Bwi Airport

PARRIS N. Glendening may have outsmarted himself. His decision to kill a long-debated highway designed to ease suburban Washington area traffic has kicked up a storm in an area absolutely critical to Mr. Glendening's re-election chances in November.For 15 years, Mr. Glendening has backed the Intercounty Connector proposal that is supposed to link Gaithersburg, Rockville and northern Montgomery County to Prince George's and the southern tier of the Baltimore region. Suddenly, without any warning to local officials, he pulled the plug.

Ratcheting up the pressure on labor to cut costs, US Airways Group Inc. plans to furlough 103 pilots and reduce the size of its crew based at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, where the airline has announced a significant cutback.The furloughs came to light Tuesday when the carrier posted its flight schedule for the three-month period beginning July 1.The initial 60 layoffs are expected to be timed with the July 1 expiration of the pilots' no-furlough clause, according to union sources.

Just where is US Airways cutting service?Am I missing something? I have read Suzanne Wooton's articles on US Airways several times and two pieces of information that appeared in the May 8 edition were contradicted May 9:"In addition to ending its transcontinental and Florida service " (May 8) became "Cities where jet service will be ended are Daytona Beach, Fla. and Melbourne, Fla." (May 9).There is a big difference between ending service to an entire state and ending service to two small markets within that state.

WHAT USED to be known simply as warehousing has turned into a sophisticated, multi-faceted industry of growing importance to Maryland. By some estimates, the modern distribution industry accounts for 30 percent of this state's jobs, and that number could balloon dramatically as Maryland's global ties expand.Look at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, which experienced a 19 percent rise in air freight cargo last year and a 35 percent jump in this year's first quarter. Much more is expected, based on the five speculative warehouses going up along Route 100 near the airport and expansion of 13 business parks in the same vicinity.

ELECTED LEADERS rarely adopt the "build it and they will come" approach. They don't take chances with tax dollars. Yet Maryland's gamble at Baltimore-Washington International Airport -- erecting a $139 million international terminal without any guaranteed tenants -- already has paid off, even before today's opening.Thanks to the 365,000 square foot addition, BWI is now the northeastern international gateway for U.S. military personnel traveling to Europe. That alone should add 25 percent more international passengers -- 200,000 -- and $50 million to $100 million to the local economy each year.

A graph in last Sunday's Business section gave an incorrect figure for freight traffic at BWI Airport for the first quarter of 1997. The correct number is 77,316 pounds of freight.The Sun regrets the errors.Pub Date: 5/18/97

The long-awaited light rail extensions to Baltimore-Washington Airport and Penn Station open for business tomorrow, and officials hope they will provide a major boost to Baltimore-area mass transit.State transportation officials expect a smooth opening, despite problems that have beset the project for months. Engineers are working on a technical improvement that was expected to shorten light rail trips within Baltimore, where two lines will be operating for the first time.Also, because of a manufacturing delay, the system will not have extra cars in service.

As a traveling executive for a national building supplies company, Baltimore native Bill Hoshall says he's seen a lot of airports over the years.Yesterday, sitting in a lounge at the new international terminal at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, he felt a twinge of hometown pride."

TODAY, tax tips, career comments, investment ideas, etc.:"Although April 15 is just ahead," says Tax Hotline, April, "you can still cut taxes and get a bigger refund by promptly making retirement contributions."You get a retroactive deduction for 1995 by maximizing such deductible plan payments. Example: Make 1995 IRA contributions as late as April 15."And if you didn't open a Keogh self-employed plan by Dec. 31, you can make a deductible contribution from self-employment income by opening a Simplified Employee Pension before tax filing date."

HERE ARE some tips, general and specific, about your money:Your 401(k) contribution is automatically deductible from your paycheck before taxes, and money in the plan grows tax-deferred. At 10 percent -- less than the historical annual stock return -- the money doubles in 7.2 years.Some 1,303 companies raised their dividends this year, compared with 1,130 last year to date. Many brokers have lists of consistent dividend raisers.You're better off giving away assets while you're alive than waiting to bequeath them after death, because the money you pay in gift tax comes out of your taxable estate.

The tough economy has taken its toll on a free parking perk travelers have enjoyed for years at BWI airport. Thirty minutes of parking, convenient for people who wanted to run in quickly and greet arriving travelers or help someone carry in a suitcase, used to be free in the daily garage at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. But that free parking ended last week as a decline in travel by consumers has left airports such as BWI looking to cut costs or find additional revenue.

