Recently I completed the brief given to our year group in our product design class. In this case it was a competition set by the company NCR http://www.ncr.com/ who are well know for their distribution of cash point terminals and interaction design. The brief we were given simply stated ” design a new world of interaction”
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NCR- Experience a new world of interactions
By Susan Page , USA TODAY WASHINGTON — Americans are divided over whether President Obama’s response to the foiled bombing of a Detroit-bound jetliner on Christmas Day went far enough, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, amid broad support for the controversial practice of ethnic profiling in airline security. Despite criticism by Obama and others of the failure of intelligence agencies to prevent the incident, however, those surveyed by an overwhelming 3-1 say that the United States has made considerable progress against terrorism since the 9/11 attacks in 2001. There also was no significant increase in the percentage of people expressing concern that their families might be the victim of terrorism
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Poll: Most Americans support ethnic profiling in airline security
In an effort to compete with the ever-growing fleet of cheap buses that are cruising up and down the Northeast corridor, Amtrak has announced that it will begin featuring free Wi-Fi service on its Acela trains starting this March. It’s part of a larger five-year upgrade plan, Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman said in a recent conference call , which also includes the purchase of over 100 locomotives and “several hundred” new passenger cars. Boardman won’t say that the Wi-Fi will always be free, as it may become part of a pricing structure, but it’s certainly an incentive for business travelers to get more done on the road.
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Amtrak To Install Free Wi-Fi on Acela
We’ve seen a few delays due to security , but that’s not the reason that New York’ s JFK Airport is anticipating delays. As of today, JFK International Airport has announced that its largest runway will be experiencing delays due to major renovations. The runway, which currently handles one-third of the airports traffic and slightly more than one half or its departures will temporarily be shut down in March, and renovations are expected to last for four months, according to USA Today
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JFK International Airport will temporarily close its largest runway in March
I’m getting ready to head to the airport first thing in the morning to travel to visit family. This will be my first time traveling by air since I had my hip replaced 8 weeks ago. From what I hear, the machines we have at checkpoints do an excellent job detecting metal hips; I guess I will find out. I’ll let you know how it goes – and I will plan to get to the airport a little earlier than usual. I am still following the media treatment of all this and remain perplexed and unhappy with most of it. I heard one reporter ask the following: “Is it smart to go to whole body imaging machines, won’t the terrorists just try to find a way to beat those, perhaps hiding explosives in their body?” Just incredible. Of course, the answer is that the terrorists will always be trying to beat whatever we have, they are not going to give up. There is no silver bullet that will end this process for all time. We must make good decisions, think ahead, and be ready to adjust – constantly. I am pleased by the administration’s focus on intelligence. As my ACI Europe counterpart, Olivier Jankovec has said, “focusing exclusively on detection at the airport is not the way forward.” It seems as if our intelligence community had plenty of information on this guy. We have to make sure it is better used next time. Before I conclude I want to recognize two people who were involved in the aviation industry and who passed away in recent weeks. Harry Kluckhohn was a friend to many in the ACI family for a long time. If you have traveled in airports such as Los Angeles, San Francisco or Kansas City then you have seen the results of his work. You see, Harry began his career in finance on Wall Street as a young man after service in the Navy. He soon realized that he was often the youngest person in the room by 20 years, and he also yearned to do something a little more interesting. So he was transferred to San Francisco and got involved in public finance, including a number of airport projects, on many of which he worked closely with my good friend Oris Dunham. I was also interested to learn that in addition to his Navy service, Harry was also involved in football, boxing AND the school musical when he was at the Naval Academy. A really well rounded guy, and well loved by his many friends and associates. Harry Kluckhohn, RIP. Jack Stempler lived two doors down from me. He served as General Counsel of the United States Air Force, and he also served twice as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs, including during some of the worst days of the Vietnam War. Jack served in the Marines in World War II, and took part in two of the bloodiest landings of that war. I actually didn’t learn much of this directly from Jack, he hardly ever talked about himself. He’d come out and join me when I walked the dog and we’d talk about the issues of the day, and he always wanted to know what I was up to. In fact, I didn’t find out about his role at DOD during the Vietnam War till I saw a picture of him with General Westmorland when I was in his house and asked about it (and the picture was NOT on the wall, if was on a table with some things he was preparing to store). He was a classic example of the Greatest Generation. He provided extraordinary and exemplary service to this country in difficult circumstances over a period of decades and never called attention to himself. A great guy. Jack Stempler, RIP.
