Ontario airport's June passenger traffic up 1.5 percent -- Passenger gains in international travel continue to support slight traffic increases at LA/Ontario International, according to figures released by Los Angeles World Airports on Tuesday. There was a 1.52 percent increase - a difference of 5,494 passengers served at ONT - from the same month in 2014. The slight increase was aided by a 73 percent increase, or 13,327 passengers served, in international passenger traffic compared to the same month in June 2014. Liset Marquez/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin ONT Statistics

John Wayne Airport posts June 2015 statistics -- Airline passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport increased in June 2015 as compared to June 2014. In June 2015, the Airport served 849,475 passengers, an increase of 3.5% when compared to the June 2014 passenger traffic count of 820,986. Commercial aircraft operations increased 1.1%, while commuter aircraft operations decreased 4.0% when compared to June 2014 levels. Total aircraft operations decreased in June 2015 as compared to the same month in 2014. JWA News Release

10 US airports to play role in biometric exit pilot -- US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has revealed that it will pilot the collection of biometric and biographic information on selected flights from up to 10 identified US airports over the next year. In a notice published in the Federal Register, the CBP revealed that the programme will be called the "Be-Mobile Air Test". The test will be rolled out over this one-year period at Los Angeles International Airport; San Francisco International Airport; Miami International Airport, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Security Document World

The USA's worst airport: If not LaGuardia, which one? -- Poor LaGuardia Airport. Fliers have long liked the airport for its easy access to Manhattan, but not much else. In fact, the airport has become a decades-long standby on nearly everyone's list of "worst U.S. airports." But now there's talk of a multi-billion dollar project to give fliers a "new" LaGuardia. Will that be enough to take LaGuardia out of the conversation for being the USA's worst airport? And, if so, which airports would be "front-runners" to take LaGuardia's spot on the list? Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today

Can LaGuardia Airport overhaul take it from worst to first? -- LaGuardia Airport is an unwieldy web of terminals so shabby that the vice president of the United States once likened the hub to what you'd find in a Third World country. But by 2021, a single unified structure could stand in its place, offering the type of space, access and modernity travelers expect from a global gateway. That was the plan unveiled this week by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Vice President Biden, who said LaGuardia will be getting a $4 billion makeover from the ground up. Charisse Jones/USA Today

La Guardia's makeover likely won't ease delays -- The planned overhaul of La Guardia Airport would make for a nicer experience for fliers, but it likely would do little to alleviate the congestion in New York's skies or beyond, aviation analysts said. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other officials unveiled plans this week to unify three of La Guardia's decades-old terminals into a gleaming single structure by 2019. The plan includes space for a tram, meeting areas, a potential hotel and rail and ferry links. Jack Nicas & Susan Carey/Wall Street Journal

O'Hare airline workers: Alleged subsidies to Gulf carriers to cost jobs -- Airline pilots, flight attendants and other workers based at O'Hare International Airport banded together Tuesday to warn that alleged unfair subsidies to Middle East airlines by their governments will cost jobs in Chicago and across the nation. However, one U.S. travel group said the foreign carriers are good for Chicago. Workers from United, American and Southwest airlines, which together employ some 25,000 in Chicago, said during a news conference Tuesday that every international widebody aircraft route lost will cost 800 airline jobs. Gregory Karp/Chicago Tribune

Atlanta airport hotel could break ground in early 2016 -- City officials want to break ground early next year on a new mixed-use project that would include a four-star hotel at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Three development teams are vying for the project: Atlanta-based Regent Partners; a second team including Atlanta-based Carter, Majestic Realty Co. and GPM Investments LLC; and a third firm, Airmall USA Inc. Officials on Tuesday held a meeting regarding a request for proposals for the project. Amy Wenk/Atlanta Business Chronicle

Suspicious package briefly shuts part of SFO, Airport BART station -- An unattended suitcase at San Francisco International Airport's International Terminal Tuesday prompted part of the terminal to close, as well as the airport's BART station and access roads from U.S. Highway 101, an airport spokesman said. SFO spokesman Doug Yakel said shortly before 1 p.m. that San Francisco police were clearing the unattended suitcase on the upper curbside level of the International Terminal. Ticket counters 1-6 in the terminal were closed during the investigation, Yakel said. CBS SF

Oceanside airport's classic car, aircraft show cancelled -- A popular classic car and aircraft show that was scheduled for next month at the Oceanside municipal airport will not be happening and organizers are blaming the airport management company for the cancellation. For the past five years, the Oceanside Airport Association has organized the event as a fundraiser for a scholarship program, said Gordon Nesbitt, the group's president. Edward Sifuentes/San Diego Union-Tribune

