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☆ The world’s best airports for 2024, according to Skytrax
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

For the last decade, Singapore’s Changi International Airport and Doha’s Hamad International Airport have been going back and forth, battling over the title of ‘world’s best’. European airports dominateNine of the top 20 best airports are in Europe, including Vienna, Madrid and Istanbul. Kansai International Airport (KIX), which serves the Osaka area, scored the award for the world’s best airport baggage delivery. El Dorado International Airport (BOG), which serves Bogota, Colombia, was voted the best airport in South America, while Panama Tocumen Airport (PTY) won the honor of best airport for Latin America and the Caribbean. The world’s best airports for 20241.

Persons: CNN — Ali, Frazier, ‘, Badr Mohammed Al Meer, It’s, Charles de Gaulle, ORY, Indira, Skytrax, Paris Charles de Gaulle Organizations: CNN, The Red Sox, Yankees, Doha, Singapore, Singapore’s, Singapore’s Changi International Airport, Doha’s Hamad International, Hamad International, Airport, ” Qatar Airways Group’s, Oryx, Paris, Paris ’, Rome Fiumicino Airport, Zurich, Vantaa, Haneda, New, Chubu Centrair International, Kansai International, Vancouver International, Melbourne Airport, MEL, Australia, Indira Gandhi International Airport, Cape Town Airport, King Shaka International, El Dorado International, Panama Tocumen, TWA, New York JFK, Hyatt Regency Shenzhen, Hilton Munich Airport, Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, Doha Hamad, Singapore Changi, Seoul Incheon, Tokyo Narita, Dubai, Munich, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Rome Fiumicino, Vienna, Madrid, Barajas, Vancouver, Kansai, Melbourne, Copenhagen Locations: Singapore’s Changi, Doha’s, Qatar’s, Singapore, Doha, “, Frankfurt, Germany, Europe, Vienna, Madrid, Istanbul, Paris, Skytrax, Rome, Helsinki, HEL, Japan, Asia, Haneda, Narita, New Chitose, Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka, North America, Down, Pacific, India, Cape, Africa, Durban, Bogota, Colombia, South America, Panama, America, Caribbean, New York, China, Tokyo, Vantaa

☆ An Arms Smugger, a Daring Heist, and the Birth of Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( David Kushner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +35 min

Joining the Haganah, Schwimmer discovered, wasn't as easy as just strolling through the door. "He felt he had to do his part in creating a Jewish state, so this could never happen again," Schwimmer recalled. Rather than melt down the surplus weapons for scrap, Liff told Greenspun to take as much as he wanted — free of charge. "It went against the grain to buck the same government we had fought to preserve only a few years before," Hank Greenspun recalled. In 2001, at the urging of Brian Greenspun, Schwimmer received a presidential pardon from Bill Clinton.

Persons: Danny Schwimmer, They'd, Rina, Al —, David Ben, Gurion, Al Schwimmer, Schwimmer, Bugsy Siegel's, Meyer Lansky, Frank Sinatra, Sinatra, —, Boaz Dvir, Israel —, Danny, Al, I've, Hank Greenspun, Greenspun, Brian, Adolph, Dick Tracy, " Schwimmer, Wing Walker, America, Yehuda Arazi, Arazi, they'd, Schwimmer's, Sam Lewis, Leo Gardner, Milton, Milt, Rubenfeld, Paul Reubens, Herman, Reubens, Bugsy Siegel, Siegel, — Schwimmer, Nathan Liff, Liff, PhotoQuest, Bernarr McFadden, Pat, Ptacek, Rafael Trujillo, Teddy Kollek, Erwin Johnson, Bill Gerson, Gerson, Bud King, Gerson's, Ben, Joel Kimmel, Lewis, Lansky, hadn't, Tommy, Messerschmitts, David, Milt Rubenfeld, Israel, Charlie Winters, Winters, weren't, aren't, America's, Joseph McCarthy, John F, Kennedy, Brian Greenspun, Golda Meir, Bill Clinton Organizations: Israeli Air Force, TWA, Haganah, United Nations, Lockheed Air, Los Angeles Examiner, USC, Getty, US Naval, Schwimmer Aviation, FBI, UN, Customs Service, Palestine . Volunteers, Embassy, Israel, Service Airways, State Department, BI, Pepsi, Zionist, Nazi, Star, American, Avia, Messerschmitt, Pennsylvania State University who's, Las, Sun, Israel Aerospace Industries, IAI, they're, Israeli Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, Connecticut, Palestine, New York, Copacabana, United States, Hungary, Auschwitz, storages, Arizona, Bridgeport, Rome, Burbank , California, Burbank, Las Vegas, Hawaii, Oahu, Santa Claus, California, Washington, Burbank ., Acapulco, Mexico, it's, Mexico City, Central, South America, Dominican Republic, China, America, Mexican, Panama, Panamanian, Corsica, Oklahoma, Detroit, Suriname, Brazil, Senegal, Casablanca, Sicily, Catania, Europe, Czechoslovakia, Czech, Egypt, Cairo, Los Angeles, American, Gaza, Iran

