Chicago airports lacking in efficiency per new report

Looking for an airport that operates efficiently? Better not look at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Or Midway International Airport either. At least not right now.

That's the unfortunate takeaway from the just-released 2014 ATRS Global Airport Benchmarking Report, compiled by a team of international aviation academics at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business.

Each year the team examines data related to both the operational and management efficiency of some 200 airports in North America, Europe, Asia and the South Pacific and ranks them accordingly.

In the large North American airports category, which includes both O'Hare and Midway, the latest ATRS study found that O'Hare ranked fourth from the bottom among 30 large airports analyzed . Only Reagan National, Los Angeles International and Dulles International ranked lower this year. Midway ranked right in the middle of the group in 15th place.

The top three North American airports in terms of efficiency were Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (which has topped the list for 11 years running), followed by Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Minneapolis/St. Paul International.

The team that conducts the annual study has found several factors that distinguish efficient airports from those that are less so. Noted Sauder School of Business professor Tae Oum, who led the study: "Our report finds that the highly efficient airports are more likely to generate a large share of total revenues from concession and other retail activities in terminal buildings, as well as parking, office rentals and real estate development on airport lands. We can also see that airports that outsource terminal services, ground handling and other services also achieve high efficiency."

The Atlanta airport generated 65 percent of its total revenue from non-aviation activities, while the average for North American airports was about 50 percent.

O'Hare's ranking could begin to improve, however, as the Chicago Department of Aviation has added to — and upgraded — concessions at the airport. A remodeled International Terminal 5 with considerably expanded concessions opened this past spring at O'Hare.

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Can Emirates prevail over stiff competition between Chicago and Middle East?

The battle is on. Emirates, the Dubai-based global carrier, hosted a gala Wednesday night in the Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier. More than 500 business and travel industry executives from Chicago and beyond attended the soiree, where Lionel Richie was the featured A-List performer.

It would be a stretch to say Richie was a bigger "get" than was the glamorous singer, actress and Chicago native Jennifer Hudson, who headlined a gala hosted by Qatar Airways last spring when that carrier launched nonstop service between Chicago and Doha, Qatar.

Still, the crowd at the Emirates bash seemed to enjoy Richie's song stylings, and that's probably all that matters in the end.

But with Emirates now in business between Chicago and Dubai with daily Boeing 777 service on an aircraft configured with first, business and economy cabins, the stage is set for the the fight to find which of three well-regarded Middle East-based carriers will prove the most popular for travel to and from the Middle East. Qatar has been flying between Chicago and Doha since April of 2013, while Etihad has been flying nonstop between Chicago and Abu Dhabi since 2010 — giving it a huge headstart over its competitors.

Emirates executives last night certainly tried to suggest they were already doing a good job of attracting customers to their brand — indicating flights for August were booked at 85 percent of capacity.

But of course, one month of strong capacity does not guarantee the same over the long haul. And for now, neither of Emirates' two well-funded and highly-regarded competitors, Qatar and Etihad, show any sign of backing off.

But in casual conversation at last night's Emirates party, there seemed to be some acknowledgement that, at some point, at least one of the the thee competitors looking to fill seats to the Middle East could fall by the wayside in their bid to serve Chicago. Travel agents in attendance last night also indicated that demand among curious Chicago area travelers looking to visit the Middle East was very low at the moment due in large part to all the unrest in the region.

bizjournals

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Emirates today arrives in Chicago

Emirates (Dubai) today (August 6) will arrive in Chicago. The fast-growing airline commenced a daily nonstop passenger service to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport from Dubai.

The new service will operate as flight EK 235, departing from Dubai International airport at 9:45 a.m. (0945) and arriving at O’Hare at 3:25 p.m. (1525) The return flight, EK 236, will depart O’Hare at 8:35 p.m. (2035) and arrive in Dubai at 7:10 p.m. (1910) the next day. The route will be served by the U.S.-built Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft powered by GE90 engines.

In addition to passenger service, the Chicago-Dubai flight will carry up to 17 tons of cargo per flight and increase trade links between the two cities. Emirates began operating cargo service to Chicago in 2013. Currently, Emirates SkyCargo flies a twice-weekly, dedicated freight service out of O’Hare that carried nearly 12,000 tons of cargo last year.

