AUSTIN | ABIA Updates

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by Austin1971

Pics from ABIA.....

https://www.facebook.com/abia/posts/910835718966267



https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

Yeah, I saw those yesterday while picking up family member.

Question: what are the plans with the west side of the baggage claim area when the rental car offices move to the CONRAC? That could possibly free up space for more baggage carousels. However, I do not know what lies behind those offices.

If the airport decides to duplicate the "east infill" on the west side, they could possibly add CIS inspection/customs space on the ground floor - allowing for international arrivals on the west concourse.

[ILUVSAT]

Another thing to consider too is that Condor is a lower-cost, leisure airline. They do not attract the same clientele that a British Airways, Lufthansa, KLM, or most other legacy airlines would.

Also, as a business traveler, I know how important frequent flyer miles are for upgrades, early boarding, lounge access, use with affiliate airlines, free flights, and several other perks. Condor is (as far as I know) not affiliated with any other major airline in regard to acquiring and using frequent flyer miles. So, again, they will be ferrying a totally different clientele aboard their flights to and from Frankfurt.

It will be interesting to see how successful it is. Is the local market "ready" (i.e., is there a demand) for overseas leisure airline travel out of Austin? I hope so!

I also would not be surprised if Lufthansa was watching - and they could offer a more luxurious experience on this route than Condor.

[paul78701]

San Antonio is ramping up the talk for a regional airport:
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/ne...topics-at.html

I think that if Austin were to get a second airport, we'd be better served by putting it up north where the highest population growth is. Somewhere on the north end of the red line maybe? Or off of the eventual Georgetown-Austin-SA rail line that's also mentioned in the article?

I'm not sure that sharing an airport between the two cities benefits many in Austin. I would think most would still rather go to ABIA than driving even further south to catch a flight. (Especially people in Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, etc.)

[KevinFromTexas]

Without a (frequent) rail route between the two cities, having another airport between the two wouldn't be advantageous enough for it to make sense. Traffic on I-35 south of Austin is getting worse. It's gotten much worse just in the last year or so. I just don't think it makes sense for people to crawl along in traffic for maybe an extra 30 minutes to an hour to an airport that is no closer than SAT or ABIA. I also wonder what it would do to the business of the two main airports.

[ATCZERO]

Just some interesting tidbits everyone:

Air traffic numbers for Austin ATCT for the month of August were approximately 1,560 operations greater than the previous August. That increase is for AUS and the surrounding areas (HYI, GTU, 3R9, RYW, 88R, 84R, 3T5, GTB, EDC, T74 etc.).
AUS alone had an increase of approximately 500 more operations this August compared to last.

During this summer, Southwest had 64 flights a day out of AUS. A reliable source has indicated that next summer that number will be 78 per day.

Commence speculation.

[DoubleC]

Originally Posted by paul78701

San Antonio is ramping up the talk for a regional airport:
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/ne...topics-at.html

I think that if Austin were to get a second airport, we'd be better served by putting it up north where the highest population growth is. Somewhere on the north end of the red line maybe? Or off of the eventual Georgetown-Austin-SA rail line that's also mentioned in the article?

I'm not sure that sharing an airport between the two cities benefits many in Austin. I would think most would still rather go to ABIA than driving even further south to catch a flight. (Especially people in Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, etc.)

I see that this idea has re-surfaced once again.

I doubt they would build a second airport up in North Austin when people keep wanting an airport to be built between AUS and SAT. Austin doesn't need two more airports North and South of itself anytime soon.

I'm honestly not sure what city leaders are aiming for, based on the article; a "relief" regional airport for Austin and San Antonio like Rockford airport (not needed yet), or a potentially big "AUSAT" airport much like DFW. The biggest problem I see is that although the two cities are growing close to each other, the city centers are 72 miles apart, as opposed to the 32 miles separating Dallas and Fort Worth. Coming from North Austin, I'm not sure if I would ever want to drive about 50 miles South to catch a flight when I have AUS nearby, unless they make KAUS and KSAT completely secondary airports like Hobby and Love Field, which I myself would oppose greatly. Plus the greater distance would generate greater uncertainty in total travel time, so I would have to plan longer.

Or a third concept I hadn't thought about (which is likely what city leaders are wanting, maybe) is this airport would just be a third major airport for the area, rather than focusing all flights from the two airports into one....alright, that's actually probably what the article meant to say . I keep having Love Field in mind, which used to be much more busier until DFW was built, sending most of the city's flights 15 miles West.

