Copyright 2000 The Washington Post
The Washington
Post
December 7, 2000, Thursday, Final Edition
SECTION: ANNE ARUNDEL EXTRA; Pg. M11
LENGTH: 793 words
HEADLINE:
BWI NOTES
BODY:
Airport Tree-Lighting
Ceremony Today
Baltimore-Washington International Airport will get in
the holiday spirit with the annual holiday tree-lighting ceremony at 11:30 a.m.
today in the lower level of the Observation Gallery. During the tree lighting,
the Glen Burnie High School chorus will perform.
Students from Linthicum
Elementary School, Corkran Middle School, MacArthur Middle School, Chesapeake
High School, Rippling Woods Elementary School, Elkridge Landing Middle School
and members of the Global Mission Church of Silver Spring will be caroling
throughout the terminal as part of the holiday entertainment program.
Flight-Tracking System in Technology Showcase
Maryland Aviation
Administration officials will demonstrate the Total Airport Management
Information System that is used for flight tracking and noise analysis at
Baltimore-Washington International Airport from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today during
the Maryland Technology Showcase at the Baltimore Convention Center. Officials
also will discuss BWI's Web site: www.bwiairport.com. The Maryland Technology
Showcase, featuring exhibits and workshops, is open to the public. A list of
exhibitors and other information is available online at www.mdtechshowcase.com.
Lifesaving Training Offered to Employees
The BWI Fire and Rescue
Department is offering free lifesaving training to BWI employees. This includes
training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how to use the Automatic
Exterior Defibrillators that were recently made available at the airport.
The Dec. 13 class will be held at the BWI Fire and Rescue Department,
and the Dec. 27 class will be held in the Concourse C Training Room. To
register, call 410-859-7075.
Study Finds Satisfied Customers
A
recently released J.D. Power and Associates study gave BWI an above-average
rating in passenger satisfaction for medium-size airports.
The 2000
Domestic Airport Passenger Satisfaction Study rated 29 airports around the
country. Airports were judged based on a variety of concessions, friendly
service, clean gate areas and terminal facilities. The study showed that,
overall, medium-size airports ranked above the industry average.
The
study was based on airport evaluations by more than 6,500 people. Official
Airline Guide's Pocket Flight Guide subscribers were asked to rate a variety of
areas pertaining to the departure and arrival process at their home airports in
addition to other airports they frequently use.
Passenger Numbers Still
Increasing
Although not breaking monthly records as it did during the
summer, BWI posted a 16.8 percent increase in passengers during September, the
23rd consecutive month in which BWI passenger growth has reached double digits.
Southwest Airlines, BWI's leading carrier, led the way with a 38 percent
increase over September 1999. US Airways, BWI's second-leading carrier, grew by
15.1 percent.
International airlines that experienced growth in
September compared with last September included Icelandair, up 18.6 percent; Air
Jamaica, 12.5 percent; and Air Ontario, 12.2 percent.
2 More Chances to
Fly to Newburgh, N.Y.
US Airways Express is now offering two round-trip
flights between BWI and Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, N.Y., every
weekday. Planes will depart from BWI at 11:46 a.m. and 4:16 p.m., arriving in
Newburgh at 1:01 and 5:31 p.m., respectively. They will then leave Newburgh at
1:25 and 6 p.m., arriving back at BWI at 2:40 and 7:20 p.m., respectively.
Merger Could Have Costly Effect on Airport
Baltimore-Washington
International Airport may lose as many as 700,000 passengers a year if a
proposed merger between United Airlines and US
Airways is finalized, David Blackshear, head of the Maryland Aviation
Administration, said recently.
The $ 11.6 million deal would immediately
eliminate MetroJet service in and out of BWI, cutting about 75 flights a day.
During remarks at a meeting last month of the BWI Business Partnership,
Blackshear also said he feared that BWI would no longer be distinguished from
Washington and Philadelphia airports. Without MetroJet, the low-cost airline US
Airways created to compete with Southwest, there is likely to be less of the
intense competition that drove airline ticket prices down and produced more
flights to more cities.
Although the state of Maryland is concerned
about the ramifications, it has not filed a formal objection to the merger. The
state is actively discussing the effect on BWI and looking at its options, said
Jack Cahalan, a Maryland Department of Transportation spokesman.
The
threat of passenger loss comes as BWI is about to begin a five-year, $ 1.3
billion project to overhaul the airport and better accommodate its recent
growth.
LOAD-DATE: December 07, 2000
