:previous:
That's right. The one I go to in Draper has both the DMV and the License Division in one building. Either way there long lines. :yes:

Funny how many things you need a birth certificate for these days. . . nm, i'm not going to go there :P

Looks like the new Trax station at the airport is finish. I got to walk inside the new lobby a week or two ago. It's still empty, only a few seats along the walls.

Global flights growing at Salt Lake City International Airport

International flights increased 32.1% from 2003 to 2011

By Jason Lee, Deseret News

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...l-Airport.html

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's largest city has been making significant progress regarding the amount of international air travel it has facilitated over the past few years...

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New Trax Station at Airport video tour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMu_9lbA-Ec

Thanks for the video tour of the new Airport Trax terminal SLC Projects. I, for one, can't WAIT for it to open. And even better that I'll be able to catch it and then connect with the frontrunner down to Provo to visit family. NICE.

New SLC Service
 

Alaska Airlines will commence 2x daily non-stop service between SEA and SLC beginning April 4, 2013.

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/alaska...JQi0QAXYnQtDMD

What's the latest on the airport rebuild? There was the big announcement last January (I think) and since then, nothing!

As far as I can remember it wasn't ever supposed to begin before 2013.

I think summer 2013. Hope so.

I hope so. I haven't seen any finalized renderings. Have any of you?

Yes, probably sometime in late-May or June. Nobody who will tell you when.

Lets wait and see.

We should know a little more in about a month, when the airport will be releasing their budget request for the 2013-2014 fiscal year (July 2013-June 2014). The current budget, that runs until the end of June this year, says this about the project:

I'm not sure we'll see much of what we're hoping for this year, including more detailed plans. It looks to me like other than some light remodeling and possibly the moving of utilities and car rental facilities, most of what will go on this year is behind the scenes work (including finalizing the plans).

The Airport Board has hardly mentioned the project in their minutes: http://www.slcairport.com/agendas-min.asp. And this memorandum (http://www.slccouncil.com/agendas/20...061912A4F1.pdf) from the SLC Council doesn't have the city issuing bonds for the project until June 2014, when it says work on moving the car rental facilities will begin.

Trax testing at the Salt Lake Airport Trax station
Video of a Trax Train pulling up towards to new Trax Station at the airport.
• Video Link

The SLC airport has created a new website dedicated solely to the new terminal development. The airport is also asking people to provide feedback as the terminal is designed. This is your best chance to give your two cents and also a site you can learn more about the new SLC terminal project.

http://www.myairportslc.com

Does anyone know what terminal and gate at SLC Alaska Airlines will use? I have looked on their website and could not find any information concerning SLC airport info for Alaska Airlines. I am flying them in less than a month and I can't find any info on them at the SLC airport! Thanks.

It will most likely be Terminal 1 and concourse A or B.

Hmm, I was thinking they would be in terminal 2, with Delta..? I know the two airlines are close and I know that Alaska uses Delta terminal's and gates' at Atlanta and Minneapolis so I was wondering if they would operate similar at SLC. Anyways, if anyone knows, please share. Mahalo.

They will be in terminal 2 and have a check in area by the delta counter. Their flights will depart from C concourse. They are partners with Delta and American but they are relying on more Delta passengers from the SLC hub to contribute to their business. You'll also see a lot of Alaska customers connecting in SLC to and from Delta flights.

In that case, forget what I said. :)

Just thought I'd give some progress info on the airport and put a perspective of how important the airport is to the local economy...

The terminal redevelopment program is still in progress and unlike years previous, is now full steam. Meaning, the new terminal is going to be built. While it will take a few years to see a major difference, it is happening. The airport recently instituted a website for the public's input on what people want to see with the new terminal. I encourage you to give your input. Visit http://myairportslc.com/ to view updates and provide your two cents.

The airport has recently contracted with law firms and architecture and engineeering firms to complete the blueprints for the new terminal.

Based on an independent firm's recent analysis, they provided the following details regarding the state of what our airport provides to the local economy:
The new terminal project is estimated to provide nearly 2,000 jobs during construction and over 37,000 jobs over a 12 year period with a $3.6 billion economic impact to the local economy.

