South Korea is now finding it difficult to handle its passenger traffic at its major international airport and is looking to effectively tackle the issue with the construction of yet another international airport in the country.

The government recently made public a finding outlining the current state of the country’s aviation industry. The study said that a major international airport based near Busan will reach its maximum capacity in 2023. Busan is the second-largest city of South Korea.

The report will now spur competition among several provincial and city governments for playing an active role to host the new aviation hub. The Korea Transport Institute and the Paris Airport Authority have also unveiled separate findings on the issue.

According to South Korea’s transportation ministry, the passenger traffic at Gimhae International Airport will increase at an average of 4.7 percent annually starting from 2015. Nearly 21.62 million passengers would have used the airport in 2030.

All the findings have appropriately highlighted the doubling of air traffic in the country and growing travel demand with more and more people taking flights to international destinations in recent years.

The report further revealed that there will be a tremendous growth in the number of passengers traveling out of the third-largest airport in South Korea by 2023. The airport will hit 16.68 million passengers by that time. Nearly 9.67 million passengers traveled out of the airport in 2013. The report said that with the passenger traffic increasing at a fast pace the existing facilities at the airport will make it entirely difficult to deal with passenger arrivals and departures effectively since the airport presently has only two runways thus requiring an upgrade.

Many cities in North and South Gyeongsang provinces, as well as Ulsan, Daegu and Busan, have already expressed their desire to host the new international airport. The findings have been welcomed by the provincial and city governments and the central government is being requested to hasten with the process in a transparent manner.

UK’s Bristol Airport is undergoing a major revamp for the first time since it became functional nearly 14 years ago. The airport recently announced it will be undertaking the expansion of its terminal at an investment of estimated 8.6 million GBP.

According to Bristol Airport authorities, the latest expansion will be of a large scale. The airport will see phased development taking place. The airport, which is currently handling 6 million passengers per year, is now aiming to increase its capacity in a big way and looking to expand capacity to handle at least 10 million passengers annually.

With the expansion, the airport is also hoping to bring back direct transatlantic flights from the United States again. The airport officials also indicated that new Middle East routes are also likely to be opened in the future.

Media reports quoting Bristol Airport officials said that the terminal expansion will see a new departure area coming up with a number of shops as well as additional seating capacity to host hundreds of passengers. The new terminal will also have a second executive lounge as well as an outdoor terrace for passengers waiting for boarding their flights. Improved baggage handling will also be part of the latest revamp. This will be done with the extension of the processing area.

The reports said that the revamp is scheduled to start from September 2014. The terminal expansion and other upgrades at the airport would be completed in time for the peak summer holiday season next year.
 
The airport’s announcement of the revamp has come close on the heels following the recent opening of a central walkway at Bristol Airport for easing congestion particularly during the peak travel times.

Robert Sinclair, Chief Executive of Bristol Airport, said that after the expansion of the terminal is complete the airport will make extensive efforts to attract an international airline that will fulfill its desire of bringing back direct flights to the United States. The airport also wants to open several routes to the Middle East countries as well. The latest revamp is being seen as a significant step for Bristol Airport. The airport is eyeing to handle a record number of passengers in 2014.

Leading U.S. carrier Continental Airlines had introduced direct flights to the United States from Bristol about 10 years ago. The flights services were later on scrapped. The airport now again wants to see resumption of direct U.S. flights.

The International Air Transport Association or IATA in a recent study said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become the 2nd fastest growing market for both domestic and international air travelers in the world.

The IATA made public its findings saying that airlines conducting flights to/from UAE carried a total of 45.3 million passengers in 2013, registering a growth of remarkable 11.7 percent over 2012.

The study said that China performed marginally better than UAE and stood at No. 1. The passengers traveling to/from China last year was at 404.2 million, reporting an 11.8 percent growth when compared to the year 2012.

Tony Tyler, Director General and CEO of IATA, said that the global commercial aviation industry cited to/from movement of 3 billion passengers and about 48 million tons of cargo on around 100,000 flights on a daily basis. This was despite the fact that the real price of air travel declined by 7.4 percent.