Originally Posted by ATCZERO

Just some interesting tidbits everyone:

Air traffic numbers for Austin ATCT for the month of August were approximately 1,560 operations greater than the previous August. That increase is for AUS and the surrounding areas (HYI, GTU, 3R9, RYW, 88R, 84R, 3T5, GTB, EDC, T74 etc.).
AUS alone had an increase of approximately 500 more operations this August compared to last.

During this summer, Southwest had 64 flights a day out of AUS. A reliable source has indicated that next summer that number will be 78 per day.

Commence speculation.

14 more flights a day. That could be 14 more destinations with dailies, 7 twice-dailies, or most likely just a mix of 'em. I'm not sure about the frequencies of new added routes.

[drummer]

They're saying 20+ years down the road it might be needed. I still see it as a stretch - especially for the reasons which some of you guys have already mentioned. While there will hopefully be an active regional commuter rail by that point (and hopefully HSR connected to DFW/Houston), I still don't see a regional airport in addition to the two airports that already serve these cities. Even if it is developed "from Waco to San Antonio" I don't see that as practical because of additional travel time. Bergstrom seems to have plenty of room to expand in its current location. Love Field didn't have that advantage when they were considering DFW.

[Digatisdi]

Here's my thoughts on a possible DFW-esque regional airport.

I feel it's extremely unlikely to happen within my lifetime. The FAA has yet to issue any kind of ultimatum such as the one leading to construction of DFW, and I don't think there's the desire at the federal level to do so. The distance between city centres is almost three times greater than that between those Dallas and Fort Worth. I don't see the political or popular will in Austin being behind this at all, and I feel like unless one of the major airlines is willing to bankroll a significant chunk of the airport, it won't happen.

That's all I'm saying on the matter, now back to ABIA.

I'm very interested in seeing August's numbers, and I'm impatiently awaiting their release.

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by ATCZERO

Just some interesting tidbits everyone:

Air traffic numbers for Austin ATCT for the month of August were approximately 1,560 operations greater than the previous August. That increase is for AUS and the surrounding areas (HYI, GTU, 3R9, RYW, 88R, 84R, 3T5, GTB, EDC, T74 etc.).
AUS alone had an increase of approximately 500 more operations this August compared to last.

During this summer, Southwest had 64 flights a day out of AUS. A reliable source has indicated that next summer that number will be 78 per day.

Commence speculation.

I wouldn't be surprised if Southwest began seasonal routes to a couple of places in Mexico, Central America and/or the Caribbean from AUS. Southwest, as of November 1, 2015, will fly to the following cities in Mexico, Central America and Caribbean (not already served via Austin): MEX, PVR, BZE, LIR, SJO, MBJ, NAS, PUJ, SJU and AUA.

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot

I wouldn't be surprised if Southwest began seasonal routes to a couple of places in Mexico, Central America and/or the Caribbean from AUS. Southwest, as of November 1, 2015, will fly to the following cities in Mexico, Central America and Caribbean (not already served via Austin): MEX, PVR, BZE, LIR, SJO, MBJ, NAS, PUJ, SJU and AUA.

Oh please...MBJ, PUJ and/or AUA would be awesome!

[smt1]

Originally Posted by paul78701

I think that if Austin were to get a second airport, we'd be better served by putting it up north where the highest population growth is. Somewhere on the north end of the red line maybe? Or off of the eventual Georgetown-Austin-SA rail line that's also mentioned in the article?

North Austin and WilCo is way too close to AUS (and it has too much room to grow) for Austin to sustain another airport there anytime soon. The Bergstrom Expressway (290 to 71) should help accessibility of the airport to North Austin (and it's suburbs) a lot (in addition to all the population growth towards Manor that the city wants of Austin proper).

[the Genral]

We can't even get the current gate expansion rolling and completed as soon as it should be and we are bloviating about new airport construction? The idea is soooo far into the future and sooooo far fetched logistically and finantually, perhaps we are bored and need to debate something that is not going to happen in many of our lifetimes if at all.

[Mopacs]

I wonder if the Killeen-Fort Hood airport will become more of an option for Williamson County residents as time goes on? It's a pretty quick drive up highway 195 from Georgetown and I'm sure more residential development will follow in that direction. A freeway bypass around Florence was recently completed on 195, which helps. Regional jet service is offered to Houston, Dallas and Atlanta.

[jbssfelix]

Looks like the 777 was only a temporary fix.

http://www.austintexas.gov/news/aust...7-9-dreamliner

[Digatisdi]

I'm so glad. I love the 787s, and I'll look forward to flying the 789.

That being said, call me an entitled millennial who can't unplug, but I feel like this could've been a good point for BA to introduce WiFi to the general fleet. As I understand they're rolling it out on intra-European flights next year. Most of my work requires an internet connection and it's nice to not have to black out nine hours in which I'm completely unreachable.

