I always see American users of this site express surprise when it comes to bus boarding, which is commonplace in most other parts of the world.

Is every flight serviced by a jetway in the USA?

Spiderguy252 wrote:

I always see American users of this site express surprise when it comes to bus boarding, which is commonplace in most other parts of the world.

Is every flight serviced by a jetway in the USA?

If I had to guess I would say 95% of flights begin and end using a jetway in the US. Some airports are too small but they are the exception, not the rule.

SANFan wrote:

rjsampson wrote:

I just dropped my friend off at the airport in San Diego. I know they're in the process of creating the new Terminal 1 and on the way back, I was able to see the degree to which construction has progressed. It looked like the entirety of the East part is gone.

In its place, I saw aircraft lined up in configurations similar to outdoor stands in Europe, and pretty sure I saw an air stair trailer.

Are they boarding passengers outside? If so, what does this look like operationally? Some of the aircraft would be a substantial walk; presumably they're using busses?

Just a couple more thoughts on the topic.

Yes, the T1 re-build is well-underway and a bunch of the old T1E is gone, including 3 gates (1, 1A & 2) and I believe they only use gate 3 (out in the rotunda) if needed. I think it has been said that even gate 4 will disappear. WN is also using gates in T1W from now on to enable them to operate a large schedule this summer. No telling what kind of things WN is doing these days to work thru the mess that is old T1; apparently you stumbled on an example of that. I'm not sure if all the planes you saw lined up were in use or being stored for a few hours of even a day. My guess would be that they are not doing regular deplaning or boarding at those positions as they do have at least gates 5-10 in regular/normal use in T1E, plus the overflow in T1W. Interesting.

And as Wedgie' stated, AS does have one gate that's split into 2 EMJ parking positions, 28A & B. I thought there was still a jet bridge there but I think they prolly board both A & B with tarmac-level boarding, read: walking from the terminal out to the plane's own stairs.

When you look at the SAN.org flight status list for Alaska, some of the flights have no gate listed; those are the EMJs using gates 28A & 28B. I assume their app can't deal with letters, only numbers. If you look up one of those flights on AS.com's flight status report, it does show 28A & 28B. I don't remember how the flight display boards throughout the SAN terminals show gate 28. Do they just show "Gate 28" or do they break it down to "28A" & "28B"? Anyone?

bb

As someone that works at the East T1 Rotunda, Gates 3 and 4 have not been used since early 2022, the Jetbridges are gone; Gate 5 is now the first gate of T1.....

dtremit wrote:

tootallsd wrote:

I would remind everyone that when the 'new' San Diego International Airport opened in what is now the demolished Terminal 1 -- all boarding was by air stair. The two stories rotundas were one story. Circular buildings with gardens in the center. So what is old is new again.

Long Beach — which is not all that far away — still uses a similar configuration, although the main "stairs" they use are ramps.

Burbank, too. And the other day I saw AS using the ramp for an E-175 at LAX.

But I do remember way back when climbing down the tall stairs from a DL L-1011 in San Diego.

rjsampson wrote:

I just dropped my friend off at the airport in San Diego. I know they're in the process of creating the new Terminal 1 and on the way back, I was able to see the degree to which construction has progressed. It looked like the entirety of the East part is gone.

In its place, I saw aircraft lined up in configurations similar to outdoor stands in Europe, and pretty sure I saw an air stair trailer.

Are they boarding passengers outside? If so, what does this look like operationally? Some of the aircraft would be a substantial walk; presumably they're using busses?

I’m guessing you’re talking about the ramp between T1E and the the old commuter terminal. There’s a row of hardstands over there where planes are parked while out of service. Saw on a friend’s Instagram yesterday a row of Alaska 737s parked there in the background.

tootallsd wrote:

I would remind everyone that when the 'new' San Diego International Airport opened in what is now the demolished Terminal 1 -- all boarding was by air stair. The two stories rotundas were one story. Circular buildings with gardens in the center. So what is old is new again.

Even well into the 1990s. Memories of stair-boarding HP 737s and 757s there during that timeframe.

[photoid]

[/photoid]

mga707 wrote:

tootallsd wrote:

I would remind everyone that when the 'new' San Diego International Airport opened in what is now the demolished Terminal 1 -- all boarding was by air stair. The two stories rotundas were one story. Circular buildings with gardens in the center. So what is old is new again.

