Aviation Security
'No relief in sight' for long TSA lines -- An expedited screening program called PreCheck was supposed to be the answer to maddeningly long security lines at the airport. But four years after its launch, the Transportation Security Administration is far short of enrolling enough travelers to make a difference, spelling trouble for summer travel season. Fliers can expect massive security lines across the country, with airlines already warning passengers to arrive at least two hours early or risk missing their flight. The TSA cut its airport screener staff by 10% in the past three years, anticipating PreCheck would speed up the process. Scott Mayerowitz/AP
Why the rash of airline employee trouble? -- A flight attendant accused of carrying nearly 69 pounds of cocaine. A pilot charged with moonlighting as a pimp. An allegedly drunk co-pilot stopped before takeoff. A ramp agent charged with trying to move almost $300,000. The recent spate of airline employee arrests -- including the above examples -- might make travelers wonder about the screening process for those involved in safely moving them and their stuff. Mariano Castillo, Holly Yan & Steve Almasy/CNN
This gun is designed to look like a smartphone -- A Minnesota man has designed a gun that looks like a cellphone. Ideal Conceal CEO Kirk Kjellberg told KARE he got the idea after he received some unwanted attention for carrying a gun in a restaurant. The gun holds two .38-caliber bullets. It's hardly the first folding gun or the first one designed to be compact, but there are concerns a gun disguised as a cellphone could slip past airport security. But Kjellberg says it has enough metal in it to set off a metal detector, and he is working with Homeland Security to provide X-rays of the gun so it can be easily picked out in airport screenings. Ben Lawson/Newsy
Airports
Los Angeles International Airport pax up 9%, cargo down 8% in Feb-2016 -- Los Angeles International Airport passenger numbers up 9% - traffic highlights for Feb-2016: Passenger numbers: 5.5 million, +8.9% year-on-year; Domestic: 4.0 million, +7.9%; International: 1.5 million, +11.6%; Cargo volume: 150,788 tons, -7.6%; Freight: 144,099 tons, -8.0%; Mail: 6688 tons, +1.3%; Aircraft movements: 51,325, +8.8%. CAPA Centre for Aviation LAX Statistics
ONT February passenger traffic up nearly 5.7 percent -- Passenger traffic at Ontario International Airport increased nearly 5.7 percent in February over the same month in 2015, with 295,948 passengers using the Inland facility. Numbers were up for both international and domestic traffic. International passengers for February were reported at 8,322, up 13.4 percent from February 2015's 7,337. AeroMexico added flights between ONT and Mexico City in April 2015, affecting the year-over-year comparison. Domestic passengers were at 295,948, up 5.47 percent from 280,602 in February 2015. Richard K. De Atley/Riverside Press-Enterprise ONT Statistics
Vineyard grade separation dedication ceremony  -- On March 18, the Ontario Mayor and City Council, in partnership with the County of San Bernardino, San Bernardino Associated Governments, and Union Pacific Railroad hosted a variety of public and private organizations as well as members of the community to officially dedicate the completion of the Vineyard Grade Separation. The Vineyard Grade Separation is a key element to the continued expansion of the Ontario International Airport, which is in the process of being transferred to local control under the Ontario International Airport Authority. Inland Empire
Burbank City Council eyes land-use change to free up parcel near Bob Hope Airport for development -- The Burbank City Council gave city staff the green light to start working on a possible general-plan amendment of a parcel near the Bob Hope Airport, so a business park with office, industrial and office space as well as a hotel might be built on it. Council members unanimously voted during a meeting last week to get the ball rolling on a proposal by Gardena-based developer Overton Moore Properties to change the land use for a portion of a nearly 58-arce plot near the airport, known as the B6 parcel. Anthony Clark Carpio/Los Angeles Times
Strike is back on for U.S. airport workers seeking higher pay, job protections -- The 24-hour strike workers had planned at several major U.S. airports last week, then postponed after the Brussels terrorist attacks, is back on. Service workers, including cleaners, security officers and baggage handlers, plan to walk off their jobs Wednesday night, in a demand for better wages and union rights. In the wake of the attack at the Brussels airport, workers are also calling for better emergency preparedness, the Service Employees International Union said. Luz Lazo/Washington Post
American Airlines, others, object to reopening Tokyo Haneda route allocations --Three of the four U.S. airlines  serving Tokyo's Haneda Airport, including American Airlines, want to keep flying their current routes to the Japanese capital's close-in airport when daytime slots become available later this year. And they don't think they should have to reapply to do so, according to  filings with the Department of Transportation on Tuesday. Conor Shine/Dallas Morning News
Manchester secures key Silicon Valley link -- Manchester Airport has secured a key link to Silicon Valley with the news that Virgin Atlantic is launching a direct route to San Francisco. The airline will be the first ever carrier to provide direct services between Manchester and the Californian city starting in the summer of 2017, operating three times weekly. Virgin Atlantic has also announced a new route to Boston in Massachusetts, flying twice weekly. Both services will run on one of the airline's newest A330 aircraft. Richard Frost/Insider Media Limited
