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Airports with a view: The world's most scenic gateways -- What do Malta, Nice C�te d'Azur, Queenstown, Barra, Saba, Billy Bishop Toronto City, Donegal, St Maarten, LAX and London City airports all have in common? Well, according to PrivateFly's annual Scenic Airport Poll, they are the gateways that offer the most scenic approaches based on the feedback from over 7,500 global travelers and travel industry experts. New York Times travel writer Joe Sharkey, who voted for LAX, noted: "The approach reveals not just the vast urban sprawl but most remarkably LA's stunning geography - sea, mountains, valley, desert beyond - all bathed in the amazing Los Angeles white sunlight." Joe Bates/Airport World LAWA Press Release
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LAWA issues instructions and technical specifications for potential providers of LAX automated people mover train system -- Los Angeles World Airports achieved an initial milestone Monday in its efforts to provide travelers with a first-class, swift, convenient, and reliable way to access LAX. LAWA issued a series of instructions and technical specifications for potential Automated People Mover train systems providers who want to participate in the LAX Landside Access Modernization Program. LAWA News Release
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Bob Hope Airport officials to begin search to replace outgoing executive director Dan Ferger -- The executive director of the Bob Hope Airport announced on Monday that he will retire in 2018 and, according to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, the search for his replacement will begin immediately. Commissioners then unanimously approved a contract with ADK Consulting Inc. to identify a successor for Dan Feger, who started working at the airfield in 1988 as an airport engineer. He became executive director in 2008. Anthony Clark Carpio/Burbank Leader
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The Big Island-based Mokulele Airlines has announced plans to expand its operations to begin serving California next month -- The Big Island-based Mokulele Airlines has announced plans to expand its operations to begin serving California next month. KHON-TV reports the company will start offering daily service between Imperial County Airport and Los Angeles International Airport starting May 23. The new flights will be the airline's first mainland operation under the Mokulele brand. AP John D. Bennett/Ridgecrest Daily Independent
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New California corridor small-jet service: $109 each way -- JetSuite, a leading private jet operator, this month will kick off a new flight service between San Francisco's East Bay Area and Los Angeles designed to skim off business class traffic, offering small jets with upscale interiors and the added benefit of uncrowded private jet terminals. And decent fares to boot. The new operation is called JetSuiteX (why do these companies always try to sound like Uber?). Chris McGinnis/SF Gate Annie Sciacca/Bay Area News Group
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Union reps say more security needed at Van Nuys Airport -- Leaders of the union representing Los Angeles airport police officers called on city leaders Tuesday to boost patrol officer staffing at Van Nuys Airport, where there have been at least three security breaches and vandalism in recent months. Rodney Rouzan, a member of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association's board, said the security at Van Nuys Airport is handled by a "skeleton crew" working with "dilapidated equipment." Elizabeth Hsing-Huei Chou/City News Service
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500 People attended meet & greet with Ontario International Airport CEO -- On Monday, the Ontario City Council hosted over 500 people comprised of public and private organizations as well as members of the community at a Meet & Greet with the New Ontario International Airport Chief Executive Officer, Kelly J. Fredericks, P.E., A.A.E. City of Ontario officials celebrated the return of local control of ONT and are excited about the opportunities to enhance airport operations for the benefit of the entire Southern California region. Inland Empire
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Man steals airport shuttle with employees on board -- Airport workers took an unexpected detour Tuesday after a man commandeered a shuttle that runs between terminals and an off-site employee parking lot. The driver of the bus pulled over at a curbside pick-up area at San Diego International Airport's Terminal 2 and stepped off to hand off a piece of equipment to another shuttle driver that had pulled up behind him about 3:45 p.m., Harbor police said. The 46-year-old suspect from Arizona, who was already on the bus, got behind the wheel and drove off with eight airport employees on board, police said. David Hernandez/San Diego Union-Tribune
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Airport lines are too long but TSA cites speedup in baggage screening -- At the nation's airports, the Transportation Security Administration is having a bad spring upstairs, but is apparently doing better downstairs. That's because long security lines have become a major problem, with long wait times at various airports resulting in hundreds of missed flights for passengers and delayed flights for airlines. These are obvious problems that are widely reported. At the same time, airlines and passengers have benefited from TSA's installation of new inline baggage screening systems at more than 100 airports. Ted Reed/The Street
