When I first started flying to and through western Germany's Frankfurt International Airport in the early 1990s, I liked it a lot. The airport, located just outside Frankfurt am Main, Germany's financial capital and knowledge-industry nexus, was well-run, easy to use and big but not too big if you were a passenger changing planes at this busy European hub.
Then, ad hoc expansion combined with congestion made Frankfurt Airport an unwieldy place to use, especially compared to Munich International - built from scratch in Bavaria, in Germany's picturesque south. Frankfurt Airport seemed to me by 2000 a workaday airport whose physical limitations made actually working there a real pain. Still, I flew through Frankfurt often, chiefly due to its excellent connectivity to other European cities and beyond, and because it is the biggest hub and home of Lufthansa, Germany's de facto national flag carrier.
After a recent visit, I am happy to report that Frankfurt's shambolic reputation - the word is British slang for haphazard, notional service, originally applied to London Heathrow Airport - should in the mid-term become a thing of the past.
In October, Frankfurt will open a new runway, helping to ease the back-up and flight delays caused by the 55 million passengers expected to use the airport in 2011.
According to Robert Payne, who handles corporate communications for international press at Fraport - the company that operates the airport - Frankfurt Airport has acquired the former site of an air force base. This, Payne told me, will enable the airport to build a third passenger terminal. Originally slated for completion in 2015, the new terminal will actually open in 2017 or 2018. This, Payne said, will enable the airport to handle 25 million more air travelers a year. Additionally, Terminals 1 and 2 are being renovated.
Oh, and coming along, too, is a new office-and-retail complex called Squaire, constructed atop the already existing ICE rail station at the airport. Glassy, classy Squaire will include two Hilton hotels. The ICE rail station, and an already-existing DR train station combine with the A3 and A5 motorways - which intersect at the airport - to make Frankfurt Airport a model of intermodal transport. All this development, Payne said, is designed to transform the airport into a 21st century Airport City. Already, some 73,000 people work there.
So, Frankfurt Airport is getting a major upgrade, albeit in slow-motion. If these plans play out the way they should, the airport's shambolic rep will be no more. And to that, this frequent flier says "amen.''
Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Flying Blind in Berlin
Earlier this month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that her government intends to impose a new tax on air travelers departing from German airports. The amount of the tax - expected to add from 8 to 16 euros per ticket to air fares - will be calibrated "depending on factors such as the flight's noise level and fuel consumption,'' according to the Berlin government. In other words, the levy is being positioned as an environmental mitigation tax.
Predictably, top executives for the world's airlines - gathered in Berlin to attend the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association and the Berlin Air Show - were appalled.
Airlines, like other businesses, have probably never met a tax they like. But while the airlines' immediate negative reaction is predictable, it is not wrong. Although the tax - expected to raise 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion USD) for Germany's general fund - was introduced as a green measure, Berlin hasn't revealed any details of how it will use the additional billion to help our ever-imperiled environment. In short, this is a deficit-reduction measure, not a green measure. The environment provides political cover for the tax.
The United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands have imposed aviation taxes of their own, citing environmental protection as the rationale. But the UK's monies haven't been funneled specifically to environmental protection as far as I have been able to discover. The Netherlands actually repealed its tax after just a year; it collected 300 million euros, but found that travelers were booking flights out of neighboring countries instead of paying rising fares at Dutch airports.
IATA's director general, Giovanni Bisignani, rightly characterizes Merkel's move as "a cash-grab by a cash-starved government.'' Efforts to go green should be global, not national or regional, he says, and a new tax will damage struggling European airlines. In 2009, the world's airlines lost more than $9 billion USD; it was the worst year in aviation history. In 2010, IATA expects airlines to earn $2.5 billion globally, but German and other European carriers - hammered by weak economies and the Iceland volcanic ash cloud - will lose $2.8 billion USD.
The new tax will make their recovery even harder than it already is, Bisignani argues. German carriers fear they'll be at a competitive disadvantage and won't be able to pass the full cost of the tax along to their customers. If that proves true, the carriers will have to eat the cost.
"This tax is a body blow to the weak economy and a fragile industry,'' Bisignani says. "And it is a kick in the teeth to travelers at a time when they can least afford it.''
The bottom-line is this: Everyone wants to protect, and if possible heal, the environment. Civil aviation contributes 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions - less than cars and trucks and much less than heavy industry - but that percentage is expected to grow to 3 percent as air travel itself continues to grow. Travel and aviation must do their share to bring things under control. The question is: What is the best way to go about doing it?
Not this.
Bisignani was sardonic about the German new tax, fuming "What will this do for the environment? Absolutely nothing.'' However, his criticism has a constructive side, as well. "If the chancellor is serious about aviation and climate change,'' he has said of Merkel, "the focus should be on finding a globally coordinated solution at the International Civil Aviation Organization in advance of the climate talks in Cancun.''