☆ 'America's greatest gift to Israel'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( David Kushner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +35 min

As the country's founder and first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, once declared, "America's greatest gift to Israel was Al Schwimmer." Joining the Haganah, Schwimmer discovered, wasn't as easy as just strolling through the door. "He felt he had to do his part in creating a Jewish state, so this could never happen again," Schwimmer recalled. Rather than melt down the surplus weapons for scrap, Liff told Greenspun to take as much as he wanted — free of charge. In 2001, at the urging of Brian Greenspun, Schwimmer received a presidential pardon from Bill Clinton.

☆ The BT Tower, London’s futuristic landmark, to become hotel
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —Tourists who fancy getting a top-down view of London may soon be able to book themselves a room in the city’s famous BT Tower. Situated in Fitzrovia, central London, it was officially opened by the then-prime minister, Harold Wilson, the following year. An aerial view of the BT Tower Tim Motion/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty ImagesOriginally known as the Post Office Tower, the building was designed to relay microwave signals carrying telecommunications from London around the country. It remained London’s tallest building until 1980, when it was overtaken by the NatWest Tower in the financial district. It’s been a privilege to adapt the TWA Flight Center into new use for future generations, as it will be the BT Tower.”

Persons: Harold Wilson, Tim, Brent Mathews, “ It’s, Eero Saarinen’s, John F, Kennedy, Muhammad Ali, Tyler Morse, Morse, It’s Organizations: London CNN — Tourists, BT, “, BT Group, British, Post, NatWest, MCR, TWA, Big Apple, Art Deco New Yorker, TWA Flight, Center Locations: London, Westminster, Fitzrovia, England, New, JFK

☆ London's famed BT Tower sold to U.S. hotel group for $347 million
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON — British telecoms group BT said Wednesday it had agreed to sell London's iconic BT Tower — once an important piece of network infrastructure — to developer MCR Hotels for £275 million ($346.6 million). The 189-meter structure has loomed over the capital city's central Fitzrovia neighborhood since 1965, when it opened as the Post Office tower. It was also known for a revolving restaurant on its 34th floor, which took 22 minutes to complete a rotation. MCR Hotels owns 150 properties, including the TWA Hotel located in the former TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Tyler Morse, CEO of MCR Hotels, said the group would "preserve this beloved building and will work to develop proposals to tell its story as an iconic hotel."

Persons: John F, Tyler Morse Organizations: LONDON, BT, MCR, Post, MCR Hotels, TWA, TWA Flight, John, Kennedy International Locations: Fitzrovia, London

☆ The BT Tower, a Once-Futuristic London Landmark, Will Become a Hotel
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London and the London Eye are all important landmarks in Britain’s capital. But after another staple of the city’s skyline, the BT Tower, was sold to an American group on Wednesday, plans are afoot to turn it into a hotel: one that rises 581 feet (177 meters) above the ground. “We will take our time to carefully develop proposals that respect the London landmark’s rich history and open the building for everyone to enjoy,” Tyler Morse, the chief executive of MCR Hotels, which bought the tower, said in a statement. The sale price was 275 million pounds ($346 million), the seller, BT Group, said in a statement. MCR owns several notable hotels, including the TWA Hotel, which occupies the Eero Saarinen-designed former TWA terminal at Kennedy Airport, and the High Line Hotel in New York City, which was formerly a dormitory for the General Theological Seminary.

