Nashville International Airport Development thread

[jmtunafish]

I love the carpet at BNA!  There's an online petition to keep BNA from replacing that 90s-era carpet with tile.  

https://www.wkrn.com/news/petition-aims-to-save-carpet-at-nashville-international-airport/1949361982?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_WKRN_Good_Morning_Nashville&fbclid=IwAR0VG7MjaqPrptmKVA7h_TeSCsoq1_hDoaLznfL4hR6a9AyxyI-H8ukFyO0

Edited April 24, 2019 by jmtunafish

[markhollin]

Airport Garages A & B (w/ administration building on top)  update. Pillars rising. Starting on 2nd level on NE quadrant.

Looking east from Terminal Drive:

Looking SE from Terminal Drive:

[Bos2Nash]

3 hours ago, jmtunafish said:

I love the carpet at BNA!  There's an online petition to keep BNA from replacing that 90s-era carpet with tile.  

https://www.wkrn.com/news/petition-aims-to-save-carpet-at-nashville-international-airport/1949361982?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_WKRN_Good_Morning_Nashville&fbclid=IwAR0VG7MjaqPrptmKVA7h_TeSCsoq1_hDoaLznfL4hR6a9AyxyI-H8ukFyO0

I get that people are overly nostalgic, but the amount of money that is necessary to maintain and clean carpet compared to tile makes this decision easy. Rather than having a petition to keep the carpet in place, why not ask that the carpet be refurbished into acoustical treatments that could be mounted on the walls or suspended from the ceiling. It's freaking carpet!!!

Also, that one broadcaster just cant keep it together. Broadcasters are supposed to be neutral aren't they lol.

[titanhog]

I was at the airport at midnight last night to pick up a friend.  First of all...that place was still rockin' with traffic backed up and flights coming in.  I remember not too long ago when this place would be dead at midnight.

[CenterHill]

5 hours ago, jmtunafish said:

There's an online petition to keep BNA from replacing that 90s-era carpet with tile.  

 

90's?     I don't think the carpet is that old, is it?  

While I get that it's become a thing, like Wings and I Believe,  I'm not inclined to sign the petition.      Bags roll easier on tile.  

 

[Jamie Hall]

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Bos2Nash said:

I get that people are overly nostalgic, but the amount of money that is necessary to maintain and clean carpet compared to tile makes this decision easy.

I'm a sucker for nostalgia, but in this case: Rip that filthy, stained, worn, tacky carpet off the floor, cut it into 15.1k pieces, and give the pieces to the 15.1k followers of the "BNA Carpet" Instagram page. They can have it. I'd take bare concrete over that carpet.

[donNdonelson2]

17 minutes ago, CenterHill said:

90's?     I don't think the carpet is that old, is it?  

While I get that it's become a thing, like Wings and I Believe,  I'm not inclined to sign the petition.      Bags roll easier on tile.  

 

I agree that the carpet is not that old!

It replaced tile in the airport, and roller bags are easier to roll-and much QUIETER-on carpet!

Keep the carpet (I don’t care whether it trends on Twitter & Instagram or not).

[ruraljuror]

14 minutes ago, donNdonelson2 said:

I agree that the carpet is not that old!

It replaced tile in the airport, and roller bags are easier to roll-and much QUIETER-on carpet!

 

Agreed.  To me, the carpet is what makes BNA feel 'homey' and not like the noisy, cavernous echo chamber of many tiled airports.  

[jmtunafish]

1 hour ago, CenterHill said:

90's?     I don't think the carpet is that old, is it?  

While I get that it's become a thing, like Wings and I Believe,  I'm not inclined to sign the petition.      Bags roll easier on tile.  

 

Yeah sorry, I meant the style looks like the 90s.  The  BNA carpet looks like it was made from the same material as the throw pillows I bought from Pier 1 when I was furnishing my very first apartment in Atlanta in the 90s.

 

1 hour ago, donNdonelson2 said:

I agree that the carpet is not that old!

It replaced tile in the airport, and roller bags are easier to roll-and much QUIETER-on carpet!

Keep the carpet (I don’t care whether it trends on Twitter & Instagram or not).

 

51 minutes ago, ruraljuror said:

 

Agreed.  To me, the carpet is what makes BNA feel 'homey' and not like the noisy, cavernous echo chamber of many tiled airports.  