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Aerotropolis alliance pinpoints districts to spur development in Atlanta airport area -- The Atlanta Aerotropolis Alliance is targeting specific districts in areas around Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport as potential catalysts for more development in the region. The alliance, which aims to spur and shape development around Hartsfield-Jackson to create an "aerotropolis" business district in the airport region, is completing a blueprint for the aerotropolis area and envisions several key areas for development. Kelly Yamanouchi/Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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JetBlue now has nap pods at JFK airport -- JetBlue is making it easier for weary travelers to take a quick nap before takeoff. The airline unveiled four JetNap EnergyPods in its terminal at JFK airport in New York City. The pods, which are created by New York-based MetroNaps and look like a futuristic reclining chair, play rhythms designed to help bring relaxation and reduce distractions. When nap time is over, the chair wakes the traveler up with a combination of lights, music and vibrations. Kathryn Vasel/CNN Money
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United Airlines bows to activists, adds directors -- United Continental Holdings Inc said on Wednesday it had added two new board members in a settlement with activist investors, averting a long fight over governance at the No.3 U.S. airline by traffic. The move is aimed at placating a complaint by activists PAR Capital Management Inc and Altimeter Capital Management LP that the company does not have enough directors with expertise in airlines. The hedge funds own a combined 7.1 percent of United. Jeffrey Dastin & Greg Roumeliotis/Reuters
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The airlines try (again) to squeeze a bigger tax break out of California -- In Sacramento, like other state capitals, one can expect a bad idea to rise from defeat year after year, especially if there's big money at stake. So it's perfectly logical that the nation's airlines are back this year with another attempt to whittle down a property tax bill that comes to about $90 million industrywide. The airlines come armed, as usual, with an arsenal of bogus arguments. Michael Hiltzik/Los Angeles Times
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JetBlue is going to pay its employees' college tuition upfront -- JetBlue employees can now get online associate's and bachelor's degrees on the company's dime, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. The decision to let employees study at Thomas Edison State University, announced Monday, echoes Starbucks' 2014 partnership with Arizona State University. Unlike Starbucks, however, JetBlue won't require its employees to pay anything up front for associate's degrees. Julie Kliegman/The Week
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How airlines decide when to kick a passenger off a plane -- Two women were removed from a JetBlue Airways plane for reportedly staring at a flight attendant. The leader of a popular rock band was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight for refusing to pull up his baggy pants. A UC Berkeley student said he was booted from a Southwest flight for speaking Arabic. Examples of passengers being removed from flights have gained increased attention since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which began with the hijacking of four commercial planes. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times
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Skift CMO Interviews: Etihad and the advantages of building an airline from scratch -- Etihad Airways has focused its brand on the concept of flying "Reimagined," which has been the campaign slogan for its revolutionary cabin interiors products, and it is the platform on which the airline focuses its service and competitive strategy. The Abu Dhabi-based airline has effectively turned newness to its advantage, building up a powerful organization and network through careful market positioning and an insistence on doing things others have not dared to try before. Marisa Garcia/Skift
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Virgin Australia explores a post-Air NZ future. Singapore Airlines favourite to increase investment -- Virgin Australia's future is fundamentally sound, but ownership uncertainty was introduced after Air New Zealand flagged the potential sale of either part, or all, of its 25.99% stake in the airline. Air New Zealand CEO, Christopher Luxon, has been the only shareholder to state publicly that Virgin "needs to get profitable", and he was reported to have called for Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti to resign before his own departure from the board. CAPA Centre for Aviation
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Likely debris from Malaysia airlines MH370 is from wing, tailplane: Officials -- Two pieces of debris found washed up on the east coast of Africa were very likely parts of vanished Malaysia Airlines MH370's wing and tail, officials said Tuesday. The Australian Transportation Safety Bureau said last month that the two objects found in Mozambique in December and February were "almost certainly from MH370." On Tuesday, that authority gave more details to back up this assessment. NBC News
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Malaysia Airlines CEO Mueller to leave before contract ends -- Malaysia Airlines Bhd. said Chief Executive Officer Christoph Mueller has resigned and will leave the company in September after taking the top post last year to turn around an airline that lost two jets in 2014. Mueller requested to step down before the end of his three-year contract for personal reasons, the carrier said in a statement Tuesday. Malaysia Airlines said it has started a search for a new CEO, which will include internal and external candidates. Shamim Adam/Bloomberg
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American, Delta, United sued over recent pricing changes -- A federal lawsuit filed Monday in San Francisco on behalf of a number of travel agents alleges the nation's three largest airlines' enacted new rules to block their least expensive prices from being used on many connecting and multi-city trips, a "conspiracy" to raise fares in violation of antitrust laws. The complaint named as defendants American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., United Continental Holdings Inc., and Airline Tariff Publishing Co., which collects and distributes airline fare data world-wide and is partly owned by the three U.S. carriers. Susan Carey/Wall Street Journal
