urbanSTL

Think the discussion went off the rails when the reality of major airport upgrades, rebuilds are driven by the cities or the port authorities that own most of the airports in this country & the airlines who are willing to pick up a big part of tab.  Really driven local political, civic and business leadership in my opinion.  A bigger plus is a state who is willing to support it like they do in New York (think transit as well).   After that, Feds are really about additional dollars if and only if the local crowd has its act together.   Example that probably amplifies it better is a huge miss opportunity for the city/county is N-S metrolink when the last 12 of 16 years have been under Obama/Biden with significant infrastructure dollars coming down from the Feds.  

Fortunately for Lambert it got good airport leadership in place for several years now.  Now it needs City, Civic and business leadership to move things along on RFP/build and hopefully they think for the future (not what add on porch you want).      

bwcrow1s wrote: ↑

Nov 04, 2024

Amen.  Currently, it's a mess.  Go to any other modern airport and you can walk to a garage with rental cars.  Not hard..

First, I'd like to see a good consolidated rental facility at Lambert, and there are a lot of them, but I do feel like this is a bit of an exaggeration, unless I just have really crappy luck with rentals. I've rented at La Guardia and London Heathrow and dropped a car off at SFO. (Didn't pick up, just dropped off.) Had to take shuttles at all of them. La Guardia was before the rebuild, so maybe it's better now, but they still seem to have rental car facilities spread out all over the place, so it probably depends on what company you're using. (I use Enterprise or one of their other brands.) That is a pretty small sample, but I've literally never been able to walk from the rental place to the car or vice versa. (I've flown through a number of other airports, of course, but at others I either took the train, called a cab, met people, or just transferred.)

All that said, yeah, a good rental car facility would absolutely be a nice thing to have. But better connectivity and lower ticket prices would be quite a lot nicer. Shuttles may not be sexy, but they work fine.

symphonicpoet wrote: ↑

Nov 06, 2024

bwcrow1s wrote: ↑

Nov 04, 2024

Amen.  Currently, it's a mess.  Go to any other modern airport and you can walk to a garage with rental cars.  Not hard..

First, I'd like to see a good consolidated rental facility at Lambert, and there are a lot of them, but I do feel like this is a bit of an exaggeration, unless I just have really crappy luck with rentals. I've rented at La Guardia and London Heathrow and dropped a car off at SFO. (Didn't pick up, just dropped off.) Had to take shuttles at all of them. La Guardia was before the rebuild, so maybe it's better now, but they still seem to have rental car facilities spread out all over the place, so it probably depends on what company you're using. (I use Enterprise or one of their other brands.) That is a pretty small sample, but I've literally never been able to walk from the rental place to the car or vice versa. (I've flown through a number of other airports, of course, but at others I either took the train, called a cab, met people, or just transferred.)

All that said, yeah, a good rental car facility would absolutely be a nice thing to have. But better connectivity and lower ticket prices would be quite a lot nicer. Shuttles may not be sexy, but they work fine.

Perhaps I just have luck of the draw.  As of lately, PGH, MSP, SLC were all on site/walkable from gate.  SFO I thought was on-site via tram (slightly sexier than a rattly shuttle bus) but maybe I am misremembering.   Only place I can recall lately with a long bus shuttle in recent memory was Las Vegas.  All it takes is a garage and some in-garage premade shelters for check-ins.  It'd be nice to have and I don't think too hard to implement.  If you're already building a massive garage might as add a floor or two for rental.  As is all of the facilities across the highway are more or less a blight anyways.

bwcrow1s wrote: ↑

Nov 07, 2024

symphonicpoet wrote: ↑

Nov 06, 2024

bwcrow1s wrote: ↑

Nov 04, 2024

Amen.  Currently, it's a mess.  Go to any other modern airport and you can walk to a garage with rental cars.  Not hard..

