San Francisco--A Great City for Southwest Airlines

Sitting in the window of the GoNOMAD Internet Cafe in South Deerfield, I read good news for shoppers in the Wall Street Journal. Southwest Airlines, the nation's most famously frugal airline, has brought their service back to San Francisco after a six year hiatus. The airline will offer service to four cities: San Diego, Las Vegas, Chicago and Los Angeles. They are now advertising SF-LAX for $39 each way, with 21-day advance purchase.

JetBlue, upstart Virgin America and Aer Lingus are among the other carriers who have recently parked their planes and left their hearts in the city by the bay. While Southwest flies out of the nearby Oakland airport, they were losing business because Bay Area flyers wanted to fly from the metro area's biggest airport.

So good news for those of you who need to fly out of SFO. And while you're looking at tickets, reserve your airport parking ahead of time by clicking the link.

One More Thing You Won't Worry About Forgetting

How many times have you been driving to the airport and you do that automatic check your pockets reaction? Do I have my passport? My airline tickets? Enough cash? Well very soon, you won't ever have to worry about that second item because there will not be any more paper tickets.

IATA, the organization that is in charge of air travel has had a goal for 2008 of eliminating paper airline tickets and passed a milestone last week--they will no longer order the printing of
tickets for passengers.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said it had placed its last order for paper tickets, which it issues for 60,000 travel agents when they book flights for customers. From June 1, 2008, all tickets will be delivered electronically.

"This is ‘last call’ for paper tickets," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO. "E-ticketing went from 16 per cent in June 2004 to 84 per cent today. And in just 277 more days the paper ticket will become a collector’s item."

IATA currently issues more than 400 million tickets every year. The move to electronic tickets will save the industry $3 billion and save the equivalent of 50,000 mature trees each year.
Giovanni Bisignani said: "We are changing an industry with tangible benefits for travellers, agents, airlines and the environment. Consumers enjoy the convenience and flexibility of paperless travel. Agents have the opportunity to broaden the scope of their business and serve their customers remotely."

Turbo Props Are the Sexy New Bird in the Sky

Time Magazine had a feature this week about an old kind of plane that's making a big comeback. That's because this new breed of turboprop plane gets 30-40% better fuel economy and holds eight more passengers than one of the popular 70-seat regional jets that many airlines are flying in the US.

One Alaskan carrier, Horizon Air, wanted a fleet of small jets. But the wait was long, so they settled, begrudgingly, to 12 of the Turboprops, made by Bombardier, in Canada. Now they are thrilled and 'we just look smarter and smarter.' A big part of the breakthrough is the six-bladed propeller. This makes for much less cabin vibration, and coupled with other new technologies that mitigate sound, after it's aloft the Q400 is 4 db quieter than a jet.

So sales are brisk, because with those eight seats and that fuel savings, there's simply more money to be made for routes under 500 miles on these turboprop planes.

Bombardier is building something that airlines will love even more. A 90-seat turboprop is coming out in just a few years. It will be the biggest one ever. Oh, and another thing publicity conscious airlines love about turboprops--they emit half the cO2 that a jet spews out.

Airport Capacity Lags Behind Flyer's Demand

A story in Aviation Week reports on an FAA study that finds that 14 airports and eight metropolitan areas in the US will need new capacity to handle the anticipated growth in air traffic through 2025.

We have been blogging about the many protests and court injunctions that are raised each time airport planners propose expanding runways and building new parking lots. It seems that almost every one of these projects has determined foes. Yet the fact is--we need much more capacity to serve a public that is determined to fly.

Here is a snip from the report: "US Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters lauded Atlanta for investing aggressively to keep pace with air travel by opening its fifth runway, a new tower and taxiway and construction of a new international terminal. And while that expansion has put Atlanta in good stead in the short term, in the longer term, "air service will suffer if this region doesn't find new ways to handle growing demand and begin looking at building a new airport," she said.

FAA has been working with San Diego for years, as Lindberg Field is a single-runway airport with no room to build and reaching the limits of its capacity. The agency notes that Las Vegas is also running out of capacity but has identified Ivanpah as the site for a future airport.

Work continues on finding a south suburban replacement airport for Chicago as Midway will have exhausted its capacity by 2005. The completion of the O'Hare Modernization Program will help augment capacity for the region, but a new southern airport will be a needed asset."

