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Good Day Hawaii, Aloha Australia
Photo by Thiru Murugan via Flickr
As California says goodbye to Aloha Airlines tonight, a new service to Australia from Los Angeles International Airport is on the horizon. Officially being announced today, Virgin Blue Airlines' offshoot, V Australia, will begin non-stop service from Australia to Los Angeles starting in December. The signing of the open-skies agreement this afternoon makes this possible. Before, there were flight restrictions between the two countries.
"The open skies agreement lifts all restrictions on U.S. and Australian airlines and opens up the lucrative market to carriers other than United Airlines and Qantas Airways, which have dominated flights between the two countries for several years," says the Daily Breeze. "The deal is scheduled to be signed this afternoon by U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd."
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Meanwhile, the last flights for Aloha Airlines land tonight in California. Aloha already stopped LAX service, but kept a limited number of flights to smaller airports including John Wayne and San Diego. Competition with go! Airlines, who provides extremely cheap fares to the island state, are part of the reason.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
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