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L.A. council may tighten penalties for LAX taxi drivers who show racial bias -- A City Council committee moved Tuesday to tighten penalties for taxi drivers who face complaints of discrimination for refusing to pick up an airport passenger on the basis of race. The action was spurred by a recent undercover operation by two black police officers, who found that taxi drivers rejected 20% of their requests for rides at LAX. The committee that oversees trade and tourism suggested banning cab drivers from working the airport for a year if an investigation finds them guilty of racial discrimination against a potential passenger. Laura J. Nelson/Los Angeles Times City News Service
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SeaPort Airlines halts service to California locations, including Bob Hope Airport -- SeaPort Airlines, a Portland, Ore.-based carrier with routes in eight U.S. states and Baja, Calif., in Mexico, announced Friday that it would discontinue all scheduled service to destinations in California and Mexico by the end of that day, and to destinations in Kansas and Missouri by the end of the day this past Saturday. The cancellations impact service at nine destinations, including Burbank's Bob Hope Airport, and airfields in four other California cities - Sacramento, Visalia, San Diego and Imperial. Customers will be issued a full refund for unused tickets. Chad Garland/Burbank Leader
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Will American debut Premium Economy between Los Angeles & Hong Kong? -- American Airlines is hosting a press conference on Wednesday, January 20, at the world-famous Hollywood Bowl, and AirlineReporter has been invited to attend this special "preview" for the media. The hook from the invitation: there will be "some very exciting announcements to unveil about their continued growth and expansion in Los Angeles, including new services, partnerships, and programs that will be rolled out in 2016 at LAX and citywide!" John Nguyen/Airline Reporter
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Look, up in the sky: Plane spotting enthusiasts soar across Southern California airports -- A distant speck in the sky approaches Los Angeles International Airport on a cloudy Sunday afternoon. From his vantage point overlooking the runway, Julian Elnasser knows exactly what's approaching. "There's EVA (Air) right there. That's on the northern downwind. That'll be landing on the north side," he says in an authoritative tone that makes it sound as if he's in the control tower directing air traffic. Richard Guzman/Long Beach Press-Telegram
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Fitch rates San Francisco Int'l Airport revs 'A+'; Outlook Stable -- Fitch Ratings has assigned an 'A+' rating to the Airport Commission's, City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) approximately $244 million series 2016A second series revenue refunding bonds. Fitch has also affirmed the 'A+' rating on approximately $4.5 billion of parity SFO second series revenue bonds. The Rating Outlook for all of the bonds is Stable. Fitch Press Release
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Southwest Airlines says it will appeal Dallas Love Field gate ruling -- Southwest Airlines said it plans to appeal a federal judge's decision to issue a temporary injunction that is allowing Delta Air Lines to continue operations at Dallas Love Field. On Tuesday, the Dallas-based carrier filed a "notice to appeal" with the federal court, showing its intent to file an appeal with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. "We are appealing the decision as part of our ongoing efforts to protect our right to fully utilize our gates at Love Field," said Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins. Andrea Ahles/Fort Worth Star-Telegram
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Year 1 after Wright: a win-win for both North Texas airports -- When a federal judge urged Congress to end restrictions at Love Field, I predicted that wouldn't happen. Let me add: It shouldn't happen, either. The compromise that ended the Wright amendment was always supposed to be a balancing act. It sought to create more air travel competition and consumer benefits, yet not go so far as to weaken Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport or the residential neighborhoods around Love. Those threats were the rationale for constraining Love. Mitchell Schnurman/Dallas Morning News
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JetBlue offering free airport yoga classes -- Passengers who need to stretch and bend will now find yoga studios tucked into corners of a handful of airports around the country, but this week JetBlue brings the yoga discipline front and center with a series of free classes in Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The one-hour classes will be held Wednesday through Friday, Jan. 20-22, in the post-security, lower grandstand area in the T5 Marketplace (where concerts and other special events are often held) and will be led by noted yoga instructors from New York City, including Damita McCain, Leo Rising, Melissa Donegan and Michaeline Sultana DeBono. Harriet Baskas/USA Today
