Swiss celebrates first Boeing 777-300ER LAX-Zurich flight -- SWISS, the flag carrier of Switzerland, celebrates the inaugural flight of its newest flagship Boeing 777-300ER on its Los Angeles International Airport - Zurich route. "We are excited that Swiss Airlines' new "flagship" Boeing 777-300ER aircraft has now joined the LAX livery family, providing long haul service from Los Angeles to Zurich, Switzerland," said Los Angeles World Airports Chief Executive Officer Deborah Flint. "The additional capacity and the airlines focus on customers' air travel experience reflects our commitment to world class experience at LAX." LAWA Press Release
|
Mexico's resort hotspots getting a boost from Southwest's new LAX service -- Just prior to the June 5 launch of inaugural service to and from Long Beach Airport - the carrier's 98th city served - Southwest Airlines announced its filing of an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to reach even further into Mexico with new service from Los Angeles International Airport. Plans call for the low fare carrier to provide LAX service with twice daily flights to San Jose del Cabo and Cancun, and one daily flight to Puerto Vallarta beginning Nov. 6, 2016. Dawna L. Robertson/Travel Pulse
|
LAX baggage handler from Hawthorne arrested for allegedly rummaging through luggage -- A Los Angeles International Airport baggage handler from Hawthorne was arrested after a co-worker found him rummaging through passengers belongings, police said Monday. Oscar Aleman-Alonzo, 19, was arrested Thursday when he went to collect a paycheck, police said. According to Airport police, Aleman-Alonzo was spotted May 25 on closed-circuit video taking a bag from a customs baggage area to a storage room and locking the door. Larry Altman/Torrance Daily Breeze
|
I learn what it's like to experience an airport as a 70 year old -- I get a whole lot of pitches from PR folks, and very few of them catch my eye. But about a month ago, I received a note from an agency working with Corgan Associates, a national architecture firm. These guys acquired an "aging suit" to help them better understand how airport design impacts the elderly and those with limited mobility. I was given the opportunity to go strap on the suit and walk around LAX. It was an eye-opening experience. Brett Snyder/The Cranky Flier
|
|
Tensions between LA, San Bernardino counties could ruin train plans to Ontario Airport -- At a conference Monday aimed at boosting regional connectivity between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley, territorial and financial issues created a lack of agreement on the best way to move people and solve cross-county gridlock. At the heart of transportation and economic improvements are two projects that remain in stalemate - a thriving, independent Ontario International Airport and a set of rail lines to serve airport passengers and give cross-county commuters an alternative to driving the 10, 60 or 210 freeways.
Steve Scauzillo/San Gabriel Valley Tribune
|
No more smoking - soon - at Salt Lake City Int'l Airport -- According to recent report from the Centers for Disease Control, the smoking rate in the U.S. is on the decline: in 2015, 15 percent of U.S. adults smoked, down two percent from 2014 - the biggest decline in more than 20 years. That may be one of the reasons Salt Lake City International Airport, which for years promoted its five post-security smoking rooms as a convenience for smokers making connections, has announced a schedule for snuffing out those lounges. Harriet Baskas/Stuck At The Airport
|
'When people hurt, I know hurt': An airport chaplain mourns his 10-year-old son -- Every time he sees a plane descending, the Rev. Nace Lanier starts to pray. He believes in spiritual warfare: that there is evil out there and that prayer can ward it off. So each day, as Lanier watches through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Reagan National Airport, he beseeches God to protect the plane until he sees it touch the ground. The airport's senior chaplain has faith that prayer is essential to safe travels. The wooden cross that he grips as he says those prayers is his constant reminder of how that faith has been sorely tested. Julie Zauzmer/Washington Post
|
United Airlines pushing deeper into Asia-Pacific with Boeing's 787 Dreamliners -- United Continental's United Airlines is adding even more routes in the Asia-Pacific region. Using the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, America's second-largest airline recently launched a 16-hour nonstop flight from San Francisco to Singapore. The airline is also planning more nonstop service from the U.S. to places like New Zealand, a service that launches July 1, 2016. For the last two decades, long-haul routes to Asia were dominated by companies such as Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific. Jonathan Galaviz/The Street
|
Airlines court pilots to avoid looming shortage -- With a pilot shortage looming for U.S. airlines, three subsidiaries of American Airlines announced Monday they will offer $15,000 signing bonuses to newly minted pilots. Envoy Air, formerly called American Eagle, Piedmont and PSA Airlines, which operate short-haul or "express" flights for American, are offering signing bonuses to lure new aviators at a time many senior pilots are nearing mandatory retirement age of 65, and it's become harder to be a pilot. Linda Loyd/philly.com
