urbanSTL

You use to be able to fly TWA to Paris and Tel Aviv direct from STL



There are still passenger service chartered International flights to/from Lambert Int. today to Europe. Just charter airlines though.

Where did you hear Mexicana was starting service? I haven't seen a press release or anything...

Wolfgang Puck Express is now open in Terminal C next to Brooks Brothers, which sticks out like a sore thumb.



Nice to see another dining option when stuck at Lambert...especially a quality one. Prices look reasonable.

Xing wrote:Wouldn't you think a flight or two to more Asian cities makes sense? St Louis does have a decent sized Asian population.

I remember TWA was going to have STL-Tokyo Narita service back in 2000 along with an introduction of the Airbus A330-300 aircraft to their fleet for this flight (TWA placed orders for several of these A330 to be flown on their European routes and STL-Tokyo), but that never happened because TWA was bought out by American.



I too would like to see flights to Asia from STL, as it would be easier for me to fly direct from here back to Taiwan instead of transfering flights in LA or Detroit.



Japan Airlines, Korean Airlines, and China Airlines (Taiwan) all fly out of Chicago's O'Hare, along with several Asian flights by United and American.

..

How can we get Asian Airlines to Service St. Louis? again, my incentives question. Obviously, the service would be dictated by demand, I took Econ 101. But there must be something that could be done to push this forward. Amazing, TWA , STL to Tokyo..

JCity wrote:How can we get Asian Airlines to Service St. Louis? again, my incentives question. Obviously, the service would be dictated by demand, I took Econ 101. But there must be something that could be done to push this forward. Amazing, TWA , STL to Tokyo..

Well, If I remember the segment on Fox 2 news a couple years ago about this new service and launch of new Airbus A330 aircraft. TWA was thinking many of the planes would be filled with tourists using STL as a connection to destinations such as Disney World, NYC, as well as the sights in STL. Also, there is a plant in Troy, Missouri that builts cylinder blocks for Toyota Camrys and other Toyotas. The plant management have to goto Chicago to if they wanted to fly to Japan. They thought this STL-Tokyo service would make it easier for Toyota execs and them to meet. Thats what I remember from the Fox 2 news segment, but its sad this didn't come true.

Nope. They already don't use them, they just won't be paying for them now either.

Asia is never happening now that TW is gone. There is simply nothing here for an asian airline or AA. Hell we don't even have service to London anymore.



Matguy,



I'm not questioning you, but I follow aviation fairly closely. I haven't seen an announcement, a Mexicana flight, plane, or anything posted at airliners.net. I also checked orbitz and I can't find it.

Now that AA will exclusively fly out of the long Concourse C and Southwest remains the buzz of East Terminal, I see several options for Lambert to avoid looking dead.



In all options, small Concourse B should be closed but marketed for future occupancy by new airlines likely focusing on flights to smaller cities and places close to St. Louis, or airlines flying primarily to resort destinations like those out of Mid-America.



Concourse D remains the problem. It can't really be closed since it connects the busy East Terminal to the Main Terminal, but it's really long and looks the most dead after the short Concourse B.



Perhaps, all of the non-hub airlines could move to Concourse D, but then if Concourse A doesn't find new life, the closing of A and B would really shift the Main Terminal from its radial spider set-up of today to a east-oriented "V" or "L" of two really long concourses.



Otherwise, maybe the City should rethink Concourse D. With MetroLink access and obvious airport access, maybe the D gates should be converted to another use, like an office mall of small businesses. Few folks change airlines to/from Southwest for connecting flights in St. Louis, and if they do, they could still take MetroLink for free between the East and Main Terminals or use Concourse D's moving walkways. One idea would be to leave or realign the moving walkways, but change the gate space into new leasible space for businesses seeking airport access. These would not be the typical retail spaces of an airport dependent upon high foot traffic, rather businesses that require heavy travel or service the airline industry.

Not to get off topic again but here's the link for info on Puck's restaurant in the Art Museum. http://www.stlouis.art.museum/index.aspx?id=8 I went there to celebrate graduation with my family and the food was amazing. I guess that was over a year ago now.



