Even though we’ve been hearing our fair share of bad news regarding all flavors of downsizing going on in the airline business, the Global Fortune 500 List comes back, in 2008, to remind us that some airlines out there are still doing very well for themselves.

To put it simply, some people just need to fly.

For business or leisure, lots of sky travelers simply can’t do without their airplane link to another location on our Blue Planet. The airlines that are performing the best are those which properly cater to these people — and they’re not necessarily selling the cheapest seats either, it’s actually quite the contrary.

While the budget challenged airplane travelers need to cut back on their travel expenses, the richer crowd doesn’t really bother with the extra charges related to homeland security, fuel or various other fees being piggy-backed on the ticket prices.

Planes consuming less fuel, flying with less (empty) seats and serving busier routes will help the airlines who dare to reinvent themselves to thrive, even with the bargain-hunting passenger crowd.

So who’s on top, in the 2008 list of the Global Fortune 500?

Let’s take a look at the numbers:

The profits aren’t anywhere near those from banks or pharmaceuticals but this is airline transport, an industry where the competition is fierce in the air but also from alternative transportation like high-speed trains, direct bus routes, marine shuttles, people’s cars and others.

In this particular context, turning a profit -at all- is a good sign.

Because of anticipated market pressures on the airlines, in the US and abroad, the next few months and years could prove to be bumpy for the investors who need to keep in mind that with technological breakthroughs and advances, planes will likely get more affordable to operate and as such, profits could be looking up. Also, the current price of fuel, which is at an all-time high, is expected to go down enough for the airliners to breath, at least for a short while.

Let’s see how these and other smaller airlines perform in these challenging times, in the months and years to come. Expect major and not-so-major mergers and acquisitions to reshape, yet again, this industry.

Tags: airlines, airliners, airplanes, planes, sky travelers, tourists, business travel, air travel, airplane tickets, bargain prices, bargain hunters, lower prices, high fuel prices, fuel prices, airplane fuel, passengers, us, world, global, fortune, money, revenues, profits

The Ambassador Bridge, linking Windsor to Detroit, is privately owned by Michigan-based businessman Matty Moroun. He profits from a generous 60 million dollars annually, in toll revenues and it’s no big surprise since this bridge serves North America’s busiest trade corridor, handling 500 million dollars daily.

So the Windsor-Detroit link is very important, for both Canada and the United States but there’s a huge problem. As it stands, the bridge is a bidirectional traffic nightmare featuring ongoing bottlenecks and congestion that doesn’t even spare the trucking industry which is hurting badly from this state of affairs.

In short, the clogged Windsor-Detroit crossing is a heavy barrier to both trade and travel.

Matty Moroun knows this and he’s planning another “twin-span” bridge to be erected just a few meters from the current 79-years-old Ambassador Bridge but his plans aren’t moving fast enough so the DRIC has studied alternative locations to build a new bridge, intended to resolve the massive traffic problems at the border, on both sides.

After evaluating several routes, the DRIC is said to have chosen a preferential corridor that spans from Brighton Beach, on Canada’s side of the Detroit River and lands just northeast of Zug Island, on the US side, to then travel into a plaza located in an industrial area of Detroit known as Delray.

So who’s part of DRIC?

Decisive public partners such as Transport Canada, the Ontarian Ministry of Transportation, the US Federal Highway Administration as well as the Michigan Department of Transportation are in charge of the Detroit River International Crossing Project (DRIC) binational border transportation partnership group.

The entire end-to-end project, including the Windsor-Essex Parkway, is anticipated to cost 5 billion dollars and create up to 25,000 person years of employment — this is very good news for both Windsor and Detroit workers. The final say on the new bridge’s location will however be officially announced sometime in the summer of 2008 by officials from both sides of the border.

Get a feel for the whole project with the following images from the WEParkway web site:

It’s important to note that Canada is experiencing its second-longest period of economic expansion in history. That’s mainly why Canada is investing in such modern, world-class infrastructure projects in order to foster a stronger economy, a cleaner environment and hopefully safer, more prosperous communities.

While the new bridge isn’t built yet, commuters and truckers on both sides of the border will benefit from a massively upgraded crossborder highway transportation system.

Tags: ambassador bridge, windsor, detroit, bridge, north american, trade, travel, border, prosperity

Yet another important speech has been given by Norman Y. Mineta, df, before the prestigious U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in Washington D.C., at 11 AM, today July 6th, 2006.

The tone was resolutely engaging and the crowd listening to this speech meant business, big infrastructure development business. Most experts agree Mr Mineta want to help the American transports industry as well as the already stressed out commuters, especially in dense urban areas.

Click on the title to read the complete speech transcript.

A revised international investment proposal released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation would strengthen requirements initially proposed last November concerning U.S. citizens’ control of all safety, security and national defense obligations of domestic airlines while allowing international investors to make decisions on commercial matters involving U.S. airline management.

The supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking issued by the Department reflects comments provided on the November, 2005 proposal from consumers, airlines, aviation personnel and other interested groups. That proposal would make it easier for U.S. airlines to raise money, restructure their businesses and form strategic partnerships and alliances by allowing international investors more say in some aspects of airline operations such as scheduling and marketing.

The supplemental proposal issued today would make clear that U.S. citizens who are members of a domestic airline’s board or the voting shareholders, must retain the authority to revoke decision-making authority that international investors may acquire. For example, domestic board members might decide to revoke international investors’ decision-making authority over scheduling and fleet composition if they felt that those decisions were not in their airlines’ best interests. The new provision would make clear that U.S. citizens remain in “actual control” of the airline, as required by statute.

In addition, the revised proposal would strengthen the original proposal’s requirement that U.S. citizens have full control over all policies and implementation relating to safety, security and national defense airlift commitments. The new proposal would specifically prevent international investors from having the ability to hire, fire or control the budgets of senior airline managers with direct responsibility for safety, security and national defense airlift commitments.

As with the original version, the revised proposal would only apply to international investors from countries that have Open-Skies aviation agreements with the United States and allow similar investments by American citizens in their domestic airlines.

Here’s a partial list of US domestic airliners targeted, directly or not, by this proposal:

• Alaska Air
• Aloha Air
• America West Airlines
• American Airlines
• Continental Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Northwest Airlines
• Pacific Coastal Airlines
• Southwest Airlines
• United Airlines
• US Airways
• WestJet Airlines
• World Airways

The Department is seeking additional comment for another sixty days to allow for all interested groups to comment on the revised proposal.

Tags: airlines, investments, us, dot, proposal, safety, security, national defense, citizens

Freight transportation is a key concern of the US Department of Transportation and nearly every operating administration listed in DOT Agencies.

The following major web pages at DOT are entirely dedicated to freight transportation on the American territory:

• Framework for a National Freight Policy
• National Freight Statistics and Maps
• Freight Information by State
• National Freight Data Sources

• Freight at the Bureau of Transportation Statistics
• Freight at the National Transportation Library
• Freight Analysis, Professional Development, Intermodal Technology, and SAFETEA-LU Freight Programs at the Federal Highway Administration
• Freight Planning at the Federal Highway Administration
• Freight at the Federal Railroad Administration

• The Transportation of Hazardous Materials
• Pipeline Safety

If you feel these links don’t answer all your freight-related questions, you can write to the US Department of Transportation using this freight-specific e-mail address: freight@dot.gov.

Tags: freight, transportation, us, dot, safety, hazmat, highways, railroads, american, agencies

The US transportation system is essential to the growth of the Nation. As such, it’s essential that the latest traffic and road closure information be made available to all companies and individuals who need to take important routing decisions, often in real-time.

The following link collection is inspired by the one made available by the US Federal Highway Administration and are intended to be a quick reference you can easily access.

Individual US States information:

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington State Washington, D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

National information links related to various themes.

Construction related:

• Rand McNally Construction Information for North America

Weather / road conditions related:

• AccuWeather Travel Weather
• AccuWeather Weather Headlines
• Intellicast Travel Weather, including DriveCast
• National Weather Service
• National Weather Service Interactive Weather Information Network
• RoadWeather.com Road Surface Conditions and Travel Weather
• Safe Travel USA – Weather and Road Conditions for the Upper Midwest
• Travel Cities Weather
• USA Today Weather Forecasts Along Interstate Highways
• Weather Channel Travel Weather

Traffic conditions information:

• AccuTraffic – Traffic information for States
• Beat the Traffic Information for various US cities
• Iteris Real-Time Traffic Information, maps and times – for various US cities
• Metrocommute Traffic Information
• MSN Traffic Reports
• Road Summit Travel information for various US locations
• Road Watch America
• Search Beat Traffic and Weather Web Links
• SmarTraveler – Traffic information for various major US cities
• Smart-Traveler Information for various US cities
• Traffic.com – Traffic information for US cities
• TrafficOnline – Personalized, route-specific, real time traffic information
• Travel Advisory News Network (TANN) – Traffic conditions for various cities
• TravelForecast.com – United States road and traffic conditions
• Yahoo! Traffic Views – Traffic conditions for various cities

Regional information links:

• I-95 Corridor Coalition Traveler Information
• I-95 Travelers Alert (from Starsystems)
• Midwest Road Conditions from the National Weather Service (CO, IL, IN, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI, WY)

State Departments of Transportation:

• All State DOTs

More information, including the 511 service, is made available on this page at the Federal Highway Administration, which is a branch of the US Department of Transportation.

Tags: traffic, us, dot, safety, transportation, federal highway, state dot, metrocommute, roads

On Friday, April 21st, 2006, the Department of Transportation has announced the State of Louisiana will receive an additional 53 million dollars to help repair hurricane-damaged railroad signals and highways.

