Airport Check-in
Roger Yu, USA TODAY, 1/7/2008 and 1/14/2008 (excerpted)
HOUSTON: Terminal gets $25M in improvements
Houston Airport System is investing $25 million to upgrade Terminal D, which is the international terminal at Bush Intercontinental. Already the agency that operates Houston's airports has built 20 new ticketing check-in positions and a baggage check station for Emirates Airlines, which last month launched Houston-Dubai non-stop service.
Other big changes on tap for Terminal D: new moving sidewalks, a high-capacity automated explosives-screening system, an expanded baggage system, new passenger loading bridges and a new roof. Several new restaurants and shops also are expected to open in Terminal D over the next two years.
Within the past year or so China, Korean, EVA Air Cargo, City Star Airlines and AirBridge Cargo airlines all have launched service. Singapore Air and Qatar Airways will begin service this year.
PHOENIX: Close-in garage spaces now cost $25 a day
Overnight parkers at Phoenix Sky Harbor terminal garages will now pay $25 a day, up from $20.
With the price increase, the airport hopes to free up close-in space for short-term parkers, who still will pay $3 an hour while dropping off or picking up passengers, says Julie Rodriguez, an airport spokeswoman. Travelers who think $25 is too steep can park in the airport's economy lots, where spots cost $8 a day for uncovered parking or $10 a day for covered parking.
Contributing: Dan Reed, Gary Stoller and Barbara De Lollis
ATLANTA: World's busiest airport gets busier
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International had the most flights of any U.S. airport in 2007, making it the busiest airport in the world for the third year in a row, the Federal Aviation Administration reports. The number of landings and takeoffs at ATL rose 1.8% last year to nearly 994,500. Atlanta is Delta Air Lines' home base and the largest hub for AirTran Airways.
Chicago O'Hare and Dallas/Fort Worth ranked second and third, but their flight numbers declined by 2.4% and 2.3%, respectively.
INDIANAPOLIS: Smokers gets a temporary reprieve
After weeks of debate, Indianapolis International has finally settled on its smoking policy. Smoking will be allowed temporarily in five designated areas of the airport.
In mid-2007, the airport devised a rule — which went into effect Jan. 1 — to prohibit travelers and employees from smoking anywhere on airport grounds. But after complaints from travelers and airline tenants, which didn't want their employees straying far for cigarette breaks, the airport has decided to ease into its no-smoking-anywhere policy by letting people smoke in the designated areas until June 30. After that, the airport will revert to its policy of banning smoking anywhere on its property except inside privately owned vehicles.
NEW YORK: Eos offers free helicopter rides to JFK
Eos Airlines, an all-business-class carrier, has begun providing free helicopter rides from Manhattan to New York John F. Kennedy International for passengers who buy unrestricted tickets to London. Eos offers 44 flights per week between JFK and London Stansted, its sole route.
The service is provided by US Helicopter, a local company that runs a helicopter shuttle service between Manhattan and nearby airports. It has helipads in Lower Manhattan and Midtown. The ride to JFK takes about eight minutes. An unrestricted round-trip fare on Eos is $8,220, according to Eos' website.