CD Traveller » Manchester Airport

Visitors Entering and Leaving the USA

adrian — Sun, 16 May 2010 18:49:00 +0000

UPDATE: 17 MAY the Department of Homeland Security tells us that the greeen I-94 card will still be used for the time being (probably at least a year) as things run in parallel until a decision is made on when the I-94 can be dropped. They also confirm that on your first entry to the US you will have to have all 10 fingerprints made but on subsequent visits only the four fingers of the right hand will be required to be fingerprinted as this will provide a sufficient match with the previous data that they have recorded.

The Department of Homeland Security in the US has introduced some new procedures. Instead of just having index fingers fingerprinted, you will now have to have all fingers and thumbs scanned. Up until recently this has been tested at some airports but now it will go nationwide. Howevert if you have had this procedure done once (I was last in the US three months ago), it appears that you may not have to have it done again. I flew into New York’s JFK airport yesterday and whilst other passengers had all ten digits scanned, I only had the four fingers on my right hand scanned.
You will still have your photograph taken on entry as well.

I have written before about how the ESTA programme of filling in your contact details, passport information etc online will replace the I-94 green form that all visitors (unless you have a visa in which case it is white) have to complete. Despite the fact that ESTA is in place and that you won’t be allowed to enter the US unless you have completed this online form in advance, the I-94 forms are still in use, and are being stamped and checked at the point of entry. You still need to retain it in your passport for surrender when you leave.
A few years ago when I flew out of Chicago to return to the UK, I had my thumbs scanned by a portable reader before I was able to catch my flight. At sometime over the next year, it has been announced that capturing biometrics (presumably photographs and fingerprints) for all departing visitors will be introduced.

Back home, Manchester Airport has announced that at Terminal 2, hand searching will be replaced by body scanning. This trial has been approved by the European Commission and follows the test of a single machine at the terminal. If this test is successful, expect it to be employed at the other two terminals as well. The airport reiterates that the image cannot be stored or captured and that the offices that operate the body scanning machines will not be able to recognise people.

What’s an Airport For?

adrian — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:15:20 +0000

Last week The Sunday Times wrote a piece by Matt Rudd about how unfriendly airports are to children. It presupposes the question that airports are supposed to be friendly in the first place. Not just for children but for everyone.

Airports are there to enable you to catch a flight to somewhere so surely the prime aim is to get you through and out as soon as possible? If you are flying in then the same applies. It is get you off the plane and out into the real world. Then some bright spark decided to add duty free shops, then cafés, then restaurants, then shops, then lounges, then viewing areas and places where you can spend £20 on a ticket to win a car. All of a sudden they were bigger than villages. All they need is a Tesco or a Sainsbury and I can do my weekly shop there as well. This is what Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester have become,- towns where flying seems almost an afterthought. (some are so big they can’t be called villages.) And it is estimated that over 1,000 people sleep on the floor or on seats at Stansted each evening. See , it’s a town complete with it’s own dossers?

Edinburgh has recently been remodelled and Glasgow is next for the treatment.

Has it got to the point now where getting passengers in and out has got so difficult to resolve merely because everything else has been poured into airports so that airports can make greater profits? Get rid of some of the retailing and there will be more room for scanners and security improvements. Get rid of people hawking credit cards and get rid of a coffee shop or two and we might not need to expand an airport into the size of a city.

Airports have lounges for business an first class passengers to go into. And why do passengers go there? For peace and quiet. There are no shops and no hawkers. They can just wait for a plane. Maybe that’s why they are so popular.

I am attracted more and more to smaller airports like London City where being on island stops development or where, such as Newquay, there seems little desire to grow. At least those airports are closer to delivering the service that most passengers want.

BAA Let Off The Hook

adrian — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:51:47 +0000

In a view that surprised nearly everyone, probably including BAA themselves, there has been a ruling that BAA may not have to sell of one of their Scottish airports (Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow) nor dispose of Stansted. BAA appealed against the decision of the Competition Commission and the Competition Appeal Tribunal has agreed with BAA.

Why?

Because of a technicality. One of the Competition Commission’s panellists (Professor Peter Moizer) was also an advisor to Manchester Airport Group which was interested in buying Gatwick. The ruling said that although there was no element of bias, there could be a belief that there might be one. And they are right. Why on earth didn’t the Competition Commission ask Prof. Moizer to stand down before the enquiry began if they didn’t know of his involvement? If they didn’t why did the Professor not make everyone concerned about a conflict of interest? The Professor, after all, is Dean of Business Studies at Leeds University and should have a better grasp than most of the implications of him judging this. He did eventually stand down but the damage was done.

