The important of airport security

In an airport, security is one of the most important thing. for the high terrorist treat and other thing.

Recently the British police have now arrested at least seven suspects in connection with an attack on Scotland's Glasgow Airport on Saturday, which authorities have linked to two earlier attempted car bombings in London. Britain's terror alert level was raised to "critical," its highest threat level.

"With the increased level of security-tightening following the weekend's terrorist threats, airline stocks stood out among the losers," said Claire Collingwood, a trader at CMC Markets.

Following, the travel stocks weakened in London trading on Monday, with British Airways and Thomas Cook among the losers as the U.K. stood at its highest terror-threat level and with oil trading near $70 a barrel.

British Airwaysshares dropped 1.6% and easyJetshares lost 1.7%.

Shares in tour operators also came under pressure as investors eyed weekend developments. First Choice Holidaysfell 3.9% and newly merged travel firm Thomas Cookdeclined 4.3%.

Along with travel stocks, retailers are also exposed to consumer-spending levels. One of the biggest influences on consumer spending attitudes is interest rates and investors could be wary as the Bank of England is widely expected to hike rates again this week.

Other European markets were trading further in the red than the British index, with the German DAX index down 0.6% and the French CAC-40 index down 0.5% as oil prices stayed near $70 a barrel.

Still, the firmer oil prices helped oil majors BP (BP) and Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSA) to rise more than 0.4% in London's top index, cushioning downside.

Read the news release of this article's source at
U.K. Travel Stocks Drop After Glasgow Airport Attack
By Sarah Turner Read More..

Thunderstorms make flight canceled

The forecasts called for more thunderstorms and Delta opted to cancel flights in advance at airports from DC to Boston, reported on Thursday.

In Chicago and New York passengers were delayed for hours and Jet Blue canceled dozens of flights out of JFK. At Bradley International airport Wednesday passengers on an U-S Airways flight sat on the tarmac for several hours before the flight was finally canceled.

In Dallas, storm-weary passengers stuck overnight were still trying to catch a flight.

On top of weather, Northwest was dealing with a pilot shortage due to budget cuts.

"We're working more hours, we're working under harsher work rules, we're having smaller rest times. It is tough," said Captain Monty Montgomery of the Northwest Airlines Pilots Association.

Fed up travelers are tired of excuses.

Since 9/11 soaring security and fuel costs have caused airlines to cut the number of flights, leaving little room for error.

At the same time, Americans are flying in record numbers.

Analysts say the delays are only going to get worse especially this 4th of July.

Read the news release from the source at Airline passengers facing flight delays and cancellations Read More..

Pilots need enough runway

Columbus Metropolitan Airport Director Mark Oropeza said that pilots need enough runway so that if they lose an engine just as they are about to take off, they can either stop or continue the takeoff safely. With the kind of jet American Eagle wants to use, they would need approximately another 1,000 feet.

"Twenty-nine passengers is just not going to make it for them," Oropeza said.

This was said following that the Columbus Metropolitan Airport's efforts to add a new Columbus-to-Dallas route have had a turbulent beginning.

With Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a Delta feeder with flights to Atlanta and the only carrier now serving Columbus, the Airport Commission turned to American Eagle -- a regional feeder for American Airlines -- in hopes of adding two daily flights from Columbus to American's hub in Dallas.

Airport officials had expected an answer from American Eagle by mid-summer. But the answer wasn't what they had hoped to hear.

The airline said the Columbus airport's 7,000-foot runway isn't long enough to accommodate the 50-passenger jets American Eagle would want to use here, said Oropeza.

Airport Commission Chairman Don Cook said airport officials have spent the last 18 months recruiting American Eagle. He said the carrier had indicated it wanted to be in Columbus before talks broke down over the length of the runway and the jet the airline insisted on using.

"We're not going to spend $30 million just for American Airlines to have their particular one jet come into our market because that would just not be financially feasible for us," Cook said.

But if American Eagle makes a compatible plane available, the opportunity for them to serve the Columbus airport could open up again, he said.

Read the news release of this article's source at Runway too short for plane to Dallas By Brian Mcdearmon Read More..

Airport's on-time-arrival rank dives

CHARLOTTE -- Once among the nation's best for flights that land on time, Charlotte's airport has sunk to the level of those notorious for late arrivals.

In the first four months of 2007, Charlotte/Douglas International Airport was 27th out of 32 major airports for on-time arrivals, according to U.S. Department of Transportation and airline data.

Three years ago, 83 percent of flights arrived on time. This year it's 66 percent - slightly above such well-known headaches as Chicago's O'Hare International and the three major airports serving New York City.

Travelers are noticing.

"It seems like it's been getting worse ... just a few more minutes every time," said Michael Young, a Charlotte businessman whose flight arrived late on Thursday.

Charlotte had the nation's second-best on-time arrival rate in 2004. It slipped to 10th in 2005 and 20th in 2006 - before events in February and March sent the airport tumbling.

First, a Valentine's Day storm caused a rash of delays on the East Coast. Then US Airways switched to a new reservations system, which crashed self-service kiosks in Charlotte and other Eastern U.S. airports.

That led to ticket agents doing work normally handled by machines, and long lines and delays. US Airways has more than 80 percent of the daily flights at Charlotte/Douglas, the airline's largest hub.

Two weeks later, another East Coast storm wreaked havoc, stranding more than 3,000 people overnight.

"We had all kinds of planes arriving late from other places," said Michelle Mohr, a US Airways spokeswoman. "You really felt it throughout the East."

In addition, several ground stops ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration affected Charlotte, said Haley Gentry, an airport spokeswoman. The FAA sometimes halts takeoffs at an airport to manage air traffic, Gentry said, and Charlotte saw delays from stops here and elsewhere.

"You get one little incident somewhere else," Gentry added. "Or you get weather, and it can make for a chaotic situation."

