AVIATION LOUNGE | Discussion, News, Rankings, Figures, Statistics

[deasine]

Some on-time performance statistics.

IN BRIEF | Qantas and Virgin Australia clock over 80% for on-time arrivals and departures, according to Federal Government statistics, but it seems that's not enough to get them into the world's-best category.
Japan's two major airlines, on the other hand, are achieving 90% on-time performance according to the FlightStats flight information service.
ANA picked up the FlightStats 2011 On-time Performance Award for International Airlines with 90.18% of flights arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time. That's just a whisker ahead of JAL's 90.14%.
None the less, Qantas and Virgin Australia can take some solace that FlightStats recorded average on-time performance across the category of 77.79%, putting them slightly ahead of the pace.
Alaska Airlines took the gong for most punctual North American airlines with on-time arrivals at 87.79%, while Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) is the airline to beat in Europe with on-time performance sitting at 88.22%.

(via AUBST)

[brisavoine]

In 2010 the 20 biggest metropolitan areas by passenger traffic were the following:
1- London (6 airports): 127,353,419 passengers (-2.3% compared to 2009 / -9.0% compared to 2007)
2- New York (5 airports): 105,993,609 pass. (+2.1% comp. to 2009 / -5.1% comp. to 2007)
3- Tokyo (2 airports): 98,004,756 pass. (+4.2% comp. to 2009 / -4.2% comp. to 2007)
4- Atlanta (1 airport): 89,331,622 pass. (+1.5% comp. to 2009 / -0.1% comp. to 2007)
5- Paris (4 airports): 86,360,866 pass. (+0.8% comp. to 2009 / -2.5% comp. to 2007)
6- Chicago (2 airports): 84,341,019 pass. (+3.9% comp. to 2009 / -11.7% comp. to 2007)
7- Los Angeles (5 airports): 79,985,289 pass. (+3.1% comp. to 2009 / -8.9% comp. to 2007)
Hong Kong-Shenzhen (2 airports): 77,062,570 pass. (+10.0% comp. to 2009 / +13.9% comp. to 2007)
8- Beijing (2 airports): 76,088,588 pass. (+13.6% comp. to 2009 / +40.0% comp. to 2007)
9- Shanghai (2 airports): 71,877,433 pass. (+26.1% comp. to 2009 / +39.4% comp. to 2007)
10- Dallas (2 airports): 64,867,419 pass. (+1.7% comp. to 2009 / -4.2% comp. to 2007)
11- Washington (3 airports): 63,647,258 pass. (+3.3% comp. to 2009 / -1.6% comp. to 2007)
12- Miami (2 airports): 58,110,652 pass. (+5.8% comp. to 2009 / +3.0% comp. to 2007)
13- San Francisco Bay Area (3 airports): 57,357,908 pass. (+3.7% comp. to 2009 / +6.4% comp. to 2007)
14- Dubai-Sharjah (2 airports): 53,487,128 pass. (+14.6% comp. to 2009 / +38.2% comp. to 2007)
15- Frankfurt (1 airport): 53,009,221 pass. (+4.1% comp. to 2009 / -2.1% comp. to 2007)
16- Denver (1 airport): 52,209,377 pass. (+4.1% comp. to 2009 / +4.7% comp. to 2007)
17- Moscow (3 airports): 50,836,828 pass. (+23.5% comp. to 2009 / +28.8% comp. to 2007)
18- Hong Kong (1 airport): 50,348,960 pass. (+10.5% comp. to 2009 / +7.0% comp. to 2007)
19- Madrid (1 airport): 49,863,504 pass. (+3.3% comp. to 2009 / -4.4% comp. to 2007)
20- Houston (2 airport): 49,533,570 pass. (+2.1% comp. to 2009 / -4.4% comp. to 2007)

Evolution of passenger traffic from 2007 to 2010:
Beijing: +40.0%
Shanghai: +39.4%
Dubai-Sharjah : +38.2%
Moscow: +28.8%
Hong Kong-Shenzhen: +13.9%
Hong Kong: +7.0%
San Francisco Bay Area: +6.4%
Denver: +4.7%
Miami: +3.0%
Atlanta: -0.1%
Washington: -1.6%
Frankfurt: -2.1%
Paris: -2.5%
Dallas: -4.2%
Tokyo: -4.2%
Houston: -4.4%
Madrid: -4.4%
New York: -5.1%
Los Angeles: -8.9%
London: -9.0%
Chicago: -11.7%

Of course to be fair in terms of international comparisons, you'd also have to add the long-distance traffic of high speed trains which would significantly increase the figures for Tokyo, Paris, Osaka, and to a lesser extent London, Madrid, Seoul.

[Yuri S Andrade]

São Paulo (4 airports - GRU, CGH, VCP, MAE):

2011: 54,648,026
2010: 48,140,697
2009: 39,104,170
2008: 35,425,981
2007: 35,297,364

Growth 2007 to 2010: 36.4%
Growth 2007 to 2011: 54.2%

[HD]

Originally Posted by brisavoine

In 2010 the 20 biggest metropolitan areas by passenger traffic were the following:
...

who cares about numbers from 2010 when numbers from 2011 are available already. the numbers you have posted have been posted many times in this thread .. many months ago.


@ Blackraven

not likely. BER won't have much of a network, where people could transfer to. it doesn't offer many long range connections, and it doesn't look like it is going to get any new so far.

[HD]

