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Congress approves key step in Ontario airport transfer process -- Following years of lobbying, Congress has taken a key step in putting L.A./Ontario International Airport into local hands. On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved Rep. Ken Calvert's bill that would facilitate the transfer of ownership to a local authority. In January, the majority leader introduced Bill 4369, which would take future passenger fees at ONT to help pay off the cost for the two terminals, a 2015 condition of returning the airport to local ownership. Liset Marquez/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin OIAA Media Statement Sarah D. Wire/Los Angeles Times Riverside Press-Enterprise Calvert Press Release
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L.A. approves pay raises to airport police -- The City Council approved a labor contract Tuesday with the union representing airport police and firefighters that gives raises and higher starting salaries to the officers, union officials said. Under the two-year agreement, police officers and firefighters who work at Los Angeles International Airport, L.A./Ontario International Airport and Van Nuys Airport will receive the same starting pay as port police and Los Angeles Police Department officers, Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association union officials said. City News Service
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HMSHost to acquire Concession Management Services' airport F&B business -- Autogrill's US subsidiary HMSHost has reached an agreement to buy Concession Management Services' (CMS) airport food & beverage business. CMS generated airport F&B revenues of around US$40 million last year, a figure that is set to rise to about US$50 million in 2016. The transaction covers 16 points of sale, 12 of them at Los Angeles International Airport and four at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. Martin Moody/The Moody Davitt Report
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Selma Blair 'filled with shame' after incident on international flight -- Selma Blair was hospitalized Monday after an incident on a flight to Los Angeles International Airport from Cancun, and on Tuesday afternoon she apologized for her behavior, saying she was "filled with shame." "I made a big mistake yesterday. After a lovely trip with my son and his Dad, I mixed alcohol with medication, and that caused me to black out and led me to say and do things that I deeply regret," the actress said in a statement to Vanity Fair, confirming a TMZ report about what led to her making a scene on the plane. Christie D'Zurilla/Los Angeles Times
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Airline fees dropping at McCarran -- Airline fees are dropping at McCarran International Airport for the third consecutive year. The average cost of airline fees will be $10.80 per passenger, effective July 1. That's down from the $11.66 per passenger that was budgeted for the current year, and $12.06 per passenger in fiscal year 2013. "The lower we can keep the costs for the airline, the more attractive we are as destination," said Christine Crews, public information administrator for McCarran. "And the more they can bring in volume passengers." Jamie Munks/Las Vegas Review-Journal
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Dennis Stone 'The Godfather' of Heathrow Airport recalls 70 years of service -- Heathrow has released an exclusive interview with Dennis Stone, the airport's longest serving photographer, recounting a career that has spanned seven decades. As Heathrow celebrates its 70th anniversary, it is Dennis who has captured many of the airport's historic moments as well as the travels of some of the world's greatest stars including Frank Sinatra, Goldie Hawn, Princess Diana and the Beatles. Ian Westhead/ATV Today
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United Airlines to add slimmer seats, bigger planes and higher fares -- United Continental Holdings Inc. on Tuesday outlined plans to boost profitability with another round of cost cuts and efforts to woo back corporate fliers who have deserted the third-largest U.S. airline by traffic. United aims to lift revenue, improve efficiency and trim expenses by a cumulative $3.1 billion between 2015 and 2018 as part of a broader effort by Chief Executive Oscar Munoz to reshape a company that some analysts have said requires bigger reforms to close its profit gap with rivals. Dow Jones Newswires
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United Airlines highlights failures while promising that it will improve -- After again blaming the carrier's troubles on integration challenges after the 2010 United Airlines-Continental Airlines merger, United's senior executives outlined a series of a initiatives Tuesday they said will help woo back lucrative business travelers and increase earnings. "We lost share in our domestic markets, and as our capacity shrank in the four years following the merger," United CEO Oscar Munoz said on a conference call with analysts. Brian Sumers/Skift
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Brazil lower house lifts foreign ownership cap for airlines -- Brazil's lower house of Congress approved a bill that removes restrictions on foreign ownership of the country's airlines. The Chamber of Deputies voted 199 to 71 on Tuesday to allow foreigners to own up to a 100 percent stake in domestic carriers, up from the current 20 percent. Lawmakers are still voting on amendments, though they aren't expected to change the main thrust of the bill. The Senate still has to hold a vote as well. Mario Sergio Lima & Raymond Colitt/Bloomberg
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Airlines will make billions by selling cheap, 'basic economy' seats -- We recently told you about the imminent Basic Economy class coming to all major airlines, including United's "no-frills fare." Turns out, these Spartan seats with little in the way of luxury (and by little, we mean nothing) may be more affordable than standard Coach, but the airlines are raking in huge profits. By 2018, United's new seating initiative could earn the airline an extra $3.1 billion in operating income, Reuters reported today. Melanie Lieberman/Travel & Leisure
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Officials: Plane debris found on Kangaroo Island not from MH370 -- A piece of plane debris found off Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia did not come from MH370, Australian officials have confirmed. Discovered among a pile of seaweed and wood by a local man, Samuel Armstrong, on June 9, investigators took the piece for analysis, believing it could be part of the missing Malaysian Airlines plane. CNN
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TSA reminds travelers that fireworks can't fly -- Don't try to fly with your fireworks this Fourth of July. That's what the Transportation Security Administration is trying to remind travelers ahead of the summer holiday. The TSA says fireworks and sparklers are prohibited at all times in both checked and carry-on bags. That includes things like bottle rockets, poppers, smoke fireworks and Roman candles. Travelers who are unsure whether an item is allowed on an airplane can find more information on the TSA's website. AP