Passenger traffic is up 12 percent in Charlotte over the past year. That's another reason for more late-arriving flights, Gentry said, and why the airport is adding another runway.

As a result of this year's delays, and other factors, Charlotte/Douglas recently was named by U.S. News & World Report magazine as one of America's most miserable airports. Charlotte was No. 3, between Chicago-O'Hare and New York's John F. Kennedy.

Aviation consultant Mike Boyd provided the data for that story, which he said was just one way of looking at how delays affect travelers.

"I would not call that a scientific airport ranking," Boyd said. "In reality, it has nothing to do with the facility."

Charlotte's ranking was directly related to this year's weather delays and the US Airways reservations glitch, Boyd said, and likely would be different if it was done another year.

The situation may be improving. After bottoming out in March Charlotte's on-time arrival rate climbed to 68 percent in April. That same month, US Airways began boosting the number of ticket and gate agents by more than 10 percent, bringing the total at Charlotte/Douglas to almost 500.

By Jefferson Georg - McClatchy Newspapers
Source: The Myrtle Beach Sun News Read More..

Cheap flights 'only months away'

AUSTRALIA is merely months away from experiencing the first of Asia's promised budget airlines, with the arrival of Viva Macau heralding an new era in aviation.

WHEN flight ZG9501 touches down at Sydney airport on August 15, the curtain will officially rise on an exciting new era in Australian aviation.

Body: The first of Asia's new budget airlines -- Viva Macau -- will have arrived on Australia's eastern seaboard, bringing with it a gamut of ultra-cheap international fares.

Diminutive and without fanfare, Viva Macau's introduction can only be viewed as the tip of the iceberg; a minor glimpse into the flood of cheap fares soon to inundate Australian passengers.

It started with Jetstar's bold leap into the South-East Asia market, a perfectly-timed ploy by bigger brother Qantas to get a jump on its rivals.

The plan worked, with Jetstar Asia offering never-seen-before prices to exotic destinations such as Bali, Phuket, Bangkok and Vietnam's bustling Ho Chi Minh City, with high yields to boot.

Now the real challenge for Jetstar Asia begins as the Asian low-budget carriers, boasting third-world operating costs and cheap labour, move in for the kill.

Viva Macau will be first and cashed-up Malaysian outfit AirAsia X will follow, while Singapore's Tiger Airways will hit the domestic market with 50 new Airbus A320s (announced yesterday).

Hong Kong budget carrier Oasis is also looking in and India's Jet Airways has expressed interest.

Rapidly expanding budget airlines Air Deccan (China), Adam Air (Indonesia), Spice Jet (India), Hong Kong Airways and Manadla Airlines (Indonesia) may follow suit.

The result?

According to the experts, a revolution in travel which will turn domestic and international pricing on its head and open up a world of cheap holiday opportunities to ordinary Australians.

The Viva Macau promise is all-inclusive $305 fares from Sydney to the Chinese-Portuguese province of Macau, an introductory offer from August to October.

Add to that fare a 30-minute ferry ride to Hong Kong and an Oasis flight to London and suddenly you have arrived in the UK having only spent $600, taxes included.

Viva Macau boss Con Korfiatis is not backwards in coming forward about his plans for the carrier.

He eventually wants daily Sydney services and flights into at least Melbourne and Sydney and has already added a further six Asian destinations later this year.

But if Viva Macau is set to make a splash in Australia, Malaysian-based AirAsia X has set its eye on a deluge.

Its routes plans are immense, and its highly protected fare details are expected to be considerably lower than Viva's, due to its cost-effective one-class layout.

One credible source told The Saturday Daily Telegraph return tickets from Malaysia to London would set passengers back a mere $220, while similar promotional fares can be expected on Australian services.

On its new website, AirAsia X flashes its formidable but speculative route map, either as a tease for hungry travellers or as a threat to its competition.

The map includes 19 destinations in Europe from its Kuala Lumper hub, eight destinations in Australia and a plethora of links throughout Asia.

Additionally, its short-haul sister airline AirAsia already has 45 South-East Asian destinations in operation.

Based on known orders and current fleet, the AirAsia group will have 37,000 seats in the sky before 2012, compared to around 13,000 for Virgin Blue and just more than 10,000 for Jetstar.

the Centre of Asia-Pacific Aviation spokesman Derek Sadubin believes AirAsia X will single-handedly revolutionise outbound travel from Australia.

"AirAsia X is an interesting one because they are not going to have two classes of service like Jetstar Asia and Viva Macau have," he said.

"They are going to cram 396 seats in an A330 aircraft, which is 18 per cent more than Airbus says the aircraft can carry in a normal two-class configuration.

"It is the start of a new era in international outbound travel for Australia with fares that will be consistently low, not just seasonably low, which means more pressure on the incumbent carriers."

The transition period will no doubt allow Jetstar Asia to maintain its dominant position, simply because it has the fleet to back it up and will take delivery of its new Boeing 787s next year.

They will provide the bulk of the opportunity for cheap long haul travel for Australians in the short-to-medium term, Mr Sadubin said.

AirAsia X, the predicted dominant force, will not have the fleet to beat Jetstar Asia in the next two years but they are expected to win on price.

"It is not going to be the massive hit upfront from AirAsia X as they really can't get the kind of fleet structure that they need for at least another 12 months when their ordered aircraft start to arrive," he said.

"AirAsia will be the price leader to South-East Asia, followed closely by Jetstar."

Unlike Viva Macau, which will enjoy a monopoly on its less-travelled routes, AirAsia X says it will not entice passengers with introductory cheap fares only to bump them up six months later.

AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes believes it is not only competition that will keep its fares low but its ideology.

"Our philosophy is to get the fare as low as possible," Mr Fernandes said.

While opportunities for outbound travel for Australians are about to burgeon, the domestic market will see even greater change.

