|
|
|
|
Last Boeing C-17 built in Long Beach takes flight as California aerospace era ends -- The last Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane built at the company's Long Beach plant departed from the facility Sunday, closing an important era for aircraft manufacturing in California. In an event attended by hundreds of Boeing employees, the aerospace giant officially ended production of the C-17 with a roll out of the final transport and a flyover near the company's assembly facility at Long Beach Airport. Dan Weikel/Los Angeles Times
|
American to keep LAX-Haneda route as regulators reject Delta claim -- Bloomberg News is reporting that American Airlines will keep the right to fly between Los Angeles and Tokyo's Haneda airport, after federal regulators rejected complaints from Delta Air Lines. According to Bloomberg, American will have until March 27 to begin the flights to Haneda airport, the U.S. Transportation Department ruled. The carrier said this month that it would begin daily service starting Feb. 11 after securing favorable arrival and departure times from Japanese officials. Bloomberg News
|
LAX lounge aims for stars -- Air carriers want celebrities to fly in and out of Los Angeles International Airport. But paparazziporous LAX scares off many big names. That's why the Board of Airport Commissioners, which oversees Los Angeles International Airport, unanimously approved a 10-year lease to develop a remote airline lounge where VIP passengers can be transferred in private to commercial planes, saying that the facility would alleviate the commotion caused by celebs and their star-struck fans at the nation's second-busiest airport. Natalie Schachar/Los Angeles Business Journal
|
California overtime pay and wage class-action lawsuit targets SkyWest -- The passage of a living wage ordinance by the City of Los Angeles has not only caused headaches for employers, but also an opportunity for would-be plaintiffs to take their employers to task for allegedly failing to provide a living wage, including overtime, in accordance with the living wage ordinance and overtime pay laws observed by the state of California. In a putative class action filed earlier this month, a former baggage handler working for SkyWest Airlines at the Los Angeles International Airport alleges his former employer failed to pay him a living wage according to the city ordinance, as noted above. Gordon Gibb/Lawyers and Settlements
|
 California Retrospective: How LAX's Theme Building became an iconic symbol of Los Angeles -- For many in Southern California, Thanksgiving means passing through Los Angeles International Airport. In 1928, the city of Los Angeles selected Mines Field, near Inglewood, as the city's airport. Up until then, Los Angeles had been served by several private airfields. Mines Field remained a fairly sleepy place until after World War II, when air travel took off and L.A.'s population -- and its global importance -- increased. Perhaps the best marker of those days is the space-age Theme Building. Scott Harrison/Los Angeles Times |
'The insider threat is real': Gaps in airport security highlighted in new video -- At New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, used by more than 50 million passengers every year, NBC News' cameras captured employees simply swiping their electronic key cards to get into the facility this week. NBC News also obtained video from earlier this year that showed the same thing. "The insider threat is real," Marshall McClain of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association told NBC News. His union has called for fewer employee access points and more worker screening at the nation's busiest hubs, but only two major airports - in Miami and Orlando, Florida - are screening every worker every day. Tom Costello & Tom Winter/NBC News
|
Alaska Airlines admits San Jose airport workers played games with luggage -- As many people travel to be with loved ones for Thanksgiving, a passenger at Mineta San Jose International Airport recorded video of workers playing a game, tossing baggage like bean bags. The video shows what appears to be airline or airport workers playing some sort of a game. Luggage was tossed, for either distance or accuracy, as employees seemed to be cheering each other on. An Alaska Airlines spokesperson told KPIX 5 that its employee swere the ones tossing the baggage. Len Ramirez/CBS SF Bay Area
|
Man steals woman's boarding pass, checks into flight at Salt Lake airport, police say -- A man stole a misplaced Southwest Airlines boarding pass, made it through airport security and got as far as the flight check-in gate, where the boarding pass was approved, before airport officials were alerted and confronted him in an incident earlier this month, airport police said. Michael Salata, 61, was arrested Nov. 5 shortly after checking into Southwest Airlines Flight 1760 from Salt Lake City to Oakland, California. Ben Lockhart & Nicole Vowell/Deseret News
|
BART's year-old Oakland airport link a hit -- The usual elbow-to-navel BART commute crowds were mostly absent the day before Thanksgiving. Not so on the year-old Oakland Airport Connector, the automated people-mover that hauls passengers between the Coliseum Station and Oakland International Airport. The three-car trains were crowded with folks heading to the airport. BART and airport officials say the rail link - mired for years in funding shortages and disputes about its necessity - has been a success. It celebrated its one-year anniversary on Saturday and a couple of days later carried its millionth passenger. Michael Cabanatuan/San Francisco Chronicle
|
