AUSTIN | ABIA Updates

[texastarkus]

Originally Posted by The ATX

Is that rectangular building at left-center Concourse M?

When this was Bergstrom AFB that rectangle was called the "DELTA RAMP."
Once the city took over the name was changed to the "MAINTENANCE RAMP." in the past 25 years the Maintenance Ramp was the home to the South Terminal and also overflow parking for both terminals. The primary use for the Maintenance Ramp over the years was diversions or rather parking diverted aircraft. Early on American Airlines had plans to build a maintenance hangar.

[gillynova]

So, will Allegiant and Frontier go to Concourse A in the meantime before going back to Concourse M or how will that happen?

[GoldenBoot]

So, for at least a little bit after opening, the airport will look like this:

Concourse A - 33 jet bridges and one bus gate (to Concourse M).
Concourse B - 26 jet bridges
Concourse M - 4 jet bridges and 2 hard stands

Total = 65 gates (63 with jet bridges).

It will be interesting so see how efficient baggage handling is with Concourse M - as it is not directly connected to the rest of the airport.

It will also be interesting to watch as WN's rep did say they'd like 20 gates - and when that might happen.

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by gillynova

So, will Allegiant and Frontier go to Concourse A in the meantime before going back to Concourse M or how will that happen?

Maybe. I thought I read that M would be used for charters, diversions, new airline entrants to AUS, etc. Yes, I could see ULCCs moving back in - but, it's temporary. I believe the plan for M will be to have it converted to belly-freight (as previously mentioned). It's also in the way of any future Concourse C (and beyond). So, again, whatever M becomes - it's going to have to move in the future.

[gillynova]

Maybe Concourse M will have a bag gate as well. South Terminal currently has one

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by gillynova

Maybe Concourse M will have a bag gate as well. South Terminal currently has one

Yes. But, there is no landslide access to Concourse M for passengers to be picked up (like the South Terminal). All passengers will be bused to Gate A13 (in Concourse A - which is still behind security). Dragging checked baggage all that way doesn't seem to be a positive boost to the passenger experience and a nightmare for connecting passengers. I'm curious as to how AUS will make this work.

[gillynova]

New Parking Garage update

[GuruHopkins]

Frontier and Allegiant will have the two walk out gates like they currently have. The other four gates will only be used as needed. Any flight that has passengers that need to access BJT will be bused to gate A13 Which is all ready completed. I'm assuming any diverted flights with layovers longer then an hour that have passengers aboard will have the option to wait in concourse M or to get bussed to BJT to leave the airport or catch a different flight.

Currently all diverted flight goes to the MX and sits until the flight gets the ok to go to its original destination. If a passenger dose not want to wait, then they have the option to get in a van and get driven to BJT. ABIA is one of AA top diversion airports. This is the policy that we currently follow.

I know Frontier and Allegiant will be getting bused because I used to work for both airlines before AA and I am still in contact with them. They will not have a gate and all of there passengers will go directly to BJT from the hardstand at concourse M via BUS. Those two airlines are not willing to pay for the use of a gate at this time. The busses that will be used are already here at the airport parked by the boneyard near the international gates.

I'm assuming that concourse M the actual building will only be used for diverted flights. For Anyone actually traveling to AIBA as a destination and for some reason goes to concourse M instead of BJT will get bused to BJT.

[LoneStarMike]

In between the time the South Terminal is torn down and Concourse M is completed, I wonder if Frontier and Allegiant will use Gate 13 and just bus their passengers to the 5 hardstand position on the east apron.

[Mikey711MN]

Summary of Signatory Lease Commitments:

• WN = 18
• DL = 15
• AA = 9
• UA = 5
• AS = 1

Source: https://www.austintexas.gov/news/aus...ansion-program

Estimated Terminal Gate Space at Initial Build-Out:

• Concourse A = 36
• Concourse B = 26

Re: Concourse A. Let's assume West Gate Expansion adds what we'll call Gates 37-39, i.e., publicly advertised as a net increase of 3 gates. And we'll ignore Gate 13 since it functions solely as a hold room for busing to remote stands and/or Concourse M. Moreover, let's also assume that the tunnel interface will remove existing Gates 18-20 from service as somewhat indicated in the concept drawing.

