Sacramento International Airport (SMF)

[urban_encounter]

Sacramento International Airport (SMF)
Current operations, modernization and expansion Phase I and Phase II

Passenger totals:

10.6 million passengers a year


12 month growth, from February of 2007 to February 2008

Arriving passengers: +10.88%
Departing passengers: +10.96%
Scheduled flights: +19.32%


Rank: 3rd in Northern California behind SFO and Oak and 37th nationally



Top 10 Destinations based on passenger loads:

San Diego
Los Angeles
Phoenix
Las Vegas
Ontario/San Bernardino
Seattle
Denver
Burbank
Portland
Santa Ana


Runways: Two 8,600' parallel runways, both fully-instrumented for inclement weather operations


Airline service from Terminal A

Air Canada
Delta Air Lines
Hawaiian Airlines
Southwest Airlines
U.S. Airways

Airline service from Terminal B

Alaska Airlines
American Airlines
Continental Airlines
ExpressJet
Frontier Airlines
Horizon Air
JetBlue
Mexicana Airlines
Northwest Airlines
United Airlines
United Express


Carrier shares from November 2006 through October 2007:

Southwest: 50.65%
United: 8.53%
America West:: 5.14%
Delta 4.97%
Alaska 4.79%
Other(s): 25.93%


Source: http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airport...20Metropolitan


Current Configuration:


Planned Configuration:




Terminal B Modernization/Expansion to include New Central Terminal:

Phase I: 2010/11
$1.1 Billion Replacement and Expansion (of Terminal B)
New Central Terminal Complex
New 19 Gate (expandable to 23 gate) Concourse B (with 2 International Gates)
Reduced from 23 gates to 19 due to airline complaints of cost
New 10 story hotel
New Parking Garage #2
New FAA control tower (Planned)
Automated People Mover (APM) to Concourse B
Upper/Lower decking of roadway for Central Terminal (Arrivals and Departures)
Architect(s): Fentress Bradburn Architects of Denver/Corgan Associates
Status: EIR complete. Entitlements expected by Spring 2008
and construction expected to begin Summer 2008
























(All renderings from Corgan Associates)



Phase II 2020 and beyond
New 23 gate Concourse C
12 gate expansion of Concourse A
Possible 12 gate expansion of Concourse B
New Automated People Mover (APM) from Central Terminal to Concourse A
New Automated People Mover (APM) from Central Terminal to Concourse C
Expansion of Central Terminal (Centralized ticketing and baggage handling for Concourse A, B and C)
New RT Light Rail station for Natomas/Airport extension.
New Parking Garage #3
Status: Phase II part of Airport Master Plan. Phase I EIR complete

[urban_encounter]

This week...

Southwest

Southwest adds a Seattle flight
Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, June 28, 2007
Story appeared in SacBee BUSINESS section, Page D3


Southwest Airlines announced Wednesday that it will add a flight to Seattle from Sacramento International Airport on Nov. 4, bringing the number of Southwest flights between the two cities to five.

The new flight will leave Sacramento daily at 9:55 a.m., arriving in Seattle at 11:50 a.m. The return flight leaves Seattle at 5:10 p.m., reaching Sacramento at 6:55 p.m.

The new flights will bring the total number of daily flights that Southwest operates out of Sacramento International Airport to 85.


Frontier:

By Bob Shallit - Bee Columnist
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Story appeared in BUSINESS section, Page D1

Escape route: Frontier Airlines may expand its service between Sacramento and Los Cabos, Mexico.

The airline has three weekly flights between the two cities, on aircraft that hold 132 passengers.

Daily flights -- on 76-seat regional jets, operated for Frontier by Republic Airlines -- would start Oct. 24 if applications with U.S. and Mexican authorities are approved, says Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas.

The new flights would mean 136 more seats each week and greater flexibility for travelers.

Mexicana Airlines, which started serving the Sacramento-Cabo route with four weekly flights in 2004, also has had success in that market, says airport spokeswoman Cheryl Marcell.

What is it that attracts so many Sacramentans to the Baja resort area?

For one thing, it has a California feel, Marcell says. Another reason is proximity. "You can get there in a couple of hours and make a weekend of it," she says.

* * *

[cozmoose]

I don't think SMF has officially surpassed SJC yet in terms of passengers.

2006 SJC - 10,708,065
2006 SMF - 10,362,800

In 2007, SMF had the early lead but hasn't reported is passenger figures since Feb.

[jsf8278]

Two questions for anyone so inclined to answer:

1.) Is this project supposed to be finished by 2011; in just four years?

2.) Are they going to shut down and demolish terminal B and build right over it? From the pictures it looks like the new terminal would be right where the current terminal B is.

[urban_encounter]

Originally Posted by cozmoose

I don't think SMF has officially surpassed SJC yet in terms of passengers.