Monorail! Monorail! Not in Providence

In Providence, they almost got a monorail. You might remember one of the most famous episodes of the Simpsons, about a man who came to Springfield and to the tune of "The Music Man" conned the people into building a big dumb monorail.

At TF Green Airport, long delayed plans call for a $222.5 million facility that once actually did include a monorail. But the idea was scrapped in favor of moving sidewalks. The distance is substantial, the facility will straddle train tracks and connect to the airport's terminal over an 1250 foot long elevated sky bridge. They broke ground a year ago, but in days construction will begin.

The big project has been stalled more times than an Edsel, wrangling over funding and getting rental car companies to come to terms and Amtrak's resistance to let them use their tracks. While those trains won't stop at the station, commuter rail will carry passengers to Boston.

Their competitors in Manchester NH Airport (called Manchester-Boston for marketing purposes) are fighting back. They offer a free shuttle bus from downtown Boston, and are looking into a rail connection from Boston to the New Hampshire airport.

Waiting for Your Luggage--With 524 Other Travelers

The world's biggest passenger plane should be able to land at most major world airports, reports AirportBusiness.com. But the trick is still how to get that many bags and that many people quickly and safely off of the plane and out of the terminal with all of their bags and their wits about them.

"Airbus is counting on a glitch-free introduction of the 525-seat plane after a series of delays caused shares in its parent company, European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co. NV, to plunge and wiped billions of euros (dollars) off profit forecasts.

While Airbus insists that the A380 can operate on all runways, some airports have been enlarging runways to accommodate the plane's larger wingspan and making other modifications as part of facility upgrades.

The cost of expanding runways and bridges and building new boarding lounges suitable for the massive A380 has run into millions of dollars for airports in San Francisco, London, Sydney, Singapore and Frankfurt.

The A380, scheduled for its first delivery to Singapore Airlines Ltd. in October, has already made test flights to more than 40 airports, including Paris Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt, New York John F. Kennedy, Los Angeles and Sydney.

How to Find Your Car When You Park at the Airport

Jefferson George writes travel advice and provides these insights from readers about how to remember where you parked when you leave your car in airport parking lots.

"Observer readers offered tips on how to navigate the parking lots at Charlotte's airport and, more importantly, remember where you parked. Multiple people advised writing the name of the lot and letter and number of the row where your car is parked on your ticket and taking it with you. Other suggestions -- from how to find your car to how the airport can reduce confusion -- are below:

"With your cell phone camera, take a picture of where you parked and the shuttle stop with the letter. When you are back in Charlotte, show it to shuttle driver, and they'll know where it is." Altyn Cotell

"Although it has gotten harder due to crowded lots, I would always park at the same letter in long-term parking so I would not have to remember a new one each time." Danielle Mathieson

"I have always experienced long delays in getting my bag from baggage claim. Then I'd waste more time waiting for the parking shuttle bus. Now I get off the plane and head directly to the shuttle bus. I get dropped off at my car, then come back to the terminal and park my car in hourly parking. I head inside just as my bags are at baggage claim, get my bag, then head back to my car and leave. Best of all, the first 30 minutes of hourly parking are free, so I save time without sacrificing money!" Lee Freedman

Vacation Choice? Philly Airport, Of Course!

Dave Boyer writes in the Philadelphia Inquirer this week about a new vacation destination: Philly Airport.

"If you haven't planned your summer vacation yet, I recommend a day trip to Philadelphia International Airport. Too many travelers consider the airport a place to begin exciting trips to more enjoyable locales, such as Paris or Paducah. This attitude is needlessly ambitious. Your vacation will be much less frustrating if you think of Philly airport as your final destination. Go, pay for parking, look around a bit, and return home refreshed at the end of the day.

The average temperature in the airport in August is 85 degrees, so wear loose-fitting clothing. And comfortable walking shoes are recommended for that invigorating dash from Terminal C to Terminal F when your first flight gets canceled.

English is spoken at the airport, but the locals have their own unique dialect. "System saturation" means the airport can't handle all the flights in a timely manner! "Operational failure" has a variety of translations, from "flat tire" to "flaming engine."

The airport does not have a pool for kids. But it does have a spacious sauna that doubles as a shuttle bus between terminals.

Chez Dour offers small, expensive sandwiches of uncertain origin filling a cheerless display case. The clerk behind the counter gives off an air of listless indifference, just as they do in Paris! Two turkey wraps and a bottle of water cost $18, as pricey as any highfalutin bistro on the Left Bank. And we are on the left bank - of the Delaware, if you're facing upstream.

