Now You Can Get Euros, Dollars and Pounds in Airport ATMs

For overseas travelers, one of the traditions is the age-old debate: Should I change dollars into Euros or pounds at the airport, or should I wait until we get to a bank in the city. Almost every time I travel I ask myself this, and then want foreign currency and have to find a bank.

At London's major airports, the choice is getting a little easier. Now they have installed ATMs that dispense both dollars, euros and pounds, at the same exchange rate as the Travelex or Forex bureau. Plus they will be open 24-hours instead of just airport hours.

The innovation follows similar moves at Luton and Gatwick airports.

So the next time a person you're traveling with conveniently never gets around to converting his dollars into Euros and you're footing all the bills on credit, nudge him toward that ATM machine you passed in the terminal.

Buffalo, Buffalo, No Place to Park

In Buffalo there is a familiar song in the air. "Give me more spaces, give me more room, give me more places to park the varooom."

Well they might not be singing that exactly but the Niagara Frontier Transporation Authority is undertaking a study to alleviate a parking crunch. The Buffalo News has the story in today's paper.

“It’s a good problem to have. It demonstrates that business at the airport is booming,” said NFTA Chairman Gregory Stamm. “But it’s something we have to address so we remain the clear air travel choice for area residents and travelers from Southern Ontario.”

In 2006, the airport surpassed the 5 million passenger mark for the first time, a flier count that was not forecast to be reached until 2020. Revised forecasts now anticipate hitting the 6 million mark in 2014. Sounds like parking in Buffalo is going to be a lot harder in the years to come.

“The new terminal has plenty of room for that growth; it’s parking that will become a problem if we don’t address it,” Stamm said.

While on most days fliers will find plenty of room in the Buffalo airport’s 6,900 spaces, during peak travel periods it can be difficult to hunt down a parking slot. A prime example of the space crunch came during the Spring Break/Easter period, when the NFTA needed to lease 500 spaces behind the former Radisson Hotel on Genesee Street to accommodate the overflow crowd.

“We ran out of room and were able to find a solution, but we know as the passenger count grows, we need a formal strategy to make adequate parking available,” said William Vanecek, the NFTA’s aviation director.

Saving Time Can Be The Best Perk of All

Flying from different airports around the world provides a wide range of new and innovative ideas to make traveling easier. Common sense sometimes provides simple yet substantial time savings, and rarely are these ideas implemented in the US.

In Copenhagen, for example, the jetways divide for the three classes of passengers so that you enter the airplane near where your seat is. Business and EconomyPlus, on SAS, for example board on a separate jetway from coach. So you end up not having to have a hoard of people passing by you as you settle in for your business class champagne.

Just last week I flew out of Bologna airport, in Italy's beautiful and food-filled Emilia Romagna province. At the Marconi airport, the business class lounge doesn't offer much. WiFi costs money, there were only chips to eat, and there was not even a cocktail. But there was one thing that made this mediocre lounge well worth it.

A special exit takes travelers directly to their own little security screening area, with two attendants on hand for a semi-private security check. The exit takes you right out onto the concourse, and boom, you're at the gate.

On the way there, you pass by the huge crowd that is still waiting in one of five lines to have their carry-ons scanned.

I predict that as more and more people can afford the extra cost of business class, either by paying a fee or using the airmiles, the perks will more often relate to time saving instead of luxury.

Westover Air Base Awaits the New Airline Skybus

My hometown paper, well sort of, published a story today about the new airline servicing a local airforce base in Chicopee MA. The Republican of Springfield reports that on July 16, the start-up and famously cheap new airline will inaugurate service between the base and Florida, California and Ohio.

"We're really excited about this," said Blair, who is also president and chief executive officer of Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council. "We're trying to demonstrate that airports are not just for the convenience of passengers, they're economic drivers."