here is a provisional list for 2011, made by Seljuk from airliners.de

PEK: 78,675,000 +6,4%
LHR: 69,390,628 +5,5%
ORD: 66,760,407 -0,4%
LAX: 61,861,974 +4,7%
CDG: 60,970,551 +4,8%
FRA: 56,436,255 +6,5%
HKG: 53,909,000 +5,9%
DXB: 50,975 Mio. +8,0%
AMS: 49,755,252 +10,0%
MAD: 49,662,512 -0,4%
BKK: 47,910,904 +12,0%
SIN: 46,543,845 +10,7%
CAN: 45,04 Mio. +3,8%
IAH: 40,128,741 -0,9%
MUC: 37,763,701 +8,8%
KUL: 37,7 Mio. +10,6%
FCO: 37,693,465 +3,7%
IST: 37,452,187 +16,5%
SYD: 35,631 Mio. +0,2%
ICN: 35,062,366 +4,7%
BCN: 34,399,180 +17,8%
LGW: 33,639,900 +7,3%
YYZ: 33,435,580 +4,7%
SEA: 32,819,863 +4,0%
GRU: 29,964,108 +11,6%
Chengdu: 29,07 Mio. +12,6%
BOS: 28,8 Mio. +5%
NRT: 28,068,714 -17,1%
ORY: 27,139,076 +7,7%
MEX: 26,368,861 +9,3%
DME: 25,701,610 +15,5%
AYT: 25,113,635 +14,1%
TPE: 24,947,751 -0,7%
ZRH: 24,337,954 +6,4%
Berlin: 24,033,809 +7,7% (TXL: 16,919,820 +12,6%; SXF: 7,113,989 -2,5%)
PMI: 22,726,459 +7,6%
CPH: 22,725,517 +5,7%
SVO: 22,555 Mio. +16,7%
VIE: 21,106,292 +7,2%
OSL: 21,103,005 +10,5%
DUS: 20,339,466 +7,1%
MXP: 19,3 Mio. +2%
ARN: 19,069,065 +12,4%
JNB: 18,922,346 +2,9%
MAN: 18,806,098 +6,5%
BRU: 18,786,034 +9,3%
DUB: 18,741,095 +1,7%
DOH: 18,108,521 +15,2%
STN: 18,047,594 -2,8%
YVR: 17,032,742 +1,5%
Sao Paulo-CGH: 16,753,567 +8,1%
Saigon: 16,668,400 +7,5%
Brasilia: 15,398,737 +7,3%
Rio de Janeiro: 14,926,615 +21,0%
HEL: 14,865,871 +15,5%
LIS: 14,790,242 +5,1%
HAM: 13,558,261 +4,6%
GVA: 13,111,741 +10,5%
CUN: 13,022,481 +4,7%
AGP: 12,823,125 +6,3%
SAW: 12,749,230 +13,9%
AUH: 12,4 Mio. +13,9%
LIM: 11,795,863 +14,7%
LPA: 10,538,811 +11,1%
NCE: 10,422,073 +8,5%
Haikou: 10,168 Mio. +15,9%
LED: 9,610,767 +13,8%
CGN: 9,623,398 -2,3%
STR: 9,582,265 +4,0%
LTN: 9,510,137 +8,9%
EDI: 9,384,072 +9,2%
Belo Horizonte: 9,359,033 +28,9%
WAW: 9,337,907 +7,2%
BUD: 8,920,653 +8,9%
BHX: 8,608,828 +0,5%
Izmir: 8,542,811 +14,1%
Ankara: 8,520,649 +9,7%
Phuket: 8,467,860 +20,2%
LYS: 8,437,141 +5,7%
CPT: 8,436,562 +4,1%
BGY: 8,419,948 +9,7%
KBP: 8 Mio. +20%
MRS: 7,366,873 -2,1%
Guadalajara: 7,200,900 +3,6%
TLS: 6,988,140 +9,1%
GLA: 6,864,000 +5,1%
Muscat: 6,479,860 +12,7%
Cebu: 6,215,946 +14,8%
Porto: 6,003,408 +13,7%
CRL: 5,901,007 +13,6%
FAO: 5,615,580 +5,1%
Bergen: 5,606,797 +10,4%
Monterrey: 5,582,794 +3,8%
Larnaca: 5,507,762 +2,6%
HAJ: 5,340,264 +5,5%
RIX: 5,106,893 +9,5%
BSL: 5,048,428 +22,4%
Durban: 5,038,231 +5,9%
GOT: 4,906,556 +18,7%
PSA: 4,526,723 +11,3%
Stavanger: 4,131,974 +12,4%
Bordeaux: 4,117,303 +1 2,4%
NUE: 3,962,617 -2,6%
Trondheim: 3,926,461 +11,5%
Paris-BVA: 3,677,825 +25,4%
MLA: 3,506,521 +6,5%
SOF: 3,474,993 +5,4%
Jekaterinburg: 3,355,883 +22,1%
BEG: 3,124,633 +15,8%
KRK: 3,014,060 +5,2%
Novosibirsk: 2,765,884 +22,3%
BLL: 2,710,516 +5,3%
EIN: 2,643,483 +23,4%
KTW: 2,544,124 +5,9%
Danzig: 2,463,978 +10,4%
Cork: 2,361,851 -2,6%
ZAG: 2,319,098 +11,9%
Funchal: 2,311,380 +3,5%
Reykjavik: 2,112,142 +17,9%
TLL: 1,913,172 +38,2%
LUX: 1,791,231 +9,9%
VNO: 1,712,467 +24,7%
Salzburg: 1,700,983 +4,6%
Shannon: 1,625,549 -7,4%
RTM: 1,158,420 +15,7%
Innsbruck: 997,067 -3,5%
Graz: 976,543 -1,4%
Linz: 679,372 -1,8%
Erbil: 621,870 +37%
Klagenfurt: 375,307 -11,9%


this list is not complete yet.

[HD]

