Driving on the Dulles access road you can see zillions and zillions of office buildings, and some of you want to put more, of all places, in the parking lot in front of the beautiful Saarinen building, which is where --I-- park when I take or pick up friends and family?! Not without my permission (unless they reserve a parking spot for me, in which case they can build whatever they want)

Does anyone have info on AA adding mainline service to MEM from DCA in September? AA's website says 2 of the 3 daily flights will go to Airbus aircraft.

Glad to see Swiss adding IAD-ZRH.

Anyone want to give their thoughts on the likelihood of IAD-WAW on LOT? They're now the only European Star Alliance airline that flies to the US but _doesn't_ fly to IAD. Seems like a natural addition.

How long will the walk be from the Dulles station to the ticket counter?

jfidler wrote:

Glad to see Swiss adding IAD-ZRH.

Anyone want to give their thoughts on the likelihood of IAD-WAW on LOT? They're now the only European Star Alliance airline that flies to the US but _doesn't_ fly to IAD. Seems like a natural addition.

Seems like a decent chance of happening. The only WAW-TATL capable aircraft currently in LOT's fleet are 14 787s (8 - 788; 6 - 789). Two additional 789s are coming, one later this year and one in 2020. We'll have to wait and see what they do with these frames. Could be one of the 789s will be allocated to WAW-ORD or another route, thereby freeing up a 788 for WAW-IAD. If LOT moves forward with IAD, we'll probably have an announcement either late this year or early next.

OpsCheckNML wrote:

How long will the walk be from the Dulles station to the ticket counter?

The distance from the Dulles Metro station to the terminal will be about 1,150 feet. The station will be connected to the terminal by an underground tunnel, featuring moving walkways. How much of the 1,150 ft will comprise moving walkways, I don't know. It's very possible shuttle bus service will be established at the station, as many travelers — the elderly, families with very young children, etc. — won't be able to make the trek, even with the moving walkways.

The Silver Line to Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County, Virginia, will open on or about July 16, 2020

https://wtop.com/dc-transit/2019/08/fir ... un-county/

I saw that SAA will increase their flights to Accra to daily and will drop their 2x weekly flights to Dakar. Effective September 5th.

https://www.eturbonews.com/260098/south ... -from-u-s/

Also, I had a question about gate space at IAD concerning SWISS. Is there enough widebody space that SWISS could have had an earlier departure time from Dulles if it wanted? Or are they forced to choose a later departure due to lack of gate space earlier in the evening? Just curious, as I know there are a lot of departures around 5-6 pm.

mah584jr wrote:

I saw that SAA will increase their flights to Accra to daily and will drop their 2x weekly flights to Dakar. Effective September 5th.

https://www.eturbonews.com/260098/south ... -from-u-s/

Also, I had a question about gate space at IAD concerning SWISS. Is there enough widebody space that SWISS could have had an earlier departure time from Dulles if it wanted? Or are they forced to choose a later departure due to lack of gate space earlier in the evening? Just curious, as I know there are a lot of departures around 5-6 pm.

I don’t think there are any available gates from 5-6pm, but remember the UA/LH Group JV here. They’re likely splitting the departure times purposefully.

mah584jr wrote:

I saw that SAA will increase their flights to Accra to daily and will drop their 2x weekly flights to Dakar. Effective September 5th.

https://www.eturbonews.com/260098/south ... -from-u-s/

Also, I had a question about gate space at IAD concerning SWISS. Is there enough widebody space that SWISS could have had an earlier departure time from Dulles if it wanted? Or are they forced to choose a later departure due to lack of gate space earlier in the evening? Just curious, as I know there are a lot of departures around 5-6 pm.

Gate B46/48 should be available

So it looks like Avianca is going to bring the A332/B788 to IAD this fall according to Airlineroute https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/285927/avianca-nov-2019-bogota-washington-aircraft-changes/

The schedule is going to be:
AV246 BOG0700 – 1226IAD 330 x5
AV246 BOG0700 – 1226IAD 788 5

AV247 IAD1352 – 1924BOG 330 x5
AV247 IAD1352 – 1924BOG 788 5

Definitely interesting since going from the 319 to 332/788 is quite a big upgrade. Maybe this has something to do with United's stake in Avianca?