Skybus will offer once-daily flights on Airbus A319 jets to Columbus, Ohio, from the airport, which includes 188 acres in the civilian portion of Westover Air Reserve Base. Skybus will offer 10 seats on each flight at $10. Most other tickets will cost $30 to $50. From Columbus, travelers can connect to several other places in the country, including California and Florida. The jets seat 144 passengers.

Wagner asked if other similar passenger carriers are expected to come to Westover. Blair said that in six months, if Skybus is a success, the airport will start talking to other airlines. But he stressed that Westover will never become a major airport.

Murray said smaller airports will increasingly see a demand from airlines because the larger airports, like Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, will be at capacity in the coming years.

Biking to the Airport in Portland

I've never thought about bike parking at the airport. But leave it to the folks in Portland to think about it and actually do something. Pretty cool!

PDX Airport will be getting a new multi-use path so that walkers, bikers and others can make their way to the plane in a green way. Here is a snip from Bike Portland's website.

"With ample and secure bike parking, a dedicated bike path directly to the terminal, and with a staff that responds to bicycle concerns, Portland International Airport is known as the most bike-friendly airport in the U.S..

Now, they’re making it even easier to fly-by-bike with the addition of a brand new multi-use path.

According to Port of Portland project manager Jason Gately, the new path will connect the airport’s Frontage Rd (which leads into the terminal) and the Mt. Hood Overpass with the Marine Dr multi-use path.

Gately says they are just waiting for a permit from the Bureau of Environmental Services before they begin construction. The project is expected to begin in late September and should be nearly complete by November 2007.

This is a great bicycle connection that opens up new possibilities for folks who ride to the airport. I’ve done so several times and I highly recommend it! If you’re curious what it’s like, I reported about my experience here.

Gately says they are just waiting for a permit from the Bureau of Environmental Services before they begin construction. The project is expected to begin in late September and should be nearly complete by November 2007.

In Westchester, Travelers Prefer Towncars to Buses

You can bring passengers to a bus, but I guess you can't make them board it. Officials in Westchester county are finding few takers for their new airport parking bus. While the 22-minute ride on a comfortable shuttle bus was pleasant and smooth, few airline passengers tried it.

The AirLink bus departs hourly from the White Plains train station and will operate seven days a week.

The county started AirLink yesterday to help ease crowding at the Westchester County Airport parking garage, which has been filled to overflowing daily since JetBlue joined AirTran at the airport at the end of March. Airline passenger traffic has more than doubled since a year ago, putting pressure on the county to build another garage. For now, the county is encouraging travelers to take a cab or car service or get a ride to and from the airport and has opened an overflow lot at the airport that is a short ride from the passenger terminal.

Black Town Cars ringed the airport as their drivers awaited arriving passengers. A father and young son sat in a convertible, waiting for family members due to arrive on a JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. A college student in an Abercrombie shirt in the arrival lounge wheeled a set of golf clubs and was trailed by a Town Car driver wearing a cap. And a flight crew walked past the AirLink bus, bound for a hotel shuttle bus of their own.

No one expects business travelers with expense accounts to jump on an AirLink bus. Nor will many families heading to Disney World be likely passengers. An attempt to identify a potential passenger proved fruitless.

Salley said the county would monitor ridership over high-travel periods, such as the July Fourth, Labor Day, Columbus Day and Thanksgiving weekends, along with average travel days, to determine whether to continue the service beyond this year. Operating AirLink will cost the county about $690,000 through the end of this year, he said.

AirLink meets Metro-North trains that stop in White Plains on the Harlem Line. The AirLink bus stop is just outside the station entrance.

AirLink driver Alberto Chavez said he had gotten positive reactions yesterday from riders, who came from the Bronx, Mount Vernon and elsewhere in Westchester. The county anticipates that airline passengers coming from New York City and college students will use AirLink, along with some airport employees.

Bradley Reaches Out to the Riches of Fairfield County

Living and traveling out of the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts is a pleasure. That's because we can usually fly from Hartford/Springfield's Bradley International Airport. Today the Associated Press reports that this relatively small airport is making a big pitch to capture more business in the wealthy enclave of Fairfield county, Connecticut.

