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American Airlines to pursue expanded Haneda service -- American Airlines is considering seeking additional flights between the U.S. and Tokyo's Haneda Airport when new arrival and departure slots open up this fall. The carrier offers up to five round-trip flights daily between the U.S. and Japan, including one between Haneda and Los Angeles. The arrival and departure at Haneda now occur between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. American will move that flight to daytime hours in the fall, and the airline aims to win new slots for other routes, including to the U.S. East Coast, Chief Operating Officer Robert Isom said Wednesday. Nikkei Asian Review
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That wasn't a plane crash at Van Nuys Airport -- Turns out that was not a crash landing at Van Nuys Airport on Tuesday night, despite media reports, videos and photo of a twin-engine King Air belly-to-tarmac. It was a successful emergency landing, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. "There was no crash landing. After a medevac Beechcraft BE20 departed from Van Nuys, the pilot reported that the landing gear may not have retracted," FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said in an email. Gregory J. Wilcox/Los Angeles Daily News
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Alaska Airlines launches Sonoma, Tahoe flights from JWA -- Alaska Airlines launched new flights Wednesday from John Wayne Airport to Santa Rosa/Sonoma County and Reno/Tahoe. One-way flights for each option start at $79. Inbound and outbound routes will be available once a day. Alaska Airlines now operates 13 daily flights out of John Wayne. In October, the airline added flights to Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos, Mexico. The airport saw record numbers in 2015 as traffic topped 10 million passengers, an 8.5 percent increase over 2014. Hannah Madans/Orange County Register
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World's best airports for 2016 announced -- Singapore's reign continues. For the fourth year in a row, Singapore Changi Airport has clinched the World's Best Airport title at the annual SkyTrax World Airport Awards, announced Wednesday in Cologne, Germany. The Skytrax awards are based on millions of votes collected in passenger surveys. Many of those passing through the island city-state are clearly pleased with the airport's innovations, such as two 24-hour movie theaters screening the latest blockbusters for free, a rooftop swimming pool and a butterfly garden. Elaine Yu/CNN Skytrax World Airport Awards Skytrax Best Regional Airports
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Portland International Airport - supporting air services in a hotbed of environmental awareness -- Portland, Oregon, is one of the USA's most attractive and liberally minded cities. Its airport, Portland International, is appropriate to the size and economic scope of the city and surrounding area. It serves as an O&D airport and a spoke to large West Coast hubs, having a minor hub role of its own to play and handling mainly full service airlines. But as the airport grows - it could reach a milestone of 20 million ppa within three years - it will surely come under ever-greater scrutiny for its environmental awareness; perhaps more so than other airports. CAPA Centre for Aviation
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Indianapolis airport's 'preferred' developer in limbo as terminal site vote gets postponed -- The Indianapolis Airport Authority has postponed a vote on a $500 million sports and medical complex project, possibly opening the door to other proposals. The airport authority on Monday said it planned to decide this week whether to issue a letter of intent to Athlete's Business Network, giving the group exclusive negotiating rights to redevelop a 130-acre site near the former terminal at Indianapolis International Airport. James Briggs/Indianapolis Star
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Virgin America will upgrade first class. But probably not with flatbeds. Here's why. -- Virgin America expects to add a new first class seat with lots of new technological goodies within the next 18 months, the airline's CEO said last week at an investment conference. But will it be a flat bed? Not likely, CEO David Cush said. He told investors the new seat will take the same footprint as today. For now, Virgin America has eight white leather recliners up front, each with a footrest and generous recline. That's an above average product for most domestic flights, but not as competitive on key transcontinental routes, like New York to L.A., where other airlines have flatbeds. BrianSumers.com
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American Airlines CEO: We are in the midst of a cultural change -- In advance of Aviation Week's MRO Americas Conference & Exhibition in April, we talked with American Airlines CEO Doug Parker about the new horizons facing the aviation industry, the challenges and successes of the merger with US Airways, and his feedback for the MRO industry. Parker discusses new horizons for the airline industry during a keynote at MRO Americas in Dallas on April 6. Find out more about MRO Americas or register to attend. Helen Kang/Aviation Week
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Attention AAdvantage members: This might be the time to book a trip to Europe -- With the latest change in American Airline's overhaul of its frequent flier rewards program kicking in next week, now might be the time to book that trip to Europe you've been thinking of. The airline announced changes to its AAdvantage program in November that will increase the number of award miles needed for premium tickets on some of American's longest flights to Europe and Asia, while lowering the price for shorter domestic flights. Conor Shine/Dallas Morning News
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Fired Chipotle tweeter says union makes his new American Airlines job better -- A judge may have ordered Denver-based Chipotle to rehire James Kennedy, but the Pennsylvania man says he won't be going back. He now works for American Airlines in a unionized position at Philadelphia International Airport where he says grievances are handled better. "The culture of fear at Chipotle is not to be found at American Airlines," Kennedy said. Kennedy was fired from Chipotle last year after tweeting about the working conditions and low pay at his job. Arnessa Garrett/Dallas Morning News