Concourse A Gates: (using adaptation of current gate numbering visible using this tool: https://airportmaps.flyaustin.com/)

• 1-8: CUTE & International Ops
• 9-12: DL
• 14-17: DL (displaces WN)
• 21-24: DL (displaces WN)
• 25 & 27: DL (displaces UA)
• 26: DL (displaces AA)
• 28: AS (displaces AA)
• 29: CUTE Domestic Ops (displaces UA)
• 30: CUTE Domestic Ops (displaces AA)
• 31-39: AA

DL has been described as the "anchor tenant" to Concourse A, and their front-and-center positioning appears to fit their strategy to appeal to premium AUS O&D traffic.

AA will obviously anchor the Concourse A west gates. I don't think AA can take all 9 gates right after the West Gate Expansion opens while Concourse B is not yet built, but it seems reasonable that they'll effectively shift to the west and build back east. IMO, you could arrange Gates 28-30 to whomever you want, although I suspect that AS may want to be close to AA for their OneWorld alliance.

Concourse B Gates: (generally divided into 4 "east gates" & 22 "west gates")

• 4 East Gates = 1 UA + 3 CUTE Domestic Ops
• 22 West Gates = 4 UA + 18 WN

UA's commitment to 5 gates seems hard to distribute within the Concourse B layout at first, but I think the split across the tunnel interface presents an opportunity that I'll get to below.

Undoubtedly, being closer to landside facilities would be WN's preference, but as some of their other operations indicate, e.g., DEN's farthest Concourse C, east end of ORD Terminal 5, etc., they seem to prefer having as many gates as possible if presented an either-or choice. Moreover, UA appeals to many of the same types of traffic that DL does, so being located at the far west end of B doesn't seem likely. In this speculation mode, however, there is a universe where that happens and WN's gates are clustered more to the east.

Wildcard Consideration - Lounge Locations:
The identification of lounge locations several months ago created some interesting opportunities to accommodate gate locations, and some of them appear more obvious now. Using the map extracted from View from the Wing's comprehensive coverage...



Here are the lounge locations described by AUS staff and subsequent predictions:

1. West Gates Expansion Lounge Area: relocated Admiral's Club lounge (publicly confirmed by AA)
2. Area Above Concourse A Tunnel Portal: described as an airline space, this has a relocated DL SkyClub written all over it with potential Delta One access to Gates 16, 17, 21 & 22
3. Area Above Concourse B Tunnel Portal: also described as an airline space, I think this is tied to WN or UA gate location. As mentioned above, if UA "splits" their operation across the portal, I think UA wants to be here and offer a similar lounge-to-plane access to at least 2 gates (i.e., east and west of the portal). If WN abuts the portal, I think they put a flagship lounge here.
4. Area Above New BJT West Infill: described as a financial institution lease space, this could go to any one of Chase, Capital One, or AmEx in that order of likelihood. Chase's relationship with current nearby UA and WN gates seems to put them in the lead, but none of these three would surprise me.
5. Existing AA/UA/DL spaces: described to be "common use" spaces in the future, I think the space for the existing - and very small - AA and UA lounges gets rebuilt as one while the DL lounge gets refurbished as the other. If Chase gets Area 4, then converting the current DL SkyClub to an AmEx Centurion lounge makes a lot of sense to appeal to their international traveling card holders. Which leaves Capital One or a wildcard to get that combined UA/AA space.

I'm not sure why the upper floor area towards the east end was not identified as a potential lounge space, which currently seems very underutilized.

