"A mostly smooth ride for Detroit Metro airport expansion"

Thursday, May 6, 2004

A mostly smooth ride for Detroit Metro airport expansion
The Associated Press


ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) -- Two years after ascending into the elite realm of
the world's airports, Detroit Metropolitan Airport is pushing ahead with
expansion plans while riding out the turbulence facing the airline
industry in the post-Sept. 11 era. 

Before the $1.2 billion Edward H. McNamara Terminal at Northwest
WorldGateway opened Feb. 24, 2002, Metro consistently ranked among the
nation's worst airports. Travelers complained that it was outdated and
overcrowded, restrooms were few and small and food service and other
concessions were inadequate. 

By October 2002, however, Metro had tied Minneapolis-St. Paul
International Airport for second place in a customer satisfaction survey
of the largest U.S. airports by J.D. Power & Associates. Las Vegas'
McCarran International Airport ranked first. In the 2003 survey, Metro
was ranked fourth-best among the 13 biggest U.S. airports, slipping two
spots because of improvements in satisfaction at the Denver and
Minneapolis-St. Paul airports. 

"This is great. There's so many more amenities than there were at the
old airport," Anthony Ziegler, 25, of Dexter, said this week while
waiting to see off girlfriend Amanda Schell at the Midfield Terminal. 

"I've flown to a lot of major airports in this country, and Detroit's
was one of the most archaic," Ziegler said. "It didn't reflect very well
on the city." 

As the industry regains its footing after the terror attacks, two of the
three concourses at the terminal commonly called Midfield are being
expanded and plans to replace the 44-year-old L.C. Smith Terminal are
moving ahead. 

Northwest Airlines, which bankrolled most of the Midfield project
through leases and landing fees, postponed the expansion of Concourses B
and C last year after losing $798 million in 2002 and $423 million in
2001. 

The nation's fourth-largest airline launched the project in December
despite cutting its work force nearly 12 percent and experiencing a
sales increase of 0.2 percent, Metro spokesman Mike Conway said. 

"It's kind of nice that our hub carrier has such a nice view of the
market here," Conway said. "They share our optimistic view of the
future." 

Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest and its regional affiliates Mesaba and
Pinnacle account for 70 percent of the flights and passenger traffic at
the airport. Northwest is the main tenant at Midfield, which it leases
from Wayne County. As it did with the original Midfield project,
Northwest is overseeing design and construction of the expansion. 

Metro's economic influence outside the airport boundaries is spreading,
said Sam Kahan, an economist with the Detroit branch of the Federal
Reserve Bank of Chicago. 

"That whole area around the airport is experiencing a growth
phenomenon," he said. "You can see that in construction across the
gamut, including private housing. That probably is one of the
unambiguous positives about it." 

Two gates at Concourse A -- the near-mile-long, 64-gate main terminal
used primarily by Northwest -- have been remodeled to steer
international passengers to customs and immigration checkpoints. 

Nine gates designed to accommodate small passenger jets are being added
to eight existing gates at Concourse B. Sixteen gates are to be added to
the 25 gates at Concourse C, where Continental Express, Mesaba and
Pinnacle offer short-hop propeller-jet flights. The luggage handling
system will be expanded and the moving walkways extended at those
concourses, which are linked to the main terminal by a 900-foot tunnel
featuring synchronized lights and music. 

The expansion is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2006,
Northwest spokeswoman Mary Stanik said. 

Wayne County is soliciting bids from would-be designers of the North
Terminal. The $428 million project will replace the Davey Terminal, most
of which was torn down after Northwest moved to Midfield; the Smith
Terminal, whose tenants include Spirit Airlines, the second-biggest
carrier at Metro; and the Berry Terminal, used by British Airways, USA
3000 and charter airlines. 

The sluggish economy has pushed the North Terminal's tentative
completion date back to 2008, Conway said. 

Initial plans for the North Terminal call for 610,000 square feet of
terminal space, 10 percent more than at Smith, and 50,000 square feet of
concession space -- twice as much as at Smith. It will have 29 gates
compared with Smith's 32, but its linear layout will make it easy to
expand as needed, Conway said. 

Despite Smith's association with the bad old days at Metro, it has
undergone a modest facelift including new carpeting, seating and
lighting, Conway said. 

Part of Smith might survive as a check-in area after the North Terminal
is built, Conway said. If not, it will be demolished and go the way of
the Davey Terminal -- whose dim, narrow, low-ceilinged concourses that
extended hundreds of yards to its farthest gates made using Metro an
ordeal. 

The county Airport Authority is studying whether charter airlines should
continue using the 30-year-old Berry Terminal after British Airways'
planned relocation to Midfield in June, Conway said. 

On the Net: 

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport: http://www.metroairport.com 

Northwest Airlines: http://www.nwa.com 

J.D. Power and Associates: http://www.jdpower.com


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