The airport receives a wealth of both business and tourist travelers. Currently, tourists contribute overall more to the economy but business travelers contribute more per person. The total impact of both tourist and business visitors to SLC airport will contribute more than 200,000 jobs in the local area over the next seven years and nearly $12 billion in payroll and GDP locally.

In summary, the SLC airport contributes an enormous amount to our economy. The expansion and redevelopment of the terminal will only increase this. It should be noted Delta and other airlines are on board with the redevelopment and have extended their commitment. Delta in particular, which is the largest tenant and operates a large hub at the airport sits on the board which oversees the redevelopment program.

New destinations being added soon:

US Airways: nonstop to Philadelphia in June
Delta: nonstop to Madison, WI in June

Again, visit http://myairportslc.com/ to give your input on the new terminal.

Thanks for all the info on SLC skyguy!

I'm hearing that Alaska Air might add a SLC-PDX flight. Their new service between SLC and SEA has been extremely successful.

S.L. draws up airport plans - Renovation will begin next spring and be finished by 2024

By Annie Knox - Associated Press

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...ort-plans.html

Mountain views, faster takeoffs and workout equipment are a few things Salt Lake City officials are considering as they draw up plans for a nearly $2 billion remake of the city's airport. Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
http://www.deseretnews.com/images/ar...47/1139247.jpg

SALT LAKE CITY — Mountain views, faster takeoffs and workout equipment are a few things Salt Lake City officials are considering as they draw up plans for a nearly $2 billion remake of the city's airport.

The bulk of the budget for construction comes from fees airlines pay to use the facility and from passengers buying tickets, among a few other sources. Federal grants make up about 11 percent of the bankroll.

Some wings of the airport are about 50 years old. Others date back over 30 years. That means a new facility is overdue, said Salt Lake City International Airport spokeswoman Barbara Gann.

"Airport years are longer" than human ones she said, due to changing technology and increases in traffic. The original facility was designed to shepherd about 12 million travelers each year, roughly half as many as it does now...

Can't wait til next spring. The next ten years at my work should be....well fun to watch this devemlopment with a front seat view.

I remember this being predicted as a forgone conclusion from the onset of the merger. My question now to someone such as Skyguy would be, what kind of additions will come to Salt Lake City as Memphis loses it's hub status?

Delta to close hub operations in Memphis


By JOSHUA FREED | The Associated Press

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/5...ights.html.csp

Minneapolis • Delta Air Lines said Tuesday that it will drop its money-losing hub in Memphis, Tenn., this fall, slashing flights there and eliminating 230 jobs.

The cuts begin Sept. 3, right after Labor Day weekend and the end of the busy summer travel season...

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It's hard to say for sure. Memphis is/was surely a redundant hub in the Delta system.

I could see more service to the south central part of the US from SLC. Delta has recently added more service from SLC to Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. I wouldn't be surprised to see the nonstop to Little Rock come back (it ended around 2008 or 2009 but did relatively well). Otherwise, I don't predict a whole lot of change locally as a result of the Memphis hub closing.

On a side note...the airport is having regular meetings now with the achitecture firm assigned to design the new terminal (HOK), and airport tenants (with Delta on the designing board). Minor changes are made at each meeting. The airport is getting busier for the summer season. The SLC-Paris route was upgraded to an Airbus 330 for the summer months adding more seats and a better performing and larger aircraft than previous summers. The US Airways SLC to Philadelphia route started yesterday and flights so far have been full.

Our airport is oftenly the first and last impression we leave upon visitors to our city and even the only impression (millions of passengers fly through SLC every year just to connect flights. We can easily persuade a lot of these people to come visit longer). I will say, there are so many passengers who awe at the scenery just seen from the windows in the concourses and the intrigue the area gives. Again, I encourage everyone to submit your feedback on what you want to see in the new terminal at www.myairportslc.com.

My father was initially employed by Western Airlines in 1986, later bought out by Delta, as we all know, in 1987. He retired after 20 years. Being a son of flight benefits, I remember Delta always having three major hubs; Atlanta, Cincinnati, and SLC.

Now, Delta has major hubs overseas and across the eastern seaboard. With the loss of Memphis as a major hub, that leaves SLC as the only major hub in North America west of the Mississippi to the world's largest airline.

