July 9th 2010
Following some revealing FDA reports, based on inspections at 46 US facilities operated by major airline food suppliers late last year, there have been calls for stricter controls on airline caterers.
Three main caterers featured in the reports, namely LSG Sky Chefs, Gate Gourmet and Flying Food Group. Amongst the findings were incidences of inadequate pest control, storage of materials at incorrect temperatures and unhygienic environments.
Last year, for example, FDA inspectors issued a warning to LSG Sky Chefs following the discovery of both live and dead cockroaches at its Denver facility.
LSG Sky Chefs has since admitted that the operating conditions at Denver were sub-standard and it has taken steps to address the problem.
In the meantime Gate Gourmet had no comment to make on the findings whilst Flying Food expressed its intention to deal immediately with any perceived shortcomings in its service.
Finally it’s happened: five major US carriers have grasped the nettle and have decided not to charge for carry-on bags.
Five carriers, of course, do not a summer make but the quintet in question, namely American, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, US Airways and JetBlue, have all abandoned the concept of carry-on charges, effectively throwing down the gauntlet for other airlines, notably Spirit, who have declared that fees will be levied for such: this latter is looking to charge a hefty US$45 for using an overhead bin.
The advent of the carry-on charge has been seen by many travellers as a get-rich-quick scheme and indeed, aircraft revenues in recent times have comprised a healthy slice of non-traditional revenues such as this tax. In fact, for 26 larger carriers, ancillary fees have accounted for an impressive 6.9% of their income: this figure has grown from that of 4.1% in the previous year.
Will others follow?
Watch that space above your head…
American Airlines has announced that airport employees using the airline's mobile YADA (Your Assistance Delivered Anywhere) device are now fully equipped to serve customers throughout an airport. The YADA allows staff to supply flight information in real-time, print bag tags, compile standby lists and draw up maps of other airports for customers. Moreover, they will also have the ability to print a boarding pass. The airports included in the initiative are Chicago, Dallas Fort Worth, JFK and LaGuardia, Miami, Albuquerque, Boston, St Louis and San Juan.
American is hoping eventually to have a YADA device at every gate, which will have the effect of making it part of a message suite, giving an airline the ability to communicate quickly with agents across the system in the event of unexpected occurrences, such as bad weather or similar.
Vancouver Airport Services has reached an agreement with the Peel Group by which it will acquire a 65% share in Peel Airports (the owner of Liverpool John Lennon), along with two smaller airports in the north of the UK. The Peel Group will retain a 35% investment stake in PAL, which also owns 100% of Liverpool John Lennon and Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield airports, as well as 75% of Durham Tees Valley airport.
June 14th 2010
Faced with the possibility of harsh penalties for spending an undue length of time on the ramp with a full aircraft, carriers have begun to toe the line. These measures appear to be paying off, for there were only four ground delays of more than three hours reported for the month of April 2010. As such, it’s a promising dip in incidents over previous months and much better than statistics recorded in 2009.
Just to remind you: fines for errant airlines can total up to US$27,500 per passenger for each flight delayed on the ground, if the period in question exceeds three hours. A quick calculation shows that scaled up to a whole flight, the dollars begin to make one’s eyes water. Many carrier policies have been amended subsequent to the penalty announcement. Although the weather, which is quite often the root cause of a delay, cannot be controlled, at least the carriers appear to be doing their best to conform to the legislation.
However, despite the falling incidence of extended ground delays, airlines have not necessarily cancelled more flights to try and avoid those delays.
Recent data suggests that US airlines collected more than US$7.8bn in ancillary fees in 2009, a figure published bythe US Department of Transportation. As such, this represents an increase of 40% over 2008. On that basis, ancillary charges now comprise 6.5% of all airline revenues. Given the parlous state of the aviation sector at the present moment, there is every likelihood that such fees will continue to be imposed to help swell carriers’ coffers.
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Canada’s busiest airport has won the 2010 IATA Eagle Award for Most Improved Airport.
This global industry award recognises the significant progress made by Toronto Pearson in its commitment to working with the airline industry: airline satisfaction, cost efficiency and continuous improvement are all elements that are considered in the assessment procedure.
Marilynne Day-Linton, Chair of the Board of Directors for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, which operates Toronto Pearson, accepted the award from IATA at the organisation’s Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit, which took place recently in Berlin.
The Airports Authority has done much to try to reduce costs whilst increasing its commercial revenues. Earlier this year it reduced terminal and landing charges by 10%, a step that was actually initiated back in 2007.
According to IATA’s CEO, Giovanni Bisignani, Toronto Pearson has become something of a turnaround story. “A change in management drove change throughout the organisation and delivered much needed performance improvements,” he declared at the ceremony. “We look forward to further efficiency and performance improvements from these rôle models for all infrastructure providers.”
The Latin American & Caribbean Air Transport Association, together with its members, are firmly behind an environmentally-friendly industry. At ALTA’s Annual General Meeting last year the association pledged to continue to work on a variety of initiatives in support of the industry’s commitment to reduce average emissions by 1.5% each year until 2020. Further, it plans to become carbon neutral by 2020, thereafter achieving a 50% reduction in net emissions by 2050 compared to 2005. In addition to all this, ALTA has undertaken to continue to support a global solution, through ICAO.
In a bid to push the concept of alternative fuels TAM, with the help of Airbus and CFM International, is to make the first South American demonstration flight with bio-kerosene, which is derived Brazilian vegetable biomass in the shape of jatropha. Such adoption should lead to something in the region of an 80% drop in carbon emissions.
TAM has already ensured the availability of this aviation bio-fuel for the demonstration flight. Through the Brazilian Association of Jatropha Producers, the airline has acquired the necessary seeds from jatropha producers. They will be semi-refined in Latin America, then taken to the US for transformation into bio-kerosene. This in turn will be blended with aviation spirit, and prepared for the historic flight.