BWI-SAN/SFO on AS are moving to seasonal according to the OAG thread. BWI-SAN had previously been announced as cut.

Don't think this has been mentioned here yet but UA is adding A319s to IAD-CMH beginning in October. It appears to be year-round too. CMH definitely seems like a solid mainline add for UA from IAD.

UA has made a lot of mainline additions from IAD to midwestern cities recently, and to other big markets in general. They've added mainline service to places like CLE, BNA, IND, JAX, CMH, CHS, ORD, CVG, MIA, and MSP from IAD recently. UA must be doing well on those routes since they can support mainline service. I'm sort of surprised UA hasn't added any mainline service on IAD-DTW yet. I feel like that's a route that could definitely support an A319, at least on a seasonal basis. IIRC, DL doesn't even have mainline service on IAD-DTW, and UA serves the route using only larger Regional Jets like CRJ700s and E175s, and no 50 seaters. I definitely feel like at least one of those could probably be upgauged to an A319/A320.

These aren't necessarily new routes, but it's definitely worth noting that UA has been adding a bit more mainline to IAD recently.

ITB wrote:

The distance from the Dulles Metro station to the terminal will be about 1,150 feet. The station will be connected to the terminal by an underground tunnel, featuring moving walkways. How much of the 1,150 ft will comprise moving walkways, I don't know. It's very possible shuttle bus service will be established at the station, as many travelers — the elderly, families with very young children, etc. — won't be able to make the trek, even with the moving walkways.

There's already shuttle bus service from the parking garage that is attached to the Metro via the same tunnel (a very short walk in the other direction). The tunnel existed before the Metro station. It used to just connect the garage with the terminal.

A July 2020 opening for Silver Line Phase 2 is beginning to look iffy.

https://patch.com/virginia/reston/new-p ... e-2-report

https://wtop.com/tracking-metro-24-7/20 ... xt-summer/

Some of these issues are quite serious and have to be completed by February in order to get it open by July.
A current "on schedule" opening would put it 11-11.5 months behind the original schedule.

Let's hope the DC area has a quiet winter.

ITB wrote:

jfidler wrote:

Glad to see Swiss adding IAD-ZRH.

Anyone want to give their thoughts on the likelihood of IAD-WAW on LOT? They're now the only European Star Alliance airline that flies to the US but _doesn't_ fly to IAD. Seems like a natural addition.

Seems like a decent chance of happening. The only WAW-TATL capable aircraft currently in LOT's fleet are 14 787s (8 - 788; 6 - 789). Two additional 789s are coming, one later this year and one in 2020. We'll have to wait and see what they do with these frames. Could be one of the 789s will be allocated to WAW-ORD or another route, thereby freeing up a 788 for WAW-IAD. If LOT moves forward with IAD, we'll probably have an announcement either late this year or early next.

OpsCheckNML wrote:

How long will the walk be from the Dulles station to the ticket counter?

The distance from the Dulles Metro station to the terminal will be about 1,150 feet. The station will be connected to the terminal by an underground tunnel, featuring moving walkways. How much of the 1,150 ft will comprise moving walkways, I don't know. It's very possible shuttle bus service will be established at the station, as many travelers — the elderly, families with very young children, etc. — won't be able to make the trek, even with the moving walkways.

On average one should be able to walk from the station to the counters in about 10 minutes.

The moving walkway encompasses about 80 percent of the tunnel between the terminal and the station. The walkways are pretty slow and are not the "high-speed" kind you see at places like YYZ. There are two elevators at the airport arrival level which go to the tunnel and vice versa.

Biggest concern would be elevators at the station. I'm not sure how many there are and WMATA is notorious for having elevators/escalators out-of-service for long periods. Busses won't solve this issue.

izbtmnhd wrote:

ITB wrote:

jfidler wrote:

Glad to see Swiss adding IAD-ZRH.

Anyone want to give their thoughts on the likelihood of IAD-WAW on LOT? They're now the only European Star Alliance airline that flies to the US but _doesn't_ fly to IAD. Seems like a natural addition.

Seems like a decent chance of happening. The only WAW-TATL capable aircraft currently in LOT's fleet are 14 787s (8 - 788; 6 - 789). Two additional 789s are coming, one later this year and one in 2020. We'll have to wait and see what they do with these frames. Could be one of the 789s will be allocated to WAW-ORD or another route, thereby freeing up a 788 for WAW-IAD. If LOT moves forward with IAD, we'll probably have an announcement either late this year or early next.