Taxi drivers at BWI Marshall Airport are looking for options to protect themselves after one of them was shot in the stomach during an attempted robbery. The drivers who gathered Monday to plead for witnesses to come forward said they don't feel safe after last Wednesday's shooting of Aston Beadle, 63, who was ambushed as he arrived home in the Woodlawn area after work. Beadle was being treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center and is expected to survive. "It's terrible that something like this would happen to someone just trying to make a living," said Russell Brannan, who has been driving cabs for 32 years.

There are so many opportunities for BWI airport to start offering a half-decent menu of international routes - and so many reasons that little may come of them. The biggest opportunity begins next month. Starting March 28, the Open Skies Agreement lets airlines fly to the United States from any European airport and allows U.S. carriers to land anywhere in the European Union. The deal scraps decades of red tape and exponentially multiplies the trans-Atlantic options of airports. No airport seems better poised to benefit than Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall, which is No. 1 in my unscientific ranking of great airports with underused international terminals that are near jillions of people who want to use them.

The Baltimore area will get its first Element hotel, a new extended-stay brand created by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. The new hotel will open in 2009 at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, a hub of new hotel construction. Starwood Hotels said yesterday that it has reached an agreement with the Buccini/Pollin Group Inc. to build the $25 million, 123-room hotel. An Element hotel is also planned for Harbor Point, a $450 million project slated for development adjacent to Fells Point.

The Maryland Capital chapter of the American Business Women's Association has awarded a $1,500 education grant to Margaret Jarboe of Davidsonville. Jarboe is a student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. RiverWest plans marketing seminar RiverWest Marketing, 647 Ridgely Ave., Annapolis, will hold a free seminar, "Prospecting in Today's Market," from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Thursday. The seminar will provide information on finding the right client. Information: 410-266-3600, or www.riverwestmarketing .com.

Two new hotels will be built near Baltimore-Washington International Airport, adding 463 rooms to the area's booming hotel market, the hotels' parent company said yesterday. A 203-room Sheraton will be built on Old Elkridge Landing Road in Linthicum in Anne Arundel County and will open by fall 2006. Next door, a 260-room Westin Hotel will open, also on Old Elkridge Landing Road, in spring 2007. The hotels will be developed by Brentwood Hotels and managed by LTD Management Co. LLC of Chesapeake, Va. Officials of LTD Management could not be reached yesterday, but the company said in a statement that it expects BWI Airport's $1.8 billion expansion to drive growth in the area's hotel market.

Aer Lingus, the Irish national airline, said yesterday that efforts to preserve its once-daily flight from Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Shannon have failed, and it will abandon the route. The airline, which came to BWI in 2000, has been transforming itself into one of the first low-cost transoceanic airlines in the past two years. BWI, Aer Lingus officials said, no longer fits into its business model, which requires frequent and full flights. The airline now has one inbound flight and one outbound flight on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

In the past decade, Southwest Airlines and a handful of small followers have turned a sleepy Baltimore-Washington International Airport into a low-cost powerhouse and the envy of other airports. But when Southwest moves into a state-financed $264 million terminal of its own next year, the airline that so pleases the airport and its budget-conscious travelers might hamper BWI's efforts to lure other carriers that could bring new services, destinations and income. The industry is not widely expanding in the face of overwhelming financial woes resulting from fuel and labor costs, and a decline in big-spending business travelers.

Southwest Airlines unveiled yesterday the schedule and fares for its service to begin this spring in Philadelphia, a schedule that analysts said could lure some travelers who now drive to Baltimore-Washington International Airport for the airline's cheap fares. The promotions and hoopla of a new hub opening might benefit BWI enough to balance it out, however. "It's like a rising tide will lift all boats: The fact that [Southwest] is expanding more and becoming a larger airline will help BWI as much as the Philadelphia thing will hurt it," said David S. Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association in Washington.

At Airport Square Amoco, managers say at least half the gas station-convenience store's business comes from travelers moving through Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Wendy's restaurant next door says at least one in five customers is headed to or coming from an airplane. And at the Hampton Inn-BWI Airport, it's about one-third, helping to consistently sell out the hotel Monday through Thursday, said Rick Homonai, general manager. These are some of the businesses that benefit from their location in BWI's shadow.