Check out this list of thirteen Airport Webcams around the world.
We'll try to track down more of these as this is a neat way to get a little orientation before travelling to a new airport or city.
Note that this blog has been moved to www.QuickAid.com, and also check out my new projects here:
Retire USA Retirement Information
Retirement Blog
Travel and History Blog
US History Website
US History Blog
History and Civil War Blog
Showing posts with label Airports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airports. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Monday, March 02, 2009
Airports in the Recession
As the recession continues and the country flirts with what is likely to be a depression, Airports are anything but immune to the economic crisis.
San Antonio Airport has delayed a planned expansion details and I'm confident that we'll see a lot more of this over the coming years.
Air traffic will almost certainly decline as business slows and travelers choose cheaper destinations for vacations, preferring to drive and save rather than fly. Although ticket prices no longer seem to reflect the huge fuel costs of months ago it seems unlikely this summer will bring a huge air travel boom. Most Americans are licking their economic wounds and although I have not seen study results yet, it's a very good bet that travel this summer will be down - I'd guess quite a bit unless we see the stimulus and TARP plans have immediate hugely positive effects that now appear very unlikely.
San Antonio Airport has delayed a planned expansion details and I'm confident that we'll see a lot more of this over the coming years.
Air traffic will almost certainly decline as business slows and travelers choose cheaper destinations for vacations, preferring to drive and save rather than fly. Although ticket prices no longer seem to reflect the huge fuel costs of months ago it seems unlikely this summer will bring a huge air travel boom. Most Americans are licking their economic wounds and although I have not seen study results yet, it's a very good bet that travel this summer will be down - I'd guess quite a bit unless we see the stimulus and TARP plans have immediate hugely positive effects that now appear very unlikely.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Airport Family Lines - do they work?
Several Airports have begun special family lines - presumably to isolate some potential slowdowns to the check in process as families often have special needs and sometimes unruly or reluctant children.
Here is the story
However if your children are familiar with flying and know the routine, you may choose to use the regular methods and avoid the delays that may come from special family lines which will be harder to gauge in terms of the time taken to get bags, kids, and yourself processed.
Here is the story
However if your children are familiar with flying and know the routine, you may choose to use the regular methods and avoid the delays that may come from special family lines which will be harder to gauge in terms of the time taken to get bags, kids, and yourself processed.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Icelandair Revival
Long term Airline Icelandair is promoting their flights in a new campaign.
The Icelandair official Website is here and they serve these airports (links are to Icelandair's info about those locations):
The Icelandair official Website is here and they serve these airports (links are to Icelandair's info about those locations):
Friday, September 05, 2008
QuickAid Airport Directory is .... almost back
The QuickAid.com Airport Directory was a top resource for Airport information for many years - in fact it was one of the very first very large travel websites. Unfortunately the site fell into disrepair and neglect and I'm only now getting the QuickAid Directory back into gear. It is NOT ready yet but will be soon.
If you've got a link to QuickAid (there are thousands of them), I'd really appreciate it if you would make sure it is correct, or ask me to create a *custom* page for your needs - no charge.
QuickAid will feature extensive information about major airports along with general information and links for regional and international airports.
If you've got a link to QuickAid (there are thousands of them), I'd really appreciate it if you would make sure it is correct, or ask me to create a *custom* page for your needs - no charge.
QuickAid will feature extensive information about major airports along with general information and links for regional and international airports.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Airport Codes and Mileage Calculator
Here at AirportCityCodes we have two helpful data sources - our Airport Codes Database with information about airports all over the world, and our mileage calculator that allows you to get the distance between most airports: Mileage Calculator Airport Codes
If you have any simple airport questions feel free to email me and I''ll try to find the answer for you: jhunkins@gmail.com
If you have any simple airport questions feel free to email me and I''ll try to find the answer for you: jhunkins@gmail.com
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Weather Delays in Chicago and
Yesterday, Officials at Chicagoland airports told travellers to expect some cancellations and delays on travel because of bad weather.
Meanwhile Waashington DC also had many problems as bad weather raged along the east coast of the USA, causing travel problems at several airports.