Then it's back to Gate C25, where you can settle onto a padded bench and crack open a good book while you await confirmation that you're not going anywhere. The gun-metal-gray vinyl of the benches is shredded, and bleeds foam stuffing. Oh, if these benches could talk! No doubt they would tell of thousands of weary pilgrims who tried in vain to sleep here as they contemplated a better life beyond these walls.

One of the best ways to stay away from such a dangerous place is to plan a day trip to Philadelphia International Airport. The security is tight, and you're in no danger of going anywhere else."

How Early Do You Have to Get Up for Your Flight?

I always cringe when I hear horror stories about how long people have to wait at airports, or how early they have to leave to get to the airport. We have been in Medellin Colombia for a few days, writing an article for the GoNOMAD travel site about this revitalized and misunderstood city.

We traveled with a group of journalists mostly from South America. Our last night here we enjoyed a farewell dinner and most of them headed off to bed. They had to be in the lobby, packed and ready, at 3:30 am!

That is because in Colombia you have to arrive for a departing international flight a full THREE HOURS before departure. So when you factor in the drive up, up, up the steep mountain road to Rio Negro where the big airport is for this city of 4 million, well that means a 3 am wake-up call.

And part of going through security here in Colombia is a full on, no-holes-barred search of everything, both your carry-ons and your checked luggage. It takes so long because they open every suitcase, hold up every shirt, inspect so carefully that the line is very, very slow.

Our trip has some of this inconvenience. We fly into Miami leaving here at 8 am and get to Florida about 11 am. Our connecting flight to Hartford doesn't leave until about 11 pm! So we have a ridiculous layover, and thank god we have a friend in Miami who can come pick us up.

We had the same situation in Los Angeles with a 12-hour layover. We solved this problem by taxiing to the Holiday Inn, where for about $90 we got a room for eight hours with WiFi and sat by the pool until it was time to go back to LAX for our late night flight home.

Virgin America Takes to the Skies

The newest domestic air carrier in the US, Virgin America, made its much ballyhooed debut this week, and while the airline aims to bring "the Virgin way" to the beleaguered US airline industry, there are still a few bugs in the system.

Virgin's fouder Richard Branson has businesses all over the world including airlines, railroads, limousines, and all kinds of other companies. Experts say his strategy is to study an industry carefully, identify sources of consumer dissatisfaction and figure out a way to give customers what they want.

One point of emphasis for Virgin America has been to cater to what David Wilkening of TravelMole.com calls "a traveler's gadget-conscious lifestyle."

The seats have places to plug in laptops and MP3 players and the airline has the nation's first in-flight email and text messaging system. Everyone gets their own touch-screen television monitor with a huge selection of options, and passengers can even text message one another through a seat-to-seat chat system. Passengers in different seats can even play the same video games.

That's the idea, anyway. Humphrey Cheung of TGDaily said he had some trouble finding the right plug for his computer.

"The flight attendants I asked either didn’t know where the plugs were or they mistakenly thought the plugs weren’t installed yet. How’s that for rushed training?"

"The seat back pocket has a handy chart that shows where the plugs are and I’ve got to say that they are in one hell of an awkward spot. They are placed under your seat and you’ve got to navigate your plugs completely by feel to plug your cables in. Good luck in trying to see the plugs during flight because there just isn’t enough space and your neighbor will wonder what you may be doing under your seat."

There is also an automated drink ordering system that's supposed to speed up beverage delivery. And it might, once the passengers and crew get the hang of it.

"The ordering system is a great concept," Cheung writes, "but almost all of the passengers (me included) forgot to confirm the order by tapping a few extra buttons. We all thought that merely tapping the Coke icon would get us a Coke, but like web-based shopping carts you also have to click checkout and confirm."

"The flight attendants brought out the drink cart which had a big LCD screen on top and this is where the real fun begins. The passengers are expecting their drinks without a fuss because they think they’ve ordered it successfully, but the flight attendants had just a few orders showing on their LCD screen. Long story short, the flight attendants scrapped the system and resorted to walking up and down the aisles asking people what they want."

On the plus side, Virgin's low fairs are starting a mini price war with other airlines, which will make air travel even more affordable.

And We Think Our Security is Tough...

