Airports
Why Emirates will fly two A380s from Los Angeles to Dubai in Summer 2016 -- Emirates is doubling the number of daily A380 flights from Los Angeles to Dubai starting next summer, a move that should make it easier (and cheaper) for Angelenos to reach Africa, India and the Middle East. This is another blow to European airlines like British Airways, KLM, Swiss and Lufthansa, all of which once had a lock on the lucrative traffic between Los Angeles and hard-to-reach places like Tehran, Nairobi and Bengaluru. BrianSumers.com Also: Emirates announces new A380 destinations
L.A. Metro gears up for more Crenshaw/LAX Line construction -- The Los Angeles County Transportation Authority (Metro) late last month removed counterweights from the Green Line to allow construction of a bridge to connect the rail route to the future Crenshaw/LAX Line tracks. During the original construction of the Green Line in the early 1990s, the agency anticipated a light-rail line eventually would be added north of the Los Angeles International Airport, so the counterweights were added to make the Green Line structure safer, L.A. Metro officials said on the agency's blog. Progressive Railroading
Airport yoga trend continues to expand -- Next to measured walking paths and restaurant menus with tasty vegetarian and gluten-free options, yoga rooms are some of the healthiest amenities airports have going. In the U.S., you'll find dedicated yoga spaces at San Francisco International Airport, at O'Hare and Midway airports in Chicago, at Burlington International Airport in Vermont and at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. But as popular as these rooms are, not everyone in need of a good stretch has a yoga workout routine memorized. Harriet Baskas/USA Today
10 percent jump in passengers at Sonoma County airport -- An increase in flights led to a 10 percent jump in airline ridership last year at Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport. Alaska Airlines served 263,142 passengers in 2015, the most since the company began service here nearly nine years ago. The increased ridership came as the airlines last year added summer flights to Los Angeles, fall routes to Seattle and a second daily trip to Seattle from Dec. 17 to Jan. 3. "We had a great December, and finished the year with a bang," airport spokeswoman Gina Stocker wrote Tuesday in an email. Robert Digitale/Press Democrat
Mojave airport OKs five-year contract for new CEO -- With the clock winding down to the final days of CEO Stu Witt's tenure with the Mojave Air and Space Port, the governing board on Tuesday continued the process of transitioning leadership to current deputy general manager and incoming CEO Karina Drees. Drees joined the airport in July 2012 as business development director and became deputy general manager the following year, better to reflect her duties. She was selected to succeed Witt for the top job following a nationwide search last year. Allison Gatlin/Antelope Valley Press
Plane slides off taxiway at Spokane airport; no injuries -- The airport in Spokane, Washington, has reopened after freezing rain caused a United Airlines 737 to slide off an icy taxiway. No injuries were reported. Spokane International Airport spokesman Todd Woodard says the slide happened about 6 a.m. Tuesday as the Denver-bound plane was moving on the taxiway. Officials say the front wheels of the plane slid off the taxiway. Flight operations were closed for more than two hours at the airport. AP
Stephen Fry presents video on British etiquette for passengers arriving at Heathrow Airport -- Tourists touching down at Heathrow Airport are being introduced to British etiquette by a video starring comedian Stephen Fry. Tips which feature in the short film include cheering when drinking glasses are accidentally smashed in a pub, navigating the awkward 'after you' loop and mastering the 'agreement rule' when a stranger comments on the weather. Ted Thornhill/Daily Mail
Airlines
Ben Baldanza of Spirit Airlines abruptly replaced -- Ben Baldanza, who led the industry push for more and more airline fees, is out as CEO of Spirit Airlines. Spirit was losing money until Baldanza, 54, took over in 2006. He oversaw the airline's transformation into an "ultra-low cost carrier," an airline that didn't include anything in its base fare and charged extra for seat assignments, snacks, soda, boarding passes and even using the overhead bin. To cram more people into its jets, Baldanza stripped passengers of the ability to recline their seats. AP Related: Baldanza's surprise departure from Spirit Airlines may signal consolidation among low-cost carriers
Spirit's new CEO knows how to pull off airline mergers -- While Spirit remains wildly profitable, the airline's share price dropped 47 percent in 2015 amid torrid expansion. Its revenue dipped due to extremely low fares in many of its most crucial markets, such as Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, and Los Angeles. On Tuesday, meanwhile, Spirit announced that Chief Executive Ben Baldanza had been replaced by industry veteran Robert Fornaro. Justin Bachman/Bloomberg
