redzeppelin wrote:

My interpretation is that the growth in LAX and SEA has boosted DL's west coast market share enough that SLC has become more valuable as a hub to serve those new western customers. So while some on this forum have argued that SLC is devalued by SEA and LAX, Jacobson is saying that growth in those gateways is creating synergy for SLC.

Makes sense to me. I recently moved to Tucson, AZ, and if DL's only western route from here was still TUS-SLC, there wouldn't be much reason to be loyal to DL. Having TUS-LAX as another option opens up many more potential itineraries on DL and their partners (Northern California, Hawai'i, Asia, Australia, even Mexico/Central America), and having options is important for building and maintaining brand loyalty. When you build more brand loyalty, you end up with more customers in TUS who will choose to fly through SLC over PHX, DEN, or SFO when traveling to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, etc.

The airport posted a video on Facebook today that gives a lot of behind-the-scenes looks at the terminal construction:

https://www.facebook.com/SaltLakeCityInternationalAirport/videos/576213059498124

TreyClarkPowell wrote:

These photos are about a month old, but you can see that the terminal building and elevated roadway are really taking shape now.

hard to believe that entire enormous parking garage in lower right corner goes away in the final configuration. I get that there is a new one being built, but the sheer size and scope of that existing parking facility, just look at it, coming down eventually. WOW.

maps4ltd wrote:

If American can serve all four Hawaiian airports from DFW, Delta most certainly can from SLC.

Just a nitpick, but AA only serves DFW-HNL/OGG year-round (the former often being 2x daily, at that) and KOA seasonally. LIH won't be coming back as of now. The 763 made the route an operational mess, the 777 is too big, and I doubt they'll use a 787 to Hawaii quite yet (save for ORD-HNL, but that decision has more to do with the 777 ORD base closing, and the cancelation of ORD-China). I don't disagree that DL could at least add SLC-OGG in season; KOA too.

This project should be a future model of how to efficiently plan and build a significant infrastructure project. From the outside, it seems as though everyone involved in this has exercised nothing but complete competence, and they should be lauded for it. I love watching it unfold, and look forward to more.

FSDan wrote:

redzeppelin wrote:

My interpretation is that the growth in LAX and SEA has boosted DL's west coast market share enough that SLC has become more valuable as a hub to serve those new western customers. So while some on this forum have argued that SLC is devalued by SEA and LAX, Jacobson is saying that growth in those gateways is creating synergy for SLC.

Makes sense to me. I recently moved to Tucson, AZ, and if DL's only western route from here was still TUS-SLC, there wouldn't be much reason to be loyal to DL. Having TUS-LAX as another option opens up many more potential itineraries on DL and their partners (Northern California, Hawai'i, Asia, Australia, even Mexico/Central America), and having options is important for building and maintaining brand loyalty. When you build more brand loyalty, you end up with more customers in TUS who will choose to fly through SLC over PHX, DEN, or SFO when traveling to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, etc.

and its why United has been able to do so well with DEN/SFO/LAX all in the same area. The only people who truly expect SLC to go away are those who predict nothing but doom and gloom from the industry because they want more flight cuts and job cuts to make consolidation look bad.

panam330 wrote:

maps4ltd wrote:

If American can serve all four Hawaiian airports from DFW, Delta most certainly can from SLC.

Just a nitpick, but AA only serves DFW-HNL/OGG year-round (the former often being 2x daily, at that) and KOA seasonally. LIH won't be coming back as of now. The 763 made the route an operational mess, the 777 is too big, and I doubt they'll use a 787 to Hawaii quite yet (save for ORD-HNL, but that decision has more to do with the 777 ORD base closing, and the cancelation of ORD-China). I don't disagree that DL could at least add SLC-OGG in season; KOA too.

This project should be a future model of how to efficiently plan and build a significant infrastructure project. From the outside, it seems as though everyone involved in this has exercised nothing but complete competence, and they should be lauded for it. I love watching it unfold, and look forward to more.

FWIW Delta does has seasonal SLC-OGG.

