Airlines
United Airlines CEO undergoes heart transplant -- The CEO of United Airlines, who has been on medical leave since suffering a heart attack in October, underwent a heart transplant on Wednesday. The airline said that he is recovering. United said that it expects Oscar Munoz to return to work this spring. The airline said that a transplant was "considered the preferred treatment and was not the result of a setback in his recovery." It did not provide more details, including where the transplant was performed. It promised to provide more information within 24 hours. David Koenig/AP Susan Carey/Wall Street Journal
Frontier Airlines adds flights from Cleveland Hopkins to Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Philadelphia -- Frontier Airlines announced a major expansion at Cleveland Hopkins airport on Thursday, adding new nonstop service to Portland, Oregon, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Philadelphia. The airline is kicking off the new service, which starts in mid-April, with a fare sale, offering $39 one-way fares to Philadelphia and $79 seats to the three West Coast cities. Flights to Los Angeles also will operate Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, starting April 14. Both United and Spirit airlines currently fly between Cleveland and Los Angeles. Susan Glaser/Cleveland Plain Dealer
Virgin America lets modernism fly at PSP -- Virgin America, the California-based airline known for bringing the fun and style back to flying, and Modernism Week, an annual festival in Palm Springs that highlights the mid-century modern design that Palm Springs is known for, are partnering to create an interactive vintage modern exhibit at the airline's gate at Palm Springs International Airport during the festival from February 11-21, 2016.  Virgin America Press Release
Going once, going twice: Airlines auction seat upgrades -- Airlines are sold on using auctions to peddle more premium seats rather than giving them away free to loyal customers. More than 30 airlines around the world now offer auctions to sell upgrades to first-class, business-class or premium-economy seats. More will be launching auctions in 2016. Some even auction off the chance to have an empty seat beside you in coach. It is an opportunity for travelers who don't have superelite status to enjoy the perks without paying full price. Scott McCartney/Wall Street Journal
Inside one of the world's biggest airline food factories -- Love them or loathe them, airline meals turn 97 years old this year. That's an awful lot of chicken or fish. The first was served back in 1919 on a Handley Page flight from London to Paris where, sensibly, they chose to serve only sandwiches and fruit. Almost a century later the scale of airline meals is staggering, nowhere more so than at the Emirates Flight Catering facility in Dubai. The airline, one of the world's largest, prepares up to 180,000 meals every day for more than 400 daily flights to 142 destinations. Chris Dwyer/CNN
New Spirit CEO could change strategy -- Amid falling unit revenues and increased competition from legacy carriers, Spirit Airlines on Jan. 5 abruptly replaced longtime CEO Ben Baldanza with Robert Fornaro, a Spirit board member and industry veteran who led AirTran Airways into its merger with Southwest Airlines.  The decision came as a surprise to many industry observers, and Spirit said little about why it made the change. It only noted in a press release that Baldanza had recently moved his family to the Washington area.
Brian Sumers & Madhu Unnikrishnan/Aviation Daily
Now departing: 6 memorable moments from outgoing Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza's career -- Spirit Airlines announced this week that the man piloting the company for the past 10 years, CEO Ben Baldanza, had been replaced with former AirTran chief Robert Fornaro. Baldanza was more than just the captain of the airline everyone loves to hate; he's the reason we love to hate Spirit. And many of the policies instituted during his decade-long tenure revolutionized the travel industry in the U.S. Kevin Farrell/Road Warrior Voices
Airports
Study: Tarmac delay rule just makes things worse -- The tarmac delay rule put in place in 2010 by the Department of Transportation to protect fliers from being stranded for hours on airplanes during long delays has actually made travel delays longer, a new study finds. The study compared actual flight schedule and delay data before and after the rule went into effect and found that, while it has been very effective in reducing the frequency of long tarmac delays, the rule has raised cancellation rates overall and created longer travel times. Harriet Baskas/USA Today 
Lightning knocks out runway lights at SLO airport -- At least three lightning strikes hit the San Luis Obispo Airport during thunderstorms on Wednesday knocking out power and the airport's runway and taxiway lights. The sudden disruption created havoc for people flying out of or into San Luis Obispo Airport. Dozens of weary travelers arrived at the airport Wednesday night by bus from LAX. Keith Carl/ KEYT
Ontario-to-San Francisco flights face weather delays -- Some departing flights from LA/Ontario International Airport to the San Francisco area are facing delays, airport officials announced Wednesday morning. Airport officials advised travelers to San Francisco to check with their airlines for further information. Ontario airport officials announced the news around 8:30 a.m. via Twitter. "Due to weather in San Francisco, some departing flights to #SFO are experiencing delays. Please check with your airline for more info," airport officials tweeted. Mike Cruz/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
The world's most punctual airports and airlines are ... -- People who claim that traveling is better than arriving have clearly never passed through an airport in Japan. New stats published by travel analysts OAG reveal that if you're flying into one of two major Japanese airports, you're more likely to experience a punctual touchdown or takeoff. Osaka Itami -- with a punctuality rating of 93.85% -- is named as the best small airport for on-time performance. Tokyo Haneda ranks top for large airports with 91.25%. Anywhere served by Latvian carrier airBaltic is also a safe bet. Barry Neild/CNN
FAA
FAA: 181,000 drones registered since database began Dec. 21 -- More than 181,000 drones have been registered with the federal government since a database began Dec. 21, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday. "We're encouraged by the registration numbers we're seeing so far," FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told a panel at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The FAA also released Wednesday a smart-phone app for Apple products, B4UFLY, so drone operators can learn about no-fly zones in their area. Bart Jansen/USA Today
Aviation Data & Analysis
Latin America Airlines Passenger Count Declines in November
Courtesy Oliver Wyman PlaneStats
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