OpsCheckNML wrote:

How long will the walk be from the Dulles station to the ticket counter?

The distance from the Dulles Metro station to the terminal will be about 1,150 feet. The station will be connected to the terminal by an underground tunnel, featuring moving walkways. How much of the 1,150 ft will comprise moving walkways, I don't know. It's very possible shuttle bus service will be established at the station, as many travelers — the elderly, families with very young children, etc. — won't be able to make the trek, even with the moving walkways.

On average one should be able to walk from the station to the counters in about 10 minutes.

The moving walkway encompasses about 80 percent of the tunnel between the terminal and the station. The walkways are pretty slow and are not the "high-speed" kind you see at places like YYZ. There are two elevators at the airport arrival level which go to the tunnel and vice versa.

Biggest concern would be elevators at the station. I'm not sure how many there are and WMATA is notorious for having elevators/escalators out-of-service for long periods.

It isn't a typical station though, so I'm willing to bet there will be extra effort to keep those elevators in service. The walkways aren't bad. I think some people are making the walk out to be more than it is — it's no different/worse than walking between terminals at places like ORD, ATL, etc. Yes, it would have been better to have the station built directly beneath the terminal, but it wasn't, so it is what it is.

atcsundevil wrote:

It isn't a typical station though, so I'm willing to bet there will be extra effort to keep those elevators in service.

METRO's budget is limited. I'm doubting WMATA is going to give "extra effort" to Dulles especially over higher use stops such as Rosslyn, Metro Center, Dupont, Union Station, Ballston, Tysons, etc. Dulles will be in the queue like all the other stations. With it being brand new one would hope for a half-decade of usage before big issues arise.

From peering inside the station it looks like there is only one elevator but there certainly could be more out-of-sight.

IADCA wrote:

ITB wrote:

The distance from the Dulles Metro station to the terminal will be about 1,150 feet. The station will be connected to the terminal by an underground tunnel, featuring moving walkways. How much of the 1,150 ft will comprise moving walkways, I don't know. It's very possible shuttle bus service will be established at the station, as many travelers — the elderly, families with very young children, etc. — won't be able to make the trek, even with the moving walkways.

There's already shuttle bus service from the parking garage that is attached to the Metro via the same tunnel (a very short walk in the other direction). The tunnel existed before the Metro station. It used to just connect the garage with the terminal.

Right. The pedestrian tunnel existed before the Metro station was even conceived. It's good to hear there is currently shuttle bus service from the parking garage to the terminal. That I wasn't aware of.

izbtmnhd wrote:

The moving walkway encompasses about 80 percent of the tunnel between the terminal and the station. The walkways are pretty slow and are not the "high-speed" kind you see at places like YYZ. There are two elevators at the airport arrival level which go to the tunnel and vice versa.

Eighty percent. That's decent. Hopefully, at some point, MWAA will evaluate and consider installing "high-speed" walkways. Two elevators at the terminal should be sufficient for now, but if the number of transit users expands significantly, in all likelihood, more will be added.

izbtmnhd wrote:

Biggest concern would be elevators at the station. I'm not sure how many there are and WMATA is notorious for having elevators/escalators out-of-service for long periods. Busses won't solve this issue.

Indeed, WMATA does not have a good track record regarding the maintenance of its escalators and elevators. On the positive side, though, the equipment at the Dulles station, unlike the deep and long units at stations like Woodley Park and Bethesda, will be quite short, and thus easier to maintain.

Link: Woodley Park station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodley_Park_station

izbtmnhd wrote:

A July 2020 opening for Silver Line Phase 2 is beginning to look iffy.

https://patch.com/virginia/reston/new-p ... e-2-report

https://wtop.com/tracking-metro-24-7/20 ... xt-summer/

Some of these issues are quite serious and have to be completed by February in order to get it open by July.
A current "on schedule" opening would put it 11-11.5 months behind the original schedule.

