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U.N. agency bans lithium-ion batteries on passenger aircraft -- The U.N. aviation agency on Monday prohibited shipments of lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger aircraft, following concerns by pilots and plane makers that they are a fire risk. Lithium metal batteries, which are used in watches, have already been banned on passenger planes globally. Lithium metal batteries, used in watches, are not rechargable while lithium-ion batteries, used in cell phones and laptops, can be recharged. Allison Lampert/Reuters
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Southwest's Long Beach Airport takeoff could spur fresh rivalry with JetBlue -- Michael Spann can drive from his home to the Long Beach Airport in less than 15 minutes, but the sales representative is frustrated that he can't get a direct flight to see his son in Denver from the handful of carriers that serve the regional airfield. That could change now that the city of Long Beach has offered Southwest Airlines the chance to operate in Long Beach for the first time, setting up a possible battle of low-cost carriers at the 1,166-acre facility. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times
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Norwegian will fly direct from U.S to Paris -- Norwegian will start flying direct to Paris' Charles De Gaulle Airport on July 29. There will be four weekly flights from New York's JFK International Airport, two weekly flights from Los Angeles International Airport and one weekly flight from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. This will be Norwegian's first set of flights from Charles De Gaulle. It currently runs flights from Paris Orly to five Scandinavian destinations. Newswire/Travel Agent Central
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Letter: Bright idea at John Wayne Airport -- Reader John Loggins made a good suggestion to have the pillars at LAX color-coded for easier pickup ["The Right Stripe at LAX," Letters, Jan. 31]. John Wayne Airport in Orange County does this and goes one better by having the pillars numbered. Beginning at No. 1, and going in sequence, it is very easy for a motorist to locate a passenger. Upon entering the airport, there is no need to search each pillar, but simply drive to the proper number, posted large and in a bright color. Jeanette A. Fratto, Laguna Niguel/Los Angeles Times
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Police find THC extraction lab in El Segundo hotel suite -- The Embassy Suites hotel near Los Angeles International Airport was evacuated Monday afternoon after a patron reported that someone was cooking meth in a room, police said. Investigators later determined that a person was trying to extract tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. The incident began shortly after 1:30 p.m., when a guest who had just checked out of the hotel in the 1400 block of East Imperial Avenue approached a manager and said that people in his former room were cooking methamphetamine, said El Segundo Police Lt. Scott Doukakis. Matt Hamilton/Los Angeles Times
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Small plane crashes, hits several parked cars near Whiteman Airport -- A small, fixed-wing plane struck several parked vehicles as it crashed Monday afternoon near Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, officials said. No one on the ground was injured, according to Margaret Stewart, spokeswoman of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The pilot was not injured and declined medical care, she said. The Mooney M20 plane had just departed from Whiteman Airport, said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration. Veronica Roche/Los Angeles Times
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IATA: Risk of capacity crunch for HKIA -- Although Hong Kong International Airport had its third runway approved last year, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is concerned about the airport's capacity crunch. Last year, the HK government announced that the construction of a third runway for Hong Kong International Airport would begin in 2016 with a completion target of 2023. "There is a capacity crunch, however, even now," said IATA CEO, Tony Tyler at a recent Round Table event held in Hong Kong. Charlotte Turner/Travel Retail Business
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Southwest Airlines could 'be flying into Cuba this year,' CEO Gary Kelly says -- Southwest Airlines could begin flying to Cuba later this year after CEO Gary Kelly on Monday gave the strongest sign yet that the Dallas-based company will compete for newly opened routes at the island nation's 10 airports. In a message to employees, Kelly said Southwest "in all likelihood" would apply to fly in and out of Cuba on new routes opened under a historic commercial air travel agreement reached last week by U.S. and Cuban officials. Conor Shine/Dallas Morning News
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United orders 25 more Boeing 737s worth $2 billion: sources -- Boeing Co has won an order for 25 current-generation Boeing 737 aircraft from United Continental Holdings Inc, beating rivals including Canada's Bombardier Inc for the second time in a month, two industry sources said on Monday. The deal, which is said to involve the 126-seat 737-700 model, would be worth just over $2 billion at list prices. Boeing and United both declined to comment. The deal with Boeing, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes weeks after United agreed to buy 40 Boeing 737-700 jets listed at $3.2 billion. Reuters
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United Airlines mechanics picket to protest a contract offer -- This is not what Oscar Munoz needed. As the United Airlines CEO continues to recuperate from a heart transplant in January, many of the more than 9,000 mechanics who work for the Chicago-based airline are loudly expressing their displeasure with the carrier and its contract negotiation efforts. Late last week, hundreds of United mechanics, who belong to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, picketed three United maintenance facilities in Houston, San Francisco and Orlando to visibly protest what they claim is bad treatment of an important group of employees. Lewis Lazare/Chicago Business Journal
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Emirates signs breakthrough deal with LA Dodgers -- Emirates Airline has signed a sponsorship deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball team, its first major sponsorship in the American major leagues. Emirates will be the official airline of the Dodgers and will have significant signage at the team's iconic Dodger Stadium home ballpark, by home plate and the foul poles. The airline will also open a lounge at Dodger Stadium, while the Dodgers will put their name to a little league team in Dubai, where Emirates is based. James Emmett/SportsPro
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Airlines seen at top of cycle but buybacks may spur price gains -- A leading airline analyst said the industry may be at the top of its cycle. But that doesn't mean share prices are headed down. Rather, the outlook for continued profits despite relatively low share price valuations -- and constant pressure from Wall Street -- has pushed airlines to mount aggressive buyback campaigns. On Friday, United said it will double current quarter buyback spending to $3.5 billion. Ted Reed/The Street
