Airports

4 Uber drivers cited at LAX have serious criminal records -- At least four men ticketed by Los Angeles International Airport police while driving for Uber's low-cost car service have criminal convictions that would bar them from operating a taxi in Los Angeles, records show. The drivers have been convicted of child exploitation, identity theft, manslaughter and driving under the influence, according to court records. Each offense would make them ineligible for a Los Angeles taxi permit. Laura J. Nelson & Joel Rubin/Los Angeles Times Robert Holguin/ABC7 Jason Silverstein/New York Daily News Jackie Salo/International Business Times

Argument forces plane to delay takeoff from Los Angeles gate -- An unruly passenger caused a jetliner to delay its takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. Authorities say Delta Air Lines Flight 1577 to New Orleans was at the gate Tuesday morning when a passenger bumped another woman with her bag. Airport police Officer Rob Pedregon says that provoked an argument and one woman threatened the other. The plane delayed takeoff for a few minutes while the woman who allegedly made the threat was removed, then got on its way. AP

Third Special Olympian goes missing -- Another member of the Ivory Coast Special Olympics team was reported missing Tuesday from an Inglewood hotel, the second member of the team to go missing in two days. Abidjan Ouattara, 24, was last seen around 11 p.m. Monday at the Adventurer Hotel, 4200 W. Century Blvd., where he had been staying while competing, according to Inglewood police. Ouattara had been scheduled to depart from Los Angeles International Airport at 3:30 p.m. today. He is not believed to be carrying any money or a cell phone. City News Service

Burbank Airport Traffic Increases in June -- Passenger traffic at Burbank Bob Hope Airport rose again in June, the fifth straight month at the San Fernando Valley's only commercial airfield. The airport served 336,978 passengers, up 2.8 percent from June 2014 when 327,858 passengers came through the terminal. United Airlines had the highest monthly increase of the seven airlines serving the airport, helped by adding three daily flights on its weekend schedule serving Denver and San Francisco. Mark Madler/San Fernando Valley Business Journal Also: Popularity drives up profits at Burbank airport 'bus' kiosk 

Member input sought on SoCal Metroplex study -- AOPA is encouraging pilots who fly in southern California's congested airspace to review the Southern California (SoCal) Metroplex Project Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and submit comments on the proposed procedures it contains by Sept. 8. AOPA is a participant in the Southern California Airspace Users Work Group, which has been closely involved in the review process, said Rune Duke, AOPA director of government affairs for airspace and air traffic. Dan Namowitz/AOPA Pilot

The airport of the future isn't an airport: It's a city -- Customer service complaints, wasted hours, and extremely uncomfortable seats: Frequent and occasional flyers alike have a lot of problems with the status quo of air travel. One of the worst examples of a frustratingly behind-the-times industry is New York's La Guardia airport, a fixture of U.S. air travel since its official opening in 1953. La Guardia's recently announced redesign may make accessibility easier and security faster, but widening existing bottlenecks in an inferior process may not be enough to keep up with the current progress in airport design. G. Clay Whittaker/Popular Science

The Cuomo plan to rebuild LaGuardia Airport is seriously flawed. We should go for it anyway. --  Of all the grand visions that have been entered on a wish list of major urban improvements - a West Side football stadium! a bike bridge to Hoboken! floodgates at the Rockaways! - none has seemed more out of reach than an airport that actually works. When Joe Biden said LaGuardia was worthy of "a third-world country," we nodded. When, a year later, Governor Cuomo announced plans last week to scrap it and start from scratch, we responded with a skeptical shrug. Justin Davidson/New York Magazine

IATA 'disappointed' at Paris airport charges increase -- IATA is "disappointed" that the French government has authorized A�roports de Paris (ADP), operator of Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports, to increase airport charges for each year of the period 2016-2020. It said the decision, to allow an average annual increase in fees of 1% above inflation over the 2016-2020 period, ignored the recommendation of the independent Airport Consultative Commission that the public interest would be best served by using terminal retail activities to implement annual decreases in charges to airlines over the period. Anne Paylor/Air Transport World

Why Southwest Airlines has an on-time problem at Chicago's Midway Airport -- Looking for reasons why Southwest Airlines' on-time performance is falterin g this summer? Look no further than Chicago's near-in Midway Airport, where Southwest flights represent the vast majority of arrivals and departures happening there on a daily basis. Data provider FlightView's just-released airport performance data for July clearly highlights why Southwest has a problem at Midway, the largest hub in the Southwest route system and one of 254 airports in the United States for which FlightView provides monthly performance data. Lewis Lazare/Chicago Business Journal

DFW Airport unveils new concessionaires for Terminal D -- International travelers will soon be able to pick up a bottle of Fort Worth's TX Whiskey and take it anywhere in the world. TX Whiskey will be one of the featured products at a duty-free store that will open next year in Terminal D at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. The airport unveiled several new concessionaires Tuesday as part of its plan to upgrade its offerings at its international terminal. Bennigan's and TGI Friday's will be gone, replaced by the Italian Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck and Fort Worth's Rio Mambo Tex Mex y Mas. Andrea Ahles/Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Airlines