Persons: ” Tyler Morse, MCR, Eero Saarinen Organizations: BT, MCR, BT Group, TWA, Kennedy Airport, General Theological Seminary Locations: Paul’s, London, Britain’s, New York City

☆ Carl Icahn wins seats on JetBlue board after taking stake in airline
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A JetBlue Airways plane prepares to take off from the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on January 31, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Carl Icahn won his push for seats on JetBlue Airways' board of directors, according to a statement from the airline Friday, days after disclosing a nearly 10% stake in the New York-based airline and that he was in talks for board representation there. The two new directors are Jesse Lynn, general counsel of Icahn Enterprises, and Steven Miller, a portfolio manager of Icahn Capital. The JetBlue investment isn't Icahn's first investment in the airline industry. Icahn said in disclosing his JetBlue stake that he believes the shares are undervalued.

Persons: Carl Icahn, Jesse Lynn, Steven Miller, Icahn, Joanna Geraghty, Geraghty, JetBlue hasn't Organizations: JetBlue Airways, Fort, Hollywood International Airport, Icahn Enterprises, Icahn, JetBlue, TWA, NYSE Arca, Spirit Airlines Locations: Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale , Florida, New York

☆ JetBlue shares jump 15% as activist Carl Icahn reports stake and calls shares undervalued
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Sara Salinas | In Saracsalinas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Activist investor Carl Icahn on Monday reported a nearly 10% stake in JetBlue Airways , saying the airline stock is undervalued. Shares of JetBlue spiked more than 15% in extended trading. Icahn amassed the stake in a series of purchases in January and February, according to regulatory filings. He has had plans to continue discussions with the company "regarding the possibility of board representation," the records said. JetBlue has been cutting costs and working to improve operations in an effort to return to profitability after a post-Covid travel surge and a blocked merger with budget carrier Spirit Airlines.

Persons: Carl Icahn, Icahn, Joanna Geraghty, —, John Melloy, Leslie Josephs Organizations: JetBlue Airways, JetBlue, Icahn, TWA, Spirit Airlines, NYSE Arca, CNBC PRO

☆ World War One cemeteries, Rwanda genocide sites, Argentine torture center declared UNESCO World Heritage
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Geert De Clercq | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

So far, the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in Japan have been the only memorial sites inscribed on the United Nation's cultural agency's closely watched World Heritage list. At a meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, UNESCO member states agreed to add the World War One and Rwanda sites to the list, after adding the Argentina torture memorial on Tuesday. The World War One sites encompass a series of military cemeteries, battlefield burial grounds and memorials between the north of Belgium and the east of France. The 139 sites trace the outline of World War One's Western Front and hold the remains of tens of thousands of soldiers of several nationalities. The World Heritage Committee's annual meeting ends on Monday.

Persons: Rima Abdul, Malak, Geert De Clercq, Leslie Adler Organizations: Navy Mechanics School, UNESCO, Memorial, United, UNESCO World Heritage, Wednesday, Twa, ESMA, Navy School of Mechanics, Thomson Locations: Argentina's, PARIS, Belgium, France, Argentina, UN, Auschwitz, Poland, Hiroshima, Japan, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Europe, Buenos Aires, UNESCO

☆ Biden will nominate a former Obama official to run the Federal Aviation Administration
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

President Joe Biden will nominate a former Obama administration official to lead the Federal Aviation Administration after his first choice withdrew in the face of Republican opposition nearly six months ago. The FAA, which regulates airline safety and manages the nation's airspace, has been run by back-to-back acting administrators since March 2022. Whitaker was deputy FAA administrator – a job that does not require Senate approval – from 2013 to 2016. Last year, Biden nominated Denver International Airport CEO Phillip Washington, but he withdrew in March after his nomination stalled in the Senate Commerce Committee. Republicans and independent Kyrsten Sinema argued that Washington lacked adequate aviation experience — his background is mostly in city transit systems, having held the Denver airport job only since mid-2021.

