12/29/2010

Airport Customers

Hello,
Here is the topic for this week:

Who are the main customers of an airport and what facilities and services does an airport provide to meet their needs?

Don't forget to:

Write your answer in paragraphs.
Choose suitable vocabulary.
Give examples to support your main ideas.

Regards,
RV

12/28/2010

Hartsfield-Jackson Airport ATL


Hello,
Today's lesson is about the busiest airport in the world - Hartsfield-Jackson Airport ATL.
The airport is located in the city of Atlanta, which is the capital city of a state in the US.
Q1. Which state is Atlanta located and can you find it on the map?
Q2. Check out the official website of the airport:
what is their mission?
Q3. Look in ATL FactSheet and find the answers to:
a) How many runways does the airport have?
b) How many concourse buildings are there? Which ones are for domestic flights and which ones are for international flights?
c)How many gates in total are there?
d)How are passengers transported between concourses and gates?
e) What is the Sky Train?
f) How do you understand the word concessions? Give examples of different concessions.
g) How many parking positions for cargo aircraft are there?
h) How many people work at the airport?
i)How many consecutive years has Atlanta airport been announced the busiest airport in the world?
j) How many international destinations does it serve?
k) How many domestic destinations does it serve?
l) How many passengers are processed every day?
m) What information is given about the control tower?
n) Look at the list of airlines. What kind of airline is Delta Connections?
o) What kind of airline is UPS?
Q4. Would you like to work in an airport like Atlanta airport? Why/ Why not?
Regards,
RV

12/23/2010

What is an airport?

Hello,

Here is the first writing task for this course. Write your answer to the questions:

What is an airport? In your opinion, what is the main role of an airport and why?

What are some of the support services provided at an airport and how important are they?

Write your answer in 100- 120 words. Choose your vocabulary carefully and organise in paragraphs.

Regards,
RV

12/22/2010

The 5-star Airports in the World

Hello,

Today we look at the top 3 airports in the world, which received 5-star ranking according to Skytrax - the airline and airport quality agency. What makes these airports superior to others? What services and facilities do they offer their customers that provide them with an unforgettable airport experience?

Check Skytrax websites (the link is given on the right under Useful Links) and find out the names of the airports.

Q1. List the airports and their codes.

Q2. Go to: http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/index.html

a) Look at the main page of the official site of the airport. What information can you find?
Browse the site to see how easy or difficult it is to find information.
b) Check out Airport Services/Facilities. List the services/facilities that are provided at the airport?
c) What is the Community Care Programme?
d) What is the Airport Ambassador's Programme?
e) Summarise in one or two sentences your first impressions from the site.

Q3: Go to http://www.changiairport.com/
a) What information can you find on their page?
b) List some of the Facilities & Services on offer.
c) What other services are offered? Check Leisure & Indulgences and Entertainment and Lifestyle.
e) Summarise your first impressions from the site.

Q4: Go to:http://www.airport.kr/eng/airport/index.jsp
a) What information can you find on their main page?
b) What services are listed?
c) What is on offer in Attractions and in The Silk Road of Culture?

Q5: Compare the three websites. Which was the easiest for you to navigate? Which one did you like best? Which services or facilities on offer impressed you the most?

Regards,
RV

12/21/2010

DOH and DXB

Hello,

In today's lesson we are going to compare two airports: Doha International Airport DOH and Dubai International Airport DXB.

You'll read reviews of what some customers of these two airports think of the facilities and services provided.

Here are the tasks.

1. Check the official Doha airport website: http://www.dohaairport.com/. List some of the services that are provided at Doha airport.

2. Check the official site of Dubai airport http://www.dubaiairport.com/dia/english/Home/ and list some of the services provided for the passengers.

3. How would you rate each airport in the following areas? Give 5 for excellent to 1 for very poor.
DOH and DXB

  • website
  • ground transportation (parking facilities, buses, taxis)
  • arrival/departure/transit areas
  • security and immigration
  • terminal comfort
  • food and beverages
  • shopping facilities
Having considered all the above, how would you rate the airports? You can give stars from 1-very poor to 5 - excellent.

4. Now check what other passengers think of these airports. Go to Skytrax website



http://www.airlinequality.com/.
Read customers' reviews of their experiences of these airports. How similar or different are other customers' comments from your own?

Post your comments.

Regards,
RV

12/20/2010

Important Organisations

Hello,

These are the logos of the three organisations that are involved with civil aviation.







What are these organisations and what are they responsible for?

Check their websites and write a short answer about who they represent and what they are in charge of.
http://www.icao.int/icao/en/m_about.html
http://www.caa.gov.qa/english/index1.aspx
http://www.iata.org/Pages/default.aspx

Regards,
RV

12/14/2010

Airline Hubs

Hello,

Today we are going to research our first topic and discuss some key vocabulary.

Vocabulary Task

1. We start with the word airline HUB. Look at the image of Cathay Pacific route map.


Cathay Pacific CX uses Hong Kong airport HKG as its main hub. How do you understand the word hub?

2. Check the meaning of airline hub to clarify your ideas. You can use an online dictionary on the web.

3. This is a list of the first 7 words that you need to define. Write a short definition for each one.

Key words:

an airport
an airline hub
a passenger
international passengers
domestic passengers
a destination
an aircraft

Research Task

4. Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airline_hubb
Find out which airports are used as main hubs for the airlines below. You need to find the airline code as well.

Airline Airline Code Main / Primary Hub

Qatar Airways
Emirates
Bahrain Air
Etihad
Royal Jordanian
Air India
KLM
Air France
American Airlines
Jazeera Airways
British Airways
Cathay Pacific
Air Arabia
Kingfisher Airlines
Asiana Airlines
Alitalia
Iberia
Qantas


Enjoy the tasks.
Regards,
RV

12/13/2010

Terms of Use

Dear Students,

Before we start taking an active part in our blog I’d like to ask you to consider the following rules of use of the blog. This will ensure the educational benefits of the blog and we’ll help us become better writers and bloggers.

1. Always treat people on the blog with respect. If you want to disagree with someone’s opinion, you can do that in a polite way and still state what you think. Never be offensive or disrespectful.

2. Don’t use Arabic on the blog. This blog is designed to help students improve their writing in English.

3. Never copy somebody else's answer and NEVER NEVER copy paste answers from the internet. You only sign under what is your work.

4. Check your post for spelling and grammar errors. Consider carefully the choice of words you use. If you need help, consult your teacher, a dictionary or the spell check on the computer.

5. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. This is a learning process, we learn from mistakes, we can learn from other students on the blog, we can learn from each other.

6. Keep your posts related to the subjects we discuss in class. This means you shouldn’t discuss your plans for the weekend or any personal issues unrelated to the course or its objectives.

7. When you finish using the computers in the language lab at the end of the day, make sure that you have signed out, turn off the computers, leave your chair and the room in a tidy manner.

Please post a comment if you’d like to add any other ideas or comments on this post and state whether you agree with the terms of use.

I agree with the terms of use.
Posted by RV

12/12/2010

welcoming message

Dear students,

Welcome to AOM!

I am pleased to welcome you to our class blog - the online platform for exchanging ideas and gaining knowledge about the exciting world of aviation and airports.


I hope you enjoy the blog and find the blogging experience useful for your studies and for your job in the future.


Send a short post introducing yourself and tell us about your expectations from this course. Use the comment option below.

Regards,
RV