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LA City Council committee votes 3-2 to support allowing Uber, Lyft at LAX -- A committee of the Los Angeles City Council voted 3-2 Tuesday to affirm the Council's existing decision to allow rideshare services like Uber and Lyft to start picking up riders at LAX, the second busiest airport in the country. The committee ultimately chose not to recommend overturning it, but the full Council will vote on the issue next week. The Airport Commission's decision in July came after more than a year of back and forth with taxi companies, who see the airport as their last competitive advantage over the often cheaper rideshare services. Meghan McCarty/KPCC Laura J. Nelson/Los Angeles Times City News Service Dennis Romero/LA Weekly CBS LA
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State eyes land owned by Bob Hope Airport for high-speed rail project -- California High-Speed Rail Authority officials said this week they plan to propose to Bob Hope Airport officials that the state agency purchase the nearly 60-acre "B6 parcel" - also known as the "Opportunity Site" - north of the airfield's terminal, an area which is already being marketed for sale. "You are sitting on something that is an amazing public and private benefit to the future," said Michelle Boehm, the rail authority's Southern California regional director. She said transit officials don't want to lose the "once-in-a-generation opportunity to make something really great - not just great times one, but great times 10." Chad Garland/Burbank Leader
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Watch checked luggage travel through an airport from the bags' point of view -- Earlier this month, Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport produced a video from the point of view of checked luggage to show travelers where the items go after they drop them off. The airport's website even has a 360� interactive feature in which passengers can drag their cursor across the screen and see the journey from any angle. It's weirdly thrilling to watch suitcases zoom through the airport underbelly, making the move from truck to various conveyer belts. Olivia B. Waxman/Time
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Dark clouds loom for airlines even as their profits take off -- U.S. airlines are producing their biggest profits ever. But instead of clear skies, they are encountering problems that their recent prosperity, in some cases, is making worse. Employees at Southwest Airlines Co. and Delta Air Lines Inc. have rejected labor contracts in recent weeks, with some arguing that the compensation wasn't sufficient given the industry's financial performance. Federal regulators have started two separate probes into whether the biggest airlines have violated competition rules. Susan Carey/Wall Street Journal
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An airline investigation that misses the bus -- The Transportation Department is investigating airlines for price gouging after an Amtrak train accident near Philadelphia in May compelled many rail passengers to fly to their destination. Given the alternatives open to passengers, especially the increasingly convenient and amenity-laden intercity bus services, there's no reason to think the public is vulnerable to gouging. Even so, the DOT investigation proceeded according to what seemed to be a highly publicized script. Joseph Schwieterman/Wall Street Journal
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North America's airline unions come to grips with their employers' needs for profitability -- North American airlines are the underpinning for a recent rise in IATA's global profit forecast for 2015 from USD25 billion to USD29 billion. With a projected USD15.7 billion in profits, airlines in Canada and the US are driving the global airline industry's profitability this year. Those airlines are reaping benefits from an industry reshaping driven by bankruptcy and consolidation, which have helped North American airlines to slash debt, bolster their respective balance sheets and, for many companies, exceed their stated ROIC (return on invested capital) goals. CAPA
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Asia Air-travel demand slows -- The surge in air travel in Asia that has powered record demand for jetliners slowed significantly during the summer, in contrast to the full planes that are stoking record profits for U.S. carriers. Airline traffic within Asia rose just 2.4% in June compared with a year earlier, off sharply from the 14% rise in the previous month, according to the International Air Transport Association, or IATA, a global trade group. "This result could be the first sign of weakness in air travel demand following months of sluggish economic performance in some parts of Asia," the IATA said in its monthly traffic update. Doug Cameron/Wall Street Journal
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United's Shanghai expansion delayed for third time on access -- United Airlines postponed a second daily San Francisco-to-Shanghai flight for the third time this year because of landing restrictions in the Chinese city. The Shanghai expansion is now set to start March 26, U.S. Department of Transportation documents show. The airline cited difficulties getting takeoff and landing times at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport that work with travelers' schedules for the delay from Sept. 13. Chicago-based United was to start the flight May 6 and later received two 60-day extensions. Michael Sasso/Bloomberg