Thanks to a joint effort with ABPPM, TAM will go on to study the requirements of developing jatropha on a commercial scale.
May 28th 2010
The Air Transport Association of America (the trade organisation for the leading US airlines), has expressed its satisfaction that the English High Court will allow ATA permission to proceed with its legal challenge to the unilateral extension of the EU emissions trading scheme to international aviation. The High Court will shortly refer the case to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg for a ruling on the validity of the EU law. ATA is challenging the EU directive that extends the existing emissions trading scheme to airlines from around the world engaged in international aviation activities.
“The High Court decision to refer this case to the European Court of Justice is an important step, as only the ECJ has the authority to rule on the Europe-wide directive that applies the European Emissions Trading Scheme to our airlines. The unilateral extension of the EU ETS to international aviation is contrary to international law both as an extraterritorial action and an improper tax or charge. It also clearly stands in the way of an appropriate and effective global solution,” says ATA’s Vice President, Environmental Affairs, Nancy Young.
It should be noted that ATA and its member airlines are committed to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from aviation. ATA’s view is that the unilateral approach taken under the EU ETS not only violates critical international law principles but also imposes costly policies on international aviation that take away from the airlines the funds required to continue to improve their environmental-friendly status.
Getting underway in June is a new initiative that will look into the realities of commercialising biofuel. Boeing and PetroChina, together with various representatives of the Chinese energy sector and the global aviation industry, have just signed an agreement to evaluate the establishment of a sustainable aviation biofuels industry in China. Air China, PetroChina, Boeing and Honeywell's UOP have jointly agreed to conduct an inaugural flight using sustainable biofuel derived from biomass grown and processed in China. PetroChina will provide the biomass, which will be processed into jet fuel by UOP. Subsequently a biofuel flight, which is due to take place in China at a future date, will highlight the viability of the entire supply chain.
Continental Airlines has fully reopened Terminal C at Houston's Bush Intercontinental airport, following the completion of extensive renovations and having expanded its ticketing lobby (by more than 15,000 square feet) and check-in area (which now comprises 115 positions), security checkpoints and baggage claim area. The work has been completed in time for the peak summer travel season, and the renovated Terminal C no boasts a spacious, modern design with more extras for passengers.
Northwest Florida Beaches International, located near Panama City, on Florida's Gulf Coast, opened recently. As such, it represents the first publicly-owned commercial service airport to be built in the US during the last 15 years.
Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines have commenced operations there, flying from Dallas and Atlanta. Southwest will be operating a twice-daily service to Houston, Nashville, Orlando and Baltimore aboard, whilst Delta will operate an eight times a day service to Atlanta and a three times a day service to Memphis.
The station is equipped with one 10,000 foot runway, a 125,000 square foot terminal, seven gates and two restaurants and cost around US$330m to construct.
The Italian catering specialist, Autogrill, has announced that it has won a US$100m contract for food and beverage provision services at Miami’s international airport. The contract will run for eight years in all, according to the caterer.
Under the terms of the contract Autogrill will operate, through its American subsidiary HMSHost, four new points of sale. In turn, these are expected to generate the above-mentioned revenues during the lifetime of the contract.
The first new points of sale are due to be open by late summer this year and will be in addition to the ten outlets it already operates at the station.
May 5th 2010
The US Department of Transportation's new airline consumer protection rules have just come into effect. Amongst them, and arguably the most long-awaited, is the legislation relating to delays on the ramp.
Henceforth, US airlines' domestic flights are limited to three hours on the ramp, after which time passengers must be deplaned. For delays of two hours or more, carriers must provide refreshments for passengers as well as maintain operable lavatories and, where required, provide medical attention. These measures have been adopted in response to recent events wherein a number of lengthy delays for passengers on board grounded aircraft caught the media’s attention.
The only exception to the rule is where safety or security dictates that the status quo must be maintained, or if the airport authority feels that deplaning might prove disruptive to airport operations. In the light of this, US carriers operating international flights must specify in advance their own time limits for deplaning passengers. Airline requests for exemptions to the regulation have been turned down by the administration; indeed, carriers may be fined up to US$27,000 per passenger for tarmac delays that exceed three hours. Quick to respond, airlines have said that the rule could lead to more flight cancellations as they seek to avoid the fiscal penalties: inclement weather is cited as a typical factor over which carriers have no control. According to government figures, in all, there were nearly 900 ground delays of at least three hours between February 2009 and February 2010.
Just when you thought that enterprising airport authorities had considered every conceivable source of revenue comes news of yet another scheme to generate (much needed) income.
Travellers leaving their vehicles at Indianapolis International can now take advantage of a maintenance service for those whose cars that will be on site for more than a day. Car washing, interior cleaning and an oil change are all on offer. Given the love affair that most American citizens have with their personal transport, this seems likely to prove a winning formula – and possibly one that will extend its scope as time goes by.
Alaska Air Group, the parent of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, has announced its first-quarter profits, concurrently the best since 1999: it earned US$5.3m overall during what is traditionally its weakest quarter of the year. The result is in stark contrast to figures posted a year back that revealed a US$19.2m loss in the same period.
Alaska was assisted in this by healthy revenues of US$23m, which were gleaned from the contentious area of baggage fees. There seems to be little change in store for the traveller in this respect as the year unfolds: from June, both Alaska and Horizon will charge US$20 for each of a passenger's first three checked bags, increasing the cost of the first by US$5 but decreasing the costs of the second and third by US$5 and US$30 respectively. It has, however, decided to cut the cost of the fourth bag onwards by half, to US$50.
According to Alaska’s CEO, Bill Ayer, the moves are part of an initiative which will see the carrier implementing these ancillary charges in a way that is deemed both understandable and reasonable to the traveller. To take the bitterness off the pill, the carriers have undertaken to shorten their baggage service guarantee from 25 minutes to 20 minutes. Customers whose luggage does not appear at a baggage claim within that time will be entitled to bonus air miles or a discount voucher for a future flight.