Singapore Airways budget offshoot Tiger Airways is moving to town in October and will tackle the usual suspects Qantas, Virgin Blue and Jetstar on the most coveted domestic routes.

Tiger Airways boss Tony Davies has promised pre-tax single-digit specials on major routes including the lucrative Sydney to Melbourne run, a link Qantas has even tried to shield from Jetstar.

According to several analysts, passengers can expect to see regular promotional free flights plus taxes and other ridiculous deals designed to ensure yields are maintained.

The prospects looking forward for travellers have never been so bright.

Let the battle begin.

By Andrew Carswell
Source: Daily Telegraph Read More..

Governments all over the world are selling off airports, but are private owners good for airlines?

TWELVE MONTHS AGO, AEROPORTS de Paris initiated its oft-delayed privatization process with the sale of 32.8% of the company. In addition to raising €1.12 billion ($1.44 billion) for the French airports operator and the government, the IPO raised the ire of otherwise reserved Air France KLM Chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta. In a rare series of public outbursts, he openly disapproved of the privatization that led to a new Economic Regulation Agreement for the 2006-10 period permitting a 5% hike in airport charges at Paris Charles de Gaulle in the first year followed by increases of 4.25% annually over the next four years.

Spinetta argued that ADP was abusing its "de facto monopoly" position to raise its tariffs at thrice the rate of inflation, while ADP countered that it needed the additional revenue to finance its €2.5 billion five-year investment program.

The partial sale (the French state still holds a 67.2% stake) had yet another effect: It poured new fuel into the smoldering debate over public versus private ownership of airports. The issue is definitely topical in Europe, where last year some other high-profile privatization dossiers surfaced. There was the £10 billion takeover of BAA by a consortium led by Spanish infrastructure company Grupo Ferrovial as well as the pending IPO of Schiphol Group. The latter deal ultimately was shelved after the City of Amsterdam, which owns 21.8% of the airport company, used its veto right to block the transaction.

The irony is that Schiphol Group, while struggling to get itself privatized, is active on the international privatization scene, with stakes in Brisbane Airport and Terminal 4 at New York JFK (see article, p. 38). It is not alone. Plenty of state-owned airports participate in the privatization process of counterparts, abroad and at home. For instance, Changi Airports International, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Singapore CAA and owner-operator of Singapore Changi, acquired a 7.1% stake in Auckland International in 1999 and holds a 50% stake in Alterra Partners, which owns equity in Costa Rica, Curacao, Lima and London Luton airports.

"Three to four years ago, IATA along with everybody else believed that the privatization of airports was a good thing because we would see them being managed on a commercial and a business basis rather than under state ownership. But what we have seen is that the ugly state-owned airports turned into even uglier privately owned airports," says IATA Director-Industry Charges, Fuel and Taxation Jeff Poole.

"Airlines tend to get hit twice in an airport privatization," he adds. "The prime reason most governments privatize airports is not anything philosophical or esoteric, it is just generating revenue, and given that the purpose is to raise revenue, everyone tries to fatten the turkey beforehand. How do they do that? Through charges. The airport is then privatized, usually by competition, and goes to the highest bidder, who needs to recover the investment. In many case airports are overbid for. So how do they recover their investment? Through charges."

For IATA, which has elevated airport privatization to one of its core focuses and integrated it into its Aviation Value Chain crusade and External Cost Campaign, the ADP privatization/tariff increase was such "an extreme case" that the organization launched legal action against the French state and ADP. The Federation Nationale de l'Aviation Marchande, representing French airlines, and the Board of Airline Representatives in France filed separate though related suits.

Interestingly, Air France, which is by far the largest user of CDG and Paris Orly, did not join its fellow carriers in their legal pursuit. Observers suspect that Spinetta actually may have borrowed IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani's proven tactic of "politely shouting" to get what he wanted: A reduction of the proposed tariff increase that initially was set at 6% annually and an acceleration of ADP's investment program geared toward AF.

In truth, far worse scenarios exist elsewhere. Tirana International Airport Nene Tereza increased its package of basic airport charges by about 50% two years ago when a private consortium, in which Hochtief AirPort holds a 47% stake, took over management. The privatization agreement concluded in October 2004 came with a comprehensive modernization program representing an investment of around €50 million. A brand new terminal opened in March.

"It's all gorgeous and state-of-the-art," concedes Christian Heinzmann, CEO of Albanian Airways, which has its base at TIA. "The facilities are contemporary and attractive. In addition, the access roads to the airport have been modernized. But it all comes at a high price for us." A comparative study by the airline of airports of similar size in its network shows charges at Tirana are by far the highest, he claims.

Further south, users of Larnaca and Paphos airports in Cyprus were presented with a 47% increase in per-passenger charges from last April with further raises in July and November. By the end of this year, the increase will be around 70%. The hike was planned for May 2006 when Hermes Airport took over management of the two airports, but under pressure from the International Air Carrier Assn., which represents 39 airlines serving the leisure industry, it was delayed by 11 months.

"There is no justification for this increase, which for IACA carriers alone amounts to €18 million," Manager-Operations Luc Geens reasons. He equally criticizes the 33% concession fee that will go directly to the Cypriot government without any financial risk or any commitment to reinvest it back into airport infrastructure.

By Cathy Buyck, Air Transport World
The full of this article's can be read on the source at: Air Transport World Read More..

Airport authority rejects fee raise

The Melbourne Airport Authority on Friday refused to raise what's known as a passenger facility charge.

Airport officials wanted the $3 fee raised to $4.50 to help pay for projects and other expenditures at Melbourne International Airport. But the seven-member Melbourne Airport Authority governing board decided unanimously against it.

None of the authority members offered any reason for their vote.

Milo Zonka, a Palm Bay resident and pilot who follows local airport issues, urged authority member to keep the fee at $3.

