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Virgin America leaves a lasting product legacy as it readies for absorption by Alaska -- The pending merger between Alaska Air Group and Virgin America has generated many questions about brand, product, aircraft and network composition. Those are among myriad elements that need evaluation as the two airlines unify to become a more competitive force in a post- consolidated US market place. One issue that Virgin America believes the merger cannot rectify is enlarging access for smaller airlines at slot- or space-constrained airports in the US. However, with the combined scale, Virgin America believes the two airlines can compete more effectively against the US major airlines that dominate those facilities. CAPA Centre for Aviation
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Fares are cheap; airlines don't want them to stay that way -- Enjoy lower airfares while you can. Airlines are taking steps to push prices higher by next year. Fares have been dropping for more than a year. Taking inflation into account, the average round trip within the U.S. in late 2015 was the lowest since 2010. Ticket prices have fallen even further this year, according to the airlines. Not only is flying from Dallas to Denver cheap, but popular international vacation destinations like Europe are more affordable. Fliers can thank the steep plunge in oil prices since mid-2014. David Koenig/AP
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China to encourage domestic airlines to go overseas: regulator -- China will further expand air rights and improve the way it allocates international routes to domestic airlines as it tries to encourage them to participate in the international market, the country's aviation regulator said on Wednesday. In a policy document published on its website, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said the country aimed to become a "strong civil aviation nation" by 2020 but it still faced a large number of difficulties, including insufficient safety resources and "a crude way of development". Reuters
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Ideological purity likely not among Delta's reasons for vehement fight against Persian Gulf carriers -- Clearly none of the Big Three U.S. airlines care much for the supposed government subsidization of their new-found Persian Gulf rivals, Etihad, Qatar Airways, and Emirates Airline. But of the three - American, Delta and United - Delta obviously stands apart as the most outraged about having to compete against the governments Abu Dhabi, Qatar and the U.A.E, in addition to the airlines that call those Gulf States home. It's understandable. Dan Reed/Forbes
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Airlines waive change fees on France labor unrest -- American and Delta are waiving change fees for some passengers traveling in France, where transit strikes have been threatened on Wednesday and Thursday. On Tuesday, labor-related protests at fuel depots and refineries led to spotty disruptions across the country from related fuel shortages. There did not appear to be a large impact on flight schedules as of Tuesday evening, but additional trouble spots loomed in the week ahead. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today
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Southwest Airlines starting Love Field headquarters expansion next month -- Contractor McCarthy Building Cos. has been hired to build Southwest Airlines' huge headquarters expansion at Dallas Love Field. The airline is building a more than $150 million complex west of Denton Drive that will include a 414,000-square-foot office building and an attached 367,000-square-foot flight training center, which will house 18 flight simulator bays. There will also be a 1,900-car parking garage. Steve Brown/Dallas Morning News
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United to improve coach meals on international flights -- United Airlines announced several improvements to the meals it offers coach passengers on international flights. Starting June 1, the Chicago-based airline will resume offering a complimentary mid-flight snack to coach passengers on all international flights. United had discontinued the snack after it began offering what it termed a "more robust" three-course meal during the flight. Paul Riegler/Frequent Business Traveler
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Do airlines need to be re-regulated? -- The summer travel season that begins this weekend will see the effects of the deregulation of the airline industry almost 40 years ago. It transformed travel, increasing competition and passengers, and drastically reducing fares. But only a few big companies have survived that competition. Service has become a sore point with travelers, and fees for things like checked luggage and even where you sit have added to the price of tickets. Meanwhile, company profits soar as fuel prices drop. Does the industry need to be re-regulated? New York Times
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Smartphones and tablets make contact with aviation customers easier -- Corporate aviation is experiencing a wave of newcomers, all eager to show their technological mettle. But while online booking has opened up the use of private aircraft, not everyone in the business thinks that this popular approach should deflect from the serious task of operating aircraft. Adam Twidell, who founded PrivateFly in 2008, aims to bring the ease of online bookings to the private aircraft sector. Michael Dempsey/Financial Times
