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JetBlue's newest destination: Palm Springs, Calif. -- JetBlue's newest destination will be the California desert resort of Palm Springs. The airline will begin flying to Palm Springs International Airport on Jan. 14, offering seasonal service to its biggest hub at New York JFK. JetBlue will offer five round-trip flights a week through May 1. "With direct service to Palm Springs five days a week, winter-weary East Coasters can escape to this desert getaway with 350 days of sunshine easier than ever before," Dave Clark, JetBlue's VP of network planning, says in a statement. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today Kia Farhang/Desert Sun Fielding Buck/Riverside Press-Enterprise
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ONTARIO AIRPORT: Search for executive director OK'd -- The governing body that will take control of Ontario International Airport from Los Angeles voted Monday to spend about $95,000 to find a full-time executive director to oversee the transition and grow the facility. The meeting of the Ontario/Ontario International Airport Authority was the first since the August announcement of a tentative agreement between the city of Ontario and Los Angeles returning the facility to local control and ending decades-old agreements that put Los Angeles in charge of it. Richard K. De Atley/Riverside Press-Enterprise Liset Marquez/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
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Airport canines meet and greet passengers -- In recent years, some were saying that Ontario International Airport was "going to the dogs". In fact, it has. About 35 certified therapy dogs and their handlers are roaming the terminals and visiting with passengers. The PAWS (Pets Assisting With Smiles) program was launched this summer in hopes of providing a less stressful travel experience at the airport. The Pet Prescription Team was founded in 2003. Inland News Today
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Inglewood gets $8M grant to soundproof 200 homes -- Congresswoman Maxine Waters says an $8 million federal grant has been awarded to the city of Inglewood to soundproof about 200 buildings in the flight path at Los Angeles International Airport. The California Democrat said Monday that the Federal Aviation Administration grant will go to the city's residential sound insulation program. Waters says there have been earlier grants but never enough to cover all the soundproofing needed. AP
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On the wings of 'The Proud Bird' -- I couldn't believe my eyes as I drove into the parking lot of The Proud Bird restaurant on the edge of Los Angeles International Airport. I knew that Lou Lenart's historic Vought F4U Corsair fighter - the one he flew as a US Marine pilot in World War II - was part of the magnificent collection of vintage aircraft on the grounds of this unique restaurant. But I had no idea it would be one of the first planes you see as you drive through the front gate. George Medovoy/Jerusalem Post
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Atlanta tops Beijing for world's busiest airport crown -- Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has topped Beijing International to retain the title of "world's busiest airport," according to Airports Council International (ACI). The Atlanta airport had 96 million passengers in 2014, compared to 86 million who passed through Beijing last year, according to the group that monitors worldwide airport traffic. Atlanta's margin over the second-place airport decreased from a 10.7 million spread in 2013, but traffic at the airport itself went up from 94.4 million that year. Keith Laing/The Hill
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Big, bright, new Delta Sky Club at SFO (SLIDESHOW) -- At long last Delta has opened its new Sky Club inside security near Delta gates at San Francisco International Terminal 1. Delta built the new club in an entirely new space on the roof of the existing terminal- the high perch offers sweeping tarmac, runway and tower views through a huge wall of windows that cover the entire eastern side of the 9,900 square foot space. (Pack your sunglasses!) Due to its location above the terminal, members enter via an elevator or a blindingly bright, sugar-white staircase leading up to the new space. TravelSkills
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Southwest planes clip each other at Oakland airport -- The wingtips of two Southwest Airlines planes collided at Oakland International Airport, airline officials said Monday. No one on board either plane was injured in the incident, which happened Sunday night as a plane headed for Orange County "came into contact" with another Southwest plane, said airline spokeswoman Alyssa Eliasen. Both Boeing 737s were taken out of service and will undergo a maintenance check, Eliasen said. Henry K. Lee/SF Weekly
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Pensacola airport could start keeping bees -- Honeybees around the world are finding unlikely new homes at airports, and the Pensacola International Airport could be next in line to host local hives. The hives are typically kept along the outskirts of airport property, far from the runways, air traffic controllers and baggage carts. "It would be beneficial for both the bees and the community," Interim Airport Director Dan Flynn said. The green space of an airport provides a prime location for honeybee hives because of the vast amount of space, lack of human disruption and minimal pesticide usage. Hana Frenette/Pensacola News Journal
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Telluride says more flights available this ski season -- The Telluride ski area said that there will be more flights flying into the Montrose airport this coming ski season. Telluride said that United Airlines, American Airlines and Allegiant are boosting seasonal flights to Montrose/Telluride Airport, which is the nearest airport with commercial service, located 66 miles away from the ski area. Telluride said new flights for the upcoming ski season include flights to and from New York's LaGuardia Airport on United; Chicago's O'Hare Airport on American; Los Angeles International Airport on American; and Las Vegas International Airport on Allegiant. Ben Miller/Denver Business Journal
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United Airlines hopes to turn corner with friendlier skies, better flight management -- United Airlines hasn't had a particularly good year. While oil is down and profits are going through the roof, the airline continues to suffer from operational issues hampering on time performance and a frank series of plain bad luck. With coffers full and the busy high season now behind them though, the airline is now focusing on several specific areas to improve the overall customer experience. Grant Martin/Forbes
