Efforts to ease air traffic restrictions over Tokyo are gaining momentum, potentially opening the way for a significant increase in international slots at Tokyo Haneda Airport. Japan’s government held a meeting recently with representatives of local municipalities and community groups which was regarded as a key step in gaining their support. No specific objections were raised by the local bodies, and they indicated they understand the necessity of the plan. The government’s desire to significantly increase airport capacity before the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 has given impetus to the plan. The government has set a goal to increase Japan’s overall visitors to 40m annually by 2020—double the 2015 level. Infrastructure projects at Tokyo Narita Airport will contribute to this goal, as would Haneda’s potential slot gain. One of the main aspects of the Haneda proposal is the creation of a new approach path over central Tokyo which previously has not been allowed. This approach would generally be used when winds are coming from the south. Current approaches are generally over Tokyo Bay. Realignment of some other approach and departure routes is also being considered. Such changes would add 39,000 aircraft movements a year, all of which would be allocated to international flights. This would boost daytime international operations by more than 50% to 99,000 per year.<br/>
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State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura (AP) II offered an apology on Thursday for uncomfortable service at the newly opened Terminal 3 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. The poor service sparked criticism from travellers. AP II acting president director Murjatmodjo Djoko said his company would consistently enhance services at Terminal 3, whose first day of operations on Tuesday generated confusion for passengers. "The feedback we received from passengers was mostly related to instructions or directions in the terminal because the building is really new. Therefore, on the second day, mobile customer service officers were more active so that passengers could be better served," Murjatmodjo said. Terminal 3 is still in the development process and its operation is currently at 40% of total capacity. "AP II managed to successfully handle the electricity system that had experienced problems in most areas on the first day of operations,” said Murjatmodjo, sounding a note of optimism. "On the second day, there were no power failures," he went on to say.<br/>
A consumer group is accusing airlines of charging passengers too much for paying with a credit card. Fairer Finance says airlines like Flybe, Monarch and Ryanair may be in breach of rules which say the charges should only reflect genuine costs. It claims Flybe and Monarch are the most likely offenders, putting a surcharge of 3% on bookings. However, the airlines argue that their charges do accurately reflect the cost of processing the payments. FF also accuses some insurance companies and local authorities of charging too much for paying by credit card. James Daley, the managing director of FF, said there were hundreds of companies he believed were in breach of section four of the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharge) Regulations, which came into force in April 2013. "If they choose to charge for accepting credit card payments - in spite of the strong public sentiment against these charges - then the rules make it very clear that they can only pass on the cost," he said. Monarch told the BBC that its 3% surcharge did reflect its costs in processing the payments. And it said that those who paid via Paypal do not pay a surcharge. Ryanair said: "These claims are false. We fully comply with all EU regulations and our credit card charge reflects the cost of processing credit card payments, including bank charges."<br/>
Airbus has named Qantas' Luc Hennekens as its new CIO, for both the parent company and its civil aircraft manufacturing unit, the company said Thursday. Hennekens, who has been CIO at Qantas for the past three years, is expected to start in October. He will replace Guus Dekkers, the company’s top IT manager since 2008, who plans to leave Airbus at the end of September to pursue other opportunities, the company said. Dekkers is credited with having integrated the company’s “very fragmented” IT systems and enabling a more “efficient design and manufacturing process,” according to a company statement. Hennekens was previously chief technology officer at Qantas, for nine months starting in December 2012. At Airbus, he will be responsible for overseeing IT for the company’s products, information and communication systems for its employees, partners and airlines, and data security, the company said.<br/>