Airport Check-in: JFK project accelerated
Roger Yu, USA TODAY, 12/10/2007 (excerpted)
NEW YORK: JetBlue plans earlier opening of its new terminal at JFK
JetBlue is moving up its expected opening date of Terminal 5 at New York John F. Kennedy to September. It had been scheduled for early 2009.
The $742 million concourse, one of the largest construction projects in the USA, will replace the carrier's operations at the cramped Terminal 6. In a tour of the facility for USA TODAY last week, JetBlue spokesman Todd Burke said construction is ahead of schedule and that the project is "coming along beautifully."
Designed by San Francisco-based architecture firm Gensler, the 640,000-square-foot terminal is a glass-metal structure that will sit immediately behind the empty landmark TWA terminal designed by the late Eero Saarinen.
Passengers walking into the main entrance will stand on a terrazzo floor under an upward-sloping ceiling that renders a lofty feel. They will face a consolidated security checkpoint in front, so that they can proceed directly to their gates if they already have a boarding pass. Some other features:
•It will have 26 gates, vs. 21 at the current JetBlue terminal. The airline will also gain 10 security lanes and two baggage carousels.
•A 900-foot covered walkway will connect the terminal to AirTrain, JFK's rail link.
•Like many new terminals, it relies heavily on self-check-in. It has 108 kiosks flanking each side of the security checkpoint. JetBlue will have a separate set of podiums for self-service passengers wishing to have their bags tagged by agents without standing in line at the traditional counters.
•The focal point of the Y-shaped concourses after the security checkpoints is designed to have a town-square feel. It has two sets of grandstands where people can sit, eat and relax.
•Each gate will have 100 seats and two TV monitors with DirecTV programming, including sporting events. Agent podiums at the gate will be smaller and are designed to let agents sit while working.
•Retail stores and restaurants will be mixed in with the gates along the corridors.
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Get your Wi-Fi here
Reagan Washington National and Washington Dulles airports now have Wi-Fi Internet service.
The service costs $9 a day. Subscribers of the Wi-Fi service by Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile and AT&T won't have to pay the fee.
Access to the airports' Web home pages, which provides flight arrival and departure information, is free for all.
AMSTERDAM: No smoking in new year
Starting Jan. 1, passengers at Amsterdam Schiphol won't be allowed to smoke anywhere inside the terminals, including bars, cafes, restaurants and airline lounges.
The ban at Schiphol comes six months before the Netherlands' countrywide ban on smoking in restaurants, cafes, bars and nightclubs.