He has a point. The airlines have their own interests at heart, to be sure - as they must - but there have got to be more comprehensive and imaginative ways to deal with climate change than slapping on a vague new tax. And, I may add, more honest and straightforward ways.
For now, at least, it looks as though Berlin is flying blind.
Predictably, top executives for the world's airlines - gathered in Berlin to attend the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association and the Berlin Air Show - were appalled.
Airlines, like other businesses, have probably never met a tax they like. But while the airlines' immediate negative reaction is predictable, it is not wrong. Although the tax - expected to raise 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion USD) for Germany's general fund - was introduced as a green measure, Berlin hasn't revealed any details of how it will use the additional billion to help our ever-imperiled environment. In short, this is a deficit-reduction measure, not a green measure. The environment provides political cover for the tax.
The United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands have imposed aviation taxes of their own, citing environmental protection as the rationale. But the UK's monies haven't been funneled specifically to environmental protection as far as I have been able to discover. The Netherlands actually repealed its tax after just a year; it collected 300 million euros, but found that travelers were booking flights out of neighboring countries instead of paying rising fares at Dutch airports.
IATA's director general, Giovanni Bisignani, rightly characterizes Merkel's move as "a cash-grab by a cash-starved government.'' Efforts to go green should be global, not national or regional, he says, and a new tax will damage struggling European airlines. In 2009, the world's airlines lost more than $9 billion USD; it was the worst year in aviation history. In 2010, IATA expects airlines to earn $2.5 billion globally, but German and other European carriers - hammered by weak economies and the Iceland volcanic ash cloud - will lose $2.8 billion USD.
The new tax will make their recovery even harder than it already is, Bisignani argues. German carriers fear they'll be at a competitive disadvantage and won't be able to pass the full cost of the tax along to their customers. If that proves true, the carriers will have to eat the cost.
"This tax is a body blow to the weak economy and a fragile industry,'' Bisignani says. "And it is a kick in the teeth to travelers at a time when they can least afford it.''
The bottom-line is this: Everyone wants to protect, and if possible heal, the environment. Civil aviation contributes 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions - less than cars and trucks and much less than heavy industry - but that percentage is expected to grow to 3 percent as air travel itself continues to grow. Travel and aviation must do their share to bring things under control. The question is: What is the best way to go about doing it?
Not this.
Bisignani was sardonic about the German new tax, fuming "What will this do for the environment? Absolutely nothing.'' However, his criticism has a constructive side, as well. "If the chancellor is serious about aviation and climate change,'' he has said of Merkel, "the focus should be on finding a globally coordinated solution at the International Civil Aviation Organization in advance of the climate talks in Cancun.''
He has a point. The airlines have their own interests at heart, to be sure - as they must - but there have got to be more comprehensive and imaginative ways to deal with climate change than slapping on a vague new tax. And, I may add, more honest and straightforward ways.
For now, at least, it looks as though Berlin is flying blind.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Berlin, Re-born
Most of the travel world limped through 2009, but last year was a good year for Berlin. The German capital celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the hated Berlin Wall - and visitors to the city rose 4.5 percent, even in the depths of the Great Recession.
Celebrations and remembrances of the momentous changes of 1989 were big all over Europe, as I can attest. On Nov. 9, exactly 20 years after the Berlin Wall was breeched, I happened to be visiting Rome. When I walked to the Spanish Steps, I saw hundreds of people milling about, heard a band warming up and spied a temporary replica of none other than the Berlin Wall sprawling across the centuries-old steps. Europe was partying. Europe was happy. It has been two decades since the end of the Cold War. Europe, Germany and Berlin are reunited.
Absent another big bash - the 21st anniversary just doesn't have that same cachet - what can Berlin do for an encore?
Plenty, according to the chief executive officer of Berlin Tourismus Marketing, Burkhard Kieker, who says that the Fall of the Wall has put Berlin back on the travel map - and gives the city a platform for crafting future changes.
"This was for Berlin a starting point,'' Kieker said at a stopover in California. "Berlin was really off the map. When the wall came down, it took us quite a while to rebuild Berlin.
"In the last century,'' Kieker continued, "there were three major European capitals: London, Paris and Berlin. But this was gone.''
Now, though, Berlin is feeling good, upgrading its infrastructure, enjoying its new status as a capital of cool among artists and rolling out new attractions to draw travelers.
"Berlin is attracting so many young people from all over the world,'' Kieker observed. "It is affordable. It is receptive to new art. Can you imagine being a young artist? This reputation spreads through word of mouth to others. A certain atmosphere attracts others who want to see what's going on.''
