Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport

[Tombstoner]

For what it's worth, the Brazilian visa lasts you for five years. It's a hassle to get it, but at least once you've gotten it...
Great news about the new routes--I always thought Brazil could be a huge growth market for some US carrier. The country is really taking off!

[Fiorenza]

If only Russia would adopt it then I would be extremely happy.

That will be the day...

[Harry Cane]

Moving the current JFK-BOM to Atlanta this November. Atlanta has got to be the U.S. city with the most exotic non-stops. Everything from Mumbai to Kuwait to Shanghai to Lagos to Stockholm to Manaus, Brazil. And to think that only a few years ago, we didn't even have non-stops to Canada (though in fairness, it was mostly due to the limits of the Canada-USA aviation agreement).

It'll be interesting to see what they do with the six new 777L's they get this winter.

[Rail Claimore]

Originally Posted by Harry Cane

It'll be interesting to see what they do with the six new 777L's they get this winter.

Atlanta - Hong Kong? Atlanta - Singapore?

Supposedly, the LR has that kind of range.

[john3eblover]

I wish they weren't getting rid of JFK-BOM though :-/

ATL-HKG would be sweet. So would ATL-SYD, but there are a lot of doubts that it could work.

[atlantaguy]

John, they moved the JFK-BOM flight here because there is simply way too much capacity from NY to India right now. It will be much more of a $$$ maker from here (and another fantastic new link for Atlanta AND the Southeast).

[john3eblover]

I know I know, i just wish they didn't have to pull out of the JFK-BOM market. Maybe they'll start it up again once more of the LRs come online. ATL-BOM should be pretty good for DL though!

[smArTaLlone]

Atlanta Business Chronicle - by J. Scott Trubey Staff Writer

Airport officials unveiled a new membership-driven parking lot and other amenities Thursday that should make parking easier at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Hartsfield-Jackson’s new Silver Reserve Parking Lot, a 1,300-space lot for paying members, is now officially open for business.

The Silver Lot, which is off South Terminal Parkway, is targeted at frequent fliers and offers guaranteed spaces 24-hours a day, said airport General Manager Ben DeCosta. The lot is two minutes by tram, which is provided free to members.

The Silver Lot joins the Gold Lot membership program in the airport’s inventory of reserve spaces.

Silver Lot membership is $405 at sign up, including a $25 fee for a vehicle transponder, a $180 Annual Minimum Usage Fee (equal to 12 days) and a $200 reserve that serves as an account that is debited after the minimum is reached. Additional days are $15 each.

The Silver Lot and the recent launch of the airport’s Parking Revenue Control System, are part of a $22 million project to improve parking efficiency at the world’s busiest airport.

The revenue control system includes 42 electronic payment stations that will allow motorists to pay their parking fees with cash or credit before approaching the exit gates. The airport also installed 35 new express credit/pre-paid exit gates across all airport-based lots, which will help reduce waits to exit parking areas.

“Our driving force and inspiration in these improvements is making the experience more convenient, efficient and pleasurable for the 6 million people who park in our lots annually,” DeCosta said.

Officials also unveiled other advances in parking, including new space counters to let motorists know the number of available spaces and intercoms for customer assistance. Valet parking will be added later this year.

For more information about airport parking, or to register for the Silver Lot program, visit www.atlanta-airport.com.

[smArTaLlone]

By KEVIN DUFFY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, September 12, 2008

Construction began this week on the first hotels to be built next to the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park.

The 403-room Marriott Hotel and the 147-room SpringHill Suites, a less expensive Marriott brand, are part of the 28-acre mixed-use development called Gateway Center.

The 1.1 million square foot Gateway Center also will have class-A office buildings totaling 400,000 square feet and 50,000 square feet of retail space, said Kevin Kern, president of Grove Street Partners, the master developer.

The growth of Gateway Center parallels the growth of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport next door, which includes building a massive off-site rental car facility called CONRAC and an automated train similar to the one now at the airport.

Both of those projects are expected to be completed next year. The hotels should be finished in 2010.

The train, called an automated people mover, will connect the airport passenger terminal with the convention center and CONRAC, which stands for consolidated rental agency complex.

Grove Street and its financial partners, Fidelity Investments of Boston and Williams Opportunity Fund, are investing $134 million in the hotels.

“These two new Marriott hotels are perfectly positioned to serve both the convention and business meeting audience as well as the general public traveling through the Atlanta airport,” said Roger Conner, Marriott’s vice president of corporate communications.

The seven-story Marriott will include 20,000 square feet of meeting and ballroom space, a Marriott-branded restaurant and a third-party restaurant.

Both buildings will be LEED certified, meaning the U.S. Green Building Council will assure that they meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards.

Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart and Associates designed the Marriott Hotel and Goode Van Slyke Architecture designed the SpringHill Suites Hotel.

The international convention center is the second largest facility of its type in the state. The Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta is the biggest.

[Tombstoner]

FAA head suggests that Atlanta (and Chicago and NYC) needs a new airport.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/fligh...terstitialskip

[john3eblover]

With the proposed/planned new international terminal, plus the rumored new south terminal/concourse, not to mention CONRAC, I would think that AHJIA has "ambitious expansion plans" pretty much already under way.

[smArTaLlone]

Originally Posted by john3eblover

With the proposed/planned new international terminal, plus the rumored new south terminal/concourse, not to mention CONRAC, I would think that AHJIA has "ambitious expansion plans" pretty much already under way.

The south terminal is actually on the airport's master plan.

I think a new airport will be needed even with the expansion plans given the population growth of the region. I agree with whoever suggested putting it near Athens. Ideally it would eventually have a stop on the Athens commuter line.

[john3eblover]

I still say it will never happen. The new airport that is. I think the current expansion plans are supposed to handle up to 120 million a year in traffic. That's quite a lot.

[Pessimistic Observer]

Originally Posted by john3eblover

I still say it will never happen. The new airport that is. I think the current expansion plans are supposed to handle up to 120 million a year in traffic. That's quite a lot.

I wouldnt say never I mean 2030 is a long way off there is a good chance some of the beltway and maybe even 1 or 2 commuter trains will be up and running by the time hartsfield reaches its capacity.

[Tombstoner]

I think that in 10-15 years, we're going to be seeing a lot more point-to-point flights and hubs are generally going to be less used. Airports will increasingly rely on origination-and-destination traffic and Hartsfield will be able to handle that for Atlanta. Of course, in the next few years, hub activity is probably going to increase, but I think it may be timed in such a way that by the time ATL reaches capacity, more point-to-point will relieve some of the pressure. 50 years from now, I doubt hubs will be anywhere near as dominant as they are today.

[ThrashATL]

Originally Posted by Tombstoner

I think that in 10-15 years, we're going to be seeing a lot more point-to-point flights and hubs are generally going to be less used. Airports will increasingly rely on origination-and-destination traffic and Hartsfield will be able to handle that for Atlanta. Of course, in the next few years, hub activity is probably going to increase, but I think it may be timed in such a way that by the time ATL reaches capacity, more point-to-point will relieve some of the pressure. 50 years from now, I doubt hubs will be anywhere near as dominant as they are today.

Point to point? No hubs? You mean like the "old days".....

[john3eblover]

You also have to account for the fact that the Atlanta metro is supposed to add what, 2 million more people in the next 10-20 years? At least that.

Those people have to live somewhere right? Just more NIMBYS that would stop any airport remotely in the Atlanta metro. People just don't want loud noisy airports near them. Plus, its not like the land is easy to aquire.

Thats what I think.

[Tombstoner]

Originally Posted by ThrashATL

Point to point? No hubs? You mean like the "old days".....

Never said "no hubs." I don't think of point-to-point as old-fashioned (though that's the way it was in the "old days" that's irrelevant); it is "optimal" for travelers (no one actually WANTS to go through hubs) and increasingly optimal for fuel consumption, the environment, and aircraft manufacturers. While the A380 is getting a lot of play and will always be used hub-to-hub like the 747ER, all kinds of small new planes are being developed by companies from Japan, China, Russia, and the old stand-bys of Brazil and Canada and even Boeing and Airbus are making advances on smaller jets. I don't have a crystal ball, but I have to think that over time, hubs will be less rational/ecomonic to operate. Hartsfield is (purposely) HUGELY overbuilt for Atlanta O&D because it is a hub. It doesn't need nearly as much capacity as it currently has to service Atlanta, so as its hub traffic decreases, even as it's O&D traffic increases with Atlanta population, it is entirely possible that Atlanta will never outgrow it. I'm just saying...

[smArTaLlone]

I understand the logic but I can't envision a system where travel to and from second and third tier cities doesn't require hubs.

[PremierAtlanta]

Excuse my ignorance as I'm not an aviation expert but I would think that the hub and spoke configuration would be more efficient than the one way travel. Here is my thinking. If you have multiple passengers going to one destination but coming from multiple originations, it's better to pool them at one location and have a big van take them all at once to the same location. Sure the van used may use more gas/mile than the subcompact taking each individual but instead of having 12 compacts, you put all 12 in one van. That would seem like less gas after all is said and done.

Perhaps this is above my soccer mom brain but I would think that if 12 children met at my home to go to a soccer game, that would be less gas than all 13 moms taking their children to the game individually. It also seems to make the corralling of these passengers more efficient.