Runway protesters cause traffic chaos at London's Heathrow airport -- Activists opposed to the expansion of London's Heathrow Airport blocked an approach tunnel on Thursday by chaining themselves to a parked vehicle, bringing traffic chaos to Europe's busiest airport. Police said they had arrested five people and removed three vehicles from the tunnel, used by cars and taxis to access three of Heathrow's five terminals. Heathrow could be given the go-ahead to build a new runway by Prime Minister David Cameron before the end of the year, in a move which the airport and its supporters say will add new flights and boost the economy. Reuters
|
France: Document shows fear of radical airport workers as early as 2004 -- French intelligence services were concerned as early as 2004 about the radicalization of many airport workers at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, according to a confidential document from the French Interior Ministry. This document, seen by CNN, targets three shipping companies operating at the airport, which is in Roissy, about 20 kilometers (13 miles) northeast of central Paris. The radicalization of airport workers has caused new concern following the crash in October of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt's Sinai region. Ingrid Formanek, Margot Haddad & Don Melvin/CNN
|
Moving walkways may go away at Orlando airport -- Four moving walkways that have been a fixture down the middle of the main terminal at Orlando International Airport may go away early next year. Their removal would be part of a continuing overhaul of the 34-year-old building that also could include new seating and the elimination of carpeting on the A and B sides, where travelers check their bags and print their tickets. Orlando International Chairman Frank Kruppenbacher said he often walks about the terminal checking on the condition of the facility, as well as asking travelers what they think of the place. Dan Tracy/Orlando Sentinel
|
2 'belligerent' customers arrested at McCarran after missing flight -- Two irate Alaska Airlines customers were taken into custody at the ticket counter after missing their flight early Friday morning, according to McCarran International Airport spokeswoman Christine Crews. The two were "belligerent" when they missed their flight and were told they would have to catch another, Crews said. They were arrested on charges of misdemeanor violation of airport rules and disorderly conduct. The two were believed to have been intoxicated, according to Metro officer Reggie Rader. Lawren Linehan/Las Vegas Review-Journal
|
Why do so many people hate US airports? -- Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel periods in the US, with millions criss-crossing the country, often by air, to get home for their family dinner - and back again a couple of days later. But air travellers in the US often find the experience frustrating enough to voice bitter complaints. What went wrong? The Wright Brothers may have given birth to modern aviation on a beach at Kitty Hawk, but US airports these days are far from world-beating.They are consistently outshone by their Asian rivals in world rankings. Vanessa Barford/BBC
|
 LAX sightings - "I've loved aviation my whole life," says Robert Gluckman. Now an aerial camera operator for a news helicopter, he spends a lot of his time "in the air looking down." Last year, Gluckman shot this photo of an Air China 777-300 jetliner in a familiar spot-- one he says he sees every time he flies over Los Angeles International Airport. "There were a lot of obstructions in the way of that shot. It was pretty difficult," he said. "But soon I will have the opportunity to get inside the airport and take some amazing stills." Los Angeles Times
|
Post-Thanksgiving travel smooth despite storm -- Tens of millions of Americans returning home after the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend Sunday had cooperative weather and mostly efficient airport operations to thank for smooth traveling conditions. Besides a winter storm that brought freezing rain and snow to the central Plains on Sunday night and into Monday, weather across much of the country is seasonably mild, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bruce Sullivan. AP
|
L.A. businessman buys 400 American soldiers dinner during airport layover: 'You guys risk your lives to protect me and my family' -- On his way to visit Israel with his family, Los Angeles entrepreneur Shlomo Rechnitz came across a group of 400 U.S. soldiers during a lay over in Shannon, Ireland. The servicemen were preparing to eat their paper sack dinners when Rechnitz asked their commanding officer if he could purchase hot meals for all of them instead. When the commander said it was unnecessary, Rechnitz insisted and each soldier was then given $50 to dine out at a restaurant in the airport of their choosing. Kristen Caires/People magazine
|
Lindsay Lohan's stepmom in rehab after LA-bound flight lands in New Orleans -- Actor Lindsay Lohan's stepmother was sent to rehabilitation after causing such a disturbance on a JetBlue cross-country flight that the plane diverted to Louis Armstrong International Airport, according to New Orleans federal court records. Kate Major Lohan has been charged with felony interference with a flight crew. She must appear in court Jan. 27. Saying she was "indigent," she was assigned a public defender. Danielle Dreilinger/New Orleans Times-Picayune
|
United offers pilots 13% raise in bid to find labor peace -- United Continental Holdings Inc., seeking labor peace five years after the airline's creation in a merger, is offering pilots a raise in a proposed contract that would put them at or near the top of the U.S. industry's pay scale, two people briefed on the plan said. The tentative deal calls for a 13 percent increase in 2016, followed by annual boosts of 3 percent and 2 percent, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations aren't public. Michael Sasso/Bloomberg Business
|
