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Route of the Week: Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa - Dublin - Los Angeles -- Ethiopian Airlines launched its first ever tri-continent route on June 19, beginning services from Addis Ababa to Dublin, before continuing on to Los Angeles. Flights will operate thrice-weekly using the Star Alliance member's 787-8s. Neither of the sectors on this new route will face direct competition and it is the first time that both Dublin and Los Angeles have been connected to Ethiopia. anna.aero
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Air China launches third daily nonstop service between Los Angeles and Beijing -- Air China officials and China-bound passengers at Tom Bradley International Terminal welcomed the arrival of the inaugural flight of the airline's third daily nonstop service from Beijing at 9 a.m. PDT today. China's national flag carrier is also celebrating today the first day of the relocation of its airport operations from Terminal 2 to the Los Angeles International Airport's (LAX) bigger and newly renovated Tom Bradley International Terminal. Air China Press Release
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How will LAX's new Wi-Fi stack up against other airports'? -- Tired of slow, balky internet at LAX? Take heart. Los Angeles International Airport will soon install a $1.5-million system that should boost free speeds significantly. Travelers should find it easier to surf the Web in the terminals, a relief to those who have suffered through slow connections. Boingo, the provider, was unable to give a projected completion date. Here's a quick overview of how the new Wi-Fi at LAX will compare with other airports' service, including the all-important download speed category, expressed in mbps, or megabits per second. Brian Sumers/Los Angeles Times
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LAX X-Ray machine reveals cat in passenger's luggage -- Transportation Security Administration officers made a furry find at Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday afternoon when an X-ray machine revealed a passenger's pet cat inside his checked bag. The discovery was made after a JetBlue passenger placed his bag, which was not a pet carrier, through an X-ray machine in Terminal 3, according to LAX Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Belinda Nettles. Oliva Niland/NBC4
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EDITORIAL: Ontario airport tug-of-war -- It is unfortunate the cities of Los Angeles and Ontario still can't sit at the negotiating table to discuss the transfer of Ontario International Airport. Both sides still are engaged in a protracted legal battle over the ownership of the airport. The case is set for trial Aug. 17 in Riverside Superior Court and the two sides will meet at a hearing on July 8 to sort out an issue over disputed documents. Riverside Press-Enterprise Editorial Board
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San Jose: Woman killed, five injured in car crash near airport Terminal B -- A 24-year-old woman was killed Wednesday morning when her car struck an SUV near Terminal B at Mineta San Jose International Airport, according to police. Five people in the Audi SU, including an infant, were taken to hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. The woman was driving a red Pontiac southbound in front of Terminal B at 10:29 a.m. when she attempted to make a left turn and struck the SUV, police spokesman Officer Albert Morales said. Mark Gomez/San Jose Mercury News
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JetBlue opens outdoor rooftop lounge, with dog walk, at NYC's JFK Airport -- In a modern-day nod to the golden age of air travel, JetBlue will open an outdoor lounge on top of Terminal 5 (T5) at New York's JFK International Airport on Wednesday. Both family and pet-friendly, the 4,046-square-foot T5 Rooftop is open to all passengers who have passed through security, regardless of their status with the airline. Amenities include landscaped green spaces, seating for 50 people and a 400-square-foot children's play area. Harriet Baskas/USA Today
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On time - and just in time - Philadelphia city leaders sign new 5-year airport lease -- With much fanfare, a new airport lease agreement came in for a final and smooth landing yesterday after a somewhat turbulent journey to Mayor Nutter's desk. Nutter and City Council President Darrell Clarke jointly signed the five-year lease between Philadelphia International Airport and the airlines that use the city-owned facility. Under the lease agreement, effective today, airline subcontractors must pay $12 an hour to about 2,000 airport workers, including baggage handlers, aircraft cabin cleaners and wheelchair attendants. Wendy Ruderman/Philadelphia Daily News
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DFW Airport plans parking rate increases -- For the second year in a row, Dallas/Fort Worth Airport plans to increase terminal parking rates as part of its proposed budget. With about 57 percent of terminal parkers now paying with TollTags, the airport plans to raise the daily rate from $20 to $22 for TollTag users. Drivers who use cash or credit cards already pay $22. "Eliminating the discount at this time makes sense for us," Chief Financial Officer Chris Poinsatte told the airport's finance committee Tuesday afternoon. Andrea Ahles/Fort Worth Star-Telegram
