Airports
New firefighting vehicles put into action at LAX -- Los Angeles Fire Department officials showcased six new Aircraft Rescue Firefighting vehicles on Tuesday that recently have been placed into service at Los Angeles International Airport. The vehicles will respond to "all manner of aircraft emergencies and incidents on the airfield,'' according to fire department officials. They replace four aging fire trucks, which will be re-deployed to Van Nuys and Ontario airports. Torrance Daily Breeze
Los Angeles airport to test readiness for aircraft accident -- Los Angeles International Airport will conduct a full-scale exercise to test the readiness of firefighters and other emergency crews to handle an aircraft accident. The two-hour simulation scheduled Wednesday morning is required by the Federal Aviation Administration. Some 500 firefighters and other emergency responders will take part, along with 150 volunteers role-playing as victims. Pyrotechnics will simulate a crash and fire. The drill will include a static Boeing 777 aircraft, a debris field and LAX's six new aircraft firefighting apparatus. AP
Southwest Airlines connects Los Angeles travelers to Costa Rica's golden beaches -- California's largest carrier is embarking on a new chapter in a faithful partnership with Southern California travelers that began with a single arrival nearly 35 years ago and now, takes flight beyond the continental U.S. Tuesday, the departure of Southwest Flight 6920 to Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (LIR), Liberia/Guanacaste, Costa Rica made Los Angeles International Airport Southwest's 13th mainland gateway serving Latin America and the Caribbean. Southwest Airlines Press Releases
Incumbent leads Long Beach council race in initial returns -- In the 8th District, Councilman Al Austin faced two challengers in his bid for a second term -- Cal State Long Beach business manager Laurie Angel and EME Inc. Chief Executive Wesley Turnbow. The district lies below Long Beach Airport's flight path and none of the three candidates expressed support for the prospect of international flights. Updated returns showed Austin with the lead and a good shot of avoiding a runoff. Andrew Edwards/Long Beach Press-Telegram
After Brussels attack, it's time to re-evaluate airport security: Janice Hahn -- Because of nature of the 9/11 attacks, we focused our nation's efforts on strengthening security on aircraft and preventing terrorists from getting on planes. Since 2001, we have strengthened cockpit doors, improved passenger screening, screened checked baggage and increased the presence of air marshals, and armed pilots. Despite all of these efforts, airports will continue to be targets for terrorists because of their symbolic value and a guarantee to garner international media attention. Janice Hahn/Los Angeles Daily News
Brussels airport closed due to air traffic control dispute -- Brussels airport was closed on Tuesday and the nearby airport in Charleroi only accepted landing aircraft with no planes taking off because of industrial action by Belgian air traffic controllers, officials said. The airport has been running at limited capacity since reopening on April 3 following an Islamic State suicide bombing on March 22. "Currently no air traffic control is possible at Brussels Airport," Brussels Airport said in a statement on its website. Reuters
Beirut airport workers held over terrorist contacts -- Lebanese authorities have detained two Lebanese employees of a Beirut airport service company over contacts with "terrorist parties", security sources said on Sunday. The sources gave no further details as the suspects were still being questioned. Public Works and Transport Minister Ghazi Zeaiter said last month that Beirut airport needed at least $24 million to address pressing gaps in security, including a new perimeter wall and baggage inspection equipment. Reuters
Emirates exec talks D/FW plans, global growth and Jennifer Aniston -- With 105 weekly flights from 10 U.S. cities, Emirates Airline's appetite for growth hasn't shown signs of letting up anytime soon, much to the chagrin of U.S.-based carriers. Although the airline had to throttle back its service from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Dubai with a switch to a smaller Boeing 777, the company plans to bring back its larger, feature-packed Airbus A380 on the route this September, two months after it launches its second daily flight out of Los Angeles. Conor Shine/Dallas Morning News
MSP's Freedom of Expression booths offer everyone a soapbox -- Curt McGee looks up from his Sudoku book, and Gil Tornes sets aside his sandwich. They have a visitor. It's not that visitors are unusual. McGee and Tornes, Jehovah's Witnesses, get a lot of them during their shared Friday shift at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. But it's rare that visitors to the airport's Freedom of Expression booth want to talk about something other than directions. Sharyn Jackson/Star Tribune
