Welcome to the June 2010 Issue of Travology Today

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced international scheduled traffic statistics for May which showed an 11.7% increase in passenger traffic and a 34.3% jump in freight demand compared to May 2009.

“Demand rebounded strongly in May following the impact of the European volcanic ash fiasco in April. Passenger traffic is now 1% above pre-recession levels, while the freight market is 6% bigger,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

A capacity increase of 4.8% in May lagged behind the strong upturn in passenger demand. This pushed May’s international passenger load factor to 76% (78.7% when adjusted for seasonality). This is the sixth consecutive month with seasonally adjusted load factors near 79%. Matching capacity to demand will become increasingly challenging in the coming months. Aircraft utilization remains 5% below pre-recession levels for single-aisle aircraft and 8% for longer-range twin-aisle aircraft. The 100 aircraft taken out of storage during May and 93 the new aircraft delivered globally add further capacity pressure.

International Scheduled Passenger Demand

• European airlines recorded an 8.3% growth compared to May 2009 however this still puts Europe as the region with the weakest growth. Weak economic growth, questions over financial stability and sharply tightening fiscal policies will likely result in continued slower demand growth than is experienced in other parts of the world.
• Asia-Pacific carriers recorded a 13.2% increase in demand in May 2010 over the same month in 2009. Asia-Pacific carriers continue to drive the recovery based on robust economic growth, primarily in China.
• North American carriers saw a 10.9% increase in May over the same month last year. Careful matching of capacity to demand has driven the load factor to 82.4%, the highest among all regions.
• Latin American carriers recorded the fastest growth in demand at 23.6% in May, supported by the region’s strong economic upturn.
• Middle Eastern carriers recorded a 17.5% growth in May. The region’s carriers continue to post strong growth with connecting traffic through their hubs, although the pace of growth has dropped from the over 20% increases recorded earlier in the year.
• African carriers reported a demand increase of 16.9% in May as the region’s carriers benefit from growing economies and more success in maintaining market share. At the same time, the region’s load factor was the weakest at 66.5%.

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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that 100 percent of passengers traveling within the United States and its territories are now being checked against terrorist watchlists through the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) Secure Flight program—a major step in fulfilling a key 9/11 Commission recommendation. Before Secure Flight, airlines conducted passenger watchlist checking.

“Secure Flight fulfills a key recommendation of the of the 9/11 Commission Report, enabling TSA to screen passengers directly against government watchlists using passenger name, date of birth, and gender before a boarding pass is issued,” said Secretary Napolitano. “This program is one of our many layers of security—coordinated with our partners in the airline industry and governments around the world—that we leverage to protect the traveling public against threats of terrorism.”

Under Secure Flight, TSA prescreens passenger name, date of birth and gender against government watchlists for domestic and international flights. In addition to facilitating secure travel for all passengers, the program helps prevent the misidentification of passengers who have names similar to individuals on government watchlists.

99 percent of passengers will be cleared by Secure Flight to print boarding passes at home by providing their date of birth, gender and name as it appears on the government ID they plan to use when traveling when booking airline tickets. Individuals found to match watchlist parameters will be subjected to secondary screening, a law enforcement interview or prohibition from boarding an aircraft, depending on the specific case.

The Transportation Security Administration began implementing Secure Flight in late 2009 and expects all international carriers with direct flights to the U.S. to begin using Secure Flight by the end of 2010.

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Flights resumed on John F. Kennedy International Airport’s “Bay Runway,” the region’s longest and busiest runway, on June 28th after a four-month closing to reconstruct the runway, implement flight delay measures, increase the width to handle the world’s largest commercial planes, and transform it into a state-of-the-art runway for the future.

The project was completed on budget and ahead of schedule, ensuring that airlines could function at full capacity as the busy summer travel season ramps up.

As the Bay Runway – last refurbished in 1993 – and its asphalt overlay approached the end of its lifespan, the Port Authority researched the available options. The agency’s planning aimed to increase the utility and efficiency of the runway and decrease the maintenance costs, all while providing tangible benefits for the customer.

The Bay Runway’s new concrete surface is expected to last 40 years, replacing the 13-year-old asphalt surface, which has a much shorter useful life. It will produce an estimated long-term savings of $500 million and while reducing the need for ongoing maintenance.

In addition, high-speed aircraft exits and access taxiways were part of the Port Authority’s delay-reduction program so planes can take off and land on the runway faster than ever before and so aircraft queuing could be reduced. These initiatives are estimated to reduce flight delays by 10,500 hours a year.

