Nashville International Airport Development thread

[markhollin]

Nashville BNA ranks as the fastest growing airport in the nation at 10.9% passenger growth.

Nashville International Airport has beaten its own record for passengers for five consecutive fiscal years (2013-2017). In 2017, it began a $1.2 billion expansion. And, coming in May, British Airways will launch new nonstop service between Nashville and London.

This ranking is based on Federal Aviation Administration data on year-over-year increases in enplanements (passengers boarding) between 2015-2016 at the 61 medium and large airport hubs in the U.S.

This link has a slide show of the Top 25 airports:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2018/01/10/see-how-nashville-international-compares-to-the.html
 

[Hey_Hey]

Huntsville gets a lot of leakage to BNA already. I’ve got family there and most of the time they are flying out of BNA. BNA to downtown Huntsville is right at 2hrs, but the new facility is going to be in Limestone County which is to the west and should cut off another 20 minutes or so. 

[Pdt2f]

I don’t know if anyone posted about this in the fall, but British Airways is only planning to fly to and from BNA 4 times weekly during the winter season, as opposed to the 5 times weekly they’ll do during the summer season. Not sure of the dates they’ll make the switch every year. My hope though is that the flight is such a smashing success that they just go ahead and make it daily. 

https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/275360/british-airways-w18-nashville-frequency-adjustment-as-of-22oct17/

[Lexy]

4 hours ago, Pdt2f said:

I don’t know if anyone posted about this in the fall, but British Airways is only planning to fly to and from BNA 4 times weekly during the winter season, as opposed to the 5 times weekly they’ll do during the summer season. Not sure of the dates they’ll make the switch every year. My hope though is that the flight is such a smashing success that they just go ahead and make it daily. 

https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/275360/british-airways-w18-nashville-frequency-adjustment-as-of-22oct17/

Travel to Europe is historically low during the winter months.  This isn't anything to worry about.  

[NashRugger]

What Lexy said, and a lot of it is because of the nearly consistent inclement weather during the winter with storms every couple days. One storm can swipe the entire continent unlike our side of the pond.

[Pdt2f]

BNA set its yearly record for passenger numbers for the fifth consecutive year. 14.1 million went through the airport in 2017, an 8.9% increase from 2016. 

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2018/01/11/still-soaring-bna-sets-passenger-record.html

[Pdt2f]

Hensel Phelps chosen as the contractor for the $203 million Concourse D expansion. They’re adding 6 gates. Seems kinda low, doesn’t it?

https://www.flynashville.com/news-and-media/press-releases/Pages/JanBoard18.aspx

[dmillsphoto]

52 minutes ago, Pdt2f said:

They’re adding 6 gates. Seems kinda low, doesn’t it?

Not really. Have a look from this view. I have to assume the gates will be about the same size as they are on the C concourse, which has 4 gates that would otherwise run parallel with D right now. Not sure how the 2 closest to D will be affected.

[Pdt2f]

3 hours ago, dmillsphoto said:

Not really. Have a look from this view. I have to assume the gates will be about the same size as they are on the C concourse, which has 4 gates that would otherwise run parallel with D right now. Not sure how the 2 closest to D will be affected.

Yeah, you’re right. I guess I just wanted to be pleasantly surprised with like a 12 gate addition . Now I’m wondering who will lease them, whether it’s one airline or they go piecemeal. Southwest could take them all and ramp up to 200 flights per day if they wanted, or maybe someone could lease them to start a small focus city operation, like JetBlue or one of the other low cost airlines (frontier, spirit, allegiant). Or maybe, since they’ve been increasing service to BNA lately, one of the legacy carriers would want them to make Nashville a focus city/small hub. Whatever happens, it’ll be interesting. 

[MLBrumby]

I could only find a drawing of the "temporary" international gate at Concourse A. 

I think the drawings for Concourse D are still being finalized. 

However, it bears mentioning that future expansions of the terminal could go in either 1) an extension of D; or 2) a crescent shaped terminal accessible by underground "tubes" a'la ATL DEN CVG et.al., but that's a long way off. Option 1 would likely be the first one taken, as Donelson Pike is to be relocated during this current expansion. I believe that's the last phase. 

[PruneTracy]

12 hours ago, MLBrumby said:

However, it bears mentioning that future expansions of the terminal could go in either 1) an extension of D; or 2) a crescent shaped terminal accessible by underground "tubes" a'la ATL DEN CVG et.al., but that's a long way off. Option 1 would likely be the first one taken, as Donelson Pike is to be relocated during this current expansion. I believe that's the last phase. 

BNA Vision retains the pier layout through the plan horizon. It's probably the best choice for the airport, which, barring some major airline returning it to hub status, is not likely to hit the upper traffic limit of that layout in the foreseeable future. (CLT is a much larger airport with a pier layout. It's awful to connect through, but it's functional.) Also, unlike some ATL passengers last month, you don't have to find your way through dark tunnels under aprons when the lights go out.

