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Valentine's Day a busy time for LAX flower inspectors -- Before those roses light up your sweetheart's eyes on Valentine's Day, they are put through a rigorous inspection process at Los Angeles International Airport. This is a busy time of year for the dozens of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture inspectors who work near LAX looking for disease and insects in millions of flowers imported to the United States every Valentine's season. Mayde Gomez/ABC7 Fox11 City News Service
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United Airlines cancels service between Bakersfield, Houston -- A decline in oil-related business travel has prompted United Airlines to end flights between Bakersfield and Houston in early April, five years after the service launched. Local travel agents say the last flight from Bakersfield to Houston will be April 4. United said it continually evaluates demand for service in all its markets, and that the "difficult decision" to end service between the two cities was "due to the significant decline in demand for oil/energy sector related travel." John Cox/Bakersfield Californian
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Houston mayor tears up airport contracts, will start bidding over -- Mayor Sylvester Turner said he will tear up a series of massive airport expansion contracts and start the bidding process over late Tuesday, hours after City Controller Chris Brown said he would not clear the way for council to approve the items, citing potential violations of city procurement rules and other concerns. The five contracts, which have been delayed since December, would be the first wave of City Council approvals needed to launch a $1.5 billion expansion of the Mickey Leland International Terminal and its surroundings at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Mike Morris/Houston Chronicle
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Obama's budget benefits North Texas rail projects, including second airport line -- Two North Texas rail projects have $174 million earmarked for them in President Obama's final proposed federal budget. Meanwhile, plans for a second light-rail line in downtown Dallas moved closer Wednesday to eventually qualifying for federal funds. The president's 2017 budget set aside $125 million for the TEX Rail project that will connect downtown Fort Worth to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport's Terminal B. Brandon Formby/Dallas Morning News
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Uber drivers face towing, fines at Newark Airport, Newark Penn Station -- Newark's chief prosecutor has warned Uber Technologies Inc. that the company's drivers are repeatedly violating the city's taxicab ordinance, and that those operating at Newark Liberty International Airport and Penn Station in Newark will have their cars towed and face fines. Richard Newman/Bergen (N.J.) Record
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Airline seats are now the cheapest since 2010 -- There is some good news if you're in the market for an airline ticket. The average domestic round-trip ticket in the third quarter was $372, down 6.2 percent from a year earlier, the Transportation Department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics said Tuesday. Separately, the department reported that the price airlines paid for a gallon of fuel plunged 37 percent, to $1.46, between December 2014 and December 2015. Fox News
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U.S. airline reports show steady traffic, lower fares -- Reports from American Airlines and United Airlines show that air travel demand is growing modestly and there aren't many empty seats, but average fares continue to decline. However, new government figures show that while fares are coming down, airlines are keeping most of the savings from cheaper jet fuel. The average domestic round-trip ticket in the third quarter was $372, down 6.2% from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. AP
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Winter weather tempers JetBlue's Q1 capacity growth outlook -- Terrible winter weather prompted JetBlue on Wednesday to cut its Q1 capacity growth forecast to 13%-15% from an earlier range of 14%-16%. The airline, which grew its capacity by 10.4% in Q4, has been among the discount and regional a carriers that are adding flights and new routes and contributing to overexpansion concerns. JetBlue's January unit revenue also fell 3.5% from a year ago, with "a positive impact of about two points from winter storm Jonas," the company said. Bill Peters/Investor's Business Daily
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Prosecutors: Charges upgraded in airline gun smuggling case -- Prosecutors have upgraded charges in a gun trafficking case in which they allege at least two Delta Air Lines employees helped take guns on commercial flights in carry-on luggage from Georgia to New York. Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson says five people have been charged. Three face charges of aggravated enterprise corruption, which carries a penalty of up to life in prison upon conviction. They had faced enterprise corruption charges before. AP
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Suspected suicide bomber traded seats before Somali plane blast, airline CEO says -- The man authorities believe may have smuggled a bomb onto a Daallo Airlines jet in Somalia last week apparently traded seats with another passenger before the blast, airline CEO Mohammed Ibrahim Yassin told ABC News. The passenger was originally sitting in a window seat, but agreed to move to the aisle when the suspected bomber, identified by Somalian officials as Abdullahi Abdisalam Borleh, asked to switch, according to Yassin, who spoke with the passenger. Erin Dooley/ABC News
