Airline Pulse: News and Notes for Jan.11, 2016

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So-Called 'Uber Of The Sky' Shot Down By FAA A company called Flytenow wanted to connect private pilots with passengers. The FAA ruled that these fliers do not have a commercial license and are, therefore, unable to legally accept paying passengers. After a court battle, the FAA's decision was upheld and Flytenow is now grounded indefinitely.

Fliers Can Expect More Onboard Sales Pitches In The Future Airlines are upgrading their planes with Wi-Fi and new cabin classes. According to a new report by travel tech firm Guestlogix, in order to get people to use these services, airlines will try to upsell them at the gate and in flight.

Malaysia Airlines CEO Says Changes Will Bring 'Sweat' And 'Tears' The CEO of Malaysia Airlines, Christoph Mueller, has compared his reorganization plan to getting in shape. He told employees that the "fitness programme required to bring us back into shape would cause a lot of sweat and sometimes tears. But it would be rewarding in the end." Malaysia has let 6,000 workers go recently.

Heated Protests Over French Airport Project Protesters blocked roads near the site of an airport development in Nantes. The new airport is supposed to bring more tourists and business to this part of Western France, but both environmental activists and farmers say the project will cause damage to fragile ecosystems and disrupt the local agriculture industry.

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JetBlue will be doubling the number of miles that members of their frequent flier program will get when they fly. TrueBlue members will get six points per dollar spent between now and Jan. 31 (for flights before the end of February).

A Thai man was reportedly arrested at the airport in Phuket after he sarcastically said that he had a bomb in his shoe while he was going through security. He actually didn't have a bomb, but he will be charged by authorities for "announcing false information or news for the purpose of creating hysteria."

After a report by an aviation safety expert, Britain has announced that it is concerned about security lapses at Bangladesh's main airport in Dhaka. Without significant improvements to baggage handling and checkpoints, flights from the U.K. to the South Asian hub could be suspended.

A Southwest Airlines plane landed safely after being struck by lightning as it flew from Las Vegas to San Diego. The strike occurred just after the National Weather Service issued an aviation warning for cloud-to-ground lightning.

A judge has ruled that Delta gets to stay at Dallas Love Field, which is the hub of rival Southwest. Delta had leased gates from United, but Southwest attempted to sublease the same gates and then evict Delta. The soap opera ended when a court said that Delta passengers would be unduly inconvenienced if they could not use the airport.

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