FourOneFive
May 14, 2008, 3:47 AM
SFO's old international terminal to fly again
George Raine, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/article?f=/c/a/2008/05/12/BUES10L1SS.DTL
The old international terminal at San Francisco International Airport, which has had a forlorn, abandoned main lobby since the terminal was closed in 2000, will bustle again with domestic passengers by the end of 2010, airport officials said Monday.
A renovation costing an estimated $383 million is planned for Terminal 2, along with a new control tower that will replace the current, seismically unsound structure, built in 1983.
Only one airline, Virgin America, is confirmed as a tenant for the refurbished terminal when it opens, late in 2010, but others will be announced as agreements are reached, said John Martin, director of SFO.
Operations ceased at Terminal 2 in December 2000 when the new International Terminal was opened, at a cost of $950 million, as part of a $2.5 billion airport master plan. Office space is still in use at Terminal 2 - for the San Francisco Airport Commission staff, Federal Aviation Administration staff and others - and it is home to the airport's medical clinic. The lobby still has counters but no travelers.
"No airport director wants to have a vacant terminal, and it will be nice to get this open after seven years," Martin said.
Gensler is architect
Gensler, the San Francisco architecture, design, planning and consulting firm, is the primary architect, and Turner Construction Co., headquartered in New York, is the contractor.
The new International Terminal opened in December 2000, and the airport intended to convert Terminal 2 to domestic use by fall 2001. But the downturn in airport traffic after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, deferred the project indefinitely.
"The approach we followed for the last seven years was to invest in new facilities only when required, a just-in-time approach, and that is why we delayed remodeling the terminal," Martin said.
But a spike in passenger travel in recent years justifies the project, he said.
Since 2003, SFO has experienced a 22 percent growth in passenger traffic, and three new domestic carriers began operations in 2007: Virgin America, JetBlue and Southwest, which operated at the airport from 1982 to 2001, then pulled out before returning in August.
Even with airline consolidation anticipated and amid an industry financial crisis largely caused by a sharp increase in jet fuel prices, the airport is confident demand will continue apace.
"We expect some steady growth over the next couple of years," added Mike McCarron, the airport spokesman.
International travel has passed pre-Sept. 11 numbers at SFO, although domestic travel is about 12 percent less than what it was when travel fell off dramatically after the terrorist attacks, McCarron said.
Face-lift for old lobby
Terminal 2 was opened in 1954. The face-lift will change much in the old lobby, including accommodating more and more paperless transactions, McCarron said.
Paper boarding passes will be going away in the airports of the future, he noted, with information electronically sent to cell phones or PDAs.
McCarron added there will be an effort to make the terminal "as environmentally friendly as possible," to include not having aircraft use engines or auxiliary power units at the gate, so they can save fuel. Vendors will be required to obtain green business certificates from San Mateo County, and there will be preferential parking for hybrid cars.
The old Terminal 2 had 10 gates; the new one will be reconfigured for 14.
Virgin America and JetBlue now use the International Terminal; Southwest is in Terminal 1.
Home for Virgin America
Virgin America, which began flying here in August, was the first of the three domestic airlines to make a commitment at SFO - in addition to establishing its headquarters in Burlingame - "and so we made a commitment to them at that time that Terminal 2 would be their permanent home," Martin said.
Also Monday, Virgin America said it plans to seek Department of Transportation approval to serve O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. The carrier said that with the major, or legacy, airlines representing 99 percent of the domestic departures at O'Hare "and low-cost airlines only representing 1 percent, Virgin America intends to add some healthy competition to the market."
David Cush, Virgin America's chief executive officer, said Monday he hopes to get a response from the government within 45 days. "Given the competition with United Airlines and American Airlines, we hope to begin marketing services as soon as possible."
Virgin America must apply because of the hourly flight restrictions that are now in place at O'Hare, said Ian Gregor, an FAA spokesman. During peak hours, a maximum of 88 domestic arrivals are allowed at O'Hare. If Virgin America is looking to add domestic service, the carrier would have to do so during any hours in which the 88 maximum flights have not been reached, or during off-peak hours, Gregor said.
Restrictions to be lifted
The restrictions are scheduled to be lifted on Oct. 31, and the government asked airlines about their intentions on serving O'Hare, prompting Virgin America's application.
In Chicago, Jean Medina, a spokeswoman for United Airlines, said, "We welcome the competition and look forward to flying our customers to the hundreds of locations they don't fly to."
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I'm excited that SFO is finally moving forward with the renovations to Terminal 2. It appears Terminal 2 will be home to the "discount carriers": Virgin America, JetBlue, and Southwest. This will leave Terminal 1 for the SkyTeam (Delta, Northwest, Continental) airlines, and Terminal 3 for the oneworld (American) and StarAlliance (United, Air Canada, and US Airways) airlines.