Some final thoughts as I've processed the announcement this week:

• If these locations are more right than wrong, DL has positioned themselves quite close to CUTE gates as a means for future flexible growth.
• If WN occupies the eastern gates of Concourse B, they're in the driver's seat for easiest operational expansion in the future. If WN is on the west end, the door is open for DL to build out the remainder of Concourse B in some long-term future phase (I posted about this similar structure to SLC earlier).
• Hard to see how Concourse M can work by busing people from Gate 13, which had otherwise been built to facilitate the remote stands on the east side of the ramp. Perhaps there's another closer shuttle option (e.g., south face of Concourse B tunnel interface building?) that could be developed?

[Mikey711MN]

Originally Posted by LoneStarMike

In between the time the South Terminal is torn down and Concourse M is completed, I wonder if Frontier and Allegiant will use Gate 13 and just bus their passengers to the 5 hardstand position on the east apron.

I think that's spot on, although the West Gate Expansion would temporarily add 3 more gates to BJT to offer contact gates.

Remote hardstands are pretty commonly used elsewhere in the world. This seems like a pretty good opportunity for some temporary expansion.

[LoneStarMike]

Originally Posted by Mikey711MN

Hard to see how Concourse M can work by busing people from Gate 13, which had otherwise been built to facilitate the remote stands on the east side of the ramp. Perhaps there's another closer shuttle option (e.g., south face of Concourse B tunnel interface building?) that could be developed?

There was a post on Reddit about 6 months ago about Gate 13 and one of the commenters mentioned

It's [Gate 13] currently the only apron-level gate at Bergyberg, though there'll be an apron-level holdroom at the west end of the terminal to support the six temporary hardstands that are scheduled to begin construction next year as part of the Temporary Hold Room Facility project (the holdroom itself is part of the West Gate Expansion Project)

I believe his source was the July 2021 Airport Expansion and Development Plan update

If you go to page 16 of that development plan, there were two options at that time to gain three new contact gates with west concourse extension.

1. New 17,400 sq ft apron level holdroom - Walk out to aircraft operation from apron level.

2. New 20,200 sq fr concourse level holdroom - full concourse extension with jetways.

Obviously the airport chose the full concourse extension with jetways. Initially I thought maybe they'd still have an apron level hold room beneath the concourse level, but looking at the layout of the West end gates I don't think bussing passengers from there to Concourse M would be possible. People would have to be walking between two planes to get to a bus, plus you'd have baggage carts, and other ground equipment. Doesn't seem like that would be safe.

Page 14 & 15 of that development plan have more info on Gate 13 and the hardstand operation on the east apron.

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by Mikey711MN

Estimated Terminal Gate Space at Initial Build-Out:

• Concourse A = 36
• Concourse B = 26

Re: Concourse A. Let's assume West Gate Expansion adds what we'll call Gates 37-39, i.e., publicly advertised as a net increase of 3 gates. And we'll ignore Gate 13 since it functions solely as a hold room for busing to remote stands and/or Concourse M. Moreover, let's also assume that the tunnel interface will remove existing Gates 18-20 from service as somewhat indicated in the concept drawing.

Concourse A has 34 gates today (including, let's call it, A13). The west expansion is adding 3 contact gates. Yes, this WILL offset the loss of 3 contact gates at the tunnel interface (it's not an assumption). Once things are up-and-running, Concourse A will have 33 contact gates and gate A13 (technically, a total of 34).

I believe these gates will be given new names...A1-A34...when the dust settles.

[Mikey711MN]

Originally Posted by ILUVSAT

Concourse A has 34 gates today (including, let's call it, A13). The west expansion is adding 3 contact gates. Yes, this WILL offset the loss of 3 contact gates at the tunnel interface (it's not an assumption). Once things are up-and-running, Concourse A will have 33 contact gates and gate A13 (technically, a total of 34).

I believe these gates will be given new names...A1-A34...when the dust settles.

You're right. My math was wrong - and ultimately was confusing to me as I was contemplating those gates between AA and WN. Thanks for the correction.