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Aviation police: 'No guns' policy a threat to travelers -- Citing continuing threats to airports around the country, aviation police sergeants at Chicago's two airports are demanding they be allowed to carry guns while on duty. The Illinois Council of Police, in a letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, said the current policy, which prohibits all aviation police officers from carrying a gun, puts them and the public in danger. Scott Zamost & Drew Griffin/CNN
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All Things Travel: Logan Airport helps land GE in Boston -- That is the story behind General Electric's decision to move their world corporate headquarters a couple of hundred miles from Fairfield, Connecticut to Boston. It's Cambridge's brainpower and Boston's air power at Logan Airport that helped close the deal. Of course, $120 million in tax breaks and other financial incentives should be noted. Having a major airport 10 minutes from the Seaport District and their proposed headquarters was a big plus. Bob Weiss/CBS Boston
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Delta posts Q4 profit of nearly $1B on lower fuel prices -- Cheaper jet fuel thanks to falling oil prices helped Delta Air Lines earn $980 million in the fourth quarter despite lower revenue than a year ago. The results fell slightly short of Wall Street expectations. Delta officials said demand for travel remained solid, but they forecast another decline in a key revenue measure through the first three months of 2016. That could add to investor concern that airlines will add too many flights and cut fares while fuel is relatively cheap. David Koenig/AP
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The real meaning behind what airlines say on investor conference calls -- Airlines have a funny way of using complex terms to convey simple things. That showed even in Delta Air Lines' relatively straightforward announcement Tuesday of a $4.5 billion profit for 2015. Airlines use tortuous terminology in part because the things investors want to hear are very different from what consumers want to hear. In fact, consumers' motivations (low fares) are sometimes the exact opposite of investors' interests (high profits) - and airlines know it. Kelly Yamanouchi/Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Airline profit margins soar despite revenue challenges -- Thanks to cost reductions led by the decline of energy prices, industry consolidation, and capacity discipline, the U.S. airline industry is enjoying operating margins above 15 percent. That's a strong margin for any industry, but a particularly big deal for airlines, which have struggled in years past to turn a profit at all. Even more impressive, according to Oliver Wyman's 2015-2016 Airline Economic Analysis, margins remained strong despite recent revenue challenges. Tom Stalnaker/Forbes
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American Airlines partnership would create the largest US-South America force -- Mid-Jan-2016 was a banner period for the oneworld alliance. Latin American powerhouse LATAM Airlines Group tabled plans to forge immunised joint ventures with Europe's IAG Group and American Airlines, upping the competitive stakes between Europe and Latin America, and the US and Latin America. The tie-up between LATAM and American is not surprising, despite American's relative silence on the issue until the formal announcement of the partnership was made. CAPA Centre for Aviation
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Delayed on United? You could get more money in airport vouchers -- United Airlines is raising the value of vouchers it gives customers whose flights have been delayed by mechanical problems and other airline-related issues. According to a recent employee bulletin, United will give most inconvenienced coach passengers meal and drink vouchers worth $10, rather than the previous limit of $7. Just as before, however, the vouchers will not be available to customers until their flights have been delayed by at least four hours for a reason caused by the airline. Brian Sumers/BrianSumers.com
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These airlines bring a taste of place aboard -- Airlines are increasingly showcasing local cuisine from company bases, countries of origin or the destination ahead on tray tables 30,000 feet in the air. Enjoy more eclectic flavors and seasonal ingredients from destinations around the globe, from a Szechuan Bloody Mary on Air China to a mahi mahi poke omelet on Hawaiian Airlines, on these flights with elevated food programs. Marla Cimini/USA Today
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Big changes coming for American's reward program -- If you've got enough miles for an award ticket from American's frequent-flier program, you should consider booking the flight before March 22. After that, new rules take effect and you may have to use more miles for reward flights. The number of miles you need for an award ticket will go up in some markets. For coach flights there are four levels of mileage awards: MileSAAver Off-Peak tickets allow you to fly for the fewest number of miles on a route, followed by MileSAAver, AAnytime Level 1 and AAnytime Level 2. Tom Parsons/Dallas Morning News