2006 SJC - 10,708,065
2006 SMF - 10,362,800

In 2007, SMF had the early lead but hasn't reported is passenger figures since Feb.

Actually official passenger totals are taken from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics from the month ending in March 2007 which reports SJC averaging 10.27 million passengers a year and ranking SJC at #38th nationally.

SMF (as noted above) is averaging 10.36 million (ending in March 2007) ranking it by the Bureau at #37th nationally and just ahead of SJC.

The Bureau also notes that both arriving and departing passenger traffic continues to decline at SJC (by a combined) -2.96% while SMF combined arriving and departing traffic has risen by +5.1%

Oakland (OAK) is ranked #31 nationally with 13.98 million passengers for the month ending in March 2007, with a combined growth rate of +4.6%

San Francisco International (SFO) is averaging 24.5 million passengers a year as of the end of March 2007, ranking it #16 nationally with an average rate of growht for the year at .7%


http://www.bts.gov/

[urban_encounter]

Originally Posted by jsf8278

Two questions for anyone so inclined to answer:

1.) Is this project supposed to be finished by 2011; in just four years?

Correct. The central terminal, Automated People Mover, new concourse B, hotel and the new garage are supposed to be finished in 2011. That's assuming that somebody doesn't launch a legal challenge to the EIR (or CEQA), and delay the project for a couple of years like the did when Terminal A was constructed. That project was tied up for a couple of years in court before getting off the ground.

Originally Posted by jsf8278

2.) Are they going to shut down and demolish terminal B and build right over it? From the pictures it looks like the new terminal would be right where the current terminal B is.

The old Terminal B will remain operational while constuction on the above
is completed. Once the new terminal and concourse are open for business they will demolish the old terminals and concourse.

[Pistola916]

Courtesy of the Central Business Times

Sacramento airport tops one million travelers

SACRAMENTO


More than one million passengers (1,015,616) passed through Sacramento International Airport in June, a new record for the Central Valley’s busiest airport.

A year ago 969,411 passengers used the airport.


“Sacramento International has experienced continual growth since 2002 but this milestone is an achievement to celebrate.” says Hardy Acree, Sacramento International Airport director.


Over the past six months, Sacramento International has celebrated the inauguration of new non-stop service by ExpressJet Airways and Air Canada.


The new airlines added connection cities not previously served with flights to Albuquerque, Colorado Springs, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Spokane, Tucson, Tulsa and Vancouver, B.C.


Additionally, Frontier Airlines added service to Los Cabos, Mexico.

[travis bickle]

As mentioned here earlier, Frontier Airlines is really expanding it's SMF-Mexico service. The latest I'm hearing now is new non-stop service to Puerto Vallarta 3x/week. Should start around 12.15.07. This is in addition to the previously announced daily service Frontier will start in October between SMF and Cabo. Republic will operate that too.

More great international news for SMF.

[travis bickle]

Originally Posted by travis bickle

I think we need the combination of the new terminal and the 787. Probably not until 2010, but my understanding is that there are sufficient loads for daily service to London now.

I'm hoping the next announcement is the previously discussed non-stop to Mexico City. Other real possibilities this year include seasonal 1x/week Frontier to Cancun; seasonal 3-4x/week to Puerto Vallarta via Mexicana or Frontier; an additional daily flight to Vancouver via Air Canada.

This means there is reason for some confidence to expect that by December 2007, 53 international flights will depart SMF per week.

Ooooh! Good call by me.

[BrianSac]

Excellent news! We are thinking of a Mexican trip (Vallarta or Cabo) in Nov or Dec.........more of a reason to go.

[JeffZurn]

Airport expansion plans move ahead
By Tony Bizjak - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B1


The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously endorsed environmental plans for a $1 billion-plus expansion of the region's crowded Sacramento International Airport.

The approval appears to keep airport officials on a tight timeline to build a new parking lot south of Interstate 5 next year in preparation for construction of a major new terminal building by 2011 to replace the outdated Terminal B facilities.

"This is a major milestone," airports director G. Hardy Acree said, in "what seems like a marathon of milestones."

Final county approval of official environmental documents for the expansion is expected in September, Acree said.

A state Department of Fish ad Game official said on Tuesday his agency has not yet given its blessing to the airport's environmental plan, but said agency officials expect to work cooperatively with the county in the coming weeks over any potential outstanding issues.

Fish and Game official Todd Gardner said he is still reviewing the county's analysis of the impact its expansion may have on nearly two dozen endangered species that live in the environmentally sensitive surrounding area -- notably the Swainson's hawk. "We were concerned the project may reduce the available baseline habitat," he said. "I need a little more time."

Airport officials cleared another potential stumbling block in reaching an agreement with environmentalists to permanently set aside 1 acre of new hawk foraging habitat for every acre of hawk habitat destroyed by the expansion.