The $348.1 million runway project supports 2,500 jobs, including direct construction work, asphalt and concrete production, running aeronautical lighting and food services. A total of $15 million was obtained through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, with the rest funded by the FAA and the Port Authority.

JFK handles 48 million passengers annually as one of the nation’s busiest airports, with the Bay Runway typically handling a third of the traffic.

Work began on the 14,572-foot long Bay Runway – the longest at JFK by more than 3,000 feet – in July 2009. On March 1, the bulk of the work commenced with the four-month closing to complete 10,925 feet of the runway. The runway reopened on June 28 with all navigational features. The remaining 3,647 feet of the runway work will be completed in two phases in the coming months.

Environmental considerations were integral to the project. Approximately 300,000 tons of asphalt millings were reused on the runway’s sub-base, taxiways and service roads. Much of the truck traffic remained on-site because of the proximity of the specially built concrete plants, speeding work and limiting congestion on area roadways. Additionally, a total of seven acres of installed turf grass for the project will help reduce erosion and improve filtration

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The nation's largest airlines had a rate of on-time flights this past April that was higher than the same month last year and the rate posted in March 2010, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report released by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

According to information filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a part of DOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), the 18 carriers reporting on-time performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 85.3 percent in April, better than the 79.1 percent on-time rate of April 2009 and March 2010's 80.0 percent.

The monthly report also includes data on lengthy tarmac delays, flight cancellations and the causes of flight delays by the reporting carriers, as well as information on airline bumping, reports of mishandled baggage filed with the carriers, and consumer service, disability and discrimination complaints received by DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division. This report also includes reports of incidents involving pets traveling by air, as required to be filed by U.S. carriers.

Cancellations

In April, the carriers canceled 0.7 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, a lower rate than the 1.5 percent cancellation rates posted in both April 2009 and March 2010.

Tarmac Delays

In April, the carriers filing on-time performance data reported that .001 percent of their scheduled flights had tarmac delays of three hours or more, down from .005 percent in March. There was one flight with a tarmac delay of four hours or more in April.

Causes of Flight Delays

In April, the carriers filing on-time performance data reported that 4.45 percent of their flights were delayed by aviation system delays, compared to 6.03 percent in March; 4.71 percent by late-arriving aircraft, compared to 6.44 percent in March; 4.30 percent by factors within the airline's control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared to 5.24 percent in March; 0.33 percent by extreme weather, compared to 0.54 percent in March; and 0.04 percent for security reasons, compared to 0.06 percent in March. Weather is a factor in both the extreme-weather category and the aviation-system category. This includes delays due to the re-routing of flights by DOT's Federal Aviation Administration in consultation with the carriers involved. Weather is also a factor in delays attributed to late-arriving aircraft, although airlines do not report specific causes in that category.

Data collected by BTS also shows the percentage of late flights delayed by weather, including those reported in either the category of extreme weather or included in National Aviation System delays. In April, 35.21 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, down 20.66 percent from April 2009, when 44.38 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, and down 13.45 percent from March when 40.68 percent of late flights were delayed by weather.

Mishandled Baggage

The U.S. carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data posted a mishandled baggage rate of 2.89 reports per 1,000 passengers in April, an improvement over April 2009's rate of 3.89 and March 2010's 3.72 rate.

Detailed information on flight delays and their causes is available on the BTS site on the World Wide Web at http://www.bts.gov.

Air France has been awarded the top prize for customer service in the transport category in a newly published survey conducted by BearingPoint and TNS Sofres...American Airlines, a member of the global oneworld® Alliance, has been awarded by the United States Department of Transportation rights to fly 11 new flights per week between the United States and Brazil beginning Nov. 18th…Continental Airlines began twice-weekly flights between its Houston hub at Bush Intercontinental Airport and Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico, the airline's 30th Mexican destination. … Delta Air Lines recently announced a major enhancement of its domestic schedule, with plans to make First Class service available on all domestic flights longer than 750 miles, or about two and one-half hours of flight time, beginning this fall…Delta Air Lines this month welcomed Vietnam Airlines as the newest member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance. With Vietnam's entrance, Delta customers immediately gain the ability to earn and redeem SkyMiles on the airline's flights, as well as access to its airport lounges in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City…

In April '10 increased to 85.3%, up 5.6 points vs. the running 12 month average of 79.7% and up 5.3 points from March’s 80.0%. To view the USDOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics' (BTS) Air Travel Consumer Report, click here.

The United States Government has posted recent travel advisories and warnings for Algeria, Burundi, Colombia, Cote d’lvoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Georgia, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.