The march of progress at today’s airports seems inexorable – as does the quest for the dollar. The latest idea in revenue generation involves the installation of kiosks at airports that will be able to retail or rent digital downloads of television programmes, films and music. Plans are underway to begin installation this month at stores in some 35 airports.
Files can be downloaded to a traveller’s memory card or USB stick for playing on a laptop or other device. Cost for a film will be US$3.99, while a music track will be about US$1. Customers will have up to 30 days in which to watch a rented film and once started, the media will be available for a total of 48 hours.
Continental Airlines has confirmed that its 111 dispatchers, represented by the Transport Workers Union, have ratified a new four-year collective bargaining agreement.
Elsewhere, Hawaiian Airlines and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers have announced that their union members approved a new four-year contract. This new contract includes increased compensation for 600 of the airline’s employees who work as aircraft inspectors, mechanics, line service personnel, groomers and contract service personnel.
April 21st 2010
As growing numbers of lawyers take an interest in Spirit Airlines (the carrier which has bucked the trend when it started charging for items of carry-on baggage) one suspects that the vultures might be circling. It’s certainly whipped up controversy in corridors of power: indeed, some senators have already been moved to action and have proposed a bill.
Dubbed the Free of Fees for Carryon Act, Senators Benjamin L Cardin and Mary Landrieu’s proposed bill against such tariffs would also require advance disclosure of special fees for specialty checked items.
"Carry-on items are important for the safety and health of the air travelling public," declared Benjamin Cardin, adding that passengers keep medication, baby requisites and other essential items in bags which are placed in overhead bins.
Spirit’s recently introduced fee (of up to US$45 for a carry-on bags stowed in an overhead bin), has aroused widespread media attention as well as criticism from the US Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, as well as Senator Charles Schumer.
Whilst Spirit has defended its action, citing shorter queues at security gates as well as a useful layer of added security to air travel, the move has won the carrier few fans.
Spirit maintains that the fees will not be applicable to laptops and similar compact items that can be placed under the seat in front of the passenger.
"We cannot allow these floodgates to open and other airlines to impose similar fees,” Mary Cardin declared. She was supported by the likes of Senator Frank Lautenberg who added that the rights of passengers were being left at the kerb. Others have branded the idea as outrageous and have called for a policy reversal.
The latest developments on this topic suggest that not all carriers are in agreement with Spirit: American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, United and US Airways have all stated that they will not charge fees for carry-on bags.
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Whilst one carrier seems intent on emptying overhead storage bins, elsewhere there is growing concern over their contents. The Association of Flight Attendants has just released the results of a recent membership survey. Inter alia, one out of two flight attendants witnessed carry-on items falling from overhead bins in the previous two months. The survey seemed to underline reports that the carry-on baggage situation is untenable, in the main because of checked-in luggage charges.
"We now have compelling evidence that flight attendants and passengers are being injured by excess amounts of oversized carry-on items," stated Patricia Friend, AFA-CWA International President. "AFA-CWA has been urging Congress, government agencies, and carriers to establish reasonable carry-on limitations that will improve the overall safety, health and security of crew and passengers inside the aircraft cabin. These limits will reduce injuries and distractions caused by carry-ons and allow flight attendants to devote more attention to the critical task of ensuring the safest and most secure flight possible."
It was revealed in the survey that over 80% of flight attendants had sustained injuries over the past year through dealing with carry-ons in overhead bins. The most common injuries were those of strained and pulled muscles in the neck, arms and upper back. (The survey was compiled from a representative sample of the 50,000 AFA-CWA members within 22 US airlines).
Delta Air Lines has said that it is on track to contribute nearly US$1bn to its employees' retirement plans this year, and that it is providing some of the funding earlier than previously scheduled.
According to the carrier, by the end of April it will have contributed US$665m to its traditional pension plans in the first four months of this year; that is in addition to US$100m that has been contributed to employees' defined contribution 401(k) plans.
In all, a further US$200m is scheduled to be contributed to 401(k) plans during the balance of the coming year. Delta, which is based in Atlanta, says that its pension funding is normally distributed throughout the year, with the majority of contributions being added towards the end of the actual year.
Baltimore/ Washington has just unveiled a new US$39m baggage screening system that will serve customers of AirTran, the second largest and fastest-growing airline at the airport. This new project has also created a dedicated check-in belt that functions from outside the airport. It also has an explosive detection system, similar in operation to an MRI that can detect weapons and explosives in passenger baggage. Moreover, station has renovated a baggage claim area that is used by both AirTran and United Airlines.
March 28th 2010
According to the Swiss aviation body IATA, North American airlines posted only a weak growth of 4.4% in February this year. Having cut capacity deeply during the recession (in February 2010, capacity was 3% below 2009 levels), this was not unexpected. In contrast, Latin American carriers posted growth of 8.5% on the strength of the performance of the region’s economies. Despite the sluggish US economy, North American airlines have actually witnessed a rebound of 34.1%, equivalent to that experienced by the Asia-Pacific region and that of Latin America. However, although US GDP expanded at 5.9% during the fourth quarter, consumer spending was up by merely 1.7%.
The US$1.55bn upgrade of Los Angeles International's Tom Bradley International Terminal was launched in February as officials broke ground on a project that will transform international travel to and from the airport.
The terminal, considered the last major capital investment at Los Angeles, was built in 1984. This project, which is dubbed Bradley West, is set to comprehensively improve the passenger experience.
Comprising 1.25m square foot expansion was designed by Fentress Architects and will feature 15 new boarding gates, new retail and food concessions, premium lounge space, enlarged customs and immigration facilities and seating areas designed to accommodate A380 flights. The project is scheduled for completion in December 2012 whilst the terminal's US$723.5m renovation is due to be finished by this spring.