Even well into the 1990s. Memories of stair-boarding HP 737s and 757s there during that timeframe.

Does anyone recall when T1 had all of its jetways installed? It must have been late 80's if I'm correct. Randomly, I also deplaned on a Southwest OAK-SAN flight in 2003, but that was a novelty at that point.

Burbank not only uses non-jetbridge boarding exclusively, at least for WN, all of their BUR flights use BOTH front and rear doors for boarding and deplaning. Typically a ramp in the front and stairs in the rear. And due to this and the unassigned seating, you can get a great seat toward the rear by boarding in the rear. And when flying to BUR, if you sit in the rear, you can be off the plane very fast. It's nice to be able to walk next to the plane, under the outer part of the wing, and get a good look. Anybody flying to BUR or LGB, both up the coast from SAN, will get to do this.

Ironically enough, the only airline that I think really needs SAN-LAX service is American, as they have no west coast "hub" to transfer passengers headed for trans-Pacific or Oceania flights. United will connect you at SFO, and Delta through SEA. And while one can make a OneWorld trans-Pacific connection on JL at NRT, connecting to Australia on Qantas requires an LAX stopover.

And yet, AA was the first to pull out of this market.

My dream trip from San Diego to Australia and New Zealand involves Amtrak & FlyAway bus to depart from LAX (non-stop to SYD), but returning from New Zealand on Hawaiian via HNL, specifically to avoid connecting at LAX.

Another reason Alaska/Horizon could run a couple SAN/LAX flights and feed the AA network with their codeshare. AS also feeds some Asian airlines with SAN/SFO and onward, having an LAX flight would provide more traveler friendly options for those carriers. One that stands out to me on AS/PR is SAN/SFO/MNL. AS could easily feed SAN/LAX/MNL as well. It’s going to be a year or two before things shake out and some semblance of normalcy returns, til then it is what it is as they say.

BA744PHX wrote:

Another update on SAN-LAX, from September DL will reduce from 3 daily to 2 daily

I see it as 2 flights now until Nov 6 where it starts as 3x daily. I'm looking in the back end for inventory so I don't see full week schedules (without checking each day) but it appears to be 3x daily 7 days a week indefinitely..

Here's a news segment of the 15th millionth passenger who used the CBX bridge to get back into San Diego. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdwK50bq4ZE At least they got a giant novelty ticket and a free trip for appearing on TV.

Someone posted a good video explanation of the new crossing from San Diego's CBX bridge into Tijuana's new international airport terminal. Unfortunately they didn't record footage at the, let's call it, "turn right to catch international flight or turn left to go into Mexico" spot at the end of the CBX bridge. There's only a glimpse of it at the 3min 55 second mark. That second floor in the metal rings is where people will be held as not fully admitted into Mexico: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=UbLOxuBDupA

This new terminal seems entirely for San Diego's benefit since I didn't see a way for TJ folks to get into this area. The check-in counters would've been a lot busier.

My work computer is throwing a hissy fit over postimages.org, so I can't copy the picture right now; however, as of 3:00 PM Pacific time on Thursday, August 18, 2022, one passenger bypassed security in Terminal 2, and as a result, ALL passengers - including those aboard planes - were directed out of the secure area and were rescreened.

Now there's a mess that will take the airport and airlines HOURS (if not days) to straighten out. Yikes.

EDIT: Forgot to include the source being SAN's Facebook page. I'm sure it's on san.org as well...

Listening to LiveATC.Net to SAN Ramp and Ground, it's a real mess, major delays for incoming gates, aircraft doing circles around west side of T2 waiting for gates to open. Departures really backed up, line is 16 aircraft long, and there's a line of aircraft coming in because of ground holds elsewhere to get to SAN. The controllers on Ground and Ramp are earning their pay today!

Saw their was a TSA issue with a carry on that was supposed to get a deeper search but didn't.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

It's a bad week at SAN:



First the complete evacuation and re-screening of Terminal 2, and this today. Thankfully there no injuries in either case...just some very inconvenienced travelers!

