Washington Post biz desk adds two for transportation coverage

Aviation reporter Lori Aratani will continue to cover the airline industry and the FAA. Since taking on the beat several years ago on Metro, Lori has covered the Boeing Max crashes that killed 346 people, the impact of the pandemic on the aviation industry and the recent rise in airline mergers, as well as more lighthearted pieces on the ever-shrinking airplane lavatory, the push for larger airplane seats and the time Cher took a ride on one of the infamous mobile lounges at Dulles.

Lori also has authored compelling stories about the Asian American experience, including a memorable feature about the lifelong friendship between U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, a Democrat, and Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson, a Republican. The two met as Boy Scouts when Mineta’s family was among 120,000 Japanese Americans sent to internment camps during World War II.

Lori came to The Post in 2005 from the San Jose Mercury News, where she was part of the paper’s enterprise team, writing stories about agricultural crime, rolling blackouts and wildfires throughout the Western United States.

Transportation reporter Ian Duncan will continue to cover the Department of Transportation and its high-profile secretary, Pete Buttigieg. Since joining The Post’s Metro staff in 2019, Ian has covered every sort of travel mishap, including the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, the deadly Boeing 737 Max crashes – and the latest 737 Max incident that saw a door plug blow off an Alaska Air flight at 16,000 feet.

During the pandemic, Ian explored how the crisis disrupted the airline industry and put workers at risk. More recently, Ian has covered the Biden administration’s efforts to use the $1 trillion infrastructure act to revitalize the nation’s transportation system; the aviation safety risks stemming from a faster-than-expected rebound from the pandemic; and the freight train derailment in East Palestine, which ballooned into a national political story.

Ian came to The Post after seven years at the Baltimore Sun, where he was part of a Pulitzer-winning team that covered a scheme by the mayor of Baltimore to cash in on her self-published children’s books.