The SITA 2010 Baggage Report, published in March, reveals a drop of 23.8% in the number of air passengers’ bags mishandled last year. This equates to a savings of US$460m for the world’s airlines in a year when their overall losses reached an estimated US$9.4bn.
This is the second consecutive year that the industry has significantly reduced the number of bags mishandled worldwide. Last year there were 2.2bn enplaned passengers and 25.025m bags mishandled globally: this is down 23.8% (or 7.8m bags) from 2008, and more than 40% (or 17.4m bags) down on the 2007 statistics.
SITA operates WorldTracer, the industry-standard, fully automated system for tracing mishandled passenger baggage which is used by more than 440 airlines and ground handling companies worldwide.
Francesco Violante, SITA’s CEO, commented: “Effective baggage management plays an important part in the overall passenger experience and this latest drop in mishandled baggage rates is welcome news to passengers and airlines alike. Some of the decline can be attributed to fewer passengers travelling last year but the 2.9% decline in passenger numbers is still far smaller than the 23.8% decline in mishandled baggage. Improvements in baggage handling systems and passengers checking in fewer bags to avoid extra fees have also contributed to the overall decline.”
So when exactly do bags go missing? According to the findings, most are mislaid during aircraft transfers: these account for 52% of the total. Failure to load bags makes up 16% whilst ticketing errors and bag switches or security issues contributes a further 13%. Loading and offloading add 7% overall whilst tagging accounts for 3%.
American Airlines customers departing from select airports can now choose to receive their boarding passes electronically on their mobile phones or PDAs. This will save time and bypasses the requirement to print and present a paper boarding pass at the airport. Moreover, passengers departing on domestic flights from 19 additional airports now have the option to use mobile boarding passes.
Mobile boarding passes, which use a two-dimensional (2-D) barcode, were introduced by American in late 2008 at a selective number of stations. The programme will be extended to additional US airports over the coming months.
To use the mobile boarding pass option (either with the traditional desktop version of AA.com or the mobile version), customers must have an active e-mail address where their boarding pass may be sent and an Internet-enabled mobile device where the 2D barcode can be received. Currently, customers may list only one person in their reservation. Domestic destinations include those within the US, as well as the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Satisfaction with the average traveller’s airport experience continues to lag behind that of other aspects of the travel industry. That, at least, is the finding of JD Power and Association, which made the report in its 2010 North America Airport Satisfaction Study. Also mentioned was a lack of consistency in meeting the traveller’s expectation of basic needs.
Prompt baggage delivery, comfort and ease of navigation were all highlighted as key areas in which North American airports are currently falling short. For the purposes of the survey, passengers were required to rate 27 specific aspects of the airport experience on a 10 point scale which included the elements of accessibility, baggage, check-in, terminal facilities, security and food/ retail services.
Overall satisfaction rose by a margin of 2.2% from the 2008 survey but was actually 8.7% below that of the hotel industry, according to the study. The report embraced large airports (those serving more than 30m passengers per year), medium airports (10-30m passengers) and small airports, which saw fewer than 10m travellers.
The best of the bunch in terms of large airports were Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County, followed by Denver International and Minneapolis-St. Paul International.
Kansas City International led the medium-sized airports whilst the top small airport was Indianapolis International.
Missouri's largest airport is about to see some improvements. The announcement entails a US$50m modernisation project that will begin in the third quarter of this year: officials are already calling it the largest renovation in the airport's history. Spanning two years, the project is aimed at improving passenger services and airport operation at Terminal 1. Everything will be enhanced, from ceiling heights to washrooms and signage.
Continental Airlines is planning to cut nearly a quarter of its reservation agent jobs by April 11, as customers increasingly turn to the Internet to book flights. Continental is looking to trim 600 of its 2,600 agent jobs and will not be renewing a third-party contract for handling calls. The airline has mentioned that call volumes have dropped by 15% per year in line with customers’ changing flight booking habits.
The GTAA has announced that Toronto Pearson has been recognised with five awardsby Airport Revenue News, a source for news and information on airports. Amongst the plaudits, Toronto Pearson received the award for Best Customer Service, Best Concessions Ma-nagement Team and Best Overall Concessions Programme.
DAL Global Services of Atlanta, a Delta Air Lines subsidiary, laid off 385 employees at Philadelphia International in March because it lost cleaning contracts with US Airways and United Airlines.
In March, American Airlines officially opened its relocated cargo terminal at New York’s JFK airport. The facility includes 135,000 square feet of warehouse space, 24 dock doors and two 20 foot elevated transfer vehicle handling systems that can accommodate any type of aircraft unit currently in use.
February 26th 2010
Southwest Airlines has a new home in Philadelphia International. The airport has just unveiled a US$45m wing at Terminal E, which comprises seven new gates and a 500 seat holding area. This new edifice will enable Southwest, which occupies four gates in Terminal D and five in Terminal E, to consolidate its operations in Terminal E by the end of March. Southwest has also said that it will be launching five daily non-stop flights between Philadelphia and Boston, beginning in June.
According to data released by the US Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics, scheduled passenger airlines employed 3.3% fewer workers in December 2009 compared with December 2008. This represented the 18th consecutive decrease in full-time equivalent employee (or FTE) levels for the scheduled passenger carriers from the same month of the previous year.
BTS reveals that the December FTE total of 379,100 for the scheduled passenger carriers was almost 13,000 below the December 2008 figure and, as such, the lowest total for any month recorded since 1993.
In all, six of the seven network airlines cut their staffing figures from December 2008 to December 2009: Delta was the sole network carrier to actually increase its staffing requirements.
