Transportation Clips
Ryanair cuts service at Stansted Airport – http://www.stripes.com/news/ryanair-to-cut-service-at-stansted-airport-1.93526
Ryanair mulls fat tax — http://www.stripes.com/news/ryanair-mulls-fat-tax-on-obese-travelers-1.90734
Europe-U.S. airfares — http://www.stripes.com/military-life/travel/airlines-drop-fares-for-europe-to-u-s-travel-1.90207
Security at European airports — http://www.stripes.com/news/security-tight-for-flights-into-u-s-after-foiled-attack-1.97663
SFO and San Jose respond to FAA report — http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg42764.html
Homeland Security report uncovers blown undercover security inspections at SFO
TSA officials say problems have since been fixed
Palo Alto Daily News
November 17, 2006
Mark Abramson
Security personnel may have jeopardized public safety at San Francisco International Airport by alerting screeners about undercover tests of the airport’s security screening system, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Inspector General’s report.
Employees of the federal Transportation Security Administration and Covenant Aviation Security, a private company hired by the TSA to help screen airport passengers and baggage, alerted screening personnel about the tests, according to the report released this week. The tests were conducted between August 2003 and May 2004.
“As a result, the need for changes in policies, additional training of screeners and additional staffing, as well as equipment inadequacies, may not have been revealed,” the report stated.
The report indicated that TSA and Covenant Aviation employees notified screeners about the covert security checks by tracking undercover testers on surveillance cameras and on foot throughout the airport. Physical descriptions of the testers were relayed to screening personnel as the testers approached security checkpoints. It is unclear how the screeners and TSA workers learned the undercover testers’ identities.
“We have some internal methods to prevent this from happening again,” said TSA spokesman Nico Melendez. “It’s an issue we fixed two years ago.”
Melendez said TSA employees were disciplined. He cited privacy concerns as a reason for not elaborating. Covenant Security officials could not be reached for comment.
According to a letter written to Homeland Security by TSA Deputy Assistant Secretary Robert Jamison, TSA employees are now prohibited from notifying checkpoint screening supervisors when the undercover testing is under way — but those supervisors’ superiors can be notified.
As an added measure, a directive was issued at the San Francisco airport in May 2004 that prohibits any actions that could compromise the tests.
Airport officials said they were notified about the blown undercover security inspections and are comfortable with the corrective actions.
The report also indicated there was a security breach at SFO that went unreported by theTSA, but there is no evidence the omission was intentional. The report did not specify what the breach was, and the TSA, citing security concerns, would not comment on the matter.
E-mail Mark Abramson at mabramson@dailynewsgroup.com.
SFO — San Francisco International Airport officials intend to renovate an unused section of the airport as part of a redevelopment plan that is expected to cost as much as $250 million.
The Airport Commission requested proposals earlier this week to renovate part of the old international terminal known as Terminal 2 Boarding Area D. The plan is intended to ensure that SFO has enough terminal and gate space to meet domestic airlines’ needs in the future, an airport staff report states.
The renovation work will include installing new heating and ventilation systems, modern computer systems, and other upgrades, airport spokesman Mike McCarron said. The work area was closed down about eight years ago when the new international terminal opened.
The overall project, known as the Domestic Terminal Redevelopment Plan, also calls for renovating or replacing the existing Terminal 1 boarding areas B and C. It is expected to take 21/2 years and will be paid for out of the airport’s capital improvement program budget.
It will be a while before the renovations occur, McCarron pointed out. “We have at least another year of planning,” he said.
The unused Terminal 2 area has 10 gates, but can be reconfigured for up to 14 gates, McCarron said.
Although it is unclear what airlines would use the renovated terminal, airport officials said the changes are needed to accommodate growth.
This year, air travel is expected to increase by about 4 or 5 percent at the airport, with most of that coming from international travel, McCarron said. He said he is not surehow much of the increase can be attributed to more low-cost carriers operating out of SFO.
