|
|
|
|
Los Angeles International and Chicago O'Hare named busiest Thanksgiving airports, according to Orbitz.com -- Airports will be busy over the Thanksgiving holiday with 61 percent of travelers planning to take a trip, up six percent from 2014. Los Angeles International and Chicago O'Hare will be the busiest airports for the third consecutive year based on the Orbitz Insider Index, which analyzed the Orbitz.com flight booking data of the top 50 U.S. airports over the Thanksgiving travel period (Nov. 25 - 30, 2015). Newcomers to this year's busiest airport list are Denver International, Orlando International, Dallas-Fort Worth International, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International. Orbitz Press Release Also: Worst airports for Thanksgiving travel
|
American announces new Dreamliner flights to New Zealand -- American Airlines will add new service to New Zealand, launching nonstop service to Auckland from its hub in Los Angeles. American will fly the route with its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, offering one daily round-trip flight between the cities starting in June 2016. The aircraft seats 226 passengers in a two-class configuration, including lie-flat seats in business class seats. The route will be American's sixth new trans-Pacific route added during the past three years, growth that the carrier says has nearly doubled its presence in that region. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today
|
WOW to slash transatlantic fares -- Icelandic low-cost airline WOW air could considerably reduce the cost of flying from the American West Coast to Europe, according to the airline's CEO Sk�li Mogensen. WOW air recently announced new routes from Iceland to Los Angeles and San Francisco, using three leased wide-body Airbus A330 jets. Demand for travel between California and Europe is high, says Mogensen, but the market is dominated by the "old, big, traditional airlines" charging high fares. WOW air could reduce these fares considerably. Iceland Monitor
|
Justice Department opposes United-Delta swap for Newark landing slots -- The Justice Department said on Tuesday that it would seek to block United Airlines from further expanding its hold at Newark Liberty International Airport because the carrier already has a near monopoly there. In a complaint filed in a federal court in New Jersey, the Justice Department is challenging a recent agreement between United and Delta Air Lines to exchange takeoff and landing rights between Newark and Kennedy International Airport in New York. Jad Mouawad/New York Times
|
Proposed NFL stadium in Inglewood faces FAA scrutiny over height, effects on radar -- The proposed NFL stadium in Inglewood faces a new challenge, after the Federal Aviation Administration released a preliminary report saying the venue at the former Hollywood Park site is "presumed to be a hazard to air navigation." The 27-page report issued Monday warned the proposed $1.86-billion stadium in Inglewood could interfere with radar that tracks inbound aircraft to Los Angeles International Airport. Nathan Fenno/Los Angeles Times
|
Why people actually like the Denver Airport -- Airports are an inevitable part of the lives of most travelers. But few would say that they have a passion for them. Kim Day, the chief executive of Denver International Airport, is an exception. In a previous life, Ms. Day, 61, was an architect, and she says that shaped her career running airports. "I see the world, and airports, differently than most people," she told the audience at the Skift Global Forum, a travel conference held last month in Brooklyn. Dan Saltzstein/New York Times Also: Massive new Westin Hotel set to open at DIA
|
Airport amenities to make gate-huggers happy -- Passengers waiting in boarding gate hold rooms now expect, at the minimum, comfortable seating, plentiful power plugs and robust, free Wi-Fi. Some frequent travelers I polled would also like gate areas to offer exercise equipment, on-call complimentary bowls of breath mints (for other passengers, of course), and games ranging from chess to Twister. Those services may take a while to materialize, but airports and airlines are getting creative about making these spaces less stressful, more comfortable and, sometimes, more profitable. Harriet Baskas/USA Today
|
New routes mean more noise for some homes near airports -- The push to modernize air-traffic control is finally starting to result in faster flights. That's music to the ears of many travelers, but wall-rattling, sleep-depriving noise to many homeowners around the country. The Federal Aviation Administration is redrawing the paths flights follow as it switches from ground-based to satellite navigation dubbed NextGen. Some communities say they weren't fully warned about the new flight paths, and now neighborhoods that never had much airport noise are getting bombarded. Scott McCartney/Wall Street Journal
|
Southwest Airlines pilot union leader resigns -- merger next? -- Just four days after insisting to this reporter that Dallas-based Southwest Airlines management is "not getting the job done," Paul Jackson, the head of the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association (SWAPA), submitted his resignation, effective Dec. 31,2015, to the union's Board of Directors on Tuesday. Jackson's exit comes as rumors continue to swirl that Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly is eager to orchestrate another airline merger, possibly with JetBlue or Frontier Airlines. Lewis Lazare/Chicago Business Journal
|
United Airlines employees (and passengers) reaping rewards as they await Munoz's return --The "Oscar effect" looks to be taking hold at United Airlines. Big time. Though newly-anointed United CEO Oscar Munoz was sidelined by a sudden heart attack in mid-October, his karma - coupled with at least one big operational shift now happening - looks to be working wonders at the carrier plagued for so many years by a variety of issues. United is a unit of Chicago-based United Continental Holdings. Lewis Lazare/Chicago Business Journal
|
Lufthansa CEO vows to see out strike as cancellations mount -- Lufthansa said it will not back down in a row with cabin crews over pensions even after cancelling 930 flights on Wednesday and 933 on Thursday in what is shaping up to be the longest strike in the airline's history. Cabin crews started a series of walkouts on Friday in a long-running dispute over early retirement benefits and pensions and have now forced the cancellation of almost 4,000 flights, disrupting the travel of more than 430,000 Lufthansa customers. Peter Maushagen/Reuters