If you think we have tough security in airports, try flying in and out of Colombia. I arrived in Medellin, Colombia for a business trip on Saturday night, and I learned about a new dimension of security when we touched down at this high altitude airport about an hour from the city.

The plane landed on a bumpy runway...I have never noticed bumps and dings on any other run way before. It felt like there were little rocks on the tarmac. We entered the terminal and waited for our luggage. It took a while but it was all there, and we grabbed our bags. Then blue uniformed security officers came over and blocked our way. They said we had to show our luggage receipts that they matched up with the numbers on the barcodes of the tags placed there in Hartford.

Then we walked around the corner and we had to have our bags x-rayed, to come into Colombia. My friend Paul kept his carry-on, and was instructed to run that through the x-ray too. We also had to fill out a complicated form that disclosed any and all valuables we were bringing into the country, and any currency that we might be carrying above a certain amount.

So the next time I have to doff my shoes and put my laptop into its own little bin, I'll just smile, and think...well it could be a lot worse!

No Lines at Alaska Air's Re-Imagined Check-in

In yesterday's Wall St. Journal, Alaska Air was praised for their decision to rethink the entire check-in procedure, making their new terminal in Anchorage and soon one in Seattle much more user friendly by hiding the counters. Completion of Alaska's first island at SEATAC is expected before the holiday travel season. Construction on the other two will continue during the holidays but will not affect travel.

Traditional check-in buildings have been long and narrow. The back of the walls have always been where the counters are, and the lines snaking endlessly until they reach that familiar counter.

But Alaska decided to change it all up...now they have 50 self-service kiosks and a series of vertical entrance paths where passengers can check in and then give their bags to a staff person who is around the corner. They've actually hidden a few of the traditional back-wall counters so that people will go to the kiosks, instead of where they are used to going. Airline staff circulate to help passengers instead of sitting imperially behind the counters.

The building is light and airy, and there are windows that overlook the mountains. The building was designed to accommodate many more people because there aren't any of those famous snaking lines. Most airline check-in areas are dark, and not as spacious.

So far it's working for Alaska Air. Check-in is much faster, lines are far, far shorter, and they are working on building this same type of arrangement in Portland next year.

Other airlines like Delta are taking notice, and building similar structures. One thing that Alaska will not try to offer again is to have passengers affix and handle their own baggage...the result was confusion about where to put the tags and where to bring the bags. So they still have a staff person for that but the rest is pretty much done on your own.

Traveling from Toronto? Leave from Buffalo Instead!

Canadian travel tip: If possible, hop across the border and fly out of Buffalo instead of Toronto. A story in today's Toronto Star by Iain Marlow reveals that many Torontonians already believe this, since 35 percent of all Buffalo airport travelers are Canadian. It's increased from 10 percent a few years ago, and Buffalo airport spokesman Doug Hartmayer believes it will rise even more.

"The rapid rise in the Canadian dollar and the growing ease of internet bargain hunting--especially for prime destinations such as New York, Las Vegas and Florida--have made Buffalo bargainville, especially compared to Toronto's Pearson, one of the most expensive airports in the world.

The story included a graph showing a savings of $585 for a trip to Alaska from Buffalo versus Pearson. Enough, the story joked, to buy copies of Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and a good used .22 rifle, as well as bus tickets back home to Canada.

Las Vegas was an even bigger bargain. With the $763 in savings, a gambler could buy his Greyhound bus tickets home plus ride a Lincoln Town Car stretch limo to Buffalo and have hundreds left to spend on blackjack and Johnny Walker Green Label scotch.

Exploring New Ways to Make the Situation Worse

According to a study by Oxford Economics, written in conjunction with former Homeland Security Department Secretary Tom Ridge, the US has seen a 17 percent decrease in visitors since 2000 which has cost the country more than $100 billion in lost visitor spending.

That translates into 200,000 lost jobs and $16 billion in lost tax receipts.

And the trend is continuing with visits from Japan down 27 percent last year and visits from the UK down 11 percent, despite the weakening of the US dollar against the euro and other currencies.

The main reason for this drop is new security procedures that make it difficult to get into the country. European newspapers are full of horror stories about delays and interrogations.

And it isn't just tourists who are being kept away. It's people who want to come here and do business, people who want to come here for medical care and people who want to come here to study. They're all going somewhere else.

Now the Department of Homeland Security is looking at ways to make the situation worse.

