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U.S. Travel tallies cost of government shutdown -- A federal government shutdown would cost the U.S. travel sector at least $185 million per day and impact 530,000 travel-related jobs, according to the U.S. Travel Association. With Congress showing no signs that it will pass a spending bill by the Sept. 30 deadline, a shutdown looms. In 2013, a 16-day partial government shutdown cost the country $680 million in directly reduced travel spending alone, according to U.S. Travel. Johanna Jainchill/Travel Weekly Related: White House starts shutdown ball rolling
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Where will Virgin America expand next? -- Over a one-year period that began late this past summer, Virgin America will take delivery of 10 new Airbus A320s, adding to a fleet that had been stuck at 53 aircraft for a couple of years, as the airline stopped its growth to regain its financial footing. But where will those aircraft fly? We already know the first two big new markets. San Francisco-Honolulu starts on Nov. 2, while San Francisco-Maul begins on Dec. 3. Virgin America may use some of the new aircraft to fly more on existing routes. But I expect more route announcements should be coming soon. BrianSumers.com
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Loaded 9mm at John Wayne Airport among record-breaking number of guns in carry-ons -- A record number of 67 firearms were discovered last week in carry-on bags at the nation's airports, including John Wayne Airport, according to the Transportation Security Administration. The previous one-week record, from 2013, was 65 firearms. The 9mm found Sept. 12 at the Santa Ana airport was loaded but no round was chambered. Of the 67 firearms discovered nationwide, 56 were loaded and 26 had a round chambered, according to the TSA. Matt Coker/OC Weekly
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Airport workers get prison for smuggling drugs -- Four baggage handlers who admitted helping smuggle drugs aboard commercial flights out of Lindbergh Field have been sentenced to prison. The scheme took advantage of the handlers' security badges and their ability to gain access to a secure area within San Diego International Airport without having to undergo security checks. The handlers worked for Delta Global Services, which provides ground services for several airlines. Kristina Davis/San Diego Union-Tribune
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Airport flight plans rattle residents -- Point Loma residents are worried that proposed changes to San Diego International Airport flight routes will increase noise and cover their properties with soot from aviation fuel. As the Federal Aviation Administration works to develop flight routes that are more fuel-efficient and use less airspace, residents near the airport say they're not sold on an FAA study that concludes there will be no ill effects from the route changes. Joshua Stewart/San Diego Union-Tribune
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United wants to fly Boeing 787s from San Francisco to Xi'An, China next year -- Want to go to Xi'an, China? If you get the urge next year, United Airlines will be your best bet. The Chicago-based carrier said Tuesday it wants to fly from San Francisco to Xi'an - a Central Chinese city with more than eight million people - three times per week from May 8 through Oct. 27. United would use a Boeing 787 if it receives government approval. Flying less-than-daily for a short period, United will be testing the market to see if demand is there. No airline has ever flown between Xi'An and the United States. Brian Sumers/BrianSumers.com
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American Airlines jet makes emergency landing in Sacramento -- An American Airlines jet carrying 146 people made an emergency landing in Sacramento after reporting a clogged fuel line Tuesday morning, officials said. Despite the fuel-line problem, the plane was able to fly and land safely at Sacramento International Airport, said Chris Harvey, spokesman for the Sacramento Fire Department. No one was injured during the emergency landing, officials said. Flight 1218 departed Sacramento just after 9 a.m. heading for Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport when an indicator light in the cockpit pointed to a possible mechanical issue, the airline said. Veronica Rocha/Los Angeles Times
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Year of airport screening doesn't catch Ebola -- Federal authorities, who screened more than 30,000 travelers for Ebola as they arrived at airports from West African countries over the past year, never detected a case of the often fatal disease. At least one person incubating the disease -- but not yet showing symptoms -- slipped into the country without drawing notice. Calls for airport screenings and quarantines arose after Thomas Eric Duncan, 42, became ill from Ebola after arriving in Dallas on Sept. 20, 2014, from Liberia. Bart Jansen/USA Today
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Tampa airport plans welcoming ceremony for Lufthansa flight -- Tampa International Airport is rolling out the roter Teppich (red carpet) and planning to serve up a tropical welcome for German airliner Lufthansa, flying in Friday for the first time from Frankfurt's Rhein Main Airport. The booked Airbus will carry Lufthansa CEO Karl Ulrich Garnadt, airport CEO Joe Lopano, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and other community partners to celebrate the latest international flight available at Tampa International Airport. Yvette C. Hammett/Tampa Tribune
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BBA Aviation proposes to buy Landmark Aviation for $2.07 billion -- British aircraft services company BBA Aviation Plc said it proposed to buy U.S. competitor Landmark Aviation for $2.065 billion, a deal that would make the combined entity the biggest fixed-base operator in the world. The proposed deal would merge BBA Aviation's Signature Flight Support business, which has the highest number of fixed base operations in the United States, with Landmark's, which has the third highest, in a market that continues to remain highly fragmented. Aashika Jain/Reuters
