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It is quite nice.  I've used C to park for trip and it was super easy.  I wasn't checking bags, so that helped.  Currently, you have to check/claim bags in A or B so this requires doubling back instead of heading straight out.

 

The people mover was straight out of the Jetsons.  I loved it.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Up to 45,185,000 passengers through February this year using a rolling 12 month calendar. That is a 7.28 % increase over last year's rolling 12 months. Also an increase of 8.42% for the month alone. 

After the new terminal is up, they may really need to crank up phase 2. With the continued growth and record increasing passengers, we may simply slide directly into construction of phase 2 the day phase 1 has a grand opening. 

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1 minute ago, shardoon said:

Up to 45,185,000 passengers through February this year using a rolling 12 month calendar. That is a 7.28 % increase over last year's rolling 12 months. Also an increase of 8.42% for the month alone. 

After the new terminal is up, they may really need to crank up phase 2. With the continued growth and record increasing passengers, we may simply slide directly into construction of phase 2 the day phase 1 has a grand opening. 

I was at the airport a couple weeks ago. I later found out it was their busiest day ever (which was just overtaken again by a few days ago). It was PACKED. 

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2 hours ago, bqknight said:

I was at the airport a couple weeks ago. I later found out it was their busiest day ever (which was just overtaken again by a few days ago). It was PACKED. 

I was there the Thursday before last for an 8AM flight, and security line looked the same as it did the day before Thanksgiving. I'm not surprised hearing they're the busiest they've ever been.  I know that the vast majority of the people travelling are either originating or ending their trips here - but I can't help but think of the folks trying to transfer between one side of the airport and the other. I know they sometimes allow crossing between two airsides on the same side of the airport, and sometimes make you go back through security.  I wonder if there are any interim steps being taken to increase capacity at the security checkpoints or otherwise alleviate the increased volume of passengers until the new terminal is operational.

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Smileguy brings up a huge topic that will be a serious growing pain issue.  Security.

You have to assume they have plans now that C & D will hopefully get built (same hope as 2001/2009 but let's hope!) to make it as painless as possible.  That's truly just a hope, but one founded in experience from airports around the country/world where you don't have to go through security between terminals.  However, I have actually had to go through security from airside to airside before, so it happens.

Let's hope this modern upgrade fixes that???

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Just now, HankStrong said:

Smileguy brings up a huge topic that will be a serious growing pain issue.  Security.

You have to assume they have plans now that C & D will hopefully get built (same hope as 2001/2009 but let's hope!) to make it as painless as possible.  That's truly just a hope, but one founded in experience from airports around the country/world where you don't have to go through security between terminals.  However, I have actually had to go through security from airside to airside before, so it happens.

Let's hope this modern upgrade fixes that???

Sometimes you have to go through security more than once in a single terminal. Newark rings a bell. Just was there and wanted to use some United Club passes but was flying JetBlue. All in A Terminal but had to go through security twice as they were in different A sections. 

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I believe they already started the planning for phase 2 of terminal C. I believe they will be ready to roll during the grand opening of phase 1. 

As far as the current A and B terminals, there is no way to build an intra airside monorail unless you have the thing very high in the air to  go over the existing people movers with stations on the airside roofs. However, buses may be a cheaper option to keep people in the sterile environment.

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3 hours ago, shardoon said:

I believe they already started the planning for phase 2 of terminal C. I believe they will be ready to roll during the grand opening of phase 1. 

As far as the current A and B terminals, there is no way to build an intra airside monorail unless you have the thing very high in the air to  go over the existing people movers with stations on the airside roofs. However, buses may be a cheaper option to keep people in the sterile environment.

Couldn't they just make one of the levels part of the "secure" areas the entire way across and allow you to walk across the building? Or install a few moving walkways to speed that process? Seems far cheaper, easier, and faster then anything else.

I feel like the main reason they probably haven't done that is very few people are actually transferring flights in Orlando

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16 hours ago, bqknight said:

Sometimes you have to go through security more than once in a single terminal. Newark rings a bell. Just was there and wanted to use some United Club passes but was flying JetBlue. All in A Terminal but had to go through security twice as they were in different A sections. 

Yes.  I've had to do it a few times, but it seems like the exception instead of the rule.  I just hope they find a way to update A & B to the quality of future C & D.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 4/3/2018 at 7:24 AM, HankStrong said:

Yes.  I've had to do it a few times, but it seems like the exception instead of the rule.  I just hope they find a way to update A & B to the quality of future C & D.

Long term plan will be to flat out replace A&B when C&D are fully built out.  Person I know with the airport told me it "would not be in either of our lifetimes".  I wasn't even 30 when they told me that.

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3 hours ago, codypet said:

Long term plan will be to flat out replace A&B when C&D are fully built out.  Person I know with the airport told me it "would not be in either of our lifetimes".  I wasn't even 30 when they told me that.

That would be way too expensive.....especially with all the money they are dumping into it to expand the ticketing lobbies of A/B. One option is to add the third wing to the southwest terminal.  I don't think any more expansion to the airsides can be done outside of the Southwest terminal because the TSA screening bottleneck prohibits that.  One option would be a Terminal E/F somewhere where the original 1970s terminal was near the North  end and the mirror image site on the west of Jeff Fiqua connected by another APM to terminal A/B.   However, the most probable, realistic, easiest, and cheapest alternative is to build a a brand new terminal E/F/G/H East and West of Heintzelman Blvd as well as East of runway 17L/35R. One thing OIA has that other airports in the country can only dream of is land...... and lots of it.  Building out everything that I discussed probably brings the capacity to 200-300 million passengers, which is unrealistic that we would ever need it in over 20 generations........... but just saying, it could be done lol. 

