Airports

Airport commission approves choice of Oakland airport chief to head LAWA, agency that runs LAX -- The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners on Thursday unanimously approved Mayor Eric Garcetti's nomination of Oakland International Airport Director Deborah Ale Flint to take over the city agency that operates LAX, LA/Ontario International Airport and Van Nuys Airport. Airport Commission President Sean Burton called Ale Flint a "rising star'' and said she is "the absolute right person to build on what has been accomplished by (Los Angeles World Airports) and to lead this organization to the next level of world-class airports with sustained excellence.'' City News Service Melody Ng/The Moodie Report LAWA News Release

Airport commissioners reach deal with Boingo for improved Wi-Fi at LAX -- The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners reached a $5.9 million agreement Thursday with Boingo Wireless Inc. to upgrade, manage, operate and market the Wi-Fi network at LAX, officials said. Under the seven-year agreement, Boingo Wireless will upgrade existing networks to enable tiered Wi-Fi at speeds from 5 megabits per second up to 20 megabits per second. Airport guests will continue to receive 45 minutes of free advertising-supported Wi-Fi service, but at four times the speed. Nereida Moreno/Torrance Daily Breeze LAWA News Release Melanie Ng/The Moodie Report

Brea residents wins John Wayne Airport's "From the Big A to the Big Apple Sweepstakes" -- On May 29, Angels Radio (AM830) announced Brea resident, Tyler Reece, as the winner of John Wayne Airport's "From the Big A to the Big Apple Sweepstakes." The prize, a weekend getaway which begins June 5, includes roundtrip air transportation for two from John Wayne Airport to Newark on United Airlines, a two-night stay at the Element Harrison Hotel, two tickets for the Halos vs. Yankees game, two tickets for the Boston concert at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, a $100 transportation credit and a $150 dining certificate. JWA News Release

At DFW in May, American Airlines diverted 287 flights -- May was not a kind month to American Airlines, at least at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The airline faced a multitude of natural disasters, both big and small, including torrential rainfall, flash flooding, tornadoes and sinkholes. If you flew American last month through Dallas, there was a good chance your flight was affected.  American told employees this week that it was forced to divert aircraft on all 31 days in the month. In all, the airline diverted 287 flights, and they went to 64 different airports, according to an employee newsletter. Brian Sumers.com

Irish airports may lose exclusivity on offering US pre-clearance -- Dublin's attractiveness as a transatlantic hub is under threat with plans to offer pre-clearance facilities for US travellers at 10 global airports. Dublin and Shannon are currently the only airports in Europe that currently have the pre-inspection facilities, which are hosted by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The value of the Irish airports for transatlantic traffic was a key reason for IAG's €1.4bn plan to buy Aer Lingus. John Mulligan/Dublin Evening Herald 

O'Hare concessionaires scramble for Chicago restaurant talent -- Airport concessionaires are racing to sign Chicago restaurant groups to exclusive licensing agreements, betting local food talent will help them win at least part of the lucrative food-and-beverage business in O'Hare International Airport's domestic terminals. "It is a fierce competition," said Xavier Rabell, CEO of Miami-based Areas USA, a company that's part of the venture that operates dining options in O'Hare's international terminal and is interested in the domestic side. Micah Maidenberg/Crain's Chicago Business

O'Hare Airport numbers fail to live up to promise -- You will be able to get anywhere in the world, on time, weather permitting. That was the promise from Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his then-aviation chief at the October 2013 opening of O'Hare International Airport's newest runway, which was supposed to cut delays by up to 50 percent. Despite the billing as a tipping point in the lengthy O'Hare modernization program, delays have continued to pile up, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. AP Related: New runway at O'Hare fails to live up to promise so far

MSP officials ponder life without Sun Country Airlines -- The labor dispute between Sun Country Airlines and its pilots is prompting officials at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to imagine a future without the Mendota Heights-based carrier. At a meeting of the Metropolitan Airports Commission's planning committee Monday, officials forecast that without Sun Country, airfares would increase in a market dominated by Delta Air Lines. That would make it too expensive for an estimated 230,000 local passengers a year to fly, an official said. Tom Webb/St. Paul Pioneer Press

