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More billboards approved for LAX but they're still years away -- The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday approved a legal framework to add as much as four football fields' worth of digital and other billboards within LAX, however, it could be years before the first signs flash on. The plan, more than 11 years in the making, sets the maximum square footage of digital and non-electronic signs that could be erected on airport property. The digital signs would be on the parking structures, bridges and terminal walls visible from the traffic loop. Sharon McNary/KPCC
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Voted Best Alliance Lounge 13 Star Alliance carriers receive 27 awards -- The Star Alliance Lounge in the Tom Bradley International Terminal of Los Angeles International Airport has been voted best Alliance Lounge by Skytrax. Member carrier Air New Zealand was appointed to develop the Alliance's LAX lounge and manages the facility on behalf of Star Alliance. The premium customer facility at LAX offers space for around 400 Business Class and Star Alliance Gold passengers, with an additional exclusive area for First Class passengers, according to Star Alliance. The Financial
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Merced gets new airline -- Merced is getting a different airline. Boutique Air, headquartered in San Francisco, is to start air service between Merced and Los Angeles International, Oakland International and Las Vegas McCarran International airports under a two-year federally-subsidized contract. Boutique flies the single-engine turbo-prop, Swiss-made Pilatus PC-12 aircraft. The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the Essential Air Service to Boutique Airlines to provide 31 non-stop round trips a week starting Aug 1. The annual subsidy for the service is $2,991,546. Central Valley Business Times
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Eat this now: Gyro at George's Greek Cafe in Long Beach Airport -- Have you flown out of Long Beach Airport lately? It's changed so much in the last year or so, I don't recognize it anymore. And that's a good thing. Now that construction on the new terminals is complete, the temporary trailers I used to wait in for my flights are history. They've been replaced by an open-air garden separating two spacious concourses. And in those concourses: a food court that no chains, not even a Starbucks, currently inhabit. Edwin Goei/OC Weekly
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Chicago could offer premium airport parking for extra $10 a day -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday introduced a plan to allow drivers to reserve parking spaces for an extra $10 a day at O'Hare International and Midway airports and for the city to eventually offer amenities like carwashing, detailing and maintenance services for people who leave their cars at the airports while flying out of town. John Byrne/Chicago Tribune
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NTSB expected to investigate close call at Midway -- Confusion over similar-sounding flight numbers is under investigation as the cause of a close call between two airliners taking off on intersecting runways at Midway Airport, an aviation source said Wednesday. A Southwest Airlines plane, Flight 3828, was cleared for takeoff on runway 31 Center on Tuesday night, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. As Flight 3828 began its takeoff roll, Delta Air Lines Flight 1328 also began rolling on runway 4 Right without clearance from the Midway tower, according to the preliminary FAA investigation. Jon Hilkevitch/Chicago Tribune
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Airline trade group's plan for smaller carry-ons bags on hold -- The airline trade group that proposed a smaller standard size for carry-on bags has put the idea on hold, following harsh criticism and suspicion from lawmakers and travelers. The International Air Transport Assn. proposed the new standards last week to ensure that carry-on bags are small enough to give all passengers space in the overhead bins. The group also sought to reduce confusion caused by size standards that vary by airline. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times
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Airlines 'bank' flights to help connections; are delays a risk? -- Two big airlines are bunching flights at their hubs in an attempt to tighten connections and raise revenue. For passengers, the move could shorten layovers and -- in some cases -- help airlines increase the number of connecting options between cities. But a new industry report warns that this effort by American and United to "bank" their flights could lead to delays and cancellations. Bart Jansen/USA Today
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The most delayed flight routes in the U.S. -- Ed Majcan flies from Chicago to Knoxville, Tenn., 15 to 18 times a year. When he wants to a get a decent night's sleep, he books a 2 p.m. departure for the 75-minute flight because it usually runs so late. If he takes the 5:30 p.m. flight, he risks a late-night hotel arrival with delays and a one-hour time change. "I factor in the delay," says Mr. Majcan, a health-care industry executive who sometimes has resorted to a nine-hour drive between the two cities because of extended flight delays and cancellations. Scott McCartney/Wall Street Journal