United is keeping SAN-LAX.
2x as of 10/30.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/united-lo ... e=facebook

There's an article in today's Union-Tribune about the Metropolitan Airpark project at Brown field. (behind a paywall unfortunately, the link may or may not work for you) https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/ne ... sa-upgrade

In short, a big investor stepped in to fund the one billion dollar project located on 331 acres which includes a hotel.

The project has a webpage: https://www.metropolitanairpark.com/
but there are better renderings here: https://www.otaymesa.org/metropolitan-a ... al-airport

Interestingly enough, Aeromexico is shown as supporting the project. My understanding is that the facility would only be used for corporate jets. That makes sense since there's a huge Amazon warehouse a mile or two east of Brown Field. But I secretly want flights to nearby places like LAX, Phoenix, or Denver that I can catch from there.

The CBX bridge would be about a mile away from this new "Airpark". It would make sense to cover that distance with shuttle vans so that people can connect to regional flights. They've always wanted to have a hotel. I wonder if it's really meant for their customers?

When will SAN’s airport have to be redone? I ask because will SAN have to completely close when the runway work is done?

socaljoeyb wrote:

United is keeping SAN-LAX.
2x as of 10/30.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/united-lo ... e=facebook

Yes! I had a hard time believing they would axe it completely.

Sustained winds of 30-40 mph forecasted for tomorrow and gusts 50-60 mph due to remnants of Hurricane Kay. Should be an interesting day at Lindbergh.

Listening to SAN ATC Tower, it's a mess, lots of delays with runway 9 ops. There are some aircraft that because of performance are waiting to use 27 for takeoff. The winds aloft are also causing issues for some cross country flights. According to UA flight status, flight to EWR is making fuel stop at MCI, flight to IAD is stopping at ABQ, both of them are 737 types. Current delays are 30-45 except those waiting to use 27, much longer for westerly departures.

757SanCam wrote:

Listening to SAN ATC Tower, it's a mess, lots of delays with runway 9 ops. There are some aircraft that because of performance are waiting to use 27 for takeoff. The winds aloft are also causing issues for some cross country flights. According to UA flight status, flight to EWR is making fuel stop at MCI, flight to IAD is stopping at ABQ, both of them are 737 types. Current delays are 30-45 except those waiting to use 27, much longer for westerly departures.

I'm sure the northern flank of TS Kay is causing some big-time head-winds aloft.

Defense contractor Lear 36 N26FN went off the runway at North Island this afternoon.

https://www.kpbs.org/news/local/2022/09 ... rth-island

Noticed on FlightAware that as of yesterday (Sept 9), the British Airways flight is back to being operated by the A350-1000.

hawaiian717 wrote:

Noticed on FlightAware that as of yesterday (Sept 9), the British Airways flight is back to being operated by the A350-1000.

Just a couple of weeks ago I saw for the first time, the LH A350-900 landing. But it was in the old LH livery.
I thought the LH A350s all had the new blue and white liveries?

Good grief, I've missed this page! It's been a while since I've had a chance to see anything here, much less on SAN...great to be back!

vedatil4 wrote:

There's an article in today's Union-Tribune about the Metropolitan Airpark project at Brown field. (behind a paywall unfortunately, the link may or may not work for you) https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/ne ... sa-upgrade

In short, a big investor stepped in to fund the one billion dollar project located on 331 acres which includes a hotel.

The project has a webpage: https://www.metropolitanairpark.com/
but there are better renderings here: https://www.otaymesa.org/metropolitan-a ... al-airport

Interestingly enough, Aeromexico is shown as supporting the project. My understanding is that the facility would only be used for corporate jets. That makes sense since there's a huge Amazon warehouse a mile or two east of Brown Field. But I secretly want flights to nearby places like LAX, Phoenix, or Denver that I can catch from there.

The CBX bridge would be about a mile away from this new "Airpark". It would make sense to cover that distance with shuttle vans so that people can connect to regional flights. They've always wanted to have a hotel. I wonder if it's really meant for their customers?

Before anything else happens, someone needs to upgrade the road network in the area of CBX. It's atrocious right now, and there are no alternative routes, given that Siempre Vive Road doesn't connect east. This means all traffic HAS to use Britannia Road, which is very poor condition.

As for shuttles, it's a shame that to the trolleys and to SAN there's not much, if anything. I think those would be the target for shuttles before Brown Field, but anything is possible.

