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Originally Posted by ATLonthebrain
That CBP rendering has no significance or relevance to BOI's future. The Airport, less than 18-months ago, opened a new 5K+ sf facility about a mile east of the terminal facility, and it has expansion capability (to 10K or so sf) in that location. Perhaps this rendering was one which was considered several years ago, at a different location, but it is not what was decided upon and executed. The existing CBP facility effectively means BOI already is an International Airport, just not in official name. The existence of U.S. Customs & Border Protection services is the primary requirement to be deemed "International." It creates the ability to process arriving international passengers & cargo, but not tied to scheduled international service. So, if BOI was to attract transborder service from a Pre-Cleared Canadian market, that service could operate today, as could charters with prior arrangements to be cleared @ BOI upon arrival.
As for BOI-RNO, I also eventually see AS/QX on that route, but it seems it won't be happening in the near future, unless internal priorities change in SEA. The announcement made yesterday for the new IntraCA + RNO service was sort of a blow to BOI-RNO happening in the near term. Unfortunate to see BOI-RNO without anyone providing nonstop service. The 76-seat Q400 is the ideal aircraft, both in capacity as well as operational efficiency combined with QX's low cost structure. What's interesting is QX is ending SMF-SJC, which was tagged w/BOI, and is adding RNO-SJC (a route dropped by WN), but not BOI-RNO. Seems to be a natural, and perhaps there is a plan which isn't fully in place or finalized to add that link. Hopefully by 2013 the plane will be plying the route a couple of times daily.
Lastly, Conc B was already in existence at the former terminal, while Conc A was demolished when the new facility was built. There was discussion over whether to rename Conc B as Conc A, but it was felt that would create too much confusion with longtime users already familiar with Conc B, let alone the cost associated with creating all new signage. Conc C was added in 2004 as part of the new terminal facility, to serve primarily Horizon Air, though there have been a few other operators down there briefly. Only Horizon remains today. Eventually, when demand warrants, a new Conc A will be constructed to the right of the Food Court where the bar & lounge currently exists, but that is YEARS away from happening, surely not before 2020.
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Now that we do have a fully functioning CBP facility, I wonder if Boise will rename the airport "Boise International Airport." I really don't see why not at this point. Actually having scheduled international service is no requirement to change the name, and I can't imagine it'd be that costly of a change. Minimal cost, and it adds a slight marketing pizzaz... Boise International Airport sounds a lot sexier than Boise Air Terminal.
I wouldn't worry about AS/QX in Boise. I had a great chat with the VP of Marketing at Alaska just over a year ago... We briefly touched on the subject of the Air Group in Boise, and I personally think the future is bright for AS/QX here. Also, look for further route announcements on the 26th during the year end earnings call. From what I've heard, we'll see a lot of interesting movement on the AS route map this year (not necessarily related to Boise).
And thanks for the info regarding that rendering of Concourse A. Of course, even if it's just conceptual, I would love it if Concourse A ended up looking something like that (and yes, I agree, it's many years out).