Airport '97 Features Convenience

n estimated 32 million passengers trekked through Washington's National Airport during the week between Christmas and New Year's, and the crowds exacerbated all the little nuisances for which National is infamous.

Travelers walking from the subway to the main terminal found themselves and their luggage outside in the winter weather, jockeying for position on a makeshift pathway that traversed puddles of mud and wound through a parking lot. Those riding shuttle buses to the rental car garage got stuck in traffic in the short loop between the terminals and the garage. People getting picked up bumped into people getting dropped off.

Inside the main terminal, the crowds made the low ceilings and narrow hallways seem more claustrophobic than usual. For many, the only solace was in gazing toward the tarmac at the building with the bubble roof-National's nearly-completed new terminal. In a few months, the terminal will open, ending hassles Washington-based travelers have long endured.

The new terminal is the centerpiece of an $800 million renovation project-the first in National's 55-year history. The three-story terminal will be served by a two-level roadway-one level for departing passengers, one level for arriving passengers. A second exit to the Metro station will be added, and two enclosed moving walkways will carry passengers from the subway to the terminal. Already more people disembark at National's Metro stop than at any other subway stop in the country, but airport authorities hope to increase Metro use from 15 percent to at least 20 percent of airport passengers. A second parking garage opened last September. By the summer, its 4,400 parking spaces will be connected to the terminal by climate controlled pedestrian bridges.

Besides improving access to the airport, the renovation aims to help National shed its nondescript, shabby image. Architect Cesar Pelli's design for the building reminds travelers that they are in Washington: The entire east side of the terminal is glass, presenting travelers with a panoramic view of the airfield, Potomac River and Washington skyline beyond. The terminal roof is composed of domes, reminiscent of historic Washington buildings such as the Capitol. Each dome contains eight skylights, which provide natural light.

"The whole intent is to have a modern airport that reflects the fact that it's the gateway to the nation's capital," says Tara Hamilton, public affairs manager for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the independent organization that operates National and Washington-Dulles International airports and finances their capital development.

What is currently the main terminal will be renamed the south terminal and will be connected to the new terminal by a suspended walkway. Today's interim terminal will revert to an airplane hangar.

Then, Washington-based travelers can bid farewell to construction debris.

That is, unless they are heading to Dallas, where workers are preparing to replace the tile floor at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport as part of a $6 million renovation that will continue into the fall. Or Miami, where the Miami International Airport is spending $1.4 billion to add 23 gates to its terminal by 1999. Or New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, where a $3 billion renovation begins this spring. Or to any one of more than 10 major American airports that are renovating or expanding in 1997.

After the Dust Settles

Passenger traffic at North American airports from January 1996 to June 1996 was 7.1 percent higher than in the same period the year before, the Airports Council International reports. And airline industry watchers predict the number of people flying will increase.

To airports, more passengers mean higher profits-if they can find a way to manage the crowds. The airports that will capture most of the next century's new passengers are those that have the space to shove in a few more runways. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport just added a seventh runway to boost capacity by up to 25 percent and Louisville International Airport in Kentucky plans to open two new runways by the end of this year, Sato Travel TravelLine reports. Zoning laws have been kind to Dulles in Virginia and Orlando International in Florida, granting them the acreage to grow to the magnitude of airports like Atlanta International and Chicago's O'Hare by the middle of the next century. Dulles, perched on 11,000 acres, has room for two more runways. Dulles completed expansion of its main terminal a few months ago, doubling its size by adding 320 feet to either side of the wing-shaped building; now it's adding a fifth lane to the roadway that runs the full length of the terminal. Orlando is already big-one of its runways is long enough that the Space Shuttle, which takes off from nearby Cape Canaveral, could land there if necessary. But the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, which manages the airport, has a 20-year "master plan" that anticipates its passenger traffic doubling to 55 million by 2014. The airport plans to construct runways parallel to existing runways, so several planes can take off and land simultaneously.

Airports with less space are trying to maximize capacity by redesigning their terminals, squeezing in more parking spots and reorganizing ground transportation routes. For example, authorities at Los Angeles International have launched a campaign that encourages van and car pools to better manage curbside traffic, Sato Travel TravelLine reports.

Expansion is not the only reason for airport construction. When the dust settles at National, for example, it will still only have 44 gates, the same number it had when the airport opened in 1941. National is restrained from growth by geography-all it's got is 800 acres, and some of that is sludge at the bottom of the Potomac-and by several unique restrictions designed to keep it small. No plane flying more than 1,250 miles is allowed to depart from National. Only aircraft that are quiet enough to meet National's nighttime noise standards may fly in and out of the airport.

However, says Hamilton, the airports authority determined that National had become inhospitable to travelers, and that was reason enough to renovate.

The mind-set of airplane passengers has changed since the early days of flight, and airports are finding they need to update their facilities to reflect that change. Today's airline travelers demand convenience and familiar services.

Airports began to pay attention to these demands after the industry was deregulated and airports started to compete for travelers.

At Orlando, the American airport which participants in the most recent International Air Transport Association survey chose as their favorite, focusing on customers has led the airport authority to:

• Eschew rows of hard plastic chairs for wicker armchairs and grouped seating.
• Invite purveyors of brand name products, from Starbucks coffee to the Shipyard Brewing Co., to open shop.
• Bring nontraditional services into the airport. At Orlando, travelers can get their shoes shined, get their hair cut, withdraw cash from an ATM, go to the post office, and buy computer software.

"What do our customers have less of than ever before? Time," says Carolyn Fennell, director of community relations at Orlando International. "We're responding to a public that has little time. [And] they're forced to be here earlier because of increased security."

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Source: Airports Council International