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Air travelers heading into and out of fast-growing St. George, Utah soon will be able to fly by scheduled jet aircraft now that the federal government is investing $17.2 million to help pay for a new airport for the community, Marion C. Blakey, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), announced today.

The new FAA grant is the largest single federal grant for an airport in Utah. The city will use the initial grant money to buy 277 acres of land for the new airport site, which is approximately five miles from downtown St. George. About 1,300 acres are needed for the airport, and the city plans to acquire the additional land over the next two years.

The new airport will include a new 9,300-foot runway large enough to allow scheduled commercial jet airlines and business jets to fly into St. George for the first time. The airport will be a state-of-the-art facility, which will handle twice as many passengers as the existing airport. The new runway will have the latest in lighting systems and navigation technology.

Scheduled to open in 2011, the new airport will use an approach procedure designed to keep aircraft as high as possible and to the west of Zion National Park in order to lessen the noise impact on the park.

The airport was necessary because St. George was the nation’s fastest-growing metropolitan area from 2000 to 2005 and the community now totals more than 160,000 residents. “This community is growing so fast that it deserves the kind of service many other places have enjoyed for decades,” Blakey said.

Posted under Travel

Air travelers have a new option for securing their children on commercial flights now that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved a new type of child safety device, the AmSafe Aviation CARES.

CARES uses an additional belt and shoulder harness that goes around the seat back and attaches to the passenger lap belt to provide restraint for the upper part of the body. It is designed for children weighing between 22 and 44 pounds. The device provides a smaller and lighter alternative to using forward-facing child safety seats. CARES is not approved for use in motor vehicles.

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Passengers will be able to use two different kinds of portable oxygen concentrator units onboard commercial aircraft under a new regulation published by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The two devices, manufactured by AirSep Corporation and Inogen, Inc., do not use compressed oxygen, which the government classifies as a hazardous material. They work by filtering nitrogen from the air and delivering oxygen in concentrated form to the user.

“This final rule addresses a critical need to improve accessibility for people who must travel with medical oxygen,” said FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey. “If the equipment doesn’t pose a safety hazard, there’s no reason passengers shouldn’t be able to use it aboard their flight.”

The new regulation gives air carriers the ability to let passengers use the two types of portable oxygen concentrators during all phases of a flight, including taxiing on the airport, takeoff and landing. It also lets passengers operate their units while moving about the cabin whenever the captain turns off the “Fasten Seat Belt” sign. However, before any passenger may use a portable oxygen concentrator device, carriers must first ensure the model does not cause interference with the electrical, navigation or communication equipment on the aircraft.

Other safety-related conditions must be met in order for these oxygen devices to be allowed onboard aircraft. For example, passengers must ensure the unit is in good working order and they must be able to act in response to the unit’s warning alarms. They also must protect extra batteries in carry-on baggage from short circuits and physical damage.

The new rule marks the first time passengers will be able to use their own medical oxygen devices aboard an airliner. The only other way for passengers to use medical oxygen is to have the air carrier provide the equipment, which many do at a charge to the passenger, although Department of Transportation rules do not require it. The Department soon will issue a related notice of proposed rulemaking to further address the carriage and use of oxygen devices by passengers on commercial flights.

Posted under Travel

With passenger volumes climbing to pre 9-11 levels and summer thunderstorms delaying airplanes, many consumers will find themselves looking for current information about airport delays during these busy travel months.

Few know about one of the web’s best tools for travelers - the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Air Traffic Control System.

Departure and arrival conditions at dozens of the nation’s largest airports are continuously updated on a map at the site. Travelers can also use a search function to learn about conditions at smaller airports.

Don’t let sudden summer squalls or late aircraft catch you by surprise. Log on to the FAA’s free site and be an educated consumer-traveler.

Posted under Travel

Chicago’s mammoth O’Hare airport led all the nation’s major airports in flight delays in 2004, according to a federal Bureau of Transportation study issued this week. The delays at O’Hare occurred despite an August 2004 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) order reducing the amount of airline traffic in and out of the airport.

American Airlines and United Airlines operate the two largest fleets from O’Hare according to the FAA’s investigation. The Bureau of Transportation study showed that only 65% of American’s O’Hare flights departed on time and nearly 8% arrived late. United Airlines fared slightly better with 72% of O’Hare flights departing on time and 4.5% arriving late. Across all airports nationwide, 78% of flights departed on time compared with 81.9% in 2003.

The Air Transport Association, an industry group, has not released a statement regarding the increase in delayed flights, but CNN quoted association president David Stempler as saying, “Each airplane is a unit that the Federal Aviation Administration has to deal with, whether it holds 50, 150 or 350 passengers,” Stempler said. “The more of these regional jets and small aircraft that enter the system, the more delays we’ll experience.”

For now, consumers are being lured back into the skies with a new round of fare cuts that are bringing prices to their lowest point in years. Analysts say that the nation’s passenger volume has finally rebounded from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, but that the pressure is not on the airlines the way it was in prior years, such as when only 72% of flights arrived on time during 2000.

No one can predict weather or mechanical delays, of course, but some consumers may choose to entirely avoid some flights. One example is a SkyWest Airlines flight from Indianapolis to nearby Chicago that was late 100% of the time during 2004.

Posted under Travel