Airports
WOW: Icelandic discounter known for $99 fares to fly to L.A., San Francisco -- The Icelandic discounter that's made headlines by offering $99 one-way fares to Europe is expanding its U.S. footprint. WOW Air announced on Monday that it will begin flying to the West Coast of the United States next summer, launching nonstop service from both San Francisco and Los Angeles to its main hub near Reykjavik. WOW did not reveal a precise launch date, saying ticket sales would begin in January. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today
Alaska Airlines begins flying from LAX to Costa Rica -- Alaska Airlines has inaugurated service between Los Angeles International Airport and Costa Rica's two major international airports. It's the first international destination Alaska has launched since 1991, when the Seattle-based airline introduced seasonal service to Magadan, Russia. The eight weekly flights from LAX to San Jose and Liberia/Guanacaste started Saturday and Sunday, respectively. City News Service Alaska Airlines Press Release
Airport Authority endorses Replacement Terminal Conceptual Term Sheet and begins Environmental Impact Report process -- The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority Commission voted 8-0, with one member absent, to endorse the Replacement Terminal Conceptual Term Sheet and begin the process of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the Replacement Terminal parcel of the B-6 Trust Property. The Commission's endorsement of the Conceptual Term Sheet precedes the Burbank City Council's November 16 discussion and potential endorsement of the same item. Bob Hope Airport Press Release
Airport Authority enters into a purchase and sale agreement with Overton Moore Properties for 59-acre "Trust Property" -- The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority Commission on Monday announced that, through its real estate broker, Matthew Hargrove of CBRE Inc., it has entered into a $72,500,000 purchase and sale agreement with Southern California based Overton Moore Properties for the 59-acre "Trust Property" located next to the Burbank Bob Hope Airport, west of Hollywood Way and south of San Fernando Road, formerly known as the Lockheed Property on Hollywood Way. Bob Hope Airport Press Release
6 passengers kicked off plane at LAX accused of being unruly claim discrimination --Six passengers kicked off a Spirit Airlines plane at Los Angeles International Airport Monday night accused a flight attendant of discrimination. The travelers said they were singled out and booted off the aircraft because they are black. Witnesses told CBS2/KCAL9's Tom Wait the passengers were removed from Flight 868 after a white flight attendant accused a member in the group of being a threat.  CBS Los Angeles Nicole Hensley/New York Daily News 
Ontario airport authority reviews deal -- Following in the footsteps of the city, the Ontario International Airport Authority has signed off on its review of a deal that in concept would transfer LA/Ontario International Airport to the authority. The proposed agreement was presented to the local authority and reviewed behind closed doors Monday morning. "It's a great day," said Commissioner Lucy Dunn. "It is kind of 'now we hurry up and wait' to encourage our new partners to get their work done." Liset Marquez/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Editorial: Back to the future of San Diego's Lindbergh Field -- Someday, hopefully not too many years from now, sensible San Diegans will come to realize that the tiny, one-runway "international" airport at Lindbergh Field is wholly inadequate and a significant obstacle to this region's economic growth. They will agree to keep Lindbergh open but to also build a new megaport, probably on the southern edge of Camp Pendleton, as a truly regional and truly international hub serving the air travel needs of San Diego, Orange and Riverside counties. The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board
The only time you'll look forward to a layover: Inside the 10 best airport lounges in the world -- Airports can be a hotbed of stress even for the calmest of travellers. Whether it's being held up by security, the pain of lugging around an overflowing carry-on or the hunt for a satisfying pre-flight meal that causes you the most irritation, for the lucky few being in transit is actually the best party of any trip. Offering luxury spas, cigar clubrooms and vertical gardens, MailOnline Travel takes a look inside the world's best airport lounges, guaranteed to make travelling a pleasure. Naomi Leach/Daily Mail
See inside Orlando International Airport's $1.1B expansion -- Hundreds of thousands of airport passengers rushed in and out of check-in lines, security checkpoints and onto trams to hop on their planes while, in the background, Orlando International Airport slowly is working on a way to welcome even more passengers every day. On Nov. 2, the airport gave the media a behind-the-scenes look at its $1.1 billion-plus expansion work that plays a key role in its ability to keep up with the 37 million passengers it welcomes each year and how it plans to welcome even more domestic and international passengers in the years to come. Richard Bibao/Orlando Business Journal
Yet another place the homeless aren't welcome: Reagan National Airport -- Did you know that it's against the law in more than 50 U.S. cities to give food to a homeless person? That nearly half of our cities prohibit people from sleeping in cars (according to a report by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty)? And that more than half of the nation's cities make it a crime to sit or lie down in certain public spaces? This week it has become illegal to be in Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va., during the wee hours unless you can show a ticket for an early-morning flight. Petula Dvorak/Washington Post
Airlines
Why Virgin America's newest route to Hawaii is unlike the others -- Virgin America celebrated the inaugural flight from San Francisco to Honolulu on Monday with Hawaii-themed refreshments and hula dancers in the aisle. The trip is a sign of something big in aviation, for a less obvious reason. "We're on our way to Hawaii!" said Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, over the PA aboard the Airbus A320 en route to the island of Oahu. "We want you all to arrive in the right state of mind." Jessica Plautz/Mashable