He said the public already complains about airfares being higher at Melbourne International vs. nearby Orlando International Airport, and local airport officials couldn't very well ask Delta Air Lines to decrease ticket prices when local officials, in effect, would be raising them.

"This is an unnecessary increase," Zonka said.

The Federal Aviation Administration allows airports to tack the fee onto tickets to raise money for certain projects. About 11 cents goes back to the airline issuing the ticket for processing expenses.

The intent of passenger facility charges is to get users at the nation's airports to shoulder more of the expenses associated with expansions and other projects.

The theory is that, by having users essentially pay for some airport projects, it's less money coming from the FAA.

At Melbourne International, officials have, since May 1997, used the fee to collect $5.87 million.

They are using the money to pay debt-service costs associated with the airport's terminal expansion in the early 1990s. It still owes about $6 million for that project.

Passenger decrease

Customer traffic at Melbourne International was down 18 percent for the year, spotlighting the need for local officials to get more people using the facility.

Richard Ennis, executive director at Melbourne International, said Friday that he met earlier this week in Tucson, Ariz., with representatives from AirTran Airways, JetBlue Airways, SkyKing and US Airways about offering flights from Melbourne.

So far, US Airways establishing a route between Melbourne International and Charlotte, N.C., is the best hope, and Ennis said he expects the carrier to make a decision on Melbourne by September.

Ennis told members of the Melbourne Airport Authority that a US Airways representative told him the carrier wants to establish a route between Melbourne and Charlotte, but, "so far, they could make no real commitment."

German flights

The lower traffic numbers -- not unexpected, since Delta Air Lines, the airport's only major commercial carrier cut routes last year -- comes as Melbourne International tries to salvage a deal with a German-based tour operator that wants to bring weekly charter flights to Melbourne from Berlin beginning this fall.

Melbourne International, like many smaller regional airport, suffers from being in the shadow of a much larger airport, in this case, Orlando International, where carriers compete against each other and offer fare prices often hundreds of dollars less than what Delta offers travelers locally.

The German charter flights are in serious jeopardy because of a lack of available U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to process the hundreds of German tourists expected to visit the Space Coast each week.

U.S. Customs representatives have told local officials they simply don't have the personnel to process the flights in a timely manner because they're booked at Port Canaveral with similar duties for cruise ship passengers.

At stake locally is Melbourne International's attempt to establish itself as a player -- albeit a relatively small one -- in the foreign charter and cargo business.

Also, if the deal doesn't happen, the Space Coast would lose millions of dollars officials expect the European tourists to spend while they're here.

Ennis said LTU International, which is supplying a 320-seat Airbus 330 for the flights, and the tour operator, M-Touristik of AG Rostock, Germany, will decide within a week to 10 days if the weekly flights will occur.

The flights are scheduled to begin Nov. 3, and continue weekly for 26 weeks.

In the meantime, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, and the heads of three local chambers of commerce organizations, have written letters to Ralph Basham, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, asking him to look into problem.

"The LTU representatives are seeking assurance that additional customs agents will be assigned to this flight," Nelson writes in his letter to Basham. "If they do not get such assurance, they have indicated they will need to take their business elsewhere."

Shannon Meyer, president of the Melbourne-Palm Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, said to Basham in her letter: "Without these agents, we are sure to lose this very beneficial piece of business."

Other developments

In other action Friday, the authority voted to:

• Consulting contract: Give Tony Freudmann, chairman of Freudmann Tipple International Ltd., a consulting group, a six-month consulting contract worth $25,500 to help find international business for the airport.
• Equipment purchase: Spend $801,000 on equipment to assist with passengers and cargo if the LTU charter flights materialize. The purchase is contingent upon the German flights occurring.

BY WAYNE T. PRICE, FLORIDA TODAY
Source: Florida Today Read More..

Say bye to free curbside check-in

The convenience of curbside check-in at Charlotte's airport soon will come at a cost.

Right now, only American Airlines charges people for checking luggage outside the terminal, levying a $2-per-bag fee, said Haley Gentry, a spokeswoman for Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.

But other airlines are considering fees, Gentry said, and a spokeswoman for US Airways -- the airport's dominant carrier -- confirmed that the airline will start charging $2 per bag July 9.

That fee already is in place at other airports, U.S. Airways spokeswoman Michelle Mohr said, and few passengers have complained.

The airline first charged the fee in April at three Florida airports and in Las Vegas, Mohr said. Nine more airports got it this month, she said, including Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Mohr declined to say how much money the new fee will generate. About one out of every 10 passengers uses curbside check-in, she said.

Perhaps the most pressing question: Since airlines are charging a fee, do you still need to give the guy on the sidewalk a little something?

"Yeah," Mohr said, "you still tip."

By JEFFERSON GEORGE. Contact: jgeorge@charlotteobserver.com
Source: The Charlotte Observer Read More..

1st pilot for America West retires

On the reverse side of Randy McNerlin's US Airways employee badge, a pilot number reads in small, standard font: "P0001," a nod to the genesis of America West Airlines and, coincidentally, his career as a commercial pilot.

On Friday, McNerlin, who many consider the airline's first pilot, retired from the company with a jest of that special badge number.

"Who wants to see it?" the spry man with a white mustache joked to a crowd of about two dozen that had gathered at Terminal 4 of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to send him off.

McNerlin flew his last flight on Friday, the day before his 60th birthday. Federal law restricts pilots older than 60 from flying commercially.

Pilot numbers at US Airways, which merged with America West in 2005, now extend to more than 3,000. But for 24 years and three weeks, McNerlin held the most senior number.

"There's something about P0001," Elizabeth Graham, an 11-year US Airways pilot, said as she waited in the Jetway for McNerlin to come out of the plane. "It's just special for us."

In a tribute, two Sky Harbor emergency trucks created a 300-foot water arch for McNerlin's Airbus A320 to taxi through after it landed early from Seattle. Fifteen US Airways employees huddled near Terminal 4's windows to watch his last landing and taxi.

