Where would one be built? In your optionChalupas54 wrote:I believe such a switch would already have occurred. Considering the life of the structure, I would say in 10 years, St Louis will be looking at constructing a new terminal building.symphonicpoet wrote: ↑Nov 14, 2017I believe they vacated E4 when they moved into E34 etc. E29 is a per turn gate, not Southwest. ATS presently holds the lease. WN uses it for overflow when it's available and when they need it, but international charters have to use it for arrivals, so they take priority. It's not a WN gate. They might use it more than anyone else, but they're just one more airline waiting in line. On the other hand, they do have 31 and 33. 31 has access to customs and is used as such presently. 33 has access, but I don't believe it's in service for customs right now. (Though it should be almost triflingly easy to fix that if it were needed. I believe all that's missing is a dividing wall and a door.) So it's not as though they're hurting in that regard. They're still quite well supplied.
As to swapping between C and E:
1. I said it wasn't likely to happen soon. In fact, I believe I said "maybe another ten years."
2. While the old Ambassador's club is larger there's about to be a club space in E, albeit a much smaller one. AA isn't going to leave town, but I also don't think they're planning to expand. And if Southwest said "we're expanding to 30 gates and we want C" do you really think anyone would say no, just because American happens to lease space for a club there? Who's counting on them to keep anything open at this point? American holds the lease, but they surely don't own the place. And that lease will run out eventually.
As to why:
E and D have 31 gates total between them. Two of those are ground level commuter gates that have never had a jetway and couldn't without serious construction. C has 30 gates. It's more than four thousand feet from E4 to D2. It's about fifteen hundred feet from C38 to C1. Now, if you're making a connection where would you rather be?
C and E are pretty comparable, as presently constituted, in terms of space for gate functions and amenities, with C coming out slightly ahead in both. C has about 48,000 sqft of holding and agent areas at its gates. E has about 43,000. C has 23,000 sqft of amenities. E has 22. Add the D spaces to that and D/E comes out ahead. (59-48 gate functions and 33-23 amenities, not counting club spaces.) On the other hand, that's not counting the 6,000 odd feet of food court just past security at the end of D, which is actually quite convenient to C as well. (Which is why it's open right now, even though D isn't.) And of course C has vastly more club space before you even count the closed Ambassador's club at the east end: over 12 thousand to under 4.
Next up there's security itself. There's over twelve thousand feet of security area at the west end of C. There's less than six thousand for E. And it's nicer, too. Better laid out. More pleasant. Not blocking the ticketing area. Next there's the USO space. T-1 has a great USO. T-2 has a satellite facility. There are six baggage carousels in T-1 to T-2's two. There's more and better spaces landside to eat or drink a cup of coffee in T-1. Basically, T-1 is, frankly, the nicer space. And the C concourse is a world unto itself, isolated from everything, compact, and convenient. Since it was built as TWA's hub. Heck, there's even a dedicated customs facility beneath it. A slightly larger customs facility. With six gates. (30, 32, 34, 35, 36, and 38.) It's not a perfect facility, since the only exit from it is into the C concourse. But if you're making a domestic connection it's fine. And if you're not . . . well, a lot of locals passed through without too much complaint before AA closed the hub.
So I'm not saying it's going to happen. And it's certainly not going to happen now. Expanding down E gives Southwest a little breathing room. But it's an imperfect solution at best if you're thinking in terms of connections. C, however, is great for connections. So it's not a silly idea to think that maybe the airline making connections might want C, while those which don't really route connections through town could easily survive elsewhere. Yes, E was built for Southwest. But they weren't really making connections here then. And TWA was making quite a lot of them. The world has changed. I'm just guessing. But it's at least an educated guess. We shall see. Probably not worth speculating about too much, as it's really too far out to say anything for sure. Let's see what becomes of the crew base rumor first.
Additionally, we can all be friendly about this. It's just speculation. And clearly labeled. No need to poop on other people's ideas.
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