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U.S., Cuba to hold talks on normalizing airline service: U.S. official -- The United States and Cuba plan to hold talks in Havana next week on normalizing airline service, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, a step that could benefit U.S. carriers if the island becomes open to American tourism. The talks will take place Sept. 28-29, the official said, as Washington and Havana inch toward normal relations after more than half a century of hostility that followed Cuba's 1959 revolution. The two nations restored diplomatic ties and reopened embassies this summer. Jeffrey Dastin & Arshad Mohammed/Reuters
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Disclose airline seat sizes: Our view -- If it seems that airline seats are getting smaller, you're not imagining it. Airlines have been shrinking seat width and legroom to let them cram more seats into planes and sell more tickets. And it's working. Airline profits are at record levels, but so too, it seems, are passenger crowding and discontent. Back before airlines were deregulated in 1978, seats were wider and had more legroom; average seat pitch (a proxy for legroom) in coach has shortened from about 35 inches to about 31 inches. USA Today Editorial Board
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'The consumer is the arbiter': Opposing view -- The government has a role in seat sizes for all forms of transportation (car, bus, rail and air), and that is to determine what is safe. The FAA has made that determination for airlines, and all airlines fully comply. As the safest mode of transportation, safety is always our highest priority. The Department of Transportation's own Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection just decided against making a recommendation on seat sizes, and we also believe that this is not a matter for more government regulation. Nicholas E. Calio/USA Today
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American Airlines will fly Pope Francis around the East Coast this week -- Not many airlines can use the term "papal flight." American Airlines can because it will fly Pope Francis around the East Coast this week on his first U.S. visit. The Fort Worth-based airline is providing the charter jet - a Boeing 777-200 - that will shuttle the pope between three U.S. cities before returning him to Rome, Italy. Pope Francis arrived just before 3 p.m. Central Time at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on an Alitalia charter jet from Cuba. Sheryl Jean/Dallas Morning News
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Alaska Airlines is fueled by boom in isle tourism -- Alaska Airlines saw an opportunity in the Hawaii market nearly eight years ago that was too good to pass up. Aloha and ATA airlines shut down nearly simultaneously in the spring of 2008, and the Seattle-based carrier stepped in to fill the void. Alaska hasn't looked back since while growing exponentially to become a major player in the islands' tourism industry. Brad Tilden, chairman, president and CEO of Alaska, said Monday he remains bullish as Hawaii closes in on its fourth straight year of record visitor arrivals and spending. AP
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Turkish Airlines in North America: Two new routes a year; geography favors it versus Gulf airlines -- North America is Turkish Airlines' fastest growing passenger region. The region forms a relatively small proportion of its total network, but contributes five of the airline's top 10 international routes by ASKs (Istanbul to New York is the biggest). Turkish has a strong load factor on its North American operations, although this has slipped in 2015. However, there is no sign that Turkish plans to ease back on the throttle. After launching services from Istanbul to Boston and Montreal in 2014, it started San Francisco this summer and will add Miami this winter to give a total of 10 North American destinations. In 2016, it will commence flights to Atlanta. CAPA Centre for Aviation
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Azealia Banks throws a tantrum on a plane, hurls an anti-gay slur, then defends herself -- Azealia Banks lost her, um, temper early Tuesday at LAX while exiting a New York-to-L.A. flight, including a profane, anti-gay slur as part of her first-class tantrum. She countered the images on the video later in the day, tweeting, "I am bisexual. my brother is trans. My employees are all gay men. . Nothing else to say." Part of the incident can be seen on video taken by another passenger and obtained by TMZ, which has a description of events leading up the rapper-singer-songwriter hurling the same slur that notoriously earned Kobe Bryant a $100,000 fine when he yelled it at an NBA referee back in 2011. Christine D'Zurilla/Los Angeles Times
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Transportation Dept. to review airline safety after Germanwings crash -- The U.S. Department of Transportation will review airline security in the wake of the Germanwings plane crash that killed 150 people, and which is believed to have been caused by a pilot who locked the cockpit and deliberately steered the aircraft into the French Alps. The audit was requested by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat representing California, the department said in a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration. Phil Helsel/NBC News
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Airlines strive to prevent spread of disease rather than cancel flights during outbreaks -- One lesson medical experts took from the Ebola patients last year in the U.S. was that it's difficult to transmit the disease. Ebola is scary because it kills more than half the people it infects. But it isn't airborne and requires close contact with bodily fluids. A nurse who contracted Ebola while treating a patient in Dallas a year ago, and flew unknowingly with symptoms to Cleveland, didn't infect anyone else. Bart Jansen/USA Today