Airport officials, however, anticipate that those low-cost carriers will continue to add flights at SFO.
“The new low-cost carriers at SFO indicate that they plan for very aggressive growth within the next two to three years,” Airport Director John Martin wrote in a staff report. “This … growth, coupled with the continued increase in international air traffic, will impact the airport’s ability to accommodate the anticipated increased flight activity in the International Terminal, causing SFO to be gate-constrained in 2010.”
The new low-cost carrier arrivals at SFO are Burlingame-based Virgin America, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue. Southwest Airlines has the most flights of those airlines, with 18 daily out of two gates.
Southwest Airlines officials said that although it is unclear whether they would move into the renovated Terminal 2 area, they anticipate a need for more gates when they add eight non-stop flights on Nov. 4 to Los Angeles International Airport. They said Southwest can operate up to 10 flights out of a gate.
“I know we are interested in additional gates at SFO,” Southwest spokeswoman Whitney Eikhinger said.
Southwest now has non-stop flights to Chicago’s Midway Airport, San Diego and Las Vegas.
JetBlue officials said their six daily round-trip flights are doing well at SFO, but it is too early to talk about expanding at the airport. The airline has four daily round-trip flights to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, one to Boston and one to Salt Lake City.
“We started service on May 3. If our customers continue to give us a reason to expand, we would do so,” JetBlue spokeswoman Alison Eshelman said.
Virgin America officials could not be reached for comment.
E-mail Mark Abramson at mabramson@dailynewsgroup.com.
The FAA announced it has categorized the May 26 incident in which a Republic Airlines pilot had to take off to avoid colliding with a SkyWest Airlines plane on therunway as a Category A incursion. On a scale of incursions from A to D, the most serious is A.
“Every Category A is a serious event, and it is a serious concern for us,” FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said. “This wasn’t a procedural issue, this was caused by a good controller with a lot of experience making a mistake.”
The controller has about 20 years of experience, and since the incursion, he has had to get recertified for his job, Gregor said.
Other than the pilots and air traffic controllers, it’s doubtful anyone knew about theincursion when it happened, Gregor said, adding that it did not affect operations atSFO. So far this fiscal year, 11 Category A incursions have occurred nationwide, out of more than 34 million takeoffs and landings.
The severity of the incursion has sparked the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate as well.
“We investigate probably just a handful (of incursions) a year,” safety board spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz said.
According to the safety board’s press release, the incursion happened about 1:30 p.m. when an SFO tower controller cleared SkyWest Airlines Flight 5741 from Modesto to land on runway 28R. The same controller then cleared Republic Airlines Flight 4912 to Los Angeles to take off from runway 1L, which intersects runway 28R.
When the SkyWest plane landed, a warning device known as the Airport Movement Area Safety System alerted the traffic controller that the two airplanes were on a collision course, the safety board said. The controller then ordered the SkyWest flight to halt short of runway 1L, but the plane couldn’t stop until it reached the middle of the runway. The Republic Airlines pilot had to take off to avoid colliding with the SkyWest flight.
According to the SkyWest crew, the Republic Airlines plane flew over it by 30 to 50 feet. Airport officials are notified about such incursions, but they can do nothing unless they involve one of the airport’s vehicles, which this didn’t, SFO spokesman Mike McCarron said.
National Transportation Safety Board officials said their investigation could be completed in the fall and may result in some safety recommendations to the FAA, which doesn’t have to follow them.
The safety board lists runway incursions as one of the most serious transportation safety issues.
As a result, it has recommended that aircraft be equipped with devices such as the Airport Movement Area Safety System and advises pilots not to cross actively used runways without the approval of a controller. Current regulations do not require pilots to get clearance to cross each runway while taxiing for takeoffs and landings.
“It would slow down the process of taxiing, but we think it would improve safety,” Lopatkiewicz said about the runway recommendation.
E-mail Mark Abramson at mabramson@dailynewsgroup.com.