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Senator urges inquiry into airline behavior -- Senator Richard Blumenthal asked the Justice Department on Wednesday to investigate whether airlines were engaging in anticompetitive behavior and colluding to limit capacity and drive up fares. In a letter to William J. Baer, the head of the department's antitrust division, the senator highlighted several comments that airline chief executives made at a recent industry gathering that suggested the carriers might be pursuing anticompetitive behavior. Jad Mouawad/New York Times
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European airlines try to blunt impact of air traffic strikes -- Europe's biggest airlines are pushing for new rules that would blunt the impact of strikes, reduce taxes and bring in aviation rules patterned after those in the U.S., The Associated Press reports. The top executives of Air France KLM, Lufthansa, Easyjet, Ryanair and British Airways parent International Airlines Group sat in on what AP described as "an unusual meeting" with European regulators Wednesday. The airline leaders aired concerns about Europe's slow pace to simplify its air traffic control system. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today
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Airline industry backs global emissions trading scheme -- The boss of International Airlines Group on Wednesday said the industry would prefer a global emissions trading scheme to tackle aviation pollution, although other "interesting" options were also under consideration. Emissions from European flights are already covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), but an EU law, meant to take effect from 2012, that extended the arrangement to intercontinental aviation emissions caused outcry. Julia Fioretti/Reuters
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| Transportation Network Companies |
FAA expects to clear U.S. commercial drones within a year -- U.S. commercial drone operations could take flight on a large scale by this time next year, as federal regulators finalize rules allowing widespread unmanned aerial system use by companies, according to congressional testimony on Wednesday. A senior Federal Aviation Administration official said the agency expects to finalize regulations within the next 12 months. Previous forecasts had anticipated rules by the end of 2016 or the beginning of 2017. David Morgan/Reuters
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Delivery by drone in 30 minutes? Amazon says it's coming -- Online retail giant Amazon.com Inc. said it is developing the technology to use drones to deliver packages in 30 minutes or less, a broad expansion of unmanned flight that is raising concerns about safety, security and privacy. Using commercial drones to quickly deliver packages is probably years away. But when government regulations catch up with emerging technologies, it could revolutionize the way people shop for items they need quickly, Paul E. Misener, vice president of global public policy for Amazon.com, said Wednesday. AP
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Boeing defends 787 Dreamliner after Emirates Airline voices concerns -- Boeing Co. on Tuesday defended its fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliner after Dubai's Emirates Airline voiced concerns about a key performance metric ahead of a potential deal to buy the plane. Marty Bentrott, Boeing's head of Middle East sales, said Emirates is examining an order for up to 70 new 787 Dreamliners with potential deliveries starting in 2017. Rory Jones/Wall Street Journal
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Production Rates: Are Airbus and Boeing aiming too high? -- Airbus and Boeing need to increase output of narrowbody jets to burn off massive backlogs, but lofty production rates the two airframers are talking about probably cannot be sustained over the long run, says the CEO of U.K.-based aerostructures suppliers GKN Aerospace. "The narrowbodies are going to have to ramp up," Kevin Cummings said in an interview with Aviation Week at the Paris air show June 17. "I don't believe that Boeing and Airbus want to have a customer come in the door and tell them "you have to wait nine years" for delivery." Joe Anselmo/Aviation Week
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Paris Air Show Day 3: Showing off new planes; hope for the 747? -- Plane orders continued to trickle in on the third day of the Paris Air Show as the world's largest such show gets ready to transition from industry business to enthusiast spectacle. Another round of aerial displays was to feature both high-profile passenger jets as well as military and experimental aircraft. Also on display were the interiors of several passenger aircraft, including China Airlines' Boeing 777-300ER and numerous planes belonging to Qatar Airways. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today
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'Mad Men' was more L.A. than you might think, and City Council gets that -- "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner, along with crew members from the show, were recognized Wednesday at Los Angeles City Hall when the City Council declared it "Mad Men Day." Councilman Paul Krekorian said the recently ended show generated hundreds of jobs and about $200 million for the local economy during its seven-season run on the AMC cable network. "The good news for us is, while (the show) was set in New York in the 1960s, it was shot in Los Angeles today," Krekorian said during a presentation at Los Angeles City Hall. City News Service
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