Winter travel tip: Prepare for delays at the airport by bringing reading or computer work, using your phone to catch up with personal or business calls, and other distractions. Wear comfortable clothing in case your trip lasts much longer than planned, and try to maintain good eating and drinking habits as much as possible to avoid indigestion from the inevitable travel stress.
Most of all: Don't PANIC!
Meanwhile Waashington DC also had many problems as bad weather raged along the east coast of the USA, causing travel problems at several airports.
Winter travel tip: Prepare for delays at the airport by bringing reading or computer work, using your phone to catch up with personal or business calls, and other distractions. Wear comfortable clothing in case your trip lasts much longer than planned, and try to maintain good eating and drinking habits as much as possible to avoid indigestion from the inevitable travel stress.
Most of all: Don't PANIC!
Friday, December 28, 2007
WiFi in Airports
This is information gleaned from an old article in USA Today. For more updated information try this Wi Fi in Airports website: http://www.wififreespot.com/airport.html
In 2005, and I think still, only a small number of companies control most airport Wi-Fi. Here are some:
Wayport. San Jose and Austin. Limited coverage in Oakland, Calif. Airports: AUS, BUF, DFW, OAK, SJC.
Cingular. Denver, Seattle, and Philadelphia. Airports: DEN, PHL, RDU, SEA.
ICOA/WiSE are now merged
ICOA: GEG, BTR SMF, MHT, SAV, FYI, GRK, CHS, ORF, BQK, AZO.
WiSE: ELP, LGA, BWI, CHA, OMA, PBI, ANC, SAN, JFK, IAH, BUF.
SBC. PSP, CLE, BUR, LIT, EVV.
Concourse Communications.
A private contractor for cell and Wi-Fi installations. BNA, DTW, EWR, JFK, MSP, YOW.
T-Mobile. Another veteran hotspot provider with over 5,700 coffeeshop, bookstores, and retail locations, they also offer airport-wide coverage. Airports: SFO, BUR, BWI, GSO, PVD, FSD, TYS, AUS, DFW, DAL, ORF.
Sprint PCS. KCI, SLC, HOU, MEM, MKE, SDF, OAK.
Opti-Fi. Full coverage: YEG, DSM, PHF, ELP, SBN, MOB, MLB, TVC, ALB, YQQ, YHM, YQT, JNU, JAC, ASE, YQG, TOL.
AirTran only: ATL, BWI, DAY, FNT, MDW, MEM, MIA, MKE, ROC, JAX.
Airport's own WIFI networks: These airports rolled their own WiFi, and deserve alot of props for doing it! OWD, FRG, BOS, PDX, LAS, MFR, YUM, ISP, ASE, SAT.
This list is old and NOT INCLUSIVE! Many Airports are adding this great service - be sure to send them a note thanking them if they provide free WiFi!
In 2005, and I think still, only a small number of companies control most airport Wi-Fi. Here are some:
Wayport. San Jose and Austin. Limited coverage in Oakland, Calif. Airports: AUS, BUF, DFW, OAK, SJC.
Cingular. Denver, Seattle, and Philadelphia. Airports: DEN, PHL, RDU, SEA.
ICOA/WiSE are now merged
ICOA: GEG, BTR SMF, MHT, SAV, FYI, GRK, CHS, ORF, BQK, AZO.
WiSE: ELP, LGA, BWI, CHA, OMA, PBI, ANC, SAN, JFK, IAH, BUF.
SBC. PSP, CLE, BUR, LIT, EVV.
Concourse Communications.
A private contractor for cell and Wi-Fi installations. BNA, DTW, EWR, JFK, MSP, YOW.
T-Mobile. Another veteran hotspot provider with over 5,700 coffeeshop, bookstores, and retail locations, they also offer airport-wide coverage. Airports: SFO, BUR, BWI, GSO, PVD, FSD, TYS, AUS, DFW, DAL, ORF.
Sprint PCS. KCI, SLC, HOU, MEM, MKE, SDF, OAK.
