"Airports under renovation"

Thursday, September 11, 2003

Airports under renovation
Business Travel News


Despite the slowdown in travel during the past two years, airlines and
airports in the United States and throughout the world continue to pour
billions of dollars into terminal renovations, concourse expansions and
runway extensions, as well as to enhance baggage claim operations, parking
areas and car rental facilities. 

* Delta Air Lines is progressing ahead of schedule on an 81-airport project
aimed at bringing efficiencies to domestic passenger processing and
providing travelers with improved customer service. The $30 million project,
slated for completion by Labor Day, includes a mix of technological
advancements and redefined roles for many of the airline's airport
personnel. It already has been rolled out in 29 airports, including Delta's
hubs in Atlanta, Cincinnati and Salt Lake City and such other business
destinations as Boston, Chicago, Dallas Ft. Worth, Houston Hobby, Los
Angeles and New York JFK. The next wave includes Cleveland, Newark, San
Francisco and Seattle. 

* New York JFK by year-end officially will be connected to the city's subway
system with the opening of AirTrain JFK, a $1.9 billion automated people
mover system linking midtown Manhattan and the airport within 45 minutes. 

* New York LaGuardia last month became one of the beneficiaries of a new
E-ZPass Plus parking program--expected to reduce exit waiting times
significantly for customers--while undergoing terminal and roadway access
construction. Meanwhile, four new interminal food and beverage facilities
may prove a blessing for delayed passengers. 

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's new service, which uses
existing E-ZPass accounts, allows customers to pay for parking with E-ZPass
and speed their exit leaving the lots. The $30 million initiative, now in
use in all parking lots at JFK and LaGuardia airports, will expand to
include parking lots at Newark Liberty International Airport later this
year. 

* The first stage of George Bush Intercontinental Airport's new 23-gate
Terminal E opened in June as part of Houston Airport System's overall $3
billion capital improvement program. The $225 million terminal, the
airport's fifth, will be used entirely by its largest carrier, Continental
Airlines, offering the airline more space for growing its domestic and
international service. To combat air traffic, the airport will open its
third parallel runway on Oct. 31 "so we can land three planes at a time,"
said HAS spokesperson Ernest DeSoto. Additionally, HAS last May completed an
$81.5 million project that expanded another runway. "With four runways now
able to handle any commercial aircraft and with one more scheduled for
completion next year, this airport is now well positioned to handle the
tremendous growth forecast for the next decade and beyond," said aviation
director Rick Vacar. 

* Los Angeles International Airport could receive a $9 billion facility
update if city and federal agencies approve plans announced last month by
Mayor Jim Hahn to make LAX "the safest and most secure airport in
America."The proposed reconstruction--which involves demolishing three of
the nine terminals--would span 11 years beginning in late 2004 and allow for
20 million more passengers, to about 78.9 million annually. LAX last year
handled 56 million passengers. 

"Modernization has escaped LAX," Hahn said, as most of the airport's current
gates and terminals were designed 40 years ago. The goal is to "normalize
passenger operations under any security circumstance" by employing the
"latest evolving technologies to identify and intercept all threats through
checked and carry-on baggage."

* Las Vegas McCarran International Airport this summer will be the country's
first airport to use SpeedCheck, a common use, self-service kiosk system
from which passengers on a variety of airlines can check in and print their
own boarding passes. During the first phase of implementation, 38 SpeedCheck
kiosks are being installed in such locales as the entry area from the
parking garage, in the center of the ticketing lobby and on the way to
security checkpoints for concourses A, B, C and D. 

* Chicago O'Hare and Midway airports continue to move forward with their
terminal developments to meet future demand, with O'Hare beginning
infrastructure improvements and Midway remaining on target for completing
its construction in 2004. O'Hare on May 5 began a $300 million project to
update its terminal facilities. Expected to be completed in 2007, the
airport construction includes a hew canopy at Terminals 1, 2 and 3, which
will cover two lanes of the departures level and provide protection for
travelers during inclement weather conditions, and an extension of Terminals
2 and 3 to provide "spacious" checkin lobby features, more room at the
baggage claim areas, as well as space for elevators, escalators and stairs.
Other public areas of Terminal 3 will be updated using new technologies "to
achieve energy and efficiency, while more counters, signage and passenger
amenities will provide additional space for the flow of passenger traffic to
eliminate peak-period congestion," officials said.

The five-year Midway terminal development program will replace the existing
50-year-old terminal with a facility that will offer the "utmost in
passenger convenience, spacious concourses and attractive shopping and
dining options,"officials said. The airport in March 2002 welcomed the debut
of 12 new gates on Concourses A and C, which brought more spacious hold
rooms and offer passengers shorter walking distances from the new terminal
to airline gates. 

* Construction is set to begin early next year on a $1.4 billion terminal
expansion program at Oakland International Airport, while major projects
continue at Raleigh Durham International Airport, including the expansion
and renovation of one terminal and the completion of a 6,000-space parking
garage slated for this fall. 

* Philadelphia International Airport in May unveiled its four-level,
800,000-sq.-ft. Terminal A West, with 13 new gates, 26,000 square feet of
concession space and expanded federal inspection facilities. The new
terminal will be combined with the existing Terminal A East to form one
massive international facility. When fully operational, the new
International Terminal A will offer 20 gates, including 17 widebody gates,
56 U.S. Immigration and Naturalization booths, eight high-speed baggage
claim carousels, double the amount of concession space and 85 ticket counter
positions. The arrivals hall will be next to a new 4,300-car parking garage
and also will provide access to a high-speed rail line and ground
transportation. 

* Munich International Airport's new Terminal 2, a collaborative build
between the airport and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, officially opened on June 29.
Lufthansa and its partner airlines, including Star Alliance carriers,
exclusively use the high-tech terminal, which doubles the airport's current
capacity to 50 million passengers annually. "Like no other facility of its
kind, the new terminal is tailored to meet the needs of transferring
passengers," officials said. According to the airport, a 30-minute
connection time represents a new European record, while a user-friendly
guidance system with transfer monitors propels passengers to their
connecting gates. 

* In the United Kingdom, BAA plc, operator of seven U.K. airports, this past
spring confirmed an 8.4 billion [pounds sterling] (US$13.7 billion)
investment in London's Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports during the
next 11 years to accommodate forecasted growth of more than 48 million
passengers, to nearly 158 million, by 2014. While the largest chunk of the
investment, 6.6 billion [pounds sterling], was allocated to Heathrow, BAA
will spend 1 billion [pounds sterling] on building out to full capacity
Gatwick's existing runway, improving service in the North Terminal,
extending South Terminal arrivals and segregating arriving and departing
passengers for improved security. Another 800 million [pounds sterling] will
fund Stansted's improvements, which include terminal, apron and taxiway
enhancements, a standby runway for emergency use and a public transport
interchange.


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