Spokesman for new Berlin airport sacked for deriding botched project -- The spokesman for Berlin's new airport, which is billions of euros over budget and years behind schedule, has been sacked for saying that the project was "shit" and "no one can guarantee" that it will ever open. Daniel Abbou said it was time for the airport's managers to start "telling the truth" and that Berliners had "a right to know where their taxes were going". Kate Connolly/The Guardian
Airlines
JetBlue exec: Virgin America was a nice-to have but not worth $2.6 billion -- JetBlue's talks to acquire Virgin America were the New York-based airline's first-ever merger discussions in its 16-year history but the $2.6 billion in cash that Alaska Airlines ended up paying to acquire Virgin America "didn't really make a lot of sense for us." That was the take of Marty St. George, JetBlue's executive vice president, commercial & planning, who sat down with Skift at the airline's headquarters in Queens, New York, and discussed JetBlue's thinking about its ill-fated merger talks with Virgin America. Dennis Schaal/Skift
Note to JetBlue: Why fight Virgin/Alaska? Why not merge with them? -- JetBlue lost out to Alaska Airlines in the bidding war for Virgin America. Within days, it began a "Calling All JetBlue Virgins" sweepstakes offer, seeking to attract Virgin America passengers. But why fight them? Why not join them? JetBlue competed for Virgin America until the end because it knows it could use a West Coast presence. In the final weekend of bidding, Virgin America CEO David Cush said in an interview, the price went up by 15%. Ted Reed/The Street
Delta Air Lines' profit to nearly triple; American sees costs up -- Delta Air Lines' first-quarter earnings are expected to nearly triple from a year earlier when the airline reports results Thursday, helped as ever by low fuel costs. But with the company expecting positive passenger unit revenue this year - a rarity across the industry recently - analysts may be focusing more on the company's guidance. Meanwhile, labor and profit-sharing deals could weigh on American Airlines' earnings this year, the company said Monday. Bill Peters/Investor's Business Daily
American Airlines inches closer to another merger-related milestone -- Last week, I wrote about how United is still having labor integration issues almost six years after its merger. This surprised many of you, but it's not that unusual. Airlines are complicated, and it can take a long time to truly combine two companies. As far as labor negotiations go, American Airlines, which closed its merger with US Airways in late 2013, probably is in better shape than United. Brian Sumers/BrianSumers.com 
American Airlines CEO assails Delta on air traffic control plan -- American Airlines Group Inc.'s top executive lashed out at Delta Air Lines Inc. for splitting with other U.S. carriers that support a proposal to privatize the nation's air traffic control system. Delta "doesn't see what everybody else in the industry sees" about an issue that's central to the industry's future, American CEO Doug Parker said Tuesday. Parker, who used a recent speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to lobby for privatization, made his latest comments during a question-and-answer session at the CAPA Americas Aviation Summit in Las Vegas. Mary Schlangenstein & Michael Sasso/Bloomberg
Deal nears in United board fight: Sources -- A deal between United Continental and two hedge funds seeking to shake up its board looks increasingly likely, sources told CNBC on Monday. An agreement may come within the next week, the sources added. The hedge funds, Altimeter Capital Management and PAR Capital Management, collectively hold a 7.1 percent stake in United. They announced last month that they would nominate six directors to United's board amid concerns about its stock performance. Jacob Pramuk/CNBC
Dubai airline Emirates buys 2 more Airbus A380 jetliners -- The world's biggest operator of the double-decker Airbus A380 is buying a couple more. Dubai-based airline Emirates already operates 75 of the giant aircraft and had another 65 on order. It said Wednesday the extra two planes would be delivered in the last three months of next year. The additional planes are worth a total of $865 million at list prices, though airlines often negotiate discounts. They will be fitted out in a two-class configuration of business and economy seats. AP
Singapore Airlines hires its first female pilots -- Since its founding in 1972, Singapore Airlines has made history: the airline purchased the world's first Airbus A380, and it will once again be home to the world's longest flight, an 18-hour haul between Singapore and New York, as of 2018. Now, for the first time in its 44-year history, Singapore Airlines will have female pilots. However, don't go looking for the women in the cockpit of a commercial jet just yet-the two unnamed women have been chosen to enroll in the airline's pilot training program, which lasts between two and three years. Lilit Marcus/Conde Nast Traveler
