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Rufus

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I just flew in last night and noticed a decent amount of Terminal C seems to be shut down/demo'ed while the new terminal goes up.

Not unless it has changed in the last 2 weeks, the left half of terminal C is operational, while the right half is no longer there as the new Terminal is taking it place. I have noticed on the early late night flights, terminal C looks almost shut down as the late night flights in Terminal C are the flights that leave early the next day and many of the morning flights are flights that flew to RDU that morning. I could be wrong as I am just some guy looking out the window hoping I can find my car when I finally deboard. :wacko:

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am surprised that the terminal renovation is only adding 6 additional gates up from 26 to 32. It did mention that the new terminal will be able to handle 12 million passengers so there is plenty of room for growth at RDU because we have never ever hit 11 million with two terminals. Terminal A is crowded with airlines and the new terminal can not open fast enough. I hope Virgin America chooses us in the next round of routes because then we would get the route all have been crying for: Direct to SFO. I think that it would be a good move on their part but will have to see. Maybe VA will wait until we open the terminal.

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26 to 32.. that's what I say.. it's going to be 3x bigger but only add 6 gates... BUT, it's also going to add restaurants, shops, and retail... PLUS it's supposed to be set up to allow further expansion later if necessary... but yeah.. I was hoping for at least 40 gates.. oh well..

as far as Virgin America.. I heard a rumor, just a rumor.. and not sure if it is a reliable source of not, but it's just a rumor so don't quote me.. that Raleigh was supposed to be on the very short list... but again, just a rumor that I read somewhere and only saw once.. but that's what I read...

Delta is the first to move.. I do know that.. and hopefully just after they start their Cancun service...

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it isn't surprising we are on most airlines' short lists is it? We are one of the few top 40 airports NOT dominated by any particular carrier, so no one has the "muscle" in the RDU originating route system to, for example, start (and, more importantly maintain) a ruinous price war. Going into Charlotte, for example, I would expect USAir to fight tooth and nail with their considerable pricing power at that airport...

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I know that the RDU aithoirty has been working very hard to get three non stop routes added.... 2 of the 3 have been accomplished with Delta picking up the LAX route, United picking up the Denver route, and so that leaves the non stop service to SFO. I am sure they have some very strong numbers to support their case, mainly from business travelers. I do know we were on the list with Virgin America when they first issued cities they would like to serve so hopefully that translates to being on the short list.

Does any airline fly direct to Mexico from RDU?

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26 to 32.. that's what I say.. it's going to be 3x bigger but only add 6 gates... BUT, it's also going to add restaurants, shops, and retail... PLUS it's supposed to be set up to allow further expansion later if necessary... but yeah.. I was hoping for at least 40 gates.. oh well..

as far as Virgin America.. I heard a rumor, just a rumor.. and not sure if it is a reliable source of not, but it's just a rumor so don't quote me.. that Raleigh was supposed to be on the very short list... but again, just a rumor that I read somewhere and only saw once.. but that's what I read...

Delta is the first to move.. I do know that.. and hopefully just after they start their Cancun service...

I wonder since Mckinney and Silver in Durham got the ad account for VA, that might help RDU get service. Not sure but at least company people will be flying here.

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Virgin America would definitely be a good play. I'm sure that some of you have noticed that RDU is on Virgin Atlantic's pulldown menu. It's the "London only" option, and a Continental feed into Newark, nonetheless, it means that RDU is on Virgin's radar at least.

I would be making a hard play for direct London service from RDU via Virgin, although I know that American already flies it. The are compelling reasons to aim for this.

Virgin Atlantic serves London from all the usual suspects: BOS, JFK, EWR, IAD, and MIA. These are also very overburdened customs chokepoints. You can bet that more "LA massacres" will come down as TSA gets itself bogged down in security minutia. I am also quite sure that Richard Branson and his saavy crew are quite aware that other meltdowns like LAX are just a server crash (or two, or three, or four...) away. RDU has a proven track record with Euro flights from its American hub days. It also has an already existing Customs presence with a capacity to serve as a nifty little relief valve, and as a good option for mid-continent travelers who don't like using the New York airports (and I'm one of them) to Europe. CLT isn't a good candidate because US Airways has that airfield already bottled up, and the fare distribution skewed. As someone pointed out, RDU is one of the better airports in the country from a fare equillibrium perspective. So, from a logistics and geographical standpoint, RDU would be a good play for Virgin.

Virgin America is based in SFO. Not exactly an equidistant location for logistics and/or maintenance. They need an East Coast operations center if they are going to operate in a barbell configuration, and RDU in the wake of Midway's collapse isn't a bad site for that either. A Virgin hookup at RDU between V. America and V. Atlantic could give RDU bi-coastal and overwater "flowthrough' connections that it has never had, even with the American hub.

Some things would have to change at RDU though. Shiny new buildings are impressive, but the problem at RDU (especially for foreign travelers) has been mainly cultural. Signage and services at "Brantley International" have always been pretty much of the English-only variety. I can tell you that Latin American travelers loathed RDU, particularly in the post-911 days, as local security apparently couldn't differentiate Latins from Arabs, and guys named Jesus were being pulled into secondary as potential terrorists (not that all Arabs and Persians should be lumped together that way either). I think with the much-increased Latino (and Arab, and just about every other demographic group) population in the Triangle these days, this kind of thing wouldn't be as much of a problem as before. But the little things, like making foreign travelers feel at home, count quite a lot, especially when service-quality oriented businessmen such as a Branson look at a proposition.

Just a thought.

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Delta's CUN service is MD80, not 738.

The best way to get RDUAA to listen is literally to email them via the website.. I think they should have multilingual signage also.. at the very least.. English and Spanish. Not sure what the 3rd most spoken language is? German?