Emirates began passenger services to the U.S. in 2004 with services to New York. The airline has steadily added more U.S. routes over the past decade. Chicago is the ninth U.S. gateway to join the Emirates network, following the launch of the Boston service in March. In the past decade, Emirates has flown more than 9 million people to and from the U.S. and is the airline which carries the most amount of passengers between the U.S. and Middle East. To cater to that demand, Emirates is upsizing services on its Dallas/Fort Worth, San Francisco and Houston (Bush Intercontinental) routes to its iconic double-decker A380 aircraft in late 2014.

Emirates is the largest operator of Boeing 777 aircraft in the world, with a fleet of 128 passenger aircraft and 11 freighters. The airline is a launch customer of Boeing’s new 777X. In November 2013, Emirates placed the largest single order in commercial aviation history for 150 777X aircraft valued at $76 billion. Based on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s aerospace export multiplier, this order will support more than 400,000 jobs in the United States.

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Iberia increases flights to Chicago and Panama City

Iberia is upping its services to Chicago and Panama City from June 1. The Oneworld airline will from Sunday offer ten weekly services on its Madrid to Chicago route, an increase of three. Its Madrid to Panama City route will run six times weekly, as opposed to the current schedule of five times per week.

Iberia is in the process of gradually introducing its new brand image and cabins in its long-haul fleet (see news, November 2013).

The new classes are already available on 17 of its 25 wide-bodied aircraft. Last month, Iberia and BA's joint venture with American Airlines was extended to include AA's merger partner US Airways (see news, April 3).

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United launches Chicago O’Hare-Edinburgh flights

United Airlines (Chicago) yesterday (May 22) began Chicago’s first-ever flights to Edinburgh, Scotland, with summer-season service through October 5, 2014.

The flights will operate five times weekly between May 22 and June 11, daily between June 12 and September 1, and four times weekly between September 2 and October 5 (all dates eastbound).

Flight UA 118 departs Chicago O’Hare International Airport at 6 p.m. (1800), arriving at Edinburgh Airport at 7:45 a.m. (0745) the following day (all times local). On the return, flight UA 119 departs Edinburgh at 10:25 a.m. (1025), arriving in Chicago at 1 p.m. (1300) the same day. Flight times are seven hours, 45 minutes eastbound and eight hours, 35 minutes westbound.

United will operate the service with Boeing 757-200 aircraft with a total of 169 seats – 16 flat-bed seats in United BusinessFirst and 153 seats in United Economy, including 45 Economy Plus extra-legroom seats.

United has been serving Scotland since 1998. In addition to the Edinburgh-Chicago service, the airline operates year-round nonstop service from both Edinburgh and Glasgow to its Newark Liberty International Airport hub.

United Airlines is O’Hare International Airport’s largest airline. United and the United Express carriers operate more than 580 daily flights out of O’Hare. The airline offers more than 50 daily nonstop flights to nearly 40 international destinations in Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada.

O’Hare International Airport, the fifth-busiest airport in the world, is United’s hometown hub, with corporate headquarters in Chicago’s Willis Tower.

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Over 1,000 flights canceled in Chicago after electrical issue, smoke at air traffic facility

About 1,120 flights were canceled Tuesday at Chicago's two major airports after an electrical problem sent smoke into a regional radar facility's control room, forcing officials to temporarily halt all air traffic at one of the nation's busiest aviation hubs. The Federal Aviation Administration said all personnel were evacuated from the radar facility in suburban Elgin at about 11:30 a.m. They were allowed to return about three hours later. The Chicago Department of Aviation said a limited number of landings and departures had resumed by late afternoon.

Elgin Fire Capt. Anthony Bialek said a bathroom exhaust fan in a ceiling overheated and melted insulation on some wires, and smoke was pushed through the facility's ventilation system and into the control room. Bialek said it took about an hour to find the source of the smoke at Chicago Terminal Radar Approach Control, or TRACON. There were no injuries. Controllers at the TRACON facility are responsible for managing the region's air traffic as it leaves and approaches all of the area's airports. Once an aircraft is within about 5 miles of an airport, TRACON workers hand over control to that airport's tower.