My question is this: SLC International has no where to go but up... Right?

Additional flights, connections both international and domestic?

I'd hate to see SLC Airport turn into Memphis (which is THE hub for FedEx).

No, I don't see SLC losing Delta as a hub.

Delta in SLC has a lot going for it:

- It is geographically located in a good location for connecting flights with no other hubs nearby (unlike Memphis).
- Costs are very low to the airline to operate here.
- There is a strong presence of originating/destination passengers to compliment the connecting passengers here and the O/D numbers are growing.
- Strong and growing local economy.
- Long standing support from the community and a strong premium customer base.
- Dedicated and long serving employees with better customer service than the rest of Delta's network (SLC is award winning in that regard).
- According to the FAA, SLC is the best on time performing airport in the country.
- Mostly good weather year-round. Meaning less delays, less cost to the airline.

Whether this leads to a larger presence remains to be seen. The more people who fly in and out of SLC airport will definitely help. SLC has proven nonstop to overseas destinations is very viable (The Paris route has been very successful). I would expect SLC-Tokyo to return one day and additional service to Europe (not necessarily on Delta).

Again, to re-iterate...Delta has committed to SLC's new terminal development and they sit on the panel overseeing the new terminal's development.

:previous:

Another secondary factor in the need for the county and city, and even the state to pony up the money for a convention hotel convention and parking space. More conventioneers, = more flights = a larger commitment by Delta and other airlines = a busier and more prosperous airport.

New PDF that shows layouts, drawings, renderings and more.....
http://www.slcairport.com/cmsdocumen...esentation.pdf

Wow, that's looking great. I'm excited to see how the new SLC terminal turns out.

SLC has nothing to worry about as far as losing its hub like Memphis and Cincinnati. The only thing that *might* happen is that Delta's recent growth in Seattle and Los Angeles might cut into SLC's traffic flows a little, mostly in traffic from Alaska/Pac-NW to California that might otherwise go through SLC. But I have my doubts the Seattle experiment will last and even if it does pan out for them the impact would not be that significant.

Great info thank you so much.

I like how the final date on the timeline calls for a decision, to either renovate the existing B, C, and D or to proceed with a new north concourse.

I wonder if SLC bid for the 2024 Winter games and is awarded the games if the entire time table might be sped up a bit, possibly more $$ from the Feds and possibly from Delta (if they were the official 2024 airline), just something I've wondered. Perhaps if awarded the games the construction of the north concourse would be simultaneous to Phase 1B.

I would venture to guess, Olympics scenario aside, that with the growth SLC and the entire state is having, the decision in 2023 will be to proceed with Phase 2, rather than renovate.

I wonder if they changes the renovation of the older concourse to the possible beginning Phase 2 in 2023 was due to this study:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/5...-lake.html.csp
Study: Salt Lake airport headed for more congestion, overload
Future issues » Airports, including Salt Lake International, can expect more congestion, delays.

Love these renderings and the idea of giving the new airport a sense of place.

Love the textures and the focus on views of the mountains!

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...1at91019PM.png

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...1at91135PM.png

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...1at91048PM.png

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...1at91206PM.png

Those were my exact thoughts also Farmerboy, regarding the materials and textures. Too many of the newer airports as of late have used an overabundance of WHITE. Their focus is on an impressive comtemporary design, but ultimately for me the feeling is cold and vapid. Instead, Salt Lake City International is focusing on a warm, rich, welcoming atmosphere. IMO, that is extremely important.

I love the unique aspect of the architecture as well, I just wish there were higher ceilings.

Looks like there's quite a few areas with the higher ceilings though. When all is said and done, not sure how many, but I notice a few of the renderings with the cathedral ceilings. Look at page 18, two of the upper smaller renderings. Also page 20, with the rental car lobby. I agree, and hopefully there will be plenty of the customary vaulted ceilings.

There are. Check out the sketches on page 18.

Very cool renderings. I'm all for it.
But rail accounts for only 4% of arrivals/departures? Ouch.
I'd believe that's accurate for right now, but is that all they're planning for in the future?