The taxpayer has had to fund this waste of time. And it isn’t even over now. Three of the members of the commission investigating BAA have had their contracts extended to 9 March 2011 so even more is due to be spent. So now BAA has to make yet more submissions and the worst case could be that the whole investigation will have to be restarted.

And yet there is still the problem that BAA controls the 3 most significant airports in Scotland. That is to nobody’s benefit and maybe not even to BAA (a sale of one would help reduce some of the heavy debt) But the poor old traveller still has to put up with it after the incompetence of the Competition Commission.

Customer Service in Travel

adrian — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:20:46 +0000

This is the time of the year when the National Customer Service Awards are announced. In any industry service is important. Good service leads to satisfaction. Satisfaction can lead to loyalty and repeat business. No customer likes being ill treated, ignored, patronised or fobbed off with meaningless official waffle so awards that support good service are welcome. But travel and tourism doesn’t seem to have done to well in this year’s awards. Is that because they didn’t enter or they did, but weren’t shortlisted for the final?

Before looking at that subject, I should congratulate those from travel and tourism who did walk off with trophies. Butlins were awarded Best Service Employer of the Year and Pauline Wilson from Virgin Holidays was named Customer Service Manager of the Year. Manchester Airport, Chiltern Railways, Cross Country and the National Maritime Museum all made the shortlist but were pipped at the last moment. In the case of Manchester Airport they lost out in two categories and the Group (which also owns East Midlands and Humberside airports) lost out as well.

Last year 13 different companies related to travel and tourism were shortlisted so the number has halved. As I said earlier, this could be because companies decided not to enter. But last year there was a category for Customer Service Team of the Year for Leisure & Tourism and not this year. There was also a similar award for airlines, transport and distribution which failed to survive into 2009. So it could be that travel and tourism companies saw little reason to enter.

This week there was the news story about the person who requested a complaint form from the guard on a train. As the journey ended, the guard came over the tannoy apologising for not managing to get the form to the passenger because overcrowding made it difficult to get through the train! Enough said. An attempt at customer service defeated by the very reason for it.

Customer service needs rewarding in whichever industry it is in.

Did You Vote for the Winners?

adrian — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:07:21 +0000

Last night the winners were announced of the British Travel Awards. CD-Traveller is one of the sponsors because these are the only awards where you, the traveller and holidaymaker, can vote. So it’s not just the travel industry patting itself on the back. And over 100,000 of you voted so our thanks, and those of the organisers, for taking the time to vote.

By voting you could also win but those prizes will be announced a bit later.

So for now, these are some of the winners.

You chose First Choice as the best short haul tour operator and Virgin Holidays as the best long haul one. Your best airport in the UK was Manchester Airport and overseas, Singapore. The best UK destination was Cornwall and your favourite country to visit was the USA. Your favourite citybreak destination was Barcelona and you thought that Dubai was the best tourist board. American Airlines was voted the best airline and Easyjet, the best no-frills airline. The best cruise company was Cunard and the best ferry operator, P & O. Shearings were voted the best tour operator for escorted tours and Thomson was voted the best in a number of categories including all-inclusive, best to the Middle East and the Med.

For the full list go to www.britishtravelawards.com/tip_awbf.php

Just a reminder. The survey about your future travel thoughts is open until November 30^th. We’ll send you a reminder a little closer to the time as well but you if you haven’t filled it in you can do so by going to www.britishtravelawards.com/tip_rp.php.

And thanks once again for voting. As soon as the winners amongst the voters is known, we’ll let you know.

Airport Landing Fees

adrian — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:48:41 +0000

Both Ryanair and easyjet have complained about the landing fees being charged by certain airports. According to easyjet, Luton Airport’s fees have risen by over 25% over the last few years and that it is why it has cut the number of flights operating from there. The same applies to the cutbacks by Ryanair at Manchester, Dublin and Stansted airports.

At a time when airlines are having difficulty filling seats and losing money due to fuel prices and the inability to charge higher prices, airport landing charges are a sore point. Shouldn’t airports cut prices or at least, not raise prices and take some of the strain? too many have increased prices thinking they a market that will continue to use them come what may. these two airlines at least have thumbed their noses at particular airports.

Take note then of Kansai international Airport at Osaka in Japan. They have cut landing fees by 80% if airlines use either larger planes or increase the number of flights. The incentive lasts until March 2011 when most economists think we will be comfortably out of the recession. The airport wins, the airlines win as does the passenger since prices won’t go up.

It’s time airports in our part of the world considered something similar.