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American Airlines to add more than 20 flights a day at LAX and hire 200 workers -- In the three-way battle to take the lead position at Los Angeles International Airport, American Airlines is adding more than 20 new daily flights, starting in June. The Fort Worth-based carrier is now the third-biggest airline at LAX, behind Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. Each of the three carriers serves about 16% of the passengers out of the airport, with Delta handling slightly more international passengers and United holding a slight lead in domestic passengers, according to the most recent LAX data. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times CAPA Centre for Aviation Jeffrey Dastin/Reuters Brett Snyder/Cranky Flyer
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UberX can pick you up at LAX starting Thursday -- After months of negotiations and political infighting, the wait is over: Drivers for Uber's lowest-cost ride service will be allowed to pick up travelers at Los Angeles International Airport starting at 8 a.m. Thursday. Uber is the second ride-hailing company to be granted full access to one of Southern California's most lucrative ride markets. Its main rival, Lyft, started working at LAX in December. Laura J. Nelson/Los Angeles Times Chris Woodyard/USA Today
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Air carriers have until February 8 to apply for nine additional slots at Long Beach Airport -- Existing and potentially new air carriers to Long Beach Airport have until February 8 to declare interest in nine additional flight slots being offered, according to airport officials. A recent noise analysis audit, conducted by an independent firm and confirmed through a second company, indicated that noise levels from aircraft have been reduced at the airport, requiring, under the city's Airport Noise Compatibility Ordinance, that nine additional flight slots be offered to air carriers. Sean Belk/Long Beach Business Journal
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Feasibility study for international terminal approved by Long Beach City Council --The Long Beach City Council approved a feasibility study last night to determine if an international terminal at Long Beach Airport would be economically viable and what kind of risks it might pose to the city by opening it up to international travel. The study will coincide with a risk assessment of potential challenges the city's noise ordinance might face from airlines by potentially opening the market in Long Beach to international flights. Jason Ruiz/Long Beach Post
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Passenger count ticks up at Bob Hope Airport -- The number of passengers traveling through Bob Hope Airport increased in November compared with the same month a year earlier. It was the second straight month of passenger gains. The 3.7% hike was reported Tuesday during a Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority meeting. It follows a similar increase of more than 3.6% in October. Passenger numbers hit a plateau in September and August but increased for six months before that. Chad Garland/Los Angeles Times
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Bay Area airports ready for Super Bowl 50 visitors -- No matter which teams end up playing in Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., airports in the Bay Area are ready for all those sports fans to arrive - and depart. Officials at San Francisco International Airport are gearing up for a steady stream of arriving traffic in the days leading up to the Super Bowl and for a big crush of travelers on the Monday following the game. Harriet Baskas/USA Today
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San Diego Airport rental car center now open -- The $316 million rental car center at Lindbergh Field opened to the public Wednesday, providing a central location for 14 companies and potentially reducing traffic on the main road past the airport's terminals. The 2 million-square-foot facility is off Pacific Highway on the north side of the airport. It has capacity for 5,000 cars. Passengers will be shuttled from the terminals by 16 alternative-fuel buses that will use a route that stays within the airport's boundaries, replacing 81 buses operated by the rental companies. City News Service
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TSA demonstrates how trained dogs can sniff out explosives as demand for pooches in major transportation hubs goes up -- The city's airports have gone to the dogs - but don't worry, they're also detectives. Thanks to their keen ability to sniff out trouble, dogs are in high-demand among law enforcement agencies charged with keeping the public safe - especially in major transportation hubs. The Transportation Security Administration gave a demonstration Wednesday of what their problem-solving pooches can do. Edgar Sandoval/New York Daily News
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New European airline lobby group targets airport charges -- Europe's largest air carriers have formed a new lobby group in a move to sway government policy as the European Union considers far-reaching moves on issues from passenger-travel rights to airline ownership rules. What's more, the group has a first target: airport costs. The new trade body, called Airlines for Europe to parallel its U.S. counterparts' association, Airlines for America, brings together some unlikely bedfellows. Robert Wall & Daniel Michaels/Wall Street Journal
