Four Corners
Our high-flying columnists from around the globe bring us a reflection on the impact of 9/11 in the US; an historical perspective from Japan; concerns for FAA funding in the US and busy inflight teams in Oz
UNITED STATES Ten years on
Denise Poole, ceo AMI
“I began to consider the fundamental changes that 9/11 would bring to the
United States and to our industry”
JAPAN History of the Narita Airport 2 Tim Zandbergen
manager sales and marketing TFK Corporation
Back in the 1960’s it was thought to be a good idea in government circles to choose a new location for an airport in Chiba Prefecture to alleviate the overcrowded Tokyo Haneda Airport which was also dogged by airspace restrictions due to its proximity of US military airbases. The arbitrary announcement
“The main opposition was
against the way the government attempted to
appropriate land to build the airport”
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by the Japanese Government to build the New Tokyo International Airport at Narita in 1966 faced immediate opposition. The main opposition was against the way the government attempted to appropriate land to build the airport. It gave all landowners short notice of how much they would receive for their land
and a dateline when they had to vacate it, regardless of how many generations it had been passed down and without asking whether or not they even wished to sell.
Opposition organisations were quickly formed drawing up front lines for the battle that was to follow. The government on its side in 1967 mobilised riot police and paramilitary organisations to restrain protests on initial surveys. In 1971 the government and opposition violently clashed on two occasions as authorities forcibly confiscated land during Phase I of the airport construction. During Phase II clashes continued and three riot police were
killed and several deaths in the opposition camp. The first 4000-metre runway
was set for completion on April 1971 but days before the opening, groups from the airport opposition managed to occupy the control tower and destroy vital equipment. On May 20 1978 the airport with
its single runway finally opened accompanied with massive protests outside the airport boundaries and 14,000 security police to keep them out. This was the birth of today’s Narita International Airport.
I stared at my television screen stunned and speechless as two hijacked aircraft reduced New York’s World Trade Center’s twin towers to rubble and billowing smoke. Following my feeling of deep grief for the thousands of lives lost in the towers on that tragic day of 9/11/2001 I began to consider the fundamental changes the event would bring to the United States and to our industry. Our customers were at first uncertain how to react to a public reluctant to fly. However, airlines soon responded with massive cutbacks and elimination of meals throughout the US market. What had been tray service was downgraded to free snack
bags and boxes; free munchies were replaced by buy-on-board programmes. Fortunately the international market expanded dramatically with the addition of numerous flights to and from Europe. This provided a much-needed buffer to the altered F&B service in the domestic market. Larger aircraft, coupled with two meal services on international flights, provided new opportunities for sales growth both for the airlines and for their suppliers. Airline programmes to
meet customers’ food and entertainment needs in a changed environment were tweaked and fine-tuned to eventually generate
revenue and profit. While the food programmes were being eliminated and others created, technology was taking hold. Airlines invested in other
ways for their customers to be entertained while on board. They installed seat back screens with games, movies, upgraded music and internet connections, all of which brought in much needed revenue and replaced the expense of free food as a way to occupy a passenger’s time. Today, new skyscrapers are rising
on the site where the twin towers fell. With the agility of today’s airlines and their ability to adapt quickly and creatively it is my hope that our industry will rise as well.
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