Here are some news stories from this past week about air travel delays and airport amenities that we thought you might find interesting. Topics include: Improving airport hotels, Decreasing Air Traffic and worsening flight delays at Pittsburgh Airport, New concessions in Nashville Airport, Airport Pet Hotels, and Trouble in Delhi Airport.
Airport Hotels Are Taking Off
Full story at Business Week (http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/mar2008/bw20080311_059462.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily)
For a long time, airport hotels were considered a necessary evil. Most travelers wouldn't choose to stay at one unless they had an early-morning connection, missed their flight, or their company was too cheap to pay for a pricier downtown hotel. And, because these hotels were regarded as purely functional, second-choice options by both travelers and hotel companies, there wasn't much incentive to make them more enticing. Second, after the building boom of the past few years, competition among hotels in downtown areas will remain intense but the price of building more hotels is prohibitive. Finally, airport hotels really are more convenient. As Janis Cannon, vice-president for brand management at InterContinental Hotels Group's (IHG) flagship InterContinental chain, says: "As a brand, we are always positioning our hotels where our customers are. These new hotels offer the same kind of aesthetics and amenities---such as complimentary Wi-Fi, fitness centers, and decent food---that travelers would find in upscale urban hotels, as well as such services as express check-in and grab-and-go food. Instead of the bland breakfast buffets and decor prevalent in so many midrange hotels, Aloft and Element (new brands from Starwood) aim to deliver a more sophisticated ambience, with plenty of natural light and communal areas including cafés, lounges, and outdoor barbecues, as well as healthy fast food.
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Traffic Down at Pittsburgh International Airport
Full story at Pittsburgh Business Times (http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/03/10/daily41.html?ana=from_rss)
Passenger traffic at Pittsburgh International Airport fell nearly 10 percent in January compared to the same period last year. A total of 642,552 passengers were enplaned and deplaned at the airport, down 9.6 percent from January 2007. US Airways, which decreased service in January, had a 33 percent drop compared to January 2007 with 236,885 passengers in 2008. Eight airlines reported passenger increases in traffic.
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Pittsburgh International Airport suffers increase in flight delays
Full story at Pittsburgh Business Times
(http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/othercities/pittsburgh/stories/2008/03/10/story14.html)
Airports and airlines across the country saw on-time performance slip in 2007, and Pittsburgh International mirrored the trend. At Pittsburgh International, about 27 percent of arrivals and 20 percent of departures were delayed, up from 23 percent and 18 percent, respectively, in 2006.
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Music City Icons Open at Nashville International Airport
Full Story at
centredaily.com
(http://www.centredaily.com/business/story/461908.html)
HMSHost Corporation, a world leader in travel dining and shopping, today announced the opening of Nashville favorites, Provence Breads & Cafe, Noshville Delicatessen, and the Gibson Cafe at Nashville International Airport. "These new restaurants are the next step in our goal of improving the airport's dining experience with brands that are exciting and satisfying," said Pat Banducci, Senior Vice President, Business Development for HMSHost. HMSHost is a world leader in creating shopping and dining for travel venues. It has annual sales in excess of $2.6 billion and employs more than 33,000 sales associates worldwide. A part of Autogrill S.p.A, HMSHost and the rest of the Autogrill Group are recognized leaders in travel restaurants and retail.
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For you and your pet's convenience:
Fancy new airport hotels are just for Fido and Fluffy
Full story at
RGJ.com
(http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080313/LIV/803130303)
A growing number of airports are seeing 24-hour pet hotels being built inside or near their compounds, saving travelers the headache of scrambling to drop off their dogs or cats at neighborhood kennels. Travelers can find pet hotels near the airports at Jacksonville, Fla., New Orleans and Portland, Ore. "Given that more people have pets, it's just a natural progression of services that airports should offer," says Saq Nadeem, founder of Paradise 4 Paws, which will open next month near Chicago O'Hare.
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And, if you think
we have problems at US airports:
Delhi's international airport: a daily trauma for passengers
Full story at
Calcuttanews.net
(http://www.calcuttanews.net/story/337936)
Delhi's international airport: a daily trauma for passengers Calcutta News.Net Sunday 16th March, 2008 (IANS) Even as the expansion and upgrade of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here continues at an agonisingly slow pace, several thousand overseas travellers, including tourists, continue to suffer serpentine queues, a squalid environment and unfriendly immigration officials, every day.'The whole process of getting past immigration and clearing the security check is maddening. Last week, to compound travellers' woes, poorly manned immigration counters created such passenger congestion that women collapsed out of fatigue and children began crying as outbound passengers had to stand in unheard of queues for hours to reach boarding gates.
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Remember, if you eXpect delaYs, you can beat them!
Until next time - Happy Travels!
-Gus
