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Alaska Airlines CEO says he might keep Virgin America brand -- Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden said Wednesday that he might keep the Virgin America brand, running it and Alaska as two different products within the same airline group. In April, Alaska announced plans to buy Virgin America for $2.6 billion, a deal that would make it a West Coast powerhouse. Both airlines have very loyal - but different - followings, and almost immediately both groups expressed fears that the combination would kill off what they love about their own airline. Scott Mayerowitz/AP
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You can fly to Iceland from LAX now for $99 -- Icelandic airline WOW air's $99-and-up flights to Iceland officially began service Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport. The airline offers four flights a week connecting Reykjavik and Los Angeles. Passengers who pay higher fees that start at $199 also can catch flights to several European cities - including London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam and Stockholm - but a stopover in Iceland is required. While the costs start low, ticket prices vary depending on the schedule, according to airline representatives. City News Service
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JetBlue begins Buffalo to LA nonstop flights -- Nonstop service from Buffalo Niagara International Airport to Los Angeles taking off today.. JetBlue, which will be using an Airbus A-320, 150-passenger jet, will leave daily. The flights will depart Buffalo at 6:40 p.m. and arrive at LAX around 9 p.m. (West Coast time). The red-eye return flight leaves LAX at 10 p.m. (1 a.m. Eastern Time) and arrives in Buffalo at 6.a.m. James Fink/Buffalo Business First
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Singapore Airlines to fly San Francisco-Singapore nonstop to compete with United -- Singapore Airlines will start flying nonstop between San Francisco and Singapore beginning in October, a route that will test the range of the carrier's new Airbus A350s. Singapore had not planned to resume nonstop flights to the United States until 2018, after it took delivery of a special long-range version of the A350, Airbus' newest widebody. But competitor United Airlines apparently forced its hand, with the Chicago-based airline starting its own San Francisco-Singapore nonstop on June 1. Brian Sumers/Skift
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Singapore Airlines launches new service from LAX to Seoul with $750 tickets -- Singapore Airlines announced Wednesday the launch of new flights from LAX to Seoul and San Francisco to Singapore. The new flights debut with a promotional $750 round-trip economy class fare. Travelers must book between Thursday and July 30 and travel between Oct. 23 and March 31, 2017, to take advantage of the promotional prices. Two weeks ago, United Airlines began the only nonstop flight from the U.S. to Singapore, departing from San Francisco. Hannah Madans/Orange County Register
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This is why Singapore Airlines is the best in the world -- Year after year, the national carrier of Singapore takes top honors in our Readers' Choice Awards ranking of best international airlines. It's because of moments like this. As we wrap up our 29th annual Readers' Choice Awards (voting ends end of day July 1), I wanted to share a personal story that may inspire you to take the survey-either to honor the best hotels, airlines, and cruises in the world, or to hold the worst accountable. Laura Dannen Redman/Conde Nast Traveler
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Virgin Atlantic CEO already sees low-cost Norwegian Air hurting U.S. fares -- Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA's expansion into long-haul flights linking Europe with North America is set to depress fares in the world's most lucrative travel market, according to Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. Virgin, which returned to profit in 2014, aided by a trans-Atlantic venture with shareholder Delta Air Lines Inc., is expecting a dip in pricing on services that make up about 70 percent of its entire operation as Norwegian extends its reach, Chief Executive Officer Craig Kreeger said in an interview. Benjamin Katz/Bloomberg
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Virgin bolsters balance sheet for aviation dogfight -- Virgin's monster $852 million rights issue unveiled today sounds ambitious, but the airline has a coterie of ambitious shareholders that should make the raising - struck at a steep 28 per cent discount - a formality. Virgin's registry resembles aviation's version of the United Nations - hopefully not with the same level of dysfunction - with Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Etihad and Chinese newcomers Nanshan Group and HNA Group all gracing the register. Tim Boreham/The Australian
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India makes it easier for domestic airlines to fly overseas -- India's federal government on Wednesday relaxed the criteria for domestic airlines to fly overseas as part of a new civil-aviation policy aimed at driving growth in the sector. Local carriers will no longer be restricted by the number of years they have operated domestically to fly abroad, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said. Until now, they were required to complete five years of domestic service and have at least 20 planes in operation before being permitted to fly overseas. Santanu Choudhury/Wall Street Journal
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Green slime to jet fuel: Algae offers airlines a cleaner future -- As airlines struggle to find cleaner ways to power jets and with an industry-wide meeting on CO2 emissions just months away, scientists are busy growing algae in vast open tanks at an Airbus site at Ottobrun, near Munich. The European aerospace group is part-financing the Munich Technical University project to grow algae for biofuel and, although commercial production is a long way off, hopes are high. Thomas Brueck, Munich TU's associate professor of industrial biocatalysis, says that the biofuel from algaculture could cater for 3-5 percent of jetfuel needs by about 2050. Reuters