Craft brews hit the friendly skies -- Beer lovers rejoice! After years of less than stellar offerings (no offense Budweiser) airlines are riding the craft brew wave. According to Travel Pulse's Paul Thompson, more and more are offering the kind of specialized brews that passengers have come to expect when they're on the ground. Back in 2011, when he first looked into beer offerings, Thompson found that only two U.S. carriers, Alaska and Virgin America, offered craft beers. But that's changing. Lori Aratani/Washington Post
Airline fares: Big U.S. carriers hike prices in sign of first industrywide increase since June -- Three of the largest U.S. airlines have inched up fares in what could mark the first industrywide hike since June. Delta Air Lines Inc increased prices Monday on flights by up to $4 one-way, travel search website FareCompare said Tuesday, adding that Southwest Airlines Co has followed suit. American Airlines Group Inc also raised U.S. domestic fares by $3 one-way to match its rivals, company spokesman Josh Freed told Reuters. Reuters
Bikini-clad women audition for flight attendant jobs in China -- An audition held recently by a modeling school in Qingdao, China, required women to parade in bikinis for a chance to become flight attendants or, maybe, fashion models. Modeling agency Oriental Beauty hosted the event, reports the Daily Mail, and entrants were required to be "elegant, slim, have sweet voice and have no scars in the exposed part of their skin." To be considered for the competition, women had to be at least 5'6" tall, but those who were shorter - at least 5'5" tall - but especially pretty could get an exception. News of the competition has enraged the world's largest labor union for flight attendants. Harriet Baskas/USA Today
Southwest Airlines pilots union elects new president -- The Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association elected Capt. Jon Weaks as their new union president on Monday. Weaks replaces previous president Capt. Paul Jackson who resigned in December following the pilots voting down a proposed tentative agreement with the Dallas-based carrier earlier this fall. He will complete the remainder of Jackson's term which ends in late 2016. "I am excited to lead this pilot group in 2016 as we face a different Company mentality than we have seen over the years," Weaks said in a statement. Andrea Ahles/Fort Worth Star-Telegram
American Airlines CEO gains $4.3 million in stock sale -- American Airlines chief executive Doug Parker gained $4.3 million in a stock sale, according to a filing made on Monday. Parker has been selling thousands of stock appreciation rights, which are similar to stock options, that he received when he was chief executive of US Airways between 2006 and 2009. The stock rights are set to expire in the next year and will be worthless if he does not sell them before their expiration date. Andrea Ahles/Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Five miles short and hours late: Fog, over-fueling delay Seattle-bound flight --Heavy fog forced 17 Seattle-bound planes to divert elsewhere on Saturday morning, leaving passengers on some flights sitting on the tarmac for several hours at an airport tantalizingly close to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Most of Saturday's diversions went to Portland International Airport, said Sea-Tac airport spokesman Perry Cooper, but three flights landed at nearby King County International Airport, better known as Boeing Field (BFI), which is just five nautical miles away. Harriet Baskas/USA Today
The case of the missing cases: Malaysia Air suffers latest snafu -- Public relations disasters at Malaysia Airlines come with a lot of baggage. The airline on Tuesday banned check-in baggage on flights to Paris and Amsterdam, saying strong headwinds might cause its planes to run out of fuel if they were too heavy. Hundreds took to the Internet to complain, criticize and mock the carrier, which then dropped the baggage ban Wednesday, explaining it had found a shorter way to Europe. No other airline asked passengers to leave their luggage because of the windy weather. Angus Whitley/Bloomberg
FAA
OIG: FAA still lacks oversight in controller contract -- Two years after the Federal Air Administration's inspector general told the agency to strengthen oversight of spending related to an $859-million air traffic control contract, problems still remain. In an audit report released last month, the OIG found that the FAA has completed seven of the 10 recommendations made in a December 2013 report on the Air Traffic Control Optimum Training Solution contract. Carte Cordell/Federal Times