Exactly.  

[Bos2Nash]

I understand the homey factor, but we are looking at expanding our airport to be a true international presence. Carpet tends to date pretty easy, coupled with the cleaning and durability tile if the more economical route. The harsh part about tile is the sound, which is why I recommended using the carpet for acoustical treatments so the sound is tempered, the carpet remains in the airport and the airport is being sustainable by recycling materials. Win, win, win!

[nashvylle]

4 hours ago, titanhog said:

I was at the airport at midnight last night to pick up a friend.  First of all...that place was still rockin' with traffic backed up and flights coming in.  I remember not too long ago when this place would be dead at midnight.

the ingress/egress at our airport is a serious issue. 

[NashvilleObserver]

11 hours ago, jmtunafish said:

I love the carpet at BNA!  There's an online petition to keep BNA from replacing that 90s-era carpet with tile.  

https://www.wkrn.com/news/petition-aims-to-save-carpet-at-nashville-international-airport/1949361982?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_WKRN_Good_Morning_Nashville&fbclid=IwAR0VG7MjaqPrptmKVA7h_TeSCsoq1_hDoaLznfL4hR6a9AyxyI-H8ukFyO0

At first glance, I thought this was going to be an update about how crowded the check-ins are at BNA and nearly s*** a brick. I'm on the way there. 

The carpet, however much it's currently 'trending', really needs to go. Maybe keep a small area of the original for nostalgia's sake, if it's really that important. But to me, keeping this carpet is akin to keeping a dingy one-story brick building smack-dab in the middle of downtown just because it used to be a cool place to go.

[PruneTracy]

32 minutes ago, NashvilleObserver said:

But to me, keeping this carpet is akin to keeping a dingy one-story brick building smack-dab in the middle of downtown just because it used to be a cool place to go.

Except it was never really a cool place to go and only finds its popularity because of a certain generation's obsession with ironic attachments to unremarkable minutiae for the sake of appearing quirky and interesting

[MLBrumby]

Not to pull a thread on BNA far off topic, but forgive me for asking which one-story brick building is being referred to here?

[Mr_Bond]

1 hour ago, NashvilleObserver said:

The carpet, however much it's currently 'trending', really needs to go. Maybe keep a small area of the original for nostalgia's sake, if it's really that important. But to me, keeping this carpet is akin to keeping a dingy one-story brick building smack-dab in the middle of downtown just because it used to be a cool place to go.

Perhaps BNA could auction it off in square foot pieces much like UT did in the '90s when they replaced the artificial turf in the end zones.  Every UT fan in the country got a framed square of orange and/or white that Christmas.  Now, every Carpet Fan can have a piece of history in their home!

[Sean blackdog]

Today evening British Airways landed 5:42 pm. Too early?  

Oh, FedEx here too. 

Edited April 25, 2019 by Sean blackdog

[FluffyP13]

that carpet is pretty new. it was added when they updated the airport what like 10 years ago or so? it wasn't all that long 

[e-dub]

^^ correct.

[LA_TN]

There has been a plan, all along, to do an art project or mural with the BNA carpet. No renderings or details have been finalized

9 hours ago, nashvylle said:

the ingress/egress at our airport is a serious issue. 

This was discussed a month ago and I never had time to reply. The departure area currently has 4 entrances that will be expanded to 6, when BNA Vision is complete. The new entrances will come online with the terminal "wings" that is currently under construction. The existing entrances will be individually closed during different phases of construction on the new lobby. Additionally, there will be new access to the terminal via the overhead walkway from the terminal garage, when complete

[nashvylle]

6 hours ago, LA_TN said:

This was discussed a month ago and I never had time to reply. The departure area currently has 4 entrances that will be expanded to 6, when BNA Vision is complete. The new entrances will come online with the terminal "wings" that is currently under construction. The existing entrances will be individually closed during different phases of construction on the new lobby. Additionally, there will be new access to the terminal via the overhead walkway from the terminal garage, when complete

Thanks. In your opinion, will these new entrances be enough? 

[LA_TN]

2 hours ago, nashvylle said:

Thanks. In your opinion, will these new entrances be enough? 

Yes. The overhead walkway will eliminate the biggest design flaw that existed where all the terminal garage travelers had to walk across the road, thus making traffic a nightmare

[Sean blackdog]

I notice online last night. 