First, I'd like to see a good consolidated rental facility at Lambert, and there are a lot of them, but I do feel like this is a bit of an exaggeration, unless I just have really crappy luck with rentals. I've rented at La Guardia and London Heathrow and dropped a car off at SFO. (Didn't pick up, just dropped off.) Had to take shuttles at all of them. La Guardia was before the rebuild, so maybe it's better now, but they still seem to have rental car facilities spread out all over the place, so it probably depends on what company you're using. (I use Enterprise or one of their other brands.) That is a pretty small sample, but I've literally never been able to walk from the rental place to the car or vice versa. (I've flown through a number of other airports, of course, but at others I either took the train, called a cab, met people, or just transferred.)

All that said, yeah, a good rental car facility would absolutely be a nice thing to have. But better connectivity and lower ticket prices would be quite a lot nicer. Shuttles may not be sexy, but they work fine.

Perhaps I just have luck of the draw.  As of lately, PGH, MSP, SLC were all on site/walkable from gate.  SFO I thought was on-site via tram (slightly sexier than a rattly shuttle bus) but maybe I am misremembering.   Only place I can recall lately with a long bus shuttle in recent memory was Las Vegas.  All it takes is a garage and some in-garage premade shelters for check-ins.  It'd be nice to have and I don't think too hard to implement.  If you're already building a massive garage might as add a floor or two for rental.  As is all of the facilities across the highway are more or less a blight anyways.

Yes sfo has a tram.

Ones I have been to that I remember.

On site walkable: Honolulu, Maui, DCA, San Jose, Orlando (I think), Sarasota

Non walkable: phx (although I think they have a train now), Boston, LGA (at least from some terminals), Cleveland, Newark, Oakland, lax, Sacramento, Vegas

As someone who travels with little kids a tram/train is much much more preferred than a bus to get on and off of with kids and bags.

^Sorry, yeah, SFO was a tram, not a bus. My bad. But it wasn't onsite. A tram is definitely preferable to a bus, but I can live with either. And yeah, it'd be nice to have an onsite spot, and you'd think we have the space for it now. Don't get me wrong, I'm in favor of having it. More interested in better direct connections. (Especially overseas.) But yeah, a consolidated onsite rental garage would absolutely be a great get.

jeff707 wrote: ↑

Nov 05, 2024

The new LaGuardia is amazing.  I fly there several times a year and it's great.  That said, it was fully baked before Trump took office. 

LaGuardia redevelopment planning and design started in 2010 and the new Terminal B groundbreaking was in April 2016. I can't find anything indiciating any federal funds used for the project. 
"About $2.5 billion in funding was raised from project bonds, $1.5 billion came from the Port Authority and $200 million in equity came from LGP principal shareholders."

Having a CRCC within the airport grounds or in one of the new parking garages in the redeveloped design would be fantastic. That being said, even if the new CRCC is on the other side of I-70 where the current rentals are located, it would still be an upgrade. My hope is that with the new roadways, we have a way to include a possible tram or shuttle service that runs often enough to justify the need for such a service (if the CRCC is located offsite). Having the rentals cars located in the new garage across from the terminal would be a big win in terms of convenience and ease - and it would put us on par with other newer airports that have built their rental car centers within walking distance from the terminal like BNA or SLC. 

I may have mentioned this before in another post but what about converting T2 into a CRCC? Keep the garage there and use the terminal or at least the current non-secured area of the terminal and make it into counter spaces for the various vendors and then simply walk across to the garage and pick up your vehicle. I feel like there's still some good use of T2 even with a new terminal rather than tearing it entirely down.

^There might have been some whispers about tearing it down originally, but I think it's been slated for non-aviation uses in all the recent drafts I've seen. There's a lot of administrative space in T1 right now, for instance, that will probably need to move once everyone is in there. A central rental facility has certainly made the list of wants more than once, and that sounds like a great use of the T2 garage, but there may be issues with working it into the redesigned roadway network, so maybe tearing the garage down and starting over is best. (As with the T1 garage.) I hope they do work it in, but however it might go, I look forward to the project.