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American Airlines in Chicago starts 787 service to Japan -- American Airlines on Tuesday operated its first flight to Japan from O'Hare Airport with a customer-pleasing Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The 1:20 p.m. flight marked the return of American's daily service to Narita International Airport near Tokyo. It previously operated flights five days a week on the route from Chicago. American broke in its first 787s on domestic routes, including one to O'Hare, before putting them on international routes, where the fuel-efficient, long-flying planes are more economical. Gregory Karp/Chicago Tribune
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Cuba's hot now, but it likely won't be a hot travel destination for many years -- The American Flag is flying once again over Havana, and that means that as many as 1.8 million people will be flying annually between the island nation and the United States... in 2030, maybe... but more like 2040, or even 2050. Based on Obama Administration and State Department hype, you'd almost expect those 1.8 million potential U.S.-Cuba air travelers to be crouching in their running shoes, feet in starting blocks and hands on the ground at the start line preparing to race to be the first onboard the flights that'll soon be flying chock-a-block between Havana and every decent-sized U.S. city. But that, as noted is the hype. Dan Reed/Forbes
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250-room W Hotel to be built in downtown L.A. -- The trendy W Hotels chain has agreed to open its third Los Angeles outpost in a $700-million complex set to be built downtown near Staples Center. Chinese real estate developer Shenzhen Hazens Real Estate Group Co. said the upscale hotel operator will run a 250-room W Hotel at the intersection of Figueroa and 11th streets. The existing W Hotels are in Hollywood and Westwood. The new location across Figueroa Street from the L.A. Live entertainment center is now occupied by the Luxe City Center Hotel, a former Holiday Inn dating to the 1960s that was transformed into the posh Luxe hotel in 2012. Roger Vincent/Los Angeles Times
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Cambria El Segundo LAX breaks ground in Los Angeles -- Choice Hotels International, Inc. with joint venture partner Fillmore Capital Partners and developer and operator Fillmore Hospitality last week announced the groundbreaking of the new upscale Cambria El Segundo LAX. Located just minutes from Los Angeles International Airport at 199 North Continental Blvd, El Segundo marks the fourth Cambria to break ground in 2015. Press Release/Hotel News Resource
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FAA investigating landing of US Airways jet in Charlotte -- Federal safety officials are investigating an incident in which a US Airways jet struck runway lights, damaging the underside of the plane's tail, while attempting to land after the pilots reported wind shear. The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that the crew safely pulled up, circled and landed without further incident Saturday evening in Charlotte, North Carolina. There were 153 passengers and six crew members on board. The airline said there were no injuries. AP
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Top 4 opportunities at FAA -- In all of the Department of Transportation, no agency gets more budget for IT purchases in a year than the Federal Aviation Administration. Out of $3.3 billion requested by the department overall, $2.9 billion is directed to the FAA, essentially because it has the largest IT mission - namely, NextGen, FAA's initiative to modernize the way in which the United States manages air travel. NextGen has been around for more than 10 years, with the aim to revamp the National Airspace System. The goal is to replace the current air traffic system - which relies on radar to track aircraft in flight - with a system that uses satellite and GPS technology, to get a more accurate, real-time view of air traffic in the United States. Kevin Shaker/Washington Technology
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Latest sign Villaraigosa plans to run for governor: Central Valley 'listening tour' -- Antonio Villaraigosa has kept out of the news in the six months since he opted to skip the race for U.S. Senate. But a reception at his Hollywood Hills home on Monday to raise money for Hillary Rodham Clinton was the latest of many signs the former Los Angeles mayor is preparing quietly to run for governor of California in 2018. On Tuesday, just hours after the crowd of Clinton donors clears out of his house, Villaraigosa plans to travel to Bakersfield and Visalia. He'll visit Fresno on Wednesday. Michael Finnegan & Kurtis Lee
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City Attorney cracking down on identity theft in the San Fernando Valley -- City Attorney Mike Feuer warned the public Tuesday of the growing problem of identity theft and said he is putting more resources into tackling such cases. Feuer said he is assigning two full-time attorneys - one to work with police in the San Fernando Valley and the other to assist detectives in the downtown Los Angeles area -- and adding other resources to deal with identity theft cases. "Identity theft continues to take a devastating financial toll on so many unsuspecting individuals each year," Feuer said. City News Service
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