Airports
Burbank officials seek mandatory curfew at Bob Hope Airport -- Local city government and airport officials were in Washington, D.C. this week to brief senior Federal Aviation Administration officials on a "conceptual term sheet" that outlines certain conditions for the possible construction of a 14-gate replacement terminal at Bob Hope Airport. They also broached the topic of a mandatory nighttime curfew at the airfield. Chad Garland/Los Angeles Times
Southwest Airlines jet hits another aircraft at Bob Hope Airport -- A Southwest Airlines jet struck another aircraft Sunday afternoon on the tarmac at Bob Hope Airport, delaying holiday travelers. An Oakland-bound Southwest Airlines plane was pushing back from Gate A1 when it struck another Southwest plane parked at an adjacent gate, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said. No injuries were reported in the accident, which occurred about 2:30 p.m., Gregor said. Matt Hamilton/Los Angeles Times
American Airlines jet makes emergency landing at LAX -- An American Airlines jet made an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport Sunday after the plane was believed to have struck a bird shortly after takeoff. Flight 641 from Washington, D.C., reported a mechanical problem but safely made it to Los Angeles and landed at 8:30 p.m., American Airlines spokeswoman Leslie Scott said. Declaring the need for an emergency landing is standard procedure in those kinds of scenarios, she said. City News Service
Coming to LAX: 13 'comfort dogs' for frazzled fliers -- For those airline fliers who get so frazzled by holiday travel that they start to bark at seatmates, United Airlines is offering an all-natural way to relieve stress: dogs. Through a program called United Paws, the Chicago-based carrier is deploying more than 200 dogs to the airline's seven airport hubs Monday through Wednesday. The specially trained "comfort dogs" will be led around the terminals by handlers so that stressed fliers can pet, scratch and nuzzle the pooches. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times Related: Pooches roam busy airports to help weary holiday travelers de-stress
How a quieter airport is bad news for some Long Beach residents -- For decades, noise created by sleek, commercial jets flying out of Long Beach Airport has been a political hot potato. If you live under the flight path of those jets, you basically don't want any more planes flying over your house. Business interests and others not under the flight path like the airport for revenue and convenience. It's been a constant tug of war pitting neighbors against neighbors just minutes away from each other, depending on where they live when the big planes come flying in Long Beach skies. Rich Archbold/Long Beach Press-Telegram
A new hotel will be going up in Long Beach's Douglas Park -- The Planning Commission this week unanimously approved development of a new hotel in Douglas Park. The project consists of a five-story dual Hampton Inn/Homewood Suites hotel with a total of 241 guest rooms, a 1,200-square-foot fitness center, an outdoor swimming pool, two meeting rooms and a dining area. It will be located at 3855 Lakewood Blvd., across from an existing Courtyard Marriott Hotel. Douglas Park - the former site of Boeing and, before that, McDonnell Douglas - is zoned for light industrial use. Long Beach Press-Telegram
Obama's visit boosts airport stature -- The lightly used San Bernardino International Airport was in the national spotlight on Friday evening when Air Force One touched down on its runway. Airport Executive Director Michael Burrows said the visit could be a boost for the image of the airport, which has struggled for much of the 21 years since Norton Air Force Base closed and gave the aged facility to the local community. Mark Muckenfuss/Riverside Press-Enterprise
FAA approval still needed to transfer Ontario International Airport ownership -- Los Angeles will return Ontario International Airport to Ontario if the Federal Aviation Administration signs off on the deal. Groups in both cities approved the deal this week. The OIA Authority, an agency created by Ontario and San Bernardino County to manage the airport, and Los Angeles City Council voted for transfer and now must just sign papers. The deal comes after contentious negotiations and a lawsuit. AP
Valley hotel, airport activity dip slightly in November -- A missing Saturday in November and several conventions that didn't return contributed to slightly emptier Coachella Valley hotels. Traffic at Palm Springs International Airport was also down in November as 6,034 - or 3.3 percent - fewer passengers made their way through the Coachella Valley airport, compared to the same month last year, according to airport data. Skip Descant/The Desert Sun
Where to get food from a top chef? Head to the airport. -- Forget New York. Forget Vegas. Among celebrity chefs, the hot spot for fine dining is . . . the airport. From Newark to Atlanta, from Los Angeles to Virginia, the list of chefs adding airports to their restaurant portfolios reads like a Who's Who of the cooking world: Rick Bayless, Alain Ducasse, Cat Cora, Michael Voltaggio, Mike Isabella, Carla Hall. Lori Aratani/Washington Post
Uber announces new launch at San Jose airport -- Uber, the world's largest ride-booking company, launched at Silicon Valley's airport on Friday, the third new arrival in a month -- and just in time for upcoming holiday travel and Super Bowl 50. Lyft launched at the downtown airport last week, while Wingz became the first to pick up fares on Nov. 23 following a drawn-out battle over San Jose's efforts to regulate the wildly popular service that is cutting into the taxi business. Ramona Giwargis/San Jose Mercury News