Gun fight could cause turbulence for FAA bill -- President Obama's move to impose new gun control restrictions via executive actions could cause turbulence for efforts to renew the Federal Aviation Administration's funding early this year. The FAA's funding bill is one of the few pieces of must-pass legislation that is left on Congress' agenda after a busy 2015 that saw lawmakers pass a large spending bill for most government agencies and a multi-year highway funding package. The agency's funding is currently set to expire March 31. Keith Laing/The Hill
Transportation Network Companies
Hawthorne man charged in alleged DUI crash that killed Lyft driver -- A Hawthorne man who allegedly crashed into a Lyft driver early New Year's Day, killing him, admitted to police that he drank and smoked marijuana at a party at a friend's house before he hit the streets, police said Tuesday. Arturo Martinez Conchas, 21, who had driven from South Gate and was nearly home, recorded a 0.16 blood-alcohol level - twice the legal limit for driving in California - in preliminary tests, Hawthorne police Lt. Ti Goetz said. Tests of his blood are still pending. Larry Altman/Torrance Daily Breeze
This guy paid $800 for an Uber home on New Year's (surge prices reached 9.9x) -- New Year's Eve is traditionally (and unsurprisingly) Uber's biggest night of the year. The company said that, at its busiest moments, drivers around the world were dropping off an insane 165 riders per second. That explains why social media filled up almost as quickly with complaints about Uber's surge pricing. Although the ride-hailing app reported that 84% of rides taken that night were priced below 3x surge - and that 60% of rides were not affected by surge pricing at all - some users still encountered surges of up to 9.9 times the regular rates. Jelisa Castrodale/Road Warrior Voices
As Uber, Lyft usages rises, taxi complaints fall -- Taxi drivers are hamstrung in their ability to compete with Uber. They don't control the major lever of competition, the ability to lower their fares. They aren't allowed to surge price either, which can boost the supply of cars when and where passengers need them. In many markets, they can't let riders pay by smartphone, or order a car that way. But taxi drivers do control many aspects of the quality of a ride. Emily Badger/Washington Post
Aviation Data & Analysis
ACI Reports 6.4% More Airport Passengers Worldwide In September
Courtesy Oliver Wyman PlaneStats
High-Speed Rail
Bids for bullet train construction show apparent winner for next phase -- The California High-Speed Rail Authority unsealed bids Tuesday for the construction of 22 additional miles of structures and rail bed in the Central Valley, identifying a team led by the Spanish-based construction firm Ferrovial as the low bidder and "apparent" best value. The team bid $348 million for the job, much less than three other teams that offered to do the work for $377 million to $582 million. Ralph Vartabedian/Los Angeles Times
NFL Return to L.A.?
St. Louis Rams' relocation bid contends they have the best plan for L.A. and NFL -- The Inglewood stadium proposal backed by the St. Louis Rams is vastly superior to the rival plan in Carson and could be a financial windfall for the NFL, the franchise argued in its relocation application submitted to the league Monday. The 29-page document obtained Tuesday by The Times lays out the team's rationale for why it should be able to leave St. Louis and how it believes such a move would ultimately strengthen the NFL. Sam Farmer & Nathan Fenno/Los Angeles Times
City Government
Funding for Los Angeles River cleanup in doubt as El Ni�o begins -- As the winter storms of El Ni�o began to pummel Southern California this week, Los Angeles County officials said federal funding to clean out debris from the Los Angeles River and control flooding has not materialized. Officials with the county Department of Public Works said Tuesday that they had learned the day before that the Army Corps of Engineers had not received the $4.5 million needed to do maintenance on the river basin in the lead-up to El Ni�o. Abby Sewell/Los Angeles Times Also: String of storms hitting California due to strongest El Ni�o on record
Ballot proposal could worsen L.A. housing crisis, mayor says -- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti warned Tuesday that a proposed ballot measure aimed at cracking down on real estate "mega projects" could make things worse for the city's renters. Garcetti said he plans to meet with backers of the proposed ballot measure, including the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, to see if a compromise can be reached that avoids a public vote. But he also said the restrictions contained in the ballot proposal could depress housing construction for Angelenos already facing "higher and higher rents." David Zahniser/Los Angeles Times Dakota Smith/Los Angeles Daily News
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