">My Big World Of Crap

According to airline operators, specifically about its baggage handling performance. This is so bad it is apparently delaying dozens of international flights a day. On January 1, Qantas QF5, a 747 service to Frankfurt, was delayed on the tarmac by two hours with luggage trapped in the system. Eventually, the pilot was forced to take off without a single bag on board. A detailed study of baggage delays conducted by a major overseas airline showed that one piece of luggage checked in at 8.35am reached the aircraft at 10.35am, and another took from 8.41am until 10.03am. According to the operators, at most airports the whole baggage handling process takes around 10 minutes, but at Sydney its often more than an hour.

The airport is of course a huge cash cow being milked for all its worth by Macquarie Bank. Before Macquarie Airports took a majority stake in mid-2002, the airport was generating about $106.5 million a quarter. In the last quarter, revenues were $168.7 million. Revenue from commercial trading - which includes car parking - has leapt more than 9 per cent to $21.8 million per quarter while retail revenues jumped 3.9 per cent to nearly $40 million.

Interestingly, in the face of consumer complaints about prices at the airport, A Sydney Airport spokesman said the prices were fair. “The airport’s run very efficiently, which does deliver a strong profit. [But] the fees and charges levied are really compatible with what you see around Australia.”. Well, duh, our prices are comparable with those charged by the other monopoly operators of airports in Australia …. what a huge surprise? These are the guys who seem to feel the need to recoup all their capital costs within a week of opening then keep on charging as if they were for the rest of the year. (Actually one good thing about the presence of places like McDonalds and Hungry Jacks at airports is that they do tend to charge normal sort of prices and this probably does keep a lid on what some of the other retailers might try to get away with.) Last time I went to Sydney airport to meet someone it cost me $18 to park for maybe an hour, hour and a quarter, and Jamaica Blue ripped me off about $1 more than the one at the local shopping mall here charge for coffee (and I won’t go on about how I thought their price display was misleading ….the price shown was for the smallest size cup, which is smaller than you find at the non-airport outlets).

Is there any such thing as a good airport? As a passenger, I can’t say any I’ve been to are anything special. Singapore Changi is supposed to be the best, but a four hour layover there drags just as much as anywhere else. Incheon airport, Seoul was brand new when I went there and was quite ok (flying in, my first experience of Korea was ordering KFC for breakfast at about 6 am, because it was the first thing to open). Sydney and Melbourne in Australia are both ok, but there’s not much to do … unless you’re a lounge member and can have a few drinks while waiting. The rest of the airports I’ve sampled in Australia, Brisbane, Coolangatta, Adelaide, Hobart, Launceston, Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, Darwin, Cairns, Canberra, Kununurra and Albury - are places I’d not like to have to hang around in for any time. But then neither are the ones I’ve been to outside Australia, Auckland, Christchurch, Beijing (got ripped off $6 for a can of coke, but was too tired and hungover to argue about it), Busan, Gwangju and Jeju. I think its safe to say airports everywhere = bleh!!!