"On July 1, Northwest Airlines will introduce daily nonstop service from Bradley to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, where the U.S. carrier and its Dutch airline partner KLM have a hub with connections to other European cities, Africa and India.

Bradley's marketing campaign is headed by Greenwich resident L. Scott Frantz who said that despite the proximity of his house to New York, he recently had to leave four hours before his flight at Newark Liberty International Airport because of highway gridlock and long check-in lines.

And New York's other two airports weren't much better, he said. "My experience going to Kennedy and LaGuardia, it's typically a zoo," Frantz said. "You compare that to going to Bradley, it's like night and day."

Bradley, which is nearly 100 miles from Greenwich, is more distant than New York airports for travelers in Fairfield County. But the state-owned airport in Windsor Locks offers ample parking, shorter security lines and easier highway access, Frantz said.

Turning Highways Into Train Tracks in Phoenix

In Phoenix, planners are developing ideas to build a 'people mover' train instead of finishing a state highway expansion. The concept makes sense: eliminate the traffic that comes with pick-ups and drop-offs by moving the airport parking farther away from the terminals and providing free trains to take just the people into the terminals. One frequent traveler said she'd be willing to give it a shot.

Mary Jane Rogers, spokeswoman for JPMorgan Chase in Arizona, said she likes the idea of being able to hop a train from 44th and Washington streets to catch a flight.

"If it were so convenient that given my lack of time management, which often puts me in a situation where I pay premium prices to park right by the terminal, I'd use it," Rogers said.

The train is expected to start operating in 2013, using a highway once known as the Sky Harbor Expressway as a bed for railroad tracks. The state wants to give the road to Phoenix instead of expanding it as was once planned.

Parking at Fenway: Being Creative

Chip Ainsworth writes a sports column for the Recorder in Greenfield, MA. He still manages to avoid the high price of parking at the now-very cool Fenway Park.

"Parking without paying at a Red Sox game is always an adventure. In the '70s, my favorite spot was along a narrow dirt road wedged between several Boston University dormitories and behind a Howard Johnson Motor Lodge on Commonwealth Avenue. The spot served me well until the day I arrived back from a game to find only an oil stain where my car had been.

In the lot where my car had been towed, the dispatcher was busy screaming at one of his drivers. He was about 6-foot-5 and weighed 250 pounds, a Shrek-Hulk Hogan sort of hybrid. He looked at me, eyes wide, face red and veins bulging, and I politely asked if he took VISA."

Fast forward to a recent Sox-Yankees game in Boston.

"To avoid paying $30 to park, I pulled off Storrow Drive onto Commonwealth Ave and went back over the BU bridge to an empty lot owned by MIT in Cambridge. From there I hoofed it back over the bridge, across Comm Ave onto Montfort St. and on toward the light standards that towered over the ballpark." No word on whether he was towed again in 2007.

"I was with my son Mat, who told of an interesting experience he had had in Amsterdam last March. Celebrating St. Patrick's day, he'd lost his passport and had to get a duplicate at the American embassy. At the airport, a customs official noted the passport had been issued outside the country and told him to step into another room. "It was me and about 30 Middle Easterners," said Mat.

Santa Fe Gears Up to Accept Regional Jets

In Santa Fe, NM, things are looking up as the airport there gears up to expand to accept regional jets. In the past travelers had to fly to Albuquerque and drive an hour, according to Jim Montman, the airport director there.

The capital city of New Mexico is in the market for expanded commercial airline service following a certification upgrade of the Santa Fe Municipal Airport in early June. The status change of the airport allows an increase in the capacity of scheduled commercial airline flights from aircraft of 9 to 30 seats, to commercial airline aircraft with unlimited seats.

