Ah, I must’ve only remembered the rate of change then; my bad.
That makes a lot more sense, actually, with American’s attempt at making RDU a hub airport way back in the day (and why that never really worked out).
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American’s Raleigh hub back in the day worked just fine. The fact the Eastern Airlines shut down created an opportunity in Miami that AA could not pass up, so they closed RDU along with Nashville and San Jose and used those assets for the newly-created Miami hub.
An interesting note: a few years ago, RDU’s traffic numbers surpassed the passenger count when the AA hub was at its peak. The difference, however, is that the vast majority of RDU traffic comes from the local population, as opposed to back then, when connecting passengers accounted for almost all of the traffic. It shows how much the area has grown over the past few decades.
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The reality is that without a significant business reason to create new international connection, any new international flight will require that people use RDU as a de facto hub and use it to connect through to the destination.
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Thanks for sharing. Some good info in there. though someone should have proofread that article before publishing it.
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Frankfurt has more destinations then any other airport and would be a great addition for anyone in Raleigh wanting to fly anywhere in the world!
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I hate that airport so much but you’re right. Frankfurt also has train connections and walkable airport hotels. Two things RDU should consider.
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@TedF So, this is following what I predicted, but in a staging type of development.
They will go with the easy fix first by recycling the shell of the old Terminal C garage, labeled in the Vision 2040 graphic as L1-ALT, and use the lower level as the first phase of the GTC.
As they start to build the CONRAC (L3A and L4), they can also start that connector which will go around to the GTC for T2 (L2-ALT). [But, the waiting area for the GTC Phase 1 will be in ParkCentral atrium, interesting].
But, I don’t see the GTC for T1 happening until they start redoing the trafficway around the terminals.
And, I’ve get to see this any where in the Vision 2040 project. But, airports are trying to mitigate landside terrorist risks by moving as many cars away from the check-in as possible. This is already in the planning stages at LAX.
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It’s not just the terror risks associated with the automobiles, the airport terminal roadways become nearly gridlocked at certain times of the day.
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I’m not dismissing the gridlock piece at all. But, by moving as many cars and vans away from the terminal entrance introduces a passive safety measure as well.
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Absolutely. I’ve always thought that the next major terror attack on airports would involve the landside operations.
Minimal, but significant use of the tactic: Glasgow, 2007. Brussels, 2016. Istanbul, 2016.
What better target for an attack that a congested and gridlocked sport.
Look how many people are on the front curb of an airport when some dumbass somehow manages to get by the security checkpoint unscreened. Turn that into a coordinated event with a few extremists wearing suicide vests or a car bomb and…
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For those of us not familiar. What dis CONRAC and GCT?
Indeed, I would rather not. Denial is not just a river in Egypt, its a key part of my personal sanity.
AARGH! Me, not proofreading. CONRAC - CONsolidated Rent A Car, GTC - Ground Transportation Center.
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The GTC will be on the first level at the southern end of the current parking deck. Taxies, hotel shuttles and ride share cars from Uber and Lyft will all pick up and drop off passengers at the GTC. It will include a waiting area for 50 people that will be heated or cooled.
Awesome idea if they can execute on it. Curious how they’re going to force Uber/Lyft drivers to use it though since there’s typically no signage on the cars they use. And since it sounds like personal vehicles are going to still be allowed to drop off/pick up next to the terminals, they can just claim they’re picking up a friend. Still, should be a huge improvement!
IMHO, you should never get in either an Uber or Lyft that does not have an identification somewhere in the window.
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