004 GVA - US3 versus ME3, SkyMall, Google Glass at airports, La Compagnie

SHOW NOTES

We implemented a new recording method for this episode, which improves on the sound. We realize that the mixing is not yet perfect but we know that John Biggs will continue pushing us towards perfection.

I. News of the week

US airlines vs the Gulf Airlines

Open-Skies Agreements Challenged — Jad Mouawad, The New York Times

U.S airlines disclose details of booking lost to Gulf carriers — Jeffrey Dastin, Reuters

Emirates Boss Strikes Back at U.S Airlines for Hiding Behind Bankruptcies — Mary Schlangenstein and Michael Sasso, Bloomberg via Skift

Emirates Chairman Says U.S. Airlines Should Stop Complaining and Improve Their Service — Matthew Winkler, Dale Crofts and Deena Kamel Yousef, Bloomberg via Skift

The U.S Airlines' Hypocrisy on Protectionism in the Skies — Colin Nagy, Skift

Boeing reviving the 757?

Boeing Weighs Options to Reprise Aging 757s — Jon Ostrower and Robert Wall, The Wall Street Journal ($)

Boeing reject business case for 757 re-engining — Stephen Trimble, FlightGlobal

Air Lease CEO Weighs In on Boeing's 757 Dilemma — Jon Ostrower, The Wall Street Journal

AirUber or SpotifyAir?

Surf Air Founders Jet To The East Coast With New Private Flight Service Beacon — Sarah Buhr, Techcrunch

Jet Aviation Zurich signs exclusive service agreement with Take Air membership airline — Jet Aviation

Take Air

SkyMall reborn

SkyMall Will Fly Again. Get Ready for a New Pilot. — Scott Jordan, LinkedIn

Expedia buys airline-incepted Orbitz

Expedia to buy Orbitz in cash deal worth $1.6 billion — Kevin May, Tnooz

Expedia Hopes Orbitz Acquisition Will Help It Sell More Flights — Dennis Schaal, Skift

Korean Air executive goes to jail over nuts

Korean Air executive jailed in 'nut rage' case — BBC News

Parliament split over IAG' s acquisition of Aer Lingus, RyanAir driven out

Irish political storm erupts after BA is cleared for takeover at Aer Lingus — Simon Goodley and Henry McDonald, The Guardian

Government backing key for IAG's Aer Lingus bid, says City — Nick Fletcher, The Guardian

Airbus loses only A380 VVIP client

Airbus Cancels Only VVIP A380 Order — Thierry Dubois, AIN Online

Airbus Billionaire Study — Paul Papadimitriou, Layovers

The Fabulous Life Of Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud — Forbes

II. Innovation in AirTech, PaxEx and Design

JetBlue introduces Apple Pay

JetBlue will soon let you buy in the sky with Apple Pay — Mariella Moon, Engadget

JetBlue's Apple Pay play begs questions about live CC processing — Mary Kirby, RunwayGirl Network

FAA proposes drone rules

US DOT issues proposed rulemaking for small UAS in commercial airspace — Graham Warwick, ATW Online

Dubai Airport briefly closed due to illegal drone activity — Aviation Safety Network

Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems — FAA (PDF)

Know Before You Fly

AMS trials Google Glass

Schiphol innovates with Google Glass — Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (video)

JAL experiments Google Glass at Honolulu Airport — Aviation Wire (Japanese)

BA goes tablet for logbook

BA first with electronic logbook for 787 fleet — David Learmount, FlightGlobal

Airplane family seating

Thomson Airways waffles on timing of Family Booth seating — Maryann Simson, Runway Girl Network

Lufthansa introduces vintage 747 livery

Lufthansa Paints a Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental in Retro Livery — Malcolm Muir, Airline Reporter

Lufthansa's new basic 1968 Boeing 747-830 retro jet — Bruce Drum, World Airline News

Flying the 747-8 is like driving a Porsche, Lufthansa celebrates — Paul Papadimitriou, Layovers

RyanAir talks smartwatches