Opti-Fi. Full coverage: YEG, DSM, PHF, ELP, SBN, MOB, MLB, TVC, ALB, YQQ, YHM, YQT, JNU, JAC, ASE, YQG, TOL.
AirTran only: ATL, BWI, DAY, FNT, MDW, MEM, MIA, MKE, ROC, JAX.
Airport's own WIFI networks: These airports rolled their own WiFi, and deserve alot of props for doing it! OWD, FRG, BOS, PDX, LAS, MFR, YUM, ISP, ASE, SAT.
This list is old and NOT INCLUSIVE! Many Airports are adding this great service - be sure to send them a note thanking them if they provide free WiFi!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Chicago Airports over the holiday
The Chicago Sun Times reviews the expected travel situation at Chicagoland airports. So far the holiday travel experience seems to have been OK for most travelers. News outlets are not reporting major delays from today's travel, though Sunday travel "home" may tell the big tale.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/660339,CST-NWS-air21.article
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/660339,CST-NWS-air21.article
Thursday, November 15, 2007
President Bush on Airport Delays
President Bush is speaking about how the government will attempt to curb flight delays this holiday season and take some measures to help passengers. Mary Peters, Secretary of Transportation and FAA Administrator Bobby Sturgill are flanking the president who is noting an "epidemic of aviation delays". He is offering these solutions:
1) Military to open some routes that had been unavailable to commercial traffic.
2) FAA is taking measures to head off delays. Moratorium on all non-essential projects.
3) Airlines taking measures to make more staff available, set aside extra seats and planes to help passengers affected by cancellations and delays.
4) Feds will use internet to update flight information. www.fly.faa.gov
5) New Regulations to assure passengers are treated fairly. Overbooking compensation will double. $400 will become $800 compensation for some major flight delays.
NY Metro area is the most problematic region for flights.
From Fox News:
27 million Americans are expected to travel this Thanksgiving holiday (I think this stat is air travel only).
1) Military to open some routes that had been unavailable to commercial traffic.
2) FAA is taking measures to head off delays. Moratorium on all non-essential projects.
3) Airlines taking measures to make more staff available, set aside extra seats and planes to help passengers affected by cancellations and delays.
4) Feds will use internet to update flight information. www.fly.faa.gov
5) New Regulations to assure passengers are treated fairly. Overbooking compensation will double. $400 will become $800 compensation for some major flight delays.
NY Metro area is the most problematic region for flights.
From Fox News:
27 million Americans are expected to travel this Thanksgiving holiday (I think this stat is air travel only).
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Bangalore, India Airport. A long walk to town?
Bangalore Airport Arrivals may face a bit of a challenge getting to the center of town, some 30 miles away. Rediff reports. Apparently there is no good ground transportation to and from the airport, and traffic could make that trip 3-4 hours. For elite passengers there are choppers and air shuttles but regular folks may just have to ... wait... for a better solution.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Free WiFi a winner at Regional Airports
Jaunt is noting how free WiFi is taking off at many regional airports. This even as large airports still try to eek out a few bucks charging relatively large fees to connect to their WiFi networks (usually 9.95 for the day). I don't have data to back this up, but I'm confident that the big players would do well to offer free ad supported WiFi. I simply don't pay for the WiFi when travelling, struggling instead to read my email over the Treo rather than pony up ten bucks just to surf and pick up some email for a few hours between flights.
I'm guessing enough other folks do that same that the airports would be far better off looking to the potentially high revenues they could obtain using open networks with some sort of interstitial advertising injected every 5 minutes or so, or even the less intrusive "menu" system where people would browse in some sort of window surrounded with relevant ads. If I ran a nice lounge at a major airport in Concourse A you can bet your iPhone I'd want to run ads for this in Concourse B, and the people I'd want to target would be those who are reading up email or surfing away, killing time before flights.
So hey big Airports, get with the program!
I'm guessing enough other folks do that same that the airports would be far better off looking to the potentially high revenues they could obtain using open networks with some sort of interstitial advertising injected every 5 minutes or so, or even the less intrusive "menu" system where people would browse in some sort of window surrounded with relevant ads. If I ran a nice lounge at a major airport in Concourse A you can bet your iPhone I'd want to run ads for this in Concourse B, and the people I'd want to target would be those who are reading up email or surfing away, killing time before flights.