"Did he bounce it? " exclaimed Donna Bamonte, manager of pilot training scheduling, as a plane went airborne after a bumpy touchdown. "Yeah, he did."

"Then that wasn't him," replied a smiling Larry Taylor, one of McNerlin's colleagues and a friend.

As it turned out, it wasn't his plane.

McNerlin said he has flown more than 20,500 hours in his career at America West and US Airways. During Operation Desert Storm, he flew U.S. troops into Kuwait in an America West Boeing 747.

McNerlin's wife Lynn, 50, kissed her husband in the plane before most of the passengers had exited through the Jetway.

His 6-year-old son, Britton, surprised his dad with a white cardboard sign that read, "I Love My Daddy."

Scott Cendrowski, The Arizona Republic
Source at: The Arizona Republic Read More..

Airport paving will mean adjustments

Paving of the main runway at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport will disrupt flights on several days later this summer, airport officials said.

The project involves replacing 3 inches of asphalt surface on the 7,501-foot runway. Work is scheduled to begin on Aug. 7 and be completed by Oct. 31.

During one 24-hour period there will be no flights at the airport. Work will prevent aircraft from landing or taking off between noon Aug. 18 and noon Aug. 19.

And from Sept. 6 through Sept. 11, the main runway will be closed and flights diverted to a shorter runway. Disruptions are expected to end after Sept. 11.

Airport officials urged travelers to contact airlines for specific changes to schedules and aircraft during the project.

Mike Conner, assistant airport director, said most of the work will be done at night. Bids for the project will be opened next week at the airport board’s monthly meeting.

Aircraft will be able to land on some of the runway during the construction, prompting airlines to consider switching from regional jets to smaller turboprop planes.

Some jet flights might be canceled when flights are diverted to the shorter runway. Conner said “it’s up to the airline” whether it wants to operate the flights at smaller passenger loads in order to maintain service.

At least one carrier, US Airways, will temporarily stop flying regional jets in order to use the shorter runway.

“Because the (regional jets) won’t be able to fly, we’ll have to cancel the Charlotte routes and switch out the Philadelphia route to a Dash 8 (turboprop),” said Valerie Wunder, spokeswoman for US Airways.

Continental Airlines expects to be able to continue its service during the construction.

“We don’t anticipate there to be any problems for us,” said Mary Clark, a Continental spokeswoman. The airline’s partner Commutair operates flights at the airport.

Other carriers include Northwest Airlines, United Express and Comair.

While the shorter runway is in use the Federal Aviation Administration will set up a temporary air traffic control tower, said Jim Peters, FAA spokesman.

By Jerry Lynott, a staff writer with The Times Leader, may be contacted at 829-7237.
The full of this article's can be read on the source at: Times Leader Read More..

Boeing extends life of Long Beach aircraft plant

Southern California's last major airplane factory got a reprieve Tuesday as Boeing Co. announced it would keep open its Long Beach production line for the C-17 Air Force transport for at least six more months.

With no new orders, the sprawling plant next to Long Beach Airport had been scheduled for closure by mid-2009 with the rollout of the last C-17. It would have dealt a major economic blow to the region.

But Boeing told its Long Beach workers Tuesday morning that the company would invest its own money to keep the line going until at least 2010, with the hope of securing more orders from the Air Force and foreign nations.

"We're putting some skin in the game," said Rick Sanford, a Boeing spokesman in Long Beach. "We're committed to keeping the line viable until we get funding."

The decision was hailed by lawmakers and local officials who have been fighting to keep the plant open.

"This is good news," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who has been seeking additional congressional funding for the Air Force to buy more C-17s.

It also drew support from the Air Force, which has maintained that it wants to buy more C-17s but can't do so until after 2010 because of budget and planning constraints.

The gap would have meant shuttering the plant and then restarting it months later at a cost of more than $500 million.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday at the Paris Air Show, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne called Boeing's decision a "very good gesture on their part."

For Boeing the move would help prevent disrupting the C-17 Globemaster III's supplier chain at a time when many aerospace companies are enjoying double-digit growth in their commercial aircraft business. Boeing risked higher production costs as it renegotiated contracts with emboldened suppliers.

Still, Chicago-based Boeing had until now resisted taking the financial risk of paying for parts for planes that had yet to be ordered.

With 31,000 workers in Southern California, Boeing is the region's largest private employer. Of that total, 5,500 work on the C-17 in Long Beach.

With the C-17's future still up in the air, Boeing's decision to keep the line open for an additional six months is a bold one, said Robert Swayze, manager of economic development for Long Beach: "It's a little bit nervy to think about building $200-million airplanes on spec, and that's really what they're doing."

Long Beach officials have been lobbying Congress in an effort to secure funding for more C-17s to prolong the plant's life and preserve its contribution to the local economy.

In addition to its direct payroll, the plant provides jobs for about 5,300 workers at suppliers around Southern California, city officials estimate. Only about 15% of the plant's workers are Long Beach residents, giving other Southland cities a stake in the factory's survival, said Swayze, who heads the so-called Red Team of C-17 boosters.

"It's terrifically important to the Long Beach economy, but it's even more important to the regional economy," Swayze said. "It's a regional economic asset." Including the indirect employment, the plant generates economic activity of well over $1 billion a year, officials said.

In addition to its economic significance, the plant also provides a meaningful tie to the state's past as a major aircraft producer.

"It's California's last major aircraft production facility," Swayze said. "California used to be the home of the aircraft industry, and this is what's left."

But in March, Boeing began telling some suppliers to stop producing parts for the large four-engine jet. It takes about 34 months from the production of the first part to final assembly.

Boeing executives said Tuesday that they were telling suppliers to continue making parts for the plane beyond the 190 that have been ordered so far with the anticipation that Congress would provide funding for an additional 10 aircraft. Boeing has delivered 165 C-17s so far to the Air Force.

