Portland International Airport (PDX) News - Page 24

WestCoast · #**461** Posted **Jul 31, 2015, 1:56 AM**

These are great adds for Portland. MCI and MSP make a ton of sense, still not sure what to make of Omaha.... Timings are pretty bad for that one as well.

MSP will do great, and I imagine MCI will be a solid route as well.

I'm flying to MSP tomorrow, and Delta got over $500 from me 2 weeks out.... yikes. Bring on the competition, but one E175 won't do much to help...

--
I'm sure AS has excellent data on how many PDX pax connect to these cities on their own metal through SEA. If they can charge a premium from PDX and grab share from other airlines... all the better.

--
I'm doing STL and AUS weekend trips this year just because of the non-stops on AS. Guess I'll be visiting MCI and OMA next spring now!

pdxlexus · #**462** Posted **Aug 21, 2015, 1:10 PM**

Saw this on the FlyPDX website.

Terminal Balancing, Concourse E Extension, Airline Relocations

Now-late 2017

"Efforts are underway to balance the number of passengers using the north and south sides of the airport, and construction beings this fall. The work will extend Concourse E and improve adjacent ground loading facilities. The efforts are designed to increase the efficiency of airport operations, prolong the longevity of existing terminal facilities, and increase the level of service for passengers flying on ground-loaded aircraft."

The post also includes a couple of renderings.

http://www2.portofportland.com/PDXnext#TBalancing

Eugenepdx · #**463** Posted **Aug 30, 2015, 5:50 PM**

So this doesn't deal exactly with PDX, but more with KEUG (Eugene Airport). So about 30min ago i heard a loud rumble outside, i look out my window and i see a United 747 banking towards the east. Now here in Eugene, the biggest planes we see are Allegiant A319's or United E175's. My question is, does anybody know why a United 747 was here in Eugene? The picture is kind of grainy, but it was the best that i could get with my iphone.

maccoinnich · #**464** Posted **Aug 30, 2015, 6:29 PM**

United only has a small fleet of 747s, and I looked through the recent flight history of each one on Flightradar24.com... which didn't lead to any answer. I can't see your pic, but are you sure it was a United plane?

Derek · #**465** Posted **Aug 30, 2015, 7:34 PM**

United has an even smaller fleet of 747s that are strictly for charter usage. If I recall correctly there was a United 747 that came into Eugene during the college football playoffs transporting the team, personnel, fans etc. it's probably a charter for something going on at U of O.

Eugenepdx · #**466** Posted **Aug 30, 2015, 9:09 PM**

I'm pretty sure it was a United 747, I seen the United logo as it was passing over my house. Im guessing it was a charter or something. I checked on flightstats and it said it was flying to Chicago.

urban_encounter · #**467** Posted **Sep 1, 2015, 6:07 AM**

Thought you guys might find this interesting. The top ten destinations from PDX.

Seattle, WA
San Francisco, CA
Denver, CO
Phoenix, AZ
Los Angeles, Ca
Las Vegas, NV
Chicago, IL
Salt Lake City, UT
San Jose, CA
Oakland, CA

Other interesting stuff from

http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1

eric cantona · #**468** Posted **Sep 1, 2015, 4:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by urban_encounter

Thought you guys might find this interesting. The top ten destinations from PDX.

Seattle, WA
San Francisco, CA
Denver, CO
Phoenix, AZ
Los Angeles, Ca
Las Vegas, NV
Chicago, IL
Salt Lake City, UT
San Jose, CA
Oakland, CA

Other interesting stuff from

http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1

I wonder what the "final destination" list would look like, assuming this is not that. it seems that Denver would appear pretty high up on any airport's list by virtue of being a major hub in the center of the country (apologies if it's in the link, I shouldn't even be looking at this page as busy as I am right now...).

58rhodes · #**469** Posted **Sep 1, 2015, 9:54 PM**

Still the 28th largest hub, Makes me wonder why all the Hotel rooms? We must have been very underdeveloped in that area?

MarkDaMan · #**470** Posted **Sep 1, 2015, 10:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 58rhodes

Still the 28th largest hub, Makes me wonder why all the Hotel rooms? We must have been very underdeveloped in that area?

