Airline Passenger Fees Skyrocket

The next casualty of the airline fee craze: carry-on bags.

In 2012, airlines raked in more than $6 billion in baggage and change fees, solely accounting for a 3.7 percent profit margin, according to WTOP. Airlines began collecting additional fees for the once-free baggage began in 2008, when oil hit an all-time high leading toa  nearly 50 percent raise in jet fuel prices. Since then, the fees have increased and are typically in the range of $25 for  the first checked bag and $35 for the second. These baggage fees added $3.5 billion to airline coffers in 2012, 3.8 percent more than in 2011. While some commercials make light of the anger and frustration caused by the additional fees, a J.D. Power & Associates survey cited by the Los Angeles Times shows that a greater percentage of passengers who pay…

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Report: BWI Pursues Funding for Runway Upgrades

A state board is scheduled to vote on the proposed contract this month.

BWI is seeking approval from a state board to proceed with a multi-million dollar project to improve its runways. The State Board of Public Works is scheduled to vote on the proposed contract modification Wednesday May 15. The proposed $92.5 million contract is part of a larger, $350 million effort to bring runways up to new Federal Aviation Standards on safety, reported the Baltimore Business Journal. According to the proposed contract, some of the runway changes would be geared to managing erosion and safety; others would be to improve certain runways to “allow for more aircraft approaches during inclement weather conditions.” Money generated through airline ticket purchases and potential federal sources would pay for the most recently …

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BWI Increases Annual Traffic for Third Straight Year

The airport announced that more 22 million people flew through BWI in 2012.

For the third straight year, Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport has increased its best year-long traffic totals, according to a press release from the airport. Passenger traffic at BWI increased 1.3 percent from 2011 to 22.6 million commercial passengers. International passenger traffic increased 20.7 percent from 2011, and cargo shipments increased 3.7 percent from the year prior. The year also saw the airport's best month on record in July when more than 2.2 million people flew through BWI. "The sustained growth and success at BWI Marshall highlights its position as an important business and tourism gateway, as well as a job generator," said Governor Martin O'Malley. Nearly 94,000 jobs are supported by BWI, as …

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Suspicious Package Leads BWI to Close Gate Area

Authorities are investigating a suspicious package that was reported at 3 p.m. on Friday.

UPDATE: Investigators determined that the item was "non-hazardous" and reopened the area near the gate by 5 p.m. on Friday, according to airport spokesperson Jonathan Dean. --- Authorities at the Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport are investigating a suspicious package that showed up at approximately 3 p.m. in a non-public part of the airport, according to a spokesperson for BWI. "The investigation is in the lower-level airline space of Concourse D, not in a public area," said Jonathan Dean, spokesperson for the airport. "However, as a precaution, travelers were cleared from the airline gate area in Concourse D, near that specific location." Dean said he does not know whether authorities have seized the package or…

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Presidential Declaration Devotes Federal Resources to MD

Sen. Ben Cardin announced a presidential declaration that gives Maryland federal aid and Gov. Martin O’Malley urged Maryland citizens to stay off the roads Monday at a press conference at MEMA.

President Barack Obama signed a pre-landfall state of emergency declaration for Maryland. The declaration provides federal resources from FEMA and Health and Human Services to state aid, Sen. Ben Cardin announced at a press conference at Maryland Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Reisterstown Sunday night. “Federal partners are here at your request,” he said. Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are working alongside state agencies at MEMA’s emergency operations center, which is fully staffed in preparation for Hurricane Sandy. Federal employees from Mississippi, Texas, South Carolina, Indiana and Kansas have come to Maryland’s aid, Cardin said. Military …

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BWI Reports New Passenger Record in July

More than 2.2 million passengers passed through the airport in July, making it the busiest month ever.

Think you saw and heard more planes than usual flying overhead this summer? It's quite possible that you did. More than 2.2 million passengers passed through Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (BWI Marshall) airport in July, which was the airport's busiest month ever. Gov. Martin O’Malley announced in a press release Tuesday that BWI Marshall set a new record: 2,222,329 commercial passengers used the airport—a 0.8 percent increase over the previous monthly record set in July 2011 with 2,205,035 passengers.  “This new record represents the steady growth and success that BWI Marshall has experienced,” said O’Malley in a press release. “The airport is an important resource that supports jobs, transportation and tourism …

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BWI Air Traffic Patterns to Shift Monday

Runway work, ongoing since June, culminates in 60-day closure starting Aug. 20.

Starting Monday, Elkridge can expect more planes overhead.  One of the two major thoroughfares for commercial planes at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI) will be closed for 60 days starting Monday, Aug. 20, for reconstructive work around the runway, according to a statement from the airport. With Runway 10-28 closed, air traffic patterns may change, said Jonathan Dean, a spokesman for BWI. He said Elkridge was in the area impacted by the shift. “In the northwest regions, like Elkridge and Catonsville, residents in those communities will see an increase in operations compared to usual conditions,” said Dean. According to Dean, 70 percent of traffic will be going over Elkridge and communities northwest of the…

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Flights to Increase Over Elkridge During BWI Runway Revamp

The repaving of one of the airport’s runways results in higher concentration of air traffic overhead.

Hearing more airplanes than you used to in Elkridge?  BWI officials say not to be alarmed.  The airport has been working on its runways since June and shifted some flights over Elkridge as a result, according to Alan Peljovich, manager for the BWI's runway safety program. By 2015, all of BWI’s runways must be up to snuff with the Federal Aviation Administration’s safety standards to remain eligible for federal funding, said Peljovich. Currently, he said, none of the runways are in compliance. “From mid-August to October, [BWI] will close one runway,” said Peljovich, in a recent talk with the Greater Elkridge Community Association. “You will either be getting all of the departures on a given day over you or all of the arrivals over you on a…

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Anonymous User

2:55 pm on Friday, December 7, 2012

Haha I just looked at the PDF and see that it has changed a lot. Right now 10-28 is actually open. But it's scheduled to close again in 3 hours. The construction window includes dates from today through the 20th, currently. I guess they figure if they open the runway for a couple hours each week that people have less right to complain!   more ›

Plane Diverted to BWI

Hazmat crews responded after flight attendant reportedly fell ill.

Southwest to Discontinue Direct Flights to LaGuardia

New schedule takes effect Jan. 5, 2013.

  Southwest announced its plans this week to discontinue service to New York’s LaGuardia Airport out of Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International, effective Jan. 5, reported The Baltimore Sun.  Currently, the airline runs 20 flights from BWI to LGA each week. The shift will enable Southwest to “enhance access” to its Midwestern clientele, according to The Baltimore Sun. Specifically, the airline will ramp up service in Tennessee. In Nashville—where Southwest passengers have had to connect through other cities to get to New York—the airline will add 12 total nonstop flights weekly to LaGuardia starting Jan. 6, reports The Tennessean. A spokesman for BWI told The Baltimore Sun that he was confident “Southwest is going to grow …

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