here is a provisional list for 2011, made by Seljuk from airliners.de

PEK: 78,675,000 +6,4%
LHR: 69,390,628 +5,5%
ORD: 66,760,407 -0,4%
LAX: 61,861,974 +4,7%
CDG: 60,970,551 +4,8%
FRA: 56,436,255 +6,5%
HKG: 53,909,000 +5,9%
DXB: 50,975 Mio. +8,0%
AMS: 49,755,252 +10,0%
MAD: 49,662,512 -0,4%
BKK: 47,910,904 +12,0%
SIN: 46,543,845 +10,7%
CAN: 45,04 Mio. +3,8%
IAH: 40,128,741 -0,9%
MUC: 37,763,701 +8,8%
KUL: 37,7 Mio. +10,6%
FCO: 37,693,465 +3,7%
IST: 37,452,187 +16,5%
SYD: 35,631 Mio. +0,2%
ICN: 35,062,366 +4,7%
BCN: 34,399,180 +17,8%
LGW: 33,639,900 +7,3%
YYZ: 33,435,580 +4,7%
SEA: 32,819,863 +4,0%
GRU: 29,964,108 +11,6%
Chengdu: 29,07 Mio. +12,6%
BOS: 28,8 Mio. +5%
NRT: 28,068,714 -17,1%
ORY: 27,139,076 +7,7%
MEX: 26,368,861 +9,3%
DME: 25,701,610 +15,5%
AYT: 25,113,635 +14,1%
TPE: 24,947,751 -0,7%
ZRH: 24,337,954 +6,4%
Berlin: 24,033,809 +7,7% (TXL: 16,919,820 +12,6%; SXF: 7,113,989 -2,5%)
PMI: 22,726,459 +7,6%
CPH: 22,725,517 +5,7%
SVO: 22,555 Mio. +16,7%
VIE: 21,106,292 +7,2%
OSL: 21,103,005 +10,5%
DUS: 20,339,466 +7,1%
MXP: 19,3 Mio. +2%
ARN: 19,069,065 +12,4%
JNB: 18,922,346 +2,9%
MAN: 18,806,098 +6,5%
BRU: 18,786,034 +9,3%
DUB: 18,741,095 +1,7%
DOH: 18,108,521 +15,2%
STN: 18,047,594 -2,8%
YVR: 17,032,742 +1,5%
Sao Paulo-CGH: 16,753,567 +8,1%
Saigon: 16,668,400 +7,5%
Brasilia: 15,398,737 +7,3%
Rio de Janeiro: 14,926,615 +21,0%
HEL: 14,865,871 +15,5%
LIS: 14,790,242 +5,1%
HAM: 13,558,261 +4,6%
GVA: 13,111,741 +10,5%
CUN: 13,022,481 +4,7%
AGP: 12,823,125 +6,3%
SAW: 12,749,230 +13,9%
AUH: 12,4 Mio. +13,9%
LIM: 11,795,863 +14,7%
LPA: 10,538,811 +11,1%
NCE: 10,422,073 +8,5%
Haikou: 10,168 Mio. +15,9%
LED: 9,610,767 +13,8%
CGN: 9,623,398 -2,3%
STR: 9,582,265 +4,0%
LTN: 9,510,137 +8,9%
EDI: 9,384,072 +9,2%
Belo Horizonte: 9,359,033 +28,9%
WAW: 9,337,907 +7,2%
BUD: 8,920,653 +8,9%
BHX: 8,608,828 +0,5%
Izmir: 8,542,811 +14,1%
Ankara: 8,520,649 +9,7%
Phuket: 8,467,860 +20,2%
LYS: 8,437,141 +5,7%
CPT: 8,436,562 +4,1%
BGY: 8,419,948 +9,7%
KBP: 8 Mio. +20%
MRS: 7,366,873 -2,1%
Guadalajara: 7,200,900 +3,6%
TLS: 6,988,140 +9,1%
GLA: 6,864,000 +5,1%
Muscat: 6,479,860 +12,7%
Cebu: 6,215,946 +14,8%
Porto: 6,003,408 +13,7%
CRL: 5,901,007 +13,6%
FAO: 5,615,580 +5,1%
Bergen: 5,606,797 +10,4%
Monterrey: 5,582,794 +3,8%
Larnaca: 5,507,762 +2,6%
HAJ: 5,340,264 +5,5%
RIX: 5,106,893 +9,5%
BSL: 5,048,428 +22,4%
Durban: 5,038,231 +5,9%
GOT: 4,906,556 +18,7%
PSA: 4,526,723 +11,3%
Stavanger: 4,131,974 +12,4%
Bordeaux: 4,117,303 +1 2,4%
NUE: 3,962,617 -2,6%
Trondheim: 3,926,461 +11,5%
Paris-BVA: 3,677,825 +25,4%
MLA: 3,506,521 +6,5%
SOF: 3,474,993 +5,4%
Jekaterinburg: 3,355,883 +22,1%
BEG: 3,124,633 +15,8%
KRK: 3,014,060 +5,2%
Novosibirsk: 2,765,884 +22,3%
BLL: 2,710,516 +5,3%
EIN: 2,643,483 +23,4%
KTW: 2,544,124 +5,9%
Danzig: 2,463,978 +10,4%
Cork: 2,361,851 -2,6%
ZAG: 2,319,098 +11,9%
Funchal: 2,311,380 +3,5%
Reykjavik: 2,112,142 +17,9%
TLL: 1,913,172 +38,2%
LUX: 1,791,231 +9,9%
VNO: 1,712,467 +24,7%
Salzburg: 1,700,983 +4,6%
Shannon: 1,625,549 -7,4%
RTM: 1,158,420 +15,7%
Innsbruck: 997,067 -3,5%
Graz: 976,543 -1,4%
Linz: 679,372 -1,8%
Erbil: 621,870 +37%
Klagenfurt: 375,307 -11,9%


this list is not complete yet.


edit: and here is the list with IATA-codes, for those who are not familiar with those: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...s_by_IATA_code

[Manitopiaaa]

Panama City, Panama's Tocumen International Airport (PTY) registered 5,844,561 passengers in 2011. In 2010, it was 5,042,410 for a 2010-2011 growth rate of +15.91%

http://www.tocumenpanama.aero/upload...o_2011v0.2.pdf

[deasine]

I posted this post here instead of in the MALEV thread as it encompasses many carriers across different threads

CAPA Centre for Aviation has a great analysis on MALEV's grounding.
http://www.centreforaviation.com/ana...oving-in-67369

One thing that wasn't mentioned in this was Hainan Airlines. As some of us may already know, Hainan did have preliminary discussions with deep partnerships (and ownerships) with MALEV. But now with the grounding of MALEV, this leaves Hainan Airlines with fewer options for a Europe partnership.

Interestingly, CAPA also has an article about Norwegian, its growth, and future partnerships. Given Norwegian, as a LCC, is going to be entering the long-haul market with 787s, I don't think a partnership with a gulf carrier is particularly beneficial (Norwegian will act more as a feeder carrier), but a partnership with a Chinese carrier to handle the ever growing Europe-Asia route demand may yield interesting partnerships. Finnair, Norwegian's competing partner, has been leveraging its convenient geography as a comparative advantage, and they are also looking into partnering with an Asian carrier (particularly, a Chinese carrier). So Hainan may be a potential candidate for a partnership with Norwegian or Finnair.

[klamot14]

PRG - 11,788,629 +2,01%
http://www.prg.aero/en/business-sect...6/resource.pdf

[Yuri S Andrade]

Brazilian airports (Guarulhos, Viracopos, Brasília) are "leased" for 24 billion reais (5.5 billion was the initial bid):

Brazil Privatizes Airports, Raising $14 Billion

By PAULO WINTERSTEIN

SÃO PAULO—Brazil raised $14 billion in a privatization of three major airports, a bid to speed modernization of overcrowded hubs before the country hosts soccer's 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.