|
Lufthansa continues Asia drive with Singapore Airlines deal -- German airline group Lufthansa signed a partnership deal with premium Asian carrier Singapore Airlines, part of a strategy to boost its presence in Asia and defend market share from fast-growing Gulf carriers. Lufthansa already has a joint venture with Japanese carrier ANA and has a tentative deal in place with Air China, although a final signing of a firm deal with the Chinese airline has yet to occur. "More such deals will follow," a spokesman for Lufthansa said on Wednesday. Reuters
|
American Airlines' passenger traffic rose a record 5.8 percent in October -- American Airlines said its total passenger traffic rose 5.8 percent on 2.1 percent higher capacity in October. The Fort Worth-based airline's load factor - how full its planes fly - rose to 85.2 percent. That's up 3 percentage points from 82.2 percent in October 2014. American's traffic, capacity and load factors were all records for October. Sheryl Jean/Dallas Morning News
|
United Airlines Oct. traffic up 3.6% - Quick Facts -- United Airlines reported that its October 2015 consolidated traffic (revenue passenger miles) increased 3.6 percent and consolidated capacity (available seat miles) increased 1.4 percent year-over-year. October 2015 consolidated load factor increased 1.7 points compared to October 2014. RTT News
|
Airline revenue from passenger fees soars 18.8% -- The airline industry is pocketing more revenue than ever from passenger fees. By the end of the year, the world's airlines are expected to collect $59.2 billion in passenger fees and other income besides airfares, an 18.8% increase over last year, according to a new forecast on airline revenue. Airlines began in 2008 to charge fees to check bags and buy food, drinks and other extras as a way to boost revenue during the Great Recession. Since then, revenue from passenger fees has climbed steadily. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times
|
Alaska Air faces competitive capacity pressure in early 2016 after making is own ASM push in 2015 -- Alaska Air Group is planning capacity expansion of 8% in 2016 after growing nearly 11% in 2015, including a 12.5% expansion in 4Q2015. Much of the push during the final three months of 2015 is additions to existing markets where Alaska concludes demand remains robust. Although Alaska's YE2015 capacity growth may be outsized compared with other US airlines, its ASM expansion between 2009 and 2014 was in the mid to high single digits, and its 2016 projections are in line with those trends. Centre for Aviation
|
United Airlines: Too many emergency slides are deploying accidentally -- If you fly United Airlines, look for flight attendants to spend extra time ensuring they have properly opened and closed the aircraft's main door. In an internal communication, United warned flight attendants to be careful when "arming" and "disarming" doors. This is fancy talk for something simple. If a door is "armed," the emergency slide will deploy when the door opens. If it is not armed, the slide will not deploy. For passengers to get off the plane in a non-emergency, the door must be disarmed. Going from "armed" to "disarmed" is a simple process - on many planes, a flight attendant switches a lever. But humans make mistakes, and United has made some costly errors recently. BrianSumers.com
|
FAA to improve helicopter safety, prevent deadly fires -- The Federal Aviation Administration plans to take a major step toward preventing people from being burned to death in helicopter crashes and will require newly manufactured helicopters to have systems that avoid fuel leaks, which have caused hundreds of fires that led to scores of deaths and serious injuries. In announcing the new requirement, the FAA tacitly acknowledged that it has failed for decades to protect helicopter occupants from fires that sometimes ignite after rollovers, hard landings and mild crashes whose impact the occupants had survived. Thomas Frank/USA Today
|
Voljet launches luxury website for empty leg operators -- VolJet.com, a new luxury travel website that makes flying by private jet more affordable and accessible, is now available to qualified jet operators interested in filling empty legs and maximizing underutilized assets. Open to all US destinations, VolJet.com is an online reservation system that enables jet operators to make better use of their fleets, including the more than 40% of chartered aircraft that fly empty or at very low capacity during one leg of a trip. Business Airport International VolJet Press Release
|
TripAdvisor lobbying up in fight with airlines -- TripAdvisor registered its first outside lobbyist this week as it pushes for lawmakers to take notice of alleged practices by some airlines to withhold booking information from travel websites. The online booking company hired Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to lobby on "issues related to airlines' withholding of fare and schedule information from travel websites." Seven members of the firm were included on the lobbying disclosure. Mario Trujillo/The Hill
|
Who's the most hated airline passenger? Seat kickers, says Expedia -- and here's how to handle them -- The biggest pain in the butt on an airplane is literally a pain in your butt, according to a new Expedia survey. The No. 1 most hated passenger is the one who spends his/her time kicking the back of your seat. Getting 61% of the vote for the most annoying, the seat kicker edged out Inattentive Parent (59%) for the top "we-hate-your-guts" spot, according to Expedia's 2015 Airplane Etiquette, which asked more than 1,000 adults in August about their pet peeves. Catharine Hamm/Los Angeles Times
|
|
|
|
Costs and delays mount for downtown L.A. subway link -- 1.4-billion downtown subway project designed to seamlessly connect three of Los Angeles County's far-reaching rail lines has been hailed as the missing link in Metro's expanding mass transit network. But before tunneling has begun, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is reporting cost overruns and schedule delays on the 1.9-mile Downtown Regional Connector. Laura J. Nelson/Los Angeles Times
|
|
|
|
|
|
