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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Free Wi-Fi at Atlanta Airport

Travelers, after years of complaints, will have access to a free wireless Internet network at the world's busiest airport.

Officials say the network at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport cost more than $5.2 million to install.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and the airport's general manager on Wednesday announced the launch of the free Wi-Fi in the 6.8 million square-foot terminal complex. Officials say workers spent less than 30 days assembling the network. It's expected to accommodate up to 15,000 simultaneous users.

Southwell says the airport's lack of a free Wi-Fi network put the facility at a competitive disadvantage, and was the No. 1 customer complaint. Customers previously had to pay $4.95 to get online.

Airport officials say the airport serves more than 94 million passengers annually.

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World's busiest airport tries incentives to draw flghts

Not even the world's busiest airport is above offering incentives as a way to tempt airlines to add new service.

Incentives will now be part of the toolkit for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International as they work to secure even more routes for the airport, already the world's busiest. That comes after the Atlanta City Council on Tuesday OK'd the establishment of a five-year, $2 million incentive program aimed at helping the airport with both new passenger airline routes and cargo services.

"With this new incentive program, Hartsfield-Jackson will be better positioned to attract additional passenger and cargo carriers to Atlanta," the airport's Interim General Manager Miguel Southwell says in a statement.

Atlanta's airport incentive program will kick in this summer, targeting international routes to cities with rapidly developing economics or robust cargo markets. In the airport's words, "the purpose of the program is to stimulate air service, particularly along routes that link Atlanta to cities located in countries that have some of the world's fastest-growing economies and air cargo traffic."

"As the world's busiest airport, we are continually looking at ways to grow new routes and expand our cargo capacity, and this will certainly boost our global competitiveness," Southwell adds.

The airport will waive a year's worth of landing fees for airlines that launch international routes that aren't already served from Atlanta. The program also will match up to 50% of an airline's marketing budget to promote the new route, with a cap of $25,000 for new passenger services.

Atlanta says "additional waivers and incentives, such as a two-year waiver of landing fees," will be offered to airlines willing to add new routes to "the five major emerging economies" of Brazil, Russia, India, China or South Africa.

Atlanta adds "carriers starting service to Africa, Eastern Europe or Southeast Asia will also receive extra consideration. Total fee waivers and promotional funds will be capped at $2 million a year on a first-come, first-served basis."

Though the program is open to both passenger and cargo carriers, Atlanta says in its statement that "the incentive program is primarily designed to develop the Airport as a cargo and logistics hub."

New-service incentives are common at many airports, both in the USA and across the world. However, incentives are frequently used by smaller and mid-size airports that are looking to convince airlines to take a chance on a new route from their airports. The incentives minimize airlines' risk in trying a new market, letting them launch service to see if it can become profitable.

"It's an industry tool," Jason Terrei, Atlanta airport's interim director of business development, said to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in March, which is when the airport decided to seek approval for the incentive fund. "When we meet with airlines, this is the first question they ask: Does Atlanta have an air service incentive program?"

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