Name change

Birmingham International Airport is contemplating a name change.

The Alabama airport may be renamed for civil rights leader Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, founder of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights.

Shuttlesworth is pictured with Dartmouth College professor Susannah Heschel.

Birmingham Airport Authority members plan to formally vote on the change next month, according to The Birmingham News.

If approved, the name change would not be the first for the airport.

Known as Birmingham Municipal Airport when it opened in 1931,
it became Birmingham International Airport in 1993.

(Photo from Susannah Heschel)

O'Hare's new club

United Airlines opened a new Red Carpet Club at Chicago O'Hare International Airport yesterday.

The club is adjacent to gate B18 in Terminal 1.

It is the first lounge the airline has opened since 2000.

(Photo courtesy of United Airlines)

It's 4:20 somewhere

Potheads want the government to legalize marijuana use in airport smoking lounges.

Denver-based Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER)-insert joke about the Mile High City here-claim marijuana will help fliers relax.

Get the full scoop here.

Price cut

Ottawa International Airport will cut terminal fees effective July 1.

The Ottawa International Airport Authority will reduce fees by 5% because of skyrocketing fuel costs and weakened economies in Canada and the USA, Canadian carrier WestJet Airlines says in a statement.

Obviously, the airline is pleased with the decision and would like other Canadian airports to follow suit.

Perfect pairs

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics put together the top domestic city pairs based on enplaned passengers between April 2007 and March 2008.





















I’m pleased to see Washington, DC is well represented. I'm just surprised New York-Los Angeles wasn't in the top ten. Or San Francisco-New York.

(Graphic courtesy of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics)

I spy

While looking for a story to write, I came across a SFW Web cam for aviation nerds.

Spy on Edmonton International Airport. Its "Live Cam" is refreshed every two minutes.

Views of the Canadian airport include the north runway, south runway and south departures.

Caps be gone

Flight caps at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport will be removed after the airport’s newest runway opens in November. A post about the new runway is forthcoming.

Between 56 and 70 more arrivals will be added throughout the day-roughly four to five extra arrivals per hour-when the runway opens, FAA Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell says in a statement.

Hourly domestic arrivals and departures at O’Hare were capped at 88 each between 7 am and 8 pm in 2004 as a temporary step to reduce congestion at the then most-delayed hub in the USA.

Originally scheduled to end in April 2005, the caps were continually extended while additional measures to address congestion and delays at the airport were considered.

There might be some headaches. Some airlines are unhappy with the news. And this just in: the cost of fuel is rising.