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The madness of airline elite status -- GS-MAD (Global Services Maintenance Anxiety Disorder) afflicts only a small sliver of the frequent-flying �lite. As a precondition, you have to be extremely loyal to United, either because you have a soft spot for incessantly played "Rhapsody in Blue" (and I like a Gershwin tune, how about you?) or, more probably, because the airline has a hub near your home. Gary Sernovitz/The New Yorker
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Buckle up, because Delta is coming for you with another intense and lofty ad -- Edgy airline commercials. Who wouldn't want more of those? "Tell the World," the latest excursion in Delta Airlines' "Keep Climbing" campaign from Wieden + Kennedy New York, delivers an intriguing but turbulent ride. Last September, the carrier's "Take Off" spot, which focused on a single plane's departure as it sped down a runway, accompanied by narration from Donald Sutherland, veered into territory that was poetic, and a bit unsettling. The flight path now continues even further in that direction. David Gianatasio/Adweek
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JetBlue founder flying new U.S.- Portugal route -- JetBlue founder David Neeleman, who is now CEO of Brazilian airline Azul and is also a part-owner of TAP Portugal, is rolling out a new trans-Atlantic route. During an interview on the FOX Business Network's Cavuto: Coast to Coast, he says he is simply filling a void. "Portugal serves 11 cities from Lisbon to Brazil so there are a lot of synergies there. And I looked at the service and said wow you hardly have anything in the United States." Matthew Kazin/Fox Business
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American Airlines drops Gogo lawsuit but still wants faster in-flight Internet service -- A week after filing a lawsuit against its in-flight WiFi provider Gogo, American Airlines dropped its legal challenge Monday but still intends to pursue competing offers to bring faster Internet speeds to about 200 of its aircraft. American notified Gogo earlier this month that it had received a competing bid to replace Gogo's ground-to-air wireless technology with faster satellite-based technology on a portion of its Boeing 737 fleet. Conor Shine/Dallas Morning News
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Airlines attempt to raise fares for the fifth time this year -- Air fares hit five year lows toward the end of 2015, but airlines appear to be making up for lost time, attempting five fare hikes already this year - as many tries as attempted during the whole of 2015, according to price watcher FareCompare.com. The latest attempt was sparked by Southwest last Friday when it raised domestic fares by $5 one way on trips taking place within seven days. Such fares most affect business trekkers, who often book trips closer to their actual travel date, as well as any other fliers deciding to travel at the last minute. Charisse Jones/USA Today
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U.S. Airlines to introduce budget fares to compete with Frontier, Spirit -- Tired of being undercut by budget airlines Spirit and Frontier, Delta, United, and American are responding with their own cheap fares. But before you buy that $100 roundtrip to Miami, read the fine print. Your ticket might not include what you expect. First, the good news: Flush with the cash because of lower fuel prices, the big three are massively discounting some routes, especially between major cities. Brian Sumers/ Cond� Nast Traveler
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California bill would ban legislative junkets funded by interest groups -- Junkets that whisk California legislators away to exotic locales could become a thing of the past under new legislation. An industry-backed conference in Maui has become an annual event. The events regularly draw criticism from government transparency watchdogs who call them thinly veiled attempts to buy access. Assemblywoman Patty Lopez, D-San Fernando, amplified that critique in introducing Assembly Bill 2840. Jeremy B. White/Sacramento Bee
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Couple weds on airline flight to grant dying mother's wish -- A Seattle couple said their "I dos" Friday as they flew from Los Angeles to Seattle on an Alaska Airlines flight. Kristy and Jim Larsen began their marriage 35,000 feet in the air so Kristy could grant three wishes to her mom, Billie Jo, who's fighting stage 4 cancer, according to KCPQ. Kristy, who is a flight attendant for the airline, said, "My mother is the world to me ... anything to make my mom happy." Fox8 Seattle
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As room rates soar, more hotels get built -- No local business has rebounded like hotels. Left in real estate's scrap heap by the Great Recession, a powerful tourism revival that surprised almost every industry insider has filled rooms, boosted room rates and spurred a building boom for new hotels. Ponder that Orange County's average room rate hit a record $179 a night last year - that's up 6 percent in a year and up 31 percent from the recessionary days of 2009, according to CBRE Hotels' year-end report. Jonathan Lansner/Orange County Register
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Desert hotel occupancy flat in soft January -- Fewer conventions in Palm Springs could have contributed to the flat hotel occupancy growth across the valley in January. And even though the region added significantly to its air service capacity last month with the introduction of JetBlue at Palm Springs International Airport, airport passenger activity was down 1 percent in January as the region still absorbs the service reductions related to SkyWest. Skip Descant/The Desert Sun
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FAA bill would privatize air traffic, kill fare-ad rule, raise airport fees -- A proposal to transfer control of the U.S. air traffic control system from the FAA to a government-created, nonprofit corporation has dominated discussion about the Aviation Innovation, Reform and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act, the FAA reauthorization bill passed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Feb. 11. But airline and travel industry stakeholders are also closely following other portions of the bill, including a proposal to do away with the full-fare advertising rule, which the DOT implemented in 2012, as well as measures that relate to funding of airport infrastructure projects. Jerry Limone/Travel Weekly
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| Transportation Network Companies |
After Kalamazoo, shouldn't Uber stop opposing background checks? -- If you know anything about Uber, you know that the ride-hailing service hates -- hates! -- being regulated. Uber has pulled out of cities that have tried to impose taxicab-like licensing requirements on its drivers and vehicles, fought against efforts to classify its drivers as employees, and flouted restrictions on where its drivers can pick up passengers. The fatal shootings Saturday night in Kalamazoo, Mich., allegedly by an Uber driver during his work shift, point to another category of regulations the company has been fighting hard: background checks. Michael Hiltzik/Los Angeles Times
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