Vol. 31 No. 8 Serving New York Airports August 2009 JFK EWR LGA METRO EDITION SWF RUNWAY PROJECT LAUNCHED AT JFK FUEL CELL STATION OPENS AT JFK Amidst much fanfare Shell opened its second hydrogen fi lling on a hazy day last month, station in the greater New York City area, JFK Airport has offi cially providing improved access to hydrogen for launched the work project to drivers of fuel cell Chevrolet Equinoxes expand and improve runway participating in Project Driveway. The sta- 13R-31L. tion was opened and a celebratory event was The Port Authority said conducted at Building 141 at the airport. that they expect the four- The station opening is a partnership be- month, $376 million project tween Shell, General Motors Co., the Port to dramatically reduce delays Authority of New York and New Jersey, and once it’s fi nished. Port Au- the US Department of Energy. thority Director Chris Ward “These partnerships are critical to build- likened the project to having ing the infrastructure that will make hydro- From left to right, Larry Burns, General Motors, “open heart surgery” on the gen a relevant alternative fuel in the future Vice President, Research and Development and airport, according to the New as well as a key to the ongoing success of Strategic Planning. Susan Baer, Chief Operat- York Daily News. As part of Project Driveway,” said Larry Burns, GM ing Offi ce/Deputy Director, Aviation, PANYNJ. From left to right, David Barger, CEO of JetBlue, Gov. David Duncan Macleod, VP Shell Hydrogen. the effort, Ward says the run- Patterson and Port Authority Executive Director, Chris Ward vice president of R&D and Strategic Plan- way must close for 120 days ning. venience is a signifi cant step on from stand- next year. hand at JFK and said that the project “will The planned cluster of stations that will alone, demonstration stations and is part of The Port Authority’s Ward says: “We’re change this airport for all time.” As for Jet- provide New York drivers of hydrogen fuel- Shell’s strategy to build expertise in the dis- hopeful with the work that we’ve done with Blue, CEO Barger says in a statement that cell vehicles with greater fl exibility and con- tribution and dispensing of hydrogen. the [FAA] that this will be essentially invisi- “improvements to runways and taxiways at ble to the fl ying public. That with the reroute JFK are essential to reducing fl ight delays and the condensed time that the work is tak- and increasing the airport’s capacity and LAGUARDIA KIWANIS CLUB ing place, we’re hopeful that the fl ying pub- effi ciency.” Barger adds that once fi nished, lic really won’t see any signifi cant impact the improvements “will ultimately benefi t PRESENTS TRAUMA KIT TO EMS UNIT at all.” Newsday says the work will include all customers traveling through the gateway The Port Authority’s EMS unit was “upgrades designed to reduce fl ight delays, airport.” presented with a pediatric trauma kit by including holding pads and high-speed run- Tutor Perini Corporation a civil and build- the LaGuardia Kiwanis club. way exits.” That, offi cials estimate, will re- ing construction company, (formerly known The Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Kit is duce delays by about 10,500 hours a year. as Perini Corporation) was awarded the con- a child-sized ambulance equipment kit New York Gov. David Paterson was on tract and work will begin immediately. which was compiled to meet most on- scene emergency needs of children. The kits are donated to fi re departments and ambulance services under the auspices of the local Kiwanis clubs in each com- munity. North Shore University Hospital and the New York District of Kiwanis inter- national created the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center at the hospital in 1991, Left to Right: Joe Corace, KPTC President & Former merging the Kiwanis commitment to NYS District Governor Doris Mellina, LGA Club serve children and local communities President, Warren Kroeppel, General Manager, with North Shore’s commitment to medi- LGA Airport Kenneth D. Honig, Police Inspector- cal excellence, outreach, and education. Commanding Offi cer, Port Authority Police Lishia Harper, Police Captain, Port Authority Police Kiwanis is a global organization made up of volunteers dedicated to making a at the LaGuardia Marriott Hotel. For more Queens Borough President Port Authority Executive difference in the world – one child and one information call 516-967-2375. Helen Marshall Director Chris Ward Govenor David Patterson community at a time. The LaGuardia Ki- wanis Club meets every Thursday at 1 PM inside THE KNOW NOTHINGS KNOW AIR TRAVEL Joe Alba ment, which resurrects the Airline Passenger JFK TERMINAL 4 AAirportirport PPressress They’re at it again! Bill of Rights nearly two years after it fi rst Those magnifi cent reared its ugly head on Capitol Hill. WELCOMES AIR Airport News . 