Three phases:

$1.2 billion will be spent by 2023;

another $1.2 billion will be spent by 2028;

and $1.6 billion will be spent by 2033.

Total $4 BILLION!!  

https://communityimpact.com/nashville/city-county/2019/04/25/nashville-international-airport-to-reinvest-4b-by-2033/

 

Edited April 26, 2019 by Sean blackdog

[smeagolsfree]

And this from the NBJ this morning in relation to the above. Thanks Sean for the alert!

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2019/04/26/1-2b-is-just-a-start-airport-ceo-details-even.html?ana=e_mc_prem&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTkRrME1UWXpZV0V4WlRJeSIsInQiOiJhb25oaVJvb05qcmRQamVZYUNBOElRZnpcL0lpQ2dPaFBINXhEcEcrTHEyY1BZSW1zYVhSWUxzTXhsc3RsQjV4b0g0eDNobUlteDhsQm03K3RCY1wveGpGNjFwNEw0aklaTGFjMjEySmlQck5uQ2MxY0J3UVMrbzZQam1jV1FcL3o1WSJ9

[markhollin]

For those who can't read behind the NBJ paywall, here are a few more details:

- Starting in 2024, another 11 gates, and extend one runway to handle jets that fly nonstop  to/from Asia. Cost of $1.2 billion.  

- The runway best-suited for expansion is about 8,000 feet long today and needs to grow by another 50% to accommodate the largest planes. The airport owns most of the land necessary but would need to buy a couple of residential properties on the other side of Murfreesboro Pike to have enough space.

- The runway extension would involve lowering Murfeesboro Road, so drivers would pass underneath the runway (which is already the case in another spot on that road).

- Starting around 2033, $1.6 billion more for a second terminal with 20-30 gates, and a tram to ferry passengers between the two complexes. The question to be addressed is whether to build it immediately south of the existing terminal, or east of Donelson Pike (in both cases, the airport owns the land needed).

- Airport CEO Kreulen is forecasting 15% growth in passengers this year over 2018, when just under 16 million flew in/out of the airport.

- The terminal hotel will be 11 stories, on top of the existing 5 levels of new Parking Garage A & B.  The airport is doing a "request for qualifications" now, and it will take another year or so to issue a formal, more specific "request for proposals," Kreulen said. The airport will pick two or three teams to bid for that proposal, based on who responded to the request for qualifications.

- Many in the business community desire nonstop service to Asia. Japan invests more in Tennessee than any other foreign country, with nearly 180 Japanese-owned companies operating in the state.

- At the end of what Kreulen dubbed BNA Vision 1.0, the airport will have 49 domestic gates, a 15% increase. The next expansion, which Kreulen named BNA Vision 2.0, would bring that total to 60, a nearly 25% jump.

- The runway best-suited for expansion is about 8,000 feet long today and needs to grow by another 50% to accommodate the largest planes. The airport owns most of the land necessary but would need to buy a couple of residential properties on the other side of Murfreesboro Pike to have enough space.

A side note: British Airways is VERY pleased with their Nashville service, which began 11 months ago, and last month upped to flights 7 days a week (had been 5).  An airline normally makes profit if at least 70% of a flight is occupied, Kreulen said. So far, occupancy is in the high 80's on the British Airways flights, Kreulen said. "I think they're pretty happy with the returns," Kreulen said, citing a 31% profit in their first quarter and a 24% margin in their second quarter.

Also: on average, a plane lands or takes off from BNA every two minutes.

[Sean blackdog]

1 hour ago, smeagolsfree said:

And this from the NBJ this morning in relation to the above. Thanks Sean for the alert!

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2019/04/26/1-2b-is-just-a-start-airport-ceo-details-even.html?ana=e_mc_prem&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTkRrME1UWXpZV0V4WlRJeSIsInQiOiJhb25oaVJvb05qcmRQamVZYUNBOElRZnpcL0lpQ2dPaFBINXhEcEcrTHEyY1BZSW1zYVhSWUxzTXhsc3RsQjV4b0g0eDNobUlteDhsQm03K3RCY1wveGpGNjFwNEw0aklaTGFjMjEySmlQck5uQ2MxY0J3UVMrbzZQam1jV1FcL3o1WSJ9

No problem.