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SAS returns to the 'City of Angels' -- After an absence of over two decades, Scandinavian airline SAS is making a triumphant return to the city of Los Angeles. The first SAS flight in over 21 years landed in the iconic US city when an Airbus A330-300 arriving from Stockholm touched down at LAX Monday night. "It means a lot to be able to reintroduce our historic route to Los Angeles. With the resumption of the Stockholm-Los Angeles daily route, we are once again connecting two highly dynamic and innovative regions in the world," said Rickard Gustafson, the CEO of SAS. The Copenhagen Post
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Track LAX noise in real time -- Los Angeles residents can now track LAX airport noise in real time using a map released Tuesday. The "real-time noise map" was released by city Controller Ron Galperin as part of a "dashboard" that also includes data about Los Angeles International Airport traffic, airplane emissions, flight delays and spending. "For the first time, we've brought key LAX metrics together in one place," Galperin said. City News Service CBS LA
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Where Hollywood is turning for international first class flights -- Spread out in a three-room suite, take a hot shower at 40,000 feet, ask your butler for another glass of $200 Scotch. Flying international first class has never been better - or more expensive. Here's uplifting news for deep-pocketed globetrotters who like to grumble about the decline of luxurious air travel: An emerging category of international first-class offerings are soaring into private-jet territory. Almost all of them customize the upper level of the double-decker Airbus A380 - creating fully enclosed suites with excessively luxurious details. Peter Flax/Hollywood Reporter
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Bob Hope USO retains The Pollack PR Marketing Group -- The Pollack PR Marketing Group (PPMG) announced Tuesday that it has been retained by Bob Hope USO to support its ongoing issue management needs and its 75th Anniversary community relations outreach efforts. Bob Hope USO, an independent non-profit, serves troops and military families on bases across 43,000 square miles of Southern California, and operates airport centers at Los Angeles International Airport, Ontario International Airport, John Wayne Airport in Orange County and Palm Springs International Airport, to serve military personnel and their families while traveling. The Pollack PR Marketing Group Press Release
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Virgin America touts tech as it launches SFO-Denver flights -- Some airlines christen new routes with a modest launch. Not Virgin America. The San Francisco-based airline pulls out all the stops for its new routes, launching them with celebrity appearances, politicians and all the fanfare you'd expect from from Richard Branson and his colleagues. Branson was on hand Tuesday morning for the start of Virgin America's service between Denver and San Francisco, a route the company says was in demand by tech workers who fly the airline. Trevor Hughes/USA Today
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Herb Kelleher's take on US aviation: Hand's off! -- Ireland and its closest trading partners, hosted its annual Ireland day at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. The guest of honor was Herb Kelleher, founder and former CEO, Chairman and President of Southwest Airlines. In between jokes, fun anecdotes and regaling the crowd with tales from the "good ol' days" Kelleher offered up some poignant observations about the state of the industry and its future, once which he has high hopes for but also more than a small bit of concern for. Seth Miller/Airways News
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Southwest Airlines earns nod as best airline for 'vacation value' travel -- Southwest Airlines' affordable, no-fee fares have made it a popular choice among leisure travelers, and Monday, the Dallas-based company earned a nod from Money Magazine as the best airline for "vacation value" travel. Southwest beat out 10 other domestic airlines to earn the "Best in Travel" award. Money ranked the airlines based on average fares, wait times, fees and customer-satisfaction ratings. Conor Shine/Dallas Morning News
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CEO: American shifts focus to employees, product -- American Airlines will focus on investing in its employees and onboard product now that much of the integration with US Airways has been completed, CEO Doug Parker said. Speaking to analysts at the J.P. Morgan Aviation, Transportation and Industrials Conference in New York last week, Parker said management has to regain the trust of American's employees. In the years leading up to American's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2011 and afterward, employees took pay cuts and made other concessions. Madhu Unnikrishnan/Air Transport World
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United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz makes telling statement on first full day back on the job -- He's back. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz returned to work full-time yesterday after suffering a heart attack last October and undergoing a heart transplant in early January. On his first day back, Munoz made a major statement about what his priorities are. The United CEO convened what was dubbed a "Labor Summit" by the four key United labor unions that participated, including the Air Line Pilots Association, the Association of Flight Attendants, the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers and the Professional Airline Flight Control Association. Lewis Lazare/Chicago Business Journal
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Let Oscar Munoz run United, says Frank Lorenzo, who built Continental -- Gordon Bethune isn't the only former Continental Airlines CEO with a deep interest in the battle by two hedge funds to add a slate of six directors, headed by Bethune, to the United Continental board. Bethune is widely credited with resurrecting Continental when he was at the helm from 1994 to 2004. But Frank Lorenzo, who built the platform for Bethune's success at Continental and now runs an investment company that holds United stock, said putting Bethune in charge at United would likely interfere with the carrier's nascent recovery. Ted Reed/TheStreet