As far as RDU as a VA hub.. don't think so. RDUAA has repeatedly stated they do not want to return to the hub status.. they are perfectly content as a spoke or a focus city.. And I think VA was looking at JFK for that.. where and how? I don't know.. but that's what I remember..

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  • 2 weeks later...

Take a read of todays article and hear the audio clips on the Airport.

331-RDU1.NE.082407.EDH.embedded.prod_affiliate.3.jpg

Aug 24, 2007

RDU shows off terminal-to-be

By Bruce Siceloff, Staff Writer

The News & Observer

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/681187.html

Triangle news crews got a first peek this morning inside a $570 million passenger terminal under construction to replace the red-roofed Terminal C at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

The new terminal will open in two phases starting next summer with completion set for 2010. At 900,000 square feet, it is three times the size of the terminal it will replace.

When the first phase opens next summer, the remaining parts of Terminal C will be demolished to make way for the rest of the project. Delta Airlines will move from Terminal A next summer into the new terminal, along with Terminal C tenants American, Air Canada and United Express.

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Not sure about an American Airlines Admirals Club at RDU.

American Airlines opened its newest Admirals Club at Nashville International Airport in their Concourse C, Mezzanine Level, near Gate C12. This was the 44th Admirals Club.

It's interesting that when American Airlines had a hub at Raleigh-Durham the airport was smaller and the population was much smaller. Raleigh-Durham gained a lot of status when it had a major hub for American Airlines.

I wonder how American Airlines feels now about RDU?

By the way here's a link to an original article printed in 1985 for the original Terminal C

July 3, 1985

North Carolina Hub For American Air

The New York Times

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...754C0A963948260

----------------------------------------------------------------

Here's an article when American Airlines closed their Raleigh-Durham hub

December 11, 1994

American Eagle to scrap RDU flights

The announcement throws doubt on the survival of American Airlines' hub and the future of the commuter airline's 778 workers here.

By DUDLEY PRICE

Staff Writer

The News and Observer

http://www.kekatos.org/keith/amer3.htm

With the pullout, AMR Corp., the owner of both Eagle and American Airlines, will have reduced its presence in the Triangle to 60 flights, down from 192 flights 11 months ago.

At the beginning of the year, American had 109 daily jet flights from RDU, and as recently as August, Eagle had 112 daily flights from the hub. American now has 63 jet flights daily and 94 Eagle flights,.....

-------------------------------

Here's an arcticle about Midway Airlines moving from Chicago to Raleigh-Durham

January 25, 1995

Midway Taking Wing For Raleigh-Durham

Mary Ellen Podmolik

Chicago Sun-Times

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4266406.html

As was widely speculated, the airline Tuesday announced plans to move its hub from Midway Airport to Raleigh-Durham, N.C., leasing seven gates at that airport from American Airlines.

------------------------------------

The ending of Midway article

September 12, 2001

Midway folds day after terrorist attacks

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TRAVEL/NEWS/0...down/index.html

RALEIGH-DURHAM, North Carolina (CNN) -- Midway Airlines announced Wednesday that it is suspending all operations and laying off 1,700 employees immediately.

Edited by Atlside
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Not sure about an American Airlines Admirals Club at RDU.

American Airlines opened its newest Admirals Club at Nashville International Airport in their Concourse C, Mezzanine Level, near Gate C12. This was the 44th Admirals Club.

It's interesting that when American Airlines had a hub at Raleigh-Durham the airport was smaller and the population was much smaller. Raleigh-Durham gained a lot of status when it had a major hub for American Airlines.

I wonder how American Airlines feels now about RDU?

By the way here's a link to an original article printed in 1985 for the original Terminal C

North Carolina Hub For American Air

July 3, 1985

The New York Times

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...754C0A963948260

AA feels about RDU about the same as DL.. it's one of their sweet spots that's an unofficial focus city. Its where a lot of frequent flier members live.. and with a good mixture of business/leisure traffic.. they can offer flights out of here that will work most of the time..

An AAdmirals' club (used by AA and YX, I think) is going to stay in RDU. I just wonder how big and what it will have. The US club (used by US, UA, and AC) will also stay and so will the Delta (used by DL, NW, and CO) ... I"m just wondering how big will they be..

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Very true.. Terminal A (2) will get renovated. But why? because the building is built like a brick-poo house! it may not be the most attractive buildling, but it can stand the times.. and really, all it really needs is some interior renovations.. what I could see is perhaps the swoop thing out front to make the two building look like a set..

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There were once plans to build a stand alone 3rd Terminal behind Terminal A before Midway Airlines closed.

Here's a link to some nice view inside the old American Airlines Terminal C

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sfphotocraft/222189138/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sfphotocraft/...in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=431687163&size=o

http://www.consultwebs.com/ncphotos/images..._550_dropwm.jpg

Here's old Terminal B (the original Terminal at RDU)

http://www.consultwebs.com/ncphotos/images..._550_dropwm.jpg

Take a look at this rendering show an expansion of the old Terminal C and Terminal A

pi_rdu1.jpg

http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/RDU-Inte...html&st=320

This is RDU before there was Terminal C when American Airlines was building the then new runway.

rdu_master.jpg

Edited by Atlside
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Good thing about that story was their focus on Terminal A--err, 1--once Terminal 2 is complete in 2010. It sounds like they will just be renovations though, but anything that will utilize the same motif with the swooping roof lines will be great.

Terminal A is the most ugly terminal in at North Carolina's 3 major aiports.

terminalA-stopview-small.jpg

Terminalstorm.jpg

Edited by Atlside
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