Andrea Crisp: June 2006 Archives

When airline industry historians try and pinpoint the moment when the European low-cost sector finally came of age, they may well pick the time when British Prime Minister Tony Blair flew back from holiday in Italy with Ryanair, writes Colin Baker.
The Blair family flew back to London Stansted from Rome Ciampino last Saturday - something of a publicity coup for Ryanair, although the 25 minute delay for extra security checks will not have gone down so well with the carrier's operations team.
One slight difference from the usual Ryanair experience was that Blair was apparently met on the airstrip by a limousine, something of a step up from the Stansted Express train service that is the more usual route into central London.
It was not revealed how much the Blairs paid for their tickets, although it is likely to be substantially less than the  estimated ｣16,000 per trip cost of the Queen's BAe 146 that  has been used previously.
The Ryanair flight comes at a time when Blair is struggling in the opinion polls. It remains to be seen whether George Bush uses Southwest for his next trip down to his Texas ranch.

As an issue, it's more contentious than the merits of Airbus versus Boeing - just how should airports be named? Should they be named after the town they serve (like Dublin Airport) or can the name honour a local achiever (for example, John F Kennedy International airport). Other examples include Louis Armstrong New Orleans, Robin Hood Doncaster, John Lennon Liverpool and John Wayne Orange County.
Honouring a local instils pride and reflects community spirit. As the BBC says on its website: "Airports are the front door of the communities in which they are located, so it makes sense to ... highlight the greatest local achievers."
But while this might appeal to residents, naming an airport after a local is potentially meaningless to the rest of us.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority is the first regulator to express its view. In a recent statement it said: "It is important for flight planning purposes, including international flights, that the aerodrome name is consistently recognisable, relevant, unambiguous and promulgated accordingly." Perhaps things have gone a little too far.
Another aspect of this debate has been thrown into the spotlight in the UK as Belfast City airport has just been renamed George Best Belfast City Airport after Northern Ireland's most famous footballer. Best was known as a footballing genius, but he was equally renowned as a drunk. (He famously said "I spent a lot of my money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.") Understandably, not everyone was thrilled with the decision to name the airport after him. And with flights coming in from places like Malaga and Nuremberg, the airport's provincial title belies its international status.
What do you think?

The world's largest gathering of airlines is happening on 4-6 June. Airline Business will be there with a team of journalists reporting live from the event.
If you can't be at this invite-only event, this is the next best thing. We'll be posting stories from Sunday 4 June and continuing as the event shifts into top gear.
The IATA AGM incorporates the World Air Transport Summit, and is recognised as the premier, industry-wide platform for the debate of critical issues at the highest level. Over 600 representatives from IATA's member airlines, industry associate partners and associations, manufacturers and suppliers will attend.

Airline Business online will feature:
-All the news from the AGM and World Air Transport Summit
-Interviews from airline chief executives
-IATA's forecast for the rest of the year
-Information on IATA's charging campaign
-Updates on IATA's liberalisation and deregulation
-Information on IATA's Simplifying the Business

A gaggle of Star Alliance member chief executives flew in to this weekend's IATA AGM in Paris from Tokyo, fresh from opening their latest joint airport operation. From Friday 2 June, the new home at Narita Airport for 10 Star carriers will be the south wing of Terminal 1. The alliance says the carriers will share the biggest dedicated Star-branded terminal in Asia.
Star carriers Air Canada, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, Thai and United have all been co-located in the south wing of Narita's Terminal 1.
Jaan Albrecht, Star Alliance chief executive, said: "Completing the co-location here in Narita is a milestone in our worldwide move-under-one-roof strategy. We now look forward to offering our customers a top-notch facility at what is one of our major hubs in northeast Asia."
More than 120 self-service units have been installed, where Star Alliance members can check-in automatically. Other efficiencies include significant cuts to connection times. For international flights, minimum connection times can be reduced from 110 minutes to 45 minutes, and for international-domestic flights from 110 minutes to 75 minutes.
Star Alliance currently has ongoing co-location projects in Bangkok, London Heathrow, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami and Paris.

View our live coverage of IATA's 62nd annual general meeting from 4 to 6 June.