757SanCam wrote:

Listening to SAN ATC Tower, it's a mess, lots of delays with runway 9 ops. There are some aircraft that because of performance are waiting to use 27 for takeoff. The winds aloft are also causing issues for some cross country flights. According to UA flight status, flight to EWR is making fuel stop at MCI, flight to IAD is stopping at ABQ, both of them are 737 types. Current delays are 30-45 except those waiting to use 27, much longer for westerly departures.

I got to hear the easterly departures all day! Both at work in eastern National City and at home in North Park. I wonder if it was for landings on 9, which has the ILS for low clouds. Hottest rain, by the way, I have ever experienced in 23 years in San Diego. Yuck.

SANMAN66 wrote:

hawaiian717 wrote:

Noticed on FlightAware that as of yesterday (Sept 9), the British Airways flight is back to being operated by the A350-1000.

Just a couple of weeks ago I saw for the first time, the LH A350-900 landing. But it was in the old LH livery.
I thought the LH A350s all had the new blue and white liveries?

I saw that one as well! Oh, how I miss the old livery...

mesasurf wrote:

When will SAN’s airport have to be redone? I ask because will SAN have to completely close when the runway work is done?

SAN is a nighttime-departure restricted airport, with an 11:30 PM to 6:30 AM curfew for take-offs. Landings, however, are generally permitted at all hours, as many cargo flights will be seen landing in the 5 AM hour. When construction is needed on the runway, landings will not be permitted after 11:30 PM. Crews will then have their time to work with the airport completely closed, but with the caveat that it must be ready for departures and full operations on that dot at 6:30 PM. The last time I remember hearing of this kind of closure, it ran with the efficiency of a Swiss watch.

As for facilities, they entirety of Terminal 1 is being replaced, section by section. The Commuter Terminal will soon be demolished, and both banjos will be replaced. Terminal 1 will eventually be connected to Terminal 2 airside, so all facilities will be accessible to all passengers.

The Sands Corp. 747SP came to San Diego two days ago (Friday) and back again today. Snapped a photo today, posted here: https://flic.kr/p/2nL8Fx2

Last October, Dubai Royal Flight flew horses in on 747s for the Breeders Cup. Otherwise, I don’t think there’s been a 747 at SAN since BA in March 2020.

psa1011 wrote:

Does anyone recall when T1 had all of its jetways installed? It must have been late 80's if I'm correct. Randomly, I also deplaned on a Southwest OAK-SAN flight in 2003, but that was a novelty at that point.

It had to have been shortly after the PSA/USAir merger, as I only remember boarding PSA aircraft from the tarmac there, and only remember boarding their USAir replacements from jetways - so 1988-90-ish? I was in 5th grade mind you, but I was an observant child.

Cdydatzigs wrote:

psa1011 wrote:

Does anyone recall when T1 had all of its jetways installed? It must have been late 80's if I'm correct. Randomly, I also deplaned on a Southwest OAK-SAN flight in 2003, but that was a novelty at that point.

It had to have been shortly after the PSA/USAir merger, as I only remember boarding PSA aircraft from the tarmac there, and only remember boarding their USAir replacements from jetways - so 1988-90-ish? I was in 5th grade mind you, but I was an observant child.

T1E's second level was constructed in 1982-1983, jetbridges added then.
T1W's second level was constructed in 1990-1991, with jetbridges. Both rotundas are identical of each other, with some differences in the T1W rotunda, but same dimensions.
Gates 1/2 were reconstructed in 2005, jetbridges added. Prior to that, those were overflow gates for SWA and airstairs were used. Gate 1A was added in late 2008-early 2009.
Going way back, there was also gate 19, which was located where the temporary USO was housed in T1. Gate 19 was airstairs only, had it's own small security checkpoint and baggage belt and a very small boarding area. I don't have a definite date when it was closed, but sometime in 2000 when the then new international gates were open.

PSAatSAN4Ever wrote:

Good grief, I've missed this page! It's been a while since I've had a chance to see anything here, much less on SAN...great to be back!

vedatil4 wrote:

There's an article in today's Union-Tribune about the Metropolitan Airpark project at Brown field. (behind a paywall unfortunately, the link may or may not work for you) https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/ne ... sa-upgrade

In short, a big investor stepped in to fund the one billion dollar project located on 331 acres which includes a hotel.