3 know-nothings in the Among other things, the Boxer-Stowe Aviation News . 12 US Congress, aided and version requires airlines to let passengers off EUROPA AND XL Airline News . 9 abetted by an unhappy of an aircraft that is delayed on the tarmac ex-airline “stewardess” for three hours or more. AIRWAYS FRANCE Cargo News. 6 I ask, is this really a cause for Congress? Names in the News. 16 are attempting to sneak Two international carriers – Air Europa the Passenger Bill of Is this “issue” worthy of all the angst we see Security News . 14 in articles like in the USA Today, which is and XL Airways France – are joining the Rights into the FAA roster of more than 35 international and do- Classified . 17 Authorization Bill. to my eye drafted to drum up controversy replete with anecdotes and devoid of the mestic airlines at John F. Kennedy Interna- Name That Plane . 15 The festering is- tional Airport Terminal 4, it was announced sue of whether to enact a Passenger Bill of relationship to the sheer number of fl ights Comic. 16 consumers enjoy. today by JFK IAT LLC, the private venture Rights is on its most aggressive track, both that operates the terminal. Terminal 4 is one Focus on the Customer . 19 publicly and in Congress. Three weeks ago, It is anecdotal and emotion driven by a populist appeal that seems to be driving this of the city’s busiest terminals serving over the Senate Commerce Committee approved nine million passengers annually. August 2009 • Vol. 31 No. 8 its version of the FAA Reauthorization Bill. Tucked inside was the Boxer-Stowe amend- See AIR TRAVEL page 3 See AIR EUROPA page 3 aairportpress.usirportpress.us 2 • August 2009 • Airport Press Metro Edition Airport Press Metro Edition • August 2009 • 3 Airport News AIR TRAVEL from page 1 Over the past 20 years, passengers have seen analysis. of the Airport Press that if you surveyed a connecting times fall signifi cantly – which Anecdotes produce sensationalist stories plane full of travelers on an airplane delayed debate. With the airline industry already in is particularly important to those who do not like the one in the USA Today. But real re- for more than 3 hours, that the vast majority fi erce competition for customers and reve- live in hub cities and face a combination of search tells a different story. According to would prefer staying on board and waiting it nue, my bet is that the industry is more than fl ights to get to their desired destinations. the Air Transport Association and the US out. It’s a hard claim to prove; but knowing capable of addressing this issue on its own This practice has resulted in more productive Bureau of Transportation Statistics, all but most travelers, especially business-people, as evidenced in the recent focus on opera- time for the airline passenger. It has helped one of the airline effi ciency metrics are at their focus is to arrive, complete their work, tional results. Congress too often will seek to make airlines signifi cantly more effi cient their best levels since 2000, including fl ight and get back to their family, and a fl ight can- legislative relief that protects a few cranky because time saved on the ground translates cancellations as a percent of domestic de- celation is much worse than a delay. people at the expense of a plane full of pas- into money saved for the airline. These cost partures, on-time arrival rates, mishandled A return to the terminal just adds to the sengers. The private sector should prevail, savings have also been passed along to con- bags, customer complaints, and taxi-out chaos for later fl ights as the airline struggles as we’ve seen before and will unfortunately sumers in the form of lower fares. times in excess of three hours. to get crews on planes and passengers on see again. And in these cases, it is clear that their way. And the issues propagate. Imag- the law of unintended consequences is alive All Anecdotes, Few Facts and Little Who Wins? ine the mood on a plane queued to take off and well. following a weather delay if the pilot sud- There is a volume of impressive research Analysis The truth is, you can’t legislate smooth denly announces that they are headed back on airline operations and performance and Federal legislation like the Passenger Bill travel conditions. Weather is a reality and to the terminal because Congress says they schedule recovery. Among it is some in- of Rights proposal could signifi cantly undo weather causes delays. And yes; delays add have to. Whose “rights” does that protect? teresting data that shows airline schedule the progress the airline industry has made.