As for the budget carriers, Southwest, Spirit and Frontier also logged dips in staffing from December 2008 onwards. Amongst the regional carriers, American Eagle, SkyWest, Comair, Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Pinnacle, Horizon, Mesa Airlines, Air Wisconsin, Mesaba, PSA Airlines and Colgan also posted reduced employment levels compared with a year ago.
Overall, the seven network airlines employed 258,100 FTEs in December, which equates to 68.1% of the passenger airline total. In comparison, low cost carriers employed 16.5% and regional carriers employed just 13.9%.
Of the group, American Airlines employed the most FTEs in December among the network airlines; Southwest employed the most FTEs within the low cost sector and American Eagle had the most FTEs in the regional airline segment. Altogether, seven of the top ten employers in the industry were network airlines.
This month five major US carriers announced their intention to serve Tokyo-Haneda sometime in 2010. Delta Air Lines has applied for all four pairs of slots, with non-stop routes offering a service between Seattle, Detroit, Los Angeles and Honolulu, beginning October 31, 2010.
United Airlines has applied for one non-stop route offering service between San Francisco. American Airlines have applied for non-stop services to JFK and Los Angeles beginning October 1 2010 whilst Continental Airlines has applied for services to Newark and Guam. Hawaiian Airlines, the major carrier for the Hawaii, also applied for a route from Honolulu by October. This is a part of its plan to extend Hawaiian's flights into Asia.
It’s been in the news week after week: one of the worst winters on record that has seen heavy snowfall in the US as well as elsewhere.
Bad weather has led to more than a few flight cancellations, which in turn has meant disgruntled passengers. The government’s answer? The introduction of multi-million dollar fines for an airline that leaves passengers stranded on grounded aircraft in bad weather.
The government announced in December 2009 that it would fine airlines US$27,500 per passenger for any long tarmac delay; scaled up, this equates to an eye-watering US$2.75m for, say, a 100 passenger flight. Paradoxically, cancellations cost far less than a hefty fine, since increasingly seats are routinely paid for in advance and airlines, of course, make savings in fuel costs.
The subject of tarmac delays was in the news throughout 2009, notably in connection with JetBlue at JFK when, in February last, it suffered several cancellations during a snow and ice storm which resulted in many passengers being stuck on board for six hours. In the wake of this there was lobbying for a three-hour maximum limit for stranded passengers.
Nearly 8,000 fleet service workers at Continental Airlines recently voted to join the Teamsters union.
Out of just over 7,600 voters, a total of 4,102 voted in favour of joining the union. Continental has said that there were about 7,750 operations, ramp and cargo employees at the carrier who will be represented by the union. The airline's pilots, mechanics and flight attendants are already union members.
Denver International has just recorded its second-busiest year ever. For the station 2009 was almost a record year, which saw passenger traffic in December come in at just over 4m, representing a just a 1.7% drop from the total of travellers recorded in the same month of 2008. However, the monthly figure pushed Denver’s yearly passenger total to 50,167,485. That was actually 2.1% below the record 51,245,334 travellers who used the airport in 2008.
It was only the second time in the airport’s history that the December passenger traffic has topped the 4m mark, and the second time that the airport’s yearly total exceeded 50m passengers.
January 31st 2010
Aircraft that push themselves back have been the talk of the town for some years now. WheelTug and its partner Co-Operative Industries believe they are one step closer with the completion of an “Electrical Load Measurement development test” on a B737BG. The test, conducted at Hartsfield-Jackson is Atlanta, has confirmed that the aircarft’s APU has sufficient oomph to operate their device: the WheelTug. The company claims that the WheelTug is a “unique concept in aircraft ground operations.” According to a recent press release, the ”patented electric drive system incorporates high performance electric motors installed in the nosewheels of the aircraft, providing full mobility without the use of the aircraft main engines or tugs for pushback and taxi operations.”
“WheelTug uses power from the aircraft onboard Auxiliary Power Unit (APU). The resulting improvements in efficiency, flexibility, fuel savings and reduced maintenance yield savings projected to be on the order of half a million dollars per aircraft per year.”
Airtran is getting ready to create more than 100 new jobs at Milwaukee. The carrier has said that it needs more people to support both incoming and outgoing flights at the station. By April, the airline wants 50 pilots based at Milwaukee in order to better serve its flights and it requires at least 50 flight attendants there, too.
The flight base will employ around 300 people, from the pilots and flight attendants to customer service, human resources, maintenance and sales staff. According to the company, Milwaukee will then join the Atlanta headquarters as being the only US operations base. Flight crews will be able to opt to move to Milwaukee and selections will be made based on seniority.
In January, United Airlines laid off 140 employees. Of this number, 50 redundancies were made at Chicago O'Hare. The airline also planned to change the status of 100 customer service and ramp workers and re-employ them as part-time staff. The changes have been blamed on reductions in capacity.
Passengers who have been arriving in the US in the last few weeks have noticed tighter security arrangements. Those questions mentioned that they had faced repeated passport checks and were neither allowed the use of blankets nor able to leave their seats in the last hour of their flight. The measures have been in response to a crackdown in the wake of a Nigerian who was arrested and charged with attempting to detonate a bomb on a Detroit-bound flight on December 25.
Signature Flight Support Las Vegas was recently awarded Top FBO honours for 2009 by NetJets. The NetJets’ Service Excellence award is conferred upon the FBO that best meets NetJets’ strict criteria for safety, service, facilities and amenities, partnership development, maintenance capabilities and price.
Todd Baumgartner, Vice President Fuel & FBO operations for NetJets, presented the award to the General Manager of Signature Las Vegas, Mike Conrad, Customer Service Manager Rita Carrillo and S Michael Scheeringa, President, Signature Flight Support.
Todd Baumgartner commented on the decision. “From the hard work and attention to detail of the line and counter staff, to the hands on approach and open communication style of the management team, Signature Las Vegas accommodated NetJets’ high volume with zero aircraft damage and zero service deviations. They are to be commended for their staff’s daily dedication to getting the details right.”