Investor groups including a Brazilian pension fund, private construction firms and airport operators bid for concessions Monday to operate the international airport in São Paulo, Latin America's busiest, as well as growing hubs in the capital Brasilia and in Campinas for up to 30 years. The concessions require the firms to improve the airports. The sale of other long-term operating licenses are planned.

Officials said strong demand for the concessions reflected heightened investor interest in one of the world's fastest growing airline markets. Brisk economic growth and record low unemployment have created millions of entrants into Brazil's middle class. That in turn has spurred air traffic growth of double-digit rates, with demand jumping 16% in 2011 to about 180 million passengers.

(...)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...246033194.html

[deasine]

Tablets and its future in the aviation world.

British Airways Cabin Crews Tap Into Apple IPads for Lowdown on VIP Flyers
By Steve Rothwell - Feb 15, 2012 4:01 PM PT

British Airways (IAG) flight attendant Daljit Kaur used to sift through five pages of printouts before takeoff to memorize details of key customers. Now a flick of her finger brings their names and foibles immediately to hand.

Kaur, a 28-year BA veteran, is one of 1,200 crew issued with Apple Inc. (APP) iPads in a bid to lift service standards. Data is loaded 24 hours before a flight and updated until departure, with the tablet small enough to be used discreetly in the cabin.

“I’m ahead of myself in knowing where our corporate and high-value customers are sitting, and who needs help,” Kaur, a cabin-service director, BA’s highest rank of flight attendant, said in London following a flight from Istanbul. “They look at you and say ‘have you been on a special course?’”

Carriers are intensifying competition for premium clients as the economic slump hits travel budgets, with Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. spending 100 million ($157 million) on frills including a cheese trolley and afternoon tea and Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA) adding flat-bed seats that offer 8 percent more space. Industry earnings fell 55 percent last quarter and will slump by $1.4 billion to $3.5 billion this year, the International Air Transport Association estimates.

London-based British Airways, the market leader on the most lucrative premium route between Europe and North America, became the first carrier to equip crews with iPads when it began issuing them in November after a three-month trial, and aims to distribute as many as 2,000 to senior staff over coming months.

Personal Service
While the unit of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG), Europe’s third-biggest carrier, declined to say how much it will spend, that number of devices would cost just short of 1 million pounds at current Apple iStore prices.

The iPad 2s supply seating plans and passenger profiles, helping to identify BA’s gold and black loyalty-card holders -- its most frequent and highly valued flyers -- so that Kaur and her colleagues can greet them personally as they board.

Information available includes journey details, special meal requests and specific medical needs, and flight attendants are also authorized to use the tablets to submit customer complaints, speeding up response times, British Airways said.

“The crew does it so that passengers don’t have to run around on holiday trying to do it themselves,” said Pippa Grech, who manages the iPad program. “Otherwise, by the time they get off the plane, they think ‘oh, I won’t bother about it.’” The initiative has produced a “positive response,” she said.

‘Identify Patterns’
Paul Johnston, 30, a consultant at Cap Gemini SA (CAP), Europe’s largest computer-services company, said BA’s customer care is “generally very good,” though the more tailored approach has yet to impact regular flyers in the premium-economy cabin.
A silver-card holder in the loyalty program, Johnston says he’s eager to be elevated to gold status after traveling twice a month from London to Atlanta since June, and that BA could better harness new technology to spot passenger trends.

“There’s an opportunity to maybe identify patterns in terms of travel rather than just waiting,” he said. “A passenger may be a bronze-card holder, but if they fly across the Atlantic six times in two months they’re likely to become a big customer.”

While British Airways is so far unique in handing iPads to cabin crew after Apple’s introduction of the touch-screen tablet created the computer industry’s fastest-growing segment in 2010, other carriers have experimented with more basic platforms.
Pilot Pads

Emirates, the largest international airline and one of a number of fast-expanding Gulf carriers that’s squeezing BA, has provided crews with passenger details via its “knowledge-driven in-flight service,” or KIS, for more than five years. The Dubai-based company’s pursers are issued with Thinkpad laptops from Lenovo Group Ltd., the second-biggest maker of personal computers, that convert into tablets operated with a stylus.
Other carriers have utilized iPads in different ways, with AMR Corp. (AMR)’s American Airlines, BA’s U.S. ally, becoming the first in the world to issue the devices to pilots as so-called Electronic Flight Bags, replacing paper manuals and navigational charts formerly held in a carry-on kit bag weighing 40 pounds.

The switch won Federal Aviation Administration approval in December after months of tests on routes including Los Angles- Tokyo and is being applied across the Boeing Co. 777 fleet. Other tablets may be used should they get FAA backing, AMR said.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based company, which is currently in bankruptcy protection, is also replacing the personal in-flight entertainment systems in the premium cabins of its Boeing 767 planes with 6,000 Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy tablets.

Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN), Australia’s No. 1 airline, said Feb. 1 that a single 767 is testing a system that streams online content to iPads handed to passengers, who will be able to view films and media from their own devices as the trial progresses.

Backlash
The use of iPads and other tablets is likely to proliferate as on-board Wi-Fi becomes more common, said Kevin O’Sullivan, lead engineer at the research lab of SITA SC, the top provider of information technology and telecommunication services to airlines. BA currently requires crews to download data before they board, and to send fresh information once they disembark.

“With Wi-Fi you can start to do really interesting things,” O’Sullivan said in an interview. “If a flight is delayed you can consider who has a connecting flight and, if you are running out of time, you may need to reorganize them.”

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. (293), Asia’s largest international carrier, is looking at how it can provide crews with tools to access passenger information “in a real time manner,” the Hong Kong-based company said in an email, without providing details.

Still, carriers need to judge how much information they can collect without provoking a backlash over their probing of people’s travel and spending patterns, said Andrew Curry, a director of The Futures Company, a technology consultancy.

“It can go a stage too far,” Curry said. “You start to think: ‘These people don’t really know me, they just have a data profile.’ And there’s also a point at which we start to find people having a lot of knowledge about us slightly spooky.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Steve Rothwell in London at srothwell@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net

(via Bloomberg)

[hkskyline]

Russians' abusive plane tirade to cost them $19K
2 men pleaded guilty in Labrador to endangering passengers on Moscow-New York flight
CBC News
Posted: Feb 15, 2012 8:31 AM NT

Two Russian men will have to pay $19,000 US for drunken and unruly behaviour that diverted a flight to Labrador after a pilot decided to land the plane headed to New York.

