New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport isn’t exactly renowned for on-time departures and things may get worse before they get better for passengers using the airport this spring.

Starting today (1st March 2010), JFK’s busiest runway will close for four months for reconstruction.

The $376 million project for Runway 13-31, known as the Bay Runway, will widen it from 150 to 200 feet and add taxiways, all in an effort to ease traffic congestion at the airport.

The Port Authority of NY & NJ states it is “tackling delays with the reconstruction of our Bay Runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Once completed, this project will reduce delays overall by an estimated 10,500 hours per year.”

The airport’s website has posted a Q&A with more detail:

What is the Bay Runway Project?
Beginning March 1, 2010 one of the four runways at JFK will be closed for construction for 120 days; however this project should not impact travel significantly. The Port Authority in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the airlines began in 2006 we have worked closely minimize the impact on airport operations when the runway is closed.

Why is the Bay Runway Project necessary?
The Bay Runway project is an investment in the future, the new concrete runway has an anticipated life of more than 40 years, compared to an 8-year service life for asphalt.

The project will upgrade JFK’s airside infrastructure, widen and replaces nearly three miles of runway. A central component of the Bay Runway reconstruction is the widening of the runway from 150 to 200 feet to make way for new delay-reduction taxiways. The new taxiways will improve aircraft queuing and enable swifter departures; and easier access from taxiways to terminal gates, saving time on the ground for every passenger at JFK.

How many runways are at JFK?
There are four runways at JFK. During normal operations, two or three of the four runways are in use due to airspace limitations. During the 120-day closure of the Bay Runway, all three remaining runways will be utilized when possible.

How will flights be affected when the Bay Runway is closed?
The Port Authority in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the airlines, expect to minimize the impact on airport operations when the runway is closed. Airlines are operating on a normal winter schedule to mitigate delays.

The airport has three remaining runways that will be run to their full capabilities during the Bay Runway’s closure and officials are reducing the number of arrivals and departures at the airport from about 1,300 a day to 1,050, to ease potential congestion and delays.

About JFK:

The Bay Runway is more than 14,500 feet long, or almost 3 miles, one of the longest in the country. It handles more than half of all departures at JFK, according to The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The airport is run by he Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, under a lease with the city of New York since June 1, 1947. In 2004, the Port Authority and the city of New York concluded an agreement that ensures the Agency’s continued operation of JFK and LaGuardia airports through 2050.

Location: On Jamaica Bay in the southeastern section of Queens County, New York City. The airport is located 15 miles by highway from midtown Manhattan.

Size: JFK covers 4,930 acres, including 880 acres in the Central Terminal Area. The airport has more than 30 miles of roadway.

Investment: About $150 million was expended on original construction. The Port Authority has invested about $5.5 billion in the airport.

British Airways has been running a campaign to prove that their new Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport in London is working:

A reportage style will be adopted for the campaign, which signals a move away from the airline’s traditional approach. The 24-hour turn-around production times will also be a first for British Airways and unusual in the advertising world.

The campaign focuses on the customer experience. It will demonstrate how the terminal is working through indicators such as the length of time it takes customers to get through security, flight punctuality, baggage arrival times or simply how quickly a person can get from the plane to the arrivals hall. These details will be illustrated through photography of real customers during their journey through Terminal 5 captured the day before the ads appear in print.

The overarching aim of the campaign is to produce an accurate portrayal of how Terminal 5 is performing, demonstrating that it is now working effectively and helping to dispel any remaining negative perceptions.[...]

Katherine Whitton, British Airways’ general manager for marketing communications, said: “This campaign isn’t about making big promises. The terminal has now been open for 131 days, more than six million people have travelled through it and it has been performing very well for some time. We are letting it speak for itself and reflecting genuine customer experiences on the aspects of the journey that research tells us are most important to them.

“The aim of the campaign is to communicate to the travelling public in an open and factual way that Terminal 5 is now working well. The campaign will show that Terminal 5 is a fantastic building that provides a high-quality travel experience and will encourage travellers to try it for themselves.”[...]

Source: British Airways Press Release, dated 4th August 2008

I happened to walk past one of BA’s billboard adverts earlier today and was rather surprised to read that “Terminal 5 is working”, which prompted me to a Google search and submit this post. I don’t fly much these days but I had assumed, like most people, that most if not all of the initial problems had been resolved since the media had stopped reporting any.

In addition, some rather complimentary posts have recently been made on the Professional Pilots Rumour Network (www.pprune.org) among other sites.

So it is a little bizarre that BA felt that they should initiate this rather unusual marketing campaign for a service which after all should by default be “working”. I can’t quite envisage or recall any other quality airlines, such as Virgin Atlantic, advertising something which should be, really, de facto.

What did go wrong with at Terminal 5?, BBC News, 30th March 2008

Bags of Terminal 5 embarrassment for BA, Times Online, April 1st 2008

Service levels at Heathrow Airport are “a national embarrassment”, Giovanni Bisignani, head of International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said.

In a report on half-year air traffic results, IATA criticized the UK’s “unique screening policies,” which it said “inconvenience passengers with no improvement in security.”

The report comes after UK ministers said tougher airport security measures were creating longer queues that could become new targets for terrorists.

London’s Heathrow Airport has also been criticized for suffering from excessive delays and an ineffective setup.