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| Behind the scenes of TSA's new training academy -- In an unprecedented move to improve airport security, TSA is training all its new screeners at one centralized academy. It was created after a number of missteps that raised doubts about the agency's ability to properly screen airline passengers. CBS News got the first access to the training academy on the grounds of the federal law enforcement training centers in Glynco, Georgia. CBS News |
Boeing says it will cut jobs in commercial aircraft business -- Boeing Co. plans to cut jobs in its commercial airplane division, the company's largest business, as part of cost reductions intended to improve competitiveness. The planemaker will first seek to trim executive and managerial positions, Ray Conner, chief executive of the Boeing unit, told employees Wednesday in a webcast. Involuntary cuts may be necessary as a last resort in addition to attrition and voluntary departures, he said. Julie Johnsson/Bloomberg Business
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Bill introduced to stop the incredible shrinking airline seat -- If your butt is getting more and more sore every time you fly, it's not your imagination or Flamin' Hot Cheetos addiction to blame. According to SeatGuru, since the '90s, the average width of an airline seat has shrunk from 18.5 inches to 16.5. Meanwhile, the airlines have ratcheted down the average distance between seat rows from 35 inches to about 31 inches. Ben Popken/NBC News
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Republican seeks to spike price quote rules for airline tickets -- A Republican lawmaker is pushing to nullify the regulations that require airlines to include taxes and fees in the price quotes for flight tickets. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) has filed an amendment to a Federal Aviation Administration funding measure that would eliminate the rules for airfare quotes, which are predominantly given online. The amendment revives an unsuccessful 2014 measure that was dubbed the Transparent Airfares Act. Keith Laing/The Hill
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Congress considers bag fee refunds and cell phone bans for airlines -- A big fight looming in Washington concerns whether U.S. air traffic control should be transferred from the Federal Aviation Administration to a not-for-profit corporation. Apart from the headline-grabbing changes, the two Republicans who wrote the bill also stuck a few items further down in the 273-page document that consumers may like-and airlines may not. Here are some of the issues up for debate. Justin Bachman/Bloomberg Business
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Air traffic controllers ready to break away from FAA -- Thirty-five years ago, President Ronald Reagan parted ways with the nation's air traffic controllers, and now they are prepared to return the favor, the head of their union told Congress on Wednesday. Paul Rinaldi, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, told the House Transportation Committee that his union supports legislation that would move his members to a private, nonprofit corporation that would supervise 50,000 U.S. flights each day. Ashley Halsey III/Washington Post
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When air rage turns into assault -- On the plane, flight attendants and pilots have protection from federal law that says interfering with flight crew members by assaulting or intimidating them can result in fines and imprisonment for up to 20 years. Now, one union representing airline customer service workers is pushing to also make it a felony to assault an airline customer service agent. Kelly Yamanouchi/Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Cargo airline expanded flights believed to be for Amazon -- Air Transport Services Group Inc. said Wednesday it has expanded an air cargo delivery pact widely believed to be with Amazon.com Inc., and wants to extend the trial beyond its planned expiration in March. The freight airline started domestic flights with two aircraft for Amazon in September, part of the online retail giant's effort to take more control of its shipping operation, and the service was boosted to five Boeing Co. 767s in November. Doug Cameron/Wall Street Journal
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Get ready, L.A. - Obama's visit to bring heavy traffic -- President Obama swings through Southern California this week for political fundraisers and an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres' daytime TV show, motorists in Los Angeles are bracing for heavier-than-usual traffic. After attending fundraisers in the Bay Area, Obama is scheduled to arrive in L.A. on Thursday for a taping of "Ellen" in Burbank.
At Los Angeles International Airport, both directions of Sepulveda Boulevard between Lincoln and Century boulevards will be closed for about 8 minutes between 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Matt Hamilton/Los Angeles Times
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Two nonprofits face more than $47,000 in fines over L.A. lobbying forms -- Two nonprofits could face fines totaling more than $47,000 from the city Ethics Commission for failing to accurately report how much they had spent on lobbying at City Hall. Ethics Commission staffers have proposed a fine of $30,000 for the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, an influential organization that has successfully pushed to raise wages for hotel and airport workers, and $17,500 for the Hospital Assn. of Southern California, a regional trade group for hospitals. Emily Alpert Reyes/Los Angeles Times
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Los Angeles seeks to shut down massage parlors in Eagle Rock, North Hollywood and Wilmington -- The Los Angeles city attorney's office is trying to ban a group of massage parlor owners from operating within the city, accusing them of running fronts for prostitution in Eagle Rock and other areas, officials said Wednesday. In a lawsuit citing the state's Red Light Abatement Law, City Atty. Mike Feuer alleges that the owners of four massage parlors have, for years, operated the businesses as brothels and advertised their services on Craigslist. Joseph Serna/Los Angeles Times
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