|
|
|
|
Complaints against airlines up 20% in first half of 2015 -- The nation's airlines are reporting fewer delays, overbooked planes and lost suitcases. So why are passenger complaints up? In the first six months of 2015, airline passengers on U.S.-based carriers filed 9,542 complaints with the U.S. Department of Transportation, a 20.3% increase over the same period in 2014, according to data released Tuesday. Airline critics say the problem is that airline service has declined since a series of mergers has put control of 80% of domestic flights in the hands of four carriers: Southwest, United, American and Delta airlines. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times
|
Airlines boost on-time rating, but Spirit often runs late -- If you get on a Spirit Airlines flight, there's a 50-50 chance that your flight will be late. Perhaps then it is no surprise that Spirit has the highest complaint rate of any major U.S. airline. Spirit, a low-fare, high-fees carrier with a clientele of mostly leisure travelers, had by far the worst on-time performance in June among 14 airlines tracked in a government report. Only 49.9 percent of its flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, which is the government's definition of being on time. David Koenig/AP
|
U.S. airline accident rate remained near record low last year -- The accident rate for U.S. airlines hovered near a record low in 2014, according to preliminary data released by federal crash investigators, even as aviation experts see a spate of foreign crashes leaving average fliers increasingly concerned about safety. As U.S. passenger airlines racked up their fifth straight year without a fatal crash, last week the National Transportation Safety Board reported that the overall mishap rate for domestic carriers was one accident for roughly 300,000 departures, barely higher than the record low 250,000 figure the year before. Andy Pasztor/Wall Street Journal
|
American Airlines, Southwest Airlines set records with July traffic -- American Airlines Group, including American Airlines, US Airways and its owned and contracted regional partners, said Tuesday it had the highest monthly traffic in its history in July with 21.8 billion revenue passenger miles. Southwest Airlines reported a load factor of 87.7 percent in July. That's the highest monthly load factor in Southwest's 44-year history. The July number was up 0.9 points from July 2014, the previous record for July and for any month. Terry Maxon/Dallas Morning News
|
Emirates fires back at Delta in airline subsidy flight -- Emirates Airways is firing back at Delta Airlines in a fight over foreign airline flight subsidies that has roiled the nation's aviation industry. Delta has blamed alleged subsidies to Middle Eastern airlines like Emirates for a cutback on its flight service to Dubai. An Emirates spokesman said Tuesday that Delta is making a "political play" with the accusation that it's being negatively affected by the presence of Middle Eastern carriers at U.S. airports. Keith Laing/The Hill
|
Malaysia Airlines crash investigators may have found missile clues in Ukraine -- Prosecutors in the Netherlands revealed on Tuesday that they had found what could be pieces of a Russian-made surface-to-air missile system in eastern Ukraine, in the area of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. The announcement brings the methodical, slow-moving investigation of the crash closer to the version that burst into public view almost immediately last summer after the plane exploded. Andrew E. Kramer & Dan Bilefsky/New York Times
|
Ontario ownership of airport won't affect SBIA, experts say -- With ownership of LA/Ontario International Airport now being turned over to the city of Ontario, operations at San Bernardino International Airport, which for years has struggled to land a commercial airline and shape its identity, should not be negatively impacted, officials said. "I don't see anything but a positive outlook for all of our transportation facilities here in the Inland Empire," said Mike Burrows, executive director of SBIA. Joe Nelson/San Bernardino Sun
|
Bond agency cites 'lingering credit issues' -- Fitch Ratings said Tuesday that it will be watching several aspects of the tentative agreement between the city of Ontario and Los Angeles to return Ontario International Airport to Inland ownership. "The true merits of this settlement will only be evident in the medium and long term," the bond agency said of the $190 million agreement. Richard K. DeAtley/Riverside Press-Enterprise Bond Buyer
|
The criminal histories of these eight drivers got them dumped by UBER -- Uber has cut ties with eight drivers who have criminal records, as it attempts to win approval to pick up passengers at Los Angeles International Airport. The drivers, who have convictions including assault, DUI and possession of child pornography, were identified in recent weeks by L.A. Yellow Cab, which has been lobbying strenuously against allowing Uber and other ride-hailing services into the airport. Gene Maddaus/LA Weekly
|
City works with airport designation SUX -- I recently mentioned the LAX SUX sign that was posted on the 405 a couple of decades ago by a small Long Beach carrier that later ran out of BUX and shut down. The item prompted a note from Gregg Knowles, a SoCal native who now lives in Iowa. Knowles, a pilot, informed me that the 3-letter FAA code for Sioux Gateway Airport is - guess what? - SUX. Knoll says that, as you might imagine, the city wasn't wild about the designation at first. Steve Harvey/Long Beach Gazette
