WATF
Applauds Recent Dulles Rail Announcement
Members of the Washington
Airports Task Force (WATF) applauded the United
States Department of Transportation’s decision
to approve the Dulles Rail Project’s entry into
final design. “Secretary Peters’ decision
reflects true vision toward the evolution of our
Nation’s Capital into the 21st
century just as the federal government’s
construction of Washington Dulles 50 years ago
put our region on the world map,” Leo Schefer,
WATF President, noted. This good news is due to
the United States Department of Transportation’s
willingness to sustain their evaluation of the
project; to Virginia Governor Kaine and his
team’s determination; to the Airports
Authority’s decision to keep work on the project
moving forward to avoid delay; to Senator
Warner, Congressman Wolf and our Congressional
Delegation who worked across party lines; to
Maryland’s Governor O’Malley and the District of
Columbia’s Mayor Fenty, who put their weight
behind the project; and to the many members of
the public who joined civic and business leaders
in voicing support for the project. “This is a
fine example of what can be achieved to the
benefit of our region when all interests work in
lock step together,” Schefer added.
Some More
Really Good News
For those of you who don’t
mind paying a fee and voluntarily submitting the
necessary biographical and biometric
information, traveling through Reagan National
and Washington Dulles just got easier.
First, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) have announced the
Global EntryTM pilot program which is
scheduled to launch this summer. The program was
accelerated by the Model Port Initiative
launched in January 2006 to make U.S. entry
formalities more user-friendly and the WATF is
part of the initiative. Designed to expedite the
screening and processing of low-risk, frequent
international “trusted” travelers entering the
United States, Global EntryTM will be
available for U.S. citizens or legal permanent
residents who are frequent international
travelers. Upon returning from international
travel, enrollees will bypass the regular
passport control line and proceed directly to
the Global EntryTM kiosk where they
will insert their passport into the document
reader, provide their fingerprints, answer
Customs declaration questions on a touch-screen
and have their digital photograph taken. Once
the traveler is successfully cleared, the kiosk
will print out a receipt which is then presented
to the CBP officer upon leaving the inspection
area. If kiosk clearance fails, a CBP officer
will move the traveler directly to a passport
inspection officer without further queuing. The
pilot will initially be conducted at Washington
Dulles, JFK, and Houston Intercontinental, and
the program will begin accepting and processing
applications from the public starting May 12th.
Operations at the three initial airports are
scheduled to begin June 10th. Applications for
enrollment are available through the Global
On-Line Enrollment System (GOES) at
www.cbp.gov/travel. (Once on the website,
type Global Entry into the search function where
you will find the press release and a FAQs
document.)
Second, domestic travelers
enrolled in the Registered Traveler Program
now are permitted to use the newly designated
Registered Traveler lanes at both airports. The
program is designed to enhance customer service
and to reduce screening wait time. Enrollees
will also have access to registered traveler
security lanes at all other U.S. airports with
similar programs. For more information or to
enroll in the program, please visit
www.flyclear.com.
Airline
Safety
Despite the implications of
recent headlines, the air transport industry in
the United States is fundamentally safe. In
2006, 42,642 people died in highway accidents,
but in 34 accidents of any sort involving the
nation’s airlines, there were only 52 fatalities
(Source: Bureau of Transportation
Statistics-BTS). BTS data also shows that
aviation has been consistently safe despite a
huge increase in volume. Recent public concerns
reflect the number of travelers
inconvenienced, but the fact is that the
nation’s aviation safety system works. But
success should not be allowed to breed
complacency. Gravity is a hard taskmaster, and
as Tom Clancy noted, “An airplane has no visible
means of support, but you can see what keeps a
ship afloat.”
Fatalities by Mode*
|
Year |
Airlines |
Highways |
Railroad |
Transit |
|
1960 |
499 |
36,399 |
2,345 |
No data |
|
1970 |
146 |
52,627 |
2,225 |
No data |
|
1980 |
38 |
51,094 |
1,417 |
No data |
|
1990 |
45 |
44,599 |
1,297 |
339 |
|
2000 |
97 |
41,945 |
937 |
295 |
|
2006 |
52 |
42,642 |
911 |
213 |
*All
accidents
New
Services
·
Virgin Atlantic is
launching a second daily service to Dulles,
which will operate from April 20 to October 25,
2008.