And staying on topic, on Sunday night the airport seemed a lot brighter and more inviting (if an airport can be) and people were gathered around Wolfgang Puck's Express to watch the end of the Rams game. Chili's, the Samuel Adams place and Puck's Express were all packed. (As was the rest of the airport). I didn't try the food but it's good to have options. I think our airport still has a ways to go but at least there's progress.

Another option is demolishing Concourse A for a FedEx or UPS like distribution center.



The non-hub airlines could move to Concourse D, and Concourse A is the only side of the airport with room to grow or be rebuilt as something completely different such as a air shipping center.



The nearby US government property may also be available for warehouses and parking supporting the reinvented Concourse A, following the BRAC closures.



Of course, a new facility partially occupying the space of where Concourse A is today wouldn't need to be connected to the Main Terminal, since serving shipping, not passengers.



But with the added capacity of the new runway and growing warehouse districts like Pontoon Beach, Overland and Earth City within easy highway access, maybe shipping companies would want to fly from Lambert. Of course, the fees would have to be reduced to attract air freight and shipping carriers.

The loss of concourse A makes no sense. How can people suguest that. A is a crowded and active concourse with a decent resturant selection (CKP, Budwiser bar,hotdog stand) and decent amounts of traffic. Of the concourses, D is the one to lose. It offers little to prospective airlines, other than the new Pasta House to Go. On the whole, Lambert Concourses are nice. ONly the Main terminal, lower level, and bagage areas need work. If you want to make major changes. Expand B, leave Lambert with two concourses, C and B. Remake D as a long mall and connect it into E. Then reorient the aiport off of that.

I don't spend anytime in any of the concourses to be honest. I do actually fly a lot (well, I used to anyway), and I've never spent much time in any concourse. I walk in, find a seat, and read a book.



I hope Lambert can build itself back up.

New look for Lambert takes wing

By Elisa Crouch

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

09/19/2005



For years, passengers at Lambert Field have grumbled about the airport's leaking roof, confusing road signs and the difficult task of lugging bags from the Main Terminal to the taxi line.



What to do about it? "Start over," suggested Laurence Day, a frequent flier and semiretired investment adviser from St. Louis. "It looks seedy."



Rather than raze the place, airport Director Kevin Dolliole has put together the Airport Experience Committee to develop a preliminary plan for an overhaul. Everything is subject to change, from the configuration of checkpoint lines to background music to the blue fabric on Main Terminal walls. The Main Terminal was built nearly 50 years ago. The East Terminal opened in 1998.



"My vision of improving the airport experience involves more than aesthetics," Dolliole said. "We'll look at every inch of real estate here and look for ways to improve and change."

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For now, the eight-member committee is made up of upper-level airport staff and David Mason, president and chief executive of the architecture and engineering firm David Mason & Associates Inc. Their ideas will be bounced off members of the public, Dolliole said.



The committee's purpose is to come up with ways to make the airport more passenger-friendly, a goal Dolliole stated when he took over as director in May. He made several quick fixes over the summer, such as adding more plants, reconfiguring checkpoint lines at Concourse C and installing brighter lights at the Main Terminal baggage claim.



Forming the committee is Dolliole's first step toward doing something bigger. He wants to bring the flavor of St. Louis into both terminals, he said. Airports leave visitors with the first and last impression of a city, he is known to say. And then there's the impression that Lambert leaves on St. Louisans.



....continued

Full article here:

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... enDocument

The AD had mentioned incorporating St. Louis into the terminal. If the Cards, Blues, Rams, A-B, Nelly, etc. could be tied into the airport that would be a really unique thing as far as an airport goes. Memphis has done a nice job tying Elvis into their atrium area, hopefully we can do something of the sort.



The AA terminal just got new carpet which looks much better than the drab old gray. A Jose Quervo restaurant will be added at a the end of the C concourse as American plans to begin reutilizing those gates. This is due to the prop planes moving over from B to C which pushes everything further down C.



As of right now, the end of C isn't ready to have any type of operations. It is absolutely embarrasing. I'll post some pics tomorrow when I'm on my desktop.

Jose Quervo's Tequileria (sp?) is now open in terminal C across from the Starbuck's at C-2.