So hey big Airports, get with the program!
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Airport and Aircraft information from AC-U-KWIK
AC-U-KWIK is a great comprehensive resource for flyers that features airport and aircraft information. Their FBO directory makes finding a Fixed Base Operator easy. I think AirNav and AC-U-KWIK have similar data but have not done a good comparison. Best to search both to confirm all details before flying.
Friday, September 21, 2007
City from year 2100? No, it's the Beijing Airport.
Architecture helps define our sense of place and time. Big scale architecture does this in a dramatic way and the Beijing Airport is a great example of this. Beijing Airport Code is PEK for Peking, China, reflecting the former name of China's greatest city. Now Beijing, this city was and remains China's greatest city in size, prominence, and international recognition.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
World Airport Awards
Here is Skytrax website for the World Airport Awards 2007.
Hong Kong International won this year. Singapore's Changi won last year. Conspicuously none of the top ten airports are in the USA though perhaps this should come as no surprise. Developing countries are eating the USA's lunch in terms of many business approaches, infrastructure developments, and and business dominance in general. It's fairly clear that China will emerge as the world's top economy - perhaps in as few as 3-5 years.
I don't see this as a bad thing - rather an inevitable consequence of a complex combination of US deficiencies that have grown to critical mass over the last decade. High on that list would be health care costs, unrealistic worker expectations, and high wages, taxes, and expensive regulations for most businesses. The USA remains a hotbed of innovation but even that trend is giving way as China and India's best and brightest continue to challenge the educational, cultural, and geographical pressures that have kept them out of the global spotlight until recently.
The world is changing fast, and these changes are visible at an award winning airport .... far from you!
Hong Kong International won this year. Singapore's Changi won last year. Conspicuously none of the top ten airports are in the USA though perhaps this should come as no surprise. Developing countries are eating the USA's lunch in terms of many business approaches, infrastructure developments, and and business dominance in general. It's fairly clear that China will emerge as the world's top economy - perhaps in as few as 3-5 years.
I don't see this as a bad thing - rather an inevitable consequence of a complex combination of US deficiencies that have grown to critical mass over the last decade. High on that list would be health care costs, unrealistic worker expectations, and high wages, taxes, and expensive regulations for most businesses. The USA remains a hotbed of innovation but even that trend is giving way as China and India's best and brightest continue to challenge the educational, cultural, and geographical pressures that have kept them out of the global spotlight until recently.
The world is changing fast, and these changes are visible at an award winning airport .... far from you!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
FAA - Flight status tools
At the FAA Flight Status page you can get a lot of good information, some in real-time, about flight status, Airport delays, and more. This is generally not a good substitute for going directly to Airport websites and Airline websites for information about specific Airports and flights, but it's a good tool for a quick overview of flight information. If you need information about a specific flight you'll generally want to go to the website of the airline. This is more often than not the best information source although some airlines don't update the sites often enough, leading to some confusion.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
AirNav for pilot helps and for airport details
AirNav has some of the most detailed information about airports, fueling prices and places, and general information for pilots. The Airport detail from FAA data is excellent and AirNav also provides pilots with recent aircraft fuel price data.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Cheap Airline Booking Tips revisited
Via Jason Calcanis I just found a very thoughtful article by Nicole over at Mahalo with tips to booking cheap airline tickets.
Unless you have a *lot more* time on your hands than I do I think some of these suggestions are basically overkill (priceline and following prices after you book) but she's making several great key points including how important it is to be flexible and to use comparison tools like Orbitz, Y ahoo FareChase, or Kayak.
Here is Nicole's Cheap Airline Ticket article.
I think doing some diligent comparisons on Kayak over a few weeks will usually get you similar results for Airlines in USA. Overseas is much more complex because consolidators can be much cheaper - seek them out for expensive flights.
There is no magic formula - just keep on trucking and you'll find cheap stuff, though not always online.
