Airports
Report breaks down economic impact of LAX -- Los Angeles International Airport is boosting Southern California's economic output as its long-term renovations continue, according to a new impact report released Thursday by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. The airport generated nearly 621,000 jobs in the county with labor income of $37.3 billion and economic output of $126.6 billion, according to the report, which analyzed operations at LAX during 2014. Olga Grigoryants/Los Angeles Business Journal KPCC My News LA Nick Green/Torrance Daily Breeze
Saudi Arabia - Los Angeles: Saudia airline increases flights -- Saudi Arabian Airlines announced that it will be adding flights between the destinations of Los Angeles and Saudi Arabia in response to an increasing number of passengers on this route. The airline has increased its flights between Saudi Arabia and Los Angeles from 3 flights a week to 5 flights weekly as of June 1, 2016. This is in anticipation of increased demand during the peak season and in keeping with its continued expansion in its services in North America and elsewhere. eTurboNews
Airport police begin voting on new labor contract -- Police officers at city-owned airports, including Los Angeles International Airport, began voting on Thursday on a four-year labor contract that includes raises during the last three years of the proposed deal. The 430 rank-and-file officers who are members of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers' Association have until the end of Monday to cast their votes. City News Service
United completes part of its new lobby at LAX -- United Airlines on Tuesday opened a portion of its new lobby at Los Angeles International Airport, the first customer-facing element completed in the ongoing, more than $500 million renovation of the carrier's Terminals 7 and 8. The project will be fully done by late 2017. According to United, it also includes, a new consolidated security screening area, new gate/hold rooms, a new in-line baggage system and baggage claim area, as well as a new 20,000 square foot United Club with an outdoor terrace. BrianSumers.com
Rare butterflies flying high at Los Angeles Airport -- The whine of jet engines fills the air. Hangars and runways stretch to the horizon. But somewhere amid the wilderness of concrete that is Los Angeles International Airport lives a tiny butterfly that's found almost nowhere else on Earth. On a recent winter's day, the only winged creatures visible in the airport known locally as LAX are giant airplanes. Buried beneath buckwheat shrubs near the end of the runways, though, are countless chrysalises of the endangered El Segundo blue butterfly, which will slumber through the jets' roar until summer. Traci Watson/National Geographic
Here's why more police are patrolling Van Nuys Airport -- Additional police officers have been assigned to Van Nuys Airport following three recent security breaches at the general aviation field, law enforcement officials said this week. Two officers and a sergeant were assigned to boost police presence at Van Nuys Airport in response to the intrusions, Los Angeles Airport Police Assistant Chief David Maggard said. A lieutenant will also be assigned "to provide a consistent management presence" at the airport, he said. City News Service
John Wayne Airport posts March 2016 statistics -- Airline passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport increased in March 2016 as compared with March 2015. In March 2016, the Airport served 907,005 passengers, an increase of 9.0% when compared with the March 2015 passenger traffic count of 832,213. Commercial aircraft operations increased 12.4% and commuter aircraft operations decreased 60.8% when compared with March 2015 levels. Total aircraft operations increased in March 2016 as compared with the same month in 2015. JWA News Release Hannah Madans/Orange County Register Paul Hughes/Orange County Business Journal
Bob Hope Airport reports more foot traffic in February -- The number of passengers traveling through Bob Hope Airport rose by 5.2% in February compared with the same month a year earlier. The airfield saw 299,360 passengers going through its two terminals that month, which is 14,864 more than in 2015 and 8,321 more than the airport's projections, said Mark Hardyment, the airport's director of government and environmental affairs, during a Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority meeting on Monday. Anthony Clark Carpio/Burbank Leader
Just in the nick of time -- Long Beach is looking to hire a new airport director again, and this time, the choice to fill the job will be made right around the time a study on a controversial federal customs facility is due to be finished. The director will be in charge of a staff of 80 employees and will have to navigate the needs of residents who live on the flight path of the planes as well as the airport tenants and other stakeholders involved with the operations. Signal Tribune
After Brussels attacks, airports look to Israel for tips on security -- In the month since the Brussels Airport bombing, security agencies around the world are looking more closely at how Israel has pioneered ways to thwart airport terror attacks. Israel's know-how - mined from decades of actual and attempted attacks and a 1972 terrorist attack that killed 26 at what is now Ben Gurion International Airport just outside Tel Aviv - has made Israeli aviation security the industry's gold standard. Michele Chabin/USA Today
