Airliners.net

STAR ALLIANCE BREAKS GROUND ON NEW AIRPORT CONCOURSE IN MIAMI


Miami, January 15, 2002 – Star Alliance, the world’s leading airline alliance, today broke ground on a dedicated Star Alliance concourse at Miami International Airport. The Star Alliance concourse, the first of its kind in North America and one of a number of airport projects that will take place across the Star Alliance network, is scheduled to open in 2005.

The Star Alliance concourse will provide a smoother and easier travel experience for travelers arriving, departing or transferring in Miami on any Star Alliance carrier. The new concourse will consolidate facilities, including check-in, baggage and gate areas, and will minimize distances and connecting times needed between carriers. The Star Alliance carriers currently operating from Miami include Air Canada, Lufthansa, Mexicana, United and Varig Brazilian Airlines.

"It’s fitting that Miami was chosen as the site for the first dedicated Star Alliance concourse in North America," stated Jaan Albrecht, Star Alliance CEO. "Not only does it underscore Miami’s role as a premier aviation hub throughout the Americas, but it also demonstrates Star’s commitment to – and importance in – this market. Taken together, the Star Alliance carriers are a force to be reckoned with in Miami."

Together, the five Star Alliance carriers serving Miami offer 191 weekly flights to 19 destinations on three continents. These include eight U.S. and 11 international destinations. Star Alliance carriers handled nearly three million passengers at Miami International Airport in 2001.

At 318,800 square feet and with 15 gates and a seating capacity of 1,650 passengers, the new Star Alliance concourse is poised to accommodate a substantially larger traffic flow when completed in 2005. The new concourse will also include an 18,855 square feet United Red Carpet Club. The lounge, accessible to all Star Alliance Gold members traveling through Miami, will be United’s second-largest Red Carpet Club in North America.

The Star Alliance concourse is part of a larger South Terminal construction program at Miami International Airport that will include a consolidated baggage facility for all Star Alliance carriers, and enhanced customs and immigration screening facilities for international passengers that will handle up to 2,000 passengers per hour during peak times. Overall construction costs on the South Terminal program are estimated at $658.7 million. The Star Alliance concourse, also known as "J" concourse, alone accounts for $100 million of the total costs.

"We are very pleased to see the Star Alliance carriers come together under one roof in the new South Terminal," said Angela Gittens, Miami Dade Aviation Department director. "We appreciate the long relationship that the airport has shared with the Star Alliance carriers collectively, and we are glad to see them as an important part of the airport’s future as well."

The Star Alliance concourse in Miami is one of a number of planned consolidations that will take place under Star Alliance’s new "Move Under One Roof" initiative. Operating under one roof at all major airports within its extensive route network is a primary goal of Star Alliance, since smooth connections and coordinated service are critical to today’s global travelers. Other consolidations under consideration include facilities at Paris – Charles de Gaulle, Brussels, and Tokyo – Narita airports.
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Great news for Star Alliance!

Didn't open, it just broke ground. It will take three years, but from what I have heard, it is going to be amazing. The entrance is going to have five huge letters spelling out M-I-A-M-I. I can't find pics on the net, but the models are at United's Miami offices. It is going to be a nice terminal. Since all 15 gates are international (3 are "super sized"), it will be able to handle 12 777-200s and three A380s at one time. It does show promise to be a very nice terminal, because both the new OneWorld (47 gate) and skyTeam (I think it is 10 gates) terminals at MIA are being built over existing structures. SkyTeam terminal also broke ground this Tuesday. oneWorld broke ground a few months ago. Although Star and Sky will not touch the "dominance" of One in Miami, it is very nice to see how all three major alliances are making such huge commitments to Miami.

MAH4546- Wow, it must be great to live in MIA right now  .
Except I thought SkyTeam really didn't have much of a presence there. I mean with Delta, I don't think there are any out-of-the-ordinary routes that they fly from there.

With Star, I guess it is probably about time as United has some Latin America flights from there.

With Oneworld, I thought American was building the terminal, but letting fellow Oneworld Airlines use it. Hence making it a Oneworld terminal, and then I later heard that all of the Oneworld airlines were paying the cost of the terminal, which one is true?(or are they both?)
Obviously with American's gigantic presence at MIA the terminal was going to be big.
Speaking of, do you know how much apron space it will have?(in terms of aircraft)

MAH- By chance, do you know if AA partners will also be using it, or airlines who partner with more than one Oneworld carrier?


blink

Blink182, the AA concourse, your right, is being paid for mostly by AA. I believe it will feature 49-gates, 30 of them will be able to handle 777s, and the majority will be interntional, plus a satelilite terminal for American Eagle (see www.corgan.com for some pics). I am pretty sure all the oneWorld carriers are going to be using it, plus AA partners like TAM, and I can definitley see some other AA partners coming back to MIA, like Finnair. One exception might be Iberia. They might just take over the current United Concourse, which they use right now with UA. SkyTeam's MIA presence features:

MIA-ATL (Delta)
MIA-CVG (Delta, Comair)
MIA-MCO (Comair)
MIA-TLH (Comair)
MIA-MEX-(GDL) (AeroMexico)
MIA-CUN (AM)
MIA-MID (AM)
MIA-MXP (Alitalia)
MIA-CDG (AF)
MIA-POP-PTP-FDF-CAY (AF)
MIA-POP-PTP-CAY (AF Regional)

Plus they serve a lot of markets from FLL:
Mainline to ATL, CVG, LGA, TPA, DFW
Express to JFK, EWR, ORD, BOS, BDL
Comair to MCO, TLH, CVG

There will be expansion with the new SkyTeam terminal. It will have 8 international gates. I'm just speculating, but look for more routes to Mexico for sure, I think SLC service is a given within 2-4 years, and maybe even LGW, maybe even some Latin American markets that are profitable but ATL cannot support (i.e. MAR, LPB). It will not be a hub, just a major focus operation. Delta had an MIA hub during the 1980s. That hub is gone, but what is not is a huge amount of elite Delta SkyMiles members.

...who's paying...for air terminals in MIA?

If you shop or own property in MIA (Miami-Dade Co.) check your taxes...? You will be paying for these expansions.

Miami-Dade Co. floated a bond to pay for most of the AA terminal or (North Terminal.) Good deal for AA, plus they have an easy out on the lease!

Watch the taxes go up and up with these terminal expansions. MIA is going to be a mess for a long while (not only with construction.) Once completed should be state of the art air terminal(s).

There is also a new runway on the North side of the airport planned? More expenditures.

Airlines rarely own "terminals," it is more efficient and fiscally prudent to lease the space.

Check the facts with the Miami Dade Aviation Dept. You 'll be surprised.

Boeingfan: Ok, so the local govt/taxpayers will be paying for much of the terminals. As they do with most airport expansions. The airlines can't shoulder all of the expense. Furthermore, the airlines most likely won't "own" the terminals...they've just worked out agreements with the powers that be to coordinate alliance schedules within one terminal. Doing that benefits pretty much everyone.

Of course taxes will be levied for the airport and you'll see a lot of construction. But that still doesn't hide the fact that it all needs to happen for MIA to retain its position as the number 1 international airport in the USA.

Aaron G.

Boeingfan, it will be paid for by a large number of sources. Bonds, private money (including huge "donations" from AMR Corporation and LanChile), taxes, money collected from an airport tax, etc. None the less, it will be well worth it. When complete in 2006, the "new" MIA will be the most expensive airport ever built in the US --- more expensive than DIA (though I do think the JFK expansion outdoes it in price, not sure). MIA is now the #1 international gateway in the United States, and they are going to try to keep that going.