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Latest economic turbulence to hit airlines: Currency controls -- Currency controls in a couple of emerging markets are grounding the airline industry. The International Air Transport Association said on Tuesday that airlines around the world could not repatriate billions of dollars in revenue from Venezuela and Nigeria due to various controls on capital accounts. As of March, international airlines' funds that were trapped in Nigeria stood at $575 million, while Venezuela blocked a total of $3.6 billion. Carolyn Cui/Wall Street Journal
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Norwegian to take eight more Boeing 737 MAXs, two 787s -- Low-cost carrier Norwegian has firmed up eight Boeing 737 MAX 8 purchase options and agreed to lease two more 787-9s. Norwegian has 100 737 MAX 8s on order and options on a further 100, eight of which are now firmed. It has also signed an agreement with CIT Aerospace to lease two 787-9s, which will be delivered in spring 2018, taking it to a total of 42 787s by 2020. The Oslo-based carrier has been incrementally increasing its leased 787 commitments over the last few months. Victoria Moores/Air Transport World
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Norwegian Air announces another U.S. route -- Norwegian Air plans to launch nonstop service between Las Vegas and London's Gatwick airport, the carrier announced Monday. The route would give fast-growing Norwegian its fourth route out of Las Vegas. The low-cost carrier already flies to its bases in Stockholm and Copenhagen. Las Vegas-Oslo flights are set to begin in November. But the Gatwick flights will test whether there's enough demand for a third carrier to fly between Las Vegas and London. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today
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In-air talent: From Elvis to comedy, flight attendants entertain crowds in the clouds -- As the American Airlines flight swooped in over the New York Harbor on its way into La Guardia Airport one evening last month, Joe Howell grabbed the microphone and began his tour. "For those of you on the left-hand side just off the wing, you'll see the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island," Howell began, his baritone carrying all the authority of his 44 years as a flight attendant. "The Statue of Liberty opened originally in 1886. Grover Cleveland was the presiding president." Zach Schonbrun/New York Times News Service
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Threat to jetliner parked on LAX tarmac deemed not credible -- A threat made Tuesday morning against an American Eagle flight at Los Angeles International Airport was not credible, FBI officials said. The threat was reported at 8:37 a.m. PDT against Flight 5931, which was flying from Houston to Los Angeles, said Polly Tracey, a spokeswoman for American Airlines. The nature of the threat was not immediately clear. "While an assessment is always conducted following a threat, there is no known credible threat to the aircraft or passengers at this time," FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. Veronica Rocha/Los Angeles Times CBS LA ABC7 NBC4 City News Service ABC News CBS News NBC News
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Ontario airport police find suspicious package, bomb squad gives the 'all clear' -- Bomb squad technicians gave the "all clear" at Ontario International Airport's Terminal 4 after airport police discovered a package left unattended. Shortly before 5 p.m., police discovered the package and quickly secured the area. Shortly after 6 p.m. bomb squad techs, who earlier X-rayed the package, deemed it safe allowing passengers to resume boarding and screening procedures. Doug Saunders/San Bernardino Sun
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TSA chief headed back to Capitol Hill to talk airport lines -- The head of the Transportation Security Administration is heading back to Capitol Hill Wednesday to try to explain what his agency is doing to deal with increasingly long airport security lines that have already snarled the fledgling summer travel season. TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger is also likely to be pressed by members of the House Homeland Security Committee to explain exactly what prompted the ouster of the agency's top security official, Kelly Hoggan. Alicia A. Caldwell/AP
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Airports: Ticket fees should go to TSA to end checkpoint gridlock -- Airports are urging Congress to stop diverting $1.25 billion a year in airline ticket fees for deficit reduction rather than providing the money to the Transportation Security Administration, which is struggling with long lines at checkpoints. Congress voted in 2014 to use 60 cents for deficit reduction from the $5.60 security fee on each flight segment. The diversion totals $1.25 billion this year, which would represent a significant amount for the TSA, which has a $7.5 billion budget. Bart Jansen/USA Today
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Airlines say TSA fixes shrink O'Hare wait times to 15 minutes -- Security lines at O'Hare International Airport have dropped from more than two hours to about 15 minutes in the wake of TSA staffing fixes locally and this week's ouster of the agency's head of security. Recent fixes in Transportation Security Administration staffing in the past week have helped drastically decrease wait times at O'Hare. Mary Wisniewski/Chicago Tribune
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Long security lines partly behind Hartsfield-Jackson airport chief's ouster -- The man who ran the world's busiest airport was fired because of long TSA security lines and dirty bathrooms-at least if Mayor Kasim Reed's statements at a Monday press conference are to be taken at face value. While Reed declined to address head-on the reasons for Hartsfield-Jackson general manager Miguel Southwell's dismissal late Friday, he detailed some of the changes he expects to see in airport operations in coming days, and he dismissed other possible causes suggested by reporters. Scott Henry/Atlanta Magazine