Visiting Denver now easier (and better) with new airport train -- One of the joys of visiting Europe is the excellent connections from airports to city centers, which in many cases (London, Paris, Milan, Zurich) are much faster and cheaper than taxis. In the U.S. high-speed rail is a rarity and some major airports are so difficult to reach by mass transit it's never worth trying. Until this week, Denver was one of those annoyingly far flung airports. But that all changes Friday with the opening of the new and long awaited University of Colorado A Train. The light rail line runs from the international airport to Denver's awesomely renovated downtown Union Station in just 37 minutes - for nine bucks. Larry Olmsted/Forbes
This airport launched a new room for fliers with autism -- Airports are not the easiest of places: typically, there are crowds of passengers, long lines, inevitable delays, overpriced food, and a whole host of other new and unfamiliar experiences. Recognizing that airports can be even more stressful for travelers on the autism spectrum, Delta Airlines collaborated with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and The Arc, an advocacy group for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to open the airport's first multi-sensory room for customers on the spectrum. Katherine LaGrave/Conde Nast Traveler
DFW Airport opens renovated section of Terminal E -- Dallas/Fort Worth Airport opened seven newly renovated gates in Terminal E on Thursday. The airport is in the process of upgrading its four original terminals, spending $2.7 billion on the renovation project. The newly opened gates are E11 through E17, the baggage claims at E13 and E14 and include the check-in areas for Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines. The renovated gate section has upgraded seating and tables for passengers to charge their electronic devices. Andrea Ahles/Fort Worth Star-Telegram
American Airlines applies to fly from D/FW to Tokyo's Haneda Airport -- American Airlines wants to launch daily nonstop service from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Tokyo's close-in Haneda Airport, the company said Thursday. But first it will need to beat out several other carriers also competing for the coveted slot. American filed an application with the Department of Transportation to begin daytime service to Haneda from D/FW Airport and also from Los Angeles International Airport. Conor Shine/Dallas Morning News
Aviation Data & Analysis

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Airlines
American Air first-quarter profit beats estimates -- American Airlines Group Inc reported a first-quarter profit on Friday that exceeded analysts' estimates as cheap fuel continued to prop up its bottom line. American, the world's largest airline, earned $700 million in the first quarter. Excluding special items, earnings fell by 38 percent to $765 million, or $1.25 per diluted share, largely because the airline had started recording additional non-cash taxes. Analysts, on average, expected $737 million, or $1.19 per diluted share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Jeffrey Dastin/Reuters
United Airlines contracts with IAM reverse the trend to outsourcing -- Newly signed contracts between United Airlines and its largest union have an unprecedented effect: They bring back work that had been outsourced and they protect thousands of other jobs from being outsourced in the foreseeable future. Under the contracts, which are scheduled to be signed Monday, about 400 to 500 fleet service and passenger service agent jobs for United Express at Los Angeles International and San Francisco International airports were brought under the jurisdiction of the International Association of Machinists, which represents 30,000 United workers. Ted Reed/The Street
United Airlines drops most in almost 6 years after weak forecast -- The third-largest U.S. carrier sank 10 percent to $52.60 at 1:01 p.m. Thursday in New York after tumbling as much as 12 percent, the biggest intraday drop since May 2010. United's decline was the largest on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and helped drag down other airline stocks. United is falling behind Delta Air Lines Inc. in passenger revenue for each seat flown a mile, a key financial measure for airlines, amid intense domestic competition and softer demand abroad. Bloomberg News
United should ditch its Washington hub, analyst says -- This spring, United dropped Cleveland as a hub, citing the airport's financial underperformance. Yet the airline's Washington Dulles hub is at least as unprofitable, and the airline should ditch it, a veteran analyst said today. In a let-me-count-the-ways report, Imperial Capital analyst Bob McAdoo explains how United has bungled key aspects of its merger with Continental. "UAL has yet to adopt key steps taken in recent successful airline mergers, and we are unsure why," he wrote. Justin Bachman/Bloomberg
Who's the best airline of them all? Virgin America and JetBlue, report says -- You've heard it all before, and a new report reaffirms it: Virgin America and JetBlue are the best U.S. airlines. And the worst? Legacy carriers United and American airlines ranked at the bottom. In 2016's Best & Worst Airlines compiled by WalletHub, U.S. airlines were evaluated by the number of delayed and/or canceled flights, lost bags, complaints and animal incidents as well as on-board comfort and cost. Mary Forgione/Los Angeles Times