The project has a webpage: https://www.metropolitanairpark.com/
but there are better renderings here: https://www.otaymesa.org/metropolitan-a ... al-airport

Interestingly enough, Aeromexico is shown as supporting the project. My understanding is that the facility would only be used for corporate jets. That makes sense since there's a huge Amazon warehouse a mile or two east of Brown Field. But I secretly want flights to nearby places like LAX, Phoenix, or Denver that I can catch from there.

The CBX bridge would be about a mile away from this new "Airpark". It would make sense to cover that distance with shuttle vans so that people can connect to regional flights. They've always wanted to have a hotel. I wonder if it's really meant for their customers?

Before anything else happens, someone needs to upgrade the road network in the area of CBX. It's atrocious right now, and there are no alternative routes, given that Siempre Vive Road doesn't connect east. This means all traffic HAS to use Britannia Road, which is very poor condition.

As for shuttles, it's a shame that to the trolleys and to SAN there's not much, if anything. I think those would be the target for shuttles before Brown Field, but anything is possible.

757SanCam wrote:

Listening to SAN ATC Tower, it's a mess, lots of delays with runway 9 ops. There are some aircraft that because of performance are waiting to use 27 for takeoff. The winds aloft are also causing issues for some cross country flights. According to UA flight status, flight to EWR is making fuel stop at MCI, flight to IAD is stopping at ABQ, both of them are 737 types. Current delays are 30-45 except those waiting to use 27, much longer for westerly departures.

I got to hear the easterly departures all day! Both at work in eastern National City and at home in North Park. I wonder if it was for landings on 9, which has the ILS for low clouds. Hottest rain, by the way, I have ever experienced in 23 years in San Diego. Yuck.

SANMAN66 wrote:

hawaiian717 wrote:

Noticed on FlightAware that as of yesterday (Sept 9), the British Airways flight is back to being operated by the A350-1000.

Just a couple of weeks ago I saw for the first time, the LH A350-900 landing. But it was in the old LH livery.
I thought the LH A350s all had the new blue and white liveries?

I saw that one as well! Oh, how I miss the old livery...

mesasurf wrote:

When will SAN’s airport have to be redone? I ask because will SAN have to completely close when the runway work is done?

SAN is a nighttime-departure restricted airport, with an 11:30 PM to 6:30 AM curfew for take-offs. Landings, however, are generally permitted at all hours, as many cargo flights will be seen landing in the 5 AM hour. When construction is needed on the runway, landings will not be permitted after 11:30 PM. Crews will then have their time to work with the airport completely closed, but with the caveat that it must be ready for departures and full operations on that dot at 6:30 PM. The last time I remember hearing of this kind of closure, it ran with the efficiency of a Swiss watch.

As for facilities, they entirety of Terminal 1 is being replaced, section by section. The Commuter Terminal will soon be demolished, and both banjos will be replaced. Terminal 1 will eventually be connected to Terminal 2 airside, so all facilities will be accessible to all passengers.

I totally agree with you on the condition of Siempre Viva Road. Just east of the CBX bridge, there's a shameful dirt road segment that cars and heavy trucks try to use as a shortcut. It's a muddy mess when it rains.

But Airway Road and Britannia Boulevard to the north and west, respectively, are also taking a beating from all the heavy trucks and increasing car traffic. I remember Britannia Boulevard having some kind of poorly patched-up trench along its length that should get fixed.

Here's an article released a few hours ago about the CBX bridge& Tijuana airport combination's effect on southern California aviation. https://airlineweekly.com/2022/09/tijua ... co-travel/

n711hk wrote:

Cdydatzigs wrote:

psa1011 wrote:

Does anyone recall when T1 had all of its jetways installed? It must have been late 80's if I'm correct. Randomly, I also deplaned on a Southwest OAK-SAN flight in 2003, but that was a novelty at that point.

It had to have been shortly after the PSA/USAir merger, as I only remember boarding PSA aircraft from the tarmac there, and only remember boarding their USAir replacements from jetways - so 1988-90-ish? I was in 5th grade mind you, but I was an observant child.