However, the airport is only able to support airline aircraft having up to 59 seats due to facility and other constraints. The size equates to relatively small, so called regional jets. This opens the airport to a new level of commercial air service by higher passenger capacity airline aircraft, catering to Santa Fe's business, political, and tourism travelers.

Presently, air travelers to Santa Fe can choose between commercial airline service into the Albuquerque airport and making the one hour drive to Santa Fe or flying directly into the Santa Fe airport from Denver in a 19 passenger plane on one of 3 daily scheduled flights by Great Lakes Airlines.

Airport usage is approximately 10,000 passengers per year currently, however the airport has boarded as many as 52,000 airline passengers in the recent past. There is a clear potential for as many as 80,000 annual passengers arriving in Santa Fe with regional jet and other service. This would mean only an additional six or seven flights per day. Non-commercial aircraft equal or larger in size to regional jets have been using the airport for many years.

"The potential for upgraded commercial airline service is clearly there, and attaining this status allows us to tap the existing market with regional jets and other similar-sized commercial airline aircraft," said Montman. "The Santa Fe Municipal Airport is currently in contact with a number of airlines to provide this high level of service."

Private Corporate Jets Fill Chester's Skies

Just outside of Philadephia, a suburban airport is booming with corporate jets. Many businesses are realizing that this way of traveling has its advantages. The Philadelphia Inquirer had this story.

"By chartering a jet, Roger Moog, aviation planner said, companies are choosing productivity over frequent flight delays and long security lines.

"It's all based on what a businessperson's time is worth," he said. It costs $1,600 an hour to charter a small Learjet and $4,000 an hour for larger aircraft such as a Dassault Falcon 900.

"If you fill the airplane up" with people, Malchione said, "it becomes competitive with an airline ticket. And you can conduct meetings all the way. That's hard to do on an airliner."

In two years, the number of jets based at the airfield has doubled to 44, and many are owned or leased by corporations, airport manager Gary L. Hudson said.

The presence of JetDirect Aviation L.L.C., a major jet-aircraft management company, has contributed to the surge, Hudson said.

"It's in the part of the greater metropolitan area that's experienced the greatest growth, both in corporate and individual wealth," said Gregory Campbell, president of JetDirect. "CEOs tend to fly out of airports that are close to their homes, so it happens to be a very good location."

An airport neighbor, Keystone Helicopter Corp., attracts buyers from around the world. They land their jets at Carlson when checking on the progress of their custom-made helicopters.

"A lot of people don't realize you can take off from Chester County and go directly to Europe," said Albert A. Koenig, chairman of the Chester County Area Airport Authority, owner of the airport.

Carlson is also a bargain.

Hangar fees, fuel and maintenance are probably 50 percent cheaper than they are at Philadelphia International, Malchione said.

With 50,000 takeoffs and landings a year - roughly 10,000 by jets - Chester County is also one of the busiest regional airports for general aviation, the term the Federal Aviation Administration uses for unscheduled flights that don't require a ticket to board.

Copenhagen's Airport Innovates for Security

One of the best things about being a travel editor is that I get to experience airports and airport parking around the world.

This morning I checked into the airport in Copenhagen. One of the nicest things here are the hardwood floors throughout the terminal. Having this dark wood instead of the typical linoleum makes the whole terminal feel more homey and less stark.

The other nice thing is the lighting...it is downward tilted halogen, not the bright flourescent that we usually find in US airports.

Checking through security, CPH has another innovation. When you enter the security area, the conveyor belt uses low flat bins to put your stuff in that goes through the x-ray. After you get through, a man takes the empty bins and slides them down a conveyor that goes underneath the security area. So they don't have to continually pick up and bring the bins by hand back to the waiting passengers.

This system works better than what we have in the US. Now if they just offered free wireless, well then we'd truly love this airport!

Face Scanning Results a Mixed Bag

Face scanning technology "has been touted by manufacturers as the perfect device for recognizing terrorists in airports," read a report on Wired.com a few weeks ago. In theory, the systems use surveillance cameras to scan crowds for bad guys and sound an alarm when a match is made between a live person and the system's database of known criminals.

