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Old Posted Mar 16, 2012, 4:00 AM
atlwarrior atlwarrior is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by simms3_redux View Post
Maynard Jackson International Terminal Tour

Today I had a chance to tour the new terminal with a group, and it was interesting to say the least. First there was an hour and a half long introduction to the terminal and the overall airport master plan. Maria Soporta was present and had quite a bit to say and several questions. She was concerned that there was not a new MARTA stop at the int'l terminal and that there were no high speed rail connections, which generally I totally agree with her and find her points totally on the ball. This time, however, I thought they were lagging. We would all like MARTA to go everywhere, and so would MARTA, but this isn't a question of why didn't we do this, this is a funding question. Also, it literally would not have been feasible to drop MARTA in under the new terminal from a construction standpoint. It still would have had to go to the Crescent Station (buses) in Clayton County and be fed to the terminal via shuttle.

The big takeaways to me were that:

1) This thing is opening May 16, 2012.

2) Current Concourse E will have capacity to service Korean Air's and Air France's A380s (Air France is not yet official).

3) A380s don't actually put a huge load on the runways. The added capacity is on the shoulders so that the engines do not travel over dirt, and it is on the gate, the timing (FAA regulates that no widebodies can be on the taxiways/runways parallel to an A380 at any given time), and the little door thing that you walk through to board (the A380 has 3 entrances and one whole floor is for business class/1st class passengers, and they are not allowed to be comingled with regular passengers).
A) The new terminal was not initially built to handle A380s as all the airlines said that Atlanta would not be a market.
4) Atlanta has roughly 500,000 passengers per gate per annum. This places it in the top 2-3 every year in terms of "at capacity." The international terminal will provide some alleviation, but ultimately Hartsfield is looking at building 38 more gates for domestic travel.

5) Passengers using the Int'l terminal can recheck their bags in the international terminal rather than using Terminal A, which has been a hastle in the past.

6) There will be a roadway coming straight from 75, but if you were to take 85 and park at the wrong terminal (the current terminal), then there is a shuttle that can take you to Terminal F, though when you return you would be parked on the wrong side.

7) The new terminal will be connected via people move. They were testing that out today.

8) The airport is owned and operated by the City of Atlanta, though none of our tax dollars go to support it. It is basically self-financed and financed through bonds. No separate authority operates the airport and Mayor Kasim Reed is ultimately the boss. Any capital expenditures north o $20,000 must be brought forth to the Atlanta City Council and approved.


Now on to the pictures:


Maynard Jackson International Terminal 1 by city_simmons, on Flickr


Maynard Jackson International Terminal 2 by city_simmons, on Flickr


Maynard Jackson International Terminal 3 by city_simmons, on Flickr


Maynard Jackson International Terminal 4 by city_simmons, on Flickr


Maynard Jackson International Terminal 5 by city_simmons, on Flickr


Maynard Jackson International Terminal 6 by city_simmons, on Flickr


Maynard Jackson International Terminal 9 by city_simmons, on Flickr


Maynard Jackson International Terminal 8 by city_simmons, on Flickr


Maynard Jackson International Terminal 10 by city_simmons, on Flickr



Warning: Never go on a hard hat tour with a bunch of architects/engineers. I thought we were never going to leave the damn terminal and I was late returning to work. Not only are a zillion questions asked (well that was all Soporta during the talk), engineers and construction people want to see and explore every nook and cranny. I just want to know the basics and zoom through. I just want to know the end results and the benefits of the terminal.

Quite frankly, as you can see from the pictures, the actual architecture and the artwork leaves A LOT to be desired. I was completely underwhelmed. Hartsfield Airport as a whole from an operational standpoint is about as impressive as can be and blows any other airport out of the water, but from an architectural standpoint it sucks. Just saying! About $1,115psf later and the place looks no better than your average convention center or arena. I was hoping for something akin to Raleigh's new terminal, which is literally jaw droppingly gorgeous.
Thanks for sharing, and thanks for the insight about the big boy A380. I still find it hard to believe no last minute adjustment could be made to the new terminal to handle A380, I bet Delta had something to do with that.
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