Yes we are. Part of my job has me managing about 20 events in the state annually. Portland is one of the hottest markets in the country right now. Group rates are starting at $300 downtown (in fall and spring shoulder seasons) and up. You may be able to snag something around $250 if flexible, but that's not likely. I just needed one room in late September, was quoted over $600 at one of the Kimptons. Insane!

trail_blazers_7 · #**471** Posted **Oct 1, 2015, 7:17 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdxlexus

Saw this on the FlyPDX website.

Terminal Balancing, Concourse E Extension, Airline Relocations

Now-late 2017

"Efforts are underway to balance the number of passengers using the north and south sides of the airport, and construction beings this fall. The work will extend Concourse E and improve adjacent ground loading facilities. The efforts are designed to increase the efficiency of airport operations, prolong the longevity of existing terminal facilities, and increase the level of service for passengers flying on ground-loaded aircraft."

The post also includes a couple of renderings.

http://www2.portofportland.com/PDXnext#TBalancing

That'll make for some nice plane spotting! Most traffic uses the south runway, not the greatest spotting from the roof of the garage. Now if only the port or whatever authority controls the very few turnoffs on Marine dr would allow parking there...
A nice paved lot with an fm frequency to listen to the tower would be neat, kind of like at McCarren airport in Vegas.

pdxtraveler · #**472** Posted **Oct 1, 2015, 3:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by trail_blazers_7

That'll make for some nice plane spotting! Most traffic uses the south runway, not the greatest spotting from the roof of the garage. Now if only the port or whatever authority controls the very few turnoffs on Marine dr would allow parking there...
A nice paved lot with an fm frequency to listen to the tower would be neat, kind of like at McCarren airport in Vegas.

Yes!! I really have been thinking for a while about trying to organize something with the city, Port of Portland, and maybe the major airlines, Alaska and Delta. Do something like DFW has. https://www.dfwairport.com/founders/index.php. It has picnic tables, parking, and like you mentioned above the tower radio. So nice to just sit and watch.

trail_blazers_7 · #**473** Posted **Oct 1, 2015, 4:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdxtraveler

Yes!! I really have been thinking for a while about trying to organize something with the city, Port of Portland, and maybe the major airlines, Alaska and Delta. Do something like DFW has. https://www.dfwairport.com/founders/index.php. It has picnic tables, parking, and like you mentioned above the tower radio. So nice to just sit and watch.

I long thought it was a security thing, then I though it was the port being greedy and wanting $6 to park at the garage to spot, then I had the thought the other day that they don't allow parking because turning around and merging onto Marine dr could be kinda dangerous. I'm going to go with the last one there. I'll write a letter to someone about it, allowing parking at the very least would be nice! I never got hassled there before until one night a few weeks ago, the sheriff came along and asked me to move and then told me all the spots I could go with no 'no parking' signs, seemed like a nice enough guy but still, the spot right by the end of 28R is excellent!

MarkDaMan · #**474** Posted **Oct 9, 2015, 5:34 PM**

PDX to expand terminal, shuffle airlines
By Elliot Njus | The Oregonian/OregonLive
on October 09, 2015 at 9:17 AM, updated October 09, 2015 at 9:29 AM

http://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/inde..._terminal_shuffle.html#incart_river_home

Quote:

Frequent fliers at Portland International Airport will need to adjust their routines starting in 2017.

The Port of Portland is embarking on a $98 million expansion of Concourse E on the airport terminal's north side. The idea is to even out plane and passenger traffic on the terminal's north and south sides to avoid bottlenecks.

The south side is currently used by both Alaska Air Group and Southwest Airlines, which together account for more than two-thirds of PDX passengers.

"That side of the airport gets most heavily used," said airport spokeswoman Kama Simonds. "The expansion will enable us to flip-flop some of the carriers" to even things out.

When the work is complete, Alaska Air Group will move to the expanded north side of the terminal, swapping space with United Airlines.

The 44,000-square-foot addition to Concourse E will add new gates and concessions. It also will add covered walkways for boarding planes on the tarmac.

The move will mean passengers flying on Horizon Air, Alaska's regional sister airline, would have a shorter walk to connecting flights, said Bobbie Egan, a spokeswoman for the two airlines.

Charlie Hobart, a United spokesman said it's too early to say how their customer experience might change in 2017, but that the airline expects the move won't be disruptive to customers.