The fine covers the cost of diverting the plane. The two also were sentenced Wednesday to the five days time they spent in custody.

Sergey Yaremenko and Nikolai Merenkov, both 42, pleaded guilty in Happy Valley-Goose Bay court on Tuesday to mischief, uttering threats, and endangering the safety and security of people on a Delta Air Lines flight between Moscow and New York.

The men were taken into custody last Friday after the pilot landed the plane to protect the crew and passengers.

Court had been told that the men had already been drinking before the flight and continued to consume alcohol when the plane was in the air.

At one point, a flight attendant told them alcohol was no longer available. However, the men kept getting out of their seats and demanding that they be served drinks.

The court heard that Yaremenko lashed out at a member of the flight crew, telling her that all flight attendants are prostitutes.

He then swore at her and others and called them names. Yaremenko said he knew where the flight crew stayed in Moscow, and that the next time they were there, they would die.

During all this, court was told, Merenkov kept yelling for more alcohol.

The men, who import designer clothing for a store they run, had been heading to a trade show in Las Vegas.

Court heard that when the pilot decided to divert the plane, Merenkov settled down and returned to his seat, although Yaremenko remained belligerent with the crew, right up to the moment when RCMP boarded the plane and handcuffed him.

[bangalore]

India had 5 airports in the 10M + category last year, with Delhi leading with 35 Million followed by Mumbai at 30.4 Million.

Twenty airports in total had at least a million passengers or more >>

Percentage growth in the brackets

Delhi 35001743 (18.5)
Mumbai 30439122 (7.6)
Chennai 12770884 (8.4)
Bangalore 12543663 (10.4)
Kolkatta 10251505 (10.4)
Hyderabad 8270800 (11.8)
Ahmedabad 4684671 (19.2)
Cochin 4652230 (9.1)
Goa 3415405 (14.6)
Pune 3150819 (13.9)
Trivandrum 2742960 (8.3)
Guwahati 2224484 (17)
Calicut 2194268 (8.4)
Lucknow 1972111 (26.4)
Jaipur 1781410 (8.6)
Srinagar 1537490 (37.4)
Nagpur 1403539 (19.2)
Coimbatore 1350217 (12.3)
Bhubaneshwar 1195327 (15.8)
Indore 1047422 (18.5)

[ad50939]

http://www.airportservicequalityawards.com/

Best Airport Worldwide
1. Incheon
2. Changi
3. Beijing

Big congrats to Incheon.

[bulabog jalaur]

Originally Posted by bangalore

India had 5 airports in the 10M + category last year, with Delhi leading with 35 Million followed by Mumbai at 30.4 Million.

Twenty airports in total had at least a million passengers or more >>

Percentage growth in the brackets

Delhi 35001743 (18.5)
Mumbai 30439122 (7.6)
Chennai 12770884 (8.4)
Bangalore 12543663 (10.4)
Kolkatta 10251505 (10.4)
Hyderabad 8270800 (11.8)
Ahmedabad 4684671 (19.2)
Cochin 4652230 (9.1)
Goa 3415405 (14.6)
Pune 3150819 (13.9)
Trivandrum 2742960 (8.3)
Guwahati 2224484 (17)
Calicut 2194268 (8.4)
Lucknow 1972111 (26.4)
Jaipur 1781410 (8.6)
Srinagar 1537490 (37.4)
Nagpur 1403539 (19.2)
Coimbatore 1350217 (12.3)
Bhubaneshwar 1195327 (15.8)
Indore 1047422 (18.5)

Does it mean we should expect high tourism receipt in India this year?

This statistics are domestic travel only?

[Abhishek901]

This is inclusive of intl. numbers.

[hkskyline]

Air Cargo Tonnage for February at Selected Airports
By Marco Babic - Mar 7, 2012 2:49 PM GMT+0800
Bloomberg

Following is a table showing air cargo tonnage and percent changes from some of the world’s busiest cargo airports.

The data are compiled by Bloomberg News from the various airport authorities of the airports listed.