Going way back, there was also gate 19, which was located where the temporary USO was housed in T1. Gate 19 was airstairs only, had it's own small security checkpoint and baggage belt and a very small boarding area. I don't have a definite date when it was closed, but sometime in 2000 when the then new international gates were open.

HP used gate 19 (A, B, C?) didn’t they?

AAtakeMeAway wrote:

n711hk wrote:

Cdydatzigs wrote:

It had to have been shortly after the PSA/USAir merger, as I only remember boarding PSA aircraft from the tarmac there, and only remember boarding their USAir replacements from jetways - so 1988-90-ish? I was in 5th grade mind you, but I was an observant child.

Going way back, there was also gate 19, which was located where the temporary USO was housed in T1. Gate 19 was airstairs only, had it's own small security checkpoint and baggage belt and a very small boarding area. I don't have a definite date when it was closed, but sometime in 2000 when the then new international gates were open.

HP used gate 19 (A, B, C?) didn’t they?

I believe so, then when T2W opened in the late 90's, SWA used it occasionally as an overflow gate. The #19 sign is still up there on the wall above the old entrance to the hold room. Technically the parking spot for 19 still exists, used by AS as an RON spot for E175's.

is there any speculation WN will bring back OGG or KOA next year from SAN?

ajlombardi2 wrote:

is there any speculation WN will bring back OGG or KOA next year from SAN?

It’s been alluded that they will only return once WN is able gain back gates they lost. So more than likely not until they move into the new T1. The reason being that ETOPS flights take longer to turn due to regulatory checks. So they hog up valuable gate time that WN no longer has in SAN.

Tonight, BA72A to LHR requested to use C1 departure, reason given was that they were overweight for normal B1 onto runway 27. It was a A350K, which BA has used in the past from B1. My questions to anyone that knows, if the 35K is at MTOW, is B1 inadequate to handle this? And 2nd, a lot of work was done last year to improve B1 to handle all the heavies, guess not, again why?

757SanCam wrote:

Tonight, BA72A to LHR requested to use C1 departure, reason given was that they were overweight for normal B1 onto runway 27. It was a A350K, which BA has used in the past from B1. My questions to anyone that knows, if the 35K is at MTOW, is B1 inadequate to handle this? And 2nd, a lot of work was done last year to improve B1 to handle all the heavies, guess not, again why?

Taxiways have pavement loading limits and the number of wheels on the MLG bogey also factors in. Per the charts, a 35k at MTOW may be over the rating for B1 but not for C1 which may be further strengthened given big cargo aircraft use it. This is my guess anyway

I was at the airport last night and noticed that Edelweiss is no longer on the signs on Harbor Drive. I’m pretty sure they were there a month or two ago.

757SanCam wrote:

Tonight, BA72A to LHR requested to use C1 departure, reason given was that they were overweight for normal B1 onto runway 27. It was a A350K, which BA has used in the past from B1. My questions to anyone that knows, if the 35K is at MTOW, is B1 inadequate to handle this? And 2nd, a lot of work was done last year to improve B1 to handle all the heavies, guess not, again why?

It's due to takeoff performance requiring the extra ~150m runway length.

vedatil4 wrote:

PSAatSAN4Ever wrote:

Good grief, I've missed this page! It's been a while since I've had a chance to see anything here, much less on SAN...great to be back!

vedatil4 wrote:

There's an article in today's Union-Tribune about the Metropolitan Airpark project at Brown field. (behind a paywall unfortunately, the link may or may not work for you) https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/ne ... sa-upgrade

In short, a big investor stepped in to fund the one billion dollar project located on 331 acres which includes a hotel.

The project has a webpage: https://www.metropolitanairpark.com/
but there are better renderings here: https://www.otaymesa.org/metropolitan-a ... al-airport

Interestingly enough, Aeromexico is shown as supporting the project. My understanding is that the facility would only be used for corporate jets. That makes sense since there's a huge Amazon warehouse a mile or two east of Brown Field. But I secretly want flights to nearby places like LAX, Phoenix, or Denver that I can catch from there.

The CBX bridge would be about a mile away from this new "Airpark". It would make sense to cover that distance with shuttle vans so that people can connect to regional flights. They've always wanted to have a hotel. I wonder if it's really meant for their customers?

