Airports

Photo by Mike Foote
LAX air traffic controllers fatigued by understaffing and soaring overtime -- A record 70.6 million passengers a year now pass through Los Angeles International Airport as it undergoes a multibillion-dollar "world class" modernization. But high up in the control tower of the nation's second-busiest airport, the outlook is not so good. Air traffic controllers are working longer and harder than ever to safely handle the enormous volume of aircraft that arrives and departs at this prominent West Coast gateway. Overtime is soaring and serious staff shortages loom despite warnings issued in 2009 by the inspector general for the U.S. Transportation Department. Dan Weikel/Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles sued over enviro impact of ride-hailing at LAX -- The city of Los Angeles was hit with a suit Monday in California state court challenging its decision to allow ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft to operate at Los Angeles International Airport without first conducting an environmental review. The Alliance for a Regional Solution to Airport Congestion alleged that the city improperly relied on exemptions to the California Environmental Quality Act when approving a non-exclusive license agreement for transportation network companies, or TNCs, such as Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. Dani Meyer/Law360
LAX affirmed ahead of bond sale -- Los Angeles International Airport received rating affirmations ahead of plans to price $302 million in general airport revenue bonds Wednesday. The bond proceeds will help fund $2.1 billion of the airport's $11.3 billion in airport improvements. Bond ratings of Aa3, AA and AA ratings were affirmed by Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings, respectively. S&P and Fitch confirmed stable outlooks and Moody's retained its positive outlook. Keeley Webster/Bond Buyer
Alaska Airlines to start new flights between Santa Rosa and Orange County -- Alaska Airlines announced plans Tuesday to start daily flights between Sonoma County and Orange County, adding its fifth destination from the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport. Daily service between the Santa Rosa airport and John Wayne Airport in Orange County begins March 16. Flights depart Orange County at 12:15 p.m. and arrive in Santa Rosa at 1:46 p.m. From Santa Rosa, flights depart at 12:40 p.m. and arrive in Orange County at 2:11 p.m. Martin Espinoza/The Press Democrat
Iceland Airlines to fly to Los Angeles -- Wow air said it plans to add flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco from its base in Iceland starting next summer. The airline, known for one-way tickets to Europe as low as $99, said flights to Los Angeles will be available four days a week while flights to San Francisco will be available five days. After a layover in Iceland, passengers will be able to continue flying Wow air to Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, Dublin, London, Paris and Stockholm. Flights to Iceland from the West Coast usually take 8 � hours, according to the airline. Carol Lawrence/Los Angeles Business Journal
7 passengers kicked off Spirit Airlines flight at LAX; some claim racial discrimination -- Seven passengers were booted from a Spirit Airlines flight at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday night, and one of them says they were discriminated against because they were black. The onboard commotion began about 7:15 p.m. when an African American couple raised concerns about an overbooked seat on Flight 868 to Dallas, said Officer Rob Pedregon, an airport police spokesman. Veronica Rocha/Los Angeles Times
Bob Hope Airport 'B6' parcel sells for $72.5M -- In a unanimous decision during a closed-session meeting, the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority board agreed to sell a 59-acre parcel of land it owns in trust, known as the "Opportunity Site" or "B6 Parcel," to Gardena-based Overton Moore Properties for $72.5 million. The property is west of Hollywood Way and south of San Fernando Road. Proceeds from the sale are expected to be used to partially fund a proposed $400-million 14-gate replacement terminal at Bob Hope Airport, which airfield officials have said they would like to build on a neighboring 49-acre parcel known as the "Adjacent Property." Chad Garland/Los Angeles Times
LGB fly-in brings vintage aircraft and modern helicopters to Long Beach -- The Third Annual Long Beach Airport's Fly-In will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 7. Vintage aircraft and modern helicopters will fly into the Long Beach airport to allow the public to view them up close. Some of the aircraft on display include Catalina Flying Boats' DC-3, Waco Biplane, Stearman Biplane and an Alon Aircoupe. Long Beach Gazettes Everything Long Beach