According to Tyler, 3.12 billion passengers were transported on scheduled services by various international airlines, thus showing an appreciable growth of 5.1 percent over 2012. He said that Asia-Pacific carriers performed exceedingly well by transporting the highest number of passengers of any region.  

The IATA study disclosing the statistics further said that some 825.9 million passengers traveled to/from Europe, an increase of 3.4 percent over 2012. The airlines carried 818.9 million passengers to/from North America, up 0.7 percent. The airlines carried 240.5 million passengers in Latin America and the Caribbean, an increase of 7.6 percent. Around 157.9 million people traveled to/from the Middle East, up 8.8 percent, while the airlines carried 73.8 million passengers to/from Africa, up 5.6 percent.

The study concluded that 600,000 frequencies and over 1,100 direct airport services were added by various international airlines in 2013. There were a total of 31.5 million frequencies and 50,000 direct airport-pair services during the year.

The influx of foreign carriers to the lucrative Chicago O’Hare International Airport has been widely welcomed by the city authorities, while at the same time it has made U.S.-based airlines quite worrisome.

A recent study said that the Chicago air travel market has seen the entry of world’s highest-rated international airlines in a big way in recent years. The arrival of international carriers such as Emirates Airline, Cathay Pacific Airways and Qatar Airways have undoubtedly provided a boost to the city’s economy, but this has also raised a controversy regarding whether the foreign carriers have gained an unfair advantage over their U.S. competitors.

Emirates Airline in August this year started providing flights services to its main hub in Dubai from Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Cathay Pacific Airways also announced it will be increasing its frequencies on Chicago-Hong Kong route. Qatar Airways, which started operating thrice weekly flights between Doha and Chicago last year, also ramped up its service to daily flights.

The three airlines are renowned for offering luxury service to their customers and decked-out aircraft. Air-travel rating group Skytrax also rated these airlines as the best in the world. Cathay Pacific Airways has been named as the Best Airline in the World for 2014. Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways also received the same honors for 2013 and 2012 respectively.

The entry of these foreign luxury airlines have neither enthused or been taken kindly by U.S. carriers. In recent years many U.S. carriers have faced tumultuous times and been through bankruptcy protection. In the recent Skytrax ratings not a single U.S. airline has even made to the top 20.

U.S. airlines contend that they are operating at a disadvantage since some foreign airlines have been receiving subsidies by the government and are not required to deal with U.S. regulations as well thus impacting the growth of domestic airlines.

Here’s good news for passengers traveling to/from Akron-Canton Airport. There will be a visible improvement in customer service at the airport’s terminal over the next few years. Media reports quoted Kristie VanAuken, Spokeswoman of Akron-Canton Airport, as saying that space will be added to the airport’s 6 cramped gate areas dating from the 1960s and were being used by turboprop planes.

Kristie said that apart from the revamp and expansion of the terminal the other upgrades at the airport include better lighting at the parking lots and smoother baggage delivery system. The expansion plan which will be undertaken in next few years will first see the gates on first-level “Y” concourse being redesigned in 2016, and the construction will be taking place in 2017.

According to Kristie, there isn’t enough space presently at the airport considering the number of passengers being currently handled. The Akron-Canton Airport presently has a total of 11 gates, of which some have already been modernized.

The airport officials have already updated the community leaders and elected officials regarding the terminal changes. They have been acquainted with the progress being made on Akron-Canton Airport’s master-plan such as overall land use, taxiways, runways, airport parking, size-up of the terminal, as well as projections for future changes.
 
According to the master-plan envisaging 20 years, a clarion call has been made to expand the Akron-Canton Airport from the existing 11 gates to 17 in the future if the growth continues at the airport. Several options have already been considered by the airport officials, which also includes a complete replacement of the terminal itself.

As for now, the lowest-cost alternative has been proposed. This includes the expansion of the existing terminal at an estimated cost of $127 million. During this phase more gates and passenger holding rooms will be added, somewhat to the north and predominantly to the south.