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Airlines dodge legislation aimed at curbing excessive fees -- A Senate panel approved an aviation policy bill Wednesday after a partisan fight over whether airlines gouge consumers with fees for basic services like checked bags, seat assignments and ticket changes. The Senate commerce committee approved by voice vote a bill to continue the Federal Aviation Administration's authority to operate through Oct. 1, 2017. That authority is due to expire on March 31. Joan Lowy/AP
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How should airlines spend their windfall? -- Airlines profits are soaring, but will wealthier airlines make passengers happier? After decades of pleading poverty, the industry is able to reshape air travel. Dramatically lower oil prices, years of cost-cutting and huge consolidation mean years of lasting profitability, airline executives say. Last year, industry profits tripled to $23 billion. The four biggest airlines have $18 billion in cash on their balance sheets. If it were up to travelers, the money would be spent taking the hassle and strain out of air travel. Scott McCartney/Wall Street Journal
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United Airlines nears flight attendants deal after CEO Munoz steps in -- The tenor of contract talks between United and its flight attendants, which have gone nowhere for five years, improved suddenly thanks to the involvement of CEO Oscar Munoz. "Oscar has an actual vision for the airline: It's a night and day change," said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents United's 24,000 flight attendants. "I have worked with a lot of managements. I have never seen a CEO this engaged and this committed to the success of the company." Ted Reed/The Street
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Why budget airline Ryanair is getting into private jets -- The no-frills European carrier is turning one 737 into a luxurious private plane fit for business executives, celebrities, and professional athletes. The aircraft says Ryanair on the outside, but inside, it looks little like the airline's usual cabin. Gone are the garish yellow and blue seats with the safety card printed on the back of the headrest. Ryanair's typical cabin has three seats on each side of the aisle, most with 30-inch pitch, making legroom an inch or two less than what you'll find on American, United or Delta. Brian Sumers/Conde Nast Traveler
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The world's top fighter pilots fear this woman's voice -- All F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets come with a female voice that issues greetings and warnings, in tones ranging from stern and sharp to extremely urgent. It doesn't matter if the pilot is wearing a Malaysian, Kuwaiti, or Australian flag on his flight suit, the airplane speaks in a Tennessee twang that sounds a lot like Loretta Lynn in the middle of a very bad day. Embark on a miscue, and the jet issues an audible correction: "Roll right! Roll right!" or "Pull up! Pull up!" Justin Bachman/Bloomberg Business
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As home-sharing grows, hotels start to worry -- Hotel executives have long shrugged off Airbnb and other short-term rental websites. The home-sharing businesses weren't considered a threat to the $176-billion hotel industry because they were believed to primarily serve penny-pinching millennials. But eight years after Airbnb launched with a single air mattress for rent in a San Francisco loft, the hotel industry is starting to worry that short-term rental sites may pose a serious problem. Not only is the company expanding, there is evidence that competition from rental sites is holding down hotel rates in some areas. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times
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Will Marriott increase its Starwood offer? -- Anbang Insurance Group's unsolicited $12.8 billion bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts reflects the perception that luxury lodging demand will remain high in the foreseeable future and may force Marriott International to increase or alter its bid for Starwood, analysts say. Starwood on Monday said it received the Anbang offer March 10 and received a waiver from Marriott to start discussions with the group the following day. That waiver expires at midnight on Thursday. Danny King/Travel Weekly
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 Piano bar in the sky -- Frank Sinatra Jr., who died Wednesday at age 72, once performed in the upper deck lounge of this American Airlines 747 red-eye flight from LAX to JFK. American had removed 50 seats from each of its 747 because of the recessionary economy and used the space as an upper deck passenger lounge. The airline installed a Wurlitzer piano and in 1970 enlisted Sinatra to promote its new coach lounge.
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Poway man tracks down lost site of 1946 airline crash -- At the time, it was the worst commercial airline disaster in U.S. history. And the rediscovery of the crash site in the San Diego County mountains has spurred a search for relatives and friends of the 27 people who died in the rocky gulch 70 years ago. The location and facts surrounding the crash of American Airlines flight 6-103 on March 3, 1946, has become somewhat an obsession of a Poway man. J. Harry Jones/San Diego Union-Tribune
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L.A. to pay up to $30 million in curfew lawsuit settlement to provide job training for gang members -- The city of Los Angeles will pay as much as $30 million to assist thousands of people who were subjected to unlawful curfews included in city gang injunctions. The money, which will be used primarily to provide job training for gang members, is the centerpiece of an agreement to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused the Los Angeles Police Department of enforcing curfews written into many gang injunctions years after they were struck down as unconstitutional. Joel Rubin & Emily Alpert Reyes/Los Angeles Times
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