The decision was based on "continued bipartisan congressional support and increasing signs that the U.S. Air Force has requirements for 30 additional C-17s," a Boeing executive said.

By Peter Pae and Martin Zimmerman, Times Staff Writers
The full of this article's can be read on the source at: Los Angeles Times Read More..

Bill threatens private fliers

A bill under consideration in Congress has general aviation worried about their future. General aviation includes Pratt Industrial Airport and the companies that fly or maintain aircraft at the airport.

The new Federal Aviation Administration re-authorization bill includes creating a new $25 user fee for all turbine prop aircraft for every operation that uses air traffic control and creates a 360 percent increase in fuel taxes for general aviation. The combination would have a serious impact on all general aviation.
The fuel tax increase would impact the aircraft and businesses at the Pratt Airport including Farmers Spraying Service and the 25 aircraft based at the airport including two planes operated by Gateway Ethanol and one by Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, said Reid Bell, executive director for Pratt Airport Authority.

Some of the pilots and businesses said they could not afford to fly if the tax increase and user fee are implemented. The market for plane sales would drop and impact owners, airports and manufacturers, Bell said.

"If general aviation went away it would devastate Kansas," Bell said. "It would ruin us."

Kansas leads the nation in revenue generated by general aviation with $7 billion annually per capita or $2,500 per resident, Bell said.

The same bill eliminates a $0.043 per gallon fuel tax for big airlines. This amounts to a big tax break for commercial airlines at the expense of general aviation.

Kansas Congressmen are not supporting the bill.

"I will work to fight against this new scheme and to ensure that general aviation gets a fair shake from the FAA," said Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts.

The bill is headed to the Senate Finance Committee. Roberts is a member of the committee and he does have jurisdiction, said Sarah Little, Roberts's communications director.

Rep. Todd Tiahrt and Sen. Sam Brownback also oppose user fees, Little said.

A rationalization for the fee and tax increase is that the amount of general aviation traffic is creating problems at airports but the numbers don't support that conclusion.

"Four percent of total traffic at major airports is general aviation," said Selena Shailad, executive director, Alliance for Aviation Across America that opposes any user fees.

The AAAA was recently established to fight the bill and quickly grew to over 3,000 members.

By Gale Rose, reporter@pratttribune.com
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Geese-strike grounds flight to America

About 260 passengers had their travel plans delayed last night when their flight to San Francisco was forced back after striking geese shortly after takeoff.

Air New Zealand spokesman David Jamieson said the Boeing 777 had just taken off from Auckland Airport when the plane hit the geese.

The birdstrike damaged the plane's radome, or weather radar in the aircraft's nose, and forced the pilot to return to the airport.

Bird strike incidents were relatively rare, Mr Jamieson said.

"Usually the birds move out of the way pretty quickly when they see big jets like these coming their way."

Mr Jamieson said passengers waited in transit as engineers worked on the damaged gear.

The full of this article's can be read on the source at: The New Zealand Herald Read More..

Inquiries start into plane's belly-landing

Two investigations are under way after an Air New Zealand aircraft was forced to belly-land at Blenheim yesterday.

The Beechcraft 1900D, operated by Eagle Air, was on a flight from Timaru to Wellington with 15 passengers and two crew on board.

It circled Wellington Airport several times when its landing gear failed to come down, then headed to Blenheim, where it circled for almost an hour before belly-landing on the runway at 9.15am.

The captain, an experienced Eagle Air pilot, performed a wheels-up landing and the aircraft was doused in foam by emergency crews.

The landing was described as textbook, and the 17 occupants walked away from the aircraft safely, although two were taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.

Fire crew from the nearby Woodbourne Air Force base were alerted to the problem and were among emergency personnel on alert.

The landing is being investigated by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission and Eagle Air.

Eagle Air general manager Doug Roberts said safety was paramount and non-negotiable for his airline.

"Our pilots undergo some of the most extensive training in the industry and dealing with emergency situations like this is a cornerstone of their training.

"Our initial assessment is that the crew did an excellent job of executing a textbook wheels-up landing in thecircumstances."

He said Eagle Air had already launched an internal investigation and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission has already started its inquiry.

A special support team was flown to Blenheim to offer further assistance to those on the flight.

About 60 grounded passengers, whose flights were suspended, watched from the terminal as debris broke off from the plane as it landed.

Seconds later, emergency services from Renwick, Blenheim and Woodbourne rushed to the aircraft.

The 15 passengers, including a pregnant woman, and the two pilots were taken away in a bus to another part of the airport.

Three Victim Support workers were on hand to assist the shaken passengers.

Passenger Derek Zandbergen said travellers were told as the plane came into Wellington there was a problem with the landing gear. People did not panic, but the atmosphere in the cabin was subdued, he said.

The full of this article's can be read on the source at: The New Zealand Herald Read More..

No Surprise: New York Airports First In Flight Delays

I "Heart" New York?

"So what else is new?" may be the response from jaded passengers who fly into, out of, or over any of New York's three major airports to the findings that the Big Apple leads the nation in terms of flight delays or cancellations.

Passengers at those airports had more than a one in three chance that their flight was delayed or even canceled, leading the nation during the first quarter of 2007.

A full 38 percent of all flights at Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty were either late or canceled, reported the Associated Press.

And as one familiar with the "domino effect," (no, not the pizza) what impacts one, nay, three major airports, effects airlines nationwide.

"This impacts the entire country," agreed JetBlue chief executive Dave Barger. As goes Kennedy, he said, so goes the nation.

Working On The Problem

Okay, we've established that this is a consequential problem... but how can it be fixed? Government agencies and aviation experts will be working on the problem over the ensuing months, with plans that include the establishment of a task force to be convened by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Experts -- and, we imagine, anyone who flies commercially -- say the panel's job won't be easy, what with the "uncontrollable" factors of New York's bad geography and bad weather; storms not a problem elsewhere in the country often impede New York flights because of its location on the eastern seaboard. And the airports' outdated runway configurations mean fewer jets are landing each hour than at modern facilities.