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Airlines looking to make window or aisle seats a costly luxury -- If you're planning a summer flight and have your sights set on a window seat or aisle seat, you should prepare to cough up some extra dough. More and more of the major airlines are now considering those economy seats a luxury and are looking at new ways to charge passengers for them. Scott Mayerowitz, an airline expert with the Associated Press, told ABC News today that passengers on low-cost carriers like Spirit Airlines had to pay for seat assignments in advance or risk having the airline put them in whatever seat is available. ABC News
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| Transportation Network Companies |
Uber and Lyft surge pricing bill dies -- An effort by a state senator to regulate surge pricing by Uber, Lyft and other ridesharing companies failed in a Senate committee Tuesday. State Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) said that his bill, which would also have beefed up background checks on ridesharing drivers and increased enforcement of ridesharing rules, would protect drivers and consumers from predatory pricing and potential harm. He predicted tragedies would occur without more rules. "The blood is going to be on our hands," Hueso said. Liam Dillon/Los Angeles Times
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Senate backs 'passenger friendly' bill that sets policy, funding for the FAA -- Legislation that would increase airport security, require airlines to refund baggage fees when luggage is delayed and speed the regulation of drones won approval in the Senate on Tuesday. The bipartisan bill setting policy and funding for the Federal Aviation Administration is the second major transportation bill approved by the Senate within five months, coming after a six-year surface-transportation bill that passed both houses in November. Ashley Halsey III/Washington Post
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Plane makers' employees buffeted despite booming orders -- The world's biggest aircraft makers, Boeing Co. and Airbus Group SE, are enjoying record order books but, for employees at the companies and their suppliers, the good times are over. Customers are growing increasingly frugal, making it harder for the two rivals to secure lucrative deals, as appetite wanes for some of their most-profitable planes Last month, Boeing said it would eliminate 4,000 jobs at its commercial airplane unit and might cut more. Robert Wall/Wall Street Journal
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Donald Trump's jet, a regular on the campaign trail, isn't registered to fly -- Over the past several months, Donald J. Trump has crisscrossed the country making dozens of campaign stops in places like Sioux City, Iowa, and Jackson, Miss., often in his sleek Cessna jet. There is just one hitch: The plane's registration is expired. Records kept with the Federal Aviation Administration show the aircraft's registration lapsed on Jan. 31. Laura J. Brown, a spokeswoman for the FAA, confirmed that the plane's registration was not in good standing and said the owner had not renewed it. Susanne Craig/New York Times
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UPS pilots union says sides near impasse -- The union representing United Parcel Service Inc. pilots on Tuesday said it thinks it is nearing an impasse in contract negotiations with the delivery giant after nearly five years. Federal mediators are expected to decide whether the two parties have reached a stalemate after UPS presents its closing positions for its final proposal on new contract terms scheduled for next week, according to the Independent Pilots Association. Laura Stevens/Wall Street Journal
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6 paid sick days for workers in L.A.? City Council says yes -- Los Angeles workers would be able to earn at least six paid sick days annually - twice the state minimum - under a proposed law that the City Council backed Tuesday. California now requires employers to provide at least three days of paid sick leave annually. Labor and community activists had pushed for L.A. to increase the mandated amount of time off for local workers who fall ill or need to take care of a loved one, arguing that employees too often are forced to decide between their health and their jobs. Emily Alpert Reyes/Los Angeles Times
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L.A. City Controller says too many LAPD cops are cubicle police; civilians can do that work -- Los Angeles police could better combat crime in the city by freeing more than 400 able-bodied officers from desk jobs and hiring more civilians to perform clerical duties, according to an audit released Tuesday. The report by City Controller Ron Galperin highlighted a issue that has been persistent and problematic for LAPD brass: As the department's sworn officer ranks grew slightly to just under 10,000 in the last decade, 621 of those officers are filling civilian clerical positions because of a shortfall in administrative staff. Richard Winton/Los Angeles Times
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L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and other elected officials pledge to support transgender people -- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and other elected officials signed a pledge to protect the rights of transgender and gender non-conforming people as part of a new statewide coalition called Transform California. Garcetti, speaking at a rally on the steps of City Hall on Monday, told those gathered, "Our tax dollars won't fund intolerance here." "Nobody should hate themselves," Garcetti said. Hailey Branson-Potts/Los Angeles Times
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