Airport Check-in: Makeover in Phila., mustang for Denver
Roger Yu, USA TODAY, 8/20/2007 (excerpted)
Philadelphia International is gearing up for an overhaul of the badly congested commuter terminal that houses US Airways Express flights.
When Terminal F opened in 2001, it handled 2 million passengers a year, but an increase in the number of daily flights and the use of larger jets have caused the number to more than triple.
With a redesign of the space and the addition of 80,000 square feet, airport officials want to improve security processing, baggage pickup and food and retail selection. The upgrade is expected to be completed by late 2010 and could cost more than $100 million, says Mark Gale, the airport's deputy director of operations and facilities.
DENVER: 'Mustang' sculpture to ride
A long-delayed, 32-foot sculpture called Mustang should be installed outside Denver International by the end of the year, the airport says.
Commissioned in 1992 for $300,000, the fiberglass sculpture was to be installed in 1996, shortly after the airport opened. New Mexico sculptor Luis Jimenez squabbled with the city in court about deadlines, but both sides eventually backed off.
Jimenez died last year after a large section of the sculpture came loose from a hoist and pinned him against a support. His family has arranged for the sculpture's completion. It will be placed on Peña Boulevard, the entrance road to the airport, about a half mile before the road splits for the east and west sides of the terminal.
LOS ANGELES: New gates planned for bigger jets
For the first time since before Los Angeles played host for the 1984 Olympics, Los Angeles International will add gates at its nine-terminal complex.
The facility is to be built west of the Tom Bradley International Terminal and connected by a tunnel with some type of people-mover system. The project includes 10 new gates that will be used primarily by large international jets.
All of the gates will be capable of handling Airbus A380s, which will be the world's largest commercial jets. Singapore Airlines expects to be the first carrier to fly the A380 commercially, beginning in October.
The Los Angeles city council last week approved a proposal allowing Los Angeles World Airports, the operator of LAX, to formally begin the design and construction of the facility. It's expected to cost about $1.2 billion and open in 2012.
The expansion is part of a larger effort to modernize the USA's fifth-busiest airport. Also a part of that plan: a new central car-rental facility.
The airport has so much construction going on that it's created a Web publication called LAXpectations at www.lawa.org/lax/laxexpect.cfm. Among other things, it alerts travelers to construction-related disruptions.
PROVIDENCE: New ramps reduce hassle for fliers
Two new ramps have opened at T.F. Green Airport that should reduce the hassle for passengers who land there. The ramps lead them from the second-floor concourse to the first-floor baggage claim area and to airport exits. That means arriving passengers will no longer have to pass through the busy center of the airport terminal.
The new ramps are part of a broader $83.5 million airport upgrade.
NASHVILLE: Food court cooks up more local fare
Baja Burrito has opened in the C Concourse food court. It's the first of several local cafes and restaurants that will be showing up at the airport over the next 18 months or so. HMSHost and Transfare, which run the airport concessions, have plans for five more local joints: Noshville delicatessen, Gibson's Guitar Cafe, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Tavern, Neely's Barbeque and Provence Breads & Cafe.
Contributing: Barbara De Lollis, Dan Reed and Gary Stoller.