ATLflyer2017

As an occasional AA and UA flyer I really hope not. Delta doesn't get to have every good thing at the airport while pushing all the other airlines somewhere else. Honestly once I get past security I don't really care whether I'm at T2 or A2 or wherever else. Its all a short train ride and nice walk away.

pfreet

I fly o/d ATL regularly and it doesn't matter if I'm T or E. To me it's a train ride and a walk. No big deal. Let AA/UA have their gates.

BTW, I love the basement club on D. Feels exclusive, like a hidden speakeasy

hotturnip

I would much rather see Delta kicked out of T and have it completely given over to the other airlines. It's stupid to have AA split apart. And I suspect Jet Blue would prefer being together in T to their current split locations (since ATL broke their promise to keep them in E).

Dawgfan6291

FWIW their are plans in the master plan to expand D and make the alley way between D and E single way taxi and expand D. Unfortunately that was after G/H/I concourses were built and E is converted to domestic use though.
I don't see why not.
If AA is still split they wont be for long.

and The City didn't break any promises to jetBlue. More importantly, any airline management team stupid enough to go off of a "promise" vs what is in the actual lease/contract with the airport agency deserves every single bad break they get.

hotturnip

Well, according to this story, they actually filed a complaint with the FAA because of Atlanta reneging on this promise. Knowing how things go there, I suspect Jet Blue is probably telling the truth.

https://www.ajc.com/business/jetblue...CmueZKsHCgsHO/

exwannabe

If you look at the details (as opposed to headlines) it is more about "gate discrimination".. And that airlines should be treated equally.

Problem is, there are 17 T gates, and these are considered prime real-estate. DL has about 75% of ATL traffic. None of AA/UA/B6 have 4% of it. They are minor players.

DL actually has LESS a percentage of the T gate operations than they would have on a pro-rata basis. It is AA and UA that have far more.

In ATL, Jet Blue traffic is 1% of what DL does; 8% of WN's.. Less than Spirit, AA, UA. Even less than Frontier.

Why should 2 of the 17 prime gates be assigned to an airline that operates a tiny operation?

The only airline that could reasonably justify any sort of claim like this would be WN. Not really in their DNA though, as they prefer their own private universe.

BenA

flyerCO

DL is the main airline at ATL. They should get the prime gates. Prime meaning that O/D passengers entering airside dont have to catch train. For connecting passengers it doesn't really matter. It's still a train ride and have to use escalators regardless of concourse.

SJC ORD LDR

It makes sense for AA and UA to be in T since they don't have connections. T is also less efficient for connections because there are gates on only one side of the concourse. While D is the dumpiest concourse, it isn't that bad, and usually I'm there when I'm flying a 50 seater.

ethernal

You could slice and dice it in a thousand different ways, but if I was looking at it from a "benefit to the people of the city or its visitors" then you would want airlines that have 100% O/D to be at the convenient gates (F, T) as that would benefit the most people. There are some asterisks here (e.g., average gauge of Delta versus United or American out of ATL).

On Monday mornings 80-90% of Delta may be O&D, but Delta's ops groundside is like a ghosttown mid-day. Has to be like 60-70%+ connections during those times.

SJC ORD LDR

I don't consider T to be prime. It's a longer train ride and kind of inconvenient. To me, the prime gates are A and B and DL has them all.

Dawgfan6291

Read the actual article as exwannabe said. I can file a complaint right now about anything to the FAA, doesn't mean its true at all. (and jetBlue along with Southwest are very well known to look for any kind of government hand out when they don't get exactly what they want. B6 currently complaining to the DOT that they should be given free LHR slots simply because)

jetBlue wanted gates on E, simply because they are jetBlue. They should get prime gates, international gates, and the city should tell international airlines to piss off because they are jetBlue.

BTW, nothing was ever done by the FAA. Atlanta must proved gates for at the airport for a fair schedule for new carriers (which they did). They do NOT have to proved the exact gates the carrier wants, especially when said carrier is asking for international gates during peak times for domestic trips.
exactly this.

gooselee

ATL is my home airport. I don't really care which gate I'm leaving from, but I love it when I'm coming home and we make the turn into a T gate. That much close to my car and thus that much sooner for me to get home.

WillSkiGT

The airport is not going to build according to the 2015 Master Plan at this point.

Concourse G/H/I isn't happening due to the cost to construct/relocate the existing facilities where those concourses will go.

Currently, the plan is to add 5 gates to the north end of T. This would probably get AA off D and entirely on T. Not sure if there would be enough for Jet Blue or not.

After that, the next terminal expansion is a western expansion of T gates from the southern end, utilizing space freed up by making the south terminal parking lot narrower but taller. That adds 8 gates. Not sure if those are all DL or not.




ATL can also extend B, C and D by two gates, but the costs may be prohibitive (i.e $100MM+ for 2 gates, probably not worth it).

flyerCO

T is prime for O/D. No train ride at all.