The City of Chicago, the owner and operator of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, was awarded ownership of a 161-year-old cemetery located on the path of a future runway for O’Hare. Approximately 1,200 graves will be dug-up and moved elsewhere.
The 5.3-acre land will be transferred from St. John’s United Church of Christ to the city, providing that the city pays the church $630,000 for the land. The cemetery is in-between two segments of the new runway already in construction.
This acquisition is one of the last remaining barriers to the $15 billion O’Hare Modernization Project, which includes the demolishing of two runways, the addition of four east-west facing runways, and two extensions to existing runways. The new configuration will give O’Hare six parallel runways, similar to Dallas Fort-Worth airport. In addition to a redesign of the runway configuration, the city is expanding terminals and adding in new facilities.
This massive expansion project is expected to expand the airport’s capacity to over 3,800 operations per day, up from the present capacity of 2,700, and will decrease delays by an estimated 79 percent.
Most of America’s airports have found the need to expand in recent years, providing a challenge to airport owners and operators to get the land necessary and prove to locals expansion’s value. Initially, DuPage County was not on-board with the expansion, but their feelings swayed the other way upon hearing that the project would create jobs and stimulate commercial development.
With this hurdle out of the way, O’Hare could likely top the list for world’s busiest airport in the foreseeable future.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating whether Southwest Airlines followed safety orders dealing with older jets.
Federal inspectors believe the airline, along with a repair shop near Seattle, conducted repairs on 44 737s without getting FAA approval. The aircraft were used on more than 100,000 flights, said one source to the AP; details have yet to be released.
The FAA is concerned with the way Southwest and Aviation Technical Services (ATS) worked on the fuselages of the aircraft. Southwest and ATS replaced the patches with new aluminum skin on some aircraft. While Southwest and ATS received approval from The Boeing Company, they did not ask the FAA. The inspectors believe mechanics did not adequately reinforce the aircraft frame with the new skin panels, but the FAA granted retroactive approval to the work.
FAA officials in Seattle are handling the investigation, and are in the process of deciding whether or not to fine Southwest.
It is another sad tale of once complimentary items that are now for sale, as American Airlines moves to charging for pillows and blankets on select flights; a move that almost parallels US Airways’s $7 “power-nap sack” and JetBlue’s blanket-pillow set.
For those seated in coach on domestic flights and select international flights greater than 2 hours, American will charge $8 for a pillow and blanket. The select international flights include routes to and from Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, the Caribbean and Central America.
“American evaluates all aspects of the business to ensure that economic decisions are prudent and strategic for the long-term success of the company,” said spokeswoman Andrea Huguely.
Blankets in premium-class cabins will remain complimentary.
What do you get? For the price of $8 you get a one of a kind blue fleece blanket with an inflatable neck pillow in a clear zippered pouch. But wait, there’s more! Buy the pack and you’ll get a coupon for $10 off a $30 purchase at Bed, Bath and Beyond. That’s decent… but…
I think $8 is a little too pricey. US Airways’s $7 pack includes the blanket, pillow, eye shades, and earplugs; along with a $10 SkyMall coupon for $50 spent. To me, that’s a much better value.
Share your thoughts – would you buy it? Why or why not?
Boeing did it again! Today, the new Boeing 747-8 freighter took to the sky for the very first time. The day started off with fog and the usual Seattle / Washington-esque weather. Yet, it did clear up, and the airplane lifted off at 12:39 PM PST.
So what’s different about this 747? It’s longer, beating the previous 747 by 18 feet, has new engines, outfitted with the same type of engines available for the 787, and has brand new wings. The freighter can carry 30 more tons of cargo than the previous version, and has a range of 4,390 nautical miles – just 55 shorter of the 747-400.
Yet the range isn’t a huge issue – it’s only 55 nautical miles – which isn’t far at all. However range isn’t a critical problem for a cargo plane. “Cargo doesn’t care if it stops for gas,” said Thomas Crabtree, a regional marketing director for The Boeing Company.
The order-book for the 747-8 consists of 108 orders. 76 are for the freighter and 32 for the 747-8 Intercontinental passenger variant. While the 747-8I only has 32 orders, Boeing is confident that as airlines retire 747-400s, a market will open for the airplane.
While I wish I could have been there, a few friends went and captured phenomenal video / pictures. Here is AirlineReporter.com’s David Parker Brown’s video of the 747-8F first flight’s takeoff and landing.
This Tuesday, February 9, 2010, at 9 P.M. ET, PBS will air a segment on the regional airline industry. Frontline investigators interview pilots and industry experts to learn how the regional airline industry is weathering safety concerns.
Program description:
One year after the deadly airline crash of Continental 3407 in Buffalo, NY, FRONTLINE investigates the accident and discovers a dramatically changed airline industry, where regional carriers now account for half of the nation’s daily departures. The rise of the regionals and arrival of low-cost carriers have been a huge boon to consumers, and the industry insists that the skies remain safe. But many insiders are worried that now, 30 years after airline deregulation, the aviation system is being stretched beyond its capacity to deliver service that is both cheap and safe.
The City of Chicago, the owner and operator of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, was awarded ownership of a 161-year-old cemetery located on the path of a future runway for O’Hare. Approximately 1,200 graves will be dug-up and moved elsewhere.