================================================================================
                          Feb.    Jan.    Dec.    Nov.    Oct.   Sept.    Aug.
                          2012    2012    2011    2011    2011    2011    2011
================================================================================
                      ---------------------------YoY%---------------------------
IATA Global Freight    No Data   -8.1%   -0.8%   -3.8%   -4.8%   -3.0%   -3.5%
ACI Global Freight     No Data   -7.5%   -0.4%   -1.6%   -3.9%   -3.7%   -2.2%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      -------------------------Asia YoY%------------------------
Hong Kong              No Data  -17.3%   -5.3%   -7.9%   -8.7%   -7.5%   -8.7%
 Hong Kong (HACTL)     No Data  -17.6%   -4.4%   -7.4%  -10.0%   -7.8%   -9.3%
 Hong Kong (AAT)         23.0%  -17.0%   -9.0%  -10.0%   -4.0%   -7.0%   -8.0%
Seoul (ICN)               5.5%  -14.9%   -6.2%   -7.9%   -7.8%   -5.1%   -4.1%
Shanghai (PACTL)         17.0%  -20.5%   -5.9%  -11.0%   -9.7%   -7.8%   -5.7%
================================================================================
                          Feb.    Jan.    Dec.    Nov.    Oct.   Sept.    Aug.
                          2012    2012    2011    2011    2011    2011    2011
================================================================================
Bangkok (BKK)          No Data    3.5%    2.6%   -8.3%   -4.3%   -1.5%   -1.6%
Singapore (SIN)        No Data   -7.1%    6.9%    4.6%    0.4%    2.2%   -0.9%
Taipei (TPE)           No Data  -24.7%   -8.4%  -10.6%  -10.2%   -9.6%   -9.1%
Tokyo Narita (NRT)     No Data   -7.2%    0.7%   -2.3%  -11.4%  -12.6%  -15.2%
Tokyo Haneda (HND)     No Data No Data    3.0%    2.7%    6.4%    9.7%    5.8%
Osaka (KIX)            No Data No Data   -3.2%   -6.9%   -8.5%  -10.0%   -4.8%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IATA Asia Freight      No Data  -14.0%   -5.0%   -7.2%   -8.2%   -6.6%   -5.7%
ACI Asia Freight       No Data  -12.6%   -0.8%   -3.2%   -4.8%   -3.2%   -4.5%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      ------------------------Europe YoY%-----------------------
Amsterdam (AMS)        No Data  -10.9%   -0.3%   -7.2%   -3.8%   -6.0%   -3.1%
Frankfurt (FRA)        No Data  -16.0%   -5.5%   -9.6%   -8.8%   -4.7%   -6.5%
London                 No Data   -2.8%   13.0%   -4.0%   -7.7%   -3.8%   -4.0%
 London (LHR)          No Data   -3.3%   14.2%   -4.1%   -7.2%   -3.7%   -4.9%
 London (STN)          No Data    1.5%    4.7%   -3.3%  -11.4%   -4.1%    3.4%
Paris (CDG)            No Data  -10.5%   -5.9%   -9.6%   -7.9%   -5.7%   -7.9%
================================================================================
                          Feb.    Jan.    Dec.    Nov.    Oct.   Sept.    Aug.
                          2012    2012    2011    2011    2011    2011    2011
================================================================================
Zurich (ZRH)           No Data   -3.8%   -2.2%   -7.1%   -5.1%    0.2%   -3.7%
Munich (MUC)           No Data   -3.5%   -4.6%   -3.7%   -6.7%   -5.6%   -5.5%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMS-FRA-LHR            No Data   -8.6%    1.1%   -7.4%   -6.9%   -4.8%   -5.1%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMS-FRA-LHR-CDG        No Data   -9.1%   -1.0%   -8.1%   -7.2%   -5.1%   -5.9%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IATA Europe Freight    No Data   -9.6%    2.1%   -4.6%   -4.0%   -2.3%   -1.7%
ACI Europe Freight     No Data   -7.8%    0.8%   -3.9%   -4.4%   -2.5%   -1.2%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      --------------------North America YoY%--------------------
Memphis (MEM)          No Data    2.8%    0.5%    7.4%   -1.5%   -0.5%    1.3%
Louisville (SDF)       No Data   -1.5%    9.4%    4.4%   -5.0%   -0.7%    2.9%
Anchorage (ANC)        No Data No Data    4.1%   -8.8%   -5.9%    0.7%   -5.0%
Los Angeles            No Data   -3.2%   -3.7%    2.6%   -3.7%   -0.1%   -0.8%
 Los Angeles (LAX)     No Data   -7.4%   -2.7%   -0.5%  -10.7%   -4.7%   -4.0%
 Los Angeles (ONT)     No Data   18.2%   -7.5%   18.0%   40.2%   22.9%   15.2%
================================================================================
                          Feb.    Jan.    Dec.    Nov.    Oct.   Sept.    Aug.
                          2012    2012    2011    2011    2011    2011    2011
================================================================================
Miami (MIA)            No Data    2.2%   -0.2%    4.6%    9.4%    1.1%    1.6%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEM-SDF-ANC-LAX-MIA    No Data No Data    2.3%    1.5%   -2.9%   -0.6%   -0.5%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chicago (ORD)          No Data  -10.7%  -10.4%   -9.1%  -10.3%   -9.2%   -7.6%
Indianapolis (IND)     No Data    2.3%   -7.8%   -0.5%   -6.9%   -8.1%    2.0%
Dallas (DFW)           No Data No Data  -11.3%   -0.7%  -12.0%   -8.8%   -7.3%
Atlanta (ATL)          No Data No Data   -4.2%   -4.8%   -4.5%   -1.7%   -1.7%
Cincinnati (CVG)       No Data   12.1%   15.9%   22.0%   16.8%   22.1%   18.5%
Oakland (OAK)          No Data   -0.9%   -2.5%    3.9%   -6.5%   -7.0%   -3.7%
Houston (IAH)          No Data   10.1%    7.1%    9.2%    2.6%    2.5%    4.0%
Philadelphia (PHL)     No Data   -0.2%   -4.9%   -2.9%  -12.8%   -7.4%   -3.6%
San Francisco (SFO)    No Data   -3.9%  -13.2%   -8.6%   -9.3%   -8.8%  -10.9%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mexico City (MEX)      No Data   -2.0%    5.5%    3.5%   -4.3%    6.2%    1.1%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vancouver (YVR)        No Data No Data   -8.2%    1.0%   -5.5%   -2.3%    6.0%
================================================================================
                          Feb.    Jan.    Dec.    Nov.    Oct.   Sept.    Aug.
                          2012    2012    2011    2011    2011    2011    2011
================================================================================
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IATA North America     No Data   -4.0%   -1.1%   -0.8%   -5.0%   -0.1%   -6.4%
ACI North America      No Data   -3.1%   -2.0%   -0.5%   -4.7%   -6.3%    1.5%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      ------------------------Mideast YoY%----------------------
Doha (DOH)             No Data   14.9%   12.9%    5.2%    7.4%    7.3%    9.7%
Dubai (DUB)            No Data   -2.6%    0.8%   -0.4%   -2.5%   -5.5%   -7.9%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IATA Mideast Freight   No Data    9.4%   10.8%    4.7%    3.1%    4.2%    3.7%
ACI Mideast Freight    No Data    4.4%    1.7%    2.7%    2.3%   -1.5%   -2.9%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      -----------------------Asia Tonnage-----------------------
Hong Kong              No Data  240.66  300.06  297.92  297.14  280.93  276.58
 Hong Kong (HACTL)     No Data  189.88  238.74  235.94  234.63  223.62  221.38
 Hong Kong (AAT)         51.69   50.78   61.32   61.98   62.51   57.31   55.20
Seoul (ICN)             197.15  178.37  211.75  207.99  217.92  204.38  204.60
Shanghai (PACTL)         86.57   82.05  105.42  111.95  115.70  106.60  102.41
================================================================================
                          Feb.    Jan.    Dec.    Nov.    Oct.   Sept.    Aug.
                          2012    2012    2011    2011    2011    2011    2011
================================================================================
Bangkok (BKK)          No Data  112.90  120.99  107.41  112.52  112.11  110.28
Singapore (SIN)        No Data  136.84  166.61  160.21  163.11  154.36  153.12
Taipei (TPE)           No Data  105.12  134.54  130.17  135.61  128.37  131.23
Tokyo Narita (NRT)     No Data  136.10  166.83  165.66  164.23  158.17  147.94
Tokyo Haneda (HND)     No Data No Data   84.49   70.82   72.64   70.12   67.79
Osaka (KIX)            No Data No Data   64.06   58.94   60.72   58.83   56.66
                      -----------------------Europe Tonnage---------------------
Amsterdam (AMS)        No Data  108.88  125.32  127.03  135.80  123.28  126.82
Frankfurt (FRA)        No Data  148.24  177.21  185.88  193.99  182.93  178.77
London                 No Data  128.13  141.30  139.65  144.85  136.59  137.70
 London (LHR)          No Data  122.32  124.37  122.77  128.31  119.10  120.94
 London (STN)          No Data   15.81   16.93   16.88   16.54   17.49   16.76
Paris (CDG)            No Data  147.00  177.00  176.20  181.40  179.13  170.04
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMS-FRA-LHR            No Data  379.44  426.90  435.68  458.10  425.31  426.54
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMS-FRA-LHR-CDG        No Data  526.44  603.90  611.88  639.50  604.44  596.58
================================================================================
                          Feb.    Jan.    Dec.    Nov.    Oct.   Sept.    Aug.
                          2012    2012    2011    2011    2011    2011    2011
================================================================================
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zurich (ZRH)           No Data   30.80   35.88   33.27   35.12   32.86   31.45
Munich (MUC)           No Data   21.97   23.98   25.71   26.14   25.04   23.20
                      ------------------North America Tonnage-------------------
Memphis (MEM)          No Data  311.67  360.07  333.93  334.53  324.22  327.86
Louisville (SDF)       No Data  162.94  211.43  186.91  178.44  183.41  185.25
Anchorage (ANC)        No Data No Data  208.84  221.22  227.81  217.89  217.35
Los Angeles            No Data  145.61  171.30  171.87  164.63  164.66  167.50
 Los Angeles (LAX)     No Data  116.15  136.91  138.46  131.82  130.73  134.52
 Los Angeles (ONT)     No Data   29.46   34.39   33.41   32.81   33.93   32.98
Miami (MIA)            No Data  144.98  164.17  164.08  159.26  142.92  142.53
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEM-SDF-ANC-LAX-MIA    No Data No Data 1081.42 1044.60 1031.86  999.17 1007.51
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chicago (ORD)          No Data   83.61   92.72   98.64  106.16  102.26  101.28
Indianapolis (IND)     No Data   69.36   90.55   76.72   74.43   75.45   79.60
Dallas (DFW)           No Data No Data   57.48   54.32   55.47   54.22   55.73
================================================================================
                          Feb.    Jan.    Dec.    Nov.    Oct.   Sept.    Aug.
                          2012    2012    2011    2011    2011    2011    2011
================================================================================
Atlanta (ATL)          No Data No Data   53.83   52.50   54.99   53.59   52.46
Cincinnati (CVG)       No Data   37.69   43.42   41.68   43.07   42.94   40.67
Oakland (OAK)          No Data   37.42   50.84   42.18   41.26   40.25   40.47
Houston (IAH)          No Data   33.38   35.97   33.92   35.43   33.76   34.69
Philadelphia (PHL)     No Data   28.58   39.87   32.28   30.67   32.08   32.58
San Francisco (SFO)    No Data   23.87   28.69   25.65   28.08   28.98   28.57
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mexico City (MEX)      No Data   30.20   36.40   38.17   35.84   32.98   33.02
Vancouver (YVR)        No Data No Data   18.63   18.40   17.52   18.61   22.66
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      ----------------------Mideast Tonnage---------------------
Doha (DOH)             No Data   65.96   70.78   67.36   70.76   63.84   68.93
Dubai (DUB)            No Data  173.53  189.59  191.66  197.84  177.13  182.78
================================================================================