|
San Diego airport must encourage people not to use new parking garage -- San Diego International Airport officials are expected to get the green light Wednesday to build an $80 million mega parking structure on North Harbor Drive - with a curious caveat. They must encourage the public not to use it. Staff at the California Coastal Commission is recommending board approval for the three-story, 3,000-space garage that will service Terminal 2 if, and only if, the airport agrees to several conditions - many centered on encouraging people to take public transit to the airport, bypassing the need to park there. Ashly McGlone /Voice of San Diego
|
Dallas City Council could allow Love Field vendors to charge more -- One of Love Field's major concessionaires was adamant as Dallas City Council members discussed airport vendor contracts in June: Airport food needs a price increase. Gilbert Aranza, whose company Star Concessions operates eateries in the airport, has told the city expenses there are too high, he isn't making a profit and he needs to charge more for drinks and snacks. Mayor Mike Rawlings was skeptical. Elizabeth Findell/Dallas Morning News
|
| New prayer space nears completion at MCO -- Islamic Passengers who want a quiet place to pray at Orlando International Airport will soon be able to spend time in a reflection room. It's part of a new international lounge under development near the new Emirates airlines terminal. Islamic Society of Central Florida president Imam Muhammad Musri said the airport consulted with faith leaders before building the reflection room. "It's a reflection room for multiple faiths, including the Muslim faith," said Musri. Mathew Peddie/WMFE Orlando |
TSA tightening up, but slower lines may result -- Prodded by frequent failures to detect mock explosives and weapons during tests, the Transportation Security Administration is retraining airport screeners in Atlanta and across the country. The move to ensure traveler safety comes with a possible downside, however: security wait times could tick up. "I believe that the traveling public is willing to accept that there may be a slightly longer wait to ensure that they're secure getting on the plane," the TSA's new administrator, Peter Neffenger, said during a visit to Atlanta on Tuesday. Kelly Yamanouchi/Atlanta Journal-Constitution
|
Officials OK funds for aviation forum, foresee more Las Vegas traffic -- The last time Las Vegas hosted a Routes event, the number of airline seats coming into McCarran International Airport expanded by 17 percent. On Tuesday, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board of directors approved spending $490,000 to host the Routes Americas Development Forum in February 2017. The event will bring executives from airports and airlines from North, Central and South America to Las Vegas to negotiate airline routes between cities. Richard N. Velotta/Las Vegas Review-Journal
|
|
|
|
L.A. will add bike and bus lanes, cut car lanes in sweeping policy shift -- The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved a sweeping transportation plan that calls for the addition of hundreds of miles of new bicycle lanes, bus-only lanes and other road redesigns over the next 20 years. Mobility Plan 2035 is billed as a major shift in the way the city approaches the use of its public streets, putting a new emphasis on road safety and offering more alternatives to driving. And it seeks to take the fatality rate from traffic collisions to zero within that period. David Zahniser/Los Angeles Times
|
L.A. councilman takes aim at tiny homes on wheels -- Tiny wooden homes on wheels, roughly the size of garden sheds, have popped up on San Pedro streets as a temporary way to house the homeless. The wooden structures are reminiscent of the small home created by a South Los Angeles man that became famous through a viral video, drawing millions of viewers on YouTube and spurring tens of thousands of dollars in donations to build more tiny homes for those in need. Emily Alpert Reyes/Los Angeles Times
|
L.A. city, county will expand homeless outreach on skid row -- Los Angeles city and county are combining to expand homeless outreach teams on skid row, with a goal of cutting the area's long-entrenched population by 25% this year, officials said Tuesday. City Councilman Jose Huizar filed a motion asking that $200,000 of his discretionary funds go to hiring a logistical manager to set up four six-person teams of mental health, medical and substance abuse professionals operating in the streets five days a week. Gale Holland/Los Angeles Times
|
Racial troubles serve as mournful coda to film honoring Tom Bradley -- On a peaceful Monday night, hundreds gathered at Cal State Los Angeles for the premiere of a new movie about the late Mayor Tom Bradley, honoring his barrier-breaking past. But the present hung over the event like a shroud. The movie was suffused with racial strife, marked by footage of the Watts riots, which began 50 years ago Tuesday, and the 1992 South Los Angeles firestorm that occurred during the waning months of Bradley's epic 20-year tenure as the city's first - and so far, only - African American mayor. Cathleen Decker/Los Angeles Times
|
|
|
|
|
|