Oakland airport TSA officer indicted in pot smuggling case -- Federal charges have been filed against a Transportation Security Administration officer suspected of using her position to allow drugs to be smuggled aboard planes at Oakland International Airport, authorities said. Kiana Scott Clark, 28, of San Mateo, was arrested Wednesday on a federal grand jury indictment charging her with two counts of conspiring to distribute controlled substances and two counts of conspiring to defraud the United States by obstructing, impeding and interfering with aviation security functions of the TSA. Harry Harris/Oakland Tribune
Airlines
Southwest pays fees of rivals' passengers in publicity campaign -- Southwest Airlines needled its rivals over fees on Tuesday by reimbursing some of their customers who complained on social about paying extra for things like checked bags and change fees. Southwest gave away Visa gift cards in the amount of the fees that some passengers said they had to pay while flying other airlines. The carrier also gave each of those passengers a free flight on Southwest. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today
Southwest Airlines suspends 100 ramp workers, alleges illegal sickout -- About 100 Southwest Airlines ramp workers are not feeling the love from their employer this holiday season after they were suspended without pay through January. The Dallas-based airline says the workers used a personal time off policy to take part in an illegal work stoppage in November which affected operations at airports in Los Angeles and Orlando prior to the busy Thanksgiving travel season. Andrea Ahles/Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Unions gearing up for fight over American Airlines stock -- Trouble is brewing again in the bankruptcy case of an American Airlines Group Inc. predecessor. Unions representing the company's workers say they are in danger of being shortchanged, while shareholders of the old AMR Corp. get another generous payoff. Hundreds of millions of dollars of valuable stock is still stored up in bankruptcy reserve accounts, waiting for a final reckoning of the accounts from the 2011 bankruptcy of AMR, parent of American Airlines. Peg Brickley/Wall Street Journal
Baby-seat lugging parents, passengers with disabilities could see airline changes in future -- Federal airline regulators are taking steps to improve service for passengers who are disabled and for parents lugging child-safety seats onto planes. The U.S. Department of Transportation earlier this month said it was looking at ways to, among other things, ensure that disabled fliers have better access to in-flight entertainment and to bathrooms on single-aisle airplanes. Becky Yarek/Chicago Tribune
Pajamas are new perk for some Delta passengers --Delta Air Lines Inc. will provide a little extra comfort for some customers flying in the Delta One cabin on select flights out of Los Angeles International Airport - pajamas. Delta is now providing in-flight loungewear for customers flying in the Delta One cabin on flights between Los Angeles and Sydney and Los Angeles and Shanghai. Beginning in March 2016, Delta will add the light gray cotton loungewear to all of its flights between the U.S. and China( Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai). Carla Caldwell/Atlanta Business Chronicle
Holiday jeer: You're a mean one, Alaska Airlines -- Oh, the weather outside is ... spiteful, if you're sitting in the CEO's chair at Alaska Airlines, which kicked off the local holiday season of cheer with (wait for it, nog sippers ... ) yet another frivolous legal assault on its lowest-paid workers! Just when you thought a recent state Supreme Court decision finally made it safe to pay Sea-Tac Airport employees a voter-mandated $15 minimum wage, home-team Alaska has hawked up another legal challenge, this time arguing the wage initiative interferes with "airport operations." Ron Judd/Seattle Times
The real way to get upgraded to first class -- We've all heard the rumors. If you dress up and tell a compelling story-maybe you're leaving for your honeymoon or heading to a funeral-you might finagle a free first class upgrade. But there's a problem: upgrades rarely happen. Years ago, it might have been possible, back when airlines struggled to sell those cushy seats up front. With an improved economy, however, many travelers have been buying first and business class seats, leaving fewer for upgrades. Brian Sumers/Conde Nast Traveler
Person of the Year: Delta Air Lines' Richard Anderson -- There are many things Richard Anderson has enjoyed during his career. But there are some he still can't stand. "I think playing golf is a huge waste of time," he says. And, unlike his fellow CEOs, he hates schmoozing with big shots-the Boeing fishing trips, the Airbus Hawaii junkets, the annual "Conquistadors" weekend at Barron Hilton's Flying M Ranch in Nevada. Jens Flottau/Aviation Week & Space Technology
Dynamics shift in the Mexico to Latin American market in 2015 with new partnerships and routes -- Although Latin America has suffered from challenging economic conditions throughout 2015 that are lingering into 2016, some interesting developments have occurred between Mexico and South and Central America. Mexican airline Volaris during 2015 has branched out its international offering beyond US transborder routes to Central America, and Aeromexico and Avianca have added routes between Mexico and South America. CAPA Centre for Aviation
Hoverboard ban on airlines may extend to drones -- Recent concern over the battery safety in hoverboards has led many of the nation's airlines to prohibit the toys in aircraft over the holiday season. Now, that ban may be extending to the drone industry. According to NBC Miami Greg Meyer, an official at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport suggested that drones are "not allowed at the airport in any way, shape or form, whether they are flying or coming through your checked luggage." Grant Martin/Forbes