Yes, there are some serious concerns outstanding, namely a number of concrete panels at the stations which were not fabricated to spec, and the non-spec gravel ballast at the Dulles Railyard and Maintenance Facility. Ideally, these issues would be corrected by replacing the concrete panels and placing new gravel ballast, but doing so may cost millions and delay the opening of the line. How it all plays out remains to be seen. In earlier times, these sorts of issues were resolved behind the scenes. Now, however, much more is revealed to the public, which tends to lead to questions of project management. Construction standards for transit projects are higher now, too, adding to cost and extending timelines. Case in point: the Second Avenue Subway in NYC and the new Berlin-Brandenburg airport in Germany.

For those interested, here's a link to a recent budget and construction update (with photos) of Phase Two of the Silver Line:

https://www.mwaa.com/sites/default/file ... 1_2019.pdf

^I'm wrong. There are four elevators at the terminal. I forgot the tunnel forks under the parking area so there will be two elevators/one escalator at each side of the Main Terminal.

Agree with you, the tunnel is fine. It's lightly used now and there may be some moving walkway growing pains once the station is open but not expecting major issues. MWAA is pretty good at getting those types of items fixed quickly.

The station, OTOH, we'll see after a few years of use.

https://twitter.com/bwi_airport/status/ ... 79264?s=21
Progress update on the Concourse A expansion. After it’s completion, a few other A gates will be temporarily closed to update the nightmarish baggage system at BWI.

MWAA had a board meeting today. Some items of note:

https://www.mwaa.com/about/september-18 ... e-meetings

1. June and July travel statistics: https://www.mwaa.com/sites/default/file ... report.pdf

Dulles continues to grow, up more than 4% year to date; DCA's growth has been more around 1% YTD.

2. Fast Food at Dulles: https://www.mwaa.com/sites/default/file ... tional.pdf

The Board is considering the pre-solicitation terms for a fast food site at Dulles to replace the old and closed gas station.Requirements are for a 24/7 operation from a "nationally recognized brand" and to include a drive-thru. The Airport is offering a 20 year lease to the eventual operator.

3. Dulles Rail update: https://www.mwaa.com/sites/default/file ... 1_2019.pdf

This presentation is from MWAA; it includes some pictures of the work accomplished as well as a detailed discussion of the major defects identified by WMATA and MWAA, including the concrete panels, some track switches, fouled ballast, and a few others.

4. Dulles Rail update, part 2: https://www.mwaa.com/sites/default/file ... update.pdf

This update is from the contractor; it includes some higher resolution pictures of the stations that are mostly complete and down to their final punchlist items.

5. Project Journey Update: https://www.mwaa.com/sites/default/file ... ourney.pdf

This slide deck has lots of new pictures of the progress at DCA, including the new concourse as the structural steel goes up. Also some pictures of the modifications underway to the existing concourse for the new security barriers as well as the temporary work to connect the new concourse to the existing building.

"Earlier this month, Metro Inspector General Geoffrey A. Cherrington, who is conducting his own audit of the project expected to be released later this year, issued two management alerts to top agency officials and members of Congress about problems that needed immediate attention. He found the sealant being applied to fix the defective concrete panels might not be working. He also identified problems at the rail yard being built. He urged Metro not to accept the project until all the problems are fixed. Accepting prematurely, Cherrington wrote, “will create extraordinary cost, maintenance and operational issues early once [Metro] takes ownership and control of this project."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/tr ... story.html

In other words, don't hand this mess off to us! We've finally gotten the fires stopped on the older system. We don't need another mess on our hands.

Yeah, "high construction standards" and the public knowing things, really stink. What are the peasants thinking, asking questions about MWAA's project management? MWAA should just be allowed to keep running this project into the ground without anybody knowing it. Move along, please. I'm sorry the MWAA board feels so inconvenienced. Poor dears.

Jim

DCA-ROCguy wrote:

"Earlier this month, Metro Inspector General Geoffrey A. Cherrington, who is conducting his own audit of the project expected to be released later this year, issued two management alerts to top agency officials and members of Congress about problems that needed immediate attention. He found the sealant being applied to fix the defective concrete panels might not be working. He also identified problems at the rail yard being built. He urged Metro not to accept the project until all the problems are fixed. Accepting prematurely, Cherrington wrote, “will create extraordinary cost, maintenance and operational issues early once [Metro] takes ownership and control of this project."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/tr ... story.html

In other words, don't hand this mess off to us! We've finally gotten the fires stopped on the older system. We don't need another mess on our hands.

