new day" on May 1, ringing an antique fire bell for the first time to signal each firefighter coming onto watch under a new management contract that was approved in April and a new collective-bargaining agreement. In April, the board approved an amendment to its contract with TBI Airport Management Inc., which already manages the airport, to add aircraft-rescue and firefighter services beginning May 1. A previous agreement with Pro-Tec Fire Services for those services ended April 30, and an airport committee recommended they be transferred to TBI rather than seek proposals. Chad Garland/Burbank Leader

Letter: Bob Hope Airport isn't user friendly -- The operators of the Bob Hope Airport appear to be running the airport into the ground. In addition to high parking prices, scarcity of reasonably priced nonstop flights to major West Coast cities and high air fares compared to Los Angeles International Airport, the Burbank car rental concession has been moved from its former convenient location adjacent to the terminal to a distant location quite far from the terminal - and shuttle service is lacking between the two spaces. Claude Soderstrom/Verdugo City/Burbank Leader

Scammers using Fresno Yosemite International Airport in Scheme -- Victims of fraud are showing up at Fresno Yosemite International Airport expecting to find detained relatives and now officials there are warning other residents not to fall for the same scam. Vikkie Calderon said scammers are calling, pretending to be long lost relatives. "They're saying that they're being held by federal authorities and are in need of bail money or money to pay the taxes on the several thousands of dollars they are traveling with," she said. Veronica Miracle/KFSN-TV Fresno

Auditors examining Great Park money have spent $1.4 million themselves --The long-running effort to determine how tens of millions of dollars were spent trying to transform a retired Marine base into a sprawling municipal park has itself rocketed far past its original budget. Since 2013, auditors have been trying to determine how Irvine city leaders and Great Park contractors spent more than $200 million to create what was billed as America's next great municipal park, an expanse that would rival Balboa Park in San Diego or even Central Park in New York City. Matt Morrison/Los Angeles Times

O'Hare Airport's opportunities are now hers -- When you ask people to describe Ginger Evans, the incoming Chicago airports czar, what they invariably say is that she's battle-tested, a veteran who's unlikely to be surprised by anything because she has seen it all before. Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently recruited Evans to serve as commissioner of the Department of Aviation, a high-profile job that will require her to oversee O'Hare and Midway international airports and chart their futures amid ruthless competition among aviation facilities to stand out. Micah Maidenberg/Crain's Chicago Business

Orlando International Airport tram death ruled an accident -- The 32-year-old man who was killed a week ago while operating an Orlando International Airport tram, suffered "blunt-head trauma,'' an official confirmed Friday. Adam Lee's death was ruled an accident, but his autopsy report has not been finalized, according to Sheri Blanton, a spokeswoman for the Orange Osceola Medical Examiner's Office. Kevin P. Connolly/Orlando Sentinel

Airlines

Top 3 US airlines step up attack on Middle Eastern carriers -- Leaders of the three largest U.S. airlines are stepping up their attack against Middle Eastern competitors that they say get unfair government subsidies. The CEOs of American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., and United Continental Holdings Inc. made a rare public appearance together Friday at the National Press Club in Washington to detail their claims. - American's Doug Parker said Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways have expanded service to the U.S. by 25 percent since the dispute broke out in January. David Koenig/AP

American Airlines exec says the chilling words: 'US Airways will go away in October' -- On Wednesday I heard some chilling words. American Airlines CFO Derek Kerr was speaking at an investor conference and he said "US Airways will basically go away in the October timeframe: the signs will come down." Two days earlier, Maya Leibman, American's chief information officer, strongly implied during a conference call with reporters that US Airways will go away in October. Ted Reed/Forbes

Southwest Airlines flies south of the border, prompting fare cuts -- Airline travelers looking to save money have a couple of reasons to cheer and one cause to grouse. The good news is that airlines in the U.S. are setting aside more seats for travelers wanting to redeem loyalty reward points. Also, airfares to Mexico and Central America have dropped sharply since Southwest Airlines began selling tickets to those destinations, forcing competing carriers to match the lower fares. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times