Initially, airport officials expected to set aside land at a 3/4-acre to 1-acre ratio. Jim Pachl and Jude Lamare, both of Friends of the Swainson's Hawk, balked, citing county codes requiring one-to-one habitat replacement.

"We showed them they were wrong," Pachl said.

County officials also must receive federal environmental clearances, which they hope to get by the end of the year.

The airport, which hit the million-flier mark for the first time in June, is planning the biggest overhaul and expansion in its history.

Officials said the airport is on its way to hitting its 12-million passenger annual capacity. The planned expansion should expand capacity to 21 million.

That expansion is expected to start next year with construction of a 13,800-space parking lot and a car rental complex south of Interstate 5.

Officials say the parking area will compensate for parking spaces lost when a new terminal is built on existing Terminal B parking areas.

The centerpiece of the airport expansion is a three-story, glass-walled central terminal, connected by a tram to a new jet concourse at the end of the airport.

Also planned are a second parking garage, a high-rise hotel attached to the new terminal, and eventually a third runway.

The plan also includes room for a light-rail station, although Regional Transit officials say it doesn't appear they will be able to afford to extend light rail to the airport until after 2020.

[What is a Rivercat?]

Originally Posted by JeffZurn

Airport expansion plans move ahead


Initially, airport officials expected to set aside land at a 3/4-acre to 1-acre ratio. Jim Pachl and Jude Lamare, both of Friends of the Swainson's Hawk, balked, citing county codes requiring one-to-one habitat replacement.

"We showed them they were wrong," Pachl said.

I've interviewed this guy before - he's like the Dan Visnich for the environment and a lame go-to source for lazy reporters.

[travis bickle]

I hear rumors all the time. Some have more credence than others. I just heard this one on the phone from an airport employee - I'm not saying what airport mind you, but it's about 11 miles NW of downtown...

American Airlines in 2008 will return to the SMF-Chicago O'Hare route with two daily flights. These will use the old AA workhorse, MD-88s. I'm told these will start in Summer of 2008. I have heard for years that AA was phasing out the old "mad dogs" as they're called, so I'll be interested to see what develops here.

AA briefly returned to this route a couple of years ago with a summer-only service, but hasn't flown a year-round schedule for several years.

At present, United flies SMF-CHI 4x/day. Southwest flies SMF-MDW 2x/day.

On a sad note: Frontier is discontinuing its service to Reno effective this September. It operates one flight a day RNO-Denver (DIA) until then.

[travis bickle]

Persistent rumor over the last month is that ExpressJet will inaugurate 1x daily service to Bakersfield starting this November. I know the Bakersfield community has wanted this flight for years.

[robw340]

Originally Posted by travis bickle

Persistent rumor over the last month is that ExpressJet will inaugurate 1x daily service to Bakersfield starting this November. I know the Bakersfield community has wanted this flight for years.

well, if this materializes lets see how well it does ....intra-valley service from smf hasnt worked before ...anybody remembers those sac to Redding and sac to San Jose flights? I think there were some smf-oak ones for a while .... but Bakersfield is getting bigger so the demand may be there, and I hope it works... i booked my mom on a smf-tucson flight this fall and i told her i expect a full report on ExpressJet's service since i havent had a chance to fly with them yet ...

[Pistola916]

Can someone explain why it cost so much to fly from SFO to SMF and vice-versa? I'm a student at San Francisco State, but born and raised in sac and I come home occasionally. A buddy of mine and I usually take the bus or rent a car or amtrak but we thought about flying back to sac. United Express has it at $366 one way. That is ridiculous. You would think it would be 50-75 dollars tops

[neuhickman79]

Originally Posted by Pistola916

Can someone explain why it cost so much to fly from SFO to SMF and vice-versa? I'm a student at San Francisco State, but born and raised in sac and I come home occasionally. A buddy of mine and I usually take the bus or rent a car or amtrak but we thought about flying back to sac. United Express has it at $366 one way. That is ridiculous. You would think it would be 50-75 dollars tops

Seriously!?!?! How lazy can you be? By the time you park your car, check your luggage, board the plane and get in the air, you'd be in Sacramento already! Gas would be MAYBE $20 tops!

[Pistola916]

Originally Posted by travis bickle

Persistent rumor over the last month is that ExpressJet will inaugurate 1x daily service to Bakersfield starting this November. I know the Bakersfield community has wanted this flight for years.

That area is booming. I could see a Fresno flight as well.

[travis bickle]

Originally Posted by Pistola916

That area is booming. I could see a Fresno flight as well.

I understand demand is coming from people w/state business (think oil) as 99 is getting increasingly congested.

[travis bickle]

And here they are...

Starting 12.15.07:

Mon., Thur., Sat.
Flight 4596
Lv. SMF 3:15
Av. PVR 8:45

From 1.7.8 – 2.12.08 – service to be 1x/week on Sunday lv. @ 7:45, av. 12:30.

Then back to 3x/week through 3.5.08.