Yeah, "high construction standards" and the public knowing things, really stink. What are the peasants thinking, asking questions about MWAA's project management? MWAA should just be allowed to keep running this project into the ground without anybody knowing it. Move along, please. I'm sorry the MWAA board feels so inconvenienced. Poor dears.

Jim

More bad optics for the MWAA board. God forbid the METRO IG actually demand a safe environment for passengers and WMATA employees.

If the contractor says work can't be completed until June 2020, it pushes the start date back to November 2020. That's 15 months behind the original Phase 2 schedule.

As a side note, I believe there are four elevators inside the Dulles station. As long as they operating properly, it should be enough.

The Northeast Maglev train will connect DC, BWI Airport, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark, and NYC, and there are plans to start construction on the DC-Baltimore section of the Northeast Maglev train line as early as next year.

Here are the estimated travel times to DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and NYC from BWI Airport on the Northeast Maglev:
DC - 13 minutes
Baltimore - 4 minutes
Philadelphia - 28 minutes
NYC - 52 minutes

The BWI Airport Northeast Maglev station also is planned to be built underneath the BWI Airport terminals as opposed to an off-airport location like the existing Amtrak/MARC BWI Airport station.

Once the Northeast Maglev train is completed from DC to NYC, the Northeast Maglev train would allow passengers to more easily get to NYC and Philadelphia from cities east of Chicago that don't have nonstop service to NYC and PHL on WN such as BHM, CHS, CLT, CVG, CLE, CMH, GRR, GSP, IND, SDF, ORF, PIT, and RDU as passengers would be able to fly into BWI on WN and take the Northeast Maglev train to NYC or Philly from BWI airport.

The Northeast Maglev train will also make it easier for passengers to get to DC from BWI, and there would probably be some additional travelers that would choose BWI over DCA or IAD once the Northeast Maglev train to DC from BWI is completed.

Will the Northeast Maglev affect service out of IAD, DCA, PHL, EWR, LGA, or JFK once the Northeast Maglev is completed between DC and NYC?

No, it won't - because it won't be built.

They don't even have a final EIS released, yet alone a record of decision from the Feds. They're nowhere near starting construction - to say nothing about the actual funding for the project which has always been wishy-washy.

jplatts wrote:

The Northeast Maglev train will connect DC, BWI Airport, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark, and NYC, and there are plans to start construction on the DC-Baltimore section of the Northeast Maglev train line as early as next year.

Here are the estimated travel times to DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and NYC from BWI Airport on the Northeast Maglev:
DC - 13 minutes
Baltimore - 4 minutes
Philadelphia - 28 minutes
NYC - 52 minutes

The BWI Airport Northeast Maglev station also is planned to be built underneath the BWI Airport terminals as opposed to an off-airport location like the existing Amtrak/MARC BWI Airport station.

Once the Northeast Maglev train is completed from DC to NYC, the Northeast Maglev train would allow passengers to more easily get to NYC and Philadelphia from cities east of Chicago that don't have nonstop service to NYC and PHL on WN such as BHM, CHS, CLT, CVG, CLE, CMH, GRR, GSP, IND, SDF, ORF, PIT, and RDU as passengers would be able to fly into BWI on WN and take the Northeast Maglev train to NYC or Philly from BWI airport.

The Northeast Maglev train will also make it easier for passengers to get to DC from BWI, and there would probably be some additional travelers that would choose BWI over DCA or IAD once the Northeast Maglev train to DC from BWI is completed.

Will the Northeast Maglev affect service out of IAD, DCA, PHL, EWR, LGA, or JFK once the Northeast Maglev is completed between DC and NYC?

Construction is not starting in 2020.

The proposed D.C. – Baltimore maglev routes now under consideration by the Federal Railroad Administration would run from Mt. Vernon Square in Washington, to either Camden Yards or Cherry Hill in Maryland.

As a projected late 2020 decision date for the American maglev approaches, Rogers, the BWRR CEO, described what message would be sent if the project becomes a reality.

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/loca ... d5716ca6fb

If it were ever to become a reality it would be quite the coup for BWI. I could definitely see some international traffic transferring from IAD as a Maglev would blow the doors off of any existing transit infrastructure in the area and make it the fastest ride into DC.