Why Richard Branson remains sky high on Virgin America (Video) -- Eight years ago, the U.S. branch of Richard Branson's Virgin air empire came to the United States. Today, Virgin America flies nearly 25 routes - including its latest flights to Honolulu starting today and Kahului, Maui next month - and Branson couldn't be happier. Branson, the British billionaire who owned a minority share of Virgin America because of U.S. laws regarding foreign ownership of airline carriers, remains bullish about the airline. New York Business Journal
Hainan Airlines plans Las Vegas flights -- Hainan Airlines is planning to launch non-stop flights between Beijing and Las Vegas next year. According to a statement on the Civil Aviation Administration of China's (CAAC) website, Hainan Airlines has applied for permission to launch three weekly flights to Las Vegas from September 2016. The carrier will deploy its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on the route. If approved by CAAC, Las Vegas will become the carrier's fifth destination in United States, following Chicago, San Jose, Seattle and Boston. Mark Elliott/Travel Daily Asia
German airline Lufthansa's cabin crew to strike for 1 week -- A union representing cabin crew for Lufthansa says its members will go on strike for one week in a contract dispute with the airline, Germany's largest. German news agency dpa quoted the head of the cabin crew union Ufo, Nicoley Baublies, saying Monday that the strike would run from this Friday to Nov. 13. He says an announcement about which flights would be affected will be made closer to the date. AP
Icelandair eyes capacity growth of 18 pct in 2016 -- Icelandair plans to increase capacity by 18 percent next year by luring customers to a network of niche North American cities and tempting them with onboard wifi services, helping it compete on trans-Atlantic routes. Icelandair flies between European and U.S. cities via its Iceland hub, which means it can use smaller, cheaper planes than other airlines on trans-Atlantic routes. It estimates it has a 2 percent share of the North Atlantic market. Sarah Young/Reuters
Fast and free in-flight Wi-Fi is uncharted territory for airlines -- As broadband Internet service becomes increasingly widespread and free in public places, it has remained, to travelers' annoyance, stuck in the slow lane on airplanes. But with recent developments in technology, sluggish in-flight Internet speed is starting, however fitfully, to change. Still, it might not catch up to passengers' expectations, as many are accustomed to a superior Internet experience on the ground. Mike Tierney/New York Times
American Airlines testing 'locked in' ticket prices for 7 days before purchase -- Customers booking travel between select cities on American Airlines may notice a new booking option at the bottom of their screen when it comes time to check out. American customers flying between Miami and Los Angeles who opt to hold their ticket price rather than immediately purchase are now given a drop down menu with additional options beyond the airline's standard free 24 hour lock-in. Kevin Farrell/Road Warrior Voices
Former Pan Am stewardesses share memories -- It's been called the golden age of flying - the decades between 1950 and 1980 when jet airplanes represented more than just a way to get from one faraway place to another. Mostly reserved for the well-heeled in those early days, international airline flight was glamorous and exciting, the flight itself as much a part of the experience as the destination. No airline epitomized the "jet-setter" experience more than Pan American World Airways, the first to fly both the Atlantic and Pacific nonstop and the first to offer round-the-world flights. Mary Carr Mayle/AP
Egypt Plane Crash
No proof that plane broke up in mid-air: Egyptian authorities -- Egypt's civil aviation ministry said on Tuesday there were no facts to substantiate assertions by Russian officials that the Russian airliner that crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Saturday broke up in mid-air. But spokesman Mohamed Rahmi confirmed that no distress call had been received before the crash, which left wreckage from the Metrojet Airbus 321, carrying Russian holidaymakers back to St Petersburg from the Sinai Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, strewn over more than 2 miles of desert. Lin Noueihed/Reuters
Reports: 'Heat flash' linked to doomed Russian plane -- A U.S. infrared satellite detected a mid-air 'heat flash" over the Sinai desert at the same time a doomed Russian plane crashed in the area, media outlets were reporting Tuesday. NBC News, citing an unnamed senior defense official, said  U.S. intelligence analysts believe the flash could have been an explosion on the aircraft itself, most likely a fuel tank or bomb. The official said there was no indication of a surface-to-air missile. CBS was reporting similar information. Bart Jansen & John Bacon/USA Today Also: 'Uncharacteristic' sounds from cockpit of doomed Russian plane 
Airplanes
China unveils narrow-body jet, showcasing aviation goals -- China unveiled a prototype of its first homegrown passenger jet that it hopes will compete with airliners from Boeing Co. and Airbus Group SE, setting the stage for the plane's first flight sometime next year. A crowd of several thousand gathered Monday as Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China rolled out the single-aisle C919 at the company's manufacturing and assembly center in Pudong, near Shanghai's main airport. Bloomberg News
Aviation Data & Analysis

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City Government
L.A. City Council to weigh proposals to slash parking fines -- With more than $440 million in cash stashed away for a rainy day, Los Angeles City Hall's finances are looking rosier than they have in years. Those numbers, made public last week, have encouraged a group that is urging elected officials to reexamine how parking tickets are issued. Until recently, their proposal to slash fines seemed a tough sell because parking ticket income helped maintain basic city services during the worst of the economic downturn. Laura J. Nelson/Los Angeles Times
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