This was announced today: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/alaska...130000324.html

SLC'ers, I'm just curious: what's your take on the sudden Alaska Airlines expansion in Salt Lake City? In Summer 2014, the Alaska SLC schedule looks to be:

SLC-SEA 3x (2x 737/1x CR7)
SLC-PDX 2x (1x737/1x CR7)
SLC-LAX 1x 737
SLC-SAN 2x (1x 737/1x CR7)
SLC-SJC 1x 737
SLC-BOI 1x Q400
SLC-LAS 2x Q400
SLC-SFO 1x 737

(courtesy osubuckeyes from airliners.net for compiling the list)

http://splash.alaskasworld.com/News/..._slc_story.gif

Alaska Airlines
 

I already have airplanes flying over my house every five seconds, I wouldn't mind a few more from Alaskan Airlines. :)

Wow... 3 more cities. Alaska is really coming on strong! Don't be surprised to see some hawaii/mexico flights too.

Oh, and after all the cuts that Southwest has made to SLC, they have actually now added a flight to HOU.

Not an SLCer, but I like planes. This Alaska expansion at SLC goes back to the Delta-Alaska codesharing agreement out of Seattle: Delta wanted to build up their international presence at Seattle, and Alaska would provide a bunch of domestic connecting feed. Delta then went and started adding domestic routes out of Seattle, and Alaska is finally retaliating against Delta changing the agreement by adding flights against Delta by attacking Delta's SLC hub.

As to how this Alaskan expansion will affect SLC, I'll leave that up to the locals.

I think it reflects demand from SLC as a starting point and as a destination. I honestly think as news like this continues over the next 10 years that phase II (north concourse) of the expansion will occur rather than simply stopping at the end of Phase I.

I haven't posted on the topic in a while, but here are some additional renderings. Keep in mind it is still not finalized but for the most part, this is what it will be for phase 1. Phase 2 will add the additional concourse to the north connected with tunnels and automated people mover train. There is also space reserved for a large airport hotel built adjacent to the terminal in phase 2.

As for other SLC news, the new Alaska routes have been mentioned. Alaska has moved to terminal 1 and operates out of concourse A. Previously they had used a Delta gate and check-in was in terminal 2. Alaska could indeed add more routes but they are limited on gate space. SLC-Hawaii nonstop on Alaska is not likely right now because they don't have the aircraft with the needed range and performance to make it nonstop from SLC. There is enough demand, but it will have to be one-stop via other cities. Mexico could happen, we'll see.

Other new routes include Delta non-stop to Raleigh/Durham, NC which started today. SkyWest (Delta Connection) was awarded essential air service grants from the federal government to start new flights from SLC to Moab and Vernal beginning in March. There will be two flights a day to each city (1 on Sat/Sun). This service will replace existing service from Vernal to Denver and Moab to Denver on Great Lakes Airlines. The flights to Vernal and Moab will be operated with 30 seat Embraer Brasilia aircraft.

The Delta/Alaska competition is heating up and it will be interesting to see what Delta does to protect its turf.


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-G..._overview6.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-P..._overview7.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-a..._overview8.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-N..._overview1.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-D..._interior1.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-g..._interior3.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Z..._interior4.jpg

Awesome.. Thanks for the new renders. Can't wait for the final renderings whenever they come out. I just want to see big and airy.


As for Alaska Airlines to Hawaii, would not the 737-700/900ER be sufficient for the distance, or is the altitude too much? The range for those are about 3700. Would that not be enough to cover the 2990 to honolulu?

It is possible, yes. The plane itself can fly the distance. It's getting off the ground in SLC with a decent payload where the problem lies. A 737 flying that long a route out of SLC plus needing to meet ETOPS (extended range twin operations) restrictions and flying into headwinds would result in significant weight restrictions, meaning carrying less payload.

Perhaps with the new generation 737 Max coming out in a few years it might be feasible.

I think Hawaiian Airlines could start SLC service and do well. The SLC-Hawaii market is quite large. There's room for another airline besides Delta to serve Hawaii nonstop.

I see those renderings and I am hoping for lots of natural wood and copper cladding. I think copper cladding on the outside of the building would be unique and fit very well for Salt Lakes airport.

These look great! I also agree that natural wood and copper ought to be used.