The 5 Most Exciting Airport Enhancements Coming To The United States

There have been numerous recent expansions at US airports lately – such as in San Francisco (although their new Terminal 1 isn’t fully open yet), Houston Intercontinental, Fort Lauderdale, Phoenix, and the new Seattle Paine Field Airport, among others. However, many US airports are still lagging behind most of the rest of the developed world (and some in the developing world) and are in desperate need of renovation or a complete new terminal. Other airports such as Los Angeles (LAX) or Washington National are at the brink of their capacity and use remote bus gates to compensate. There are many airports in the United States that are in the process of developing new airport terminals – some of which will open in a couple of months (such as New Orleans Airport’s new terminal), others of which might not open completely for another few years. In this article, I’ll explore the most exciting developments of new airport terminals in the United States that will be built over the upcoming years.

New York LaGuardia Airport Refurbishment

New York LaGuardia Airport is perhaps the worst airport in the New York City area, and once even was described as a “Third World Country” by former Vice President Joe Biden. It is known for its decrepit terminals, spaghetti of crummy approach roads, and its lack of mass transit. LaGuardia currently consists of three main terminals. Firstly, Concourse A, otherwise known as the Marine Terminal, is used exclusively by JetBlue and recently was renovated. It formerly was used by the Delta Shuttle. Concourse B is under extensive renovation and historically had four linear piers, although it currently is in the process of being replaced by a new terminal. It is used mostly by American Airlines, although United, Air Canada, and Southwest also operate from there. Concourses C and D (connected airside by a walkway) are both mostly used by Delta, although Spirit, Frontier, and WestJet also have smaller operations there.

The entire LaGuardia renovation project is estimated to cost about 8 Billion USD. It involves complete renovations to Concourses B, C, and D. Perhaps the largest undertaking is the renovation of Concourse B. The current layout consists of 4 parallel terminals sticking out of the main terminal. Instead of that, Terminal B will have two 18 gate L shaped satellite terminals which will be connected via a bridge to a central departures and arrivals terminal, which is located where the main parking lot used to be. The first of the L shaped concourses is already open, although it is connected to the old main terminal and will eventually be connected to the new central departures terminal. The eastern concourse that is already open is home to United, Southwest, Air Canada, and a couple of American Airlines’ flights. The central terminal will open in 2020 and the western terminal, which will house most of American Airlines’ flights will open in 2021.

But Concourse B isn’t the only terminal that is getting a facelift. Concourses C and D will also get renovations, although they are a bit less drastic. A fourth parallel Concourse G will soon open in the C/D area which will be the easternmost concourse at the airport. It will house Delta Connection flights and is in the same location where Delta has some remote bus gates for commuter aircraft now. The three other parallel concourses in Terminals C/D – Concourses D, E, and F (I know it’s confusing – generally speaking, terminals are the main departure areas and concourses are the smaller areas within a terminal that have specific gates) will all individually get torn down and rebuilt over over the next 7 years and will be finished in 2026 (although a new central building for concourses C/D will be built by 2021).

The other important improvement that is in the works is an AirTrain which will (if it gets approved) link LaGuardia Airport with the NYC Subway. Overall, the developments at LaGuardia Airport are really exciting. While I haven’t personally seen the new eastern satellite at Concourse B, it is reported to be much airier than the rest of the terminal and have much better seating and dining options, along with having two fantastic lounges. Overall, this is great news for American/United/Southwest/Air Canada flyers out of LaGuardia as the entire new Concourse B should be finished in two years. The new Delta regional concourse should give Delta some room to expand and should get rid of the need to take buses to regional gates. Now if they could only build a third runway so that planes there can takeoff in a relatively on-time manner…

Chicago O’Hare Airport New Concourses

Chicago O’Hare’s Airport isn’t that miserable. I actually find United’s Terminals B and C and Terminal 5 to be quite tolerable and is a much better place to connect through on United than Newark or Houston. However, Terminals 2 and 3 (concourses E – L) are quite outdated, United and American are reaching capacity for expansion, and all international arrivals have to go through Terminal 5, which makes for some tricky connections and is a large inconvenience for airlines that have departing international flights through Terminals 1-3. O’Hare actually has had a few changes over the past years, although they have included mostly runway layout changes (relying mostly on 5 parallel runways instead of multiple crisscrossing runways) and a recent 5 gate expansion to Concourse L for American Eagle.