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British Airways is keeping its 747s alive one upgrade at a time -- If it's the end of the line for Boeing Co.'s 747 jetliner, nobody told British Airways. The largest operator of the hump-backed icon - dubbed the Queen of the Skies on its debut in 1970 - is plumping up seat cushions, hanging fresh curtains and upgrading entertainment systems on 18 planes. Yet competitors can't seem to park the four-engine aircraft fast enough. Kari Lundgren & Julie Johnsson/Bloomberg
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Charts show crosswinds for these five airlines -- In the early 1900s, the Dow Jones Transportation Average (DJTA) was a lot simpler as it was composed entirely of the new transportation of the era -- railroads or rails for short. Over the years, as technology changed, the DJTA changed. Today, the DJTA includes trucking companies, railroads, package handlers and airlines. Truckers, package handlers and the railroads have been traveling south for months, but the five airlines in the DJTA, which include Alaska Air Group, Delta Air, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and United Continental, have plotted different courses. Bruce Kamich/TheStreet
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More airline seats mean more tourists and more spending in Maui -- Maui saw a significant increase in visitors in July compared to last year. Maui News reports that the Hawaii Tourism Authority said Wednesday that there were 243,041 visitors to Maui last month, a 7.6 percent increase compared to July 2014. Those added visitors also spent added dollars, with a total of $387.8 million, up 3.9 percent from the previous year. Officials attribute the climb to a 12.1 percent increase in airline seats making their way to the island. AP
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Unusual incidents rock Allegiant Air's profitable course -- It's no secret why Allegiant Air is the most profitable airline in the sky. The Las Vegas-based airline operated by Allegiant Travel Co. has a successful business model built around flying residents of small-town America to the leisure destinations they love. And, in 90 percent of the cities the airline flies, it's the only game in town. To the Bozemans, Minots and Laredos of the world, Allegiant provides affordable jet passenger service to places such as Orlando, Phoenix and Las Vegas. Richard R. Velotta/Las Vegas Review-Journal
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France unsure plane part came from MH370, source says -- Experts in France have not been able to determine with certainty whether a piece of airplane wing found July 29 on an Indian Ocean island belongs to MH370, the Malaysian airliner carrying 239 people that disappeared 2014, a French source close to the investigation told CNN on Saturday. Judicial investigators know the part comes from a Boeing 777, but they say they still need to identify a number inside the wing part, called a flaperon, the source said. Margot Haddad & Ralph Ellis/CNN
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New fleets, technology driving aviation over next decade -- Breakthroughs will drive the aviation market in the next 10 years for the nation's airlines - and the competition is on for discovering that next breakthrough. Mike Boyd, president and CEO of Evergreen, Colo.-based Boyd Group International, kicked off his 20th annual International Aviation Forecast Summit on Monday at Bellagio. More than 400 airport, airline and aircraft manufacturing executives have gathered in Las Vegas to discuss industry trends and what they mean to their markets. Richard N. Velotta/Las Vegas Review-Journal BrianSumers.com
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The FAA starts moving to the cloud -- The Federal Aviation Administration plans to move away from its own data centers and toward cloud services. Last week, the FAA signed a deal with Computer Science Corp. (CSC) to help it migrate its data and systems to a hybrid cloud environment that will include Amazon Web Service, Microsoft Azure, and "other strategic business partners." The current 10-year deal is worth $109 million, though CSC notes that it has the potential to reach $1 billion. Frederic Lardinois/TechCrunch
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TSA PreCheck enrollment tops 1.5 million -- The Transportation Security Administration said Monday that 1.5 million people have signed up for its PreCheck known-traveler program. The program, which is part of the agency's move to "risk-based" security techniques, allows airline passengers to volunteer information to the agency in exchange for the possibility of receiving expedited screenings. Participants pay an $85 dollar fee that covers five years of expedited screening. Keith Laing/The Hill
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Labor Day weekend travel to rise with lower airfares and gas prices -- With gasoline prices on the decline and airfares dropping, more Southern Californians are expected to travel this Labor Day weekend. The Auto Club of Southern California has forecast that 2.5 million Southern California residents will travel for the holiday weekend, a 1% increase over last year's holiday. A vast majority of Southern California travelers, 86%, are driving to their destination by car, according to the Auto Club. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times
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Los Angeles poised to vote on 2024 Olympic plan -- A month after Boston's bid for the 2024 Olympic Games collapsed, Los Angeles appears on the verge of stepping in as the replacement U.S. candidate. The City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a proposal to authorize Mayor Eric Garcetti to execute agreements related to its 2024 bid, which outlines over $6 billion in public and private spending. If approved, the U.S. Olympic Committee is expected to announce that Los Angeles is its nominee, joining Rome, Paris, Hamburg, Germany, and Budapest, Hungary, in pursuit of the 2024 Games. Michael Blood/AP
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L.A. trash agency ordered to clear backlog of illegal dumping complaints -- The Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation is being ordered to clear a backlog of tens of thousands of outstanding requests dating back to 2010 to clean up illegally dumped trash.Sanitation officials also will be instructed to immediately provide an explanation for any disparities in service between neighborhoods, according to a spokeswoman for Mayor Eric Garcetti. The mayoral directives follow an internal investigation by Garcetti's office into service at the city sanitation agency. Ben Poston & Peter Jamison/Los Angeles Times
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Garcetti says housing all homeless vets won't happen this year -- Mayor Eric Garcetti has backed off his pledge to get every homeless veteran off city streets by the end of this year, his spokeswoman said Monday. "A significant change in the scope of the problem" forced the mayor to put off his goal, spokeswoman Connie Llanos said. "The mayor's commitment to housing homeless veterans is stronger than ever." Gale Holland/Los Angeles Times
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