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Main locations of EgyptAir wreckage identified by deep ocean vessel -- The main locations of wreckage from the EgyptAir jet that crashed in the eastern Mediterranean last month have been identified by a vessel owned by Deep Ocean Search, the Egyptian-led investigation committee said Wednesday. The John Lethbridge, a search boat contracted by the Egyptian government, is working against the clock to locate the "black boxes" that investigators say will help explain why Flight MS804 crashed on May 19, killing all 66 people on board. Reuters
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Thune says he's trying to 'light a fire' on FAA reauthorization -- Lobbyists are already resigning themselves to another extension on FAA authorization. Politico Team Transpo's Kathryn A. Wolfe and Lauren Gardner touched base with a slew of sources who all agreed: No way that the House and Senate will be able to conference a bill before July 15 - and conjectured that another kick-the-can extension could last as long as a year, giving House T&I Chairman Bill Shuster another bite at the privatization apple in a new Congress. Martine Powers/Politico
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Watch for a Boeing 767 at Palm Springs airport -- Little Palm Springs International Airport is becoming a big deal. Big enough for a Boeing 767. Air Canada Rouge, an arm of Canadian carrier Air Canada, announced it will use the dual-aisle, 280-seat Boeing 767 on its Vancouver to Palm Springs flights this winter. This is up from the more standard 136-seat Airbus 319. The Boeing 767 will be the largest plane flying in and out of Palm Springs, said Tom Nolan, executive director of PSP, and possibly the largest commercial carrier. Skip Descant/The Desert Sun
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Boeing presents Centennial program -- The Boeing Centennial Committee will present a special program saluting a century of service by America's leading aircraft manufacturer on Tuesday, June 28, at 10 a.m. at the Flight Path Museum in the LAX Imperial Terminal, 6661 W. Imperial Highway, Los Angeles. Admission and parking are free. Flight Path Press Release
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SFPD flight to the airport: Officers seek safe haven -- There was a time when San Francisco cops saw an airport assignment as the equivalent of being banished to Siberia. These days, they see it more as an all-expenses-paid trip to the Riviera.
Or at least, as a safe haven from the city's real trouble spots, where one wrong move might jeopardize their careers. According to police records, 413 officers - roughly a fifth of the SFPD's 2,153-person sworn force - have put in a request so far this year to join the 181-officer unit that patrols San Francisco International Airport, where the danger is light, the arrests are few and the coffee is bountiful.
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Sacramento International Airport looking at $300 million in improvements -- Sacramento County leaders are prepared to pour millions of dollars into Sacramento International Airport. As the number of people flying out of the airport takes off, efforts are underway to improve the time the spend on the ground. Airport officials says the 18-year-old Terminal A is showing signs of old age. Earlier this year, the public art carpeting on the bridgeway had to be replaced because it was worn down. CBS13 Sacramento
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Low-cost holdouts Frontier and Spirit will join TSA's Precheck program -- Passengers on Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines, the nation's top two discount carriers, soon will have access to the Transportation Security Administration's PreCheck program, a development that should significantly reduce security wait times for some customers. Frontier should be read by the end of July, while Spirit is preparing to join in the fall, representatives for the two carriers said this week. Brian Sumers/Skift
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FAA clarifies hangar-use policy -- The FAA published a policy update to the Federal Register on June 15 focusing on hangar use at federally obligated airports. The update will take effect July 1, 2017, and is meant to be a clarification of "how aviation facilities-including hangars can be used on airports that receive federal funds," according to the FAA. Jim Coon, AOPA senior vice president of government affairs, said AOPA supports the changes. Joe Kildea/AOPA
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Iran deal to buy Boeing jets sparks ire in Congress -- A historic deal between Iran and Boeing for the purchase of more than 100 commercial airliners prompted strong objections in Congress on Wednesday even before the agreement is finalized. "To say we have national security concerns would be an understatement," U.S. Rep. Peter J. Roskam, R-Ill., said a day after Iran's minister of roads and urban development told the semi-official Iranian FARS news agency that a deal would be announced this week. William Cummings & Nathan Bomey/USA Today
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The all-you-can-fly experience -- Sick of long airport waits and short airline legroom, but can't afford or justify your own private jet? There are now alternatives in the middle. All-you-can-fly services offer scheduled short trips on private turboprop airplanes for a monthly fee. Startups plug members into individual seats on private jets shuttling between major cities. And two companies are using private terminals and regional jets fitted with 30 seats to offer alternative airline service on busy routes at typical airline fares. Scott McCartney/Wall Street Journal
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