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El Segundo challenges regional transportation plan over LAX passenger numbers -- The city of El Segundo is suing the Southern California Association of Governments over its transportation plan for the region, alleging the 25-year blueprint will lead to worsened noise, traffic and air pollution from Los Angeles International Airport. The lawsuit filed May 5 challenges passenger forecast figures in the 2016-2040 Regional Transportation Plan, a guiding document produced every four years by SCAG, a metropolitan planning organization spanning six counties. Megan Barnes/Torrance Daily Breeze
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Snapchat to lease part of Santa Monica Airport, including 8 hangars -- Snapchat has expanded out of its beloved Venice Beach neighborhood and into an airport. The Santa Monica City Council approved a $3 million-a-year lease for Snapchat to take over space at the Santa Monica Airport, which includes two buildings and eight hangars, according to the Santa Monica Mirror. Snapchat declined to comment. The five-year lease gives Snapchat room to expand into the two office buildings, totaling 70,473 square feet, although it has to spend at least $1.4 million in improvements on them. Biz Carson/Business Insider
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Hollywood jet gives fearful fliers the courage to soar -- The jet sitting at Air Hollywood's studio near the Burbank airport in Southern California was once the charter plane of the Los Angeles Lakers. These days, it serves a much different role - mostly as the set for movies and TV commercials. But the group walking on board the day I recently visited wasn't there to film a scene. They were part of a two-day class for fearful fliers. For participant Ronnie Michel, it was the first time in six years that he'd seen the inside of a plane. Daniel Hajek/NPR
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New York's LaGuardia, long in tatters, borrows big for facelift -- New York is about to find out whether it's possible to build a 35-gate terminal at New York's LaGuardia Airport around the existing one without disrupting operations or becoming plagued by cost overruns and delays. To finance construction at the airport in Queens, a group led by Swedish construction company Skanska AB and Canadian airport operator Vantage Airport Group will borrow $2.5 billion Tuesday in the biggest offering of municipal bonds since March. Martin Z. Braun/Bloomberg
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Dallas is America's new airline battleground (Part II) -- The Dallas air travel market has seen a surge in competition recently thanks to a variety of factors, most notably the expiration of restrictions on rival Southwest Airlines' hub operation at Love Field. Alongside Southwest, legacy carrier American Airlines and ultra low cost carrier (ULCC) Spirit Airlines are duking it out down the road at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, creating a three way battle for supremacy in one of the nation's fastest growing metro areas - the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex. Vinay Bhaskara/ Airways News
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Delta won't add international routes until new Sea-Tac terminal is built -- Delta Air Lines would add new international routes to Seattle right now if it could. Instead, the airline probably won't make any of those moves until late 2019. In an interview this week, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said his airline is "facility-constrained" at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, because of congestion as people move through customs. Steve Wilhelm/Puget Sound Business Journal
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Inspection shows JFK Airport continues to have problems with runway maintenance -- As past investigations have found, FAA inspectors usually find more safety violations at JFK Airport in New York City than at many other large airports. The Investigators obtained an exclusive copy of Kennedy's most recent inspection, which shows that problems with runway maintenance continues. The Port Authority says they're mostly minor violations, but one involved lights meant to keep planes from colliding NOT working. Jim Hoffer/ABC7 New York
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House plans hearing on long airport lines as issue nears boiling point -- With anger over massive airport lines nearing a boiling point, a House panel is planning to hear from Transportation Security Administration officials and the airline industry next week about how Congress can help ease soaring airport wait times this summer. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said his panel will hold a hearing ahead of Memorial Day weekend with TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger, airline companies and airport executives about the growing airport lines around the country that are causing scores of passengers to miss their flights. Melanie Zanona/The Hill
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#IHateTheWait hashtag surges as angry passengers socalize long TSA security lines -- Earlier this month in an effort to bring visibility to growing security lines snaking through American airports, Airlines for America, the trade group representing the major U.S. carriers, launched a website and a hashtag called IHateTheWait. Meant to encourage passengers to share their frustration over social channels, the #IHateTheWait hashtag has since turned into a grassroots movement, with thousands of thousands of social impressions on Twitter and Instagram sharing passenger frustration. Grant Martin/Skift
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The best #IHateTheWait photos of long TSA lines -- Social media is, once again, the no. 1 place to lodge a complaint. Just search for #iHateTheWait on Twitter or Instagram. The latest trend started when airlines rallied together to launch a campaign last week, asking passengers to share photos of interminable airport security lines on social media using the hashtag #iHateTheWait. And wow, did people catch on. Photos posted by travelers across the U.S. show enormous lines that recall the ones at Space Mountain in Disney World, pre-FastPass. Francina Morel/Conde Nast Traveler
