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LAX sets record for passenger volume in 2015 -- Los Angeles International Airport set another record for passenger volume in 2015, with more than 74.9 million passengers passing through the facility, airport officials said Tuesday. The passenger volume last year was up 6 percent from 2014, when the airport served a then-record 70.66 million passengers, according to Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that runs the facility. Of the 74,936,256 passengers who passed through LAX last year, a record 20.7 million were aboard international flights, an increase of 8.5 percent over the 2014 total of 19.1 million, according to LAWA. City News Service LAX Statistics
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L.A. City Council approves lease for VIP lounge at LAX -- The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday backed a 10-year lease with a security firm that plans to create a private lounge at Los Angeles International Airport for celebrities, high-profile figures and others who want to avoid the paparazzi. The council voted 10-0 to concur with the airport commission's approval last November of the lease with Studio City-based private security firm Gavin de Becker & Associates. City News Service
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American Airlines expands at LAX; no service to Hong Kong announced -- What flyers have been clamoring about the past few weeks was the anticipated introduction of service from LAX to Hong Kong. All signs pointed to this announcement being the pinnacle of an otherwise well-polished shindig in the shadows of one of the entertainment industry's great landmarks. And *poof*... it never appeared. It was the elephant that wasn't in the room. John Nguyen/Airline Reporter
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A look at LAX security from a TSA worker's perspective -- LAX has spruced up a few of its terminals (with more upgrades on the way) and opened itself up to pickups from Lyft and Uber, but one of the big (but necessary) hassles of air travel persists, and that's the TSA security check line. It's rough working the TSA line. There's an immense volume of travelers who are not psyched about waiting in line to take their shoes off and get a full-body X-ray, and there are also so many people trying to sneak guns in a carry-on. Bianca Barragan/Curbed LA
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Ontario airport traffic up for second straight year -- For the second year in a row annual passenger traffic at LA/Ontario International continued to grow - albeit only slightly. According to figures released by Los Angeles World Airports on Tuesday, passenger numbers at ONT were up nearly 2 percent in 2015, with a total of 4.2 million travelers flying in and out of the airport compared to the 4.1 million travelers in 2014. Liset Marquez/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin ONT Statistics
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Why Newark Airport still tops the nation in storm-canceled flights -- Three days after a storm dumped a record 28.1 inches of snow on its runways, Newark Liberty International Airport still tops in the nation in the number of canceled flights. More than 400 flights scheduled to land or take off from Newark Airport Tuesday were canceled, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking service. That includes more than 40 percent of the airport's scheduled departures for the day. Kelly Heyboer/NJ.com
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Appeals court: Airports have wide latitude to kill birds -- The operator of New York City's airports has the legal right to kill migratory birds when necessary to protect planes, a federal appeals court said Tuesday as it rejected a challenge from an animal advocacy group. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was within its rights to kill nearly any migratory bird in emergency situations, including when three snowy owls were killed in December 2013. Exceptions include bald eagles, golden eagles or endangered and threatened species. AP/Wall Street Journal
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Watchdog: Too few air traffic controllers where needed most -- There are too few fully qualified controllers at more than a dozen of the nation's busiest air traffic facilities stretching from Atlanta to Anchorage, according to report released Tuesday by a government watchdog. The 13 airport towers, approach control facilities and en route centers have fewer fully trained controllers than the minimum number established by the Federal Aviation Administration specifically for each facility, Transportation Department's inspector general said. AP/Wall Street Journal
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Cathay Pacific's difficult 2016: Hedging loss, growth cuts, A350 delay, unions, 10 abreast response -- The continuing decline in fuel prices has likely seen Cathay's unrealized hedging losses increase (to approximately USD1 billion) with much to become realized losses. This is in an environment where mainland Chinese carriers are unhedged and other competitors have shorter hedging obligations, disadvantaging Cathay in an over capacity market. CAPA Centre for Aviation
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Eastern Air Lines stages a comeback -- A quarter century after abruptly shutting down late one January night in 1991, Eastern Air Lines is once again in the air. This is not the same airline you loved-or didn't love-a generation ago. Near the end, after all, Eastern was not known for happy employees or stellar customer service. The new Eastern, which started flying in May of last year, is a charter airline flying four Boeing 737s mainly on short routes from Miami to places like Havana, Camaguey, and Santa Clara, all in Cuba. It also flies several sports teams, including the NHL's Florida Panthers. Brian Sumers/Conde Nast Traveler
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United CEO, happily back at work, wades into stock buyback controversy -- An enthusiastic and engaged Oscar Munoz, evidently recovering rapidly from a heart transplant, made his presence felt on Thursday's United Continental earnings call. "I am certainly darn glad to be here," said Munoz, who spoke on an earnings call for the first time since he took over as United CEO in September. He suffered a heart attack in October and had the transplant in January. Yet he responded eagerly to analysts' questions on topics including allocation of upgrades to premium cabins, closing the margin gap with competitors and stock buybacks. Ted Reed/The Street
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United, American offer refunds for travel to Zika areas -- Two major U.S. airlines are offering refunds to passengers worried about the Zika virus outbreak in many tropical countries. United Airlines says customers booked to fly to areas affected by the virus can reschedule or get refunds. American Airlines says it will give refunds to pregnant women who were planning to travel to parts of Central America. AP Also: First Zika virus case confirmed in L.A. County