On the topic of gate nomenclature, I think I prefer Dulles' approach to splitting physical buildings into two separately named concourses. Just number up from 1 from the middle and work your way out. But I agree that it'll probably just change to A1-A34, B1-B26, and so on.

[Mikey711MN]

Originally Posted by LoneStarMike

There was a post on Reddit about 6 months ago about Gate 13 and one of the commenters mentioned



I believe his source was the July 2021 Airport Expansion and Development Plan update

If you go to page 16 of that development plan, there were two options at that time to gain three new contact gates with west concourse extension.

1. New 17,400 sq ft apron level holdroom - Walk out to aircraft operation from apron level.

2. New 20,200 sq fr concourse level holdroom - full concourse extension with jetways.

Obviously the airport chose the full concourse extension with jetways. Initially I thought maybe they'd still have an apron level hold room beneath the concourse level, but looking at the layout of the West end gates I don't think bussing passengers from there to Concourse M would be possible. People would have to be walking between two planes to get to a bus, plus you'd have baggage carts, and other ground equipment. Doesn't seem like that would be safe.

Page 14 & 15 of that development plan have more info on Gate 13 and the hardstand operation on the east apron.

Agreed on your assessment of the practical limitations of the hold room on the west end now.

My comments were largely based on how constrained Gate 13 is and just how much room could be needed to service upwards of 11 (!) parking positions: 5 on the east apron plus 6 in Concourse M.

Ultimately, while my math may be slightly off, the challenge remains ahead of the airport planners: there is a future net decrease in gates coming since the West Gate Expansion doesn't fully offset the losses from both South Terminal (3 gates) and some permanent elimination of centrally-located gates from BJT for the tunnel portal.

If I'm an airline, I suppose I'd prefer the Gate 13 holding area - for passenger access to various amenities - rather than Concourse M, no?

[GuruHopkins]

The MX is the maintenance pad which is where concourse M will be. The MX/Concourse M will still be used for maintenance and parking. This is where the planes go when they have MLEs or something is wrong with them. There is no other place to take the aircrafts and work on them.

The five hardstand positioned at the east apron are not hard stands. Those are parking spots that are used only at night because it covers up the second jay line which is needed during the day when operations is at its peak. Also what's not shown in the diagram is that, that location is also where most of the third party venders such as swissports, Gat, and wws keep their equipment stored.

The hard stands will be at the MX/Concourse M. The hardstands will be used summer/spring 2026 by Allegiant and Frontier. The South terminal will close by the end of this summer.

I highly doubt that there will be any bag handling/system at Concourse M. I think that the bags will go directly from the plane to BJT bag drop via bag carts to the corresponding airline bag belt in BJT. However I can see a scenario where bags are drop at Concourse M and then you are bused to BJT after you have received your bag.

The gate where the passengers that use Concourse M will be bused to is not a regular gate. Passengers will get off the bus walk through some doors and ride up escalators to BJT. I have taken pictures but I don't know how to upload them.

[gillynova]

Taken before New Years. Forgot to post

[Croon]

Looking forward to expansion, though I may be relocating before its done. Hopefully after new arrival/departure hall and Concourse B completion, we get better at moving future projects quicker through the pipeline.

[chinchaaa]

With Southwest’s explosive growth in Austin over the next couple years, how long until Turkish Airlines announces flights to Austin?

https://simpleflying.com/southwest-a...ect-long-haul/

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by chinchaaa

With Southwest’s explosive growth in Austin over the next couple years, how long until Turkish Airlines announces flights to Austin?

https://simpleflying.com/southwest-a...ect-long-haul/

Quite interesting. Turkish already flies to DFW and IAH. - so, it might be a while. But, we'll see how this partnership develops.

Also, it might be interesting to watch what Icelandair does. Maybe they look at Austin.

Condor coming back is an extremely low possibility. AUS services FRA with Lufthansa. Condor left AUS when Lufthansa announced they were coming.