This being said, the project is best categorized as in it's infancy, if it ever gets built.

izbtmnhd wrote:

jplatts wrote:

The Northeast Maglev train will connect DC, BWI Airport, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark, and NYC, and there are plans to start construction on the DC-Baltimore section of the Northeast Maglev train line as early as next year.

Here are the estimated travel times to DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and NYC from BWI Airport on the Northeast Maglev:
DC - 13 minutes
Baltimore - 4 minutes
Philadelphia - 28 minutes
NYC - 52 minutes

The BWI Airport Northeast Maglev station also is planned to be built underneath the BWI Airport terminals as opposed to an off-airport location like the existing Amtrak/MARC BWI Airport station.

Once the Northeast Maglev train is completed from DC to NYC, the Northeast Maglev train would allow passengers to more easily get to NYC and Philadelphia from cities east of Chicago that don't have nonstop service to NYC and PHL on WN such as BHM, CHS, CLT, CVG, CLE, CMH, GRR, GSP, IND, SDF, ORF, PIT, and RDU as passengers would be able to fly into BWI on WN and take the Northeast Maglev train to NYC or Philly from BWI airport.

The Northeast Maglev train will also make it easier for passengers to get to DC from BWI, and there would probably be some additional travelers that would choose BWI over DCA or IAD once the Northeast Maglev train to DC from BWI is completed.

Will the Northeast Maglev affect service out of IAD, DCA, PHL, EWR, LGA, or JFK once the Northeast Maglev is completed between DC and NYC?

Construction is not starting in 2020.

The proposed D.C. – Baltimore maglev routes now under consideration by the Federal Railroad Administration would run from Mt. Vernon Square in Washington, to either Camden Yards or Cherry Hill in Maryland.

As a projected late 2020 decision date for the American maglev approaches, Rogers, the BWRR CEO, described what message would be sent if the project becomes a reality.

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/loca ... d5716ca6fb

If it were ever to become a reality it would be quite the coup for BWI. I could definitely see some international traffic transferring from IAD as a Maglev would blow the doors off of any existing transit infrastructure in the area and make it the fastest ride into DC.

This being said, the project is best categorized as in it's infancy, if it ever gets built.

Drive through the Montpelier section of Laurel (near where I live) to see the plethora of no train signs in homeowners' front yards. There's plenty of NIMBY resistance to this idea, and that's even before the environmentalists have their go at killing it. It may very well be built someday, but at this point, it's more realistic that unicorns will be whisking pax to BWI in airborne chariots.

MWAA is partnering with Dominion Energy to build a 1200 acre solar farm on Dulles property. Could be online as early as 2023.

https://wtop.com/business-finance/2019/ ... rtnership/

I'm all for maglev. But American mass transit projects of any large scale never happen on time or under budget, if at all.

izbtmnhd wrote:

MWAA is partnering with Dominion Energy to build a 1200 acre solar farm on Dulles property. Could be online as early as 2023.

https://wtop.com/business-finance/2019/ ... rtnership/

That's pretty cool. 1200 acres is a big area - the entirety of DCA is only 861 acres! Dulles's total property is 13,000 acres, so covering 10% of that in solar panels is impressive.

Lots of places where they could do this - parking lots and buffer areas are obvious choices. Is there any FAA guidance or rulemaking on where you can or can't place solar facilities at airports? Concerns about glare, objects in clearance areas, etc.

blockski wrote:

izbtmnhd wrote:

MWAA is partnering with Dominion Energy to build a 1200 acre solar farm on Dulles property. Could be online as early as 2023.

https://wtop.com/business-finance/2019/ ... rtnership/

That's pretty cool. 1200 acres is a big area - the entirety of DCA is only 861 acres! Dulles's total property is 13,000 acres, so covering 10% of that in solar panels is impressive.

Lots of places where they could do this - parking lots and buffer areas are obvious choices. Is there any FAA guidance or rulemaking on where you can or can't place solar facilities at airports? Concerns about glare, objects in clearance areas, etc.

I believe it's FAA CFR Part 77 that outlines the standards for airfield obstructions.

atcsundevil wrote:

blockski wrote:

izbtmnhd wrote:

MWAA is partnering with Dominion Energy to build a 1200 acre solar farm on Dulles property. Could be online as early as 2023.

https://wtop.com/business-finance/2019/ ... rtnership/

That's pretty cool. 1200 acres is a big area - the entirety of DCA is only 861 acres! Dulles's total property is 13,000 acres, so covering 10% of that in solar panels is impressive.

