Renovations At IAH Terminal B North Or D First?

IAHflyer97 · Sat Feb 08, 2014 1:25 am

I know that both terminals D and B north at IAH are in desperate need of renovations. What I do not know is which will end up coming first. The last answer I heard was that B North will come first (with a different design than what HAS has on their website). However, only days before that, I had heard that they will start Terminal D by the end of this year (and maybe a completely new terminal). Does anybody have any solid answers as to what will happen?

aznmadsci · Sat Feb 08, 2014 2:26 am

UA is footing some of the bill for B-North as it did for B-South. As for D, who knows where funding will come from beyond the PFC.

AVENSAB727 · Sat Feb 08, 2014 4:18 am

I wonder when construction on Terminal B North will start..I heard the developer for the terminal D renovation will be announced shortly in 2014.

iah59 · Sat Feb 08, 2014 8:39 am

They have been talking about Terminal D for a while. I even talk to the manger for Emirates operations at IAH he said they always pressure IAH officials. I just know they are installing a restaurant in the Check in area and renovating the shared lounge with Air China, Emirates, Qatar, and, Lufthansa. Terminal B will probably come first due to the funding. Due to the High traffic at Terminal D during peak hours there's no way to park those planes at other gates. They always had planned for another Terminal according to there master plan can connecting it with a train. It makes sense though and Donate Terminal D to United or do something else with make it charter/private flight area.

AA737-823 · Sat Feb 08, 2014 10:47 am

I don't find terminal D to be THAT desperately terrible. Yes, it could use some updating, but it's not like it's.... LAGUARDIA!!!
Looking back on IAH's master plan from a few years ago, I'm just not sure how D fits in. With all of those sparse widebody gates, UA would have to do some reworking to be able to fit a hundred ERJ's to cities in Mexico and LatAm.

IAHflyer97 · Sat Feb 08, 2014 1:09 pm

Terminal D is just too small at this point. Like you said, it's not that bad cosmetically. But there are a bunch of airlines that are about to be coming to IAH that can't get a spot at the terminal.

TWA772LR · Sat Feb 08, 2014 5:42 pm

It looks like there is some construction equipment on the east side between Will Clayton and the cargo ramp. The master plan calls for a huge new terminal where the old rental car area and all the UA hangars are now. And it looks like all that UA infrastructure is supposed to be between the current 9/27 and a new 9R/27L.

iah59 · Sat Feb 08, 2014 6:09 pm

Terminal D is complete crap all in general doesn't look stylish compared to other terminals or have nice facilities.

AVENSAB727 · Sat Feb 08, 2014 6:22 pm

Quoting IAHflyer97 (Thread starter):

Wow, so Terminal B north had a redesign, but I wonder whether it will be mainline, regional or both.

jsnww81 · Sat Feb 08, 2014 6:40 pm

Quoting iah59 (Reply 7):
Terminal D is complete crap all in general doesn't look stylish compared to other terminals or have nice facilities.

I remember when it opened and it seemed so sleek and modern compared to the rest of IAH and to anything we had up the road at DFW. Feeling old now

iah59 · Sat Feb 08, 2014 6:41 pm

I know the North side will be connected to Terminal C. If IAH had more wide body gates more chance of international carriers to expand and add more flights etc.

drerx7 · Sat Feb 08, 2014 8:02 pm

Quoting iah59 (Reply 7):
Terminal D is complete crap all in general doesn't look stylish compared to other terminals or have nice facilities.

Completely disagree. It needs amenities yes, but cosmetically it IS NOT bad. I have no idea how they would add a pier to D without major ops disruption.
B North is supposed to be mainline with wide body capable gates along with an FIS.

AVENSAB727 · Sat Feb 08, 2014 8:35 pm

Quoting drerx7 (Reply 11):

I guessed so, I can't wait till Terminal B north starts construction..

TWA772LR · Sat Feb 08, 2014 11:41 pm

Quoting drerx7 (Reply 11):
with an FIS

It's imperative that IAH receives another FIS building. The congestion in the current one is in no way acceptable for an airport with this many international flights.

drerx7 · Sun Feb 09, 2014 12:40 am

Quoting TWA772LR (Reply 13):
It's imperative that IAH receives another FIS building. The congestion in the current one is in no way acceptable for an airport with this many international flights.

Hmm... I've been lucky, every time I come back home I just would have missed the rush. I've never had to wait along time.

TWA772LR · Sun Feb 09, 2014 1:52 am

Quoting drerx7 (Reply 14):
Hmm... I've been lucky, every time I come back home I just would have missed the rush. I've never had to wait along time.

I've worked in the FIS building for a vendor for UA the past few summers. I've seen the line go almost to the escalators from terminal E before.

iahcsr · Sun Feb 09, 2014 4:55 am

The main issue with IAH is lack of proper FIS staffing .. Several full arrivals with only three inspectors at passport control will back things up big time

iah59 · Sun Feb 09, 2014 10:20 am

Oh yeah those FIS lines are crazy.. and IAH terminal D compared to other airports is crap. You can add more shops, washrooms, lounges, more wide body gates, A380 capability, and, more space in general. Just forget it build a new one i know the plans were suppose to buiild 2 piers but, that's impossible. Donate that terminal to United and build a new one. Though taking away internationals flights from Terminal E effects those shops business those international travelers spend a lot of money at IAH.

Emirates want's there own lounge and still have plans can't wait to see how that looks.

[Edited 2014-02-10 11:15:12 by SA7700]

iah59 · Mon Feb 10, 2014 5:21 am

Talk to a guy that works at the HAS he said that there planning to relocate hangars for United to the other side of the airport and build a Terminal F. Also they will start sometime this year for renovation at Terminal D he said as well. Also he mention that they got a new company to manage the construction at Terminal D.