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Traveling with my new hip
Tampa Creative Loafing, shelter from the mainstream for news, event listings, dining, movies and music. urton, for the second straight meeting, ended up having an intense confrontation with Miller, this time about the report of the approximately 40,000 square foot building, formerly leased by
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Controversial demolition of airport property adds more tension at…
In the wake of the Christmas Day bomb scare, Newark Airport recently went on lockdown for six hours in response to a man who unknowingly walked through a secure area in the airport’s Terminal C. Thousands of passengers arrived at their destinations as late as last night, and were subjected to massive crowding and lack of resources both in the airport and on planes.
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Newark Airport goes on lockdown for small security breach
Security lines at London's Heathrow airport Heathrow Airport will install full-body scanners that can see under passengers’ clothing as soon as possible, according to the Cheapflights UK news blog . Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave the g0-ahead for full-body scanners in Britain’s airports in the wake of the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt of Northwest Airlines flight 253. The Prime Minister had promised a “gradual” introduction of the scanners in response to the Detroit terror scare, in which a man smuggled explosives through Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
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Full-body scanners to be used in London airports
After a long week of terror threats, attempted bombings, and rumors spreading about whether you can or cannot use the new electronics you got for Christmas on your next flight , the Transportation Security Administration has finally issued a statement on the new security rules for travelers. The TSA website states the new rules: “…includes long-term, sustainable security measures developed in consultation with law enforcement officials and our domestic and international partners. Because effective aviation security must begin beyond our borders, and as a result of extraordinary cooperation from our global aviation partners, TSA is mandating that every individual flying into the U.S.
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TSA issues new security rules for travelers
The next time you find yourself missing a connecting flight in Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, you might want to take a deep breath and open your arms to the possibility of another kind of connection – a love connection? In a recent study commissioned by men’s grooming product AXE and Sperling’s Best Places, researcher’s found Fiumicino Airport at number 10, ranking third among overseas airports
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Find Love at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport
An apparently drunk man who was armed with a knife climbed over a security fence at Los Angeles International Airport and was arrested early on New Year’s Day, authorities said. Brady Alan Mertens, 25, of Culver City approached an access…
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Armed fence-climber at LAX arrested on New Year’s Day, police say…
I’m writing this on Friday afternoon, as we who live in the D.C. area brace for what looks like the largest winter storm in many years. Even small amounts of snow cause great consternation in Washington as people flock to the store to buy enough provisions to withstand the siege of Stalingrad; large amounts will shut the place down for days. Good thing airports don’t run that way.
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Airports: Armed and Ready for Snow
A news story crossed my desk today stating that U.S .airlines, IN THE THIRD QUARTER ALONE, made nearly $2 billion from bag fees , change fees, and other ancillary fees. And this number DOES NOT INCLUDE such items as fees for pillows and blankets, food and drink, seat selection and entertainment options. When you add all that in, the number is well over $2 billion. IN JUST ONE QUARTER. The airlines earned $740 million on just baggage fees in the third quarter. Now, I have no quibble with airlines pricing their product as they see fit; though this does raise serious policy questions since the aviation trust fund that supports a lot of aviation infrastructure projects, including air traffic control, depends upon revenue from the ticket tax and most, if not all, of these fees are exempt from that. So, we do need to take that into account and airports stand ready to work with airlines, general aviation and others to figure out how to address this challenge. But, if they want to sell their products in this way, that’s fine, I suppose. That, of course, leads me to think about the proposal in Congress to allow airports to increase the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) user fee airports charge, by as much as $2.50. A fraction of what is charged for bags, for example. (Full disclosure, we support increasing the limit on the PFC user fee by $3 and indexing it for inflation). Here is how most rationale people would think airlines should respond to our proposal: “This is a great idea. We don’t have enough infrastructure, delays are far too common, and if we ever fix air traffic control all that investment will go down the drain if we don’t have enough runways, taxiways and terminals. Terminal space for our precious passengers is far too limited in too many cases, and we need to expand that. Many terminals are older, and they should be modernized, after all the