Alliance partners boosting lounge at LA

The Tom Bradley terminal at Los Angeles International now has a new and improved Business and First Class lounge.

Qantas, along with oneworld alliance partners Cathay Pacific and British Airways, has unveiled the new premium class lounge, which is complete with showers, a bar serving specialty cocktails and coffees, and a taco stand.

Business, First Class passengers and certain frequent fliers with status will have a wide choice of seating areas, some social, some quiet for business purposes. A highlight is the communal fireplace, with ample seating surrounding it.

For now, the lounge is about 11,000 square feet. When it is completed early next year, it will be around 40,000 square feet in all, and will be able to accommodate up to 600 people.

Raising the bar – at last

A comprehensive wage and benefits proposal from the Port of Seattle Commission would raise minimum wages for thousands of airport workers to US$13 by January 1, 2017.

The proposal, unveiled at a recent port meeting at Seattle-Tacoma International, includes provision for airport worker benefits and vacations, as well as training for additional advancement.

The port’s re-examination of wages and benefits was spurred in part by City of SeaTac’s voter approval of a US$15 minimum wage late last year. However, the court ruled that the municipal minimum wage boost did not apply to the 14,000 staff then on low wages at the airport.

Luggage to go

Despite all the media coverage about charges for bags and the increasing cost of ancillary services on today’s carriers, travelers, it appears, are still quite happy to shell out for the luxury of taking their luggage with them.

These, at least, are the findings from surveys conducted by The GO Group, an international ground transportation service provider, and GO Airport Express, a GO member and Chicago-based ground transportation company serving O’Hare International and Midway airports.

More than 917 travelers were polled in this year’s survey on luggage preferences. The survey records that 32% of respondents said that they prefer to check in their luggage whilst 21% said that they prefer to carry on bags, with 26% admitting that they both check in and carry on bags. Some 27% admitted that their decision depended on the situation, such as the length of their trip and the number of bags they were carrying.

This compares with a 2013 poll of 570 travelers, in which 28% said that they checked their bags. Just 19% said that they always carry on bags whilst 23% said that they did both. In 2013 30% cited that it depended on the situation.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, passenger airlines collected US$797m in baggage fees, or 1.6% of total operating revenues, in 2013.

Lounge joint venture

At the start of the month American Airlines and Iberia announced the joint operation of their new Admirals Club/Iberia VIP Lounge at Ezeiza International airport in Buenos Aires. American had originally opened the Admirals Club at Ezeiza International back in 1991. However, in order to further enhance the travel experience for its customers, American has decided to team up with Iberia to build the new joint lounge in Terminal B on the upper level. The new VIP lounge is conveniently close to the boarding gates for Iberia flights.

In Brief

Global Ground Support has renewed the lease for its 112,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Olathe. In addition, the de-icer specialist expects to add 25 new jobs over the next five years.