...(continues)

WestCoast · #**475** Posted **Oct 10, 2015, 1:55 PM**

The A gates are pretty horrible during most of the day. Just packed, with no where to go.

So, this will help make that more comfortable for Horizon customers.
(I doubt the covered walkway is actually what people here are thinking).

The end of the south terminal is still under utilized, so, imagine this will exacerbate that.

Anyway, good to see growth and some new gates being built, keeps PDX ahead of the curve for the future.

downtownpdx · #**476** Posted **Oct 10, 2015, 10:42 PM**

It looks like there is a covered walkway in the 2nd rendering, jutting north from the main concourse. Not exactly a gate but I guess keeps passengers dry on their way to the smaller planes. Not sure what you mean by south end of terminal being underutilized -- isn't its overcrowding the reason for this airline swap?

WestCoast · #**477** Posted **Oct 11, 2015, 4:56 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by downtownpdx

Not sure what you mean by south end of terminal being underutilized -- isn't its overcrowding the reason for this airline swap?

Nope.

The south terminal is more busy than the North, but neither are fully utilized.

The very end of the south terminal has frontier and then unused gates (lots of RONs park there). The North terminal has unused gates as well, but less of them.

The south terminal is more busy with WN and AS being there, so they are just balancing passenger volumes. There are still un-used gates in both terminals, hence 'underutilized'

MarkDaMan · #**478** Posted **Oct 23, 2015, 6:25 PM**

Cover Story: Can Portland's airport be a jet engine for the economy?
Oct 23, 2015, 3:00am PDT
Jon Bell
Staff Reporter
Portland Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/prin...aEqOvgXoyG8%2FwIKsmMtmSIXCT&t=1445622978

Quote:

Earlier this week, Billie Moser met with a client who’d flown from Amsterdam to Portland on a direct flight with Delta. As Travel Portland’s vice president of international travel, Moser meets regularly with overseas clients interested in doing business in the Rose City.

“The first thing my client said to me was that she couldn’t believe how beautiful (the airport) was and how everyone in the immigration section here was just so nice,” Moser said. “It’s only one person, but a rude comment or a bad experience right there at the start could have made her first 36 hours here a lot different.”

Moser’s client isn’t the only one impressed when they step off a flight in Portland. PDX regularly ranks as one of the nation’s top airports.

And yet when it comes to being an economic engine for the region, PDX often finds itself tied by the same constraints that bind Portland to secondary market status. PDX is smaller than its West Coast neighbors, meaning the airport has a much smaller population from which to draw passengers. And without passenger demand, it’s often more profitable for airlines to connect to Portland from larger Western cities. The result is fewer direct flights, which can put Portland at a disadvantage when it comes to recruiting new business.

While PDX can’t realistically become a major airline hub, it is pursuing an expansion strategy that will keep it — and the region — competitive.

“Alaska Airlines has a hub in Portland, but there’s really no one else who looks at Portland as a hub,” said David Zielke, general manager of air service development for the Port of Portland. “It’s more of a spoke, which makes it more of a niche, a more strategic market and one that’s not an obvious one. So we work harder and pedal faster to stay very active in the marketplace.”

To that end, the port has launched an ambitious, $250 million effort to revamp terminals, reroute passengers, update the carpet and otherwise set the stage for PDX’s next chapter. It’s a chapter that finds PDX on track for a record number of travelers this year and a bump up to “large hub” status in the eyes of the Federal Aviation Administration.

There’s also a renewed push to restore large freight service, something PDX has been without since Asiana Cargo ended its service in 2013.

“All of these projects are designed to take the airport into the future,” said Vince Granato, chief operating officer for the port. “We see the need for growth and we are taking steps today to accommodate it and to make sure we are improving on the reputation we already have.”

If we build it...

...(continues)...

Tanaka07 · #**479** Posted **Nov 19, 2015, 6:10 PM**

Air Canada Announces Nonstop PDX-Toronto, Canada service

Daily Beginning May 27, 2016

http://news.yahoo.com/air-canada-unveils-major-expansion-120100722.html

Thrilled to see this route return!

Derek · #**480** Posted **Nov 19, 2015, 11:25 PM**

Wow, that came out of nowhere. Glad to see this route again. Maybe I'll check out the inaugural.

Edit: I'm surprised it isn't going to be a Rouge route. I guess it makes sense if they're using E-190s.