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The UK's hub airport isn't London Heathrow. It's Amsterdam Schiphol -- BAA's campaign to persuade the world to expand Heathrow Airport has been based on one major assumption: that the UK needs a hub airport, and that Heathrow is it. Look at the data, though, and there are six very big reasons to think that Heathrow isn't the UK's hub airport at all. 1. You can't get a train there. You can get a train to Heathrow from just one UK city; London. Tom Forth/CityMetric
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| Lost, stolen, broken: TSA pays millions for bag claims, USA TODAY investigation finds -- The Transportation Security Administration paid passengers $3 million over the last five years for claims that airport security screeners broke, lost or stole their luggage or items inside, according to a review of about 50,000 complaints. After investigating to determine if TSA or its agents were responsible, the agency approved or settled with passengers in about 15,000 cases - nearly 1 out of 3 claims filed from 2010 to 2014. Payments ranged from a few bucks for missing food or medicine to several thousand dollars for jewelry, electronics and other items passengers said were broken or disappeared in TSA's hands.
Nick Penzenstadler/USA today and Russ Ptacek/WUSA-9 Related: Palm Springs airport ranks 2nd for paid TSA claims
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Airline stocks tank on DOJ investigation report -- Airline stocks are tanking Wednesday afternoon after a report surfaced that the Department of Justice has begun a probe of its revenue management practices. The Department of Justice said it is investigating "possible unlawful coordination" among some airlines. The Associated Press, citing internal documents, says the collusion among major airlines involved limited available seats to keep airfares high. Shares of American Airlines fell 4.1% to $38.28. Roger Yu/USA Today
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United Airlines has rough on-time record in June -- United Airlines struggled with its June on-time performance, according to metrics an industry source shared on Tuesday night. About half of all United flights in June arrived on time, statistics compiled earlier this week show. That's using a metric the industry calls 'A:00,' meaning the flight arrived exactly on time or early. Remember that the Department of Transportation only considers flights late if they arrive 15 minutes or more behind schedule, so United's official on-time rate will be a little better than this when it's announced. Brian Sumers/BrianSumers.com
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Hot cabin temperatures ignite debate within American Airlines -- An internal debate is being discussed at American Airlines on a topic some say is putting passengers' comfort and health on the line: how hot is too hot? Before the merger, US Airways wouldn't board passengers if the cabin temperature climbed past 85 degrees. American Airlines' threshold is 90 degrees, which the union representing AA flight attendants says is too high. Bianca Castro/NBC5 DFW
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This fake Delta Air Lines Facebook page went viral after promising $5,000 and free first class tickets -- A fake Delta Air Lines Facebook page went viral on Tuesday after promising $5,000 and five first-class tickets to 175 passengers. The only problem was that the page was a hoax, first spotted by BuzzFeed's news reporter, Mariah Summers. The promotion included a picture of airplane-themed gift bags that were stolen from a Flickr user's album, and it claimed it was in celebration of the airline's 100 million customers. Megan Willett/Business Insider
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Which airline apps make flying easier? -- Using your phone may be the best way to get good information from airlines after all. Big airlines have invested heavily in their mobile apps and filled them with lots of capabilities that can save you time, keep you better-informed, help you check in, board and navigate airports and, in some cases, tap into in-flight entertainment. Capabilities vary between airlines. When you most need help, like when your flight gets canceled, apps in our recent random testing sometimes failed. Scott McCartney/Wall Street Journal
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The next frontier in airline baggage: Digital bag tags -- For decades, fliers have checked their bags the same way: hand them to an airline employee and trust that they will reappear at the destination. Now big changes to that model are coming as airlines look to streamline the airport experience-and pass more work to customers and machines. Their latest ideas including letting fliers tag their own bags, print luggage tags at home and track their bags on smartphones. Jack Nicas & Tarun Shukla/Wall Street Journal
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How much tax do you pay for a plane ticket? -- Of all the hot-button topics in the airline industry in recent years, none has been hotter than the issue of airlines charging fees, particularly for services that once were free, such as checked baggage. As I predicted two years ago with the "Airline fee quiz," the money airlines rake in from "ancillary revenue" continues to grow and grow. In fact, last year it reached $50 billion worldwide. Not as much attention is paid to the mandatory fees charged by government agencies and other authorities. Bill McGee/USA Today
