Sky Talk

Airports, cities brace for impact of flight cuts

D/FW Airport isn't the only big airport struggling to cope with a big decline in flights by the end of the year. In Arizona, officials with Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport estimate that cuts will affect a "substantial slice" of $19 billion in annual visitor spending in the region, according to this story in the Arizona Republic.

- Trebor Banstetter

Alliance runway may proceed

We have an interesting piece in this morning's Star-Telegram, and at Star-Telegram.com, about the status of a key runway extension project at Alliance Airport in Fort Worth. Check it out here.

- Trebor Banstetter

San Antonio new private aircraft entry point

Private aircraft flying into Texas from foreign countries will soon have another point where they can make a first stop required by government regulations. According to the San Antonio News-Express, the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection will designate San Antonio International Airport permanently as an "airport of first landing" for private aircraft.

- Bob Cox

Free Wi-Fi in Denver

If your travels ever take you through Denver International Airport and you're lugging around a laptop, now you can hop on the Internet for free -- and download a movie before hopping on a plane again.

The airport signed a deal with a company called FreeFi Networks to switch from a pay-for-use Internet service to a free one. And FreeFi has partnered with Disney-ABC Domestic Television to offer movies on demand.

This now makes Denver the largest airport in the country offering free wireless Internet access, FreeFi said in an announcement released this morning. Denver used to charge a $7.95 daily fee.

With the addition of Denver, three of the continent's top 10 busiest airports now offer free Wi-Fi. The others are Las Vegas and Phoenix.

While almost all airports would love to offer free Internet access as a perk for drawing more travelers, some industry executives have said that offering the service for free has its downsides. For one, the download speed is sometimes slower than a service you have to pay for, such as T-Mobile offered by Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. That's because you naturally weed out some users on a premium service because some are not willing for pay for it.

Indeed, Denver is now averaging as many as 5,000 daily connections, whereas the paid service averaged about 600 daily connections.

Another reason most of the large airports have been reluctant to switch to free Internet access is the money. They have to make up the revenue somewhere. And that generally means advertising. D/FW would have to sell a lot of advertising to cover the lost revenue.

Richard Bogen, managing director of FreeFi Networks, said several other U.S. airports have expressed interest in his company's service, and FreeFi expects to make "several announcements" in the first half of this year regarding new airport locations.

Perhaps D/FW? Who knows, but stay tuned.

-David

Pampered in the airport

Check out the New York Times' take on the latest trend in posh, upscale airport lounges.

-David

Airport landing fees

Doesn't seem like it would be a big issue here at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, but the Transportation Department is throwing out the idea of letting airports charge landing fees based on the time of day and the traffic volume, instead of on landed weights.

This is all aimed at reducing delays at some of the nation's most congested airports, including New York's La Guardia and JFK airports.

D/FW Airport officials have said in the past that the world's third-busiest airport is only at 70 percent of capacity and could grow to become the world's busiest with its seven runways.

The Air Transport Association recently released a statement that said the DOT proposal would not fix the problem.

"The policy announced by the DOT is nothing more than congestion pricing disguised as an airport fee," according to the ATA, which represents the nation's largest air carriers.

Here's what air travel analyst Terry Trippler told the AP today:

"The best part about this is that it opens up competition among airports," Trippler said, adding that airports in Memphis or Philadelphia who see their counterparts in Atlanta or New York raising landing fees may opt not to follow suit as a way to attract more business. "That’s what we want and that’s what we need."

-David

D/FW still No. 3 in U.S.

Dallas/Fort Worth Airport once again ended the year as the nation's third-busiest airport overall, with 702,722 flights, according to the Associated Press, which obtained the latest data from the FAA today.

Atlanta topped the list once again, with 994,466 flights, while Chicago O'Hare came in second with 935,000 in 2007.

Atlanta was the only one of the top three airports that grew (up 1.8 percent). Chicago and D/FW, both hubs for Fort Worth-based American Airlines, saw decreases of 2.4 and 2.3 percent respectively, according to the AP.

-David