While accepting the award, S Michael Scheeringa said that on behalf of the company he was delighted to accept the award.
“We thank NetJets for the trust they place in us on a daily basis across Signature’s global network. This award is a testament to the daily efforts of each of our staff members and under the direction of Mike Conrad’s management team, Signature Las Vegas will continue to provide consistent, world-class customer service.”
Republic Airways Holdings has named Frontier Airlines Director-Supply Chain Drew Skaff as Republic Airways VP-Supply Chain.
Chris Combis is the new Vice President - Business Development, at Ground Services International. He was most recently with Evergreen Eagle.
Alaska Airlines has promoted VP-Human Resources, Strategy and Culture Kelley Dobbs to VP-Human Resources and Labour Relations.
December 29th 2009
The attempted bombing of a NorthWest aircraft as it landed at Detroit on Christmas day has led to increased airport security across the world for flights going into the US. Heathrow airport in the UK warned travellers to expect extra delays as manual checks on passengers and their luggage were carried out. Extra hand luggage restrictions were also put into force by some airlines.
Schiphol in Amsterdam (where the would-be bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab took his transfer flight from after arriving there from Lagos) pledged to install full body scanners for all flights to the US. The Dutch announced this afternoon that the move will be replicated in all Netherlands airports. The scanners will be operational within three weeks.
The US$ 200,000+ machines, which digitally “undress” passengers, have been subject to much controversy – only about 40 are running in US airports at the time of writing.
The week’s events will almost certainly trigger an intensification of airport security measures across the world, especially for international flights to The States. Once the full body scanners are in place, it’s hard to imagine going back to a situation where only the present equipment is used.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s sophisticated bomb (capable of blowing a large hole in the side of the aircraft) would have been detected by one of the scanners. The only reason for the failure of the plot (aside from the ineptitude of the bomber in detonating the device) was the quick thinking passenger who managed to extinguish the flames before the chemicals fully ignited.
In the short term, passengers can expect further delays as extra checks are enacted, airport airline, and handling staff will face added complications in keeping their respective operations running to schedule (and indeed to budget) and full body scanners will become commonplace in Europe, the US and, before long, throughout the world.
Is this the answer? Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s father approached US and Nigerian authorities two weeks ago, concerned about his son’s activities, beliefs and religious radicalisation. No useful action was taken.
Concerned about where and what to eat at an airport? You might well have reason to. According to a recent study, Detroit Metro has the highest percentage of restaurants serving healthy meals whilst Las Vegas musters the fewest. This is according to a report by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. In the study, a total of 17 different US airports were examined to see how they fared.
Optimistically, the Committee found that some 79% of airport restaurants offer at least one healthy option. To gain the appellation of healthy, a restaurant had to serve at least one low-fat, high-fibre, cholesterol-free entrée. Looked at baldly, that’s not exactly a high hurdle to have to leap over.
In this, Detroit Metro scored 100%, for each of its restaurants offers at least one fat-free entrée. The report found that San Francisco was the most improved airport, with a statistic rising to 94%. Also in the top five were Phoenix Sky Harbor, Houston Intercontinental and Newark.
Las Vegas, the worst in the league with a paltry 66%, the Committee found had a surplus of burgers, sausages and hot dogs. Perhaps not too surprising, given the nature of the clientele that tends to visit the city. Only 23 of the 34 restaurants at Washington Dulles, the second-worst scorer with 68%, offered a healthy option.
Chicago O'Hare, which scored the same as Dulles, fell from its second place in 2008. There, the study noted, were no fewer than nine McDonalds outlets. Also scoring badly were Washington National and Baltimore/ Washington.
Nashville International airport in the US will soon begin the construction of a new underground baggage screening system. The airport has procured a grant of US$31m from the Federal Homeland Security for the implementation of this project. The project involves relocating the explosive detection systems from the ticketing lobby to an area beneath the terminals. Work on the project started in May 2009 and is expected to be complete by November 2010.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the US is to develop an inline baggage screening system and build an apron for its new terminal using US$34m in stimulus funding.
The Federal Aviation Administration has offered US$13.97m for the apron development while the Transportation Security Administration provided US$20m for the baggage screening system. The new Maynard Holbrook Jackson Jr International terminal will have 12 gates to serve increasing passenger volumes, bringing the airport's total number of gates to 40.
The total cost for the whole project is estimated to be US$1.35bn and construction for the new terminal commenced in 2008: work is expected to be complete by 2012.
A new US$63m check-in facility, which includes a 1.3-mile baggage conveyor system, has been implemented at Reno-Tahoe International airport. The project has been funded by the Transportation Security Administration and airline ticket fees.
November 24 2009
Home of the board game Monopoly and the subject of a 1982 hit by Bruce Springsteen, Atlantic City in New Jersey is struggling to attract international carriers to its airport. The name of the airport, Atlantic City International, is at present proving to be something of a misnomer as only one international carrier, WestJet, flies there – and that’s only from Canada.
Directors at Atlantic City International are hoping that a US$28m terminal upgrade will help increase traffic from overseas (or as the case may be, start it up). WestJet plans to increase its service to once daily from January 1. The news will please casino operators who have seen a steady decline in gambling revenue over the past three years
The Press of Atlantic City reports that the 75,000 square foot extension to the airport will include three new boarding gates, baggage carousels and a large inspection area for federal customs and immigration officers. Construction, which begins in December, will take around 18 months to complete, say airport officials.
Once again, Alaska airlines has announced that it has successfully completed the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and has been renewed on the IOSA Registry. The airline has been on the registry since 2006.