Louisiana is receiving an additional $53 million in federal funds to help restore railroad signals, clear roads and continue repairs to hurricane-damaged highways and bridges, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said today.

The Department has now made over $1 billion available to Louisiana with this latest round of support, Mineta added.

The funding announced today reimburses the state for repairing railroad signals in Orleans, Jefferson and Plaquemines Parishes and additional expenses from clearing downed trees, sand and other debris from highways after the storm. The funding has been used to reopen the I-10 Twin Spans Bridge and repair or replace traffic signals, highway signs, guardrails and washed out pavement and highway shoulders.

“We will work with Louisiana until the job is done,” said Mineta. “Louisianans know they will get the support and resources they need from Washington to continue repairing roads and reopening businesses.”

Today’s funding is part of an emergency highway aid package for Gulf Coast states requested by President Bush and approved by Congress the end of last year.

In addition to providing federal dollars, Mineta said the Department of Transportation has made it easier for Louisiana to use those funds by cutting red tape and giving state officials the flexibility to get repairs underway as quickly as possible. As a result, two lanes on the Twin Spans Bridge reopened in mid-October only 47 days after its destruction by Katrina. All four lanes were restored in early January nine days ahead of schedule.

Tags: new orleans, louisiana, katrina, us, dot, bridges, commuters, emergency, highways, mineta, red tape

Industry, stakeholders and members of the international community are meeting in Vancouver from April 18 to 20, 2006 to participate in the “North American Marine Conference – Towards a Shortsea Shipping Strategy for the North American Continent.”

The Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Lawrence Cannon, will be on hand to welcome participants and give the opening address on April 19, 2006. Minister Cannon will also meet with United States and Mexican officials and key marine stakeholders on a variety of transportation related issues.

“This conference is an excellent opportunity to promote shortsea shipping as a means to improve the performance of the national transportation system and to contribute to environmental sustainability,” said Minister Cannon. “It will also serve as a public venue to discuss business opportunities and highlight obstacles related to shortsea shipping.”

Approximately 250 participants from Canada, the United States, and Mexico are expected to attend. Transport Canada is hosting this conference in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation of Mexico.

The event is the result of collaboration between Canada, the United States and Mexico following the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation on Shortsea Shipping in 2003.

The conference also represents a commitment among the three nations to increase the security, prosperity and quality of life in North America.

Shortsea shipping involves the movement of cargo or passengers by water over relatively short distances. It can occur within lakes and river systems and along coast lines. It consists mainly of domestic shipping but can also include cross-border traffic. It does not include shipping across the world’s major oceans.

Canada’s marine transportation system is a vital component of the North American economy and Transport Canada is committed to its ongoing economic vitality and efficiency. The department continues to work with its Canadian and international partners to promote more effective, efficient and sustainable shortsea shipping practices.

The official Transport Canada release is available here and more information about the event can be accessed on the official web site.

Tags: shortsea shipping, strategy, north america, partners, vitality, efficiency, canada, us, sustainable, freight

This may sound overly optimistic to many aerospace experts but nevertheless U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta says space crafts could be cleared to fly passengers by 2008.

Commercial space crafts could be cleared to carry passengers by 2008, Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta announced today. Speaking to a group of space entrepreneurs, the Secretary said that a number of companies should be set to take passengers into space and that the U.S. Department of Transportation would be ready to clear these flights within two years.

“This timeline isn’t based on science fiction,” Secretary Mineta said. “It is a timeline based on the reality of where commercial space is today and where we expect the state of commercial space to be within two short years.”

Mineta noted that the Department, which is responsible for clearing commercial space travel, would be ready to approve the passenger flights once tests of craft designed to take passengers into space were completed. The Secretary said he expected to issue permits next year to allow the test flights, and that if these flights were successful, the Department would then issue a license for passenger space travel.

“We will move quickly to green-light flights that we know are safe,” Mineta said. He added that if companies were able to complete testing sooner, the Department also would be ready. “When the industry is set for lift off, we will be ready to launch,” Mineta pledged.

The Secretary made it clear that the Department would take steps to ensure the safety of these commercial passenger space flights. But he added that the agency would make sure these checks did not delay the launch of passenger space travel.

“We have an important role to play in ensuring the safety of commercial space flights, especially for passengers,” Mineta said. “But we also have an obligation to encourage innovation and support new developments.”

The Secretary made the announcement during a keynote address to the 9th Annual Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington, DC.

More companies are gearing up for the anticipated space travel boom, in the US and around the world.

Millions of people would pay to see the Earth from space with their own eyes, not to mention the spectacular ride out of our atmosphere and then back into it.

Tags: earth, atmosphere, space travel, commercial space transportation, travel boom, us, world, space crafts