Airport news: AA's Miami flagship + LAX security + Kansas City revamp + SkyTeam Vancouver + Burger joints
The new SkyTeam lounge at Vancouver International (Image: Delta)
In recent airport news, Delta's SkyTeam alliance opens a new lounge at Vancouver; American debuts another new Flagship Lounge; Kansas City voters approve a big airport construction project; Los Angeles' Bradley Terminal gets automated TSA lanes; and Atlanta and Denver get popular new upgraded burger joints.
The SkyTeam global alliance –Delta, Air France-KLM and partners – has opened its first dedicated lounge in North America, at Vancouver International. The 5,600-square-foot facility is in the international terminal close to Gate 53 by the duty-free area. It offers a hot and cold buffet service with locally-sourced cuisine; a made-to-order noodle bar; showers; beverages including local wines and beers; and seating for 126 with a work area and a separate TV room. It's the seventh SkyTeam lounge worldwide; others are at Dubai, London Heathrow, Hong Kong, Sydney, Istanbul and Beijing. It's open to Elite Plus, first class and business class customers.
American Airlines has cut the ribbon on its latest Flagship Lounge, this one at Miami International. Located near Gate D30 in Concourse D, it's open to first class and business class customers on long-haul international flights, as well as qualifying AAdvantage Executive Platinum, Platinum Pro and Platinum members; AAdvantage ConciergeKey members; and Oneworld Emeralds and Sapphires. The Miami lounge has showers, upgraded food offerings, plenty of outlets for charging personal devices, lounge-style seating and quiet areas. Other new Flagship Lounges opened earlier this year at New York JFK and Chicago O'Hare, and another is due before year's end at Los Angeles International. (See leaked images)
Rendering of the new design for Kansas City International. (Image: Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate)
Kansas City International's unusually designed three terminals will be replaced by a single large structure following a referendum this month in which voters approved the city's plan to spend $1 billion on a major airport reconstruction project. The city's plan calls for the existing 45-year-old, three-terminal structure to be replaced with an H-shaped building that has two passenger concourses and 35 aircraft gates. The new design will allow for an increased number of retail concessions, more bathrooms, and more efficient security screening, and will give the airport separate levels for arriving and departing passengers, along with close-in parking. No timetable was given for construction of the new terminal.
Los Angeles International already had those new TSA automated screening lanes in Terminals 7, 2 and 4, and now it has opened five of them in the Tom Bradley International Terminal, with nine more coming there in the months ahead. The new lanes allow up to five persons to load their personal items into security bins simultaneously, and the belts automatically pull the bins into the x-ray device and return them back to the starting point. Items that need additional inspection are shunted off to a separate belt to keep the flow going, and bins are 25 percent larger than before. By the time all the new lanes are operating in the TBIT next spring, LAX officials said, the number of passengers that can be screened in an hour will increase by almost 1,000, to 3,220.
But do those lanes really work? If you are wondering, don't miss this post (and comments): Are automated security checkpoints better?
A Bobby Flay's Burger Palace is coming to Atlanta International. (Image: Bobby's Burger Palace)
As airports keep upgrading their food and beverage options, more of them are turning to burger joints that are a cut or two above the traditional fast-food franchises. The latest examples are Atlanta International and Denver International. At ATL, celebrity chef Bobby Flay has been tapped to bring a new Bobby's Burger Palace to Concourse B, with its opening expected early in 2018. Flay already has 17 of the high-end burger restaurants around the U.S., but the ATL location will be his first in an airport. DEN, meanwhile, has turned to Denver-based Smashburger for two new locations. A 2,300-square-foot Smashburger just opened in the airport's C Concourse, open daily until 10 p.m. It also serves breakfast, and will soon open a full bar with local craft beers. Next spring, a second and larger Smashburger will open in DEN's B Concourse.
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Filed Under: Airports Tagged With: airport, American Airlines, Atlanta International, automated lanes, Bobby Flay, Bradley Terminal, burgers, construction, Denver International, Flagship Lounge, Kansas City International, Los Angeles, lounge, Miami, SkyTeam, Smashburger, Terminal, TSA screening, Vancouver
Airport news: DFW, Denver, Chicago, Miami, San Luis Obispo
Coca-Cola opened two new lounges at DFW. (Image: DFW Airport)
In airport news, an Admirals Club shuts down at Dallas/Ft. Worth, and some new amenities open; Denver International plans an even larger expansion than previously announced; construction starts on a big project at Chicago Midway; Miami International gets those automated TSA checkpoint lanes; and San Luis Obispo gets a new passenger terminal.
American Airlines is notifying members of its Admirals Club airport lounge program that the Club in Dallas/Ft. Worth International's Terminal A has closed for renovations. American's website didn't say when it will reopen, but the airline has other Admirals Clubs in DFW's Terminals B, C and D. In other DFW news, Coca-Cola has cut the ribbon on a pair of "Entertainment Zones" at the airport, located near Gates A13 and E13. The sponsored lounges, called The Bubble, offer charging stations, TVs, open seating, and vintage Coca-Cola decor (and Coca-Cola branded beverages, of course). And pancake provider IHOP has opened an IHOP Express in Terminal E – the first one in a post-security airport location. It offers all-day breakfasts and provides both sit-down and take-out service.