IMO if more KOA/LIH capacity comes from Delta it will be from LAX and/or SEA. (as much as I would like to see at least a seasonal SLC-KOA/LIH)

LovePrunesAnet wrote:

TreyClarkPowell wrote:

These photos are about a month old, but you can see that the terminal building and elevated roadway are really taking shape now.

hard to believe that entire enormous parking garage in lower right corner goes away in the final configuration. I get that there is a new one being built, but the sheer size and scope of that existing parking facility, just look at it, coming down eventually. WOW.

I was there when they built the old parking structure in 1990-91, my ears are still ringing from the constant pounding as they drove the pilings into the ground. Just kidding but it was loud. LOL. It is still a good looking structure with it's curved shape to match the terminals and the exit helixes and still in great condition. Unfortunately it has to come down to make way for the new south concourse east. It is being replaced by a larger but very boring rectangular shaped structure. But the new terminal complex will be state of the art and will serve SLC well for decades to come, so I guess it's worth it in the end.

maps4ltd wrote:

If American can serve all four Hawaiian airports from DFW, Delta most certainly can from SLC.

You really do not understand the relative scale of SLC vs. DFW. Count flights (or seats) by DL at SLC versus AA at DFW.

great pix of ongoing construction here ..lots of progress on north terminal steel.
.
https://slcairport.com/thenewslc/rebuild-progress-gallery/

Aerial shot of the New Salt Lake city Terminals. great progress on the north terminal as well.
taken 04/17/2019...

New article today featuring quotes from DL SVP of network planning, Joe Esposito. ICN flights are still being considered when new terminal opens.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/20 ... ines-sees/

“Salt Lake has been our fastest growing hub” in the United States, growing faster than Atlanta, Detroit and Minneapolis, Joe Esposito, Delta’s senior vice present of network planning, told the city’s Airport Advisory Board on Wednesday. He expects such growth to continue.

Since 2014, the number of seats Delta offers on flights here has increased more than 30%...

The rebuilt airport will offer expanded gates for international flights, which Esposito said Delta is planning to utilize with extra offerings.

He said nonstop service from Salt Lake City to Seoul, South Korea is “on our drawing board.”
...
He said Delta is well positioned for continuing growth at its Salt Lake City operations because it has been investing in improvements here and in Los Angeles and Seattle — creating an improved net of service he said can capture a bigger share of air travel in the West.

Update article from KSL, reporting on public meeting to discuss SLC master plan:
https://www.ksl.com/article/46596664/pu ... ke-airport

Image from KSL.com:


You can see the new central terminal and parking facility coming along nicely, and the two western concourses. You can also see the temporary connector bridge built between the new terminal and the existing airside concourses. That temporary bridge will allow some of the old concourses to remain connected to the new facility while the old terminals are torn down to build out the eastern concourses.

I remember seeing a while ago the phasing schedule but I can't seem to find it. Does anyone have the new phasing schedule on when the gates will come online as things are torn down?

kunta67 wrote:

I remember seeing a while ago the phasing schedule but I can't seem to find it. Does anyone have the new phasing schedule on when the gates will come online as things are torn down?

I only have the plans for the next 2 years:

JAN 2020 - Hard Stand parking for RJs on NW side of South Concourse - West. Begin Demo of E gates. Closure of gate F2 for connector bridge for access to F gates from current moving walkway between C & F.
Total gate reduction from 69 --> 64.

AUG/SEP 2020 - Opening of everything except North Satellite Concourse - West. Closure old international D gates (D2, D4, D6). Demo of old Terminals 1 & 2, International Terminal and old parking garage.
Gates total increase 64 --> 74

DEC 2020 - Opening of North Satellite Concourse - West (minus some south facing gates near Concourse D). Demo of A gates. Start of central tunnel construction.
Increase of gates 74 --> 79

June 2021 - Opening of all North Satellite - West gates. Closure and demo of all of D concourse. Construction starts on South Concourse - East.

Gates remain at 79.