Persons: Michael G, Whitaker, Joe Biden, Obama, Biden, Phillip Washington, Kyrsten Sinema Organizations: UAL Corp, Transportation, Aviation, United, European, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, Hyundai, TWA, American Airlines, United Airlines, Denver International Airport, Senate, Washington Locations: United States, Washington ,, InterGlobe, India, Denver

President Joe Biden will nominate a former Obama administration official to lead the Federal Aviation Administration after his first choice withdrew March after running into opposition from Republican senators. Whitaker's nomination had been expected for months, and Biden's announcement was praised by several industry and labor groups. The FAA, which regulates airline safety and manages the nation's airspace, has been run by back-to-back acting administrators since March 2022. The first, Billy Nolen, who left FAA in June to join another air taxi company, Archer Aviation, praised Whitaker's nomination in a recent interview. Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, urged the Senate to confirm Biden’s pick quickly.

Persons: Joe Biden, Obama, Biden, Michael G, Whitaker, Phillip Washington, Kyrsten Sinema, Sen, Ted Cruz, Biden's, Mike, ” Cruz, Stephen Dickson, Donald Trump, Billy Nolen, “, ”, ” Nicholas Calio, Sara Nelson, “ Whitaker Organizations: Federal Aviation Administration, Republican, FAA, Hyundai, TWA, American Airlines, United Airlines, Denver International Airport, Senate, Washington, GOP, Archer Aviation, Airlines for, Association of Flight Locations: InterGlobe, India, United States, Denver, Ted Cruz of Texas, Airlines for America

☆ Biden picks former aviation official to head FAA
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Marco Bello/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday President Joe Biden is nominating a former senior aviation official to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that has been without a permanent head since April 2022. Biden is tapping Michael Whitaker, currently chief commercial officer for Supernal, a Hyundai company developing an electric air vehicle, who served as a deputy FAA administrator under President Barack Obama. "He knows aviation, he knows safety, he knows the FAA and he knows how to manage and modernize large organizations," he said. Biden's prior nominee to head the FAA Phil Washington withdrew in March after critics said he lacked aviation experience. The Air Line Pilots Association praised Whitaker's nomination and said the FAA needed "permanent, stable leadership that is safety-focused."

Persons: Marco Bello, President Joe Biden, Biden, Michael Whitaker, Barack Obama, Steve Dickson, Mike Whitaker, Pete Buttigieg, Biden's, FAA Phil Washington, Whitaker, Whitaker's, David Shepardson, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: American Airlines, Miami International Airport, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, REUTERS, Rights, President, Hyundai, Southwest Airlines, Boeing, Cessna, Reuters, Transportation Safety, TWA, United Airlines, Flight, Foundation, The Air Line Pilots Association, Airlines for America, National, Thomson Locations: Florida, Miami , Florida, U.S, San Diego ., San Diego

☆ Wayne Shorter, master composer of jazz, dies aged 89
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] U.S. Jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter performs onstage during a 'tribute to Miles Davis evening' at the 45th Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux July 13, 2011. REUTERS/Valentin FlauraudMarch 2 (Reuters) - American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, who wrote some of jazz's most acclaimed compositions and whose often plaintive playing changed the sound of jazz in the 1960s before he explored rock-fusion, died on Thursday aged 89. "The master writer to me, in that group, was Wayne Shorter," the keyboardist said. "Wayne was one of the few people who brought music to Miles that didn't get changed." Other hit records included "Native Dancer" featuring Brazilian singer Milton Nascimento which mixed jazz, rock and funk with Brazilian rhythms.