UK regulations state that passengers can only take a limited quantity of liquids on board and can carry only one item of hand luggage.

IATA also criticised the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), saying it was allowing Heathrow to increase charges by 86% over the next five years.

The CAA responded:

Clearly Mr Bisignani is referring to the price control at Heathrow Airport. Airport charges at Heathrow reflect the costs of providing investment and services to passengers. These airport charges are paying for the modernisation of Heathrow, in terms of both facilities and services, for the direct benefit of the passenger. This includes paying for the capital and operating costs of T5, the construction of the Heathrow East terminal, and bringing the rest of the airport up to modern standards.

‘The CAA agrees that passengers and airlines deserve better service than BAA has provided hitherto, which is why the CAA has put in place tougher service standards and greater financial penalties if BAA fails to deliver – for example BAA will have to pay back £1.2 million to Heathrow airlines for its poor service performance in April this year.’

Mr Bisignani said such increases could only happen in “monopolyland”.

IATA further added that BAA “continues to deliver embarrassingly low service levels by failing to invest in appropriate equipment and staff to meet demand. This must stop.”

Bisignani said no airports in any other country have the same problems as Heathrow.

“Everybody is trying to avoid Heathrow. But you don’t need high technology. You don’t need any kind of special tool. You need right staffing, good practice in implementing some kind of operational, I would say new equipment, in order to avoid those queues.”

Kitty Ussher, London’s City Minister, has also expressed concerns that delays at Heathrow and the airport’s layout could drive business away from the country.

“You spend so much time being processed. That’s the issue … passports, security, just the layout of the buildings, which makes it more difficult,” she said in an interview with the Financial Times newspaper.

BAA said it was committed to improving services for passengers.

“Over the next five years BAA will be investing over £4bn to improve and transform Heathrow’s facilities,” its statement said.

“The vast majority of this will be spent on improving existing terminals and that will mean faster check-in, improved security, better baggage connections, and superior terminal facilities.”

Sources: CNN, BBC

Giovanni Bisignani joined the International Air Transport Association as Director General & CEO in June 2002. Since that time Mr. Bisignani has completely re-shaped and re-focused the organization to better serve its global membership of 230 airlines with a mission to represent, lead and serve the air transport industry.

In 2004, under Mr. Bisignani’s leadership, IATA began Simplifying the Business – bringing convenience to travellers and cost reduction to airlines through effective use of technology. The programme’s headline e-ticketing initiative will eliminate paper tickets globally by June 2008. And the cargo equivalent – IATA e-freight – is modernising the industry by eliminating cumbersome paper documentation.

Mr. Bisignani has engaged airports and air navigation service providers to build a new business partnership with a common goal of cost-efficiency. This has delivered billions of dollars in savings. Meanwhile, the Association’s calls for transparency and effective economic regulation of monopoly suppliers are positively impacting legislation around the globe.

Most recently Mr. Bisignani placed IATA in a leadership position in the debate on climate change and aviation. While air transport’s contribution to climate change is limited to 2% of global carbon emissions – Mr. Bisignani has united the industry in a drive to achieve carbon neutral growth and eventually zero-carbon emission technology.

Mr. Bisignani is a Board member of NATS Holdings Limited, the air traffic services provider of the UK

Mr. Bisignani’s career prior to joining IATA spans several industries. He launched the European travel portal Opodo and spent five years as CEO and Managing Director of Alitalia. He has been a Member of Pratt & Whitney Advisory Board and Chairman of Galileo International. Mr. Bisignani began his career with Citibank and then held several high-level positions at the energy company ENI.

Mr. Bisignani studied both in Rome and the US (Harvard Business School). Born in Rome in 1946, he speaks Italian, English and Spanish. He is married with one daughter and enjoys golf, tennis and riding.

The BBC reports that thousands of people attended a protest rally against the expansion of Heathrow airport:

“An estimated 3,000 protesters marched from Hatton Cross to Sipson, the village that would be lost if the planned runway goes ahead.

They then gathered to form a giant “NO”, that could be seen from the air.

Campaigners say the planned expansion would have a serious impact on hundreds of thousands of homes in the area.

But business groups and airlines claim the third runway is essential.

In November last year the government set out proposals for a major expansion at Heathrow, which could see the building of a third runway and a sixth terminal.”

Source: BBC News

The BAA proposal include:

- A new runway at 2,200m operational length – this would be slightly longer than previously envisaged (2,000m) to accommodate an efficient mix of all but the largest four-engined aircraft and allow the airport as a whole to operate effectively. The slightly longer runway length would not itself increase the land-take or require any additional properties. It would not affect the forecast mix of short-haul and long-haul traffic across the airport as a whole. Thus, it does not imply more carbon emissions.

- An additional passenger terminal, with direct access to existing rail services, that meets the needs of air passengers and airline alliances under mixed operations (both long-haul and short-haul traffic), and reduces the need for aircraft to taxi across the existing northern runway.

- Adding a third runway with associated passenger terminal facilities would require additional land, with a loss of around 700 properties including the community of Sipson.

- BAA believes a third runway could therefore be added at Heathrow and sustain at least 605,000 ATMs {Air Traffic Movements] in 2020 followed by a gradual increase to 702,000 ATMs in 2030 whilst keeping within the noise and air quality limits.

Source: Department of Transport

See also: Plane Stupid Website