Nashville International Airport Development thread

[Sean blackdog]

Today this evening. 
Blue tower crane is up by big yellow mobile crane overnight. 

[Brichar4]

Where exactly is that blue tower crane in relation to the airport? Next to the international terminal for its construction or somewhere else?

[Sean blackdog]

1 hour ago, Brichar4 said:

Where exactly is that blue tower crane in relation to the airport? Next to the international terminal for its construction or somewhere else?

14 stories new Hilton Hotel. 
https://bnavisionnashville.com/2020/10/21/its-official-world-class-on-airport-hilton-hotel-coming-to-bna/

[Sean blackdog]

Today this morning. 
Lunch time. 
Continue Blue tower crane up by big yellow mobile crane. 

[Sean blackdog]

Today this evening.
Rain all day. 
Blue tower crane is completed. 

 

Edited January 19, 2022 by Sean blackdog

[Sean blackdog]

Today this morning from Facebook BNA. 
 

BY THE NUMBERS: 71% of steel is in place on our International Arrivals Facility! That's 1,276 steel beams and columns out of a total of 1,798 that form the skeleton of this major terminal expansion project. 

 The new (and MUCH bigger) International Arrivals Facility will open in 2023 with 6 international gates (compared to 2 today) and a new Customs and Border Protection area, replacing the current facility at the end of Concourse A. It will set the stage for a whole lot more international travel! (Keep up the great work, HENSEL PHELPS.) #BNAVision

Edited January 22, 2022 by Sean blackdog

[Nathan_in_DC]

On 1/14/2022 at 12:22 AM, Sean blackdog said:

Here we go. 

 

 

Thanks! I missed that they were extending the concourse!

[Sean blackdog]

Today this morning from Sky5. 

[Sean blackdog]

Continue working on BNA. 

[Sean blackdog]

Today this evening. 

[AUNash]

From B concourse.

[Nathan_in_DC]

I flew in last Thursday at about 6:30. Not nearly as crowded as it would be on a Friday, but the arrivals passenger pickup zone was still way too crowded for safe and efficient operation. I honestly don't know how people don't get run over, between people not paying attention because they're glued to their phonnes and the crazies driving through. The reworked pickup area can't open soon enough.

[Sean blackdog]

Today this evening from BNA. 
#BNA is beautiful from any altitude, including orbit! Thanks to NASA Astronaut Shane Kimbrough for this photo from the International Space Station. Posted with permission. #AirportsFromSpace 

 

[markhollin]

Airport Hilton progress.

 

[Chato_reyes]

Frontier and Spirit merging is interesting, I wasn't aware both airlines were using MCO in Orlando and not Sanford. Will be interesting to see if Allegiant responds locally and on which routes. 

[Bos2Nash]

1 hour ago, Chato_reyes said:

Frontier and Spirit merging is interesting, I wasn't aware both airlines were using MCO in Orlando and not Sanford. Will be interesting to see if Allegiant responds locally and on which routes. 

For those interested, here is an article about the merger. I think this information paired with some information shared about the satellite concourse starts to make sense when seen together.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/07/frontier-and-spirit-to-merge-creating-5th-largest-airline-in-us.html

[Pdt2f]

7 hours ago, Chato_reyes said:

Frontier and Spirit merging is interesting, I wasn't aware both airlines were using MCO in Orlando and not Sanford. Will be interesting to see if Allegiant responds locally and on which routes. 

This is just my perspective, but I don’t see Allegiant as having a direct competitor. Spirit runs pretty standard route pairings, just super cheap, and ULCC’s like Frontier and Sun Country have massive bases in one market but smaller focus city operations around the country. Allegiant seems to just throw darts at the board and then connects wherever they land with tourism destinations like Las Vegas, Orlando, and Nashville. They’re great at what they do and make money hand over fist, but I don’t think they feel threatened by much when their business model is to connect price conscious vacationers in places like Des Moines and Rapid City with Orlando’s second airport and Nashville. 
 