I think what you're looking for is here. It starts on page 36 of the document (or page 10 if you're looking at the page number it shows on the diagrams). I don't know if there have been changes since this was published. For example, Cactusjuba mentions only the international D gates will be closed in that phase, which makes me wonder if they will continue to use the east side gates of the D concourse a little while longer than originally planned. The diagram on page 36 (or page 10) shows all of D being torn down in that phase.

https://www.slcairport.com/assets/pdfDo ... ay2016.pdf

slcpdxatl wrote:

I think what you're looking for is here. It starts on page 36 of the document (or page 10 if you're looking at the page number it shows on the diagrams). I don't know if there have been changes since this was published. For example, Cactusjuba mentions only the international D gates will be closed in that phase, which makes me wonder if they will continue to use the east side gates of the D concourse a little while longer than originally planned. The diagram on page 36 (or page 10) shows all of D being torn down in that phase.

https://www.slcairport.com/assets/pdfDo ... ay2016.pdf

The west side of the D gates will close to facilitate the excavation for the central tunnel. This will occur after the new terminal opens, because the South Concourse will have international gates and CBP facilities to transfer over to. The other side of D will remain open to maintain gate numbers, since the North Concourse won't have all their gates available.

Does anyone know how to post an image without a hyperlink? I'd be happy to post images I have of timetables.

Update video from the SLC airport Twitter feed:

https://twitter.com/slcairport/status/1 ... 8117722113

Also:
Traffic leaving the terminals has been routed though the new arrivals/pick-up lanes outside the new terminals--it's cool to see that area is nearly finished and looking good.

We are one year away from opening the first phase, and the SL Tribune has an update article today with a bunch of photos:
https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/20 ... lake-city/

The first jet bridges are now installed. The new 6-mile-long baggage screening and delivery system is being tested. The first airline agent desk at a gate just went up. Most moving walkways are finished and working but covered for protection from construction dust...

Project looks like it's coming along smoothly. Really a big win for Delta Airlines and the city!

Could Mike Williams come to work in Denver? We need him.

These facilities look to be shaping up really nicely! I’m excited to fly out of the new terminal next year!

The picture of the Delta boarding podium shows they have finally settled on the new prototype. Several were tested in ATL.

One of the first installations was GEG where 4 of the new podiums were installed along with waiting area screens and flight display information above the boarding door.

maps4ltd wrote:

By the way, is there any "SLC Air Service Discussion" that concerns the daily goings-on there?

Obviously a bit late with the response, but there is now the Salt Lake City Aviation Thread which was recently created.

Moving through security is expected to be quicker. The new airport will have 16 security lines together in the terminal and will use more modern equipment. For example, four people at a time will be able to load carry-on items into bins for a conveyor belt, instead of single-file lines.

This excites me. I've always felt frustrated by the length of lines at the security check in SLC - particularly the few times I've flown out of the main Delta terminal.

Granted, a lot of that is probably based on anxiety rather than a genuine risk of missing a flight - I generally have an abundance of free time once I've actually passed security. Nevertheless, efficiency improvements are very welcome, even if only to ease my worries.

n7371f wrote:

The picture of the Delta boarding podium shows they have finally settled on the new prototype. Several were tested in ATL.

One of the first installations was GEG where 4 of the new podiums were installed along with waiting area screens and flight display information above the boarding door.

Do you have a link to that picture? I'd like to see their new podiums.

maps4ltd wrote:

n7371f wrote:

The picture of the Delta boarding podium shows they have finally settled on the new prototype. Several were tested in ATL.

One of the first installations was GEG where 4 of the new podiums were installed along with waiting area screens and flight display information above the boarding door.

Do you have a link to that picture? I'd like to see their new podiums.

There are actually a few of them already in SLC as gates were shuffled around for the construction.

I do have a pic but I've never learned how to post a pic here.

maps4ltd wrote:

n7371f wrote:

The picture of the Delta boarding podium shows they have finally settled on the new prototype. Several were tested in ATL.

One of the first installations was GEG where 4 of the new podiums were installed along with waiting area screens and flight display information above the boarding door.

