CLEAR LANES COMING BACK? A company called Henry, Inc has signed a letter of intent with Verified Identity Pass, the company that ran the Clear Card program at 18 major airports (including ATL), to purchase some of its assets and liabilities. Henry, Inc is hoping to work on building a good relationship with the TSA in the hopes of once again offering an airport security fast lane to those willing to pay an annual fee. From Business Travel News: “…if Henry Inc.’s bid to acquire the remains of Clear are successful, the firm plans on reengaging existing customers and attracting new customers of the program, including a plan to enroll members of Clear for free for the balance of the term of their membership that remained unused when Clear ceased operations in June.” And an article in the NYT said that the lanes could be open as soon as this holiday season. Stay tuned!
DELTA’S NOT BUDGING. We’ve just heard that Delta and ATL officials have finally come to a new agreement that will keep Delta from moving flights to other hubs as it had threatened to do. The last deal was signed in 1980, and this deal should be good for the next 30 years.
RACIAL SLURS FLY AT ATL. WSB has an interesting report about a wave of racially charged outbursts on the part of both white and black passengers at Hartsfield. Here’s a snippet from the article: “Bell said Kambouris had too much to drink at the Budweiser Brew House and when Bell told gate agents that Kambouris was in no condition to fly, he said Kambouris screamed ‘white power.’ He did the Nazi salute and he just kept calling me the N-word, said Bell.” Whew!
CHARLESTON. AirTran has moved from Concourse A to Concourse B at the Charleston International Airport. The switch follows the remodeling of Concourse B and will allow AirTran Airways passengers faster access to its gate, B4, where they’ll enjoy a larger waiting area, new carpet and air-conditioned jetways.
ATL INTERNATIONAL CONCOURSE E IS 15? Wow, it seems like it just opened! Remember when all international flights used to depart from the current T gates? ATL’s Concourse E opened in time to welcome the world to Atlanta during for the 1996 Olympics, and now welcomes more than 13 million international passengers each year. The extension of the International concourse, currently under construction, should open in 2012—just three years from now. The new building will house 12 gates, bringing the total to 40 for the entire international concourse, which will have dedicated access to I-75, plus its own security lanes, allowing international passengers to bypass the domestic hubbub. Best of all, arriving international passengers will no longer have to gather bags at customs, and then re-check them for transport to the main terminal for pick up, and then go BACK through security to catch the train. Hooray for that!
NEW SKYTRAIN WILL CONNECT ATL TO RENTAL CAR CENTER. By now you’ve probably heard about the new consolidated rental car center across I-85 from the airport, opening on Nov 10. Here’s how folks are going to get there: Twelve SkyTrain cars will operate in pairs to shuttle customers from the terminal, first to the Georgia International Convention Center station and then terminate at the rental car center. The wait time between trains during the day will be about three minutes. During off-peak hours and overnight, the wait time should be no longer than 10 minutes. BEST part about this shift for ATL-based traveler is that the train will take the place of all those obnoxious rental car shuttle busses that slow on-airport traffic. Just in time for the holiday slog, too! Nice!
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