Got an email from the Illinois tollway saying the Elgin Ohare west access will start construction this fall

What is the reason for this occurring now? (I'm glad about it, but doesn't Chicago have horrible fuel prices - and jet fuel is presumably the main cost in the cargo business. Maybe the airlines just negotiate national kerosene prices with the oil companies?)

Either way, with the I-90 and Elgin O'Hare and Western Bypass projects, cargo surface operations will see many more benefits.
And why a downtown express train should be a no brainer, especially given the further increasing position of the city as a national gathering place (Lollapalooza, zillions of conventions, still-booming hotel construction, explosion in unique and creative dining options) and further congestion worsening on the Kennedy.

Can you point out some examples of these; also, are they recent or longstanding practices?

Here the system map:

http://www.illinoistollway.com/docum...onProjects.pdf

Found it!

http://www.illinoistollway.com/const...western-access

Can you guys tell me when they will be completely?

The city has been picking up alot more international cargo service for the past few years partly due to location and also due to the cities commitments to building new cargo teminals. Yes the airlines do negotiate fuel and pumping prices, but it is still more expensive. There is also the problem of landing fees at ORD, one of the highest in the nation(higher than JFK and LAX).

I am not going to get into detail on the Delta airline operation at ATL, but it is state of the art.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,2913545.story

Umm... ATL is studying a sixth runway already. I'd put its odds of happening as "likely."

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/p....html?page=all

Hey! Wait it minutes! This is very old news, but there is no news from ATL. There is no sixth new runway.

Yes, there is. Planning is currently underway as part of the new master plan by Chicago firm Ricondo & Associates. They are about midway through the planning process right now.

Just to clarify this, is the reason that total pax numbers remain vastly higher at ATL, despite the matching aircraft movements, almost entirely due to cargo -- or are average aircraft size, and connecting vs o & d, major factors too?

Regarding connecting passengers (a category that is not supposed to be double-counted), does anyone know how they define "connecting" passenger? Would a connecting passenger who happens to be using 2 issued tickets on 2 different (or even the same) carriers (say, a domestic/international connection -- or a mileage ticket and a paid ticket) get double-counted? If a passenger with a single ticket engineers a morning-to-night layover to exit the airport for several hours for afternoon meetings before flying off in a continuing direction, is it single-counted?

Good news.

After moving all 747 operations to SFO last year due to the maintenance base being located there, United is bringing the 747 back to Chicago. The first routes being Shanghai, Tokyo, and Frankfurt.

Weird. I wonder what prompted that ... have oil prices dropped? Are 787 concerns forcing a reshuffling of equipment? Did they bring some 747 maintenance capabilities to O'Hare?

I think it's all about aircraft size. O'Hare sees way more regional jets than Hartsfield-Jackson. Delta is actually phasing them out, and the purchase of all of AirTran's 717's is only going to speed things up. Delta also still uses widebody aircraft extensively on domestic routes, while United and American don't so much any longer.

The O&D and connection figures really don't come into play at all when it comes to total passenger figures. Both airports have a healthy combination of each.

Some 747 aircraft will be transferred back to ORD. They will swapped from 744 to 777 aircraft. UA will deployed 777 aircraft from SFO/LAX-SYD and also, UA will deployed the 787-8 Dreamliner out of SFO-KIX as well.

ORD - 747-8 Passenger Ready?
 

Does anyone know how Lufthansa's tests went at ORD with their 747-8? I know this was a trial with the FAA on their taxi movements to see if the airport was ready for the passenger version. Will O'Hare have to do any further work to modify taxiways or buildings to accomodate this passenger jet?

Also does O'hare have further work to do to get ready for regular A380 service? And do you feel any carriers will bring the A380 to ORD in the future (ie - Korean, BA)? I expected the A380 to go to LAX and JFK initially, but I'm shocked other airports such as MIA, ATL, Dulles, SFO and Toronto have A380 service ahead of ORD.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,3322356.story



O'Hare $800-million project to consolidate rental car garage slated for spring

By Jon Hilkevitch

Tribune reporter

12:05 PM CDT, August 23, 2013



Construction will begin in the spring on an $800-million project at O'Hare International Airport that will put all rental car companies under one roof as part of a new remote public parking garage and extend the light rail People Mover to the new facilities, officials said Friday.

The project, first announced during the Daley administration, now moves toward three years of construction as Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Friday announced final action on a $288-million federal loan.
The rest of the funding will come locally, including from airport bonds and an $8-a-day tax on car rentals at the airport that was imposed in 2010.

The new consolidated rental car and parking garage will be located on the site of economy parking lot F, which at $9 a day offers the least expensive parking at O'Hare. Parking lot F is at Zemke Boulevard and Mannheim Road.

The adjacent cell phone parking lot, which provides free parking for drivers waiting to pick up passengers at the airport, will be relocated this fall to Bessie Coleman Drive near I-190, city Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino said.

She said parking rates...

The $800-million project, scheduled to be completed in 2016, is expected to create 3,000 construction jobs and 100 permanent car rental and concessions-related jobs, officials said.

Officials also touted the expected benefits ...

The consolidated rental car-parking garage is also near the O'Hare Metra station served by the North Central Service line that runs between downtown Chicago and Antioch.








image of the project in this link

http://www.nbcchicago.com/traffic/tr...220817011.html

Cool. It's about time they started work on this thing. I've mentioned my issues with the plan before, but:

-No improvements to Metra shack station
-Long, confusing walk from people-mover platforms to Metra station
-No provisions for transit-oriented development in adjacent section of Rosemont

If you click the link to the diagram of the project, the last link it does include TOD in it.

The TOD set aside is also inside the City of Chicago rather than Rosemont; which is awesome.

Well, this will actually be a serious intermodal hub. In addition to the People Mover, Metra NCS, and rental cars, the new I-90 express buses will stop here, so suburban riders have a free connection to the airport terminals instead of riding to Rosemont and paying an extra $2 for the Blue Line. I think there will be a new ramp at Lee St to facilitate access from the west.

Hainan China Airlines started service today using an A340-600. Later will use 787's.



http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...,6306423.story