Airport Check-in
Roger Yu, USA TODAY, 2/4/2008 and 2/11/2008 (excerpted)
MONTREAL: Tag your own bag in Canada
In a move that could speed some U.S.-bound travelers more quickly through Montreal-Trudeau, US Airways next month will start letting passengers attach routing tags to their own bags.
For security reasons, self-tagging of checked luggage isn't allowed in the USA. The Transportation Security Administration requires domestic passengers to hand their bags to airline agents for inspection and handling.
Montreal is the only airport in Canada where passengers are allowed to self-tag their luggage for U.S.-bound flights. Its program, which began as a trial in mid-2004, has become increasingly popular, says Antoine Rostworowski, an airport executive.
The airport has more than 70 self-service kiosks that dispense bag tags. About 50,000 passengers tagged their own bags in December. Only Air Canada currently allows self-tagging. Along with US Airways, two other U.S. carriers will likely introduce self-tagging at the airport in the spring, Rostworowski said, without naming them. Other Canadian airports allow self-tagging only for domestic flights.
US Airways previously had allowed self-tagging at Montreal but suspended it last summer while airport equipment was being changed.
SEATTLE: Taxis try to get even greener
Seattle-Tacoma International and its sole taxi contractor are trying a pilot program to assess whether hybrid taxis are more efficient and cheaper to operate than the vehicles operated by compressed natural gas.
At the request of the airport, taxi contractor STITA last year finished converting its fleet of 140 Ford Crown Victorias to compressed natural gas.
In November, STITA, which is an association of independent cab drivers, sought to expand the initiative by adding hybrid cars. Now, 25 Toyota Priuses serve passengers with less luggage. "The idea was to see if they can save money and be more efficient with the hybrids," says airport spokesman Perry Cooper.
The test will continue indefinitely.
The fleet conversion was part of a broader campaign by the airport to reduce harmful gasoline emissions, Cooper says.
It includes installing electricity sources at gates to power up aircraft, pumping precooled air into waiting aircraft and using electric push-back tractors to pull aircraft from gates.
The airport has installed an underground delivery system for jet fuel, reducing the need for delivery trucks.
DENVER: Registered Traveler lanes open
Denver International has opened Registered Traveler security lanes at the main Jeppesen Terminal. The Registered Traveler program, overseen by the Transportation Security Administration, provides speedy security checkpoint clearance through a separate line for prescreened subscribers.
The lanes are open on the south side of the terminal, and the airport plans to open more on the north side in March. New York-based Verified Identity Pass operates the lanes.
CHICAGO: Go to the front of the line
United Airlines this month plans to open a check-in lobby at Chicago O'Hare for its best customers. It'll be located near United counters used by preferred customers, and available to first-class passengers on international flights and members of Global Services, United's most elite group of regular fliers. In the new lobby, United staffers will process bags, handle tickets and passports, and escort passengers to the front of security lines.
SAN JOSE, CALIF.: New and improved
Mineta San Jose International late last month began tearing down the north end of Terminal C to clear the site for construction of the new Terminal B.
It's part of the airport's $1.3 billion program to replace and upgrade terminals, roads and parking by 2010. "We will be building up, tearing down, upgrading and replacing most of our terminal facilities" in the coming months, the airport said on its website.
The demolition work, to be completed in the next several weeks, will be done late at night to minimize disruption of flight services, spokesman Dave Vossbrink says. Terminal B is expected to be open in mid-2010, and will replace Terminal C, the airport's only building for many years following its opening in 1965. Terminal C serves a majority of airlines at the airport, including Continental, Delta, United and JetBlue.