Before anything else happens, someone needs to upgrade the road network in the area of CBX. It's atrocious right now, and there are no alternative routes, given that Siempre Vive Road doesn't connect east. This means all traffic HAS to use Britannia Road, which is very poor condition.

As for shuttles, it's a shame that to the trolleys and to SAN there's not much, if anything. I think those would be the target for shuttles before Brown Field, but anything is possible.

757SanCam wrote:

Listening to SAN ATC Tower, it's a mess, lots of delays with runway 9 ops. There are some aircraft that because of performance are waiting to use 27 for takeoff. The winds aloft are also causing issues for some cross country flights. According to UA flight status, flight to EWR is making fuel stop at MCI, flight to IAD is stopping at ABQ, both of them are 737 types. Current delays are 30-45 except those waiting to use 27, much longer for westerly departures.

I got to hear the easterly departures all day! Both at work in eastern National City and at home in North Park. I wonder if it was for landings on 9, which has the ILS for low clouds. Hottest rain, by the way, I have ever experienced in 23 years in San Diego. Yuck.

SANMAN66 wrote:

Just a couple of weeks ago I saw for the first time, the LH A350-900 landing. But it was in the old LH livery.
I thought the LH A350s all had the new blue and white liveries?

I saw that one as well! Oh, how I miss the old livery...

mesasurf wrote:

When will SAN’s airport have to be redone? I ask because will SAN have to completely close when the runway work is done?

SAN is a nighttime-departure restricted airport, with an 11:30 PM to 6:30 AM curfew for take-offs. Landings, however, are generally permitted at all hours, as many cargo flights will be seen landing in the 5 AM hour. When construction is needed on the runway, landings will not be permitted after 11:30 PM. Crews will then have their time to work with the airport completely closed, but with the caveat that it must be ready for departures and full operations on that dot at 6:30 PM. The last time I remember hearing of this kind of closure, it ran with the efficiency of a Swiss watch.

As for facilities, they entirety of Terminal 1 is being replaced, section by section. The Commuter Terminal will soon be demolished, and both banjos will be replaced. Terminal 1 will eventually be connected to Terminal 2 airside, so all facilities will be accessible to all passengers.

I totally agree with you on the condition of Siempre Viva Road. Just east of the CBX bridge, there's a shameful dirt road segment that cars and heavy trucks try to use as a shortcut. It's a muddy mess when it rains.

But Airway Road and Britannia Boulevard to the north and west, respectively, are also taking a beating from all the heavy trucks and increasing car traffic. I remember Britannia Boulevard having some kind of poorly patched-up trench along its length that should get fixed.

Here's an article released a few hours ago about the CBX bridge& Tijuana airport combination's effect on southern California aviation. https://airlineweekly.com/2022/09/tijua ... co-travel/

Has anyone heard anything about airlines starting international flights from TIJ with the new processor? What's weird is I don't see any extra jetbridges for gates 19-20 and the processor is still fenced airside. Any idea about what is going on with this?

No more lie-flats on DL from JFK. The airline says switching to exclusive use of 737s on the route.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/delta-dro ... san-diego/

UPlog wrote:

No more lie-flats on DL from JFK. The airline says switching to exclusive use of 737s on the route.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/delta-dro ... san-diego/

On almost fine print, TPG also mentioned that UA plans a few EWR frequencies (just under 2 months) with the 757-200!

socaljoeyb wrote:

vedatil4 wrote:

PSAatSAN4Ever wrote:

Good grief, I've missed this page! It's been a while since I've had a chance to see anything here, much less on SAN...great to be back!



Before anything else happens, someone needs to upgrade the road network in the area of CBX. It's atrocious right now, and there are no alternative routes, given that Siempre Vive Road doesn't connect east. This means all traffic HAS to use Britannia Road, which is very poor condition.

As for shuttles, it's a shame that to the trolleys and to SAN there's not much, if anything. I think those would be the target for shuttles before Brown Field, but anything is possible.



I got to hear the easterly departures all day! Both at work in eastern National City and at home in North Park. I wonder if it was for landings on 9, which has the ILS for low clouds. Hottest rain, by the way, I have ever experienced in 23 years in San Diego. Yuck.



I saw that one as well! Oh, how I miss the old livery...



