Tag Archives: USA

This week: Jamie’s Gatwick, 79 turtles, and German strikes

What a busy airport week this one was again! We’ve got more strikes albeit this week from a different European country, a culinary feast about to be unveiled in the UK, Chinese turtles and a couple of “interesting” stories from the US of A. So let’s get started right away!

Continue reading This week: Jamie’s Gatwick, 79 turtles, and German strikes

Guestblog: Private jet vs commercial airliner- a journey of comparison

This is a guestblog by Dana Rasmussen who writes about private jets for JetCharters.com, a worldwide air charter marketplace.  Jet Charters makes booking your next air charter easier by allowing you to research trip options and connect directly with the charter operator.

It’s ski season and just about everyone with a need to take to the slopes is heading out to Vail.

Some of these people are going the more traditional route by getting onboard a commercial airliner, while others opt for a classier way.

These people are the ones that charter a private jet.

Continue reading Guestblog: Private jet vs commercial airliner- a journey of comparison

This week: Ice Age in Europe, Super Bowl congestion and Bieber’s apology

Wow, what a big week for LateDeparture this one was! On Monday we announced the winner story from our Airport News of the Year award voting process. As you probably heard by now, the story about Jack the Cat who was lost at the JFK airport won the title. Subsequently many of you commented on the sad fate of Jack and reinforced on your views about who was to blame. If the award did one thing, then it showed that some airlines still have a long way to go in regards to handling incidents like this one.

Continue reading This week: Ice Age in Europe, Super Bowl congestion and Bieber’s apology

This week: New York’s questionable fame, Yoga at SFO and more

Well, well, finger-point, finger-point… yes, okay we admit it, we’re about 24 hours late with our weekly news round-up. But hey, better late than never or isn’t that what they say? Whatever; let’s not get into excuses but rather focus on the task at hand.

Continue reading This week: New York’s questionable fame, Yoga at SFO and more

Flightstats announces 2011 Airport On-Time Performance Awards

FlightStats, the leader in flight information services announced the winners of the 2011 Airport On-Time Performance Awards (OPS). In its third edition, the award honours airlines and airports for their performance. As airports are (obviously) our thing, we want to focus on them. According to FlightStats, the winning airports are recognized for delivering the highest percentage of departure from the gates less than15 minutes after the published scheduled departure time. So without further ado, here are this year’s winners:

  • Winner – Departure performance among major international airports:
    Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
    Seattle, WA, USSEA achieved a 2011 on-time performance record of 86.28%. The average on-time performance was 71.02%% for this category. This is the second year in a row SEA has won the award. “The investments we’ve made improving our facilities and operations continue to pay off,” say’s Mark Reis of Sea-Tac Airport. “Credit goes to the efficiencies built into the airfield, terminal and runway operations as well as the terrific work from the entire team of port employees and our operational partners.”
  • Winner – Departure performance among major North American airports:
    Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
    Salt Lake City, UT, USSLC achieved a 2011 on-time performance record of 86.55%. The average on-time performance was 76.67% for this category. Portland International Airport (PDX) was a very close second in achieving an on-time performance of 86.38%.
  • Winner – Departure performance among major European airports:
    Oslo Airport (OSL)
    Gardermoen, NOOSL achieved a 2011 on-time performance record of 87.17%. The average on-time performance was 73.42% for this category. This is the second year in a row OSL has won the award.
  • Winner – Departure performance among major Asian airports:
    Haneda Airport (HND)
    Tokyo, JPHND achieved a 2011 on-time performance record of 95.05%. The average on-time performance was 55.03% for this category.
  • Winner – Departure performance among regional North American airports:
    Keahole Airport (KOA)
    Kona, HI, USKOA achieved a 2011 on-time performance record of 92.57%. The average on-time performance was 80.90% for this category. This is the second year in a row KOA has won the award.
  • Winner – Departure performance among regional European airports:
    Bordeaux Airport (BOD)
    Bordeaux, FRBOD achieved a 2011 on-time performance record of 90.13%. The average on-time performance was 78.66% for this category.
  • Winner – Departure performance among regional Asian airports:
    Itami Airport (ITM)
    Osaka, JPITM achieved a 2011 on-time performance record of 95.60%. The average on-time performance was 69.74% for this category.

For the full results, head to the FlightStats Award announcement page.

This week: more winter, more expansion and more bites

This week we have three main stories for you plus a little bonus one to finish off. Two stories are again related to this time of the year and come from the same country versus the other two both focus on airport expansions in the wider sense. Before we lift the curtain though, we want to update you on our Airport News of the Year voting feature. We’ve received quite a few votes this week and so far the “lost cat” and the “wrong airport” stories are neck on neck, where as the “rivalry” story is lagging a bit behind. There’s one week left for you to vote, so make sure you have your say before the time runs out!

Continue reading This week: more winter, more expansion and more bites

Infographic: America’s most tech-friendly airports and airlines

MacBook Pro equipped travellers have long been known for their pickyness when flying from A to B. Not any airport or airline would do, they had to offer connectivity throughout the journey. These days travellers are no longer just the geeks from yesteryear as nearly everyone wants to connect their fancy gadgets through Wi-Fi in airports and on-board. Yet not all airports and planes are equally tech-friendly. If you are travelling through the US, you’re in luck as you can now check the below infographic to find the best way to fly with all your gear.

Extensive research from PC World on the busiest airports and other data from the New York Times flew into the graphic revealing which airports have fast upload and download speeds and which airlines give you the most tech amenities like mobile check-ins and Wi-Fi on-board. Plus there is much, much more as you will surely discover (click to expand):

What Are the Best Airports for Business Travelers?
Via: Online MBA News

This week: snow storms, pilot strikes, a cheetah and airport art

As another busy airport week is ending we have snow, strikes, brains, one exotic animal and new and exciting airport art for you. But first, the most exciting day in the history of airport news must have been Monday when we launched our reader campaign for you to vote for the Airport News of the Year. Make sure you check it out, we’ve secured some awesome prizes for a lucky few!

Continue reading This week: snow storms, pilot strikes, a cheetah and airport art

This week: a fire, a birthday and 247 snakes

Righty-o, here we go! It’s still a very young 2012 yet airport related news have already been pouring in left, right and center. And as so often, there was some good news (JFK), some bad (New Delhi) and some weird (Buenos Aires). Let’s get the bad news out of the way first.

Continue reading This week: a fire, a birthday and 247 snakes