SFO — Some 350 airline passengers had their trips to Hawaii delayed Thursday morning when their plane was forced to return to San Francisco International Airport after smoke appeared in the cockpit, airport and federal aviation officials said.
United Airlines Flight 73 to Honolulu left SFO at 9:15 a.m. and was about an hour into its flight when the pilot decided to head back, United Airlines spokesman Jeff Kovick said.
“Safety is our No. 1 concern,” Kovick said. “Our captain proceeded with caution by returning to the airfield. It was the captain’s decision.”
The Boeing 777 aircraft, which was carrying 348 passengers, returned to SFO at
11:39 a.m., Federal Aviation Administration officials said. No injuries were reported.
Kovick said he had not heard anything about smoke on the plane and said that a possible electrical problem forced Flight 73’s return. But SFO spokesman Mike McCarron and FAA officials said there was a report of smoke in the cockpit, but no flames.
Fire crews from various departments were called to the airport to stand by while the jet landed.
Aircraft that may be in trouble get priority treatment from air traffic controllers, McCarron said.
“We do what the pilot asks,” said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor.
When such a plane lands, fire officials at the scene check with the pilot to make sure everything is OK and then follow the jet to the gate as a precaution, McCarron said. The runways do not have to be cleared for such an incident, he said.
Incidents such as Thursday’s occur relatively infrequently and are seldom reported by the media, Gregor said.
“Most of this stuff you never hear about,” he said.
Flight 73 is the fourth incident he has heard of this week involving either a real electrical problem or faulty indicator lights, Gregor said. In one of those incidents, a malfunctioning oven produced smoke on a flight that had taken off from Los Angeles. That flight, ATA Airlines Flight 4755, was also headed to Hawaii.
After the United flight returned to SFO, the airline arranged for the travelers to fly out on a different plane around 2:30 p.m., Kovick said.
“We are working to get them to Honolulu as safely and as quickly as possible,” he said.
MediaNews Staff Writer Melissa McRobbie contributed to this report.
E-mail Mark Abramson at mabramson@dailynewsgroup.com.
Virgin America might face one more challenge
Flight attendants’ union objects to airline’s clearance for takeoff
Redwood City Daily News
April 20, 2007
Mark Abramson; Daily News Staff Writer
Burlingame-based Virgin America airline may face another challenge in its turbulent efforts to get off the ground if an objection filed with the federal government by the Association of Flight Attendants union is accepted.
The flight attendants’ association indicated in an April 10 letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation that it plans to contest the department’s tentative authorization last month to let the airline fly. The deadline to file an objection, however, was April 10. The association told the department it would have its objection filed by Thursday, more than a week after the deadline. As of press time, no objection had been filed.
Deadlines
“They should have filed their objections by the 10th,” Virgin America spokesman Gareth Edmondson-Jones said. “The deadline has come and gone for them to respond.”
Department of Transportation officials said they have not addressed the flight attendant association’s request to file its objection late.
“Parties can file late and ask us to accept a late filing, and we would review it,” said DOT spokesman Bill Mosely. “We review the materials and issue a final decision, which we want to do as soon as possible.”
Association of Flight Attendants officials did not return phone calls Thursday.
Naysayers dropping out
Other airlines, including Delta, American and United, also opposed Virgin America’s plans to start flying, but those objections appeared to have been dropped after the startup airline reorganized its ownership and its board of directors.
The airlines questioned whether Virgin America complied with federal laws, which require at least 75 percent of the shareholders of an American airline to be U.S. citizens and two-thirds of its board of directors to be Americans. Concerns were also raised about the airline’s connection to British billionaire Richard Branson and his Virgin Group, which includes Virgin Atlantic airlines.
“It certainly looks like everybody (who objected) has dropped out, so there seems to be a feeling that we are on our way for final approval,” Edmondson-Jones said.
Although Department of Transportation officials could not say when they expect to issue a final ruling, Virgin America is optimistic the decision will be made by the end of May.