United CEO visits workers during leave after heart attack -- Oscar Munoz, the chief executive officer of United Continental Holdings Inc., interrupted his recuperation from a heart attack to visit workers at the airline's operations center on Thanksgiving. United confirmed the visit to the Chicago facility and declined to provide further details. Munoz, 56, suffered the heart attack in mid-October, a month after being chosen to succeed Jeff Smisek as CEO. United declined to say whether the visit was Munoz's first appearance with workers since he fell ill. Mary Schlangenstein & Julie Johnsson/Bloomberg Business
|
Unfriendly skies? How United became the airline flyers love to hate -- Five years following its troubled 2010 marriage with Continental, the airline that boasts of flying the friendly skies continues to find itself in increasingly turbulent ones. United is on its third chief executive in three months. The carrier's dirty laundry and clumsy political dealmaking spilled across front pages this year. Its employees contractually can't work together. And the U.S. Justice Department just sued, claiming the largest airline at Newark Liberty has grown too big. But that's nothing to many travelers. Ted Sherman/NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
|
Are airlines padding flight times to improve on-time performance? -- About a decade ago, Joe Nolan, a semi-retired electrical engineer from Palm Desert, could expect to hop on a flight at Palm Springs International Airport and arrive in San Francisco 55 minutes later. Now the flight is usually scheduled for about 90 minutes. Nolan suspects that airlines are allotting more time for each flight to make it easier to meet their arrival schedule. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times
|
JetBlue shakes up pilot hiring by training them from scratch -- JetBlue Airways Corp., breaking with historical practices at U.S. airlines, plans to recruit potential pilots with no flight experience and provide its own training under a proposal awaiting approval from federal regulators. The program would be the first of its kind in the U.S. and would be similar to those used by some European and Asian carriers. Candidates still would have to meet U.S. requirements, including 1,500 hours of flight experience, to be certified as commercial airline pilots, JetBlue said. Mary Schlangenstein/Bloomberg Business
|
American Airlines computer program botches flight attendant holiday schedules -- A malfunction by an American Airlines bidding system program provided at least 200 legacy US Airways flight attendants with December schedules -including holiday schedules - they don't want to fly, provoking an angry outcry on social media. American is sufficiently concerned that it is offering incentives including 150% pay for every trip that legacy US Airways flight attendants fly between Dec. 15 and Dec. 31; 300% pay for flight attendants who agree to work the mistakenly assigned trips and pay protection for flight attendants who do not fly them. Ted Reed/Forbes
|
Dancer's leg takes an unexpected trip when American Airlines loses bag -- Among the nation's biggest carriers, American Airlines has the worst record for losing and mishandling luggage. In the first nine months of 2015, the Forth Worth-based carrier lost or mishandled 4.04 bags for every 1,000 passengers, compared with an average rate of 3.31 lost or mishandled bags for the country's top 13 biggest airlines, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times
|
American Airlines stops accepting payments in Argentine pesos -- American Airlines has stopped accepting Argentine pesos to pay for tickets due to currency controls that make it hard to convert receipts into U.S. dollars, the carrier said on Wednesday. Foreign businesses operating in Argentina have long complained that they cannot send their profits home due to protectionist controls enacted by President Cristina Fernandez, who will step down on Dec. 10 after two terms in office. Hugh Bronstein/Reuters
|
Tom Nealon returns to Southwest in a newly created position -- Southwest Airlines today named one of its directors, Tom Nealon, to the newly created position of executive vice president of strategy and innovation. It's back to the future for Nealon, who consulted as chief information officer at the Dallas-based airline from 2002 to through 2006 when he was a partner with The Feld Group. Before that, Nealon was group executive vice president at JCPenney Co. and held other leadership positions there in information technology, jcp.com and corporate strategy and planning from 2006 through 2011. Sheryl Jean/Dallas Morning News
|
Passengers on BA jet that caught fire in Las Vegas sue Boeing, GE -- Passengers on a British Airways plane that caught fire taking off from Las Vegas in September are suing the makers of the plane and its engines in Chicago, their lawyers said on Friday. The engine of the Boeing 777 burst into flames, forcing all 170 passengers and crew to escape via emergency slides, after a part of a spool in the high-pressure compressor failed, according to findings from the National Transportation Safety Board. Reuters
|
Lufthansa signs pay deal with 33,000 personnel -- Deutsche Lufthansa AG reached an agreement Saturday with trade union Verdi on the wages and pensions of around 33,000 ground crew and other personnel. Lufthansa agreed to increase the wages of its workers at Lufthansa-Systems, Lufthansa-Service GmbH, Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Cargo by 2.2% on Jan. 1, 2016, as well as providing a one-off payment of €2,250 ($2,387) for all full-time employees. Trainees with the airline will receive a payment of €600. Christopher Alessi/Wall Street Journal
|