SOURCE: Various airport authorities and Bloomberg calculations NOTE: In most cases the cargo tonnage is exclusive of mail

although some sources combine freight and mail.

Combined airport statistics are calculated by Bloomberg News.

Prior data is subject to revision.

For Hong Kong:

HACTL - Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd.
AAT - Asia Airfreight Terminal
HACTL releases unaudited data early in the month and audited data later in the month.
ACI - Airports Council International
IATA - International Air Transport Association

[deasine]

Emirates Says ‘Whole Load of Airlines’ Will Fail in Fuel Squeeze
By Tamara Walid - Mar 21, 2012 3:55 PM PT
Marc de Tienda/Bloomberg News

Emirates, the biggest airline by international traffic, said more carriers will go bust this year as fuel costs and sluggish economies undermine profitability.

“We can reel off a whole load of airlines that are teetering on the brink or are really gone,” Tim Clark, the Dubai-based carrier’s president, said in an interview. “Roll this forward to Christmas, another eight or nine months, and we’re going to see this industry in serious trouble.”

Airline profits will plunge 62 percent in 2012 to $3 billion, equal to a 0.5 percent margin on sales, as oil prices rise, the International Air Transport Association said this week. Emirates’s fuel bill accounts for 45 percent of costs and may jump by an “incredibly challenging” $1.7 billion in the year ending March 31, according to Clark, who says he’s sticking with a no-hedging strategy rather than risking a losing bet.

“You think you’re going to win, but in the long term you always lose,” Clark said yesterday at the Gulf carrier’s head office near Dubai International Airport. “When we enter into derivatives, betting whatever it may be with counterparties who actually control the price of fuel in the first place, you have to ask yourself, ‘Is that smart?’”

AMR Corp. (AMR1)’s American Airlines is restructuring after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and India’s Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. (KAIR) may lose its license as it struggles with cash shortages and losses. That’s after Barcelona-based Spanair SA collapsed Jan. 27, followed that week by Hungarian national carrier Malev Zrt. (MALEV)

Bailouts, Bankruptcy

Clark said some private airlines will need to be bailed out by governments in the countries where they’re based, though that will raise aid issues with the European Union and other parties.

In the U.S., more filings for Chapter 11 protection are likely, while smaller carriers operating in the Indian Ocean region and in Africa face “difficulties,” the executive said.
“This is what the fuel prices are doing,” he said. “It’s about time somebody sitting there, controlling the fuel prices, began to look a little bit more seriously at the devastation it’s causing, not only to airlines but to the global economy.”

The industry couldn’t survive a further 10 or 15 percent increase in fuel prices, especially with the European Union’s carbon emissions trading system about to add to costs, he said.
At Emirates the fuel bill, while not over budget, has “zapped the bottom line,” and that will be evident in annual results scheduled to be published next month, Clark said.