Inbound flights already in the area at the start of the shutdown were handled by a backup air traffic facility in the city of Aurora, just west of Chicago. Some flights were diverted to other airports. Aerial TV footage Tuesday afternoon showed a large backup of aircraft along taxiways at O'Hare International Airport. Inside the terminals, people trying to rebook on later flights formed long lines. David Winter of Sarasota, Florida, said he and his wife, Denise, would stay overnight in Chicago after their flight was canceled.

"My wife hates to fly ... so she literally asked me if we could rent a car and drive," Winter said, adding that they ruled it out and were rebooked on a Wednesday flight.

Instead, the retired couple stopped off at an airport cocktail lounge.

"So, obviously, we're not in dire straits," he said.

As of about 3:30 p.m., arrivals at O'Hare were about 75 percent of normal — 72 an hour compared with the normal of about 106 per hour, said Doug Church, a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union that represents controllers. Departures were operating normally, he said. O'Hare is the second-busiest airport in the country by numbers of passengers and is a major hub. Around half of passengers there are connecting to other flights. Any disruption to its operations has an enormous ripple effect on the nation's aviation system.

The Chicago Aviation Department said departures were delayed about 90 minutes late Tuesday at O'Hare and 2½ hours at Midway International Airport. A computer glitch at a similar facility last month forced a 45-minute shutdown at Los Angeles International Airport.

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Air Serbia to Chicago

The CEO of Etihad Airways, James Hogan, has said Chicago will likely become Air Serbia’s first long haul destination, to be launched no later than the start of 2016. Speaking at a press conference in Abu Dhabi to present Etihad’s new in-flight product, Mr. Hogan said that a feasibility study into transatlantic flights has already been arranged with the Serbian government. “Air Serbia will connect the entire region. We plan to expand our network based on the Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin diaspora”, Mr Hogan said. He added, “We will launch new routes and Chicago is the first destination we are thinking of”. Etihad’s CEO also added that the Windy City is a logical choice since it is home to the biggest Serbian diaspora but also a sizable number of immigrants from other former Yugoslav countries.

“Air Serbia’s management is doing an excellent job and I am very happy not only with them but also with the support from the Serbian government and all of Air Serbia’s employees. Etihad has employed 300 experts as well as cabin crew members from Serbia”, Mr. Hogan said. Air Serbia’s part owner believes the carrier will break even or might even record a profit by the end of this year. This is despite Jat Airways, for the first ten months of 2013, and Air Serbia, for the last two months of the year, recording a significant loss of 73 million euros (more of which you will be able to read about in the coming days).

Despite the European Commission’s recent investigations into Etihad Airways’ ownership into European airlines such as Air Berlin, Air Serbia and Darwin Airline, Mr. Hogan dismissed any concern. “We comply very clearly with the rules and regulations of Europe - we have to. It’s a nonsense that we don’t comply with it. It’s more about propaganda from our competitors. We have complied with the laws from each country and that includes Serbia as well. As a minority shareholder, we cannot control these companies”, Mr. Hogan concluded.

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Transformation of Terminal 5 at Chicago O'Hare complete

A transformation project of the International Terminal 5 at Chicago O'Hare International Airport has been completed. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, US Senator Dick Durbin, the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), and developer Westfield, joined airport and airline partners, for Fridays unveiling. The $26 million redevelopment, features 24 new retail and dining outlets, an innovative design, range of new amenities, and a redesigned TSA checkpoint. 

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Southwest Airlines to connect Washington, D.C. and Chicago in big way

Southwest Airlines hasn't quickly ramped up service from Chicago's Midway Airport perhaps ever before, but said today it will launch six roundtrip daily nonstop flights between Chicago, its largest hub, and Washington, D.C.'s Reagan Washington National Airport on Aug. 10.

The busy and lucrative route between Chicago and Washington, D.C. has for years been dominated by two O'Hare Airport-based carriers, United Airlines and American Airlines.

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