Although "International" is part of the Austin airport's name, city officials acknowledged Thursday that it doesn't have the capacity to handle several large international charter flights that could bring in fans for the Formula One race planned for November.
So aviation officials are considering building a temporary airport terminal facility at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to handle the charters, which could be 747s and larger jets.
As many as 42,000 race attendees are expected to arrive via international flights, circuit organizers have said. Currently, the Austin airport's only direct international destination is Cancún, Quintana Roo. In April, about 26,000 people a day flew in and out of the airport, said airport spokesman Jim Halbrook.
Austin Aviation Department Executive Director Jim Smith gave some rough ideas to council members: The temporary facility would have two inbound baggage carousels and accommodate up to 400 people an hour.
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The international fans are going to come into IAH or DFW then connect to AUS or drive. I don't think we'll see chartered passenger 747s.
The cars on the other hand I'm not sure about. Most likely they can already be handled at the existing cargo ramp. If not they can certainly be loaded onto trucks and driven to CTA from other Airports.
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Originally Posted by Dan6681
The international fans are going to come into IAH or DFW then connect to AUS or drive. I don't think we'll see chartered passenger 747s.
The cars on the other hand I'm not sure about. Most likely they can already be handled at the existing cargo ramp. If not they can certainly be loaded onto trucks and driven to CTA from other Airports.
Apparently the city thinks larger jets will show up. I wouldn't be surprised to see a 777 in AUS.
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Originally Posted by mreed911
Apparently the city thinks larger jets will show up. I wouldn't be surprised to see a 777 in AUS.
At the end of the article it does say that Indianapolis received some charters when they held the race. Unfortunately it didn't give any details. Thanks for posting the story, I had missed it. :-)
The existing customs facility can handle 90 to 120 passengers an hour, the city said.
Quote:
Indianapolis, which hosted F1 races from 2000 through 2007, had six to 12 international charter flights per year, Smith said. The result here, he said, would be very long lines and a several-hour wait for people to get through customs.
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Originally Posted by allamericantx
I'm in discussions right now that a permanent British Airways nonstop will be added from Austin to London in the next year or so.
The only market in the United States, as small as Austin, that has a non-stop to London is RDU. They have only been able to make that work with some type of corporate guarantee and the 757 aircraft. The way I see it AUS has three major problems.
1) A minimum of a 767 is required because of the distance.
2) Inadequate Immigration/Customs facility for a 767.
3) A more substantial guarantee/contract than RDU because of the size of the aircraft.
The best thing would be for the city council to start planing to move the airport operation over to a private company. That way someone who knew what the heck they were doing would be in charge of the matter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aamilesslave
If you're referring to AA's RDU-LHR service (and previously RDU-LGW before the open skies agreement), it's never been smaller than a 767-300. It was a 777-200 for quite a few years, too.
Whoops! That makes the above argument fall apart a bit :-). If the customs/immigration facility was upgraded and with the addition of the BMI LHR slots, maybe this could happen.
Last edited by Dan6681; Sep 11, 12 at 10:32 am..
Reason: RDU uses a 767
The only market in the United States, as small as Austin, that has a non-stop to London is RDU. They have only been able to make that work with some type of corporate guarantee and the 757 aircraft. The way I see it AUS has three major problems.
If you're referring to AA's RDU-LHR service (and previously RDU-LGW before the open skies agreement), it's never been smaller than a 767-300. It was a 777-200 for quite a few years, too.
Pathetic reporting. I expected you to post the 747-400 pictures at the gate in Austin. It was a United/Continental/United 747-400 with other 747's, 777's. A number of 747's were at gate 2. How could you possibly screw this up?!
I was trying to figure this out as well. 2 guesses - 1) he was pissed at the Statesmen for not publishing pics of planes 2) He's actually pissed at OP for not driving out to AUS to take pics and post to this thread. Hopefully it's number 1.
I was trying to figure this out as well. 2 guesses - 1) he was pissed at the Statesmen for not publishing pics of planes 2) He's actually pissed at OP for not driving out to AUS to take pics and post to this thread. Hopefully it's number 1.