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1 hour ago, shardoon said:

That would be way too expensive.....especially with all the money they are dumping into it to expand the ticketing lobbies of A/B. One option is to add the third wing to the southwest terminal.  I don't think any more expansion to the airsides can be done outside of the Southwest terminal because the TSA screening bottleneck prohibits that.  One option would be a Terminal E/F somewhere where the original 1970s terminal was near the North  end and the mirror image site on the west of Jeff Fiqua connected by another APM to terminal A/B.   However, the most probable, realistic, easiest, and cheapest alternative is to build a a brand new terminal E/F/G/H East and West of Heintzelman Blvd as well as East of runway 17L/35R. One thing OIA has that other airports in the country can only dream of is land...... and lots of it.  Building out everything that I discussed probably brings the capacity to 200-300 million passengers, which is unrealistic that we would ever need it in over 20 generations........... but just saying, it could be done lol. 

Same source has told me there will never be a buildout of the Southwest terminal because there's no sight line from the tower to that corner if that wing of the building is built out.  When it was originally envisioned, it was going to have the old tower and a local control like the Delta side had.   When the new tower was built, that plan changed.  Remember the timeline I'm saying:  Not in my lifetime would likely be more than 70 years from now (putting current terminals A&B at over 100 yeard old).  The upgrades to the existing airport will be well long in the tooth at that point.

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9 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Movin' on up (cue George Jefferson dance) to #11 at OIA (from #13).
http://bit.ly/2FavNXG

From the Sentinel

what's funny is that Charlotte's terminal is not that big.  But I did have to connect through there on Delta or United to fly to Europe last year.  I know Delta has shifted some of it's connecting flights to Birmingham's airport starting a few years back.  I wonder if they did so with Charlotte.  If they were to shift some conecting flights to OIA, it could boost OIA's numbers way past McCarren.  However, Delta was against OIA expanding, so, fat chance...

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New traffic stats up. Through March calendar year 45.479 million passengers at about a 7.5% increase over a year ago.  On track to pull in close to 48 million for 2018. At this rate,  we will reach the 55 million passenger capacity  when the new terminal opens. I do not see any option other than to simply start phase 2 of the terminal right after the ribbon cutting of terminal C.  With Disney's 50 year anniversary in full swing in a few short years and Universal going all in with new parks and investment in Orlando, I see a rapid build out of the South terminal a distinct possibility staggered opening every 3-5 years for each phase.  Besides the domestic component, Orlando is aggressively marketing itself internationally and the Brazil market is recovering. 

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20 minutes ago, codypet said:

Full buildout of Terminal C is a near term plan <15 years with Phase 1 and Phase 2 happening pretty quickly and Phase 3 sometime later.  Terminal D I don't think is on anyone's radar yet, but Terminal C is obviously designed to accommodate Terminal D.

I'm assuming terminal D is the mirror image on the other side of the intermodal center. My question is, when do they start building the sky train? A complete build out of terminal C is large enough to warrant it being built. Obviously when D is built is can complete the circle.

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15 hours ago, shardoon said:

I'm assuming terminal D is the mirror image on the other side of the intermodal center. My question is, when do they start building the sky train? A complete build out of terminal C is large enough to warrant it being built. Obviously when D is built is can complete the circle.

Skytrain starts with Phase II of terminal C.

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21 minutes ago, smileguy said:

Will it connect all terminals behind security?  I've looked for plans on this and not finding anything.

very good question.  O'Hare has a skytrain but it is directly overhead the departures ramp, on the landside.  DFW's skytrain is on the airside I believe.  I didn't know OIA was planning an airside skytrain for connecting flights.  If so, they would have to completely alter the logistics of the baggage handling and create new airside baggage carousels otherwise an airside skytrain would be meaningless.   Unless the skytrain is only for the South Terminal (C & D).

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1 hour ago, jrs2 said:

very good question.  O'Hare has a skytrain but it is directly overhead the departures ramp, on the landside.  DFW's skytrain is on the airside I believe.  I didn't know OIA was planning an airside skytrain for connecting flights.  If so, they would have to completely alter the logistics of the baggage handling and create new airside baggage carousels otherwise an airside skytrain would be meaningless.   Unless the skytrain is only for the South Terminal (C & D).

From the plans, it looks like it is all behind security, so its sterile just like DFW and DTW. It appears to only be for terminal C and D completeting a circle. 

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2 hours ago, shardoon said:

From the plans, it looks like it is all behind security, so its sterile just like DFW and DTW. It appears to only be for terminal C and D completeting a circle. 

I didn't hear about it before just now, so I googled it, its definitely inside of the security perimeter. Infact, if they continued it after terminal D is completed, it'd go right under the existing bridge and they theoretically could make the original north terminals connect to it as well, solving the aforementioned complaint, but it doesn't appear to be planned, and it would be way too early to plan it anyways, I'm sure it will take quite a while to build 6 more phases of the airport. Even at 5 years a phase, which seems optimistic, we're talking 30+ years

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10 minutes ago, aent said:

I didn't hear about it before just now, so I googled it, its definitely inside of the security perimeter. Infact, if they continued it after terminal D is completed, it'd go right under the existing bridge and they theoretically could make the original north terminals connect to it as well, solving the aforementioned complaint, but it doesn't appear to be planned, and it would be way too early to plan it anyways, I'm sure it will take quite a while to build 6 more phases of the airport. Even at 5 years a phase, which seems optimistic, we're talking 30+ years

If it is a sterile train, then it would have to remain sterile at the north terminal.  I do not believe there is a way for it to connect with each airside without affecting plane traffic.  The only option is doing a loop around the main terminal roof East side and West side with a station above the existing people mover station letting out behind security. Too expensive if you ask me. DTW does not connect their new North terminal with McNamara. 

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