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Passengers get caught between code-sharing airlines -- All Bonnie Elliott needed were seat assignments in advance. And all Ernie Kuhnke wanted were his frequent-flier miles. But neither of these air travelers can get them. Why? Even though they each booked a ticket with one airline, they're flying on several carriers, an industry practice known as "code sharing." You can tell if you're on a code share flight if, on your itinerary, you see the words "operated by" followed by the name of a different airline. Christopher Elliott/Seattle Times
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City Council president says L.A. lacks a strategy for creating jobs -- Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson said Wednesday that the critics were right: City Hall lacks a comprehensive strategy for attracting new jobs. With the region emerging from a recession that dramatically upended the city's finances, Wesson announced he is creating a special five-member committee to develop a plan for increasing employment across the city. David Zahniser/Los Angeles Times
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Garcetti says he didn't change course on homelessness laws -- Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday he didn't reverse course by backing away from controversial homelessness laws his office had signaled he would approve, asserting instead that a member of his communications staff mistakenly told The Times he planned to sign the ordinances. Garcetti said in a brief interview at City Hall that he had always had reservations about the tough new laws, which would give police officers greater power to sweep the streets of homeless encampments. But his spokesman, Jeff Millman, erroneously said he would sign the legislation, according to the mayor. Peter Jamison/Los Angeles Times
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County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas isn't ruling out a run for L.A. mayor -- Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said Wednesday he has not dismissed the notion of a bid for mayor in 2017, raising the possibility of a major challenge to the incumbent, Mayor Eric Garcetti. Ridley-Thomas, who represents a swath of south Los Angeles County, made his statement in response to a question from The Times following an appearance at City Hall. David Zahniser/Los Angeles Times
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L.A.'s broken sidewalks: Residents say city, not homeowners, should maintain -- The broken sidewalks around Margaret Peters' South Los Angeles home got her involved in volunteer work. "It has been a go-to issue for me," said Peters, treasurer of the Southwest Area Neighborhood Development Council. "The No. 1 complaint in my neighborhood is sidewalks." Peters was among more than a dozen residents who spoke at a community meeting Tuesday night in South L.A. about the city's proposed plan to spend $1.4 billion over the next 30 years to repair its immense network of sidewalks. Ben Poston/Los Angeles Times
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DWP watchdog urges changes in hiring rules, union influence at utility -- In the wake of the botched rollout of a new billing system at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power that sent inaccurate bills to many customers, a new report by a watchdog agency says the city must make a host of changes to speed up utility hiring and outsourcing work to prevent similar problems in the future. Emily Alpert Reyes/Los Angeles Times
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Audit: L.A. failed to collect $1.8 million in overtime reimbursements -- The white-gloved officers who guide Los Angeles drivers through traffic jams and road closures during Dodgers games, the Academy Awards and other special events earned nearly $6 million in overtime in a single year. In many cases, event sponsors are supposed to reimburse the city for those wages. But the city of Los Angeles failed to collect $1.8 million in 2013-14 because poor bookkeeping made it impossible to track how much money had been spent and how much was owed, according to an audit released Wednesday by City Controller Ron Galperin. Laura J. Nelson/Los Angeles Times
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New L.A. councilman wants to roll back LaBonge funding plans -- Newly seated Los Angeles City Councilman David Ryu is seeking to roll back plans made by Tom LaBonge, the longtime councilman he replaced, to distribute more than $600,000 in discretionary money. Such discretionary money is allocated to council members, who can choose how to use it for community needs. During the campaign, Ryu argued such dollars had become "secret slush funds" and promised to reform the way that money was spent. Emily Alpert Reyes/Los Angeles Times
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In observance of the Independence Day Holiday, Eye on L.A. Aviation will not be published on Friday. The next edition will be Monday, July 6.
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