The IOSA Registry is a key element of IATA's efforts to promote global airline operational safety. To achieve IOSA Registration, Alaska Airlines satisfied more than 900 standards in eight operational areas, including flight operations, operational control, flight dispatch, aircraft engineering and maintenance, cabin operations, aircraft ground handling, cargo operations and operational security.
The International Air Cargo Association is urging the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to expedite its evaluation of new technologies to support the pending 100% cargo screening mandate, scheduled to take effect in August 2010.
In its comments to TSA regarding its ‘Interim Final Rule of Air Cargo Screening (IFR)’, TIACA says it is concerned that much of the equipment currently certified for use for screening is inadequate and ill-suited for processing palletised air cargo. Existing technologies, the Association says, are mostly only appropriate for the passenger screening environment.
Air cargo screening requirements detailed in the IFR rely on existing technologies, notably TSA-approved methods of screening that include x-ray, explosives trace detection, explosives detection systems, explosives detection canine teams, and physical inspection along with verification of the description of the cargo on the shipping manifest. The rule adds: ‘TSA may approve additional methods to ensure that the cargo does not pose a threat to transportation security and to assist in meeting the requirements of the 9/11 Act. TSA will continue to consider different technologies or methods for screening cargo transported on passenger or cargo flights. TSA would approve these additional methods and technologies based on their applicability and effectiveness in screening specific commodities.”
Ulrich Ogiermann, TIACA Chairman, said: “New technologies geared towards the air cargo environment and capable of screening at the consolidated level are urgently needed. The availability of such technologies could have a significant impact on how the 100% screening threshold is met. We therefore urge TSA to ensure transparency in its review procedures, expedite its evaluation of new technologies and seek to deploy new technologies ahead of the August 2010 deadline.”
Construction of a new $29m cargo centre at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport in the US has just begun. The two-storey, 200,028 square foot centre will replace the airport's existing three cargo buildings and occupy around 19 acres of land at the airport’s new Terminal 3 site. The facility will be built through a private-public partnership and will host freight and mail-sorting operations for companies including FedEx Corp., Southwest Airlines, Worldwide Flight Services, Allegiant Air and UPS.
Several steps ahead of the game, Orlando International Airport has unveiled a new 60,000ft² cargo screening facility. The cargo facility has been fitted with X-ray and explosive technology detection machinery. The screening facility will reduce congestion for screening domestic and international cargo shipments. It will also serve air carriers at Sanford International Airport and Tampa International Airport. The move is in line with the US Government's 9/11 Commission Act, which requires all airports to be equipped with advanced cargo screening facilities by August 2010.
October 22 2009
The Federal Aviation Administration is intending to help US airports procure the latest runway debris-seeking technology.
The FAA has laid down specifications in an advisory circular, which indicated four types of detection systems for procurement including stationary radar, stationary electro-optical, stationary hybrid radar and electro-optical.
Federal grants can be obtained by airports to purchase the systems, the first of which are expected to be installed by 2010.
The FAA, however, has mandated that all débris detection equipment should be acquired through the airport improvement programme or the passenger facility charge programme.
Despite showing positive trends during July, global air passenger demand was down 1.1% and freight demand fell by 9.6% in August 2009 in comparison to 2008. According to data released by the International Air Transport Association, a few regions did, however, show signs of improvement. Passenger demand for Asia-Pacific carriers improved from -7.6% in July to -1.6% in August 2009, while North American carriers showed an improvement from -3.2% in July to -2.5% in August.
Middle Eastern carriers showed a marked improvement, with a year-on-year growth of 10.8%, although the rise remains below the 13.2% growth in July.
In similar fashion, Latin American carriers improved from -3.5% in July to -2.3% in August, while African carriers posted the lowest demand at -4.9% in August, compared to -5.5% in July. In turn, European carriers witnessed a decline of 2.8% compared to August 2008.
Freight demand improved, with Latin American and the Middle Eastern carriers reporting a growth of 3.9% and 3% respectively. An average passenger growth of 4% for 2010 has been predicted by IATA, which also expects a full-year decline of almost 5% in 2009.
IATA has further predicted an average international freight growth of 5.5% in 2010, compared to an expected full-year decline of 14.5% in 2009.
Pittsburgh International airport has claimed that it will be unaffected by new de-icing regulations set by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA proposal requires all airports to collect 20% of the run-off caused by de-icing chemicals that could pollute water sources. The airport believes it currently collects 60% of its run-off and has played its part in protecting the environment by using a de-icing pad since 2002.
Mineta San José International Airport (SJC) in the US is planning to improve airport security by installing a new baggage system thanks to a $21m grant awarded by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The baggage system will be installed in the airport's terminal B, which is currently under construction and due to open in June 2010. The new baggage system includes conveyers to shift checked baggage to automated security screening machines and additional conveyors to allow screened baggage for aircraft loading. The explosive detection equipment ownership will be maintained by TSA, while the airport will undertake terminal operations, maintenance and structural improvements.
October 2 2009
Airlines in the US collected a total of US$669.6m in baggage fees in the second quarter of 2009, nearly four times more than the amount collected in the year-ago period and up 18.2% from the first quarter, helping boost operating margins nearly across the board, says the US Department of Transportation.
American Airlines led the way last quarter with US$118.4m in baggage revenue. Delta Air Lines (not including Northwest Airlines) was some US$86,000 behind this figure whilst US Airways accrued US$104.1m. AirTran Airways ended up in seventh place with revenues of US$40.5m.
The revenues helped the US industry improve on its collective operating performance. Overall, the 21 reporting carriers posted a combined operating profit of US$361m, which translated into a 1.2% margin, compared to a -4.5% margin in the second quarter of 2008 and a -2.4% margin in the first quarter of 2009. The seven network carriers lost between them US$111m, (representing -0.5%) while the no-frills brigade posted US$334m, with a 7% margin. In contrast the regional airlines chalked up US$138m, or a 7.2% margin.