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| Southwest earnings exceed estimates as fuel costs decline -- Southwest Airlines Co.'s fourth-quarter profit topped analysts' estimates as the carrier paid less for jet fuel and flew more passengers longer distances. Earnings excluding some items were 90 cents a share, compared with the 89-cent average of 15 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales rose to $4.98 billion, just missing the $5 billion average estimate. Southwest's passenger traffic and trip length rose as it expanded in international markets and at its Dallas home base. Mary Schlangenstein/Bloomberg |
United earnings miss estimates as strong dollar hurts demand -- United Continental Holdings Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit missed analysts' estimates as a strong dollar and weak economies in energy-dependent markets hurt demand from travelers. Adjusted earnings were $2.54 a share, the Chicago-based company said in a statement Thursday. That compared with the $2.56 average of 14 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue fell 3 percent to $9.04 billion. United took a bigger hit to sales than some airlines did last quarter. Michael Sasso/Bloomberg
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Alaska Air Group Inc. profit rises 49% In Q4 -- Alaska Air Group Inc. announced earnings for its fourth quarter that climbed from last year. The company said its bottom line climbed to $186 million, or $1.46 per share. This was higher than $125 million, or $0.94 per share, in last year's fourth quarter. Analysts had expected the company to earn $1.40 per share, according figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. The company said revenue for the quarter rose 5.3% to $1.38 billion. This was up from $1.31 billion last year. RTT News
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United Airlines' sorry recent history gets cover story treatment from Bloomberg Businessweek (Video) -- Hey, it's only a cover story. But - yet again - United Airlines gets a lot of its dirtiest laundry from the past five years held out for inspection in a Bloomberg Businessweek story penned by Drake Bennett and out last week. To those United customers, reporters, analysts and others who have followed the Chicago-based airline's travails since its merger with Houston-based Continental Airlines in 2010, much of what Bennett dredges up and regurgitates isn't new - though he does spice it up with some interesting color details. Lewis Lazare/Chicago Business Journal
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Delta revolutionized the airline industry, but it's losing customer loyalty. Has Delta gone too far? -- Delta CEO Richard Anderson has helmed his current post since 2007, steering his company through nothing short of a sea change in the commercial air travel industry. Aviation journalist Kathryn Creedy recently discussed Anderson's impact on Delta and the airline industry with Airways News' Ben�t J. Wilson. Creedy says: "Anderson is a polarizing figure, but it's unfair to say that you either love him or hate him. He's created a new philosophy of running an airline for profitability, not market share." Kevin Farrell/Road Warrior Voices
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JetBlue, Hawaiian Airlines increase flight connections -- JetBlue announced today that it has expanded its existing partnership with Hawaiian Airlines through a bilateral codeshare agreement. JetBlue is placing its B6 code on nonstop flights operated by Hawaiian Airlines between New York and Honolulu. The B6 code is also available on select connecting flights from JetBlue's East Coast network to Honolulu via Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas and onward to Hawaiian Airline's Neighbor Island network to destinations including Maul, Kona and Līhue. Maui Now
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Airlines waive change fees ahead of snowstorm -- A winter storm is headed for the East Coast and is expected to disrupt travel throughout the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast - and beyond - beginning Friday morning. The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard watch for Washington, D.C., and Baltimore and is monitoring the possible impacts of the storm, which are expected to include heavy snow extending from Washington, D.C., to New York and Boston from Friday through Sunday. Harriet Baskas/USA Today
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Watchdog faults FAA's air traffic control operations -- Spending on air traffic control operations has doubled over two decades, while productivity has declined substantially and efforts to improve performance have been ineffective, according to a report released Wednesday by a government watchdog. The report by the Transportation Department's inspector general blames the decline in productivity at air traffic facilities on a culture resistant to change within the Federal Aviation Administration and the agency's failure to adopt business-like practices. Joan Lowy/AP
