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Years after United merger, flight attendants work for two airlines -- Despite the name on its airplanes, United Airlines is anything but fully unified. More than five years after United merged with Continental, the combined carrier's 24,000 flight attendants are still operating as if the company were running two airlines. That disconnect has made scheduling crews and flight routes more complicated and has contributed to operational challenges, including flight delays. Annalyn Kurtz/New York Times
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Biggest U.S. airlines miss cheapest jet fuel prices in 12 years -- The biggest U.S. airlines missed their chance to lock in the cheapest energy costs in more than 12 years after jet fuel surged as much as 80 percent since January. The fuel on the U.S. Gulf Coast was trading at $1.32 a gallon Thursday, up from less than 80 cents on January 20, the lowest intraday level since November 2003. The gain came as oil prices rebounded about 70 percent over the same period. Robert Tuttle/Bloomberg
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Southwest Airlines ditching khaki shorts, white crew socks to modernize uniforms -- Sonya Lacore has wanted to see an update of Southwest Airlines' uniforms since she began working as a flight attendant 15 years ago. She'll finally get her wish next year, when the carrier completes the first overhaul of its work attire since 1996. The two-year effort was overseen by Lacore, now Southwest's vice president of cabin services, and involved more than 40 workers from all uniform-wearing employee groups. Mary Schlangenstein & Justin Bachman/Bloomberg
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Terrorism fears are bad news for airlines -- The party may be over for airlines now that fears about terrorism have returned in the wake of the Orlando attack. Delta, JetBlue, American and other big U.S. carriers had been rewarded on Wall Street for the past few years thanks to increased demand from business and leisure travelers, a boost in revenue from all those annoying extra fees and, of course, low oil prices. That combination led to big earnings for an industry that often had trouble generating profits due to fare wars and higher fuel costs. Paul R. La Monica/CNN Money
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Silver Airways, American Airlines begin selling tickets to Cuba -- Silver Airways Inc., a Florida-based operator of turboprop planes, said it put its planned Cuba flights on sale last weekend hoping to be the first airline to begin selling scheduled flights to the island nation in more than 50 years. It intends to operate its first flight Sept. 1. American Airlines Group Inc. said it put tickets on sale earlier this week and plans to start flying Sept. 7 to two Cuban airports. Last week, the Transportation Department awarded rights to six U.S. carriers to serve secondary Cuban airports. Susan Carey/Wall Street Journal
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Here's a first look at United's new business-class service -- To come up with its forthcoming Polaris international business-class service, United Airlines organized many focus groups and collected many surveys. The carrier pored over food diaries customers wrote, and taped volunteer passengers and flight attendants interacting in mock-ups of the Polaris cabin. The carrier thought about organizing the service around a dozen different concepts-from food to fitness-before landing on sleep as its guiding principle. Micah Maidenberg/Crain's Chicago Business
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Here's a list of free things airlines are giving to customers -- For the first time in a long time, airfare is actually reasonable. The low-cost of fuel has led airlines to lower the price of a ticket (though it's still not enough if you ask us). Hopper is predicting that the average price of a domestic roundtrip airfare will be $249 this June - about 9.2% lower than last year, and 17% cheaper than two summers ago. And many airlines have started use that money to improve the customer experience. Brittany Jones-Cooper/Yahoo Finance
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These are the world's only five-star airlines -- There are many hotels rated five stars, but five-star airlines are much more rare. EVA Air has now received the honor from airline ranking website Skytrax, and the carrier is only the eighth to do so - ever. The Taiwanese carrier initially had a four-star rating, but was bumped up after a year-long evaluation process that included more than 800 categories. The airline's performance, customer service and amenities were all taken into consideration. "All of us at EVA Air are deeply humbled by this important award," said Steve Lin, EVA's chairman. Jordi Lippe-McGraw/Travel & Leisure
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Why U.S. airlines should ignore shareholders now for long-term innovation -- Now that they are reliably profitable, U.S. airlines should spend on passenger experience, while improving reliability, reducing costs, investing in technology, and implementing tax-avoidance strategies, professional services firm PwC said in a report released Thursday. Many of the recommendations represent new territory for U.S carriers, as most have spent much of the past decade merely trying to survive. Brian Sumers/Skift
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Cockpit recorder of crashed EgyptAir jet recovered from sea -- Egypt said Thursday it has recovered the cockpit voice recorder from the submerged wreckage of EgyptAir Flight 804, a major breakthrough in the investigation that could help resolve the mystery of why the jetliner plunged into the Mediterranean last month and killed all 66 people aboard. The announcement came a day after officials said they had found the wreckage of the Airbus A320 and are putting together a map of the debris on the seabed. AP
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Hartsfield-Jackson launches construction for $6 billion renovation, expansion -- Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport says it is kicking off construction work this week for $6 billion of renovation and expansion in its 20-year master plan. The work in the coming months and years will cause hassles and inconvenience for travelers as they are rerouted around construction areas, in a lengthy "pardon our dust" period at the world's busiest airport. Kelly Yamanouchi/Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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World's biggest jetliner - available for rent, 40% discount -- Used Airbus Group SE A380 superjumbos are being offered at a 40 percent discount to the $2 million-plus monthly rental rate for a new plane as leasing firm Doric seeks to spur demand for the second-hand jets. Doric is in talks with a number of potential operators for a tranche of double-deckers that could be returned by Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Dubai-based Emirates from 2017 following the completion of 10-year leases, Sibylle Paehler, the lessor's managing director, said in an interview. Richard Weiss & Andrea Rothman/Bloomberg
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FAA officials discuss standards to neutralize cyberattacks -- Even as U.S. and European regulators jointly pursue ways to fend off cyberattacks against aviation, they are increasingly focused on devising standards to ensure that any successful hackers will be detected and neutralized. Those twin goals are being widely discussed at an international safety conference here this week, while new details emerge about proposed safeguards being developed by a Federal Aviation Administration-created panel of government and industry officials. Andy Pasztor/Wall Street Journal
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Garcetti: honored to be named among possible Clinton VP choices, but focused on reelection -- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti says he is focused on his plans to seek a second term, although he's honored to be named by The Wall Street Journal among possible vice presidential candidates for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. At an event for Los Angeles County mayors in Burbank Thursday, Garcetti said he has not been contacted by Clinton's team and was surprised to be in the newspaper's list of potential running mates. Mary Plummer/KPCC
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