West United States

Fresno Airport is now equipped with self-service check-in machines for use by American Airlines and American Eagle customers making international trips. The passenger swipes his passport through the machine, which issues a boarding pass once the identification process is successfully completed. AA customers can also provide government-required date online in advance of airport check-in. American says it now has more than 365 of these check-in devices in service. For now, Fresno is the only airport in the western United States with this capability…Oakland International has now completed construction on four of its new seven-gate concourse in Terminal 2 and opened them to accommodate Southwest Airlines flights. Involved are gates 29 to 21. The three remaining gates, 26 to 28, will open next spring.  The 54,000-square-foot concourse is part of OAK’s $300 million Terminal Improvement Program.

 

Southwest United States

 

New shopping options at Dallas/Fort Worth International, some of them automated. Zoom Automated Retail Systems serves up things such as the newly remastered  Apple iPod nano. Zoom also dispenses travel products from the likes of Neutrogena and Proactiv Facial Care. Thirteen machines are arrayed around the airport. They take debit and credit cards. Prefer salespeople? Consider L’Occitane, located at Gate 16 in Terminal D. It sells scents from the Mediterranean—lavender, honey, neroli flowers and organic verbena. The products are labeled in Braille for those who are sight-impaired. Long to a language? Rosetta Stone sports a trio of DFW locations. There are kiosks at gates B10, C19 and E11. The company’s Terminal C site is the company’s most successful airport location in the country…Crave custom caffeine? Starbucks has landed at Tulsa International Airport. You’ll find it near the security checkpoint entrance. Caramel Macchiatos and Pumpkin Spice Frappucinos can be quaffed as early as 5:30 a.m., and as late as 10:00 p.m.

 

Midwest United States

 

Time-saver. If you leave your car in Economy Parking Lot E at Chicago O’Hare know that there’s now remote skycap service. For $5 check luggage on select airlines, get a boarding pass, and be on your way to the terminal. Carriers participating: American, United, Delta, Continental and Alaska…Got a long trip planned out of Minneapolis/St. Paul and want to save some significant money on parking? While most MSP flyers arrive and depart from the Lindbergh Terminal, consider parking in the Humphrey Terminal’s General Parking ramp. You’ll save $4 per day compared to leaving your vehicle in the Lindbergh’s General ramp. The Humphrey and Lindbergh Terminals are connected via the Hiawatha light rail system, so you don’t give up a tremendous amount of convenience.

 

South United States

 

Delta and AirTran’s on-time performance should improve now that Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International’s oldest runway is open again. It had been closed two months for repairs. The move gives the megahub five functioning parallel runways…Good news for flyers frequenting Miami International. Wait times in passport lines are down. They were as long as 45 minutes. Aviation Daily reports they fell to 41 minutes—even in the midst of heavy summer traffic. New lanes and extra staffing are the reasons why…Parking rates just rose significantly at Miami International. Where it used to cost $25 per day to park in the short-term lot, the tab is now $30. Long-term rates rose from $12 per day to $15…Connecting via Memphis and have a bit of time on your hands? Consider a haircut at the Airport Barber Shop. The two-chair facility is located ‘twixt Ticket Lobbies B and C, and is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Information: 1-901-922-8144.

 

Northwest United States

 

It’s taken 30 years of angst, but Boston Logan finally has its sixth runway. Massport maintains Runway 14/32 (the numbers indicated compass alignment) means delays at BOS will fall by a fourth, and tardiness could tumble by almost 90 percent when the wind blows strongly from the northwest. This is a 5,000-foot strip, capable of handling regional jets for the most part. The runway will be used only when winds top 10 knots and blow from the northwest or southeast. Officials proposed 14/32 back in 1976. A court injunction stopped the strip, but it was lifted in 2003…Aviation Daily reports that US Airways is hiring 250 more people at its problem-plagued Philadelphia hub in an effort to render the place more productive. PHL has been buffeted by baggage problems—both literally and figuratively. Luggage labels have been frequently misread at the airport, and the airline hopes new equipment will radically reduce glitches. As for personnel problems, that too is part of the baggage from the “old US Airways” days. Management hopes a revamped workforce will lead to individual accountability.

 

Worldwide

 

ANA’s First and Business Class departure lounges in the new South Wing of Tokyo Narita’s Terminal 1 now sport automated currency exchange machines.