☆ Reasons Plane Travel, Airline Customer Service, Airports Are so Terrible
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Bartie Scott | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

It's almost impossible to imagine a time when air travel was pleasant, much less enjoyable. Lost baggage, overbooked flights, outdated equipment, hidden fees, and disorganized staffing have fliers at their wits' end; consumer complaints about airline service have risen by 300% from pre-pandemic levels. Many of these measures had been put in place to improve safety following some rattling accidents in the early days of commercial air travel. So in 1978, at the urging of the economist and "inflation czar" Alfred Kahn, President Jimmy Carter enacted the Airline Deregulation Act. He added that "airline service, by any standard, has become unacceptable."

☆ Exclusive: The FBI's McGonigal labyrinth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +28 min

She never saw McGonigal pay. "The notion that Mr. Deripaska is some proxy for the Russian state is a blatant lie," Ruben Bunyatyan, a spokesperson for Deripaska, told Insider by email. McGonigal was not charged with espionage, and although there is currently no evidence that McGonigal committed espionage, an FBI source told Insider that the investigation is ongoing. At the FBI, McGonigal racked up a string of big cases and promotions. "He said he needed to make more money," Guerriero told Insider.

☆ Ex-FBI official arrested for alleged money laundering, Russia sanctions, taking money from former foreign agent
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan_Dienst_Byline.Jpg | Jonathan Dienst | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Charles McGonigal, 55, was arrested on Saturday after arriving at JFK airport in New York on a flight from the Middle East. From August 2017 through his retirement in September 2018, McGonigal allegedly concealed his relationship with this former foreign security officer from the FBI. Charles McGonigal, the former head of counterintelligence for the FBI’s New York office. In 2022, federal prosecutors in New York charged Deripaska with violating sanctions. McGonigal joined the FBI in 1996, and was first assigned to the New York Field Office, where he worked on Russian foreign counterintelligence and organized crime.

☆ The very last 747 jumbo jet is about to roll off Boeing’s assembly line
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —After 53 years and more than 1,570 planes, the last Boeing 747 is set to roll off the assembly line in Washington state Tuesday, on its way to serve as a cargo plane. The once-groundbreaking jumbo jet, with the distinctive second-floor bulge, is perhaps the most notable and popular plane Boeing has ever built. The Boeing 747 in 1969. Other than that use, the 747’s days as a passenger plane are now almost completely behind it. But there are still 314 747 freighters in use, according to Cirium, many of which were initially used as passenger jets before being renovated into freighters.

☆ Air Travel Begins to Return to Normal: A Q&A With a Flight Attendant
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Kathryn Kranhold | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Kimberly Burckhalter joined United Airlines as a flight attendant in New York City in 1993, nearly 30 years ago. She is now based in Los Angeles and serves as an international purser on flights between Los Angeles and London, Sydney and the Hawaiian Islands. Ms. Burckhalter’s love for flying comes largely from her grandfather, a longtime TWA employee who started off as a luggage handler and retired as a sales manager.

☆ Why I Won’t Travel Over Christmas—No, It Isn’t the Crowds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Ann Hood | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

A committed traveler, novelist Ann Hood spent much of her 20s as a flight attendant but was determined never to miss Christmas with her family. For the Traveler’s Tale series, we ask fiction and non-fiction writers to share one of their most indelible travel memories. All of that, plus I would get paid? By the time I graduated from college and was headed to TWA flight attendant training in Kansas City, I had already racked up miles in the sky by spending school breaks in Bermuda, the Bahamas, Hawaii, the Virgin Islands and Brazil. I studied TWA’s vast route schedule, planning trips to every city the airline flew to.

☆ Confessions of a 1980s flight attendant
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-09 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

American Airlines Kids' meals: American Airlines' inflight menu included burger options for children. American Airlines Douglas DC-6: American Airlines was the first carrier to introduce the Douglas DC-6 plane, back in 1947. American Airlines American Airlines Douglas DC-7: International flights were a man's world when the Douglas CD-7 was introduced in 1953. American Airlines Royal Coachman: In the early 1960s, American Airlines' Royal Coachman menu included beef consommé, sauteed breast of chicken in wine and a fruit tartlet. Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines: Flying was still glamorous in the 1980s on the Business Class upper deck.

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