Do you have a link to that picture? I'd like to see their new podiums.

[photoid][/photoid]

n7371f wrote:

I do have a pic but I've never learned how to post a pic here.

maps4ltd wrote:

n7371f wrote:

The picture of the Delta boarding podium shows they have finally settled on the new prototype. Several were tested in ATL.

One of the first installations was GEG where 4 of the new podiums were installed along with waiting area screens and flight display information above the boarding door.

Do you have a link to that picture? I'd like to see their new podiums.

DLASFlyer wrote:

maps4ltd wrote:

n7371f wrote:

The picture of the Delta boarding podium shows they have finally settled on the new prototype. Several were tested in ATL.

One of the first installations was GEG where 4 of the new podiums were installed along with waiting area screens and flight display information above the boarding door.

Do you have a link to that picture? I'd like to see their new podiums.

There are actually a few of them already in SLC as gates were shuffled around for the construction.

If you go to the tribune article, there is one in the slideshow at the top.

ironyClad wrote:

Moving through security is expected to be quicker. The new airport will have 16 security lines together in the terminal and will use more modern equipment. For example, four people at a time will be able to load carry-on items into bins for a conveyor belt, instead of single-file lines.

This excites me. I've always felt frustrated by the length of lines at the security check in SLC - particularly the few times I've flown out of the main Delta terminal.

Granted, a lot of that is probably based on anxiety rather than a genuine risk of missing a flight - I generally have an abundance of free time once I've actually passed security. Nevertheless, efficiency improvements are very welcome, even if only to ease my worries.

No airport security has ever frustrated me more than SLC, long lines due to bad layouts and understaffed lanes. Traveled through one morning at 0500 and the security wait was almost an hour.

Cactusjuba wrote:

kunta67 wrote:

I remember seeing a while ago the phasing schedule but I can't seem to find it. Does anyone have the new phasing schedule on when the gates will come online as things are torn down?

I only have the plans for the next 2 years:

JAN 2020 - Hard Stand parking for RJs on NW side of South Concourse - West. Begin Demo of E gates. Closure of gate F2 for connector bridge for access to F gates from current moving walkway between C & F.
Total gate reduction from 69 --> 64.

AUG/SEP 2020 - Opening of everything except North Satellite Concourse - West. Closure old international D gates (D2, D4, D6). Demo of old Terminals 1 & 2, International Terminal and old parking garage.
Gates total increase 64 --> 74

DEC 2020 - Opening of North Satellite Concourse - West (minus some south facing gates near Concourse D). Demo of A gates. Start of central tunnel construction.
Increase of gates 74 --> 79

June 2021 - Opening of all North Satellite - West gates. Closure and demo of all of D concourse. Construction starts on South Concourse - East.

Gates remain at 79.

I realize there is probably a need to replace outdated structures and that a new terminal design can contribute to the operational efficiency of the airport. However it appears from the above there is only a net gain of 10 gates. Is this correct? If so, is that a sizable gain given the number of flights and passengers at SLC? Does the design and master plan include options for future expansion?

questions wrote:

I realize there is probably a need to replace outdated structures and that a new terminal design can contribute to the operational efficiency of the airport. However it appears from the above there is only a net gain of 10 gates. Is this correct? If so, is that a sizable gain given the number of flights and passengers at SLC? Does the design and master plan include options for future expansion?

There were a significant number of gates (I think between 15-20) that had no jet bridge and couldn’t accommodate anything larger than a CRJ. So while the total gate count isn’t increasing much, there is a lot more flexibility in the planes they can accommodate.

MastaHanky wrote:

questions wrote:

I realize there is probably a need to replace outdated structures and that a new terminal design can contribute to the operational efficiency of the airport. However it appears from the above there is only a net gain of 10 gates. Is this correct? If so, is that a sizable gain given the number of flights and passengers at SLC? Does the design and master plan include options for future expansion?

There were a significant number of gates (I think between 15-20) that had no jet bridge and couldn’t accommodate anything larger than a CRJ. So while the total gate count isn’t increasing much, there is a lot more flexibility in the planes they can accommodate.

