Lawmakers in Maryland want to ad slots at BWI
— -- State lawmakers in Maryland want to install slot machines at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall, a controversial plan that faces stiff opposition.
A state bill, proposed by Delegate Eric Bromwell, who represents Baltimore County, proposes to install 3,000 slots at the airport's terminal. They'd be placed in post-security areas, restricting access to only those who have a boarding pass. Gov. Martin O'Malley opposes the idea.
The proposal follows a state referendum last year that legalized slots as a revenue source for public schools and other uses.
•One of the country's
longest runways — New York John F. Kennedy's Runway 13-31 — will close for about four months in 2010 while it's gutted and rebuilt.
The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which will spend $292 million on the project, says airlines will "adjust" schedules to mitigate delays, and the three remaining runways will be used "to their full capabilities." The 14,572-foot runway handles about a third of the airport's flights, including more than half of all departures.
The project, slated to start in March 2010, calls for paving the runway with 18 inches of concrete, which has a lifespan up to five times longer than asphalt. The runway will also be widened from 150 feet to 200 feet to accommodate the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft.
The runway renovation is part of a broader "delay reduction" plan that will add taxiways and build more access points on other taxiways. It will be completed by 2011.
•Paris Charles de Gaulle
is the latest airport to install synthetic turf to cover the edges of its runways. Montreal-based FieldTurf Tarkett, which makes the synthetic turf, says it improves visibility for pilots by reducing dust and debris and creating a sharper contrast with runway edges. It also eliminates food sources and shelter for wildlife, which can interfere with takeoffs and landings.
Several U.S. airports, including Boston, San Francisco and New York LaGuardia, already use synthetic turf.
Route news
•Southwest Airlines says
it will begin service from Boston Logan in the fall. The highly courted discount carrier is not releasing specific service details, but it says it will start "with a conservative number of flights" at two gates.
Southwest has been serving the New England area since the late 1990s with service at Providence and Manchester Boston Regional Airport. "We stand ready to offer this bustling region even more low-fare service," said Southwest CEO Gary Kelly in a statement.
Still, Southwest says it is retaining the company's goal of reducing its available seat miles — one airline seat flown one mile, an industry metric used to measure performance standards — by about 4% in 2009.
•Delta Air Lines is beefing
up its presence in Salt Lake City by adding eight new non-stop flights. Starting June 4, the carrier will fly to Bismarck, N.D., Des Moines, El Paso, Fargo, N.D., Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Nashville and Sioux Falls, S.D.
By June, the airline will also add flights to nine other cities that it already serves, including Baltimore, Oakland, Phoenix, St. Louis, Seattle and Los Angeles.
•Starting May 1,
discount carrier Allegiant Air will start flying non-stop to Los Angeles International from 12 cities it now serves — Bellingham, Wash.; Billings, Mont.; Des Moines; Fargo, N.D.; Grand Junction, Colo.; McAllen, Texas; Medford, Ore.; Missoula, Mont.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Monterey, Calif.; Springfield, Mo.; and Wichita. Allegiant will fly 150-seat MD-80s.
The Las Vegas-based carrier flies to nearly 70 cities, linking small airports to popular vacation destinations, such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Orlando.