Voters approve Denver International business development plan -- Voters in Denver and Adams County have given their approval to plans to develop non-aviation businesses on the grounds of Denver International Airport. Early results showed Measure 1A leading by wide margins in both Denver and Adams County. "Tonight, with this vote, we ensure that our international airport will continue to be a force for all of Colorado," Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said Tuesday evening at a celebration party for several ballot measures that drew officials from both Denver and Adams County. Cathy Proctor/Denver Business Journal 
Britons offered chance to skip U.S. customs queues -- The United States said on Tuesday it would let some British travellers skip passport and customs queues at its airports, in a bid to attract more visitors from the UK. Britons will be able to sign up for the U.S. Global Entry scheme - where travellers seen as low-risk can register in advance and then pass through automatic kiosks to get into the country - U.S. Customers and Border Protection agency commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said. Reuters
Dallas Love Field passenger traffic up 87 percent in September -- Passenger traffic at Dallas Love Field rose 87 percent in September as the airport handled more than 1.2 million passengers, according to a city report. It was the first full month of Southwest Airlines operating 180 daily flights at the airport and the Dallas-based carrier had 91 percent of the market share at Love Field. Virgin America had 6.5 percent of the market, carrying almost 85,000 passengers while Delta Air Lines had 2 percent of the market, carrying about 27,000 passengers. Andrea Ahles/Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Airlines
Southwest Airlines takes off toward global expansion -- The top domestic U.S. carrier by passenger volume, Southwest Airlines, last year launched its first international flights, offering service to Caribbean vacation spots Aruba, Jamaica and the Bahamas. Southwest is now poised for a global takeoff with several growth drivers that could take sales and profits aloft too. "This year is a confluence of events, some planned and some not, but the result is spectacular," Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said in an Oct. 22 earnings call. James Detar/Investor's Business Daily
New policy: How United Airlines may compensate you at the airport -- United Airlines this week began allowing airport workers to give goodwill travel certificates for as much as $125 to passengers who receive poor service. United agents have free rein to decide how to dole out the electronic certificates, though the airline included some examples in a bulletin to workers. United still recommends passengers with more complicated complaints about delayed flights or broken equipment contact its customer care division. This program is apparently for more minor issues. BrianSumers.com 
American Airlines wants $21.25 million tax incentive deal from Fort Worth -- American Airlines is asking the City Council for a 15-year, $21.25 million tax incentive for the $350 million corporate campus it wants to build on nearly 100 acres south of American's training and operations centers west of Texas 360. American is also asking the city to nominate existing facilities, including its current headquarters buildings east of Texas 360, for the Texas Enterprise Zone program that, if approved, could give the airline another $3.75 million in incentives in the form of a refund on state sales and use taxes. Sandra Baker/Fort Worth Star-Telegram
American Airlines CEO gains $4.9 million in monthly stock sale -- In his monthly sale of American Airlines Group stock, CEO Doug Parker gained $4.9 million, according to a document filed today. He exercised stock appreciation rights to acquire 113,090 shares at $3.10 a share, for a cost of $350,579. Those rights would have expired in April 2016, accrding to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He sold the same number of shares for at prices between $46.20 and $46.48. Sheryl Jean/Dallas Morning News
JetBlue flash sale: Fares dip below $150 round-trip on select routes -- JetBlue has launched a two-day sale in which the carrier is offering round-trip fares of less than $150 on several dozen routes. Fares are as low as $78 round trip on some of the carrier's routes. But deal seekers will have to act fast; the sale ends at 11:59 p.m. ET Wednesday (Nov. 4.). The sale is good for travel from Nov. 11 through Feb. 10, though there are some notable blackout windows around the fall and winter holidays during that period. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today
The 2 most fee-crazed airlines are raising fees for holiday season flights -- This is how Spirit Airlines gets in the holiday spirit. Traveling during the holiday season can be a nightmare, what with crowded airports, overbooked flights, inflated flight prices, and the constant risk that bad weather could cancel or delay your trip. Now we can add the holiday season surcharge to this list. Last year, Spirit Airlines took the very Grinchy step of adding an extra fee to its baggage fee for checked luggage on flights departing during the holidays.