Unless you have a *lot more* time on your hands than I do I think some of these suggestions are basically overkill (priceline and following prices after you book) but she's making several great key points including how important it is to be flexible and to use comparison tools like Orbitz, Y ahoo FareChase, or Kayak.
Here is Nicole's Cheap Airline Ticket article.
I think doing some diligent comparisons on Kayak over a few weeks will usually get you similar results for Airlines in USA. Overseas is much more complex because consolidators can be much cheaper - seek them out for expensive flights.
There is no magic formula - just keep on trucking and you'll find cheap stuff, though not always online.
Transportation Security Administration TSA
The TSA here in the USA has a very big job. They are charged with protecting the millions of travelers who travel daily in, out, and around the country.
All travelers should spend at least a few minutes getting familiar with security basics here at the TSA "for travelers" web page here. Most important is managing your liquids, toothpaste and other gels using the 3-1-1 rule.
Overall the TSA website suffers from the typical bureaucratic challenges of telling people much more than they need or want to know about the organization while leaving key details about travel too thinly discussed. TSA is a place where it would be very advantageous to have a blog team with access to up to the minute information about delays, lines, airport and airline security information and then post up to the minute on their blog to help travelers with access get around.
An example of "travel inefficiencies" that create lose-lose situations came up Thursday on our trip home from PHL Philadelphia. We wanted to visit the shopping/dining section of PHL because we had several hours to kill, but because of the odd setup at PHL this would have required us to either stand in a HUGE line for D concourse and then find a way to C concourse vs walking in to E (with no line!) which was where we needed to be to leave. I'm sure if I knew the place inside out I could have used the bus system more effectively, but given that PHL so heavily promotes the shopping and dining area you'd think they'd arrange things such that you could easily hang out there without worrying about missing a flight. The discrepancy in line length was odd as well and I've seen this very often. TSA seems to use humans where machines would be better and perhaps vica versa. As Thomas Edison pointed out -- there is a better way - find it (please...!).
All travelers should spend at least a few minutes getting familiar with security basics here at the TSA "for travelers" web page here. Most important is managing your liquids, toothpaste and other gels using the 3-1-1 rule.
Overall the TSA website suffers from the typical bureaucratic challenges of telling people much more than they need or want to know about the organization while leaving key details about travel too thinly discussed. TSA is a place where it would be very advantageous to have a blog team with access to up to the minute information about delays, lines, airport and airline security information and then post up to the minute on their blog to help travelers with access get around.
An example of "travel inefficiencies" that create lose-lose situations came up Thursday on our trip home from PHL Philadelphia. We wanted to visit the shopping/dining section of PHL because we had several hours to kill, but because of the odd setup at PHL this would have required us to either stand in a HUGE line for D concourse and then find a way to C concourse vs walking in to E (with no line!) which was where we needed to be to leave. I'm sure if I knew the place inside out I could have used the bus system more effectively, but given that PHL so heavily promotes the shopping and dining area you'd think they'd arrange things such that you could easily hang out there without worrying about missing a flight. The discrepancy in line length was odd as well and I've seen this very often. TSA seems to use humans where machines would be better and perhaps vica versa. As Thomas Edison pointed out -- there is a better way - find it (please...!).
Monday, July 23, 2007
Indianapolis Airport Improvements underway
Major improvements are underway in Indianapolis where a new billion dollar passenger terminal is bringing new hotels and other development to the airport neighborhood of Indianapolis.
The IndyStar reports that Airport officials hope the new Indianapolis Airport will encourage more international travel to and from the region. Also, a new "Civic Plaza" in the Indy Airport will be outside of security and allow non-passengers to shop and dine in what officials hope will become a powerful Indianapolis gathering place for travelers and non-travelers alike.
The IndyStar reports that Airport officials hope the new Indianapolis Airport will encourage more international travel to and from the region. Also, a new "Civic Plaza" in the Indy Airport will be outside of security and allow non-passengers to shop and dine in what officials hope will become a powerful Indianapolis gathering place for travelers and non-travelers alike.
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