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TSA plans more staff to cut airport lines, but union says it's not enough -- With marathon security lines causing thousands of U.S. airline passengers to miss flights, the Transportation Security Administration plans to hire nearly 800 new officers this month and pay for more part-time workers and overtime. But the union that represents security officers said that won't solve the problem, and that TSA needs 6,000 additional full-time officers to address a shortfall that has come as airlines are experiencing an increase in passengers. Mary Wisniewski/Chicago Tribune
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Former O.C. whistleblower who exposed TSA weaknesses says he's still being retaliated against -- When whistleblowers get fired, battle the government for years, then win their jobs back thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court - an exceedingly rare occurrence - the resulting employer-employee relationship can become strained. Robert MacLean, formerly of Ladera Ranch and a whistleblower who publicly exposed weak procedures at the Transportation Security Administration, has been back on the TSA payroll for one year now. Teri Sforza/Orange County Register
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TSA lines causing frowns? Send in the clowns! (and tiny horses) -- With mounting delays around the country being blamed on Transportation Security Administration cutbacks and increased passenger traffic, airports are turning to musical performers and free sweets to keep travelers' tempers in check. And some airports are getting a little more creative. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is now inviting miniature therapy horses and their handlers from the non-profit Seven Oaks Farms Miniature Therapy Horses program in Hamilton, Ohio to visit the terminals several times a month. Harriet Baskas/NBC
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Alaska Air, Virgin America received Justice Department request for more information -- Alaska Air Group Inc., which in early April announced a $2.6 billion offer to acquire Virgin America Inc., said it and its target have received a request for more information on the proposed transaction from the U.S. Justice Department. The two carriers said the so-called "second request," is a "standard part" of antitrust regulators' review process and said they are cooperating fully with the Justice Department. Susan Carey/Wall Street Journal
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Southwest pilots sue carrier to block flying of Boeing's Max -- Southwest Airlines Co. pilots' union asked a federal court to block the carrier from flying Boeing Co.'s newest 737 until the plane is negotiated into a new contract for the 8,300 aviators. The union also wants the court to order Southwest to stop "delaying and frustrating bargaining" and fulfill its legal duty to make every effort to reach a contract if the airline wants to fly the 737 Max when it's delivered next year. Mary Schlangenstein/Bloomberg
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Southwest Airlines sees 'tremendous' expansion opportunities -- Southwest Airlines marks its 45th year in business next month, but to hear Chief Executive Gary Kelly tell it, the carrier can still undergo a major growth spurt. "We still have tremendous opportunities to expand," the CEO of the Dallas-based airline said Monday during a meeting with the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board. Southwest serves 98 destinations, of which 87 are in the United States. The latest is Long Beach, Calif., where service begins next month. Becky Yerak/Chicago Tribune
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American Airlines will stop in-flight gate announcement interruptions -- You are now free to enjoy your in-flight entertainment, uninterrupted. The world's largest airline, American Airlines Group Inc., plans to stop on-board announcements of connecting gate information as flights prepare to land. The change, effective May 17, is a concession that technology has rendered the announcements moot, as passengers now travel equipped with an array of Internet-connected gadgets. American also displays gate information via the seat-back screens on its newer aircraft. Justin Bachman/Bloomberg
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Delta's capacity cutback tells us a lot about the state of the economy - here and aboard -- Whether it's an exercise of sound business judgment or a bowing of the knee to Wall Street's influential analysts' and traders' perennial focus on short term performance, Delta Airlines today sparked a modest rally in airline stock prices by announcing that it will scale back its growth plans for the second half of this year. The scale back - actually a slowing overall capacity growth, not an actual reduction capacity - is modest. Dan Reed/Forbes
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Aviation director: Frontier's return trip could land more airline business in SA -- The decision by Frontier Airlines to return to the Alamo City after a multi-year hiatus could boost local leaders' efforts to try and recruit more carriers and flights to San Antonio International Airport. At a minimum, it should send a message to other airlines that there is a demand for more air service into and out of the nation's seventh largest city. W. Scott Baily/San Antonio Business Journal
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Inglewood pins hopes for commercial revival on Rams -- This year, there is fresh hope to revive Inglewood, which is planning to welcome the Rams football team back to the Los Angeles area after 20 years in St. Louis. The Rams' owner, E. Stanley Kroenke, is building a 80,000-seat stadium, at a cost likely to exceed $2 billion, to accommodate the team, and an entertainment complex is being built nearby as part of a continuing project called Hollywood Park. Lauren Herstik/New York Times
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