Hazardous airliner landings are rare, data show, but pilot reporting lags -- More than 200 landing approaches made by commercial airliners over the past 15 years prompted cockpit emergency collision warnings-the last possible alert before a crash-yet most of the incidents weren't reported by pilots, according to global data collected by Honeywell International Inc. The hazardous approaches made up a minute portion of the more than 20 million analyzed flights and none resulted in a crash, even though some pilots pulled up at the last instant. Andy Pasztor/Wall Street Journal
|
FAA to propose safety fixes for certain Boeing and Embraer jets -- U.S. aviation regulators on Monday will propose mandatory inspections and, if necessary, replacement of suspect parts on nearly 1,600 jetliners to prevent potentially catastrophic failures. The pair of proposed Federal Aviation Administration safety directives, related to certain Boeing Co. and Embraer SA jets and slated to be formally published Monday in the Federal Register, are unusual because they are each intended to counter a single defect that can result in such a serious problem. Andy Pasztor/Wall Street Journal
|
Paris hotel and airline bookings drop sharply after attacks -- Occupancy rates at some Paris hotels have plunged by more than 30 percent in the days since the Nov. 13 terror attacks, according to a company that tracks hotel industry data. STR Global said that compared to the same dates a year ago, occupancy rates were 39 percent lower last Saturday and 33 percent lower last Sunday, the two most recent days in the company's report. The day after the attacks, there was a 14 percent drop from the same date a year earlier, followed by decreases in the 20 and 30 percent range Nov. 15 to 20. Reuters
|
Making the most of evolving airline and hotel reward programs -- American Airlines is making international first-class award flights more expensive. Delta is making free upgrades to seats with more legroom more elusive for elites traveling with low-status companions. Marriott is acquiring Starwood, which will likely spell the end of a top hotel loyalty program. As reward programs continue to be devalued, is it still worth being loyal? Stephanie Rosenbloom/New York Times
|
World Aviation Forum in Montreal tackles climate and terror -- Even against the backdrop of the recent bombing of a Russian aircraft and increasing pressures to make air travel more sustainable, there was no denying the almost giddy sense of optimism for the thriving aviation industry as hundreds of delegates gathered in Montreal this week for the inaugural World Aviation Forum. Organized by the International Civil Aviation Organization - an agency of the United Nations which oversees international air transport - the conference brought an array of 800 representatives from countries around the world to ICAO headquarters in Montreal. Karen Seidman/Montreal Gazette
|
Metro, responding to critics, puts $104-million Northridge track build on hold -- 104-million proposal to add a second track to a key railroad line through Northridge has been stalled since summer because of opposition from nearby residents who fear the new rails will pass dangerously close to homes. Reacting to concerns from a coalition of neighborhood groups called Citizens Against the Double Track, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority stopped work on the project in late August to reevaluate the proposal and address the public's criticism. The process is still underway, and further meetings are set for December and January. Dan Weikel/Los Angeles Times
|
Bullet train faces new scrutiny after release of report predicting higher costs -- The Los Angeles to San Francisco bullet train is headed for new federal and state scrutiny following disclosure that the project's lead contractor forecast significant cost increases that were not made public. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock), chairman of the U.S. House rail subcommittee, said he plans to call hearings early next year to examine the project's cost and the state's failure to disclose the higher budget projections. "We know it is going to have a significant increase in cost," Denham said. Ralph Vartabedian/Los Angeles Times
|
Competition for 2024 Summer Olympics thins as Hamburg bows out -- One of Los Angeles' main rivals in the competition to host the 2024 Summer Olympics has dropped out of the running. Hamburg withdrew on Sunday after a slim majority of citizens in the German city voted not to support the bid. "The result is bitter for us," bid leader Nikolas Hill said, adding that "without the majority support of the citizens of Hamburg in 2024 we will not bring the Olympic and Paralympic Games to our city." David Wharton/Los Angeles Times
|
County at odds with city of L.A. over funding pulled from emergency system -- An ambitious plan to connect all of Los Angeles County's fire and police agencies on a single communications system has hit another potential setback with the loss of $11 million in federal grant funding administered by the city of Los Angeles. County officials and the head of the regional agency overseeing the project say the funding loss will further delay the creation of a multi-jurisdictional radio system for emergency responders, which they had hoped to have up and running by 2017. Abby Sewell/Los Angeles Times
|
L.A. considers suspending trash pickup when heavy rainfall is forecast -- When a sudden, powerful storm pummeled Boyle Heights in October, one poorly placed mattress wreaked havoc on the neighborhood. Los Angeles officials say the mattress was blocking a catch basin, which subsequently caused flooding that damaged a basement and several vehicles. The incident has sparked additional interest in the city's El Ni�o preparation and has department heads mulling a new tactic to mitigate its effects. For the first time, they are considering suspending trash pickup. Matt Stevens/Los Angeles Times
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant Flyover Commercial - 1971
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