Akron-Canton Airport continues to maintain its Southwest Airlines service. The Dallas-based carrier, which recently completed its merger with AirTran Airways, was previously a leading carrier at the airport. The Akron-Canton Airport however received a setback in January 2013 when it lost its Frontier Airlines service after the Denver-based carrier strengthened its Northeast Ohio flight operations at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

The Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has decided to hire a consultant and spend up to $1.2 million for studying the feasibility of a premium travel lounge at Terminal D for hosting international travelers.

The consultant firm would be asked to undertake a study and review the lounge offerings at various airports worldwide for international customers and evaluate possible partners for running a premium lounge at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Sean Donohue, CEO of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, acknowledged that the airport’s current lounge is quite competitive on domestic front. He however said that the DFW airport is simply not competitive when viewed from a global and international perspective. There is a need therefore for the airport to step up its game and stay ahead in competition.

The DFW airport is presently serving even more international first class as well as business class customers than ever before. This is because of new Middle East and Australian carriers, and also new flights to Asian destinations.

Donohue said that the DFW airport is likely to see further increase of international travelers with Emirates Airline and Qantas Airways adding double-decker Airbus A380 aircrafts on DFW routes this fall.
 
Sharon McCloskey, Vice President of Marketing at DFW airport, remarked that the existing lounges at the airport are nearly close to capacity and are unable to provide the same amenities and services that are currently available to premium customers at various other international airports world over.

There are many lounges in Terminal D at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport serving first class and business class customers. These are however operated by different airlines such as American Airlines and others.

Here’s startling revelation from Hainan Airlines. Chinese students are visiting the Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Tufts University in large numbers this summer. The airline in fact said that these three renowned institutions in the United States have become new summer hotspots for students from China.

Media reports said that with numerous Chinese students and their families heading to these institutions in Boston, Hainan Airlines has been prompted to launch direct flights between Beijing and Boston in June 2014.

Considering the growing demand, the airline said that it had to increase the frequencies of flights making it into a daily service from the existing four in the months of July and August this year. The airline stated that Tufts University receives numerous requests from large organized groups and therefore conducts separate tours for these groups.

The increasing affluence of Chinese middle class and the idea of gaining prestige on obtaining a degree from institutions in Boston have prompted a huge number of students to visit the U.S. According to recent reports, there has been a surge in Chinese students with the numbers in Boston metropolitan area nearly tripled to 10,913 in 2013 from only 3,800 in 2009. The report said that this has been rather faster than the growth achieved nationally, which has now more than doubled.

The reports said that Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University and Boston University presently rank among the top 25 schools hosting foreign students in 2012-2013. The largest number of foreign students comprised of Chinese who accounted for 27 percent.

Customers are the kings – thus goes the famous old adage. This is also proving to be quite true with the airline industry as well. Presently, airlines world over are trying to vigorously compete in providing the best amenities and services to their premium customers.

Premium travelers with a penchant for flying in First Class and Business Class never had it as good as it is being currently seen. Many international airlines are in a mad rush to offer the best amenity kits in order to attract more premium customers and keep the loyalty of other frequent fliers intact.

There are many airlines such as Qantas Airways, Emirates Airline, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Etihad Airways and others that are offering amenity kits to premium fliers. The amenity kits on offer are such that these can be treasured as memorabilia or even prominently shown off to others.

Just sample all that these airlines have to offer in their amenity kits. Qantas Airways is providing luxe SK-II cosmetics including moisturizers and cleansers to its First Class passengers contained in a black twin-pocket kit. The amenity kit to women passengers is provided in a charming red clutch-style bag. The Business Class amenity kits offered by Qantas Airways consists of lotions from Malin+Goetz New York in a Kate Spade bag, which can later on be also used to keep your tablet, Kindle ebook reader or smartphone.

Similarly, Emirates Airline provides Bulgari bags comprising of Bulgari brand products such as body lotion and fragrances to its premium customers. The women passengers flying in British Airways first class are being provided amenity kit with skincare products from Aromatherapy Associates.