Eisenhower Airport terminal opens with fanfare, 'virtually no glitches' -- Van Kim, who was traveling from Dallas to his home in Phoenix on Wednesday, made sure he was among the first to arrive at Wichita's new terminal at Eisenhower National Airport. "I purposely detoured here because of what I heard about the grand opening," Kim said. "This is tremendous." The first plane to arrive at the new terminal - a Southwest Airlines flight that landed a few minutes early at about 9:35 a.m. - was greeted on the taxiway with an archway of water from local fire crews. Suzanne Perez Tobias, Matt Riedl & Gabriella Dunn/Wichita Eagle

Atlanta police search for woman who went missing at airport -- Atlanta police say they're searching for a woman who disappeared after she failed to make her connecting flight at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Police say Anna Giannini's flight from Milan, Italy, landed in Atlanta 5:10 p.m. Sunday. Atlanta police said in a missing person's bulletin that Giannini was expected to take a connecting flight to Albuquerque, New Mexico, but didn't arrive there. Police say she hasn't been heard from since then. AP

Aviation at the Movies

Clint Eastwood to pilot Capt. 'Sully' Sullenberger biopic -- Clint Eastwood's next movie has been cleared for takeoff. The "American Sniper" filmmaker is set to direct Warner Bros'. to-be-titled biopic about Capt. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, the veteran pilot who safely landed a disabled jetliner on the Hudson River in 2009, the studio announced Tuesday. Eastwood will work from a script by Todd Komarnicki, based on the book "Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters," by Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow. Oliver Gettell/Los Angeles Times

Airlines

Southwest Airlines website out for 2nd day amidst fare sale -- The crash of Southwest Airlines' website stretched through a second day on Thursday, leaving many customers unable to book flights during a big fare sale. Southwest blamed the meltdown on heavy traffic from the sale, which it extended by one day, to midnight on Friday night, giving frustrated customers more time to buy tickets. On Thursday afternoon, some customers trying to book flights online got a message telling them that part of the website "is undergoing maintenance and is currently unavailable." David Koenig/AP

United Airlines does not see a fit for Airbus A380 -- United Continental Holdings Inc has been in talks about purchasing the world's biggest passenger jet from Airbus Group SE, the A380, but at the moment does not see it fitting with its fleet, the airline said Wednesday. The Chicago-based airline confirmed that its chief financial officer, John Rainey, told aviation news outlet Flightglobal: "We've looked at that and we are looking at it right now it just doesn't really work for us." Reuters

Airline tries 3-drink limit to crack down on unruly fliers -- A major European carrier is trying to curb alcohol-related flight disturbances by capping the number of drinks it serves to any one passenger. New "guidelines" at Scandinavian carrier SAS suggest passengers should be cut off after three alcoholic drinks on its intra-Europe flights. Officials at the SAS - a member of the Star Alliance frequent-flier group - say the move is an attempt to crack down on problems caused by unruly fliers, The Local news site of Sweden reports. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today

American Airlines rejects retirees' call for old travel policy -- American Airlines Group Inc. chairman and chief executive Doug Parker made it as clear as he could Wednesday: American isn't going to return to its old policy of free travel for retirees. "Look, we get it. I understand it: You don't appreciate what we did with the pass policy," Parker told retirees who attended American's annual meeting. "I understand that, loud and clear. I'm just trying to let you know, loud and clear, that's what the policy is - and that's what the policy is going to be." Terry Maxon/Dallas Morning News

Singapore Airlines stays firm on Europe, U.S. routes -- Economic sluggishness in Europe and the U.S. isn't prompting Singapore Airlines Ltd. to scale back in those markets, and the island nation's flag carrier will continue to build out its Southeast Asian network, its chief executive said. "We have not retreated" from European or U.S. routes, Goh Choon Phong said Thursday. "We will selectively grow into areas where we think traffic is," he added, citing the example of London, where Singapore Airlines increased flights in 2012 by starting a fourth daily service. Gaurav Raghuvanshi/Wall Street Journal

Airlines to test new tracking system to locate lost flights -- Airlines are set to begin testing a tracking system that would ping flights every 15 minutes, a technology that could have helped locate two flights last year that went missing in hard-to-track regions of the world, the head of an international trade group said Thursday. Tony Tyler, CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that represents 250 airlines worldwide, said the tests will be conducted somewhere in the Asia-Pacific region and should be completed by the fall. Alan Gomez/USA Today

Virgin America pilots follow attendants with vote to join union -- Virgin America Inc. pilots voted to join a union, nine months after flight attendants created the first organized labor group at the carrier. The decision ended Virgin America's status as the largest U.S. airline without a union for pilots, a distinction that Chief Executive Officer David Cush said had made it a target for organizers. "We respect the decision by our pilots," Virgin America said in a statement following the vote. Mary Schlangenstein/Bloomberg Business