In fact, the only airlines to lose money on the operating level in the second quarter were Delta (at -US$159m), Continental, with -US$159m, and American (-US$260m). Virgin America was down by US$11m and ExpressJet also lost US$11m, according to the Department Of Transport's Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the moves on the part of US carriers to supplement their income have been reflected elsewhere in the world. Across the Atlantic, at the start of October Ryanair, for example, abolished its check-in desk system and imposed a charge for every bag carried on to an aircraft.
Dulles International airport unveiled its new checkpoints on the arrival and departure levels in September, in a bid to improve its security measures.
The airport's transportation security administration was relocated to a 121,700 square foot area on the mezzanine level, which will replace two existing checkpoints near the ticketing area. Security checkpoint expansions are part of the Dulles development, a US$3.4bn construction programme funded by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. The construction programme also involves terminal expansion, runway work and the creation of an underground AeroTrain System to ferry commuters between terminals.
Servisair Cargo recently added Alaska Airlines and US Airways to its list of carrier customers at Bush Houston Intercontinental airport. Meanwhile, at Boston Logan International, it has won business from Alaska Airlines and Jet Blue, both of whom join long term customer Lufthansa Cargo.
With effect from October 12, Servisair Cargo will be expanding its US presence to include El Paso International airport in Texas. The 16,300 square foot facility, with direct access and a 900 square foot drive-in cooler, will initially be providing cargo handling for US Airways and Continental Airlines Cargo.
Commenting on the recent expansion Neill Meier, Servisair’s Director of Cargo Services for the Americas, said that the handler was extremely pleased with its current momentum in the marketplace and the calibre of carrier customer that it had been successful in obtaining. “Our ability to rapidly respond to the airline community cargo needs in a competitive format has proven effective in allowing us to meet our strategic objectives, irrespective of the continuing economic environment,” he added.
Still on the topic of George Bush Intercontinental, the IAH International Air Cargo Centre II at the airport is set to become the new handling facility for perishable imports arriving at Houston from international markets.
The Tradewinds facility features a 12,000 square foot area for cold storage and has direct ramp access for goods entering airside and for trucks leaving with shipments. The facility is actually located beside a consolidated Federal Inspection Services Centre, which handles the processing and certification of imported products. Tradewinds will provide other import and export value-added services, such as pre-cooling of imports, sorting of imports, re-labelling of imports, certified cargo screening and trans-shipment. The facility is expected to be operational in November.
August 10 2009
In an unusual move, the Canadian government has backed a loan to SAS in order to ensure that the airline will be able to go through with its purchase of eight aircraft from Quebec based manufacturer Bombardier.
Export Development Canada has supplied SAS with the loan through the Canada Account which supports transactions that are deemed to be in the national interest but do not meet the requirements of a regular EDC corporate loan. The government assumes the risk, should SAS run into difficulty or default on the loan.
Bombardier aerospace employs over 30,000 staff and is the world’s third largest civil aviation manufacturer after Airbus and Boeing.
SAS has just announced its seventh consecutive quarterly loss. The airline has implemented a US$630m cost-saving programme which will see wage cuts and staff redundancies.
Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package, the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act”, is making its presence felt in US airports as the Department of Homeland Security prepares to install US$17m worth of CCTV equipment. The installations will occur at sites including Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Ronald Reagan Washington International, Gerald R Ford International and Boise Idaho and will provide a high level of threat detection and enhance emergency response capability.
Meanwhile, at Vancouver International, a day and night camera has been added to the FOD radar detection system in order to monitor the runway for debris in all weather and light conditions. The new high resolution camera will compliment the existing 24-hour automated runway detection system and the four radar and camera units will now be able to spot metal, fibreglass, plastic, wood and glass anywhere on Vancouver’s north and south runways which measure six kilometers in total.
A man in Michigan has been struck by a piece of falling aircraft. "I actually thought my wife threw something at me," the 41-year-old salesman somewhat worryingly told The Detroit Free Press, "Then I thought it was part of a chimney lining covering, so I started looking at my roof, my neighbor's roof."
Far from being an errant roof tile or a marital missile, the item in question was a scrap of aluminium approximately six by eight inches which zipped past Wissam Beydoun’s head only to hit him square on the shoulder.
Falling debris from aircraft is perhaps more common than one might think. Usually the FAA is able to deny liability by issuing a statement along the lines that “no aircraft were in the vicinity at the time of the incident.” As the debris often consists of lumps of ice, or other, less thirst-quenching, frozen liquids, it’s rather difficult to pursue the case further.
Wissam Beydoun should have more luck: his new garden ornament has “aircraft weight on wheels inflation chart” stamped on the side of it.
Newark Liberty International Airport in the US will be installing state-of-art X-ray machines to improve bag screening. The new machines, which use 3D technology, are expected to improve safety and reduce the queuing time for passengers passing through the gates. The modern X-ray machines enable the officials to check the baggage without opening sealed bags or luggage. Around 40% of the airport's boarding gates use the technology already. The machines are in use in terminal A and are currently being installed in Terminal C. The machines cost around US$100,000 each.
ASIG, an industry leader in aviation services, announced today that DHL has awarded ASIG the contract to provide aircraft fuelling services at their World Hub located at Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky International. ASIG is refuelling 180 flights weekly for DHL, including subcontracted flights for Atlas Air, Polar Air Cargo and Lufthansa Cargo. As part of the contract, ASIG is also providing maintenance and operation for DHL’s fuel load racks and fuel hydrant pits. “We are very excited that DHL has returned to CVG, selecting ASIG once again to handle their fuelling needs at their largest hub operation. ASIG looks forward to the opportunity to expand into other outsourced service areas with DHL,” remarked Andy Reeves, Senior Vice President Operations and Sales. ASIG provides aircraft refuelling services to DHL at several other locations in the United States.
(ARCHIVED NEWS) |