LaGuardia: The worst busy airport in the world? -- The floors, cracked and yellowed, are often the best and only seating. The lights are dim, the low ceiling is stained, the lines at the tiny bathrooms are routinely long. Even the owner describes the Central Terminal Building and the passenger experience there as "dreadful." New York's LaGuardia Airport may not be the worst airport in the world, but it is certainly the worst busy airport. It has been patched and parts have been renovated, but the Central Terminal Building is much the same layout and dimensions as when it opened in 1964. Scott McCartney/Wall Street Journal
BBA Aviation jettisons six sites for $190m to secure Landmark deal -- BBA Aviation has sold six airport businesses for $190m, allowing it to complete a deal to buy US-based aircraft services and private jet-hire company Landmark. The company, which provides services at airports such as refuelling and ground handling for aircraft operators, offloaded its fixed-based operations businesses to KSL Capital Partners, a private equity firm specialising in travel and leisure businesses, in agreement with the US Department of Justice. Rhiannon Bury/The Telegraph
Dubai approves new airport fee for improvements -- Travelers flying out of Dubai's airports will pay a new fee to cover improvements at the long-haul hub, the city-state's crown prince announced Wednesday, as Gulf countries grapple with low oil prices. Passengers departing from Dubai will pay a 35-dirham ($9.50) service fee for flights leaving after June 30 that have been booked since March 1, according to a statement from Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Jon Gambrell/AP
Airlines
Virgin America almost began as JetBlue -- Back in the 1990s, airline entrepreneur David Neeleman was chafing under a five-year noncompete agreement Southwest Airlines Co. boss Herb Kelleher made him sign after buying his small, low-cost carrier, Morris Air. While awaiting liberation, Neeleman bided his time by starting a software company and consulting on the launch of Southwest clone WestJet Airlines Ltd. in Canada. But he was thinking bigger: a U.S. airline based at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Justin Bachman/Bloomberg
Virgin Australia's largest shareholder Air New Zealand considers exit -- Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd.'s largest shareholder said it's considering exiting the airline, days after the Australian carrier tapped its biggest investors for fresh funds. Air New Zealand Ltd., which owns a 25.89 percent stake in Virgin Australia worth about A$343 million ($262 million) as of Tuesday's closing price, said it will sell some or all of its shares, according to a statement to the stock exchange Wednesday. Angus Whitley/Bloomberg
Facebook's Messenger lands first airline as chat app pushes into commerce -- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines passengers will soon be able to check in, get flight updates, make travel changes and talk to customer service reps straight from Facebook's Messenger chat app. KLM is the first airline and the first major European partner for Messenger, which is used by 800 million people around the globe. Facebook sees customer service as a natural extension of chat apps which were built for, well, chatting. Jessica Guynn/USA Today
American Airlines flight diverted after flight attendant injured during turbulence -- An American Airlines flight traveling from Dallas to Tokyo was diverted Tuesday night after a flight attendant was injured during turbulence, an airline spokesperson told ABC News. American Airlines flight 61 landed in Seattle without any mechanical incidents after one female flight attendant had minor injuries incurred during some rough air. She was taken to an area hospital. No passengers were reported injured. Emily Knapp/ABC News
China's big three airlines take $2.5 billion currency hit -- China's Big Three state-owned airlines combined suffered about $2.5 billion in foreign-exchange losses last year after the country unexpectedly devalued the yuan in August, squeezing passenger yields and limiting profit gains from declining oil prices. Net income at China Southern Airlines Co., Asia's largest carrier by passengers, more than doubled to 3.7 billion yuan ($571.2 million), while China Eastern Airlines Corp.'s profit climbed 33 percent to 4.5 billion yuan. Clement Tan/Bloomberg
Aviation Data & Analysis
Seats Increase 35% Over 2011 in North America to Latin America/Caribbean Market
Courtesy Oliver Wyman PlaneStats
Passing
Former L.A. Councilman Bill Rosendahl dies after battle with cancer -- Bill Rosendahl, the gregarious and outspoken former Los Angeles City Councilman, died Wednesday morning after a four-year battle with cancer. He was 70. Rosendahl represented L.A.'s Westside for eight years before stepping down in 2013 to concentrate on fighting a stage-four cancer. Among his accomplishments: opening new facilities for the homeless in the Venice neighborhood, as well as for veterans receiving medical treatment, and halting an expansion plan for Los Angeles International Airport that he believed was too intrusive for neighboring residents and businesses.  Howard Fine/Los Angeles Business Journal
City Government
L.A. council OKs law limiting homeless people's belongings to what can fit in a trash bin -- The Los Angeles City Council approved a law Wednesday to rein in the tent-and-tarpaulin encampments whose dramatic spread has raised the political stakes of handling one of the nation's worst homeless crises.  The ordinance -- a revised version of the law known as 56.11 that was adopted in June -- limits storage on sidewalks, parkways and alleys citywide to what homeless people can fit in a 60-gallon container, about the size of a city recycling or trash bin. Gale Holland/Los Angeles Times
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