.S. airlines aren't the only ones
complaining about airport fees and security costs. These issues
apparently aggravate executives at airlines around the world -- a
point that was made at IATA's annual general
meeting in Washington earlier this month.
Hundreds of delegates interrupted with applause when IATA
Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani
declared that privatizing airports gives them "a license to print
money."
Complaints about security costs surfaced throughout the meeting,
with Bisignani calling on the world's nations to pay for airline
security. He also asked governments to loosen foreign ownership
restrictions, allow more airline mergers and acquisitions and move
beyond bilateral open-skies deals to regional agreements such as a
U.S. -European union.
Delta and Southwest executives
squared off at a IATA conference panel discussing the future of the
world's airlines.
Delta Chairman and CEO Leo Mullin predicted "a
hell of a contest" is coming, as Delta lowers its costs to compete
head-to-head against low-cost, point-to-point rivals.
"It's going to play out in the next five years or so, or we're
dead. And I don't think we're going to be dead," Mullin said.
Southwest Chairman Herb Kelleher suggested he
isn't afraid of the challenge, retorting, "We're nowhere near
finished lowering our costs."
• • •
Mullin also had this to say at the conference: "There are too
many darn hubs in the United States."
That includes 60% too many in the central U.S., he added.
Mullin, of course, didn't offer to close any of Delta's hubs.
Instead, as in the past, he promoted airline industry
consolidation, which he believes will result in an eventual decline
of four to six hub-and-spoke carriers.
• • •
Speaking of hubs, Continental just made its
largest one even bigger. This month the airline opened the first
phase of its new 23-gate Terminal E at Houston (Bush).
Seven gates on the west concourse go into operation immediately,
and Continental said the central building and east concourse will
be completed by December.
The completed terminal will give it access to 80 gates at
Houston, which will "support growth" as the airline adds to its
present level of 530 departures to 148 cities.
Continental touted the advantages of the 600,000-square-foot,
U-shaped building for travelers: better flight information
displays, clearer public-address announcements and abundant
self-service check-in kiosks.
• • •
Travelers soon won't be able to fly on the
Concorde anymore -- assuming Virgin
Atlantic's seemingly quixotic effort to obtain and fly the
aircraft doesn't succeed -- but everyone in the U.S. will have the
opportunity to see it.
Air France flew one of the aircraft across the
Atlantic one last time, from Paris to Washington, to donate the
aircraft to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space
Museum. The museum plans to display the aircraft at its new
companion facility, which is under construction at Dulles Airport
and scheduled to open Dec. 15.