"TIA improvements include new food court, wireless Internet"

Thursday, December 7, 2006

Lounges among airport's changes 
By Andrea Kelly 
The Arizona Daily Star 


Tucson, Arizona - Starting today, Tucsonans will have to meet and greet
incoming passengers at Tucson International Airport in the baggage claim
area. 

But two new "welcome lounges" will provide a spot for those homecoming hugs
with a little less industrial feel than conveyer belts and banging baggage
might envision. 

The two lounges, at the bottom of the escalators funneling people to the
baggage-claim area, provide more seating and a more comfortable place for
those waiting for flights to land than is now available. 

They also eliminate the need for someone to wait at the top of the
escalators, next where departing passengers line up to go through security,
airport officials say. 

That area was never designed to be a meeting place, but security measures
put in place after Sept. 11, 2001, prevented people from going all the way
to the gates to meet arriving passengers or to see off departing ones, said
Bonnie Allin, president and CEO of the Tucson Airport Authority. 

The makeshift meeting area was too small for all of the people waiting. 

There were not enough seats, and people congregated at the entrance and exit
to the area where ticketed passengers line up to go through security. 

The lower area features new Ike's coffee counters, tables and more seats. 

Early next year, more flight-information monitors will be installed, as well
as closed-circuit television, so you can watch for friends and relatives as
they make their way to the baggage claim area, said Paula Winn, airport
spokeswoman. 

A flight tracker and wireless Internet also will be installed, she said. 

People using the upstairs "meet and greet" area Wednesday said they would
prefer to stay upstairs, rather than move to the downstairs lounge area once
it opens, but most said they understood the change. 

William and Gayle Doane were watching their son and his family go through
security Wednesday before continuing on to their gate. 

"I like to see them go through security and greet them when they come,"
Gayle Doane said just before she waved and blew them a kiss goodbye. "It's
just nice to see them." 

But they also said they understand the need to move people to a larger
space. 

Barbara Isaacson was waiting to to meet family members arriving from Boston.


She said if the changes are in the name of security, she fully supports the
move. 

"It's just another thing we need to accommodate," Isaacson said. 

Being farther away from the gate "takes a little bit of the joy out of
meeting people," she said. But overall, on the list of things to worry
about, it doesn't rank that high, she said. 

Eventually, there will also be glass walls on the second level to ensure
one-way traffic for those going through security to departing flights and
those coming from arriving flights to the lower baggage-claim area, Winn
said. 

"We wanted to create a wall separating arriving and departing traffic, but
the space is so narrow there that if you put up a solid wall there it would
be really dismal, so we wanted to put up a glass wall so it will still be
getting light," Winn said. 

To help travelers adjust, Tucson Airport Authority staffers will guide
people from arriving flights down the escalators.
 
The airport also will provide entertainment, including live music,
throughout the day today in the new welcome lounges. 

Airport officials say once people get used to the change, it will not be as
disruptive as some may think it sounds. 

Some travelers said they will miss seeing people off and picking them up at
the upstairs meeting places. 

Steve Mendoza and his parents, Mary and Manuel Mendoza, were sitting in the
waiting area Wednesday, talking for a few more minutes before Steve had to
head toward his flight. 

They all agreed the waiting area is more convenient on the second floor than
the first, but if crowds are a problem, they said the first floor is
probably better. 

During slow travel times, the upstairs waiting area is fine, Steve Mendoza
said. When it gets more crowded, it makes sense to move people downstairs. 

Manuel Mendoza said he often sees people there excited to pick up their
relatives. 

"A lot of people like it this way; they're excited to see their loved ones
here," he said. 

Mary Mendoza said that if the change was for security, she supported the
move. 

The Airport Authority wanted to make the changes before the busy holiday
season to control some of the crowding that occurs as more people wait to
pick up family, Allin said. 

Other airport changes include a new food court on the east concourse opening
today. The area was redesigned to include Arizona Sports Grill, Boar's Head
Deli, Cheeburger Cheeburger, Taco Bron and Cibo's Gourmet Markets. 

The west concourse food court will likely be open by the end of next week,
with Sky Asian Bistro, Boar's Head Deli, Carmella's Kitchen and Cibo's
Gourmet Markets. 

The restaurant on the third floor closed Tuesday and will reopen as Jet Rock
Bar and Grill in about 90 days.

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