Schweigend · Mon Feb 10, 2014 6:15 am

Quoting iah59 (Reply 19):
Talk to a guy that works at the HAS he said that there planning to relocate hangars for United to the other side of the airport and build a Terminal F. Also they will start sometime this year for renovation at Terminal D he said as well. Also he mention that they got a new company to manage the construction at Terminal D.

I, too, have heard about UA's hangars on the east side of IAH being demolished to make way for a new Terminal F, with HAS paying for relocating them to the forested area north of the Car Rental Center. (Sad to see more old-growth forest lost!)

Renovation of D is also in the works, I hear. I hope the "new company to manage the construction" is a competent one.

One thing people (not you, IAH59) often forget is that United's Terminal E, and the improvements to B, have been largely funded by UA itself, as the City wasn't willing to pony up, and UA wanted more control of its facilities. It's not as if HAS has been favoring UA (or before them, CO) unduly compared to other airlines serving IAH. It's simply that UA/CO wanted improvements and couldn't dilly-dally with HAS over it, so footed the bill themselves.

What this all means for new int'l carriers wanting to serve IAH, I'm not sure. At present it'd be tricky to fit in another widebody arrival at D during the afternoon/evening peak, which is mostly East-bound traffic, but it could be done. And there is plenty of room in the AM for more Asia-bound flights. Korean Airlines will be a welcome addition.

Air China's midnight flight to PEK is a bit of an anomaly -- 3pm arrival, and the return nine hours later. I wonder if they would prefer other times if possible.

iah59 · Mon Feb 10, 2014 6:42 am

I know UA pay's some portions of the projects cause IAH is there HUB but, a lot of potential growth for Houston and IAH at Terminal D.

aznmadsci · Mon Feb 10, 2014 9:53 am

Quoting Schweigend (Reply 20):
Air China's midnight flight to PEK is a bit of an anomaly -- 3pm arrival, and the return nine hours later. I wonder if they would prefer other times if possible.

CA would probably prefer a different time for the IAH flight, but it is due to slot restrictions at PEK. I would wager if CA could, they would have chosen an evening arrival into IAH because the early arrival into PEK allows for connections to an early bank of flights both domestically and within Asia.

AVENSAB727 · Mon Feb 10, 2014 5:47 pm

So I wonder when terminal F will start to be built.

BCEaglesCO757 · Mon Feb 10, 2014 8:57 pm

Quoting drerx7 (Reply 14):

Not to start an argument, but I thought that new FIS was deemed more important for Hobby and WN by Mayor Parker and the city.

ScottB · Mon Feb 10, 2014 9:03 pm

Quoting BCEaglesCO757 (Reply 23):
I thought that new FIS was deemed more important for Hobby and WN by Mayor Parker and the city.

You thought wrong; the City agreed to let WN build a new FIS at Hobby with its own money. The City didn't have to prioritize the project because the City's funds aren't being used to pay for construction.

BCEaglesCO757 · Mon Feb 10, 2014 9:13 pm

Quoting ScottB (Reply 24):

I stand corrected. I was under the impression that customs staffing was one of the issues brought up in that whole hoopla.

drerx7 · Mon Feb 10, 2014 11:32 pm

Quoting BCEaglesCO757 (Reply 25):
I stand corrected. I was under the impression that customs staffing was one of the issues brought up in that whole hoopla.

It was - but that really didn't wash so to speak.

iah59 · Tue Feb 11, 2014 1:06 am

Apparently there's some construction stuff by the hangers for Terminal F.

AVENSAB727 · Tue Feb 11, 2014 1:45 am

Quoting iah59 (Reply 27):

But will terminal F be for internationals, shared with UA?

drerx7 · Tue Feb 11, 2014 3:13 am

Whoa whoa whoa...there is nothing happening right now regarding a Terminal F. There has not been a groundbreaking or press releases.

AVENSAB727 · Tue Feb 11, 2014 3:28 am

Quoting drerx7 (Reply 29):

Dah! Thanks for reminding me! Got carried away..But I wonder what the new design for terminal B north will look like.

IAHflyer97 · Tue Feb 11, 2014 3:30 am

HAS still has that same design from a while back on their site. I have a hard time believing that UA will do anything that involves more mainline though. I'm sure it will be for regionals.

Schweigend · Tue Feb 11, 2014 5:48 am

Quoting IAHflyer97 (Reply 31):
HAS still has that same design from a while back on their site. I have a hard time believing that UA will do anything that involves more mainline though. I'm sure it will be for regionals.

Yes, I'd wager a Terminal F is 10-15 years in the future, with nothing being done right now. Sorry if my choice of words made it sound like something is about to happen immediately!

Going forward, UA really should have more mainline and larger RJs at IAH, once they have more aircraft in their fleet. How long that will take...?

It remains to be seen who would actually be using the proposed Term. F -- maybe it will be the carriers currently on D.

Regarding Terminal B northside, work up there is supposed to begin sometime this year after the final 15 gates open on the southside, which will be very soon. With B1-31 in full use, UA should then be able to begin shuttering at least one of the North pods and the "beloved" B84A-Q.

Slightly related: scuttlebutt is that UA is considering reopening C-27. That gate has been closed for over ten years and used to handle DC-10s -- right now the area is used for staging UAX baggage. UA apparently would like another widebody-capable gate at its disposal.

Eventually, the corridor from C-24 through C-27 is expected to be extended all the way to the new B northside.

Scottie