shirokuma66

Well this forum has been dead for months! Isn't there any news about RDU? Hey, I've got one. When is the new Delta Sky Lounge opening up? Has it opened already?

To save money, Raleigh-Durham International Airport might temporarily close the old Terminal 1 in 2011, after it finishes building its $570 million Terminal 2. .....The airport has been in a similar position before. After Eastern Airlines went out of business in 1989, part of the building now known as Terminal 1 stayed shut for five years.

From what I read on Triangle Biz, it seems that the cut in flights and seats has hurt the passenger numbers at RDU (and elsewhere I'm sure). Any experts out there forsee an increase in capacity by using larger aircraft or additional flights? From what Mindy Hamlin says, the demand is there. Seems like good business if they add seats and they sell.

This Paris flight is good news, and another feather in the cap of the Triangle, but do we really need it? Flying on a 757 with that one aisle is no fun, but this seems to be a common arrangement now from medium-sized airports to Europe now. Should be happy, but I wonder why we can't get something to the west coast to work long-term! I live in Tokyo. While it's easy to just connect in IAD, ATL, or JFK, I would like to do it on the west coast and have a stopover. Why isn't there enough traffic to the Silicon Valley area of California to make a flight work? Any answers?

Maybe I'm beating y'all to the punch, but what is the "new service" that WRAL's website is touting at RDU? Dying to know. San Francisco is my dream, on Virgin. Is it a European route?

Today it was announced that the Delta and Northwest merger has gone through. Why is it that only Delta will move into the new terminal? Doesn't seem "seamless" to me for the Northwest passengers. As big as that new terminal is, why can't they accommodate both Delta and Northwest? Don't fly either one, but curious.

Thanks so much for the photos! The miniscule coverage the N&O gave to this is embarrassing compared to these photos. Sure can't wait to have the whole thing done (both halves of Terminal 2) and looking gorgeous. It looks world class and very accommodating to large crowds. Let's hope the industry will be able to fill it up with more flights, especially international.

I just flew RDU to JFK on American Eagle and it did indeed have duct tape in the restaurant lavatories, in addition to the ragged interior, it made me nervous. Other parts of the aircraft were new looking, like the drinks cart the FA used.

Back to my concerns that we may not even need a terminal 1 AND 2, today it was announced that Midwest Express is pulling out of RDU. Also, comments from the CEO of US Airways that, (paraphrased): If oil prices remain at current levels, fares will skyrocket and air travel will once again become a luxury, as it was before deregulation. Additionally, if fuel costs don't retreat, Parker says airline schedules will likely continue to be trimmed until big cities account for the bulk of the nation's flights. Where will this leave RDU? Of course there is demand for flying still, it showed in last months passenger loads, but how long will it hold when a trip to New York goes up to $500? Any ideas from other forum members on the gloom and doom?

Maybe I don't understand the enormity of the issues here, but couldn't terminal A have been incorporated into the new terminal? Wouldn't it be good just to have them all in one building. I think it's possible, especially in these times of historic cutbacks. We all know the airlines are going to flounder, go under, merge, and cut flights, so why not wait until all that's settled in a another 2-3 years, then just put them all together in the new terminal and destroy the old one, or limit its use to a few airlines. I'm just putting this out there for further discussion. I do not actually endorse this idea.

Sorry, but this is Terminal A, the old terminal. I can't see any of the new terminal. Any photos out there?

On the other hand, can you imagine the physical and security mess with construction ongoing while passengers are trying to move about in the terminal? I am coming home to Raleigh from Tokyo this summer, and I really wanted to use the new terminal, but if it's going to be a jumbled bunch of mess with hot dog carts set up temporarily, I'd rather not. I think opening before everything is complete could be a huge headache for passengers and a PR problem for the airport authority. I think I do share your frustration with the delays, though. Why didn't the concessionaires get their act together and get things in order beforehand. I mean, gee, they've been building this thing for ages.

I've got a new topic to add to this forum, but today is my first day as a member and don't know how. What is the exact date of the opening of terminal 2? I saw that it is "late summer", but wonder when exactly.