Nashville International Airport Development thread

[markhollin]

Nashville Airport soars in satisfaction survey:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2017/09/21/nashvilles-airport-soars-in-satisfaction-study.html

 

[NashRugger]

3 hours ago, Pdt2f said:

Now the interesting question - and I completely realize that this is pure conjecture based on an on-the-spot diplomatic response by Branson and I'm just thinking out loud - is that since Virgin Atlantic codeshares with Delta, if VA adds a Nashville to LHR or LGW and Delta adds AMS as rumored, would Delta just go ahead and bump BNA into a focus city or minor hub? I realize that it would involve expanding gate capacity beyond what they have now, but it seems with two European flights and an expanding population, Nashville would be a good choice as another way of taking pressure off ATL. 

Delta is trying to spread some of it out away from their European hubs, like JFK and ATL, to add more capacity overall and also reduce risk of cancellations if a hub gets weather or whatever. That's something Southwest does with as many "focus cities" they have. I still would not be shocked if American ramped up ops in BNA, granted more gates are currently U/C in Charlotte.

[jmtunafish]

6 hours ago, Pdt2f said:

Now the interesting question - and I completely realize that this is pure conjecture based on an on-the-spot diplomatic response by Branson and I'm just thinking out loud - is that since Virgin Atlantic codeshares with Delta, if VA adds a Nashville to LHR or LGW and Delta adds AMS as rumored, would Delta just go ahead and bump BNA into a focus city or minor hub? I realize that it would involve expanding gate capacity beyond what they have now, but it seems with two European flights and an expanding population, Nashville would be a good choice as another way of taking pressure off ATL. 

 

2 hours ago, NashRugger said:

Delta is trying to spread some of it out away from their European hubs, like JFK and ATL, to add more capacity overall and also reduce risk of cancellations if a hub gets weather or whatever. That's something Southwest does with as many "focus cities" they have. I still would not be shocked if American ramped up ops in BNA, granted more gates are currently U/C in Charlotte.

If DL does bulk up its service at BNA, especially if it includes a transatlantic flight or two, be prepared for some major howling coming from MEM.

[memphian]

BNA and MEM are in two completely different worlds. One is passenger traffic and the other is shipping - apples and oranges.

[BnaBreaker]

3 hours ago, memphian said:

BNA and MEM are in two completely different worlds. One is passenger traffic and the other is shipping - apples and oranges.

I think the howling would be a result of Delta having closed it's Memphis hub not too long ago... ya know, Memphis is the Jan Brady to Nashville's Marsha... at least in the eyes of most Memphians.  haha

Edited September 22, 2017 by BnaBreaker

[titanhog]

2 hours ago, BnaBreaker said:

 Memphis is the Jan Brady to Nashville's Marsha... at least in the eyes of most Memphians.  haha

 

[jmtunafish]

8 hours ago, BnaBreaker said:

I think the howling would be a result of Delta having closed it's Memphis hub not too long ago... ya know, Memphis is the Jan Brady to Nashville's Marsha... at least in the eyes of most Memphians.  haha

This.  Northwest had a nice hub at MEM which included a nonstop to Amsterdam.  When DL bought NW it promised to keep MEM as a hub.  A year or so later it started dismantling its hub in MEM to where now it has a smaller presence in MEM than it does in BNA.  The Memphis airport authority is now spending hundreds of millions of dollars to shrink the size of its passenger terminal now that it has 1/3 the passenger traffic as BNA; it's literally going to bulldoze a couple of concourses.  If DL were to add transatlantic service out of BNA, I can only imagine how some in Memphis will react.

Edited September 22, 2017 by jmtunafish

[memphian]

There will be some huffing and puffing but those who live without the rose-colored glasses know that Memphis isn't the city it was in the 50's through the early 80's. 

The airport is a direct reflection of the state of the city itself. BNA could be reasonably argued to reflect the health of Nashville, too.

but yeah, a few folks here will boo hoo hoo. 

[Nathan_in_DC]

6 hours ago, memphian said:

There will be some huffing and puffing but those who live without the rose-colored glasses know that Memphis isn't the city it was in the 50's through the early 80's. 

The airport is a direct reflection of the state of the city itself. BNA could be reasonably argued to reflect the health of Nashville, too.

but yeah, a few folks here will boo hoo hoo. 

That's entirely true. 

It's been 7 or 8 years since I flew in or out of MEM, but unless they did a major renovation it's one of the dingiest airports I've ever seen. I'd be embarrassed as an airline to pickup passengers from Schipol and drop them off at MEM. BNA, however, is bright and airy, with its only major stain being baggage claim. It sucks they were mislead by AA, but I totally get AA moving out.