Three top airlines changed the pricing of multi-city tickets. Here's how to avoid paying more. -- The next time you try to buy an airline ticket with one stopover or more, you could pay twice as much as you expected. Three airlines - American, Delta and United - quietly changed how they price multi-city tickets online recently, often displaying dramatically higher fares than they used to. Airlines say they've just closed a loophole that allowed passengers in the know to save a few bucks, but advocates claim the airlines are making yet another concerted money grab. Christopher Elliott/Washington Post
Your air traffic controller could be a hundred miles away -- The world's airlines have ambitious plans to double the fleet of commercial jets during the next two decades as the number of air travelers approaches 7 billion. The trouble: There won't be enough controllers to help those 44,000 planes take off and land safely. A shortage of air traffic controllers may rein in expansion by the aviation industry and economic development by emerging nations such as India, which wants to activate hundreds of unused runways to spur growth. Anurag Kotoky & Angus Whitley/Bloomberg Technology
Delta snub sends Turkish Airlines stock down most in five months -- Shares of Turkey's national airline sank the most in five months as Morgan Stanley recommended selling the stock and a U.S. carrier said it planned to suspend service to Istanbul. Turk Hava Yollari AO plunged 6.8 percent to 6.99 liras, with 145 million shares changing hands, the most since July 2009. Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight from overweight and cut the share-price estimate 39 percent to 6.15 liras. Tugce Ozsoy & Dana El Baltaji/Bloomberg
Travel
China has surpassed the United States in business travel spending -- China has already surpassed the United States in several categories, including the world's largest exporter and car market. Now the U.S. has been nudged aside when it comes to business travel spending. Chinese business travelers spent an estimated $291.2 billion in 2015, compared with an estimated $290.2 billion by U.S. business travelers, according to the Global Business Travel Assn. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times
Airplanes
Boeing mulls new 737 jet variant, airlines interested -- Boeing Co is studying whether to revise one version of its best-selling 737 aircraft in a bid to fend off competition, according to two people familiar with the matter. The U.S. planemaker's concept of a slightly larger version of its 737 MAX 7 jet with more seats and range drew airline interest on Thursday. The plans are preliminary, without many specifics, the sources said. But Boeing has a product study underway to determine if such a jet would make sense, they added. Alwyn Scott & Jeffrey Dastin/Reuters
High-Speed Rail
Rail authority revises bullet train plan to link Merced to initial operating segment -- The state rail authority, tentatively bowing to demands of the northern San Joaquin Valley, now intends to link Merced to the initial operating segment of the California bullet train, a decision that could add more than $1 billion to that phase of the cash-strapped project. The decision, unveiled at a board meeting Thursday, was part of 22 pages of revisions to the agency's draft 2016 business plan. The changes follow extensive criticism and comment about the draft plan, released in February, by legislators, regional officials and independent experts. Ralph Vartabedian/Los Angeles Times
Transportation Network Companies
Uber drivers settle with ride-hailing company in labor dispute -- Uber Technologies Inc. has warded off a serious legal threat to its highflying business model with a settlement that may end the debate over whether its drivers should be counted as independent contractors or employees. The ride-hailing company said Thursday it has settled two closely watched class-action labor disputes covering 385,000 drivers in California and Massachusetts that will let Uber continue classifying drivers as contractors. Douglas MacMillan Lauren Weber & Rel Emma Silverman/Wall Street Journal
California regulators permit Uber and Lyft to offer carpooling services -- State regulators on Thursday granted companies such as Uber and Lyft permission to offer carpooling, sanctioning a service that has allowed fast-growing San Francisco companies to offer lower-cost rides. After weeks of delays, the California Public Utilities Commission voted 4-1 on Thursday to approve commercial carpooling. Commissioner Mike Florio cast the sole vote opposing the motion because he wasn't convinced that the decision was legal. Tracey Lien/Los Angeles Times
City Government
L.A. agrees to return tiny houses seized from homeless people -- Los Angeles has agreed to return tiny houses that police and sanitation workers impounded from homeless people, but the mayor's office has not endorsed a suggestion to place a village of tiny houses on city land, a spokeswoman said. Elvis Summers, who reportedly built and distributed 37 brightly colored structures to homeless people over the last year, said he had understood that Mayor Eric Garcetti was considering offering a surplus city lot as a site for the houses. Gale Holland/Los Angeles Times
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