Four detained after bomb scare causes Air France flight to divert to Kenya -- Four people were being questioned Sunday over a suspicious device that was found in the restroom of an Air France flight, prompting an emergency landing in Kenya early in the day. The four had all been on board Air France Flight 463, a Boeing 777 bound from Mauritius to Paris, which was diverted to the coastal Kenyan city of Mombasa after the device was found, Kenyan Cabinet secretary for the Ministry of Interior Joseph Nkaissery told CNN. He did not disclose their nationalities. Faith Karimi & Tim Hume/CNN
Airfares are down 5% so why is everyone still complaining about airlines? -- Consumer surveys have shown that the most important factor in buying an airline ticket is price. So a 5% drop in domestic airfares during the first 10 months of 2015 compared with the same period last year should result in lots of happy fliers, right? Not so. Instead, complaints against airlines are on the rise. The drop in domestic airfares was reported by travel giant Expedia with help from Airlines Reporting Corp., an Arlington, Va., company that handles ticketing transactions between the nation's airlines and travel agents. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times
Business Aviation
Deal is close that would shield some data on flights -- Business aviation groups and federal officials are close to agreement on ways to maintain the privacy of certain aircraft movements, despite air-traffic control upgrades that otherwise would make such information public. The preliminary consensus, according to people familiar with the matter, includes short-term steps resolving concerns by the National Business Aviation Association that new ground-based navigation technology would make it possible for aviation enthusiasts, news media and others to routinely track flights across the U.S. Andy Pasztor/Wall Street Journal
Uber of the airways won't fly, federal appeals court rules -- Private pilots can't offer flight-sharing services to the public using an Internet model similar to those developed by Uber and Lyft, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. The ruling upholds a decision earlier this year by the Federal Aviation Administration that said the service offered by Boston-based Flytenow violates flight regulations. The company's website connected private pilots with passengers willing to share fuel costs and other flight expenses. AP
Travel
What the U.S.-Cuba deal on commercial flights means for your vacation plans -- A year ago, President Obama announced a new U.S. diplomatic stance toward Cuba, citing a half-century of failure in trying to isolate the island. On Thursday, one year to the day later, the State Department announced an agreement for commercial air service between the United States and Cuba. For the first time since the early 1960s, Americans will be able to buy a commercial plane ticket next year and fly to Cuba, as they do to get anywhere else. Justin Bachman/Bloomberg Business
A guide to flying for Christmas and New Year's -- We know, we know. Many of you just traveled just three weeks ago for the busy Thanksgiving holiday. But, for many Americans, it's already time to do it again as the Christmas and New Years holidays are upon us. The AAA travel organization predicts that more than 100 million Americas will travel at least 50 miles from home from Dec. 23 through Jan. 3. For those of you doing so by air, it might be a good time to revisit some strategies that can help your trip go more smoothly amid the big holiday crowds and long airport lines. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today
Air Cargo
Amazon seeks cargo planes for air freight operation -- Amazon.com Inc. has held discussions with air-cargo companies to lease airplanes and establish its own freight operation, with the goal of reducing its reliance on traditional carriers, according to people familiar with the matter. The Seattle-based online retailer has said it is seeking as many as 25 aircraft from companies including Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. and Air Transport Services Group Inc., these people said. Amazon could begin building out the service early next year, they said. Greg Bensinger/Wall Street Journal
Airplanes
The art of turning around an airplane -- About 1,000 flights a day take off or land at Kennedy International Airport, one of the world's busiest airports. For every plane that lands, dozens of workers hustle to return it to the sky. Here is a look at how Delta Air Lines did it with one recent flight. Wheels Down on Runway 4R - Air traffic controllers inside the lollipop-shaped Federal Aviation Administration tower watched Delta Air Lines Flight 408 from Tel Aviv begin its descent at 3:52 a.m. Thirty-one minutes later, the 777 barreled onto Runway 4R. Emily S. Rueb/New York Times
'Star Wars' cast flies to London on Dreamliner painted like R2-D2 -- How did the cast of Star Wars get from Hollywood to England for the London premiere of the movie franchise's latest installment? On a Boeing 787 Dreamliner painted like R2-D2, of course. That came courtesy of Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways which is painting three of its widebody jets in Star Wars-themed designs. The R2-D2 Dreamliner that flew the cast to London was the first Star Wars jet unveiled by ANA. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today
Aviation Data & Analysis

70% of Flights Leaving Oceania Head to Asia
Courtesy Oliver Wyman PlaneStats
Monday at the Memories
Chet Huntley for American Airlines - 1983
Chet Huntley for American Airlines - 1973
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