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Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 949
Location: Carmel, IN

Great article on some of the approaches toward the new terminal involving energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. Also answers the question about the international terminal and customs...

The 21st Century Terminal
Sustainability, environmental awareness are driving forces at Indianapolis
Posted: July 14th, 2005 10:31 AM EDT

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- With a reputation for breakneck speeds, airport officials in this racing city are thoughtfully and deliberately engaged in planning and constructing a new facility expected to pull ahead of other airports. The New Midfield Terminal at Indianapolis International Airport, for which ground will be broken in late July, will be among the first airport structures to apply for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Beyond the certification, the airport expects the sustainable practices and environmental considerations it is implementing today will benefit the airport for years to come. ...........

Read the rest at: http://www.airportbusiness.com...rticle.jsp?pubId=1&id=2660

Site Admin

Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Posts: 2316
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Good story. That was loaded with info. I can't wait to see this thing go up. I'm still hoping they open beyond the initial 40 gates since the current 34 are pretty well used up.

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Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 949
Location: Carmel, IN

If you read the article I posted in General Discussion, there are definitely some words of warning for airport projects about getting beyond real demand for gates and building too much capacity. I think I read somewhere that the IND project is designed to allow the airlines to shorten their turns as well, to make gate usage more efficient. The baggage handling system will help with that, getting planes loaded more quickly. Maybe the reduced taxi time helps that too. But I believe the intent is to let each gate be turned one or two more times per day than currently. So I think the 40 gates will probably last for a little while. But I also wouldn't be surprised if, as soon as the new terminal opens, they announce plans to add 10 gates on to one side.

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Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Posts: 2316
Location: Indianapolis, IN

In the article they mention expansion plans for 2020 to add 10 gates to each side. Do you think 6 gates over what we have now will last us an additional 15 years from today?

Site Admin

Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 949
Location: Carmel, IN

Indy wrote:

In the article they mention expansion plans for 2020 to add 10 gates to each side. Do you think 6 gates over what we have now will last us an additional 15 years from today?

I don't know, but if I were in charge of the airport, I'd definitely take the cautious view. At the very least wait until the airlines are asking for the expansion. You can do a lot of things before you have to invest the capital in an expansion. You can park multiple RJs at a single gate and have pax take the short walk to the gate. You can have marginal airlines sublease gates from each other (like America West and Midwest do now) - for example, Frontier could share one of the NW or AA gates. You might even be able to divide certain gates into A and B - works especially well for RJs.

I've just been in too many airports around the country that have tons of extra space. DFW, PIT, STL, MEM, MSP, and DEN - all hubs or former hubs - have spare gates. MCI has almost one whole terminal of the three terminals there that sits empty.

I'd just hate to see IND expand too fast and end up with no airlines to fill the gates.