[jbssfelix]

Originally Posted by Digatisdi

I'm so glad. I love the 787s, and I'll look forward to flying the 789.

That being said, call me an entitled millennial who can't unplug, but I feel like this could've been a good point for BA to introduce WiFi to the general fleet. As I understand they're rolling it out on intra-European flights next year. Most of my work requires an internet connection and it's nice to not have to black out nine hours in which I'm completely unreachable.

I love the 787's as well. For those who want to experience it yourself, here's the best list I have of nearby flights.

• AUS-LHR
• IAH-DEN
• IAH-FRA
• IAH-LOS (Lagos)
• IAH-LHR
• IAH-LAX
• IAH-SFO
• IAH-GRU (Sao Paulo)
• IAH-SCL (Santiago - Starts Jan)
• IAH-GIG (Rio de Janeiro)
• IAH-NRT (Tokyo - Starts Mar)
• IAH-AMS (Amsterdam - Starts Dec)
• DFW-PEK (Beijing)
• DFW-BAI (Beunos Aires - Starts Oct)
• DFW-LHR (Starts later this month)
• DFW-PHX
• DFW-PVG (Shanghai)

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by jbssfelix

I love the 787's as well. For those who want to experience it yourself, here's the best list I have of nearby flights.

• AUS-LHR
• IAH-DEN
• IAH-FRA
• IAH-LOS (Lagos)
• IAH-LHR
• IAH-LAX
• IAH-SFO
• IAH-GRU (Sao Paulo)
• IAH-SCL (Santiago - Starts Jan)
• IAH-GIG (Rio de Janeiro)
• IAH-NRT (Tokyo - Starts Mar)
• IAH-AMS (Amsterdam - Starts Dec)
• DFW-PEK (Beijing)
• DFW-BAI (Beunos Aires - Starts Oct)
• DFW-LHR (Starts later this month)
• DFW-PHX
• DFW-PVG (Shanghai)

Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA is EZE...BAI is in Costa Rica.

Speaking of...Didn't that flight start this summer?

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by jbssfelix

Looks like the 777 was only a temporary fix.

http://www.austintexas.gov/news/aust...7-9-dreamliner

Yes, sir. This fact was discussed several pages back. The temporary equipment change from B788 to B772ER has been rumored, and then reported, many months ago.

It will be really exciting to see a regular service B772ER at AUS. And then, this February, we'll be able to view the new B789.

[Jdawgboy]

First off I don't think Austin leaders are really truly considering an airport between the two cities. This idea is being pushed solely by San Antonio officials and It's a bit late in the game for such an airport. The article even mentions that Austin leaders approached SA back in the 80s and they refused. Well let's think about why? Would it have been advantagious? No.

Fast forward to today and now the tables have turned so why should Austin accept? Reality is Austin would end up with the short end of the stick metephorically speaking. It wouldn't benefit us and indeed would hurt our airport.

Our airport is basically still pretty new in the grand scheme of things and it has plenty of room to grow. It's close to DT and can be easily accessed from most areas of the metro. Having another large airport nearby would only limit ABIA. I don't think we should spend any money or effort in damaging our own airport's vitality.

There's nothing wrong with trying to work together more as a region but we are not Dallas-Fort Worth. It's been mentioned more than once that we are farther apart and it doesn't matter how much the population grows between us it will always be 80 miles from the Alamo to the state capitol building. In our region's situation it makes more sense to have two major airports serving their respective anchor cities rather than creating one large airport in between and relegating the other two which is what would happen.

[GoldenBoot]

Jdawg, I agree...

However, may I take it one step further...ladies and gentlemen, may we please stop discussing the absurd idea of a regional airport (especially in this thread). Nobody on earth is building them anymore. It was a fad popular in the 1970's. Furthermore, Austin and San Antonio are too far apart to make it viable (as previously pointed out several times).

Look, it's obvious that some of us may be board. I too am board - because summer is usually a down time in commercial real estate announcements. Let's not fill our time in hear with this nonsense of an regional airport, where to move ABIA, or the development of a second Austin airport. Geez, ABIA has yet to hit the 12 million PAX number and we're talking moving the airport north - as well as feeder airports?!?

Should you feel like you need to discuss these subjects, please, please create a new thread (1) regarding a new north Austin site for ABIA and/or feeder airports for the Austin MSA, OR (2) go to the San Antonio Transportation thread to discuss a regional airport. There are plenty of nutties in there discussing that "glorious" idea.

This is the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport thread...please, lets discuss only topics directly related to ABIA: current routes from AUS, newly announced routes and carriers, possible new routes and carriers, it's current expansion plans, etc.

Thank you!