After this renovation, I'm hoping SFO will reexamine the possibility of extending its runways to reduce delays during bad weather. :D
George Raine, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/article?f=/c/a/2008/05/12/BUES10L1SS.DTL
The old international terminal at San Francisco International Airport, which has had a forlorn, abandoned main lobby since the terminal was closed in 2000, will bustle again with domestic passengers by the end of 2010, airport officials said Monday.
A renovation costing an estimated $383 million is planned for Terminal 2, along with a new control tower that will replace the current, seismically unsound structure, built in 1983.
Only one airline, Virgin America, is confirmed as a tenant for the refurbished terminal when it opens, late in 2010, but others will be announced as agreements are reached, said John Martin, director of SFO.
Operations ceased at Terminal 2 in December 2000 when the new International Terminal was opened, at a cost of $950 million, as part of a $2.5 billion airport master plan. Office space is still in use at Terminal 2 - for the San Francisco Airport Commission staff, Federal Aviation Administration staff and others - and it is home to the airport's medical clinic. The lobby still has counters but no travelers.
"No airport director wants to have a vacant terminal, and it will be nice to get this open after seven years," Martin said.
Gensler is architect
Gensler, the San Francisco architecture, design, planning and consulting firm, is the primary architect, and Turner Construction Co., headquartered in New York, is the contractor.
The new International Terminal opened in December 2000, and the airport intended to convert Terminal 2 to domestic use by fall 2001. But the downturn in airport traffic after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, deferred the project indefinitely.
"The approach we followed for the last seven years was to invest in new facilities only when required, a just-in-time approach, and that is why we delayed remodeling the terminal," Martin said.
But a spike in passenger travel in recent years justifies the project, he said.
Since 2003, SFO has experienced a 22 percent growth in passenger traffic, and three new domestic carriers began operations in 2007: Virgin America, JetBlue and Southwest, which operated at the airport from 1982 to 2001, then pulled out before returning in August.
Even with airline consolidation anticipated and amid an industry financial crisis largely caused by a sharp increase in jet fuel prices, the airport is confident demand will continue apace.
"We expect some steady growth over the next couple of years," added Mike McCarron, the airport spokesman.
International travel has passed pre-Sept. 11 numbers at SFO, although domestic travel is about 12 percent less than what it was when travel fell off dramatically after the terrorist attacks, McCarron said.
Face-lift for old lobby
Terminal 2 was opened in 1954. The face-lift will change much in the old lobby, including accommodating more and more paperless transactions, McCarron said.
Paper boarding passes will be going away in the airports of the future, he noted, with information electronically sent to cell phones or PDAs.
McCarron added there will be an effort to make the terminal "as environmentally friendly as possible," to include not having aircraft use engines or auxiliary power units at the gate, so they can save fuel. Vendors will be required to obtain green business certificates from San Mateo County, and there will be preferential parking for hybrid cars.
The old Terminal 2 had 10 gates; the new one will be reconfigured for 14.
Virgin America and JetBlue now use the International Terminal; Southwest is in Terminal 1.
Home for Virgin America
Virgin America, which began flying here in August, was the first of the three domestic airlines to make a commitment at SFO - in addition to establishing its headquarters in Burlingame - "and so we made a commitment to them at that time that Terminal 2 would be their permanent home," Martin said.
Also Monday, Virgin America said it plans to seek Department of Transportation approval to serve O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. The carrier said that with the major, or legacy, airlines representing 99 percent of the domestic departures at O'Hare "and low-cost airlines only representing 1 percent, Virgin America intends to add some healthy competition to the market."
David Cush, Virgin America's chief executive officer, said Monday he hopes to get a response from the government within 45 days. "Given the competition with United Airlines and American Airlines, we hope to begin marketing services as soon as possible."
Virgin America must apply because of the hourly flight restrictions that are now in place at O'Hare, said Ian Gregor, an FAA spokesman. During peak hours, a maximum of 88 domestic arrivals are allowed at O'Hare. If Virgin America is looking to add domestic service, the carrier would have to do so during any hours in which the 88 maximum flights have not been reached, or during off-peak hours, Gregor said.
Restrictions to be lifted
The restrictions are scheduled to be lifted on Oct. 31, and the government asked airlines about their intentions on serving O'Hare, prompting Virgin America's application.
In Chicago, Jean Medina, a spokeswoman for United Airlines, said, "We welcome the competition and look forward to flying our customers to the hundreds of locations they don't fly to."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm excited that SFO is finally moving forward with the renovations to Terminal 2. It appears Terminal 2 will be home to the "discount carriers": Virgin America, JetBlue, and Southwest. This will leave Terminal 1 for the SkyTeam (Delta, Northwest, Continental) airlines, and Terminal 3 for the oneworld (American) and StarAlliance (United, Air Canada, and US Airways) airlines.
After this renovation, I'm hoping SFO will reexamine the possibility of extending its runways to reduce delays during bad weather. :D