In 2018, Chicago O’Hare introduced a new plan for an 8.5 Billion dollar expansion which will involve expanding Terminal 5, building two more satellite terminals, and creating a central international arrivals section. The first phase is the Terminal 5 expansion which is already under construction. Terminal 5 is being expanded on the southeast side of the terminal and will cost $1.2 billion. It will add 10 more gates to the terminal in addition to updating airport security and adding new amenities such as restaurants. It is scheduled to be completed in 2021. Delta Air Lines eventually plans to move into Terminal 5 to co-locate with partner airlines such as Air France, KLM, or Korean Air. This does mean that until the Global Terminal is built, United will be the sole operator (along with Air Canada) of Terminal 2. Additionally, once the second part of the expansion is complete, United’s and American’s (along with other partner airlines’) international arrivals will go through the Global Terminal (more on that later) instead of arriving in Terminal 5.

The second part of the expansion involves the Global Terminal. The final design was only selected a few months ago, so the terminal is still in its preliminary stages. The Terminal 1/Global Terminal expansion will only break ground in 2022, so it’s still a long way out. It will involve two new satellite terminals. The first will be connected to the current Concourse C and will handle both domestic and international arrivals and departures while the second satellite will only be for domestic (and pre-cleared) arrivals and departures. Both satellites are expected to primarily be used by United Airlines.The other part of the expansion involves the new Global Terminal which is where current day Terminal 2 is. It will handle widebody international arrivals and departures and will likely be used by United and American, along with their partners.

Overall, I’m really excited about the new O’Hare Airport expansions, although the Global Terminal won’t all complete until 2028. Obviously, one of the main goals of the expansions is to be able to have international connections on United and American without having to transfer from Terminal 5 to Terminals 1-3, although unfortunately that still is a long way out. Short-term, you can expect Delta to move into Terminal 5 and United to take over their old gates in Terminal 2.

Washington Reagan National Airport New Commuter Concourse

Anyone who flies through Washington’s Reagan National Airport should be familiar with gate 35X (formerly known as 35A). It is known to be the worst gate in all of America. Because National Airport didn’t have enough existing gates for American Airlines’ (and previously US Airways’) regional flights, gate 35X was created. Gate 35X is a bus gate facility located on the lower floor of Concourse C. It is the most crowded gate in the nation, and at most times there are 4 or more flights departing from the same gate at once. After getting on a 2–minute bus ride to the plane, you end up on the north apron of DCA which will have 12 or so 50 seater CRJ-200s parked there at the same time. Gate 35X is so busy that DCA is making a whole 14 gate terminal…to replace the 1 gate!

DCA unveiled a new terminal in 2017 that will open in 2020 in the place where a former office building was and where some of the 35X parking spots were. The entire project will cost about $1 billion and will primarily involve the construction of a new 14 gate concourse for exclusive use of American Airlines to replace gate 35X. It will also house an American Airlines Admirals Club along with other amenities and restaurants. It will be connected airside to the current Concourse C. The second part of the National Airport renovation involves connecting Concourses B and C airside (now you have to take a bus between concourses or exit the secure area) by making the main National Hall area airside, which will involve creating two new security checkpoints. This will make connections easier and will also open up more restaurants and amenities for passengers. Overall, as a Washington DC resident, I am really excited about the new commuter concourse so we can finally rid the world of 35X along with the new connector. Unfortunately, there are no short-term plans to refurbish Southwest’s Concourse A, which feels like a time machine from the 1960s.

Salt Lake City Airport New Terminal

Salt Lake City Airport is one of Delta Air Lines’ main hubs an is their primary western hub. Along with serving many domestic routes from SLC, Delta also serves a couple of long-haul destinations from there such as Honolulu (more medium-haul), Amsterdam Schiphol, London Heathrow, and Paris Charles-de-Gaulle. Salt Lake City Airport is currently building a completely new terminal which will replace SLC’s old and outdated passenger terminals. Instead of the 5 piers from the 1960s that stick out of the central concourse in the current layout of the airport, once the new terminal is built, it will consist of two linear parallel concourses which will be in the place where the current terminal is. Here is a rendering of what the space that it will take up in relation to the current terminal:

The entire project will cost about $3.6 billion, which is a massive undertaking. The South Concourse will be about 3,700 feet long and the North Concourse will be about 3,400 feet long. The renderings overall look gorgeous and the airport looks very high-tech. The airport is also claiming that it is more environmentally sustainable and will make connections easier. Another thing I appreciate is that the airport interior looks very airy and open – a stark contrast to the cramped airport terminals of the 1960s/70s/80s. The South Concourse will open in 2020 with the subsequent demolition of the older terminals A and E. Then, from 2021 through 2024, they will begin the demolition of concourses B, C, and D and will open the North Concourse. Overall, this is fantastic news for Delta and Salt Lake City flyers, as SLC will be getting a world-class airport terminal, although I would suspect that the conversion from using the old terminal to the new one will be a bit chaotic.

