pdx1M

I wonder how this will really work. AS currently uses quite a few mainline jetway gates on the south side. The renderings for the north side expansion looks like it might add at most 1 or maybe 2 mainline gates. Most of it is aimed at the QX gate structure. So for this to actually have the capacity it seems that AS needs for its mainline operations they will probably need a number of D gates as well which would seem to imply some other shifts need to happen.

Chugach

I posted this earlier in the thread, but I believe the only way this works is with AS taking a few gates on D as well.

Right now, DL uses D3, D5, D7, D8, D11, D13, and D14. Spirit uses D4 and VX uses D1. Not sure if D2 will become operational again, but assuming not I could see AS having E1-5 plus three D gates.

bofc

Maybe they'll hire the contractor building out the "coming soon" Board Room at the N Gates in SEA. That would put the estimated completion date at about 2031 (assuming permits are fast-tracked).

pdx1M

Yep. To make it work I suspect that they will need to move VX off D1 and Delta off D3 and maybe D5 and Spirit off D4. I think AS has access to 8 or 9 gates on the south side now. It doesn't look like the construction map I saw added any mainline gate - at most 1. So to get to 9 gates they'd need 4 from D (or maybe only 3). I will say that the artist conceptions for the QX waiting area look a lot better than A.

ACVFlyer

The one negative aspect will be the loss of quick access to the MAX station. The last time I flew LAX-PDX we pulled into C3 at 10:01 and I made the 10:10 train by less than a minute. The next train was not for 35 minutes. I was checked into McMenamins Crystal Hotel and had a beer in front of me at Al's Den by 11pm :-)

Hartmann

I agree, they are going to have to use some of the D gates to make this work. I was wondering how they were going to add vendors to E and it looks like they'll do it by still having a downstairs area for seating and an upstairs where the vendors will be located.

I also wonder if the Port of Portland will continue with their plan to close off the main hallway that is currently outside of security and make it inside of security. That has been talked about for quite a while.

fairviewroad

Really? I hadn't heard that. Would there be enough room for TSA checkpoints at each entrance to the main entrance area? I suppose you could make it work.

That would also leave zero landside food vendors or shops, for what that's worth. I suppose there's some room for retail spots in the current outer lobby area thanks to airline consolidation and the need for fewer ticket counters.

But really, I don't quite see the point in it.

pdx1M

Especially since they went to the expense of building the airside connector corridor a few years back.

Hartmann

There had been talk of it some time ago. Part of the motivation is to give a little more space in the connector between E and D. There aren't a ton of options post security for food in E and it's only a little better in D.

I don't see the checkpoint as a huge deal and I too have my doubts about it happening but the B/C concourse is much more attractive when it comes to amenities.

It is interesting that nothing has been said about what will eventually happen to A. I can't see them knocking it down but at the same time there's not much room over there to do anything else.

pdx1M

Actually even B seems questionable - it's an odd little space. Unless they get another operator who wants to hub express class flights on the south side what would make the most sense would probably be knocking down A and rebuilding B more like E to increase mainline space when it is eventually needed.

jackal

They could do something like remodel the restaurants and shops to open to the airside connector (i.e. open to the west rather than the east; they'd have to adjust the moving walkways to the other side of the hallway, I guess) and leaving the landside hallway alone, with the back walls of the restaurants now facing that landside hallway. Each restaurant could then have a small counter and seating area in the landside hallway, while the kitchens remain inside the secure area. Then, each restaurant could install a one-way lazy susan so food could come out of the secure airside kitchen without anything being allowed to return back airside.

They did this in ANC with Norton Sound Seafoods next to the security area, and it works quite well. Most items that come out through the one-way lazy susan are plated in disposable containers or disposable tableware, but any items that must go back to the kitchen (dirty dishes, etc.) are brought back later through an employee security checkpoint.

I'm not sure that the cost of remodeling the airside connector to move the moving walkways and change all of the shops and restaurants to face the other direction would be worth the limited landside business that these restaurants would do. I mean, who really comes to the airport to pay inflated airport prices to eat mediocre food? Even people coming to pick up or drop friends/family members off aren't likely to stay and eat at the airport when much better, cheaper options are only a short drive away.

beckoa

Wirelessly posted (beckoa's BB: Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9810; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.11+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.1.0.694 Mobile Safari/534.11+)

PDX advertises 'street' prices for its airport food.

Uh Clem

The lady behind the front desk at the United Club was telling me about the changes a couple of months ago. She said she wasn't looking forward to trading places with Alaska Air and moving into the smaller Board Room. She also mentioned that the Sheraton would be demolished to make room for a new or expanded runway. I didn't see anything about the runway or Sheraton in the article so I'm not sure if this information is correct.

PDXPremier

I've been in both the UA club and AS BR at PDX....yeah, I guess the BR is smaller, but not by much. I wish AS would stick DL in the UA club and take the DL lounge which looks (from the outside at least) to be much bigger and in a cool location (above the terminal walkway).

Uh Clem

I think the Boardroom seems much smaller to me because it's always so crowded.