In Palm Beach Florida, the airport there has tried out a system called Visionics FaceIt but so far it has not been a success.

"The system failed to correctly identify airport employees 53 percent of the time, according to test data that was obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union under Florida's open records law."

"The preliminary results at the Palm Beach International Airport confirm that the use of facial recognition technology is simply ineffective and of no value," said Randall Marshall, legal director of the state ACLU chapter.

Despite the technological failure, law enforcement officials still belive that having a system like this is a deterrent for criminal activity.

"The decision makers will not be reading a report from the ACLU, they'll be looking at the real data," said Visionics spokesman Meir Kahtan.

He said that similar tests at the Dallas-Fort Worth and Boston Logan airports showed a 90 percent success rate and insisted that the poor results at the Palm Beach International airport were due to incorrect lighting. Results for the other pilot programs were not immediately available.

Alternate Airports: Another Clever Site from JJ

Arthur Frommer is a legend in the travel world. Diminutive, shy, brash and evasive, I've seen him whizzing past our tradeshow booth at the Adventure Expo a few years in a row. He's just got too many people to see, things to write about, and in May he wrote about a website published by a buddy of mine: Johnny Jet.

The Jetster, as he is known by GoNOMAD folks, is always on the go, always on his latest trip. But while he's almost always on the road, he does have time to create interesting and informative websites. Frommer loved his site called Alternate Airports.

This site lists major airports and then provides suggestions on lesser known nearby fields. Many travelers don't realize that runways such as the one at Westover Air Force base, in Chicopee MA, now offers passenger service. This is true with hundreds of other lesser known airports, and Johnny's site lists them all.

I can predict that if Skybus, the new airline that is based on Ryanair, succeeds, there will be more start-ups like this, making use of lesser known fields. This site will become more and more valuable as the crowded skies seek more places from which to get planes up in the air.

Grand Rapids Expands--and Parking is Key

Grand Rapids Airport in Michigan is expanding, and parking is playing a big role. At the bottom of this story it says that parking costs will jump. That's an even better reason to use the APR website to find cheaper parking just outside the airport gates.

The drive into the airport will be straightened; the 600-foot drive that runs the length of the terminal will be covered with a glass-and-steel canopy that mimics the wave-like roof of downtown's DeVos Place; and two skywalks will lead passengers from the ramp to the terminal. Airport Business had the story.

Short-term parking and all rental-car facilities will take up the bottom level of the ramp. The plans also call for a station for The Rapid bus service.

Airport officials said the ramp is needed to meet growing needs and to make a good first impression on visitors.

The airport will contribute $20 million to the project and will pay for the rest through a bond, which the county board must approve. The airport plans to repay the bond through parking and rental car fees, Koslosky said.

That will mean an increase in parking fees, he said. He expects long-term rates, for example, to jump to between $10 and $15 a day. Now, visitors pay $8 a day.

http://www.airportbusiness.com/online/article.jsp?id=11642&siteSection=4

When a Senator Calls, CEO's Answer the Phone

Chuck Schumer is a powerful man...a Senator who can pick up the phone and get the CEOs of many companies to take the call. He proved this the other day when the Senator visited Plattsburg in upper New York State and rallied the locals, encouraging them to try and attract more airlines to the former air force base there.

He made a convicing pitch. After all, he helped bring Jet Blue, Air Trans and Delta to Stewart Airport, located at another closed air force base in Newburgh. Now this former base is poised to be considered NYC's fourth airport, with hundreds of thousands of passengers each year.

He cited Plattsburg's nearly 12,000 foot long run way. It's big enough to accommodate any passenger plane flying today.

He said that Montreal was the key to Plattsburg airport's success. The big metropolitan area has an airport burdened with high costs, and a bad location, so if they just marketed to the North, good things like aerospace jobs and new carriers would come.