Los Angeles International Airport International New International Satellite Concourse & Possible Terminal’s 0 & 9

Los Angeles International Airport has three problems. The first is that it is completely full, and carriers such as United, Delta, and American don’t have much room to grow their hubs there. Secondly, if you fly through LAX regularly, you are aware of their west gates. As of now, a large portion of international flights depart or arrive from the west gates, which are hardstand gates which you have to take a bus to from a very unpleasant bus gate holding area at the International Terminal. Thirdly, multiple terminals are very outdated – while United’s Terminal 7 was recently renovated, Delta’s T2 and T3 are rather dismal. Luckily, LAX has a plan to solve both of those problems, starting with an expansion to the Tom Bradley International Terminal coming soon and the construction of two more terminals – Terminal 0 and Terminal 9 – hopefully coming within the next decade.

The first part of the LAX expansion project involves the construction of a new midfield international terminal. Los Angeles International Airport is the largest gateway to Asia from North America in addition to also having a ton of flights to South America, Australasia, and Europe. The vast majority of international airlines at LAX arrive and depart from the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). It was rebuilt in 2013 and involved the construction of a large international concourse in the place of the old TBIT, although it still doesn’t have enough gates for the international departures and arrivals of most airlines. So even with the 2013 expansion of the terminal, the west gates still stayed in use, and on roughly a bit less than half of TBIT departing flights, you have to take a bus to get to your plane, which is less than optimal. Fortunately, a new satellite concourse connected to the main terminal via an underground walkway will open in 2020 and will house 12 gates, including 2 which can handle the A380. That will result in the west gates (hopefully) becoming obsolete. Additionally

The second major project of LAX is Delta Air Lines’s renovation of their home terminals: Terminal 2 and Terminal 3. For those of you who don’t know, Delta moved from Terminals 5 and 6 to Terminals 2 and 3 in 2017 to provide more space from them to grow. Delta has invested a whopping $1.9 billion in the development of Terminals 2 and 3, which are almost solely used by them, besides a few partners such as Aeromexico or Virgin Atlantic. The renovation process will involve connecting terminals 2, 3, and the TBIT with an airside bridge which are now only connected by bus. Additionally, it also involves demolishing and rebuilding a portion of Terminal 3 that dates back to when all terminals at LAX were oval–shaped satellite terminals along with creating new Delta SkyClubs and improving the amenities of the terminals. While less exciting, American and Alaska are both in the midst of upgrading their terminals 4/5 and 6, respectively.

The final major improvement of LAX is a bit further down the line and involves creating two new terminals and will mostly benefit United Airlines and Southwest. Terminal 9 will be constructed east of where Terminal 8 is and will be connected to Terminal 8 via a rather long bridge. It would be located where American Airlines has a current temporary regional aircraft facility, although no replacement location for it has been determined. United Airlines has expressed interest in using the 12 gate Terminal 9 facility along with some of its Star Alliance partners such as Lufthansa or ANA and would be used mostly for long-haul aircraft. While it would be connected airside to Terminal 8, it would also have its own check-in area. 11 gate Terminal 0 would be located where a current parking lot is east of Terminal 1 and would most likely be used by Southwest to expand. While no exact timeline is in place, the goal is for the two facilities to be ready by the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Finally, construction of a landslide people-mover that will connect the terminals to the LA Metro recently began. Overall, you’ll be seeing a lot of changes to Los Angeles International Airport over the next decade. Short-term, you’ll see the opening of the new TBIT Satellite Terminal that will rid the world of LAX’s dreaded west gates, and Terminals 3 and 4 will undergo much–needed renovation. In addition, over the next decade, we can look forward to more details of Terminals 0 and 9, which should provide space for United and Southwest to expand. Subsequently, American’s cramped regional facility will likely cease to exist, although we don’t know what will replace it. Overall, it’s an exciting time for someone to be an LAX traveler, as the airport will be getting some much-needed improvements over the next few years!

Conclusion

There are many new airport renovations and new terminals that will be built on the US in the near future – I was only able to cover the plans of a fraction of the most exciting of them. The US does have some of the worst and most antiquated airports of the developed world – such as the old LaGuardia Airport or Newark Airport – which really is a shame for so many US flyers. However, many of them do have plans to get rid of these old terminals or to build new terminals to allow for more expansion on the airlines’ parts – most notably at New York LaGuardia Airport, Los Angeles Airport, Washington Reagan Airport, Salt Lake City Airport, and Chicago O’Hare Airport.

Which airport enhancement are you looking forward to the most? Am I leaving any exciting airport development out?