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FAA completes landmark rules for commercial drones -- New drone rules from the Federal Aviation Administration limit most small commercial drone operations to daylight hours and require operators to get certified every two years. The rules, made public Tuesday, mark the FAA's first attempt at a comprehensive plan to ensure the popular remote-controlled aircraft can safely share the skies with commercial craft. The FAA has already granted special permission for more than 5,300 commercial drone uses while it developed the final rules. Bart Jansen/USA Today
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Short-term FAA bill would likely extend into next year, GOP chairman says -- If the House and Senate can't reach a deal on a long-term authorization of the Federal Aviation Administration by the end of this week, a short-term patch that lasts until 2017 is likely, according to a Senate GOP chairman. Speaking to a group of reporters on Tuesday, Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) said his staff members are meeting with their House counterparts this week about "what an extension might look like and what it might include." Melanie Zanona/The Hill
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Boeing readies high-flying celebration for 100th anniversary -- When Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg heads to the Farnborough Airshow near London next month, he'll tackle his usual tasks: trying to win new airplane orders and more aerospace work for the U.S. manufacturing giant. He will have an additional mission at this year's show, where he'll help lead the centennial celebration for the iconic U.S. aerospace giant launched by William Boeing in 1916. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today
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Wichita State aviation center debuts new immersive visualization system -- Wearing sunglasses adorned with antennae-like balls and wielding a joystick, Jeff Fisher stepped through the window of a Boeing 737 to pace its hull. As he stepped close to the walls of the plane, they zoomed closer to him. Fisher, the virtual reality lab manager at Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research, was walking through a virtual projection of the popular airplane using NIAR's new large-scale visualization system. Madeline Fox/Wichita Eagle
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FedEx Posts $70 Million Loss, Gives Cautious Outlook -- FedEx Corp. lost $70 million in the latest quarter because of large pension and acquisition items, and the delivery giant gave a cautious outlook for the next 12 months. The company's fiscal fourth quarter results Tuesday still beat Wall Street expectations, as FedEx and other delivery companies continue to benefit from the growth in online shopping. At times, however, the boom in e-commerce has strained the networks of FedEx and United Parcel Service Inc. To keep up, FedEx plans capital spending of $5.1 billion in the fiscal year that just started. FedEx will use the money to expand its ground network and buy more aircraft. David Koenig/AP
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Aerojet Rocketdyne move to El Segundo adds to SoCal's growing aerospace community -- In a move that adds to the growing cluster of space companies based in Southern California, the parent company of rocket engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne is moving its corporate headquarters from the Sacramento area to El Segundo. Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. will make the move from Rancho Cordova over the next six to eight weeks. It will initially relocate about 25 employees, including Chief Executive Eileen Drake, legal counsel and support staff, Aerojet spokesman Glenn Mahone said. Samantha Masunaga/Los Angeles Times
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Would congestion ease under Metro's traffic improvement ballot measure? -- The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will finalize a plan later this week to put a sales tax increase on the November ballot to fund billions in transportation projects. The agency has dubbed the measure the Los Angeles County Traffic Improvement Plan, hoping it will draw support from the required two-thirds of county voters needed to approve the tax increase. Meghan McCarty/KPCC
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Riordan, former L.A. City Council candidate fined by Ethics Commission -- The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission fined a former City Council candidate nearly $16,000 Tuesday for failing to pay for campaign services that exceeded city limits on donations, as well as other violations. At the same meeting, commissioners also fined former Mayor Richard J. Riordan for neglecting to include key wording on election emails backing candidates for the Los Angeles Unified school board. Emily Alpert Reyes/Los Angeles Times
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LA firefighters can earn up to $300K a year in overtime, study says -- It pays to be a Los Angeles firefighter - who can earn up to $300,000 a year in overtime - according to study released Tuesday of public employee compensation across California. The top 20 overtime earners by public workers across the state were firefighters for the city of Los Angeles - where overtime payouts rose 18 percent from last year, according to a Nevada-based survey of 246,000 public employees in California. Each top earner had pocketed outsized paychecks for at least three years. Dana Bartholomew/Los Angeles Daily News Also: Perks and benefits for workers in L.A. County cities can almost double overall compensation, study finds
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Deal to spend $57.6 million on LAPD body cameras clears key hurdle -- Los Angeles city lawmakers broke through a lengthy political logjam over police body cameras on Tuesday, clearing the way for a City Council vote on the costly initiative. After six months of delays, the council's Public Safety Committee unanimously backed the plan for purchasing thousands of devices from Scottsdale, Ariz.,-based Taser International, a move that would make the LAPD the largest law enforcement agency in the nation to use the devices on such a widespread scale. Kate Mather & David Zahniser/Los Angeles Times
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LA City Hall's 'antiquated' metal detectors fail to catch box cutter -- Prompting concerns over safety at Los Angeles City Hall, a longtime council critic was able to enter the downtown government building with a box cutter Tuesday. Police officers discovered the object in Armando Herman's pocket after he was thrown out of a public safety committee meeting. Box cutters are banned at City Hall because they could be used as weapons, police said. Following Tuesday's incident, Councilman Mitch Englander, who chairs the city's public safety committee, criticized City Hall's security, pointing to the gray-colored metal detectors at the building's Main Street entrance. Dakota Smith/Los Angeles Daily News
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