 

[jmtunafish]

8 hours ago, Nathan_in_DC said:

That's entirely true. 

It's been 7 or 8 years since I flew in or out of MEM, but unless they did a major renovation it's one of the dingiest airports I've ever seen. I'd be embarrassed as an airline to pickup passengers from Schipol and drop them off at MEM. BNA, however, is bright and airy, with its only major stain being baggage claim. It sucks they were mislead by AA, but I totally get AA moving out.

 

I've often wondered what would've happened to BNA had AA not used it as a hubette.  I mean, would BNA have built the new terminal anyway, or would we still be using the old terminal off Briley Pkwy?  

[fieldmarshaldj]

29 minutes ago, jmtunafish said:

I've often wondered what would've happened to BNA had AA not used it as a hubette.  I mean, would BNA have built the new terminal anyway, or would we still be using the old terminal off Briley Pkwy?  

There wouldn't have been the impetus to build a new terminal right then. However, I expect given the growth, we still probably would've ended up with a new terminal by 2000 or so.

[NashRugger]

On 9/21/2017 at 3:54 PM, markhollin said:

Nashville Airport soars in satisfaction survey:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2017/09/21/nashvilles-airport-soars-in-satisfaction-study.html

 

That's some good company we're in, especially having worked at Dallas-Love Field. A sleek, modern facility with high ceilings and TONS of natural light in the concourses. 

[Nathan_in_DC]

6 hours ago, fieldmarshaldj said:

There wouldn't have been the impetus to build a new terminal right then. However, I expect given the growth, we still probably would've ended up with a new terminal by 2000 or so.

I think you're probably right. By the mid nineties traffic would have outgrown the old facility, and it would be difficult to expand it or modernize it. Few airports can withstand 30 years of growth and changes without major modifications or rebuilds, let alone 50.

[Binbin98]

BNA traffic is past MEM's traffic as it was when it was a hub and is growing, so it would not be a total surprise if Delta begins flying TATL (specifically Amsterdam with philips in town).

i specifically feel a holiday carrier or low cost along the lines of Condor, Wow air, or even Thomas cook as I mentioned will fly to Nashville next. I heard some people mention air Berlin earlier but there is a 0% chance of that happening as they have gone into bankruptcy and are axing routes left and right.

[jmtunafish]

2 hours ago, Binbin98 said:

BNA traffic is past MEM's traffic as it was when it was a hub and is growing, so it would not be a total surprise if Delta begins flying TATL (specifically Amsterdam with philips in town).

i specifically feel a holiday carrier or low cost along the lines of Condor, Wow air, or even Thomas cook as I mentioned will fly to Nashville next. I heard some people mention air Berlin earlier but there is a 0% chance of that happening as they have gone into bankruptcy and are axing routes left and right.

While I wouldn't be surprised if DL starts a BNA-AMS route, my preference is for a BNA-CDG route.  CDG is the larger hub, and there are undoubtedly more French companies in Nashville than Dutch.  Schneider Electric is French and has over 1,100 at its Franklin office, more than the 800 Phillips is bringing to Nashville.  And, of course, Nissan is 43.4% French (Renault).  Still, I'll be absolutely giddy for a nonstop to Amsterdam but my preference would be for Paris.

Edited September 23, 2017 by jmtunafish

[Flatrock]

48 minutes ago, jmtunafish said:

Still, I'll be absolutely giddy for a nonstop to Amsterdam but my preference would be for Paris.

Honestly,  my myriad flights in/out of Amsterdam have been almost universally flawless... whilst my experiences in/out of CDG are marred by countless mishaps. From lost luggage,  delayed flights,  canceled flights,  pilot/cabin crew/airport worker strikes to having a thief steal my briefcase whilst standing in a ticket queue. I loath that airport. Sorry,  had to get that off my chest....feel much better now. Thinking happy thoughts..... 

[urbanplanet17]

On 9/22/2017 at 6:05 AM, jmtunafish said:

This.  Northwest had a nice hub at MEM which included a nonstop to Amsterdam.  When DL bought NW it promised to keep MEM as a hub.  A year or so later it started dismantling its hub in MEM to where now it has a smaller presence in MEM than it does in BNA.  The Memphis airport authority is now spending hundreds of millions of dollars to shrink the size of its passenger terminal now that it has 1/3 the passenger traffic as BNA; it's literally going to bulldoze a couple of concourses.  If DL were to add transatlantic service out of BNA, I can only imagine how some in Memphis will react.