“Depending on what time we hear in May, we are looking at a summer launch,” Edmondson-Jones said. “We do have about 40 or 50 pilots. We have everything we need to start for a summer launch.”
Hoping for new orders
Edmondson-Jones said Virgin America also hopes the Department of Transportation reconsiders its order for Chief Executive Officer Fred Reid to step down. Reid was hired before concerns were raised about the airline’s ownership and board.
“He was employed before the (predominantly American) board of directors was put in place. He was hired by the Virgin Group, so in some people’s eyes, he is beholden to Branson,” Edmondson-Jones said. “We think that is a moot point. He is formerly the president of Delta. He is no one’s puppet.”
First of 3 major low-cost carriers coming to airport JetBlue lands at SFO
Redwood City Daily News
May 3, 2007
Mark Abramson; Daily News Staff Writer
JetBlue will land at San Francisco International Airport for the first time today, the first of three major “low-fare” domestic carriers expected to begin service at the airport in the next few months,
Southwest Airlines is scheduled next week to announce a timeline for its plans to return to SFO in the fall, and Burlingame-based Virgin America is in the process of getting Department of Transportation approval to start flying out of the airport as well.
JetBlue already operates out of Oakland and Mineta San Jose international airports and is starting its SFO service with four daily flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and one flight to Boston. The airline will add a daily flight to Salt Lake City starting July 27. JetBlue is scrapping one of its Oakland to New York flights because of the new San Francisco service, airline spokesman Bryan Baldwin said.
The airline is kicking off the service with a press conference today by the company’s CEO, David Neeleman and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.
“The biggest reason that we wanted to begin service out of SFO is that our customers were asking for it,” Baldwin said. “We felt there was a huge opportunity for us to complete our service offerings in the region by adding flights at SFO.”
Southwest officials said they dropped the airline’s San Francisco service in March 2001 because of runway constraints, a lack of space to grow and high operational costs. With fewer total daily flights now flying out of SFO, there is room for future expansion, they said.
Southwest officials and Baldwin said passenger demand is weighed heavily before an airline begins service anywhere, but that there are also other considerations.
“Another big factor is accessibility and customer service, so having the public transit options (at an airport) are a benefit,” Baldwin said.
SFO is the only Bay Area airport with a BART station. Oakland is accessible by taking BART to McAfee Coliseum and then either the airport’s Air Bart shuttle or an AC Transit bus. San Jose airport passengers can take the VTA light rail to Metro Airport Station then catch a shuttle to the airport.
The amount it costs an airline to get a passenger from an airport’s front door to the plane is another factor carriers consider and a reason why fares are different at each airport, said Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Paula Berg.
That cost per passenger at SFO is $12. At Oakland it is $5, and at San Jose, it is $4.
McCarron said SFO has the best facilities of any airport in the region and the most advanced security — major draws for airlines and passengers, he said. The average wait for a passenger to get through security at SFO is four to five minutes, he said.
SFO also offers covered long-term parking for $13 a day. Uncovered long-term parking at San Jose and Oakland is $15 a day. Short-term parking rates are $1 for every 12 minutes at SFO; $2 for every 30 minutes at Oakland; and $1 for every 20 minutes at San Jose.
Oakland officials say their location gives them an advantage over other airports.
“We are right in the middle of the Bay Area,” Oakland Airport spokeswoman Cindy Johnson said. “Through our marketing efforts, we have attracted more nonstop service out of Oakland so people don’t have to go across the Bay.”
San Jose airport officials tout their location as a draw, as well as their convenient short-term parking next to the terminals.
“We all got our part of the Bay and niche,” San Jose airport spokesman Rich Dressler said. “Ours is San Jose, part of the Peninsula, Santa Clara County and all the way down to Monterey and the San Benito (County) area.”
E-mail Mark Abramson at mabramson@dailynewsgroup.com.
Mark Abramson -- Journalist and Writer 
Leave a comment