And nearly six years post 9/11, air congestion is at an all-time high, with nearly 1.4 million flights passing through New York airspace last year, said the FAA.

"If an airport is scheduled at maximum capacity all day, and you have delays at any time, you can never recover from it," said R. John Hansman, an air travel expert at MIT.

Improvements Possible

The FAA is finalizing approval of a new flight pattern for the corridor between Delaware and Connecticut, which officials hope will reduce delays by 200,000 hours a year. Oh, the plan faces opposition from some communities under those routes.

The airlines and FAA are also pressing Congress to authorize a multibillion-dollar upgrade of the nation's air traffic control system with a high-tech replacement that would utilize global-positioning satellites to coordinate traffic, which woud allow aircraft to fly closer together. Unfortunately, the system wouldn't be available everywhere until at least 2025.

And in an effort add runway options to the New York area, the Port Authority is purchasing Stewart International Airport, 60 miles north of the city.

FMI: www.panynj.gov, www.faa.gov, www.bts.gov
Read more on the source at: The Aero-News Network Read More..

House votes to delay passport rule

WASHINGTON -- Outrage caused by passport application delays is fueling a drive by Congress to postpone requiring Americans to have the documents to re-enter the U.S. from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda.

The State Department has been flooded with applications since new rules requiring passports for air travelers went into effect in January. The resulting backlog has caused delays of up to three months for passports and ruined or delayed the travel plans of thousands of people.

In response, the government last week temporarily waived a passport requirement for air travel, provided people can demonstrate they've applied.

But the Homeland Security Department is pressing ahead to require passports of everyone driving across the border into Canada or Mexico beginning in January 2008 -- a rule that could lead to an even bigger increase in demand.

A 379-45 House vote Friday to delay the rules for 17 months matches a provision included in the Senate's version of a homeland security spending measure, approved by the Appropriations Committee on Thursday.

The Bush administration opposes delaying the rules, but the big House vote suggests its opposition can be overcome.

"Nobody can say with a straight face that the federal government is ready for this," said Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio. "My amendment simply asks the DHS to slow down and get it right this time."

By ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press
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Charlotte-Douglas to add runway

CHARLOTTE -- Crews are clearing the way for what will be Charlotte-Douglas International Airport’s third parallel runway.

Airport management took members of the media on a tour Friday of the construction, with phase one of the project having already begun last month.

Since then, about 600 acres of land have been cleared. The project is still roughly three years from completion.

The airport’s aviation director said when it’s completed, the new runway will be a great asset for the airlines and their passengers.

“It saves the airlines money, roughly $38 million at today’s traffic level,” said Airport Aviation Director Jerry Orr. “And it saves the passenger a lot of time and time is the essence of air travel.”

By: News 14 Carolina Web Staff
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New York flights late the most

When it comes to getting people to places on time, no airports in the country have done a worse job this year than New York's.

Between January and April, 38 percent of all flights at Newark Liberty, John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia were either late or canceled, leading to disruptions nationwide. And when planes were late, they were really late.

Folks unlucky enough to be on one of the 15,480 delayed flights from Newark left the ground an average 95 minutes after their scheduled departure time, according to federal figures. The 14,752 late arrivals at LaGuardia were, on average, an hour tardy.

Those statistics come as no surprise to air travelers. Scenes of delayed passengers sleeping on terminal floors or sitting endlessly on parked planes have become weekly occurrences.

The question is, can anyone fix it?

A variety of government agencies and aviation experts will take their best shot at the problem in the coming months, including a high-level task force convened by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The group will include airline executives, state officials and other experts, and will study, among other things, ways to maximize runway use and get planes in and out more quickly.

More than easy travel to and from New York is at stake. The city's airports are a vital cog in the nation's aviation network, and bad delays here have a habit of rippling far and wide.

''This impacts the entire country,'' said JetBlue Airways Corp. Chief Executive Officer Dave Barger, a task force member. As goes Kennedy, he quipped, so goes the nation.

Experts say the panel's job won't be easy. A variety of uncontrollable factors handicap New York's airports from the get-go.

Bad weather and bad geography are two of them. Minor storms that wouldn't be a problem elsewhere often block New York flights because of where the city sits on the eastern seaboard.

And the airports have outdated runway configurations, meaning they can land fewer jets per hour than modern facilities like the ones in Atlanta and Denver.

Air congestion is at an all-time high. Nearly 1.4 million flights passed through the region's airspace last year, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

''If an airport is scheduled at maximum capacity all day, and you have delays at any time, you can never recover from it,'' said R. John Hansman, director of MIT's International Center for Air Transportation.

By David B. Caruso Of The Associated Press
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Economy, gas prices send people flying

With new nonstop flights on the horizon, the number of passengers flying in and out of Wichita Mid-Continent Airport in 2007 could set a record. "I think we're going to see a good year if not a record year," Valerie Wise, air service manager at Mid-Continent, said Monday.

Passenger traffic at the airport has risen for the past seven months. For the year, traffic is up 5 percent.

The airport set a record for May, with the number of passengers rising 7 percent over May 2006. With 142,805 passengers last month, traffic beat the previous record set in May 2004.

That's a change from 2006, when traffic for the year declined 1.8 percent from 2005.

It's difficult to know the exact reasons more people are flying from Wichita, Wise said.

But the economy is strong and fares are good, she said. In addition, higher fuel prices may keep passengers from driving to Kansas City to catch a flight.

Linda Parker, who lives in Rose Hill, said she prefers flying from Mid-Continent, although she has flown from Kansas City and Oklahoma City before. On Monday, Parker was returning from Hawaii.

"It's just easier for us," Parker said of using Mid-Continent.