Edit: link doesn't work. Article from salt lake Tribune "SLC airport adds second concourse to current reconstruction"

They also have the option to add 15 more on to the north for a total of 90.
Edit: newer sources say 78 gates instead of 75, so not sure if that means 90 or 93 if they finish the north east section.

"Plans had always called for opening a new terminal building plus the new south concourse beginning in 2020, with 45 gates. Now, a parallel, 30-gate portion of the north concourse is also planned in two phases, and also projected to be finished in 2020.

The two concourses will be connected by a tunnel. Their parallel design avoids problems with current spider-arm layouts that sometimes lead aircraft to block neighboring gates as they back out, arrive or wait, and limit operations.

The north concourse eventually may be expanded to add another 15 gates depending on demand."

rrbsztk wrote:

The north concourse eventually may be expanded to add another 15 gates depending on demand."

At one point there was discussion about going ahead with the 15-gate expansion right away, rather than later. I don't know if a decision has been made.

rrbsztk wrote:

MastaHanky wrote:

questions wrote:

I realize there is probably a need to replace outdated structures and that a new terminal design can contribute to the operational efficiency of the airport. However it appears from the above there is only a net gain of 10 gates. Is this correct? If so, is that a sizable gain given the number of flights and passengers at SLC? Does the design and master plan include options for future expansion?

There were a significant number of gates (I think between 15-20) that had no jet bridge and couldn’t accommodate anything larger than a CRJ. So while the total gate count isn’t increasing much, there is a lot more flexibility in the planes they can accommodate.

Edit: link doesn't work. Article from salt lake Tribune "SLC airport adds second concourse to current reconstruction"

They also have the option to add 15 more on to the north for a total of 90.
Edit: newer sources say 78 gates instead of 75, so not sure if that means 90 or 93 if they finish the north east section.

"Plans had always called for opening a new terminal building plus the new south concourse beginning in 2020, with 45 gates. Now, a parallel, 30-gate portion of the north concourse is also planned in two phases, and also projected to be finished in 2020.

The two concourses will be connected by a tunnel. Their parallel design avoids problems with current spider-arm layouts that sometimes lead aircraft to block neighboring gates as they back out, arrive or wait, and limit operations.

The north concourse eventually may be expanded to add another 15 gates depending on demand."

Thanks.

When I stumbled upon this construction master plan I was agog in amazement. To get a plan like this through takes a special team all on the same page and exceptionally strong.

Look at what it took to get the similarly-scaled LGA project approved: Joe Biden totally calling them out as a 3rd world country.

Really impressive stuff happening at USA airports in general, but this is one of the standouts.

I recently discovered these videos about "The Canyon" art installation that is being installed in the new terminal. I had seen renderings before, but the videos make it seem much more impressive.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q7rVnIZ_97o

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3IbcerWlvbc

Enjoy.

redzeppelin wrote:

I recently discovered these videos about "The Canyon" art installation that is being installed in the new terminal. I had seen renderings before, but the videos make it seem much more impressive.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q7rVnIZ_97o

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3IbcerWlvbc

Enjoy.

Thanks for posting those.
Having watched them, it's clear to me that SLC is going to be the new DEN. Modern, well-designed, well-executed, efficient... and beautiful.
Which is handy, because DEN seems to have completely lost its way, of late.

AA737-823 wrote:

redzeppelin wrote:

I recently discovered these videos about "The Canyon" art installation that is being installed in the new terminal. I had seen renderings before, but the videos make it seem much more impressive.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q7rVnIZ_97o

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3IbcerWlvbc

Enjoy.

Thanks for posting those.
Having watched them, it's clear to me that SLC is going to be the new DEN. Modern, well-designed, well-executed, efficient... and beautiful.
Which is handy, because DEN seems to have completely lost its way, of late.

Except it won’t connect as much traffic as DEN, as DEN is a hub for 3 airlines as opposed to 1 at SLC.