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Two United Airlines investors raise stakes to influence company -- United Continental Holdings Inc said on Tuesday two investment firms raised their stakes in the airline to engage it on issues ranging from board composition to capital structure and enhancing shareholder value. United, the second largest U.S. airline by capacity, said Altimeter Capital Management LP increased its ownership to 3.1 percent, while PAR Investment Partners LP had taken a 2.4 percent stake. The companies have had smaller stakes in United for months and have already engaged the airline on such issues, the filings said. Jeffrey Dastin/Reuters
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Southwest Airlines chief marketing officer to retire in February -- Southwest Airlines announced Tuesday that its chief marketing officer, Kevin Krone, will retire in February. Krone, who has worked at the Dallas-based carrier for 25 years, led several marketing initiatives including the new brand and livery design and retooled Southwest's frequent flyer program, Rapid Rewards. "To this day, Southwest relies on the site he developed, Southwest.com, for ticket distribution that, without Kevin's vision and leadership, would not have grown to the biggest travel website in the world," said Southwest chief commercial officer Bob Jordan. Andrea Ahles/Fort Worth Star-Telegram
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Airlines reap benefits from cheaper fuel, consumers not so much -- Consumers have benefited somewhat from the lowest jet-fuel costs in more than 12 years, but not nearly as much as the companies. While travelers are paying less on average for trips, base fares -- the prices assigned to each seat -- have remained essentially unchanged since 2014, according to Rick Seaney, chief executive officer of ticket-research company FareCompare.com. Meanwhile, spot jet-fuel prices in New York harbor have tumbled 70 percent since the start of 2014, hitting 81 cents a gallon Jan. 20, the lowest since December 2003, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Mary Schlangenstein & Michael Sasso/Bloomberg
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Video: The story of the Eskimo - The Eskimo first appeared on the tail of an Alaska Airlines airplane in the early 1970s as part of a new, four-logo paint scheme. Since then, he's become a welcoming smile for those who fly with us-a symbol of our warm, caring service, and a topic of discussion and debate for those eager to solve the mystery of his identity. Alaska Airlines
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Super Bowl 50 tickets on track to be most expensive ever -- Tickets to Super Bowl 50 are nearing record price levels, with the average resale price of a ticket now weighing in at $5,178, according to ticket price tracker SeatGeek. This year the Carolina Panthers will take on the Denver Broncos in the Bay Area's first Super Bowl in decades - and locals are snapping up many of the existing ticket, with purchases in Silicon Valley comprising 10 percent of the total bought so far. StubHub puts the price even higher, at a record-high average of $5,461. Riley McDermid/San Francisco Business Times
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Coachella Valley hotels finish 2015 with highest occupancy in years -- Even though hotel occupancy in December was down slightly in the region, compared to the year before, Coachella Valley hotels finished 2015 in a stronger place than they've seen in years. "I think overall, if you look at it... We definitely did have in 2015 a decent growth," remarked Aftab Dada, a member of the Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of directors, speaking during Friday's board meeting. Skip Descant/The Desert Sun
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Southland transit agencies report shrinking ridership as investments continue to grow -- For almost a decade, transit ridership has declined across Southern California despite enormous and costly efforts by top transportation officials to entice people out of their cars and onto buses and trains. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the region's largest carrier, lost more than 10% of its boardings from 2006 to 2015, a decline that appears to be accelerating. Despite a $9-billion investment in new light rail and subway lines, Metro now has fewer boardings than it did three decades ago, when buses were the county's only transit option. Laura J. Nelson & Dan Weikel/Los Angeles Times
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Could Metro Rail reach the new Inglewood Stadium? -- As the dust finally settles following the return of the Los Angeles Rams, a series of new developments have emerged which could eventually bring Metro Rail to the team's doorstep in Inglewood. This week, Metro's Board of Directors is scheduled to discuss how to improve transit access for the $2.66-billion stadium that Rams owner Stan Kroenke is developing on the 298-acre property which formerly housed the Hollywood Park race track. Steven Sharp/Urbanize.LA
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| Transportation Network Companies |
California regulators propose new round of rules for Uber, Lyft -- Nearly two weeks after California regulators struck Uber with a $7.6 million fine, an administrative law judge with the California Public Utilities Commission has proposed an updated set of guidelines for ride services that stop short of requiring more rigorous background and fingerprint checks for drivers. But other proposed rules would tighten restrictions on vehicle inspections and require proof of commercial liability insurance. The regulations also propose giving the commission's blessings to ride-service carpools, but transportation network companies, as they're called, would have to show how they calculate split fares. Bryan Goebel/KQED
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Former Obama campaign official says he will challenge Eric Garcetti in 2017 -- A longtime Democratic operative who played important roles in the first Obama presidential campaign and the Clinton White House said Tuesday that he plans to run against Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2017. Mitchell Schwartz, 55, said he plans to take out papers for his campaign in the coming weeks. A political strategist who directed Barack Obama's 2008 campaign in California and served as communications director for the State Department under President Clinton, Schwartz would be the first challenger with a significant political resume to enter the 2017 mayoral race. Peter Jamison/Los Angeles Times
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