Alaska Airlines' Mileage Plan lands top spot in loyalty program rankings -- U.S. News & World Report, which ranks everything from colleges to hospitals, today released its annual rankings of airline and hotel loyalty programs. For the first time, Alaska Airlines' Mileage Plan took the top spot on the list of Best Airline Reward Programs, thanks to high marks for elite membership benefits, ease of earning free round-trip flights, and network coverage. Harriet Baskas/USA Today Best Travel Rewards Programs

Airlines ban hunters' big-game 'trophies' after uproar over Cecil the lion -- Three U.S. airlines have announced they will no longer allow hunters to bring their big-game trophies on flights amid the recent uproar over an American who killed a well-known lion in Zimbabwe. American joined Delta and United Airlines Monday in refusing to permit certain animal trophies aboard. Effective immediately, American said it "will no longer transport buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion or rhino trophies," in a tweet. William Cummings/USA Today

Emergency landings might slow down one of America's fastest-growing airlines -- On paper, Allegiant Air has never looked better. Its second-quarter profits jumped 63 percent, the low-cost carrier announced last week, rising to $54.3 million. It accounts for just a sliver of U.S. air travel, but it's one of the nation's fastest-growing airlines. Its stock has soared to record highs, gaining 86 percent over the last year. But the company has generated some negative headlines in recent months. Thad Moore/Washington Post

US Airways ex-CEO Ed Colodny, 89, will fly on the airline's last flight -- Ed Colodny, the former US Airways CEO and the most important figure in the airline's 76-year history, will be on board for the airline's last flight. "It's the end of the name, not the end of the airline as such, but the end of the name, and I just thought it would be neat to fly on the last flight," Colodny said in an interview. "It's for nostalgia." US Airways merged with American in 2013. Its final flight, Flight 434, is scheduled to depart San Francisco at 9:55 p.m. PDT on Friday Oct. 16 and to arrive in Philadelphia at 6:18 a.m. EDT on Saturday Oct. 17. Ted Reed/TheStreet

Chinese Airlines benefit as oil prices fall to six-month low -- After many airlines were burned because of slumping fuel prices in 2008 and 2009, Chinese carriers stopped hedging their fuel purchases -- even when prices soared above $100 a barrel. Now they're having the last laugh. Air China Ltd., China Eastern Airlines Corp. and other Chinese carriers are expected to benefit the most after oil prices in London fell below $50 a barrel Monday to their lowest closing price in more than six months. Bloomberg Business

The $4 billion dollar reason why airlines are debating "Open Skies" -- International agreements that have saved travelers billions of dollars are at the heart of an industry-wide debate over the future of global aviation. Here's how to make sense of the conversation. As recently as 25 years ago, most governments regulated where airlines could fly and what prices they could charge for those trips. Today, travelers spend less and have more choices for one simple reason: The U.S. government has Open Skies agreements with more than 100 countries and regions, ranging from the European Union to Japan to Liberia. Brian Sumers/Conde Nast Traveler

Smaller airlines fight back in Open Skies debate -- A coalition of small U.S. airlines and cargo companies has formed to counter the major U.S. carriers in a turbulent battler over foreign airline subsidies that has roiled the nation's aviation industry. JetBlue Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, FedEx and Atlas Air Worldwide have formed a new group called U.S. Airlines for Open Skies to counter claims of major airlines, known as the Big 3, that Gulf carriers have received billions of dollars in subsidies since 2004. The Big 3, which consists of Delta, United and American, want a federal review of their claims. Keith Laing/The Hill

Delta Air Lines saw unit revenue drop in July -- Delta Air Lines Inc said on Tuesday that passenger unit revenue fell in July compared to a year earlier as the strong U.S. dollar, lower surcharges abroad and excess seats on flights from some U.S. cities weighed down sales relative to capacity. The Atlanta-based carrier said passenger unit revenue fell 3 percent in the month. It forecast last month that the closely watched metric, which measures sales relative to the capacity and distance of flights, will decline between 4.5 percent and 6.5 percent for the entire quarter. Jeffrey Dastin/Reuters

Flight 370 link to Reunion debris to be determined this week -- The origin of a metal wing part suspected of coming from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 may be revealed by Malaysian and French officials as soon as this week, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said. An examination of the part, known as a flaperon, will begin Wednesday in Toulouse, France, by officials from the two countries and an investigator from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Truss said in an e-mailed statement.  David Fickling & Alan Levin/Bloomberg

Aviation Data & Analysis
US Network Airline Costs Fall 9.4% YOY Q1 2015 On Lower Fuel
Courtesy Oliver Wyman PlaneStats
City Government

L.A. City Council backs new rules for gun storage in the home -- Frustrated with Congress' lack of action on stricter gun control laws, Los Angeles leaders have joined other cities in trying to sidestep Washington by imposing tighter regulations at the local level. Last week, Los Angeles joined San Francisco and Sunnyvale in banning possession of ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, a move that is meant to reduce the carnage of mass shootings, but that has prompted threats of legal action by gun rights groups. Emiily Alpert Reyes & Alice Walton/Los Angeles Times Dakota Smith/Los Angeles Daily News

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