December 2008 Archives

New Jersey's Atlantic City International airport will gain new service from Spirit Airlines.

The low-cost carrier will announce new destinations to the gambling city his week, a carrier spokeswoman tells me, declining to identify city pairs.

The company will also grow international offerings, but I'm guessing Atlantic City will only gain domestic flights.

Spirit is the only carrier to operate from the regional facility, roughly 58 miles (93km) from Philadelphia International airport and 113 miles (181.85km) from Newark Liberty International airport.

While the airport only has four Florida destinations, airport director Tom Rafter says he would like service to Chicago, Atlanta and New England.

To that end, Rafter has been considering new incentives.

Currently the airport employs a six-month, percentage based landing fee waiver in which new entrants or new markets pay 25% of the landing rate for the first two months of service.

The amount paid increases as time passes, but the airport will suggest other arrangements to airport operator South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA) next month. SJTA must approve changes.

Wilmington, Ohio's privately-owned airport may go public as owner DHL ends US domestic operations in January.

Wilmington mayor David Raizk has asked the Deutsche Post subsidiary to donate the DHL Wilmington Air Park to the city or Clinton County Port Authority, Raizk's executive assistant Laura Curliss said last month, declining to elaborate.

Now The Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting that Raizk will formally request DHL donate the 200-acre air park to the port authority.

The company appears open to the idea. DHL has been in discussions with local officials about turning over the airpark, a DHL spokeswoman said last month.

DHL partner ABX Air operates from the property, which consists of two runways, ramp parking for 126 aircraft, at least two hangars and eight sort buildings.

The cargo operator's post-DHL plans include a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) venture, but the enterprise is predicated upon access to the DHL-owned facility, an ABX spokeswoman says.

Southwest Airlines is headed to the Big Apple for the first time.

The Dallas-based carrier will pay $7.5 million for 14 slots at LaGuardia airport held by defunct codeshare partner ATA Airlines.

Currently, Southwest serves the New York City metro area from Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip, roughly 50 miles (80.5km) east of Manhattan.

Service cannot start until the transaction is finalized in March, a Southwest spokeswoman says, adding a launch date has not been set.

The low-cost carrier will purchase ATA outright to gain the slots; Southwest stresses it has no plans to operate ATA or acquire any of the carrier's aircraft, facilities or employees.

ATA filed for Chapter 11 and ceased operations in April.

George Bush Intercontinental airport in Houston was the only large hub that did not use passenger facility charges (PFC), until this month.

The airport now imposes a $3 PFC because of projected passenger growth, joining the ranks of 29 large hubs in the United States that use the funding mechanism.

Currently, 28 large hubs-airports that enplane more than 1% of nationwide enplanements in a calendar year-charge between $4 and $4.5, with Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International airport charging $3.

In place until 1November 2027, the Houston charge will be used to help finance seven primary capital improvement projects at the airport, including the reconstruction of a portion of Terminal D to accommodate a new pier on the north concourse to increase the number of international gates to nine from six.

PFCs will be also be used to pay off debt on bonds that were issued to finance the 9,000-ft (2,743.2-meter) north parallel east-west runway completed in 2003.

Airport operator Houston Airport System (HAS) estimates Intercontinental PFC revenue will be $58 million next year, a spokesman says.

HAS expects to handle 80 million passengers across Intercontinental and William P. Hobby airports by 2020, a 53.8% increase from roughly 52 million passengers this year.