The airport is quite busy today. I just saw Mr. Kevin Dolliole walking around with a guy videotaping him.

and KC too...



This is huge IMO and may make Lambert much more likely to add new Southwest non-stops to other parts of the country.



Southwest Airlines Announces New Nonstop Service From Dallas Love Field to Kansas City and St. Louis



New Law Makes St. Louis and Kansas City Southwest's First New Nonstop Routes From Love Field in 25 Years



DALLAS, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- President George W. Bush recently signed a transportation appropriations bill containing language that exempts Missouri from federal restrictions placed on Dallas' Love Field airport. This exemption now makes it possible for Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), the signature carrier at Love Field, to initiate new nonstop jet service from Dallas to its Missouri operations in Kansas City and St. Louis.



Southwest will start service to St. Louis and Kansas City from Dallas on Dec. 13, 2005, with four daily nonstop flights to each city. The one-way fare from Dallas to either city will be just $79 with 14-day advance purchase. The unrestricted "walk-up" fare is just $129 each way, compared to fares as high as $599 each way on American Airlines.



"Southwest Airlines has served Missouri for more than 20 years but Congress has prevented us from offering low-fare service between Missouri and our home airport at Dallas' Love Field," said Herb Kelleher, Southwest's executive chairman and co-founder. "Missouri has been punished far too long by the resulting high-fare monopoly. We are delighted by Senator Bond's efforts to wipe out the last vestige of airline regulation for the people of Missouri."



Under the leadership of Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-MO), Missouri has been added to the list of states eligible for nonstop commercial air service from Love Field. Since 1979, nonstop service from Love Field has been restricted to Texas and its four surrounding states due to the Wright Amendment, named for then-Speaker of the House Jim Wright who sought to protect Dallas/Ft. Worth International (DFW) Airport. In 1997, Senator Richard Shelby (D-AL) succeeded in adding Alabama, Mississippi, and Kansas to the list. The "Bond Amendment" of 2005 allows competitive air service at Love Field to reach one state further.



"When these two Missouri airports gain new Southwest Airlines service, history tells us that airport traffic will increase as more people are able to fly at a lower price," Kelleher said.



A study by the Campbell-Hill Aviation Group, commissioned by Southwest Airlines, predicts nearly 500,000 additional Missouri passengers per year will be generated through fare savings estimated to be more than $77 million. The US Department of Transportation calls this well-documented stimulation of passenger traffic through low fares the "Southwest Effect." Campbell-Hill also predicts an additional $218 million per year will go to the Missouri economy in related spending.



All eyes will be on Missouri to see if the venerated "Southwest Effect" takes hold in an established market. History, and Southwest Airlines, say that it can. "They don't call Missouri the 'Show Me State' for nothing!" Kelleher said. "The push from Missouri allows us to create a competition laboratory, if you will, to prove our case. Our experience in 60 other markets tells us that all carriers serving these markets will decrease their fares and increase their Missouri traffic. I can't think of a state that wouldn't want that."



Southwest Airlines, the nation's largest carrier in terms of domestic passengers enplaned, currently serves 61 cities in 31 states. Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 2,900 flights a day and has 31,000+ Employees systemwide.



Fare Rules



Fares are available one-way and are combinable with all other fares. When combining fares, all ticketing restrictions apply. The fares are available for purchase today through the end of Southwest's published schedule (currently March 31, 2006). Tickets must be purchased at least 14 days before departure. Seats are limited. Fares may vary by flight and day of week and will not be available on some flights that operate during very busy travel times. Fares do not include a $3.20 federal segment tax per takeoff and landing. Fares do not include airport-assessed passenger facility charges (PFC) of up to $9 one-way and a U.S. government-imposed September 11th Security Fee of up to $5 one-way. Fares are subject to change until ticketed. Tickets are nonrefundable but may be applied toward the purchase of future travel on Southwest Airlines. Fares are valid on published, scheduled service only. Any change in itinerary may result in an increase in fare.



http://www.southwest.com



>>NEWS SOURCE

Right now they are running a special from STL to Dallas-Love Field...$49 one-way!