Republic says it cannot fly the schedule it promised partners -- Republic Airways says the ongoing labor dispute with its pilots is in large part why the airline is cutting part of its planned schedule for later this year and the first half of 2016.  Republic told investors and employees it is discussing with partner airlines how to both temporarily and permanently reduce its commitments. The airline said the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the union representing pilots, is increasingly making "unrealistic and unsustainable demands" during negotiations on a new contract. Without a new labor deal, Republic cannot operate a robust schedule.  Brian Sumers/Aviation Daily

Southwest Airlines will keep its 'bags fly free' policy -- Southwest Airlines has no plans to bag its free-bag policy. Although every other major carrier in the industry now charges bag fees, Southwest Airlines Chief Executive Gary Kelly says it makes financial sense for his airline to retain its "bags fly free" policy. At a business travel conference in Orlando this week, Kelly was asked whether he would rethink his policy of charging no fees for the first two checked bags after JetBlue Airways began last month to charge at least $15 for the first checked bag. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times

Southwest flight attendants ponder CEO Gary Kelly's next move after contract vote -- In the wake of Southwest Airlines flight attendants' overwhelming rejection of a tentative new contract late last week, a couple of significant related developments have surfaced. Chief among them is the possibility Southwest Airlines and its CEO Gary Kelly could be contemplating another merger in the not too distant future. According to sources, the three most likely merger targets are Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and JetBlue. Lewis Lazare/Chicago Business Journal

Low-cost airlines are making progress in train-loving Japan -- Discount carriers are leveraging new runways to undercut rail-and they're changing a culture in the process. Japan is both famous for, and proud of, its passenger trains. But the arrival and expansion of low-cost air carriers is giving rail a run for its money. One stark example is the popular trip from Tokyo to Osaka. Aboard the low-cost airline Peach, the round-trip flight is around 14,000 yen, or a little over USD$110. David Z. Morris/Fortune

U.S. airlines score their first $5 billion quarter -- We still have several smaller airlines yet to report, but our spreadsheet confirms that U.S. passenger airlines have indeed reported their first-ever $5 billion quarter. In fact, the four largest airline companies - American Airlines Group, United Continental Holding, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines - combined to post net income of $4.99 billion by themselves, $4.83 billion excluding special items. Terry Maxon/Dallas Morning News

JetBlue bucks airline industry outlook, sees strong demand -- JetBlue Airways Corp on Tuesday forecast a potential rise in July unit revenue even as competitors projected steep drops, profiting from new premium-class seats while escaping capacity gluts in Dallas and Chicago. The New York-based airline expects that passenger revenue per available seat mile, which measures sales relative to the capacity and distance of flights, will stay flat or rise as much as 1 percent in July from a year earlier. Jeffrey Dastin/Reuters

WestJet Airlines profit climbs 19% -- WestJet Airlines Ltd. on Tuesday reported a 19% increase in its second-quarter profit and slightly stronger revenue, helped in part by lower fuel costs. The Calgary, Alberta-based air carrier said earnings were a record for the period ended June 30 even though the second quarter is typically a challenging one as capacity moves to domestic markets from southern ones. WestJet's earnings rose to 61.6 million Canadian dollars ($47.2 million), or 49 Canadian cents a share in its latest quarter. Judy McKinnon/Wall Street Journal

Frontier Airlines increasing nonstop flights for Las Vegas -- Frontier Airlines, which in recent years has evolved into an ultralow discount air carrier, is expanding operations in Las Vegas. The Denver-based airline is announcing Tuesday that it will offer daily nonstop flights between McCarran International Airport and Milwaukee, Miami, San Francisco and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The airline will fly twin-engine 177-passenger Airbus A320 jets on the San Francisco route and 144-passenger Airbus A319 jets on the others. Richard N. Velotta/Las Vegas Review-Journal

JetBlue meets Q2 earnings, backs capacity growth view -- JetBlue's second-quarter earnings met Wall Street expectations Tuesday, and the budget carrier reaffirmed its capacity growth guidance. Q2 earnings jumped 131.6% to 44 cents per share, in line with expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Revenue rose 8% to $1.61 billion, just missing estimates of $1.62 billion. Shares fell 1.1% to 22.10 on the stock market today after rising in pre-market trading. Revenue passenger miles rose 8.7% to 10.5 billion, while capacity increased 7.5% during the quarter. Gillian Rich/Investor's Business Daily