Wichita's traffic growth mirrors a national trend. Domestically, passenger traffic has risen 4 percent for the first four months of the year, while international traffic is up 7 percent, according to Airports Council International.

Wichita's increase this year is similar to increases at Kansas City International Airport. Traffic there has risen about 5 percent for 2007 over the first four months of last year.

Traffic has declined slightly, however, at Tulsa International Airport and Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City.

"I'd like to say our marketing and advertising is a factor," Wise said. "We're just very pleased with the growth here."

More flights coming

Mid-Continent has had a recent run of announcements of new service.

Allegiant Air added nonstop service to Orlando May 22 and is adding evening flights to Las Vegas for the summer.

Allegiant's direct flights to Wichita from Las Vegas is why JoHann Wylie rarely flies into Kansas City or Oklahoma City.

"It's less expensive and saves time," said Wylie, a former Wichitan who now lives in Las Vegas.

"That's the quickest way to get between Vegas and Wichita."

United Airlines and Delta Connection are each beginning nonstop service to Los Angeles. United's service begins Sept. 5, while Delta's service, provided by ExpressJet, starts July 1.

And Wichita is in the running for new service to Denver.

When Frontier Airlines announces the cities it is adding to its route structure, airport officials are optimistic Wichita will be among them. Frontier is expected to make an announcement soon.

The airport continuously works on air service, Wise said. Airlines have limited resources and Wichita must compete with airports across the country, she said.

The airport provides incentives for new and existing airlines that add new nonstop destinations or increase service. Those incentives can include temporary waivers of landing fees, terminal rents and other charges in addition to marketing assistance.

Only Allegiant is taking advantage of the airport's incentive program. Delta has not yet formally asked for the incentives, Wise said.

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Heathrow 2.0: Pact Shakes Airport

London Heathrow is gearing up for a massive reorganization next year, when on March 27 British Airways will move into the new $8.6 billion Terminal 5, and the rest of the airport's terminals remake themselves into airline alliance hubs.

The airport reshuffling is scheduled to begin three days before the Open Skies deal between the United States and the European Union goes into effect, which could radically change competition on U.S.-Heathrow routes. Currently restricted to BA, Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines and United Airlines, the Open Skies agreement allows others to launch transatlantic Heathrow service.

Delta, Continental, Northwest airlines and BMI British Midland all want to do so, but much will depend on whether they can secure takeoff and landing slots at Heathrow. This will present no challenge for BMI, which owns 12 percent of the slots at the airport, but for prospective new entrants, it is an acute problem. Only 3 percent of Heathrow's potential slots are unallocated, all of them at times unattractive for transatlantic schedules.

New entrants therefore are obliged to buy expensive slots from incumbent carriers. "It is difficult to get hold of slots that will make a meaningful schedule," a senior executive for a U.S. airline told BTN. "The prices for the good ones are astronomical. Pairs are going for up to $50 million."

Some carriers are predicting the volume of new transatlantic service from Heathrow will be limited, as will its pricing impact. BMI said published business class fares to the United States from Heathrow are currently 49 percent higher than from Frankfurt or Amsterdam. "I don't think pricing will plummet, but it will get more competitive," said the same U.S. airline executive.

The other complicating factor is whether passengers will want to fly to Heathrow at all when there are three other nearby airports serving the United States. With 67 million passengers per year using facilities designed to accommodate 45 million, Heathrow long has been bursting at the seams, but since the thwarted bomb plot of Aug. 10, 2006, the situation has deteriorated. Increased screening of passengers has frequently created security lines that take 60 to 90 minutes to pass through. BAA, the airport's operator, admits the service is "intolerable" and deterring passengers. The vice president of corporate travel at one major financial services company told BTN her travelers have begun using Eos Airlines at London Stansted.

"Heathrow is horrible," the executive said. "I never thought we would get our people flying from Stansted, but now we are."

BAA has hired 500 security officers and increased screening facilities by 25 percent since Aug. 10. BAA claimed clearing security now takes less than 10 minutes 90 percent of the time. "It has improved, but there is still a problem at peak times," said Mike Carrivick, CEO of the U.K. Board of Airline Representatives. "There is no doubt Heathrow has lost a degree of transfer traffic because of its unattractiveness." BAA warned delays could rise again during the peak summer leisure season.

Congestion should be eased with the opening of T5, which is five times larger than BA's current main base at Heathrow, T4. T5 is equipped to dispatch 30 million passengers per year, and its baggage carousels can handle 12,000 bags per hour. Passengers are being promised an easier journey from curbside or train platform to departure gate. "They will move forward through the building in a logical manner, eliminating the types of confusing doubling back and cross-flow queues in the old T1 and T4 buildings," said BA commercial director Robert Boyle.

BA will switch 90 percent of its operations to T5. The remaining routes—Australia, Barcelona, Helsinki, Lisbon, Madrid and Nice—will be housed in T3, which will become the terminal for partners in the Oneworld alliance. SkyTeam will take T4 and Star Alliance T1. BAA is waiting to learn whether it can close T2 and build a new terminal on the site called Heathrow East, which eventually also would house traffic from T1. If Heathrow East does get the go-ahead, by 2012 most passengers at Heathrow will use terminals not open today.

Alliance carriers also plan tighter cooperation to take advantage of Open Skies, including BMI and United filing an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation to operate a merged transatlantic service from the airport, and Delta—without a Heathrow presence—negotiating to use Air France's Heathrow slot to provide transatlantic service, with Air France and possibly other SkyTeam carriers as codeshare partners.

"We already have antitrust immunity with Air France. Now we want a four-way joint venture with KLM and Northwest," said Armin Venencie, U.K. sales director for Delta. "Open Skies has signaled a change in the climate on antitrust immunity." SkyTeam may try to extend the joint venture to include Alitalia and Czech Airlines.

By Amon Cohen
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