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Why FAA registration might not make drones much safer -- The hundreds of thousands of Americans who bought a drone in 2015 face a key deadline Thursday. It's the last day they can comply with a Federal Aviation Administration mandate that they register their device without paying a $5 fee. But one day ahead of the deadline, it appears that a sizable percentage of drones will not be registered. What's more, experts say it's not at all clear that even a successful effort will achieve the agency's goal of preventing a disaster from the reckless use of one of these devices. Jacob Pramuk/CNBC
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Do planes really need life vests? -- You may think the life vest under your airplane seat will save your life if the aircraft ends up in the water. In fact, such a thing has never happened in modern commercial airline flying. Even though life vests have been a routine part of overwater air travel, there are problems with their design that limit their usefulness in crash landings. They are so difficult to find under seats and put on securely in an emergency that only 33 passengers of 150 aboard US Airways Flight 1549 had a life vest after the plane splashed down in the Hudson River in 2009. Scott McCartney/Wall Street Journal
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Airbus delivers its new plane. Almost no one notices -- New airplanes, among the sexiest beasts in the sky, generally make their debut with the type of glitzy ceremony befitting a Hollywood blockbuster. Not this time. Airbus delivered its new version of the world's bestselling airplane Wednesday to Lufthansa, quietly dropping off the fuel-efficient jet in Hamburg. There was a press release, several photos of executives in suits, and a notice on Twitter. Justin Bachman/Bloomberg Business
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Detached from reality: Proposal for detachable airplane passenger cabin is laughable -- When the plane on which you're flying shudders violently, drops hundreds of feet instantly or rolls over on its back at 30,000 feet would you want some way to get out of there fast, and back on the ground safely? Ukrainian aviation engineer Vladimir Tatarenko is so convinced that hundreds of millions of air travelers would answer that question with a resounding "YES!" that he has come up with a new aircraft design that would allow the entire passenger cabin to be detached in mid-flight from a troubled aircraft. Dan Reed/Forbes
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L.A. city attorney files first criminal charges under new drone ordinance -- Two men accused of flying drones in the vicinity of a hospital and police heliports will be the first to face criminal charges under Los Angeles' new drone restrictions, the city attorney's office said Wednesday. Michael Ponce, 20, and Arvel Chappel, 35, each could face up to six months in jail for violating the ordinance, City Atty. Mike Feuer said in a news release. James Queally/Los Angeles Times Also: West Hollywood places strict limits on drones
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LAPD union slams chief's response to crime hike, calls for hearings about officer deployment -- The Los Angeles police union blasted Chief Charlie Beck on Wednesday, saying his efforts to combat the city's crime hike weren't working and the City Council should hold public hearings to demand answers as to why. The union's board of directors sent a letter urging Councilman Mitch Englander and the Public Safety Committee to determine how officers could be better deployed across the city to reduce the double-digit crime increase. Kate Mather/Los Angeles Times
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Appeals court overturns Richard Alarcon's conviction in residency case -- A panel of justices Wednesday threw out the perjury and voter fraud convictions of former L.A. City Councilman Richard Alarcon and his wife, ruling that the trial judge had issued improper jury instructions. The 2nd District Court of Appeal justices found fault with Superior Court Judge George Lomeli's handling of the instructions, ruling that "we cannot conclude that the instructional error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt." Soumya Karlamangla & David Zahniser/Los Angeles Times
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LA looks at charging for parking near Griffith Observatory to fund other services -- Recreation and Parks officials are considering a plan to charge for parking, provide free shuttle service and improve cycling paths at Griffith Park in hopes of reducing congestion and improving traffic flow at the park. Parking is free throughout the 4,310-acre city park, but Recreation and Parks officials are proposing that about 400 spaces near the Griffith Observatory be turned into metered parking, while another 581 spaces in the lower portion of the park would remain free. City News Service
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LA Mayor says Chargers should stay in San Diego -- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti spoke with ESPN Radio Wednesday and said that he would like to see the San Diego Chargers stay in San Diego, and not move into a new Inglewood stadium with the Los Angeles Rams. "We'd welcome any team to come here, but I love the idea of a great rivalry to the south," Garcetti said per ESPN.com. "We wish them luck." Garcetti also mentioned that he hopes the Oakland Raiders stay in their home market as well. Times of San Diego Also: L.A. mayor on Oscars diversity problem: "I Agree with the criticism"
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