 

7 hours ago, Bos2Nash said:

For those interested, here is an article about the merger. I think this information paired with some information shared about the satellite concourse starts to make sense when seen together.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/07/frontier-and-spirit-to-merge-creating-5th-largest-airline-in-us.html

If they’re getting all 8 gates in the satellite that could be a pretty serious operation. They’re not going to get close to WN’s operation size (especially if WN expands at BNA like many are speculating they will to Baltimore or Las Vegas 200+ daily flights level, after the expansion and Max7 deliveries commence), but 8 gates would be enough for 70-90 flights per day, if fully utilized. It would be weird to see that now but the combined Frontier and Spirit have a ton of planes on order. 

[Sean blackdog]

Today this evening. Continue working on building. 
 

 

Edited February 11, 2022 by Sean blackdog

[Chato_reyes]

Spirit and frontier have a combined 7 departures today, two to Orlando. That's as many as Allegiant has on their own. They could each take one gate and under utilize it and have six left over for a bigger carrier. Might make sense to put Alaska, JetBlue, and British Airways as they all codeshare with American and keep them close, but that's only another 5 or 6 departures a day. United take the other 4/5 gates?

[markhollin]

Progress on terminal:

[GreenHillsBoy]

Flew back into BNA from Denver last night and the passenger pick up remains a disaster.  With so many of us on this flight having skis, trying to maneuver to waiting cars, it is truly a clusterf__k.  Again,  little presence of security to make cars move when there is no one coming out is mind blowing.  Don't park in cell just pull up to the area outside baggage claim and wait, 15, 20 30 minutes no one seems to care except the people who actually are there waiting to be picked up.  

[Sean blackdog]

Today this evening. 

[markhollin]

Airport Terminal Hilton (14 stories, 292 rooms, parking garage pedestal) update: starting 4th level of garage.

Looking NE from Terminal Drive:
 

[Nathan_in_DC]

On 2/13/2022 at 3:38 PM, GreenHillsBoy said:

Flew back into BNA from Denver last night and the passenger pick up remains a disaster.  With so many of us on this flight having skis, trying to maneuver to waiting cars, it is truly a clusterf__k.  Again,  little presence of security to make cars move when there is no one coming out is mind blowing.  Don't park in cell just pull up to the area outside baggage claim and wait, 15, 20 30 minutes no one seems to care except the people who actually are there waiting to be picked up.  

I know it's just anecdotal, but I don't think I've ever seen a single situation where an officer actually made someone move because they were just sitting there. I've watched people sitting in their cars, turned off, just chilling out, and the airport police just walk right past them, even though traffic is backed up down the ramp. It's maddening.

[PillowTalk4]

31 minutes ago, Nathan_in_DC said:

I know it's just anecdotal, but I don't think I've ever seen a single situation where an officer actually made someone move because they were just sitting there. I've watched people sitting in their cars, turned off, just chilling out, and the airport police just walk right past them, even though traffic is backed up down the ramp. It's maddening.

That should certainly be addressed.  That's a serious safety hazard and it also creates a potentially dangerous scenario.  One thing I will say about the DC area airports (BWI, DCA and IAD), they do not play when it comes to cars sitting idle in the pick-up zones.  Especially during holidays and other peak times.  There is no camping out while waiting on someone.  And no long good-byes when you're dropping off someone.  This past Christmas when I arrived at BWI to pick-up friends and family that flew in from Nashville, I actually ended up calling them while they were in baggage claim to take one of the parking garage shuttle buses because it would be easier for me to pick them up in the garage than at the terminal due to enormous amount of traffic.   I waited in the cell phone lot next to the garage and waited for them to call me before entering the garage to pick them up.  I wasn't even charged anything because I was only in the garage at best for 3-4 minutes.

Nashvillians, have to learn that those days of simply waiting where ever you want to pick up someone is just not practical and creates a serious inconvenience for everyone else.  If I'm picking up someone at an airport, I always check the status of their flight to determine the best time to head to the airport.   That has really helped to reduce my waiting time.