Aviation Security

FBI: Computer expert briefly made plane fly sideways -- A computer security expert hacked into a plane's in-flight entertainment system and made it briefly fly sideways by telling one of the engines to go into climb mode. Chris Roberts of One World Labs in Denver was flying on the plane at the time it turned sideways, according to an FBI search warrant filed in April. The warrant was first publicized on Friday by APTN, a Canadian News Service. Roberts told the FBI he had hacked into planes "15 to 20 times," according to court documents first made public Friday. Elizabeth Weise/USA Today

United Airlines offers rewards for spotting bugs in the system -- United Airlines may be having a change of heart about hackers. A cybersecurity expert who joked during a United Airlines flight about hacking into the plane's avionics computers was banned from flying on the carrier, even though the expert said he was pointing out a vulnerability in the airline's Wi-Fi system. Now United Airlines is offering rewards to anyone who can uncover a bug in the airline's website, app or other software. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times

Airplanes

German design firm suggests cigar-shaped planes ease crowding -- A German design company thinks the best way to cut the time it takes to load passengers on an airplane is to reshape the cabin to resemble a cigar. The idea behind the cigar design by Ugur Ipek Design is to make the aisles wider in the middle of the cabin, where the passengers first enter and need room to shuffle around one another to find their seats. Under the proposed design, the cabin gets narrower toward the front and back of the plane. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times

FAA

FAA chief to headline Las Vegas aviation symposium -- The head of the Federal Aviation Administration will keynote a daylong aviation symposium in Las Vegas next month. Michael Huerta, in the midst of a five-year term as the lead administrator of the world's largest aerospace system with a $15.9 billion budget and 47,000 employees, will open the Titus Aviation Symposium on June 8 at the Atomic Testing Museum. Richard N. Velotta/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Rental Cars

Avis soars after Hertz increases prices for summer travelers -- Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and Avis Budget Group Inc. rose after Hertz said it's raising prices by as much as $5 a day in June in expectation of a busy summer travel season. Hertz is raising prices $20 a week at airports and $10 a week in its neighborhood locations, starting June 14, because it expects "strong seasonal demand," the company said in a statement. Hertz has been winnowing and improving its fleet and has increased by 47 percent the number of vehicles with 30,000 miles or less. Mark Clothier/Bloomberg Business

Aviation Data & Analysis
US Airlines Report 78.7% of Flights On Time in March
Courtesy Oliver Wyman PlaneStats
City Government

L.A.'s minimum wage plan to advance without time-off mandate -- Los Angeles City Council members said Friday that they are stripping from landmark legislation to raise the minimum wage a controversial provision that could have forced businesses to give employees 12 paid days off each year. Some business groups, outraged by the mandate, alleged that it was a furtive, last-minute addition to the wage hike plan approved by a City Council committee Wednesday. Peter Jamison/Los Angeles Times

Garcetti overrules his appointees -- It's rare, but not unheard of, for Los Angeles mayors to veto decisions by the City Council. It's also not unusual for the council to veto a decision by one of the city's commissions, whose members are selected by the mayor.  But Mayor Eric Garcetti did something recently that surprised activists, housing advocates and planning wonks: He rejected a decision by a panel of his own appointees.  Last month, Garcetti threw his support behind a controversial 27-story residential tower in Koreatown. He did so even though the people he put on the city Planning Commission unanimously rejected the apartment project, saying it would be too big for the surrounding neighborhood. David Zahniser/Los Angeles Times

Low turnout could tip L.A. council race between Ramsay, Ryu either way -- L.A. voters from Sherman Oaks to Silver Lake head to the polls Tuesday to decide who will represent their sprawling City Council district, former council aide Carolyn Ramsay has a long list of advantages. A heap of coveted endorsements from City Hall, unions and business groups. An edge in campaign fundraising. Emily Alpert Reyes/Los Angeles Times

Money for DWP trusts should go elsewhere - like the ratepayer advocate -- Please help me," said the letter from an 85-year-old reader in West Hills. "I am having trouble with my utility bill from the L.A.D.W.P." If only I had a dollar for every letter or email like that I've received. I'll fill you in on the West Hills case in a moment, but first I have to say it's no wonder that Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers have trust issues. Steve Lopez/Los Angeles Times

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