Lots of places where they could do this - parking lots and buffer areas are obvious choices. Is there any FAA guidance or rulemaking on where you can or can't place solar facilities at airports? Concerns about glare, objects in clearance areas, etc.

I believe it's FAA CFR Part 77 that outlines the standards for airfield obstructions.

Good to know. I did find this FAA document on solar at airports from 2018: https://www.faa.gov/airports/environmen ... e-2018.pdf

blockski wrote:

izbtmnhd wrote:

MWAA is partnering with Dominion Energy to build a 1200 acre solar farm on Dulles property. Could be online as early as 2023.

https://wtop.com/business-finance/2019/ ... rtnership/

That's pretty cool. 1200 acres is a big area - the entirety of DCA is only 861 acres! Dulles's total property is 13,000 acres, so covering 10% of that in solar panels is impressive.

Lots of places where they could do this - parking lots and buffer areas are obvious choices. Is there any FAA guidance or rulemaking on where you can or can't place solar facilities at airports? Concerns about glare, objects in clearance areas, etc.

The article states it's going to built where existing power-grid infrastructure is. A series of relatively new high-tension power lines follow Old Ox Rd. -- Loudoun County Rt. 606 on the west of side of Dulles property south of the National Weather Service building. My guess it's going to be built out that way.

Pretty far to the west of RWY 1L/19R. Not sure how it would effect RWY 30 departures or the rarer RWY 12 arrivals.

izbtmnhd wrote:

blockski wrote:

izbtmnhd wrote:

MWAA is partnering with Dominion Energy to build a 1200 acre solar farm on Dulles property. Could be online as early as 2023.

https://wtop.com/business-finance/2019/ ... rtnership/

That's pretty cool. 1200 acres is a big area - the entirety of DCA is only 861 acres! Dulles's total property is 13,000 acres, so covering 10% of that in solar panels is impressive.

Lots of places where they could do this - parking lots and buffer areas are obvious choices. Is there any FAA guidance or rulemaking on where you can or can't place solar facilities at airports? Concerns about glare, objects in clearance areas, etc.

The article states it's going to built where existing power-grid infrastructure is. A series of relatively new high-tension power lines follow Old Ox Rd. -- Loudoun County Rt. 606 on the west of side of Dulles property south of the National Weather Service building. My guess it's going to be built out that way.

I think that's a bit too literal of a reading - they certainly want to tie into those power lines, but even taking all of the grassy areas north of 1L and 1C, that's still only ~225 acres - 1,200 acres is a ton of space!

UA is adding IAD-CAK and IAD-PBI, as well as resuming IAD-PHL. EWR-CAK is being cut as well, so this route is being transferred to IAD. Both IAD-CAK/PHL will be 4x daily and operated by 50 seaters, with CAK being CRJ-200s, and PHL being ERJ-145s. IAD-PBI is 1x daily and will be operated by a CRJ-700.

blockski wrote:

izbtmnhd wrote:

blockski wrote:

That's pretty cool. 1200 acres is a big area - the entirety of DCA is only 861 acres! Dulles's total property is 13,000 acres, so covering 10% of that in solar panels is impressive.

Lots of places where they could do this - parking lots and buffer areas are obvious choices. Is there any FAA guidance or rulemaking on where you can or can't place solar facilities at airports? Concerns about glare, objects in clearance areas, etc.

The article states it's going to built where existing power-grid infrastructure is. A series of relatively new high-tension power lines follow Old Ox Rd. -- Loudoun County Rt. 606 on the west of side of Dulles property south of the National Weather Service building. My guess it's going to be built out that way.

I think that's a bit too literal of a reading - they certainly want to tie into those power lines, but even taking all of the grassy areas north of 1L and 1C, that's still only ~225 acres - 1,200 acres is a ton of space!

It makes the most sense. There’s plenty of undeveloped acreage to the west of 1L/19R and the infrastructure is there, literally.

Looks like the reports coming in now due to a rail yard construction delays from the contractors. Service to IAD likely will not begin not be until the fall of 2020 according to a radio broadcast on WTOP today. I wish they would put the story on the front page.