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Southwest Airlines anxiously awaits contract ratification vote by thousands of its pilots -- The fate of Southwest Airlines' tentative agreement with its pilots union now is in the hands of more than 8,000 pilots who are members of the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association (SWAPA), the union that represents the low fare behemoth's pilots. The SWAPA rank and file include some 1,100 Southwest Airlines pilots domiciled in Chicago, the largest of 10 Southwest pilot domiciles. Chicago's Midway Airport also is Southwest's largest hub. Lewis Lazare/Chicago Business Journal
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| Transportation Network Companies |
Some tips from Uber drivers (but none for them) -- No job is worth having if it doesn't offer ample opportunity to confab with colleagues and grouse about the management. In that regard, I think I'm going to be fine if I keep driving for Uber. Drivers have been weighing in since my Sunday column, in which I reported on my brief (so far) experiment working for Uber. I noted that all my passengers were thrilled with the ride service, but the take-home pay and working conditions for drivers are less inclined to produce smiles. Steve Lopez/Los Angeles Times
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Emanuel: It's giving riders choice - not favoring Uber - with airport pickups -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday defended his decision to give cabdrivers a 15 percent fare increase, but hand ride-hailing companies that have siphoned business away from the taxis the lucrative right to make pickups at McCormick Place and O'Hare and Midway airports. Cabdrivers have accused the mayor of giving away the store to Uber, the ride-hailing giant whose investors include Hollywood super-agent Ari Emanuel, the mayor's brother. Fran Spielman/Chicago Sun-Times
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The understated elegance of the airline scarf -- In an airport, there is not much to do but wait, and watch. Our fellow passengers tend to dress as if planning to attend a pajama party at 35,000 feet, of course, while the professionals dress professionally. Amid the terminal boredom, we find ourselves comforted by a pilot's winged badge, oddly transfixed by a gate agent's epaulets and charmed by what may be the last remaining glamorous thing about flying commercial, which is the scarf worn by the woman pleading for laggards to fold up their tray tables. Troy Patterson/New York Times
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TSA sued over full-body X-ray scanners -- The Transportation Security Administration is being sued over the controversial full-body X-ray scanners it uses at airport security checkpoints across the country. The lawsuit, from the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), argues that the TSA did not follow federal procedure for rulemaking when it decided to deploy the X-ray machines, which are known as Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) devices. The group says its in its lawsuit that it is challenging "TSA's multi-year failure to complete its notice-and-comment rulemaking on body scanners, despite two court rulings ordering it to do so." Keith Laing/The Hill James Queally/Los Angeles Times
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TSA defends treatment of transgender air traveler -- The Transportation Security Administration defended its officers' treatment of a transgender woman on Tuesday, a day after she says she was harassed and held for 40 minutes while passing through security in Orlando, Fla., causing her to miss a flight. The transgender woman, Shadi Petosky, said Tuesday in an interview that TSA officers at Orlando International Airport calibrated the full-body scanner for a woman, and the device flagged what officers called an "anomaly" in the groin area. Katie Rogers/New York Times
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L.A. city workers throw their support behind proposed contract -- Members of a coalition of unions that represent more than 20,000 Los Angeles city employees announced Tuesday that they had overwhelmingly voted to back a proposed contract with the city. Union officials said they had boosted pay, foisted off several key concessions sought by the city and secured a commitment to hire thousands of workers to help restore city services battered during the downturn. As a result of that hiring, "the services that the residents of this city expect to get will start to be provided at the level that they deserve," said Bob Schoonover, president of Service Employees International Union Local 721. Emily Alpert Reyes/Los Angeles Times
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Controversial DWP nonprofits to keep $11-million 'rainy day' fund -- Two controversial Department of Water and Power nonprofit trusts have decided to keep more than $11 million as a "rainy day" fund, despite a city auditor's recommendation that they spend the cash before receiving any more ratepayer money. The nonprofits, which are jointly run by DWP managers and leaders of the city-owned utility's largest union, have been at the center of a two-year controversy over how they have spent more than $40 million in public funds since the early 2000s. Jack Dolan/Los Angeles Times
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How the Los Angeles' homeless crisis got so bad -- So how did L.A.'s homeless problem get so bad? That's a question many are asking as Los Angeles elected leaders on Tuesday said they would declare a "state of emergency" on the growing homelessness problem and commit $100 million toward housing and other services for homeless people. Shelby Grad & Gale Holland/Los Angeles Times
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