Thank you for flying trash airlines -- Thank you for flying with the premier budget airline, $uper Air. To receive detailed text-message updates about your flight, reply YES to this message. (Standard rates apply.) YES You will now receive periodic updates about your flight. Reply HELP for assistance, STOP to cancel messages. $uper Air Flight SA320 is scheduled to depart on time. We remind you that, in order to reduce costs, passengers are no longer permitted to board the plane with any baggage. Please dispose of all luggage in the appropriate bins before boarding. Joe Veix/The New Yorker
FAA
Energy tax breaks dropped from FAA bill -- The Senate is dropping plans to include energy tax breaks in legislation reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration after lawmakers were unable to reach a final deal. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, told reporters on Tuesday that the FAA measure will now only contain standard revenue provisions. Melanie Zanona/The Hill
Airplanes
First US-built Airbus A321 to be delivered April 25 -- Airbus will officially deliver the first aircraft built at its US manufacturing facility, an A321 designated for New York-based JetBlue Airways, on April 25. The aircraft was produced at Airbus's Mobile, Alabama A320 family final assembly plant and was operated on its first test flight from Mobile Downtown Airport (BFM) on March 21. Airbus spent $600 million to build the US aircraft manufacturing facility on 53 acres. Aaron Karp/Air Transport World 
Boeing explores doing business with Iran's commercial airlines -- Boeing officials were in Iran exploring the first sale of airliners there in decades. The nuclear deal allows such sales but remaining sanctions and Iranian missile tests could cloud their chances. Jamie Northam/NPR
Panasonic's airline seat puts you in a high-tech cocoon -- Panasonic has launched the most techie airplane seat we've ever seen, complete with its own app, user programmable mood lighting and a 4K TV. It revealed the product, called "Waterfront," at Hamburg's Aircraft Interiors Expo (yes, there's a show for everything), where it was spotted by The Points Guy. Since this is Panasonic's first foray into high-end airliner seats, it teamed up with B/E Aerospace, Formation Design Group and Denny e-bike designer Teague. Steve Dent/Engadget
Aviation Data & Analysis

Airline IT Investments Continue
Courtesy Oliver Wyman PlaneStats
2024 Olympics
Legislative panel backs financial guarantee for LA Olympics -- A California legislative panel has advanced a bill committing the state to cover up to $250 million in cost overruns as part of Los Angeles' bid for the 2024 Olympics. The Senate Governmental Organization Committee approved SB1465 in a 7-0 vote on Tuesday. Los Angeles bid committee chairman Casey Wasserman told lawmakers that government support is essential in landing the games. He says organizers are committed to ensuring the games are profitable, though. Jonathan J. Cooper/AP
High-Speed Rail
San Fernando Valley residents sound off on proposed bullet train routes -- Another chapter in the war over the California bullet train erupted Tuesday at a board meeting of the state's high-speed rail authority as San Fernando Valley residents said the proposed routes would devastate their communities, jeopardize endangered species and cause visual blight. Residents said routes under consideration between Burbank and Palmdale would ruin the rural character of their neighborhoods, including many equestrian areas. Ralph Vartabedian/Los Angeles Times
City Government
Expanded paid sick leave mandate moving forward in L.A. -- The city of Los Angeles is a step closer to requiring all employers to provide six days of paid sick leave to their workers, three days more than mandated under state law. The City Council's economic development committee voted unanimously Tuesday afternoon to forward the recommendation for three additional days of paid sick leave to the full City Council for consideration later this month. Howard Fine/Los Angeles Business Journal
Mayor Eric Garcetti announces artists for L.A.'s first public art biennial to be held this summer -- More than a dozen artists - including L.A.-based Kori Newkirk, Edgar Arceneaux, Gala Porras-Kim and Michael Parker - have been selected to participate in Los Angeles' first public art biennial, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced at a news conference early Tuesday afternoon. The "Current:LA Water" exhibition will consist of temporary outdoor installations that will go up throughout the city this summer, all focused on the theme of water. Carolina A. Miranda/Los Angeles Times
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