Europe's top airlines to spend billions in battle to win back passengers -- Europe's two biggest airlines are rolling out more than €4 billion ($4.5 billion) in cabin upgrades in an attempt to arrest the hemorrhaging of lucrative premium passengers to Middle East rivals that have stolen their customers in part by wowing them with luxurious amenities aboard flights. The cabin overhauls represent a second front in a battle between Air France-KLM SA, Europe's largest airline by traffic, and the Continent's No. 2, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, against competitors from the Persian Gulf. Robert Wall & Jason Chow/Wall Street Journal

FedEx warns of 'protectionism' in foreign airline subsidy fight -- FedEx is siding with Middle Eastern airlines in a fight over foreign flight subsidies that has roiled the U.S. aviation industry.  Unions that represent parts of the U.S. airline industry have alleged Middle Eastern airlines like Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Emirates Airlines received more than $42 billion in subsidies since 2004. They say the payments violate the spirit of the Open Skies agreements between the U.S. and the governments of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which own the airlines. The Hill

Delta pilots reach tentative deal on new contract with airline -- The Delta Air Lines Inc. pilots union said Thursday it reached a tentative agreement on new contract terms with the airline, six months ahead of the date when the current pact opens for renewal. Terms weren't disclosed. Delta, the No. 3 U.S. airline by traffic, started talks with the Air Line Pilots Association union in March, well before the December 2015 amendable date on the current contract. ALPA said its elected leadership, representing 12,800 pilots, has a week to review the language. Susan Carey/Wall Street Journal

Aviation Security

Senate panel approves Obama's TSA nominee -- The Senate Commerce Committee moved quickly Thursday to endorse a permanent chief for the Transportation Security Administration, just days after the agency's temporary leader lost his job following the release of a scathing report about its security lapses. The committee approved Peter Neffenger, who's now the Coast Guard's vice commandant, to be the next head of the TSA. The Senate Homeland Security Committee has 30 days to also weigh in before his nomination goes to the floor.  Heather Caygle & Jennifer Scholtes/Politico

Editorial: What a 95% failure rate says about the TSA -- Jeh Johnson, head of the Department of Homeland Security, owes an immediate explanation to Americans, many of whom are understandably baffled, worried and shocked by a report that recently leaked out of the Transportation Security Administration. According to the report, undercover federal agents were able to sneak fake bombs past TSA screeners with apparent ease, despite the billions of dollars that the U.S. government spends on airport security and the cumbersome, time-consuming and invasive personal inspections it puts millions of travelers through each year. Los Angeles Times Editorial Board Op-Ed: Let's consider alternatives to the dysfunctional TSA

Reinforce airport security asap: Our view -- Most fliers are willing to put up with airport security so long as they have confidence that the hassles are keeping them safe from terrorists. But in the latest undercover tests, Transportation Security Administration screeners could hardly have done worse if they had stayed home and let people simply stroll through unmanned checkpoints. Agents posing as passengers were able to sneak fake bombs and banned weapons past airport screeners 67 times in 70 attempts, a 95% fail rate. USA Today Editorial Board  TSA employs layers of security: Another view 

Why the TSA catches your water bottle, but guns and bombs get through -- Last week, agents at U.S. airport security checkpoints intercepted 45 guns, an assortment of knives and brass knuckles, and several deactivated hand grenades. Two weeks ago, the count was 53 guns, and the week before that, it was 57. And if you've ever tried to slip through with a bottle of water, well, you probably got caught. This week, the acting head of the Transportation Security Administration got bounced from his job because in 95 percent of test cases, real guns or fake bombs made it past the TSA. Ashley Halsey III/Washington Post

Aviation Data & Analysis

US Airline Cargo Yield Declines 8%
Courtesy Oliver Wyman PlaneStats
Election 2016

Longtime L.A. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich eyeing state Senate run --Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said Thursday that he is considering a run for the state Senate seat held by Carol Liu (D-La Ca�ada-Flintridge). Both officials will be forced out of their current seats by term limits next year. Antonovich, 75, has represented the northern reaches of the county since 1980. His district, which includes the Antelope Valley, parts of the San Gabriel Valley, Pasadena and Glendale, overlaps with Liu's 25th state Senate district. Abby Sewell/Los Angeles Times

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