A380 ‘Mess’

Earnings at Emirates are also being hurt by the continued grounding of Airbus SAS A380 superjumbos, of which it’s the No. 1 operator, after the discovery of wing cracks. Six of the jets, which generate $50,000 an hour 15 hours a day, are out of action for repairs, idling 830 cabin crew and 160 pilots, and the carrier is having to compensate people set on an A380 trip.

“That’s had a poleaxing affect in the last nearly three months,” Clark said, estimating the revenue loss so far at $90 million. “Those airplanes are always full, they’re always popular. We’ve had multiple cancellations. We’ve had people telling us ‘Well you sold me the A380’, so we had to throw in 5,000 or 10,000 miles or give money back. It’s a mess.”
Emirates operates 21 A380s, with 69 more on order as it seeks to establish Dubai as a global hub in competition with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways Ltd. and European carriers including Air France-KLM Group (AF) and British Airways.

The company is due to get five more A380s by September, and Clark said he’ll meet Airbus next week to determine whether that could change and what the solution to the wing cracks will be.

U.K. Addition

Clark said Emirates passed on an opportunity to invest in Air Berlin Plc (AB1), Europe’s third-biggest discount carrier, which sold stock to Etihad. “We decided it wasn’t for us,” he said.

Though Qatar Air is also buying 35 percent of cargo specialist Cargolux Airlines International SA, the CEO said he’s not interested in purchases in Europe or elsewhere, having ended a decade-long management accord with SriLankan Airlines in 2008 after the Asian country’s government sought more control.

“We have enough to do without getting involved in the running of other businesses, even though they are related,” he said. “We had our fair share of that in Sri Lanka for 10 years.”

As part of a strategy of tapping demand in secondary cities such as Dusseldorf and Hamburg in Germany, Emirates will select a new French destination from Lyon, Nice, Marseille and Toulouse, operating five to seven flights a week, Clark said.
In the U.K., where Emirates serves London Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne and Glasgow, there’s the possibility of it adding a further destination which “could be north of the border or further west,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tamara Walid in Abu Dhabi at twalid@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net

(via Bloomberg)

[big-dog]

Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) released official airport PAX data today.

Top 50 China mainland airport ranking

Rank - Airport - Passengers - %

1 Beijing - Capitol 78,674,513 6.4
2 Guangzhou 45,040,340 9.9
3 Shanghai - Pudong 41,447,730 2.1
4 Shanghai - Hongqiao 33,112,442 5.8
5 Chengdu 29,073,719 12.7
6 Shenzhen 28,245,738 5.7
7 Kunming 22,270,130 10.3
8 Xi'an 21,163,130 17.5
9 Chongqing 19,052,706 20.6
10 Hangzhou 17,512,224 2.6
11 Xiamen 15,757,049 19.3
12 Changsha 13,684,731 8.4
13 Nanjing 13,074,097 4.3
14 Wuhan 12,462,016 7.0
15 Dalian 12,012,094 12.2
16 Qingdao 11,716,361 5.5
17 Urumqi 11,078,597 21.1
18 Sanya 10,361,821 11.5
19 Shenyang 10,231,185 18.7
20 Haikou 10,167,818 15.9
21 Zhengzhou 10,150,075 16.6
22 Jinan 7,879,707 14.2
23 Harbin 7,841,521 8.0
24 Tianjin 7,554,172 3.8
25 Guiyang 7,339,228 17.0
26 Fuzhou 7,196,800 11.1
27 Nanning 6,464,428 14.8
28 Taiyuan 5,876,005 11.9
29 Wenzhou 5,598,674 5.1
30 Guilin 5,489,481 4.4
31 Nanchang 5,347,853 12.6
32 Ningbo 5,014,002 11.0
33 Changchun 4,971,667 4.7
34 Hefei 4,398,739 15.2
35 Hohhot 4,331,529 18.2
36 Shijiazhuang 4,021,167 47.6
37 Lanzhou 3,809,023 5.7
38 Yinchuan 3,376,964 14.9
39 Wuxi 2,940,122 16.0
40 Beijing - Nanyuan 2,644,598 23.6
41 Yantai 2,547,499 2.1
42 Lijiang 2,183,597 -1.5
43 Xining 2,030,378 22.0
44 Quanzhou 1,975,836 -1.1
45 Xishuanbanna 1,918,825 1.7
46 Jieyang 1,901,856 10.1
47 Zhuhai 1,797,306 -1.2
48 Jiuzhai 1,717,603 -1.3
49 Lahsa 1,581,538 22.0
50 Baotou 1,345,598 1.0

Full report for 180 airports here

[the glimpser]

World's Longest Flights

"Are we there yet?" usually issues from the mouths of children. But aboard these 11 flights, even the adults pester flight attendants with such questions. U.S. News Travel sought out the most painstakingly long journeys in the sky. While some people measure length by mileage, we believe the flight's duration is much more important to travelers. After all, you only want to be stuck on a plane with strangers for so long.

8. New York to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific (Tie)
-- Miles: 8,059
-- Scheduled Duration: 16 Hours

8. Dallas-Fort Worth to Brisbane on Qantas (Tie)
-- Miles: 8,584
-- Scheduled Duration: 16 Hours

8. Johannesburg to New York on South African Airways (Tie)
-- Miles: 7,970
-- Scheduled Duration: 16 Hours

8. Newark to Hong Kong on United Airlines (Tie)
-- Miles: 8,065
-- Scheduled Duration: 16 Hours

6. Atlanta to Johannesburg on Delta Airlines (Tie)
-- Miles: 8,433
-- Scheduled Duration: 16 Hours 15 Minutes

6. Doha to Houston on Qatar Airways (Tie)
-- Miles: 8,047
-- Scheduled Duration: 16 Hours 15 Minutes

5. Dubai to Houston on Emirates Airlines
-- Miles: 8,164*
-- Scheduled Duration: 16 Hours 20 Minutes

4. Dubai to Los Angeles on Emirates Airlines
-- Miles: 8,335*
-- Scheduled Duration: 16 Hours 30 Minutes

3. Los Angeles to Bangkok on Thai Airways
-- Miles: 8,260*
-- Scheduled Duration: 17 Hours 30 Minutes

2. Newark to Singapore on Singapore Airlines
-- Miles: 10,371
-- Scheduled Duration: 18 Hours

1. Los Angeles to Singapore, Singapore Airlines
-- Miles: 9,500
-- Scheduled Duration: 18 Hours 30 Minutes

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/worlds...211655905.html