New Salt Lake City airport project needs another $500 million - KUTV News

In the airport's early planning stages, the airlines gave passenger forecasts that turned out to be low, Wyatt said, “and they've come back and asked us to do more in the project than was originally planned.”

For instance, Delta wants to increase the size of their Sky Club to be the largest in the world. Wyatt says there's already substantially more international traffic, and will be even more when the new terminal opens, so the international processing area needs to be expanded.

ironyClad wrote:

New Salt Lake City airport project needs another $500 million - KUTV News

In the airport's early planning stages, the airlines gave passenger forecasts that turned out to be low, Wyatt said, “and they've come back and asked us to do more in the project than was originally planned.”

For instance, Delta wants to increase the size of their Sky Club to be the largest in the world. Wyatt says there's already substantially more international traffic, and will be even more when the new terminal opens, so the international processing area needs to be expanded.

Reading the article it sounds like these are changes requested by the airlines, specifically Delta.

“There is no taxpayer money at stake“

Airlines are pouring more money in. Sounds like they’re taking advantage of the project to make things even bigger.
I’d say that’s good forward thinking.

It will be crazy and interesting if that’s the largest SkyClub in the DL system.

dcaproducer wrote:

ironyClad wrote:

New Salt Lake City airport project needs another $500 million - KUTV News

In the airport's early planning stages, the airlines gave passenger forecasts that turned out to be low, Wyatt said, “and they've come back and asked us to do more in the project than was originally planned.”

For instance, Delta wants to increase the size of their Sky Club to be the largest in the world. Wyatt says there's already substantially more international traffic, and will be even more when the new terminal opens, so the international processing area needs to be expanded.

Reading the article it sounds like these are changes requested by the airlines, specifically Delta.

“There is no taxpayer money at stake“

Airlines are pouring more money in. Sounds like they’re taking advantage of the project to make things even bigger.
I’d say that’s good forward thinking.

It will be crazy and interesting if that’s the largest SkyClub in the DL system.

Agree. I wonder how it compares in size to the JFK T4 (what a zoo) and the new LAX Sky Clubs.

I wonder if SLC will play a different role in DL’s network when completed.

questions wrote:

dcaproducer wrote:

ironyClad wrote:

New Salt Lake City airport project needs another $500 million - KUTV News

Reading the article it sounds like these are changes requested by the airlines, specifically Delta.

“There is no taxpayer money at stake“

Airlines are pouring more money in. Sounds like they’re taking advantage of the project to make things even bigger.
I’d say that’s good forward thinking.

It will be crazy and interesting if that’s the largest SkyClub in the DL system.

Agree. I wonder how it compares in size to the JFK T4 (what a zoo) and the new LAX Sky Clubs.

I wonder if SLC will play a different role in DL’s network when completed.

In my experience, since SLC is mostly DL, it's an efficient and relatively delay-free airport to connect. Much less congested than LAX or SFO and even SEA.

When the JFK SkyClub opened it was the largest, by far, and it was almost immediately too small. The problem is they went for one big club in T4 instead of opening two clubs, which would have made more sense.

Here is an interesting proposal to rename the SLC airport in honor of Jake Garn. I'm not sure if I've heard this idea before, but I'm not surprised by it. This is just a guest opinion in one of the local papers, but I have a funny feeling that it may be taken seriously:
https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2019/11 ... ut-senator

For the uninitiated, Jake Garn is a Utah native, naval aviator in Korean War, Utah ANG pilot and General, SLC Mayor, US Senator, and a space shuttle astronaut. If anybody's name is put on the airport, he is an obvious candidate.

There's an interesting slide in the latest board meeting minutes about runway length and aircraft performance.

The slide indicates with a 13,500' runway, an A350 can BARELY make it to Seoul. Extending that to 15,000' feet makes it more feasible, and Beijing can even squeeze into the limits. Shanghai is too far though.

It also indicates that with a 13,500' runway, a 787-9 can't make it to Seoul - Osaka is about the range limit. It would require an extension to 15,000' feet to make it to Seoul.

