Originally Posted by
UAGuy2
The entire premise of this thread is abusrd. It's all one airline. Why would it irrationally act to improve a historic CO hub over a historic UA hub? It has traffic in both of them. As pointed out above, the IAH renovation has been long planned (and far more concretely than the vague desire to fix the problem with the "temporary" terminal at Dulles). Besides terminal B in IAH is actually comparable to the A1-A6 gates at IAD and far worse than C/D.
The planned new C/D terminal at IAD didn't just pop up yesterday - it was on the drawing board before 9/11, long before the 2008 financial crisis apparently shelved the IAH terminal B upgrade. The now completed Aerotrain was planned in the 1990's to connect to a new C/D, with construction beginning in 2000. I guess you can claim that the plans for a new C/D terminal were "vague," but that wouldn't be accurate. Here are the facts, in case you are interested.
From 1987, when the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority was created, through 1999, the Airports Authority invested $1.5 billion in an expansion program which doubled the size of the Main Terminal, added two permanent Midfield Concourses, expanded Customs and Immigration facilities, modernized ticket counter and baggage claim space, improved the roadways, and added cargo facilities.
“D2” Phase of Dulles Construction Begins
Growth projections for both passengers and aircraft operations highlighted the need for even more airport facilities in the future. In 2000, the Airports Authority Board of Directors approved a second phase of capital investment which is called D2, the Dulles Development program.
Completed D2 projects include two new Daily Parking Garages, passenger walkways with moving sidewalks connecting the garages to the Main Terminal and connecting the Main Terminal to Concourse B, reconstruction of Runway 12-30, new permanent Z-gates at the Terminal, an expansion of Concourse B, a fourth runway, the AeroTrain system, multiple roadway improvements, the renovation of the original 1962 Eero Saarinen-designed terminal, including improved ticketing counters and new baggage claim devices and the construction of a new Airport Traffic Control Tower for the Federal Aviation Administration
There is no Aerotrain stop at the existing C/D concourse, because it was never supposed to last this long.
Like it or not, IAD is a prime international gateway to our nation's capital, and the existing face that United provides in our nation's capital is just plain ugly. Why fixing this isn't more important then rehabbing one part of IAH is a telling example of the new United's priorities.