|
Strikes snare fliers on two big European airlines -- Airline passengers in Europe are being forced to navigate disruptions from labor conflicts at two of the continent's biggest carriers this week. Labor actions at Air France and Scandinavian airline SAS likely have already disrupted the plans of more than 100,000 combined passengers since Friday. Adding to the mess could be a Tuesday strike of easyJet pilots at the discount carrier's base in Amsterdam. On SAS, nearly 80,000 passengers have had their plans disrupted since Friday. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today
|
Airlines are improving at on-time performance -- Airlines are doing a better job of sticking to their schedules, and consumer complaints are falling. The Department of Transportation said Monday that 84.5 percent of flights on the largest 12 U.S. airlines arrived on time during April, better than the previous month and up from 81.8 percent in April 2015. Hawaiian Airlines and Delta Air Lines were the best at staying on schedule, while Spirit Airlines was last, arriving late more than one-fourth of the time. Consumer complaints about U.S. airlines fell 20 percent to 870 from 1,083 in April 2015. CBS News
|
Flying United? You'll finally be able to watch movies or TV on every flight -- By the end of June, United Airlines customers likely will no longer need to fear boarding an aircraft without in-flight entertainment. The project had been delayed due to technical problems, but United says it should finish outfitting its final 90 or so aircraft within weeks. All are Boeing 737s, and many are among the newest in the carrier's fleet. Some fly United's longest domestic routes, such as Newark to San Diego, and customers have complained that the cabins lack any entertainment, other than Wi-Fi. Brian Sumers/Skift
|
Senator: Airlines should pay same fuel taxes that N.J. drivers do -- Drivers pay taxes when they fill up their cars and a state senator wants airlines to do the same when they fuel up their jets, which, he says, could take some of the burden of funding airport improvements off the backs of toll payers. Airlines get a free ride because they only pay taxes on the fuel they use while in New Jersey, said state Senator Raymond Lesniak, D-Union, at a Monday press conference at Newark Airport. They do not pay taxes on the entire purchase of gas in N.J. Larry Higgs/NJ.com
|
Airlines race to Cuba, overcoming major hurdles -- Galo Beltran stands on the tarmac testing a hand-held baggage scanner. Each time a barcode is successfully read, he smiles. The device, which is used to track luggage, is deployed at airports across the world. But until this moment, Beltran wasn't sure if it would work on Cuban cellular networks. As satisfying as meeting that challenge was, there are hundreds more to be tackled as U.S. airlines prepare to resume their first regularly scheduled flights to Cuba in five decades. Scott Mayerowitz/AP
|
Former Delta executive fined $3 million in commodities trading scheme -- In an unusual case that underscores the complexity of overseeing commodities trading, the CME Group has sanctioned a former airline fuel executive for front-running his own employer's exchange orders, among other things, and generating market gains of more than $3 million in the process. Jon Ruggles, who was the vice president of fuel at Delta Airlines from the middle of 2011 until late in 2012, was disciplined today by CME regulators for using his position at the time "to obtain a favorable execution price" for commodity trading orders "in blatant violation of Exchange rules," according to a written finding. Kate Kelly/CNBC
|
Qantas may be target for Chinese airlines, Credit Suisse says -- Qantas Airways Ltd. could be China's next investment target after conglomerates from the country bought stakes in the Australian carrier's closest domestic rival, Credit Suisse Group AG said. Separate investments in Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. by HNA Group and Nanshan Group in the past two weeks have put around one third of the airline in Chinese hands. HNA owns Hainan Airlines Co. and Nanshan controls Qingdao Airlines. In an alliance with HNA, Virgin Australia plans to start direct flights to and from China next year. Angus Whitley/Bloomberg
|
Twin Cities man sues TSA, claiming slow security made him miss flight -- A Minneapolis man is blaming the long line at security for missing a flight recently, and now he's suing the federal agency and the Twin Cities airport's operator for his $506.85. In the lawsuit filed in federal court last week, Hooman Nikizad said his wait of more than 90 minutes on March 19 before he passed through security screening by the federal Transportation Security Administration made him miss his late-afternoon flight to Los Angeles. Paul Walsh/Minneapolis Star Tribune
|
Amazon fined by U.S. FAA for air shipment of dangerous cargo -- U.S. aviation regulators are seeking a $350,000 fine against Amazon.com Inc., the Seattle-based online retailer, for allegedly sending hazardous shipments as air cargo. E-commerce giant Amazon, which has made two deals this year in an attempt to create its own air-shipping network, was charged Monday with improperly sending a caustic chemical that leaked and came in contact with nine workers at a United Parcel Service Inc. facility, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a press release. Alan Levin/Bloomberg
|
|