Brad Tuttle/Money
Delta Air Lines says capacity cuts muted October unit revenue drop -- Delta Air Lines Inc on Tuesday said passenger unit revenue fell slightly in October, its smallest decline in months, as the company shrank flight capacity to match lower demand. Delta said passenger unit revenue, which measures sales relative to flight capacity, fell just 1 percent in October, compared with a third-quarter drop of 4.9 percent. A strong U.S. dollar has hurt foreigners' spending power in the United States and lowered the value of foreign sales in dollar terms. Jeffrey Dastin/Reuters
Plane Crashes
Plane crashes in South Sudan, witnesses say dozens killed -- A Russian-built cargo plane with passengers on board crashed on Wednesday after taking off from the airport in South Sudan's capital, killing dozens of people, witnesses said. An official said three people on board survived. The precise death toll was not immediately clear after the Antonov-12 B plane turbo prop plane crashed soon after take off, leaving chunks of wreckage, bodies and cargo strewn along a bank of the White Nile River. Denis Dumo/Reuters
Egypt, Britain call for 'tightest' security at Sharm El-Sheikh -- Egypt's president and Britain's prime minister have agreed on the need for tighter security at the Egyptian resort Sharm El-Sheikh, the starting point for a Russian jetliner that crashed over the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday. A U.S. military satellite detected a heat flash at the time a Russian jetliner crashed over the Sinai Peninsula last weekend, authorities said Tuesday. Experts told U.S. media outlets that the heat flash could point to a catastrophic event aboard the aircraft, such as an exploding bomb, the explosion of an aircraft engine, or a fire aboard the Metrojet A-321, or even just the aircraft parts hitting the ground. Voice of America
The list of no-go zones for airlines keeps growing -- The decision by several airlines to avoid the airspace over the Sinai Peninsula following the break-up of a Russian passenger jet Saturday was only the latest addition to a list of official and self-selected no-go zones. Investigators have not yet said what caused the plane to break up midair, and analysts say a missile attack was unlikely. But an Islamic State-linked group's claim that it brought down the plane has raised concerns among pilots and operators. Rick Noack/Washington Post
TSA
Dogs who flunked TSA training searching for forever families -- Looking for a new furry best friend? The Transportation Security Administration has your back. The agency is adopting out bomb-sniffing dogs who've either retired or flunked out of the explosive detection program. (Hey, bomb-sniffing isn't for everyone!) The pups -- typically German short-haired pointers, German shepherds, Labs and Belgian malinois --- range from about 2 to 10 years old. Because they were selected for their elevated "drive," the TSA hounds tend to be very active, according to the agency. Erin Dooley & Nate Luna/ABC News
Investigation: Layers of TSA airport security 'simply missing' -- The TSA's airport screening is so broken that investigators found key security checks "simply missing," an investigator general testified to Congress on Tuesday - though he said he sees signs the agency is finally preparing to do better. Investigators were regularly able to breach security screening, Homeland Security Inspector General John Roth found. The actual details of the problems are classified, but Mr. Roth said they found problems with "the system as a whole," dogged by human error and failures in procedures and technology. Stephen Dinan/Washington Times
Airplanes
A former Walmart CEO comes down under a parachute -- Tuesday morning, in Arkansas, a plane piloted by a former CEO of Walmart came down beneath a parachute on a main road in Fayetteville, Arkansas. You can see the plane just before touchdown, underneath its orange-and-white parachute. James Fallows/The Atlantic
Aviation Data & Analysis

On-Time Flight Trend Moving in Right Direction
Courtesy Oliver Wyman PlaneStats
City Government
Judge holds off again on preliminary OK for deal on bloated DWP bills -- For the second time this year, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge held off on giving preliminary approval to a legal settlement that could credit or refund tens of millions of dollars to Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers who were overcharged after the bungled rollout of a new billing system. Emily Alpert Reyes/Los Angeles Times
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