Denver International's big plans to expand its passenger concourses by adding 26 more aircraft gates has now gotten a lot bigger. Airport officials say they have revised that expansion project and now expect to add 39 more gates within four years. The construction is expected to cost $1.5 billion, according to the Denver Post – and that is in addition to the proposed $1.8 billion overhaul of DEN's central passenger facility, the Jeppesen Terminal, which calls for the relocation of TSA security screening to the building's upper level. The expansion should allow DEN to handle 80 million annual passengers. It was built to accommodate 50 million, but last year passenger numbers topped 58 million.
Rendering of Chicago Midway Airport's new security hall. (Image: Midway Airport)
At Chicago Midway, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other officials recently broke ground on a $104 million construction project that will give the airport a new 80,000 square foot security checkpoint pavilion and an expanded pedestrian bridge above South Cicero Avenue. The new centralized security checkpoint will be seven times wider than the existing security hall, and will allow for the addition of more lanes. "This development, combined with new TSA automated lanes, is expected to increase the hourly throughput from 2,500 to 5,000 passengers per hour—double the existing capacity," a spokesman said. It's just a part of a $223 million Midway Airport improvement project that is expected to bring many more passenger concessions as well.
Miami International is the latest airport to install those new automated TSA security screening lanes that are designed to move passengers through the process faster. The two new lanes will process American Airlines passengers in MIA's Terminal D. Like the automated lanes already in place at other airports, the MIA lanes will allow five passengers at once to put their belongings in bins for x-raying, and will use motorized belts to move bins through the x-ray and empty ones back to the beginning of the line. Bins are larger than previous ones, and have RFID tags for tracking purposes.
A portion of San Luis Obispo's new passenger terminal. (Image: San Luis Obispo Airport)
San Luis Obispo County Airport (SLO), the gateway to California's Central Coast, may just be a regional airport, but it just opened a new 56,000 square foot passenger terminal that is several times larger than the old facility. It has lots of room for expansion: SLO expects to handle 500,000 passengers this year, but the new terminal can accommodate 1.2 million. Besides intrastate travel, the airport has been adding more interstate flights like new service from Seattle and Denver. The new terminal features enhanced security screening technology and new food-and-beverage outlets.
Filed Under: Airports Tagged With: Chicago Midway, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver International, Miami International, San Luis Obispo
First look: Westin at Denver International Airport (photos)
The new Westin at Denver's airport is a short walk from the terminal. (Image: Jim Glab)
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock cut the ribbon this week on the striking, wing-shaped Westin Denver International Airport Hotel, the first of a new wave of premium on-site lodging options in the works at key U.S. airports.
The 519-room, 35-suite Westin is only about 30 yards from the south doors of the airport's Jeppesen Terminal, an easy walk across an open plaza under a soaring glass canopy. In fact, the design theme of the property seems to be big, sweeping curves and huge windows.
Check-in desks and lobby bar are on the sixth floor. (Image: Jim Glab)
Andy Cohen, CEO of the architectural firm Gensler that designed the hotel, said the Westin offers "a new paradigm of seamless travel," since it combines airport terminal, lodging and ground transportation in a single project.
The airport's new Transit Center, which is still under construction, lies directly beneath the hotel. When it opens in April 2016, it will provide light rail service into downtown Denver's Union Station (a 23-mile trip), as well as parking gates for regional bus service.
The airport's new transit center and light rail station are right under the hotel. (Image: Jim Glab)
Before the Westin opened, the only lodging for travelers was a few miles away — a string of mid-priced chain properties along Tower Road. Besides offering airport on-site lodging, the Westin also has a 37,500-square foot conference center, an all-day restaurant called Grill & Vine (with a brewpub coming soon as well), a lobby bar, and fitness facilities on the 11th floor including a pool and hot tub and a workout room.
What about rates? The front desk staff at the hotel tells us that room prices can vary considerably, depending on the level of demand. The lowest prices start around $185 a night, but they could soar to $500 or more — although they will generally be somewhere in between those extremes. As a grand opening special, the hotel is offering 11 percent off best available rates plus 1,000 bonus SPG Starpoints per stay. (And by the way: Since this hotel is so close to the airport, we should note that all rooms and windows are thoroughly soundproofed.)
TravelSkills attended the grand opening, so here's a look at some more of the hotel's facilities:
All guest rooms have Westin's signature Heavenly Beds. (Image: Jim Glab)
A pool and hot tub are on the 11th floor. (Image: Jim Glab)
Conference facilities allow same-day, fly-in/fly-out meetings. (Image: Jim Glab)
Treadmills in the fitness room face the airport terminal's iconic rooftop. (Image: Jim Glab)
The Grill & Vine restaurant faces the Jeppsen Terminal. (Image: Jim Glab)
The walk from hotel to terminal is across a plaza under a soaring glass canopy. (Image: Jim Glab)
Hotel website here.
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Filed Under: Airports, Hotels Tagged With: airport, Denver International, Westin