Lol "Are you happy to be home?" will never cease to get a chuckle from me whenever I see it

Pretty sure the baggage expansion is dead. After some delays it was decided to just let it roll since T2 isn't long for this world anyways

Example of the general condition:  joint falling out of ceiling and entire wall filthy on #2 carousel

TheWayoftheArch_V2.0 wrote: ↑

Nov 11, 2024

Example of the general condition:  joint falling out of ceiling and entire wall filthy on #2 carousel

IMG_9131.jpg

That looks like something from a horror movie... 

^ I like it!

TheWayoftheArch_V2.0 wrote: ↑

Nov 11, 2024

Is the new T2 baggage area officially dead?  Wife and I flew in yesterday and we both agreed its pretty embarrassing that 3mil passengers on SWA and the international inbounds see this upon arrival at STL.  Drywall is damaged everywhere, metal ceiling panel joints hanging down, handprints and other imperfections in the paint.  I mean can we not even paint it once a year?  Floor is jacked up, some tiles are broken.  Its a brutal 1st impression.  No art, minimal "welcome to STL" signage. etc.  I feel like GO STL should be the leading advertiser here, not personal injury and divorce lawyers.   T1 is actually looking better at this point and that is saying something.    

Yes it is dead. They are doing some baggage stuff airside to help with efficiency but nothing I am aware of on the passenger facing side land side.

Doesn’t mean so cosmetic work won’t be done but no 3rd claim.

Spirit Airlines is the seventh-busiest carrier serving St. Louis Lambert International Airport.
Spirit Airlines

By Jenna Martin – Managing Editor, Digital , Charlotte Business Journal
Nov 18, 2024

Spirit Airlines, one of the busiest carriers at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Florida-based Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) announced Monday that it has entered into a restructuring support agreement in a move aimed at reducing debt, providing more financial flexibility and positioning it for "long-term success." The airline intends to continue operations during the bankruptcy process.

"Guests can continue to book and fly without interruption and can use all tickets, credits and loyalty points as normal," the company says in a news release.

As part of the deal, Spirit says it has received commitments of $350 million equity investment from bondholders and "will complete a deleveraging transaction to equitize $795 million of funded debt." Bondholders will also provide Spirit with $300 million in debtor-in-possession financing to help support it through the bankruptcy proceedings, the carrier says.
Spirit says it expects to be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in the near future as a result of the bankruptcy filing. Its stock shares will be canceled and "have no value as part of Spirit's restructuring."
Spirit expects to emerge from the Chapter 11 process in the first quarter of 2025.
The airline has a debt load of $3.6 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported Nov. 12 that Spirit was expected to file for bankruptcy "within weeks" after it failed to reach a merger deal with fellow low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines (NASDAQ: ULCC).
Spirit had also tried to merge with JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU), but that $3.8 billion deal broke down in March due to legal hurdles set by a recent federal court ruling that the deal would violate antitrust laws.
Spirit is the seventh largest serving St. Louis Lambert International Airport, based on passengers boarded in 2023. Lambert says Spirit flies nonstop to Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas and Orlando.
St. Louis' largest airlines serving Lambert
Passengers Boarded in 2023

Rank	Prior Rank	Airline / Prior Rank (*not ranked)
1	1	Southwest Airlines
2	2	American Airlines
3	3	Delta Air Lines

“ Spirit Airlines, one of the busiest carriers at St. Louis Lambert International Airport”

This line made me laugh. It’s probably in the bottom 25% of busiest carriers there.

It’s lumped in with others

dbInSouthCity wrote: ↑

Nov 19, 2024

It’s lumped in with others

Likely behind Alaska also. So it probably is 7th. So maybe not bottom 25% but at least bottom half. Some of that others percentage is regionals flying for UA/AA/DL so it’s really smaller.