The Middle East's 3 best airlines have infuriated their US competitors -- The dispute between America's three major domestic airlines - American, Delta, and United - and the Middle Eastern trio of Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways is heating up. This feud is far more than your average business argument. "This is really about what the future of US-international air travel will look like," Airways News senior business analyst Vinay Bhaskara told Business Insider. US and international airlines operate globally under a series of "Open Skies" agreements. Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

How Virgin Galactic's spaceship pilot survived a 10-mile fall back to Earth -- Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo had just passed the sound barrier when pilot Peter Siebold noticed something was not right, according to his newly released interview with investigators. When the experimental rocket plane went supersonic, it pitched up with surprising force, Siebold told investigators seven days after the Oct. 31 accident. Then suddenly the spacecraft began bucking wildly, Siebold said, and the "G-levels went through the roof." Melody Petersen/Los Angeles Times

Allegiant Air pilots picket airline's Las Vegas headquarters -- About 70 Allegiant Air pilots picketed in front of the Las Vegas-based airline's Summerlin headquarters Tuesday, a day before the company will post second-quarter earnings. The pilots, most in uniform shirts and ties and carrying signs that said, "It's time to bargain in good faith," marched along the corner of Town Center Drive and Covington Cross Drive for about an hour to call attention to stalled contract talks. Richard N. Velotta/Las Vegas Review-Journal

After lapses, TSA will target screening in overhaul -- The new administrator of the beleaguered Transportation Security Administration said the agency would make several changes to security and screening procedures as part of an overhaul to address glaring lapses over the past few months. Peter V. Neffenger, who took over the agency this month, said in an interview that the TSA would retrain thousands of screeners to better detect weapons and other illegal items, scale back a program that allows people who have not signed up for background checks to use expedited security lines and more aggressively police airports' oversight of security badges. Ron Nixon/New York Times

Port Authority lashes out at Speziale, says he's flouted airport security before -- In an escalating legal battle, Port Authority lawyers say Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale tried to "flout" airport security on three separate trips, most recently on Friday, when Speziale was detained after trying to take an oversize bag on board a flight at John F. Kennedy International. "On at least three occasions, including the incident on July 25, 2015, Plaintiff (Speziale) has attempted to flout the rules proscribed by the FAA and enforced by the TSA, the Port Authority and the airlines to ensure the safety of those traveling by air," stated a July 27 letter from Port Authority staff attorney Megan Lee to a judge in U.S. District Court in Newark. Steve Strunsky/NJ.com 

Boeing 767 past its prime? Just don't tell United Airlines or FedEx -- The Boeing 767, once presumed to be an aircraft with little future, has a new lease on life. Two airlines, FedEx Express and United, are renewing their commitments to the aircraft, which was introduced in 1982. Last week, FedEx ordered 50 767-300F freighters. Meanwhile, United said that next month it will begin conversion of its 21 three-class Boeing 767s to two-class. On its Web site, industry consultant Air Insight noted on July 22 that "in about five weeks time the 767 program will be 33 years old. Yet the program just got its biggest order to date. Ted Reed/TheStreet

U.S. Olympic Committee contacts Los Angeles about 2024 Summer Games -- The U.S. Olympic Committee has contacted Los Angeles about the possibility of stepping in as a replacement bidder for the 2024 Summer Games, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who is not authorized to speak publicly. USOC officials were expected to make a call in the wake of Boston dropping its troubled bid. "The USOC would very much like to see an American city host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024," Scott Blackmun, the committee's chief executive, said Monday. David Wharton/Los Angeles Times

L.A. City Council bans large-capacity ammunition magazines -- Defying the warnings of gun rights groups, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to ban the possession of firearm magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds. Backers of the plan said it would help minimize the bloodshed of mass shootings by forcing attackers to interrupt their rampages to stop and reload. Juliet Leftwich, legal director for the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, called such magazines "the common thread" in almost all of the mass shootings that have devastated the country, from Newtown to Virginia Tech to Columbine. Emily Alpert Reyes/Los Angeles Times

Lawmakers cancel spending plans made by former Councilman Tom LaBonge -- The Los Angeles City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday to roll back plans made by former Councilman Tom LaBonge to spend more than $600,000 in discretionary money, heeding a call by newly seated Councilman David Ryu to reexamine how the funds should be used. During his campaign, Ryu promised to reform the way that the council office spent such money. He argued that under LaBonge, discretionary money had become tantamount to "secret slush funds." Emily Alpert Reyes/Los Angeles Times