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More airlines requiring larger pets to fly as cargo -- If you own a big dog and you want it to travel with you, you used to be able to go to the ticket counter, put him in his crate, and check him onto the same flight you were flying on. Now, most of the major carriers are moving towards transporting pets as cargo, which has pet owners checking in a good distance from the terminal. Kris Van Cleave reports. CBS News
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Japanese airlines to cut fuel surcharges as oil prices slump -- The nation's airlines are set to remove fuel surcharges with oil trading around a 12-year low, ending a decade of high jet kerosene costs that had added as much as �66,000 to the price of a round-trip ticket to the U.S. or Europe. The current price of Singapore kerosene is below the minimum level for adding surcharges, Hiroshi Hasegawa and Osuke Itazaki, analysts in Tokyo at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., wrote in a Jan. 15 report. Bloomberg
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Aviation groups plead for private air traffic control plan to be grounded -- General aviation groups are pleading for Congress to ground a proposal to privatize privatize large portions of the nation's air traffic control system in a funding measure for the Federal Aviation Administration. Lawmakers are already expected to debate a proposal from House Republicans to create a new nongovernmental agency that would take over air traffic control from the FAA as Congress tries to beat a March 31 deadline for renewing the agency's funding. Keith Laing/The Hill
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Jolted by terrorist attacks, U.S. travelers get serious about overseas trip security -- A litany of horrors has jolted frequent-flying foreign-aid workers, contractors and think tank researchers, including Friday's attack on a luxury hotel in Burkina Faso that left at least 29 dead, the November terrorist massacre in a Mali hotel popular with expatriates and the November assaults in Paris that killed 130. Those attacks, along with the vanishing or blowing up of airliners and Islamic State-related scares from California to Cairo, have spooked many hard-core travelers accustomed to the most uncomfortable and unsavory parts of the world. Steve Hendrix/Washington Post
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Air Travel Growth Indicators
Courtesy Oliver Wyman PlaneStats |
Can the Rams give Inglewood a new identity? -- Redemption rested on a plot of land just beyond the casino, the empty seats overlooking the vacant track and within sight of the round building that once housed champions. It was coming one scoop at a time. A backhoe rumbled and dug into the earth and blew clouds of black smoke. The men in the orange vests yelled orders and stood on mounds of dirt now worth about $2 billion. Redemption certainly took its time coming to Inglewood. David Montero/Los Angeles Daily News Also: Rams heat up Inglewood's real estate market
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Firms left out of LAPD's body camera search decry 'piggybacking' bid process -- Los Angeles leaders have described their plan for putting thousands of body cameras on police officers as transformative, a move that will set the standard for major law enforcement agencies across the nation. But that costly and sweeping initiative - expected to consume $57.6 million over five years - hinges on a little-watched contracting process that unfolded more than a hundred miles north. David Zahniser & Kate Mather/Los Angeles Times
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L.A. to pay $24 million to two men imprisoned for decades after wrongful murder convictions -- Los Angeles will pay more than $24 million to two men who were wrongfully convicted and spent decades behind bars before being freed, city lawmakers decided Tuesday. Both Kash Register and Bruce Lisker sued the city after their murder convictions were overturned. The Los Angeles City Council agreed to pay $16.7 million to Register and $7.6 million to Lisker, resolving two cases that had accused Los Angeles Police Department detectives of trampling on their rights. Emily Alpert Reyes & Matt Lait/Los Angeles Times
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DWP board approves power rate hike to raise $720 million -- The board that oversees the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on Tuesday approved a plan to increase power rates in a move that it said was necessary to meet a slew of energy-related mandates and repair the city's degrading power infrastructure. If approved by the City Council, the rate hike would result in a system-wide 3.86% average annual rate increase and generate about $720 million over the next five years, DWP said. Matt Stevens/Los Angeles Times
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