Airport Business News

AirGuide Business, July 14, 2008

7/14/2008

US Transportation Department, in a step designed to save fuel, said on Thursday it would impose a measure giving congested airports authority to charge airlines more to land during the busiest periods. Regulators believe spreading more flights out during the day and using bigger planes to reduce congestion will save fuel. But carriers are planning large cuts in domestic operations later this year, so it is unclear whether any airports would impose the congestion fee. Airlines have long opposed any attempt to charge them a premium for using busy airports. 7/11/2008

U.S. Air Transport Assn. had no comment yesterday, but when the rule was proposed in January President and CEO James May called it "nothing more than congestion pricing disguised as an airport fee". Gribbin conceded that airlines are "not wildly enthusiastic" about the rule. Airports Council International-North America President Greg Principato praised it, however, saying it recognizes that "airport proprietors are in the best position to manage the use of the facilities they planned, financed, built and currently operate." 7/10/2008

US Dept. of Transportation issued a final rule yesterday that will permit US airports to base airline rates and charges on "market incentives" as well as the traditional aircraft weight metric currently used, opening the door for operators of congested airports to impose higher fees on aircraft landing during peak hours. US airlines have fought federal government proposals to impose "congestion pricing" at crowded airports and DOT General Counsel D.J. Gribbin insisted yesterday that the new rule "is not congestion pricing per se" but rather a mechanism that gives local airport authorities more autonomy to manage traffic. "This allows the airport to control something that otherwise would be controlled by the federal government," he said during a conference call with reporters. "This is pricing that affects congestion but it is not congestion pricing." 7/10/2008

Aeroports de Paris

Aeroports de Paris posted a 1.9 percent rise in June passenger traffic at its main Paris airports, the company said on Thursday. ADP, which runs Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, maintained its near-term goal for growth in EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) of around 60 percent from now until 2010. ADP shares earlier closed up 5.7 percent at 51.85 euros, giving the company a market capitalization of around EUR5 billion euros. The French government owns 68 percent of ADP's share capital. 7/18/2008

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Ryanair

A Dutch court upheld on Thursday the introduction of a tax on passenger flights, despite an appeal from airlines and industry bodies, the Finance Ministry said in a statement. The tax, which took effect on July 1, will add EUR11.25 euros (USD$17.69) to the cost of a short-haul flight and EUR45 to flights longer than 2,500 km. The court ruled that the tax was not in conflict with European and international law. The appeal against a previous case upholding the tax in March was brought by airlines including Ryanair, Maastricht airport and industry bodies. Pieter Verboom, the chief financial officer of Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, said in March the tax would cap passenger traffic growth and profits for the year and said low-cost carriers were switching to airports outside the Netherlands. Schiphol lost its fourth place in Europe's passenger airport rankings to Madrid last year, despite a 3.8 percent rise in 2007 passenger numbers to 47.8 million. 7/18/2008

Dublin Airport, Thales

Dublin Airport was operating at 80% capacity Friday following days of disruptions owing to a fault in the radar system. "The cause of the problem with the ATC system has been identified and a comprehensive system evaluation process by the suppliers, Thales ATM, is ongoing," the Irish Aviation Authority said in a statement. 7/14/2008

Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International

Passenger traffic at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport increased 6.4 percent in May compared to the same month last year, while traffic at Palm Beach International Airport dropped 11.53 percent, according to monthly airport traffic reports. And at the Palm Beach airport, Delta Airlines rose to the No. 1 carrier in market share of passengers boarding flights, followed by US Airways. JetBlue fell to third from the top spot in April. In Fort Lauderdale, total passenger traffic was 1.97 million in May. For the first five months this year, traffic is up 7 percent compared with the same period in 2007, according to the report. Steve Belleme, airport business development manager, said he is pleased that the year has started strong, but projects growth will slow to 1 to 2 percent by the end of the year. 7/12/2008

GAP

GAP's June passenger traffic dropped 4.8 percent. Its passenger traffic declined 0.5 percent in May and was off 5.3 percent in April. GAP along with rivals Asur and OMA have suffered from the global airline crisis amid rising jet fuel prices and investors have dumped their stocks heavily in recent months. Passenger traffic has waned as airlines cancel routes or reduce their flight frequency as well as pass along their higher costs by raising ticket prices. GAP operates 12 airports along the Pacific coast region including terminals at Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos and Tijuana. 7/15/2008