SAN is a nighttime-departure restricted airport, with an 11:30 PM to 6:30 AM curfew for take-offs. Landings, however, are generally permitted at all hours, as many cargo flights will be seen landing in the 5 AM hour. When construction is needed on the runway, landings will not be permitted after 11:30 PM. Crews will then have their time to work with the airport completely closed, but with the caveat that it must be ready for departures and full operations on that dot at 6:30 PM. The last time I remember hearing of this kind of closure, it ran with the efficiency of a Swiss watch.

As for facilities, they entirety of Terminal 1 is being replaced, section by section. The Commuter Terminal will soon be demolished, and both banjos will be replaced. Terminal 1 will eventually be connected to Terminal 2 airside, so all facilities will be accessible to all passengers.

I totally agree with you on the condition of Siempre Viva Road. Just east of the CBX bridge, there's a shameful dirt road segment that cars and heavy trucks try to use as a shortcut. It's a muddy mess when it rains.

But Airway Road and Britannia Boulevard to the north and west, respectively, are also taking a beating from all the heavy trucks and increasing car traffic. I remember Britannia Boulevard having some kind of poorly patched-up trench along its length that should get fixed.

Here's an article released a few hours ago about the CBX bridge& Tijuana airport combination's effect on southern California aviation. https://airlineweekly.com/2022/09/tijua ... co-travel/

Has anyone heard anything about airlines starting international flights from TIJ with the new processor? What's weird is I don't see any extra jetbridges for gates 19-20 and the processor is still fenced airside. Any idea about what is going on with this?

I've been keeping an eye on Mexican media outlets and social platforms for any updates on the new, international portion of Tijuana airport. It seems like there's been radio silence on the issue of the customs and immigration no-mans-land. They must still be working on the details of that kind of arrangement with federal authorities. I'm sure lots of "what ifs" need to be fully explored. Those passengers would be standing on Mexico territory but not admitted into the country. For example; what if the US rejects their entry going northbound?

I know the CBX passage to the new terminal is built and fully operational for flights withing Mexico. I dropped off a relative two weeks ago. It was a madhouse of cars. She reported that it was mostly smooth sailing going across southbound to the gates.

Before the bottleneck was Mexican immigration and customs. The new terminal addressed that problem. The issue she experienced was lots of new check-in and bag drop off counters but not enough of them being staffed. To Volaris' credit, they were filtering passengers out were were cutting it close with their flights. But I really hope they get more people there by this or Thanksgiving weekend. The crowd of people that used to get bag tags on the USA side has effectively been moved to the Mexico side of the border. This sort of hides how busy the place really is.

Here's a recent article (in Spanish) with a picture of the in-transit area for international flights being used for a conference room . They were reporting record numbers of passengers at the airport. From 2019 to now their numbers jumped 40%. (And it sure felt like it on the USA side of the bridge.) https://www.el-mexicano.com/estatal/rom ... os/2164837

I'll let the group know if I hear anything juicy. I really wanted a carrier from Asia, Europe, or South America to show up by now.

I have to state that the new terminal at TIJ still appears as completely for the benefit of California passengers. It sure would be nice if our side of the border set up some public transit options to the closest trolley station. It's far too busy now. You can't expect to find a parking spot anymore.

Someone finally posted a good video showing the process from Cross Border Xpress bridge to new Tijuana airport terminal going southbound. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zStZHj5YtTU

If you skip to minute 4, you'll see how people enter the new area. To the right side is the in-transit holding area meant for international flights that hasn't opened. People go left to be processed by Mexican officials for flights within Mexico. I see a lot of unstaffed airline counters at the 4min 38second mark. I really hope they get more people to work there.

Before you could tell how busy the place was before you went on to the bridge. Now everyone is backing up at that new airline counter area.

All for San Diego's benefit. I don't see a way for TJ folks to enter this part of the airport.

Here's another video I found: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbLOxuBDupA

Jump to the 3min-30second mark to see the new Tijuana airport terminal and process. I see a big poster at the 3min 51 second mark stating "the best is yet to come" in Spanish and the same international lounge shown at the 4 minute mark.

At the 7min 47 mark you'll see a mezzanine level walkway which goes from the international gates into that lounge.

Please continue in the below 2023 edition

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