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JetBlue appoints Brad Sheehan Vice President, JetBlue University -- JetBlue Airways on Tuesday announced the appointment of Brad Sheehan to the role of Vice President, JetBlue University. Sheehan joins JetBlue effective today and will report to JetBlue's Senior Vice President Safety, Security and Training, Warren Christie. In his new role, Sheehan will be responsible for leading JetBlue's training programs. He will play a critical role overseeing JetBlue's education, training and development for crewmembers across the entire operation. eTN
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JetBlue has big plans for Fort Lauderdale, adds New Orleans nonstop -- JetBlue will add nonstop service between Fort Lauderdale and New Orleans and increase flights on its existing route between Fort Lauderdale and Nassau in the Bahamas. JetBlue announced those flights amid a pledge to double-down on its expansion effort at Fort Lauderdale, where the airline has grown rapidly this decade. JetBlue - already the largest airline at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) - says it will grow its wintertime flight schedule there to about 140 daily flights "in the coming years." Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today
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Spirit, Frontier plan to join TSA Precheck this year -- Precheck is a voluntary program offered by the Transportation Security Administration, and, so far, Spirit and Frontier have declined to participate. But - good news: Both Spirit and Frontier say they're hoping to join the Precheck program this year. Frontier spokesman Jim Faulkner said the airline is working with its new reservations system to add a Precheck option to its bookings - hopefully by year's end. Susan Glaser/Cleveland Plain Dealer
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Jet Aviation boosts credentials with Avjet purchase -- Jet Aviation is hoping to cement its position as one of the largest providers of charter and management services in the USA, with its acquisition of Los Angeles, California-based Avjet. The purchase of the 37-year-old company boosts Jet Aviation's 103-strong, all-managed business jet fleet by 45 aircraft. This includes two midsize types - a Gulfstream G150 and a Hawker 800 - which are wholly-owned by Burbank airport-based Avjet. Kate Sarsfield/Flightglobal
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What U.S. travelers need to know about new Cuba rules -- You no longer have to be part of a group tour to visit Cuba as a tourist. On Tuesday, President Obama again eased restrictions on travel to the island nation, just before his own visit from Sunday through March 22. But don't plan on plopping down on the beach for your stay. "You still cannot go just as a tourist," said Jared Alster, cofounder of the guided tour search engine Stride Travel. "They must have "a full-time schedule of educational activities." Mary Forgione/Los Angeles Times
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High-speed rail officials realign proposed Burbank to Palmdale route options -- The California High Speed Rail Authority redrew its proposed routes for the Burbank to Palmdale section of the planned California bullet train, veering away from the communities of San Fernando and Sylmar, officials announced Tuesday. In June, about 300 members of the public attended an authority meeting in Los Angeles to protest the proposed routes. Many were from communities in the San Fernando Valley, where an above-ground track with high sound walls would have bisected towns. Meghan McCarty/KPCC
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Los Angeles area can claim the worst traffic in America. Again -- Southern California has, yet again, clinched the dubious distinction of having the country's worst traffic. Drivers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana region spent 81 hours idling on freeways in 2015, the worst cumulative delay of any U.S. metropolitan area, according to a study released Tuesday by the data company Inrix. The findings should come as no surprise to Angelenos. Laura J. Nelson/Los Angeles Times
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Police Commission approves changes emphasizing de-escalation before deadly force by LAPD -- In a significant new reform plan, Los Angeles police officials are launching an effort to reduce officers' use of deadly force by reviewing whether they could have done more to avoid the violent encounters. Under a plan unanimously approved Tuesday by the Police Commission, the Los Angeles Police Department will begin evaluating whether officers did all they could to defuse tense situations before they used force and rewrite policies to emphasize this behavior. Kate Mather/Los Angeles Times
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L.A. City Council gives final approval to DWP rate increases -- The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday gave final approval to rate increases proposed by the Department of Water and Power. Officials signed off on the hikes about two weeks after they first considered the utility's proposals to increase to water and power base rates for the first time in years. Water rates will increase 4.7% each year for five years, while power rates will go up 3.86% in the same fashion. Matt Stevens/Los Angeles Times Also: DWP unveils a plan to punish water wasters--but it could take some time to implement
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'Where are we going to go?' L.A. homeless sweeps continue despite lawsuit -- Just one day after advocates for the homeless filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles, work crews and police were out again Tuesday making arrests and removing homeless encampments along a highly visible stretch of the 101 Freeway downtown. The sweep, which was conducted by city sanitation workers and the Los Angeles Police Department, focused on an area where Main and Spring streets cross over the 101 Freeway, according to police and witnesses. Crews had given the homeless prior notice to remove their possessions, according to city officials. Ruben Vives & Gale Holland/Los Angeles Times
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