Memphis (and to a lesser extent, Cincinnati) got screwed over because it just so happened that Detroit had completed MASSIVE upgrades and renovations to its airport before the NWA-DL meger. 

 Delta was virtually drooling over the brand spanking new and underutilized McNamara terminal. Combined that with the Airline's industry push to consolidate their operations and the smaller airports such as Memphis and Cincinnnati ended up being the casualties. 

That said, had DTW still been using the dumpy Smith Terminal, things may have played out a bit differently. 

[NashRugger]

CVG (Cincinnati) is already doing what Memphis is planning, knock down some concourses. Granted, one of the terminals at CV opened in the 90s and is no longer used. If any airport has suffered being stripped of hub, it's Cincinnati. I'd say Cleveland is a 2nd and St. Louis 3rd.

[urbanplanet17]

8 minutes ago, NashRugger said:

CVG (Cincinnati) is already doing what Memphis is planning, knock down some concourses. Granted, one of the terminals at CV opened in the 90s and is no longer used. If any airport has suffered being stripped of hub, it's Cincinnati. I'd say Cleveland is a 2nd and St. Louis 3rd.

Cincinnati is still technically a Delta hub, but only in-name at this point.

Edited September 23, 2017 by urbanplanet17

[jmtunafish]

24 minutes ago, urbanplanet17 said:

Memphis (and to a lesser extent, Cincinnati) got screwed over because it just so happened that Detroit had completed MASSIVE upgrades and renovations to its airport before the NWA-DL meger. 

 Delta was virtually drooling over the brand spanking new and underutilized McNamara terminal. Combined that with the Airline's industry push to consolidate their operations and the smaller airports such as Memphis and Cincinnnati ended up being the casualties. 

That said, had DTW still been using the dumpy Smith Terminal, things may have played out a bit differently. 

I love DTW's new terminal.   It's sleek, airy, convenient, and uncrowded.  The old terminal, on the other hand, had all the elegance of a truckstop restroom. 

[NashRugger]

2 hours ago, urbanplanet17 said:

Cincinnati is still technically a Delta hub, but only in-name at this point.

Ah, that is correct, but just barely hanging on. 

[Pdt2f]

I'm not well versed in European business, but which of the two Delta European hubs would provide the biggest economic boon to Nashville? Like which would lead to more European  investment, etc in Nashville, and which would Nashville's business community prefer?

[urbanplanet17]

25 minutes ago, Pdt2f said:

I'm not well versed in European business, but which of the two Delta European hubs would provide the biggest economic boon to Nashville? Like which would lead to more European  investment, etc in Nashville, and which would Nashville's business community prefer?

I would think Hartsfield-Jackson, easily.

BTW, Delta has five major European hubs.

*Detroit (Auto Industry)

*Seattle (Tech Industry)

*Atlanta

*JFK 

*LAX

[Pdt2f]

17 minutes ago, urbanplanet17 said:

I would think Hartsfield-Jackson, easily.

BTW, Delta has five major European hubs.

*Detroit (Auto Industry)

*Seattle (Tech Industry)

*Atlanta

*JFK 

*LAX

I'm sorry, I should have specified better. I meant their European hubs as in AMS and CDG, hubs they share with KLM and Air France. My bad. 

[jmtunafish]

4 hours ago, Pdt2f said:

I'm sorry, I should have specified better. I meant their European hubs as in AMS and CDG, hubs they share with KLM and Air France. My bad. 

Right now, if I figured it correctly, it looks like DL services 1 more North American city from its AMS hub than it does from its CDG hub.  However, if Delta partners Air France/KLM (KLM is owned by Air France) are added, then they become even as Air France also flies nonstop to Orlando.  From what I can tell, KLM doesn't fly to any North American cities that aren't already serviced by Delta.  Same with Air France, other than Orlando.

Cities with DL nonstops to Paris CDG (20) (21 with AF's Orlando flight included):

• Atlanta
• Boston
• Chicago
• Cincinnati*
• Detroit
• Houston
• Las Vegas
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• Minneapolis
• Montreal
• New York
• Pittsburgh*
• Raleigh*
• Salt Lake
• San Francisco
• Seattle
• Toronto
• Vancouver
• Washington

Cities with DL nonstops to Amsterdam (21):

• Atlanta
• Austin*
• Boston
• Calgary
• Chicago
• Detroit
• Edmonton*
• Houston
• Las Vegas
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• Minneapolis
• Montreal
• New York
• Portland
• Salt Lake
• San Francisco
• Seattle
• Toronto
• Vancouver
• Washington

*Airports which are smaller than BNA

Edited September 24, 2017 by jmtunafish