Today In The Sky Archives

Here is this week's "name that airport photo."

Looking for pointers on how to make it onto an inaugural flight of a new aircraft? You might want to start with Los Angeles-area businessmen Thomas Lee.

The nation's biggest airline announced a fare hike that will take effect just before the busy holiday travel season. The Associated Press writes:

Higher fares helped Delta Air Lines produce a bigger third-quarter profit even though fuel prices jumped sharply and passenger traffic was flat. On Tuesday the company reported a profit of $549 million, or 65 cents per share. A year ago it earned $366 million, or 43 cents per share. Revenue rose 10% to $9.8 billion.

Dense fog at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport made for an unusually busy day 180 miles away at the Abilene Regional Airport. That's because the poor weather at DFW caused seven flights – one on American and six on AA affiliate American Eagle – to be diverted to the small Texas airport.

The number of dangerous laser assaults on aircraft cockpits continues to grow at an alarming rate despite increased penalties for anyone caught doing it. The Federal Aviation Administration says there were 2,733 laser strikes through Oct. 13. The pace threatens to eclipse the 2,836 incidents for all of last year. It's approaching 10 times the 300 reported in 2005.

American Airlines says it's expanding curbside check-in service to customers traveling to international destinations, including countries that require a visa.

Delta Air Lines says it will introduce "Economy Comfort" – a premium economy cabin class launched on long-haul international flights earlier this year – to its entire mainline fleet of about 550 aircraft, as well as 250 regional jets.

More airlines are preparing to fly to Cuba, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Airport security officials at Los Angeles International failed to detect a loaded and undeclared .38-caliber handgun in a checked bag Sunday, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The Federal Aviation Administration proposed a $1 million fine Friday for Pinnacle Airlines because of alleged maintenance problems with two planes.The FAA alleges that one of the company's Canadair regional jets flew 23 times during a five-day period in 2009 when the flight crew performed maintenance tasks on a passenger door rather than maintenance crews. The proposed penalty is $625,000.The FAA also alleges that Pinnacle failed to inspect the crack in the casing around the engine of a Canadair ...

An American Airlines flight that ran off the end of a Wyoming runway under snowy conditions last year had trouble with braking to slow the plane, according to a National Transportation Safety Board transcript released Friday.

Airlines have begun handing out air-sickness bags to illustrate their opposition to higher taxes.

Happy Friday, Today in the Sky readers! I'm assigned to a special project this week, so the chat will be on hiatus for another week. But that also leads to a Today in the Sky update, as well.

A federal grand jury has indicted a Florida man on a charge of interfering with a flight crew after his unruly behavior aboard a Southwest Airlines Co. flight led to an emergency landing in Texas.

Southwest Airlines is reporting a loss for the third-quarter because its fuel-hedging bets turned sour when the price of oil dropped over the summer. Southwest says it lost $140 million, compared with net income of $205 million a year earlier.

In case you missed this story from earlier this week, pilots at United have elected a new union leader. The change in leadership comes as United pilots are in the midst of negotiating a joint contract with their counterparts at Continental. The companies are in the process of integrating their options after closing on a merger in 2010 year.

Remember Steven Slater?

A Southwest Airlines' flight from Los Angeles had to divert to Amarillo, Texas, after an unruly passenger allegedly caused a disturbance on the Kansas City-bound aircraft.

Even higher fares couldn't pull American Airlines out of its financial nosedive. American's parent, AMR Corp., says that it lost $162 million in the third quarter, as fuel spending jumped 40%, wiping out higher revenue from fare increases and passenger fees.

From United to Virgin America and from Delta to JetBlue, nearly all big carriers have matched the Southwest and AirTran sales that have dropped round-trip fares to less than $100 on hundreds of short routes across the country.

Here is this week's "name that airport photo."

China Southern Airlines flew its maiden flight on the Airbus A380 Monday, becoming the seventh airline in the world to put the superjumbo jet into commercial service.

China Southern Airlines says it may modify – or even cancel – its orders for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner if the already delay-plagued aircraft suffers further delays.

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Southwest and its subsidiary AirTran have rolled a fare sale in which what you pay is based on how far you fly. Flights of 450 miles or less are on sale for $35 each way – or less than $95 round-trip, even when taxes and fees are included.

The board at Air France-KLM is set to meet today for what The New York Times calls "an extraordinary board meeting" that could lead to the removal of CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon.

It's been a rough day for air travel at Florida's Key West International Airport, where officials had to half flights for nearly three hours this morning because of flooding on the taxiway.

American Airlines' financial outlook is back in the news today. Bloomberg News notes the renewed scrutiny comes after stock in AA parent AMR "dropped as much as 11%, triggering a brief halt in trading, as investors watched for progress in contract talks with pilots."

Virgin Australia today began offering its first commercial flights onboard ATR 72-500 turboprop aircraft. The carrier has deployed the aircraft on its new route between Brisbane to the regional industrial city of Gladstone, according to a press release from ATR.

Police were called onto a diverted Air India plane in London to help keep the peace as passengers were stranded on the Boeing 777 for more than eight hours on Sunday.

Japan Airlines (JAL) plans to double its flight schedule to Fairbanks for the upcoming winter travel season. The Associated Press writes JAL will fly 18 round-trips to Fairbanks this winter, "which could mean another 1,300 visitors seeking a view of northern lights outside the interior Alaska city."

The European Union's highest court ruled Thursday that airline passengers on flights that fail to arrive at their destination may be eligible for compensation under both European Union regulations and international law.

Editor's note: This is the fifth and final part of a Q&A with the top executives from Grand Rapids' Gerald R. Ford International Airport.

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As Ingrid Esser hands a Transportation Security Administration officer her identification and boarding pass for a flight from Logan International Airport to Washington, D.C., she faces a flurry of questions.

Korean Air debuted its A380 in Los Angeles Tuesday, inaugurating superjumbojet service to its hub at Seoul Incheon. The airline is starting with three A380 flights a week on the route, but says it expects daily service on A380s by Oct. 29.

Porter will add seasonal service from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to Burlington International beginning on Dec. 15, a route that the airline says will be targeted to skiers from Canada.

Editor's note: This is the fourth part of a Q&A with the top executives from Grand Rapids' Gerald R. Ford International Airport.

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Can Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain help Spirit Airlines sell tickets? Herman Cain may now be the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, but can he help Spirit Airlines sell tickets?

The new discount long-haul unit of Singapore Airlines will launch in 2012 with four Boeing 777-200 jets.

AirTran will adopt Southwest's policy for large passengers beginning this March. AirTran, of course, is now a subsidiary of Southwest following an acquisition deal that closed earlier this year.