"Phoenix Sky Harbor prepares for busier future"

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Airport prepares for busier future  
By Donna Hogan
The East Valley (AZ) Tribune 


Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport will need $3 billion worth of
improvements to keep 50 million passengers or more moving smoothly to and
through the Valley every year. 
 
And the busy hub will need to slough some short-hop business to smaller
airports such as Williams Gateway in Mesa, said Sky Harbor assistant airport
director Carl Newman. 

"As the airport goes, so does the (local tourism) industry, and as the
industry goes, so does the airport," Newman told Valley Hotel and Resort
Association members during a luncheon at Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale. 

After surviving a multiyear travel slowdown since Sept. 11, 2001, local
hotels are having a banner year, filling rooms at a quick clip. 

Easy access to the Valley by air is a key factor in keeping growth on the
fast track, said Ken McKenzie, general manager of the Tempe Mission Palms
Hotel. 

"We clearly are a major fly-in destination," McKenzie said. "Greater Phoenix
is becoming a regional economic engine, and that bodes well for the
long-term outlook for the hospitality industry." 

In 2005, 41.2 million people flew to or from Sky Harbor. 

Studies predict the airport will be shuffling 50 million passengers annually
within the next 10 years, Newman said. But he expects to hit that milestone
in half the time, he said. 

To manage the rapidly increasing demands of the Valley's exploding tourism
trade, the airport has 176 projects costing $624 million under way or
recently completed, Newman said. 

They range from major undertakings such as the new rental car center to
tenant-financed spruce-ups at terminal stores. 

Several of the projects are part of a massive renovation of Terminal 4,
expected to finish up in fall. 

Among the busiest terminal improvements are 27 new shops, including the
airport's first drugstore, 11 eateries, hard floors, high ceilings and
Southwestern-themed decor. 

Also in progress is a new air traffic control tower, a second economy
garage, taxiway improvements and several new security features, including a
$15 million "perimeter intrusion detection system," Newman said. All are on
track to be completed this year. 

But for the long term, the airport needs even more pricey fixes to keep up
with increasing airline demand, Newman said. 

They include a peoplemover system to shuttle passengers to off-airport
destinations such as economy parking lots, light-rail stations and the car
rental center. 

That would help ease huge bus bottlenecks outside the terminals, he said. 

So would the road rerouting also on the future fix wish list. 

Also critical is a new terminal complex and new taxiways to serve it, Newman
said. 

The new terminal, replacing relatively tiny Terminal 2, would boost the
airport's onthe-ground passenger capacity to 60 million a year, he said. 

Newman also sees an increased need for smaller airports to provide
alternative services. 

"I'm a believer that as time goes on this region will need multiple airport
boards," he said. "And Williams Gateway fits into this picture. It could be
as successful as Deer Valley Airport, which has several flights a day and is
a successful part of our operation." 

In fact, Vision Airlines plans to stage four flights a week from Williams
Gateway to Las Vegas beginning April 6, said Robert Brinton, executive
director of the Mesa Convention & Visitors Bureau. 

And the start-up airline is negotiating for Long Beach and San Diego routes,
Brinton said. 

Future projects 

. New west terminal complex 

. Demolition of Terminal 2 

. Automated People Mover system 

. Rerouting Sky Harbor Boulevard 

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