DHS ruined thousands of family vacations (and weddings and cruises) this year by requiring passports for travel to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean without providing the staff and resources needed to process the millions of passport applications that resulted.

Now they are looking at requirements that would make it even harder for visitors from other countries to visit the US.

Congress actually took a step in the right direction earlier this year by increasing (from 27 to 39) the number of countries whose citizens could come to the US without a visa.

The new regulations under consideration by DHS would require citizens from those countries (the people most likely to visit the US) to notify the US government 72 hours before their departure. This is to give DHS a chance to screen passenger lists for suspected terrorists.

These new requirements would reduce still further the number of foreign visitors to the US with additional harm to the US economy. And will they make us safer? How many terrorists are going to be traveling under their own names?

Congress Doing Something Right at the Border

In an editorial in the Wall St. Journal on Thursday, the US was applauded for finally making it easier for allies "from Estonia to South Korea" to visit America.

Now more countries are eligible for a visa waiver program, that in the past had made visiting the US a difficult task. The new legislation increases the number of countries can come to the US without visas. Twenty-seven countries now participate in a program that allows nationals into the US for 90 days without a visa, and now twelve more nations are being added to the list.

"When Canada waived visas for Koreans in 1994, visits shot up 80% in the first year. Each unique visit from a Korean pours an average of $3,700 into the US economy for airfare, hotel rooms, shopping and all of the taxes added to those expenditures, according to the commerce dept."

The point is that increasing the number of overseas visitors makes a whole lot of economic sense, since they bring money to our businesses, hotels, and airlines. For too long we've hung onto fears about homeland security and kept out too many visitors.

Surfing the Web on Long Haul Flights

Last December I flew to Sweden on Scandinavian Airlines, and en route I enjoyed surfing the web at 33,000 feet. The carrier used a service provided by Boeing called 'Connextions' and the signal was poor. So poor in fact that it was discontinued that month, and they didn't even charge me the regular fee of $12.95.

While Boeing's service collapsed after big losses, this hasn't stopped Lufthansa from launching anew. The Wall Street Journal reports that the airline is going in the opposite direction from other European airlines who think cellphones are a good idea for short-haul flights.

They're teaming up with T-mobile to provide a better internet and wireless service and they've made a decision I think most flyers will agree with. No cellphones up in the sky.

Southwest and Alaska Air are looking into a combination of services including cellphone use as well as the ability to text message from the air. But the Germans held firm, believing that chatty Cathies on long routes would be an annoyance. "The vast majority told us they don't want this feature because of the noise and intrusion telephone ringing could entail" said the story. The Internet service should begin by early 2008.

In Little Portland Maine, Big Time Airport Delays

The AP reports that little Portland, Maine International Jetport is getting lumped together with a couple of the nation's largest airports: Chicago's O'Hare, New York's John F. Kennedy. But airport officials aren't beaming over the publicity.

From the beginning of the year through May, Portland had the nation's third-worst record for on-time arrivals, with 42% of flights arriving late by 15 minutes or more, according to government statistics. Only O'Hare and Kennedy were worse. Likewise, more than a third of departures from Portland were delayed. Portland also had more than double the national airport average of canceled flights.

City Transportation Director Jeff Monroe said the problems begin at major hub airports and ripple through smaller airports like Portland.But Monroe acknowledged some flights have been held up for passengers going through security screening. The airport has struggled to reduce lines at security checkpoints, especially in the mornings when 18 flights leave between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. HINT TO PORTLAND: Who set up this crazy scenario why do all of the flights leave at the same time??

Portland's poor figures also reflect increasingly congested skies, particularly in the Northeast, Monroe said. The airline industry has faced a tough summer, with passenger loads increasing and flight schedules getting more crowded, said Bill Mitchell, president of Hurley Travel Experts in Portland. Even an isolated problem, such as thunderstorms in the summer or snowstorms in the winter, can wreck flight schedules.

Monroe said Jetport officials are doing their best to address the problems. Already, the airport has expanded the security check area to four lanes. The airport is also considering adding temporary ramps to expand gate space.

No question it could be smoother...," Monroe said. "Any of the issues the airport has control over, we'll solve. The Portland airport needs more gates and terminal space at the airport to move passengers and planes efficiently.

For now, the city is focused on building a parking garage addition, which is scheduled to begin next spring. The city also hopes to expand the passenger terminal, but construction is not expected before 2009.