How affordable is affordable? According to Berlin Tourismus, a room that would cost 139 euros in New York, 111 euros in Paris and 107 euros in Rome costs 76 euros in Berlin.
Eleven new hotels are slated to open over the next year in Berlin, says Kirsten Schmidt, Berlin Tourismus's director of public relations in North America. Most will be small "urban design hotels.''
On the cultural front, Berlin's promoters are touting the re-opening, last Oct. 17, of the once-war-ruined New Museum, with its superb ancient Egypt collection. For several years now, Berlin - so rich in museums, opera houses, symphony venues, clubs and galleries - has staged an annual Long Night of the Museums, during which time major institutions stay open until 2 a.m. The price is right: There isn't one. The annual Berlin International Film Festival, too, is one of the best in the world; I covered it back in the day for the San Francisco Examiner and Motorland (now Via) magazine, on my first visit. How committed are Berliners to cinema? I saw people lining up for a film-showing at 8 a.m. on a Sunday. In a snowstorm.
I am happy to see Berlin's revival. The city has had much to overcome: war, occupation, division and a delicate reunification. It is a work in progress, but the progress is real, and the reborn metropolis is one of the most compelling destinations in Europe.
Since my most recent visit, in 2006, the city has opened a state-of-the-art central train station for long-distance rail travel, and I am keen to see it. Berlin is now busy expanding and modernizing Schoenefeld airport, which will give the city renewed status as an international air hub; Tegel airport is too small and long ago fell below the standard expected of a major capital city. This is changing, too, at last.
The Wall? Seven-hundred meters of the symbol of Cold War division survive the tear-down of two decades ago, and it is of course a major tourist attraction.
Celebrations and remembrances of the momentous changes of 1989 were big all over Europe, as I can attest. On Nov. 9, exactly 20 years after the Berlin Wall was breeched, I happened to be visiting Rome. When I walked to the Spanish Steps, I saw hundreds of people milling about, heard a band warming up and spied a temporary replica of none other than the Berlin Wall sprawling across the centuries-old steps. Europe was partying. Europe was happy. It has been two decades since the end of the Cold War. Europe, Germany and Berlin are reunited.
Absent another big bash - the 21st anniversary just doesn't have that same cachet - what can Berlin do for an encore?
Plenty, according to the chief executive officer of Berlin Tourismus Marketing, Burkhard Kieker, who says that the Fall of the Wall has put Berlin back on the travel map - and gives the city a platform for crafting future changes.
"This was for Berlin a starting point,'' Kieker said at a stopover in California. "Berlin was really off the map. When the wall came down, it took us quite a while to rebuild Berlin.
"In the last century,'' Kieker continued, "there were three major European capitals: London, Paris and Berlin. But this was gone.''
Now, though, Berlin is feeling good, upgrading its infrastructure, enjoying its new status as a capital of cool among artists and rolling out new attractions to draw travelers.
"Berlin is attracting so many young people from all over the world,'' Kieker observed. "It is affordable. It is receptive to new art. Can you imagine being a young artist? This reputation spreads through word of mouth to others. A certain atmosphere attracts others who want to see what's going on.''
How affordable is affordable? According to Berlin Tourismus, a room that would cost 139 euros in New York, 111 euros in Paris and 107 euros in Rome costs 76 euros in Berlin.
Eleven new hotels are slated to open over the next year in Berlin, says Kirsten Schmidt, Berlin Tourismus's director of public relations in North America. Most will be small "urban design hotels.''
On the cultural front, Berlin's promoters are touting the re-opening, last Oct. 17, of the once-war-ruined New Museum, with its superb ancient Egypt collection. For several years now, Berlin - so rich in museums, opera houses, symphony venues, clubs and galleries - has staged an annual Long Night of the Museums, during which time major institutions stay open until 2 a.m. The price is right: There isn't one. The annual Berlin International Film Festival, too, is one of the best in the world; I covered it back in the day for the San Francisco Examiner and Motorland (now Via) magazine, on my first visit. How committed are Berliners to cinema? I saw people lining up for a film-showing at 8 a.m. on a Sunday. In a snowstorm.
I am happy to see Berlin's revival. The city has had much to overcome: war, occupation, division and a delicate reunification. It is a work in progress, but the progress is real, and the reborn metropolis is one of the most compelling destinations in Europe.
Since my most recent visit, in 2006, the city has opened a state-of-the-art central train station for long-distance rail travel, and I am keen to see it. Berlin is now busy expanding and modernizing Schoenefeld airport, which will give the city renewed status as an international air hub; Tegel airport is too small and long ago fell below the standard expected of a major capital city. This is changing, too, at last.
The Wall? Seven-hundred meters of the symbol of Cold War division survive the tear-down of two decades ago, and it is of course a major tourist attraction.
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