With air traffic down last year amid the rough economy, airports' retail and food revenues fell 4% in 2009 to $1.41 billion from 2008's $1.47 billion, according to a report by the Airports Council International-North America.
On average, travelers spent $4 on food and drinks and $2.72 on news and gift items at airports for each plane ride in 2009, says the report, compiled based on information from more than 60 U.S. and Canadian airports.
Revenue from food and drink at U.S. airports represents 33% of the total 2009 terminal concessions revenue, while retail shops contributed about 40%.
The report also highlighted a growing trend of airports allowing more kiosk and cart vendors to operate on site. More than 40% of airports have food and beverage kiosks and carts, it says. They "provide small businesses the opportunity to have a presence in concession programs," says Greg Principato, president of ACI-NA.
Washington to be third U.S. city for A380s
Washington Dulles will become the third U.S. airport to get regularly scheduled service on the Airbus A380. Beginning June 6, Air France will begin flying the world's largest commercial passenger jet between Dulles and Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Air France's A380s are laid out with 538 seats in three classes — nine seats in first class, 80 in business and 449 in coach.
The carrier says the A380 allows it to combine "two flights which leave at similar times, while offering the same seat capacity at a 20% reduction in operating costs."
Washington will be Air France's fifth A380 market, joining New York JFK, Johannesburg, Tokyo and Montreal. All flights operate to and from Paris. A380s fly to two other U.S. cities —Qantas, with service between Los Angeles and Sydney and Melbourne, Australia; and Emirates, between New York JFK and Dubai.
Avian radar has limitations
Using radar systems to detect wildlife hazards, mainly birds, at airports has enhanced the task of identifying potential threats to planes landing or taking off.
But they have functional limitations that must be considered by airport operators, concludes a report released by the Federal Aviation Administration that outlines specifications needed for avian radar systems to qualify for federal subsidies. Prior to radar, airports relied mostly on employees walking the airfield to document bird species and activity. The new technology covers more space, allows 24-hour monitoring and can document long-term trends.
But the systems can be susceptible to erroneous detection, such as tracking the echoes made by insects and vehicles. Interference can also occur when a large plane moves on the ground at slow speed, producing multiple echoes.
Transmission delay is another factor that can affect the systems. Because the technology relies on a rotating beam, there are lags between detection and eventual display. "Users must be aware that a displayed target may no longer be in the location identified by the radar at that time," it says.
Briefly ...
•Restaurants at Atlanta Hartsfield have installed Coca-Cola's new digital vending machines.
The touch-screen fountain machines, which have been in development at Coca-Cola for several years, use large LCD screens that display 106 different flavors and types of drinks owned by the company, including Fanta, Sprite and Minute Maid.
Instead of bottles, the machine uses concentrated ingredients in cartridges to mix drinks that are dispensed in cups.
•Clear, a registered traveler service provider that closed last year but relaunched last month under new management, has opened at Denver International.
Clear, now owned by privately held Alclear, charges $179 a year for front-of-the-line privileges at security checkpoints. It opened its first location last month in Orlando.
To join, travelers have to submit their fingerprints and iris scan, used by Clear's machines to biometrically confirm their identity at checkpoints.
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