convenience and needs of our passengers are our foremost concern. And projects financed by the PFC, including the bonds that are backed by the PFC, reduce our rates and charges by tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of dollars at many airports around the country – and that goes right to the bottom line. PFC user fees are project based, so they don’t support bureaucracies. Airports are a primary and critical piece of our assembly line and they need to work for our passengers. This is a great idea – how do we support this?” BUT, here is how many (not all) airlines respond: “This is a terrible idea. Every dollar in the passenger’s pockets belongs to us, and we are determined to siphon every last one out. We need to find more fees to charge (that Ryannair guy’s idea for a potty fee sounds interesting…). WE want to control how much infrastructure is built – and we DO NOT want enough for our competitors. Passengers don’t care if they have to sit on the floor in outdated, overcrowded terminals; it helps them appreciate the limited leg room we give them at the back of our planes. Airports should be nothing more than four walls, a ceiling and some doors (a former airline CEO actually did say that to me, in exactly those words).” This should be a no-brainer. Members of Congress in both parties support this PFC user fee increase. We can build the 21st century infrastructure we need, create tens, even hundreds of thousands of jobs, all at no cost to the federal budget and all while saving the airlines money directly off their bottom line. Let’s hope 2010 brings us, finally, to the point where Congress passes an FAA reauthorization bill with a PFC increase, indexed to inflation, so that we can get to work building and modernizing the infrastructure we need.
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How can airlines say “No” to PFCs increases with a straight face?
The TSA’s mistaken posting of an outdated standard operating procedures manual on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site has gotten huge press attention, matched only by the attention received on Capitol Hill . Three thoughts: This is obviously an important development and a big mistake. I know TSA is moving quickly to deal with it, and I am confident they will. Second, any changes TSA might make as a result should be undertaken in consultation with airports, wherever appropriate. TSA has made important strides in the past several years to work with airports and I hope that consultation will continue. Finally, news organizations and others that have kept a copy of this manual on their websites are being grossly irresponsible. It is, in a country like ours, important that such stories be reported. But to keep the manual on those sites is the height of irresponsibility.
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Talk to the Airports Before Updating the TSA Manual
Aviation Jobs – Search 1000s of aviation jobs including Aviation Jobs, Jobs in Aviation, Aviation Jobs London, Aviation Recruitment from the UKs leading Aviation recruiters and companies. Airport operator BAA’s July traffic figures suggest passenger numbers may have stabilised following the
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BAA sees passenger figures start to stabilise | Aviation Job Sear…
Aviation, Defense and Space News, Jobs, Conferences by AVIATION WEEK the premier provider of aviation news, information, and data tools for the global aerospace and defense industry
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Put It All Together and It Spells Social CAK
Los Angeles ethics commission investigators are recommending that civil charges be brought against six current and former managers at Los Angeles World Airports who allegedly took thousands of dollars worth of trips to China and Europe provided by an association…
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Ethics commission report alleges LAX officials got gifts, trips f…
There are a myriad of holiday travel tips out on the web these days. We have condensed tips from articles in USA Today, Bing Travel, and Frommer’s to bring you our last Holiday Travel Tip. As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, this is a stressful and busy time to travel. There are many ways that you can make this experience easier on yourself and those you are interacting with at the airport. From security to customer service, we’ve got options to share with you that are sure to make your holiday travels more joyful! Our third holiday travel tip is: Learn to successfully navigate the airport experience! 1. Do as much as you can at home. Check in for your flight, print a boarding pass, and even pay for checked luggage.
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Holiday Travel Tip #3 – Learn to successfully navigate the airport experience
Monarch has extended its onboard recycling scheme to include flights from Manchester Airport. Monarch’s recycling schemes ensures recyclable items such aa aluminium drinks cans, plastic wine and water bottles, glass wine and champagne bottles, newspapers, magazines are placed into a separate recycling bag by cabin crew during the flight. Items are then recycled airside once
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Monarch extends onboard recycling
Flybe is laying on a one-off day return flight to Exeter Airport from Newcastle Airport to assist Newcastle United fans travelling to Home Park for the FA Cup Tie with Plymouth Argyle on Saturday 2 January 2010. The ‘King Kev Toon flight’ schedule will be operated by Flybe’s Kevin Keegan aircraft, which was unveiled in 2008
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Flybe offers day return for Newcastle Plymouth Argyle FA Cup tie