The trip from the garage/Metro Station to the terminal is pretty fast if you're a dino. https://twitter.com/dulles_airport/status/1062753856210325506?lang=en

Some shots of the progress to the Concourse A expansion:



I have heard or seen absolutely nothing regarding the Southwest hangar, which was supposed to begin construction in Q1 2019.

Just curious if someone could shed light on why United would be flying a 787 IAD-DEN this evening? Is that normal?

Yes it’s been in the schedule for quit some time

Cmac787 wrote:

Yes it’s been in the schedule for quit some time

Ah okay thanks, my friend working that flight was even surprised.

IAD has wide bodies to SFO, LAX, DEN in the evening.

The curtain wall is starting to go up on the new north concourse at DCA:

https://twitter.com/e_russell/status/11 ... 50021?s=20

BWIAirport wrote:

I have heard or seen absolutely nothing regarding the Southwest hangar, which was supposed to begin construction in Q1 2019.

Was it supposed to go over where Amazon built their new facility? It does seem weird that with the continued growth an expansion of the network from BWI that there is no maintenance hanger there.

estorilm wrote:

Just curious if someone could shed light on why United would be flying a 787 IAD-DEN this evening? Is that normal?

Like others have said it is a regular scheduled flight. I have taken this flight 2-3 times over the past few years, its been operating for a while.

UA also fly's widebodies domestically to IAH (763), SFO 2x (788, 772), LAX (772) and at times ORD (777).

Does anybody have any information or pictures of the new amazon facility in BWI?

Here are some interesting ORF load factors form July

WN ORF-SAN 90%
WN ORF-BNA 88%
WN ORF-DEN 95%
G4 ORF-CVG 84%
G4 ORF-CLE 82%

G4 announced that CLE and CVG you’ll be returning next May and will be 2x weekly. WN hasn’t announced if BNA and SAN will return for next year, but with load factors that I imagine that they will be returning. I also bet that SAN will be increased to 2 times weekly and BAN and DEN will be increased to 3 or 4 times weekly.

uconn99 wrote:

estorilm wrote:

Just curious if someone could shed light on why United would be flying a 787 IAD-DEN this evening? Is that normal?

Like others have said it is a regular scheduled flight. I have taken this flight 2-3 times over the past few years, its been operating for a while.

UA also fly's widebodies domestically to IAH (763), SFO 2x (788, 772), LAX (772) and at times ORD (777).

I think there are more 787 flights out of DEN now, but this flight (as well as lots of the hub-hub routes using the International widebodies) are all about re-positioning aircraft for future flights. Pretty sure that 787 that lands in Denver is used for the DEN-NRT flight the next day.

blockski wrote:

uconn99 wrote:

estorilm wrote:

Just curious if someone could shed light on why United would be flying a 787 IAD-DEN this evening? Is that normal?

Like others have said it is a regular scheduled flight. I have taken this flight 2-3 times over the past few years, its been operating for a while.

UA also fly's widebodies domestically to IAH (763), SFO 2x (788, 772), LAX (772) and at times ORD (777).

I think there are more 787 flights out of DEN now, but this flight (as well as lots of the hub-hub routes using the International widebodies) are all about re-positioning aircraft for future flights. Pretty sure that 787 that lands in Denver is used for the DEN-NRT flight the next day.

Ah interesting, thanks for the information. Pretty spectacular to see the performance of these things with so little fuel in them - they were at 40,000 less than 30 min after takeoff (and it looks like they were held for a bit!)

blockski wrote:

uconn99 wrote:

estorilm wrote:

Just curious if someone could shed light on why United would be flying a 787 IAD-DEN this evening? Is that normal?

Like others have said it is a regular scheduled flight. I have taken this flight 2-3 times over the past few years, its been operating for a while.

UA also fly's widebodies domestically to IAH (763), SFO 2x (788, 772), LAX (772) and at times ORD (777).

I think there are more 787 flights out of DEN now, but this flight (as well as lots of the hub-hub routes using the International widebodies) are all about re-positioning aircraft for future flights. Pretty sure that 787 that lands in Denver is used for the DEN-NRT flight the next day.

The 787 flight used to be in the morning. My family and I took it several times. I was impressed how quickly they turned it for the flight to NRT, and I wonder if they moved the IAD-DEN flight to the evening to have more time to prep it for NRT.