Given the current runways are only 12,000' feet, it makes me question the feasibility of a flight to Seoul - seems like they would have to block a serious number of seats.

The slide can be found on page 36: https://www.slcairport.com/assets/pdfDocuments/AABoard/AirportAdvisoryBoardPacket20Nov2019.pdf

MastaHanky wrote:

The slide indicates with a 13,500' runway, an A350 can BARELY make it to Seoul. Extending that to 15,000' feet makes it more feasible, and Beijing can even squeeze into the limits. Shanghai is too far though.

It also indicates that with a 13,500' runway, a 787-9 can't make it to Seoul - Osaka is about the range limit. It would require an extension to 15,000' feet to make it to Seoul.

Given the current runways are only 12,000' feet, it makes me question the feasibility of a flight to Seoul - seems like they would have to block a serious number of seats.

The slide can be found on page 36: https://www.slcairport.com/assets/pdfDocuments/AABoard/AirportAdvisoryBoardPacket20Nov2019.pdf

If they were to extend the runway(s), is it possible to do so without having to close the runway during the extension?

This is the issue Delta faced using a 330-200 on SLC-NRT. Easily in "range" but when you factor in SLC altitude and summer weather it really just couldn't work despite Delta wanting it to. They had to block off too many seats and really restrict cargo.

DEN didn't even have a Tokyo link until United got the 787-800 which is the perfect plane for the route. Delta nor Korean has that plane so that is why we see it today. If delta flew the 787-800 it would be the perfect plane. I know delta keeps saying SLC-Asia is going to happen i am just not sure what plane? Koreans 787-900 seems like the only candidate i can think of?

slcdeltarumd11 wrote:

This is the issue Delta faced using a 330-200 on SLC-NRT. Easily in "range" but when you factor in SLC altitude and summer weather it really just couldn't work despite Delta wanting it to. They had to block off too many seats and really restrict cargo.

DEN didn't even have a Tokyo link until United got the 787-800 which is the perfect plane for the route. Delta nor Korean has that plane so that is why we see it today. If delta flew the 787-800 it would be the perfect plane. I know delta keeps saying SLC-Asia is going to happen i am just not sure what plane? Koreans 787-900 seems like the only candidate i can think of?

There is no such thing as a 787-800 or 787-900.

I'm far from an expert on these things, but I do know that actual range can vary greatly depending on a number of factors (such as cabin configuration), and there aren't any qualifiers listed for the data in those slides, so without knowing what conditions they're assuming, I'm taking those claims with a grain of salt. I have a hard time believing that the 359 would be *that* heavily restricted on a hypothetical SLC-ICN route.

Under normal conditions, the A350-900 has the same quoted takeoff distance as the 787-8, and about 750nm more still-air range. So, unless the 359 experiences significantly more takeoff performance degradation at higher altitudes/ambient temps, I would think it might actually perform a bit better than the 788. SLC-ICN is only ~100nm longer than DEN-NRT, plus SLC has about ~1,000ft lower field elevation with a similar climate, so that should even out or even lower the performance requirements somewhat, as well. So, it at least seems plausible to me that the 359 could operate SLC-ICN just fine under the current runway situation.

Similarly, if we compare it to the A330-200, the 359 has about a 500ft shorter takeoff run under normal conditions, and nearly 1,000nm additional range. So, with a little bit better takeoff performance and significantly better range capabilities, I'd imagine the 359 would be enough to make SLC-ICN work with the current runway lengths where the 332 couldn't do SLC-NRT successfully in the past.

Looks like the remaining E-gates will be demolished this month, with hardstand/bus operations commencing tomorrow. The PR indicates about 46 daily flights will switch to bus gates. These should all be OO flights, AFAIK:
https://www.slcairport.com/airlines-fli ... perations/

Flight attendant a couple days ago announced that DL is advising pax on affected hardstand flights to allow at least an hour between connecting flights.

Satellite image of SLC airport. It looks like the North terminal structure is now complete. It's scheduled to open in the fall of 2020