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Delta: We won't suspend bag fees but we'll help TSA on airport lines -- Delta said Tuesday it won't back a proposal that U.S. carriers eliminate bag fees this summer in an effort to speed up long airport security lines that result from insufficient staffing by the Transportation Security Administration. But Delta said it would assist TSA when possible -- on Monday, the carrier told The Minneapolis Star-Tribune that it will hire 40 people this summer to help agents move passengers through security faster at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Delta's third-biggest hub with 408 daily departures. Ted Reed/TheStreet
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Hartsfield-Jackson strikes partnership with Israeli airport, with hopes for Atlanta-Tel Aviv flights -- Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport signed a sister airport agreement with Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion International Airport, which the partners said they hope will spur the resumption of Atlanta-Tel Aviv flights. The memorandum of understanding signed by Hartsfield-Jackson interim general manager Roosevelt Council and Ben-Gurion managing director Shmuel Zakay is aimed at allowing the airports to share their expertise with each other while increasing travel and trade. Kelly Yamanouchi/Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Salt Lake City to begin phasing out smoking rooms at airport -- The new Salt Lake City administration is shutting down all smoking rooms at Utah's largest airport. The decision is a complete turnaround from the stance former Mayor Ralph Becker's administration took on the issue, with smoking rooms being included in the Salt Lake City International Airport's $1.8 billion terminal redevelopment plans. But Mayor Jackie Biskupski plans to phase out the airport's five smoking rooms by the end of the year. Katie McKellar & Ben Lockhart/Deseret News
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Paradies Lagard�re serves up free meals to thank US military personnel -- Paradies Lagard�re is offering free meals to US military service personnel to thank them for their service and sacrifice. The travel retailer and restaurateur's 'Treat Our Troops' programme is open to active and retired military and will run between Memorial Day (30 May) and Independence Day (4 July) at participating airport restaurants including Long Beach March�, The Boathouse and 4th Street Vine at Long Beach Airport. Jason Holland/The Moodie Davitt Report
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Hertz and Avis learn from airlines in fight for drivers -- Not long ago the U.S. had eight national airlines, each fighting the other for scraps in an economic cycle of boom and bust. Now there are just four, and they make billions of dollars. The car rental consolidation has been less apparent to consumers since the acquired brands still exist in some form. Airlines tend to erase a target's branding with a coat of paint; rental car brands are kept alive because of customer loyalty and perceived market niches. Justin Bachman/Bloomberg
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NFL awards 2021 Super Bowl to Los Angeles -- Four months after giving the Rams the green light to return to Los Angeles, NFL owners on Tuesday awarded the city the right to host the Super Bowl in early 2021, after an absence of 28 years. The game will be played at the soon-to-be built $2.6-billion Inglewood stadium, which is scheduled to open for the 2019 season. In what could be a first, L.A. - in head-to-head competition with Tampa - received a super-majority consensus in the first round of voting. Sam Farmer/Los Angeles Times
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L.A. councilmen will campaign for $1-billion ballot measure to house the homeless -- Two key members of the Los Angeles City Council say they have decided to push for a November ballot measure authorizing a bond of at least $1 billion to build housing for the city's growing homeless population. Councilmen Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Jose Huizar, the chairman and vice-chairman of the council's homelessness and poverty committee, made their announcement Tuesday armed with a new poll suggesting that such an initiative would enjoy broad support among city voters. Peter Jamison/Los Angeles Times
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LA Mayor Eric Garcetti slams Donald Trump as 'ultimate caricature' -- Ahead of Donald Trump's trip to Southern California, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti slammed the presumed Republican nominee on Tuesday, calling Trump the "ultimate caricature" of a politician who will say anything to get elected. "What we can't do with Donald Trump is normalize him as a candidate," Garcetti said in a conference call with reporters. "He's a racist, he's a bigot, he's sexist." Dakota Smith/Los Angeles Daily News Peter Jamison/Los Angeles Times
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Killings in L.A. are still on the rise, but police chief sees a 'turn of the tide' -- After struggling for months to quell violent crime in some of Los Angeles' hardest-hit neighborhoods, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said Tuesday that the rise of killings had slowed in the city, indicating that "a turn of the tide" had begun. In his weekly crime report to the Police Commission, Beck said the city had seen 101 homicides this year - "almost even" with the 97 killings recorded at this time in 2015. Kate Mather/Los Angeles Times
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