[MLBrumby]

Right! I agree it's a long way off. And the detached second concourse building (I'd expect) would only be if an airline wanted to go hub at BNA. Don't know if it's true as it seemed hearsay (some of our airport experts might know) but I heard from an American Airlines executive at BNA that the hole there was left open in the event that they would want to expand. I always thought it was a sinkhole. He said it's not and the taxiways were built up around that depression to serve as drainage. 

Future air travel trends are really so hard to pin down. I remember my grandfather telling me when I was a kid that Atlanta dragged their feet after WW2 for years "running Delta out of a maze of chicken coops" because the industry was changing so fast. They finally built a "fancy new" airport that lasted less than 20 years. 

About the most fascinating story of airport development never living up to its potential was the old Greater Southwest International Airport in Fort Worth Airport.

 

Edited January 18, 2018 by MLBrumby

[jmtunafish]

22 minutes ago, MLBrumby said:

bout the most fascinating story of airport development never living up to its potential was the old Greater Southwest International Airport in Fort Worth Airport.

 

And the stupid MidAmerica Airport in rural Illinois 30 miles outside of St Louis.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/midamerica-airport--the-ghost-airport-costing-taxpayers-millions-583907907594

[markhollin]

Hensel Phelps Construction Co. has been awarded the $203 million design build contract for the Concourse D and terminal wings expansion project which should be complete by 2020. Eutaw Construction Co. has gotten the the $23 million contract for the terminal apron and taxi lane expansion project, to be completed by spring of 2019.

https://www.nashvillepost.com/business/development/article/20989249/notes-airport-awards-contracts-with-collective-value-of-226m

 

[NashvilleObserver]

I think the new expansions will tide us over... for now. But by the time they are completed, we may have to consider  further expansions at the rate Nashville is becoming an international city! 

[Pdt2f]

2 hours ago, NashvilleObserver said:

I think the new expansions will tide us over... for now. But by the time they are completed, we may have to consider  further expansions at the rate Nashville is becoming an international city! 

The apron expansion seems like it would make expanding Concourse B easier, or even adding a wing to make C a “T” shape. I personally think that with current growth trends the airport’s expectations of “20 million passengers by 2035” is laughably conservative. We’re gaining a million passengers per year and with the way our economy and tourism/conventioneer numbers keep rising I just don’t think it’ll be that long. 

[markhollin]

Time-lapse video of airport garage expansion.  All seems on schedule for mid-August, 2018 opening:
 

 

[Pdt2f]

Westjet resumes their seasonal service to Calgary on April 30. They will offer 3 flights per week, up from the two weekly flights they offered last year. From what I can tell the flights will be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 

Wondering why Southwest hasn’t announced any new summer flights. With planes as full as theirs are at BNA you’d think they’d be chomping at the bit to add service. 

[samsonh]

3 hours ago, Pdt2f said:

Westjet resumes their seasonal service to Calgary on April 30. They will offer 3 flights per week, up from the two weekly flights they offered last year. From what I can tell the flights will be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 

Wondering why Southwest hasn’t announced any new summer flights. With planes as full as theirs are at BNA you’d think they’d be chomping at the bit to add service. 

Oddly enough I haven’t been on a full southwest flight out of bna in my last 5 or so. I don’t fly a ton but enough to get A list. So take that as a small anecdote 

[Pdt2f]

2 hours ago, samsonh said:

Oddly enough I haven’t been on a full southwest flight out of bna in my last 5 or so. I don’t fly a ton but enough to get A list. So take that as a small anecdote 

That’s interesting, thank you for sharing! Most of what backed my statement is just colloquial, having gathered the impression by talking to people around town that their planes tend to be full. Can you think of any of the destinations on your not-full southwest flights, just to satisfy my nerdiness?

[dmillsphoto]

6 minutes ago, Pdt2f said:

That’s interesting, thank you for sharing! Most of what backed my statement is just colloquial, having gathered the impression by talking to people around town that their planes tend to be full. Can you think of any of the destinations on your not-full southwest flights, just to satisfy my nerdiness?

My return flight from Boston two weeks ago was only about half full. Going up the week before, however, was sold out.

[samsonh]

14 minutes ago, Pdt2f said:

That’s interesting, thank you for sharing! Most of what backed my statement is just colloquial, having gathered the impression by talking to people around town that their planes tend to be full. Can you think of any of the destinations on your not-full southwest flights, just to satisfy my nerdiness?

Usually Austin, but DCA was basically empty last week.

[smeagolsfree]

This is the slow time for airlines I believe. That's why we see all the sales this time of year. The convention business starts traditionally in the spring and go into late fall/early winter. 

I for one do not plan on flying to the cold destinations for vacation  this time of year, like Missoula Montana, Jackson Hole, Chicago, Boston or any other frigid place on the planet.

 

[GreenHillsBoy]

Flight to Dallas Love was packed day after Christmas and also coming back day after New Year's on Southwest.

[NashRugger]

Southwest's fleet is the smallest it's been in a couple years right now with the retirement of the 500s and 300s and slowly taking delivery of new 800s and 800 MAX aircraft. The company is focusing heavily on streamlining some destinations, like Florida to the Caribbean/Mexico and eventually lining up on the West Coast for Hawaii.