·
Starting May 21st,
JetBlue will be adding two daily
flights between Washington Dulles and Burbank.
United Airlines will use
Express Jet to expand its summer
schedules on some routes.
Construction Underway for Much-Needed Parking at
Reagan National
The Metropolitan Washington
Airports Authority announced a major project to
add much needed parking at Reagan National by
adding a fifth level with 1,424 new parking
spaces on Garages A, B and C. Last year, 18.7
million passengers flew from Reagan National,
compared to about 15 million per year at the
time the garages first opened. Passengers
should anticipate the closure of a 162-space
section on the roof of Daily Garage C during
construction, which is expected to be complete
in 2010. To alleviate the loss of parking
during construction, the Airports Authority is
constructing a temporary parking lot near the
Economy Lot with over 700 spaces with free
shuttle service to all terminals. The Airports
Authority has established a web page at
www.mwaa.com/reagan where updates will be
posted throughout the phases of construction.
The page also links to a real-time display of
available parking space.
“Next
Gen” Air Traffic Control Funding and FAA
Reauthorization
In 2007, the airlines spent
$40 billion on fuel, of which an estimated $9
billion was wasted by delays in the air and on
the ground. By comparison, the cost of the
first phase of a modernized air traffic control
system (Next Gen) to help eliminate these delays
is estimated to be $4.6 billion. Money to phase
in Next Gen is supposed to come from the FAA
Reauthorization Bill, which should have been
passed last year. That legislation has been
stalled in Congress, principally because the
airlines and general aviation disagreed over
their respective shares of the user funding.
About 80% of the FAA’s budget comes from
specific aviation user taxes on fuel and airline
tickets. The legislation now has a chance of
passage, possibly spurred by the increasing cost
of fuel and delays. Last year, airlines paid
only an average of $2.10 per gallon for jet
fuel, so this year the fuel wasted by delays
likely will exceed $9 billion.
Telecommunications and the
Internet now carry the paperwork of commerce,
but until we can transmit people and goods
electronically, air transportation will remain a
vital artery without which the economy cannot
fully function. So in our failure to modernize
our air traffic control and provide adequate
runway capacity, it’s the nation’s economy and
our position in world markets that is at stake.
Aviation
Strives to Go Greener
Airlines, aircraft
manufacturers and airports chose April 22nd,
Earth Day, to announce a collective worldwide
air transportation effort to reduce and
eventually eliminate their emission of
greenhouse gases, even as the industry expands
to meet global demand. The announcement was
made in Geneva and included an agreement between
Boeing and Airbus to work jointly toward the
common goal. Allan McArtor, Chairman, Airbus
Americas, Inc., and a WATF Board member, broke
the news to members of the Aero Club of
Washington. “Aviation is not the enemy, but the
perception is that we are.” Aviation is very
visible, and while agriculture may generate more
greenhouse gas than air transportation, “cattle
farts don’t leave contrails,” he said.
“Aviation is only around 2%
of greenhouse gas emissions, but talking about
other people’s emissions doesn’t work. We need
to talk about reducing our own emissions,”
McArtor told his audience of aviation
policymakers. The solution is to educate people
about aviation. Since 2000, air transportation
has reduced its fuel burn by 4% while carrying
14% more passengers. Over the last 40 years,
the air transport industry has improved its fuel
efficiency by 70%. “The record will only get
better. Fuel has replaced labor as the
airline’s highest cost, so the carriers have a
major economic incentive” to reduce fuel burn,
and thus the production of carbon emissions,
McArtor noted.
Did You
Know?
Ø
The Loudoun County Industrial
Development Authority was established by the
County’s Board of Supervisors in 1976 as an
independent political body with broad authority
under State law to promote economic development
activity in the County, separate and apart from
its economic development department. The
Loudoun Authority has the power to issue tax
exempt revenue bonds for entities directly
related to airport activity, for non-profit
organizations and for manufacturing companies.
For more information, please visit
www.loudounida.org.
Ø
Five Guys opened their second
location at Washington Dulles. Visit them on
Concourse B, Gate B71.
