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John Hollenhorst and Richard Piatt ReportingThe new director of the Salt Lake International Airport says the facility needs more gates, more parking, more everything, really; and he says keeping up with growth will likely cost about a billion dollars over the next several years.
This airport is so crowded, so outdated already, that people are shoe-horned in at times. Even so, plan after plan to re-do the terminals has been scrapped. And it will be years before a new plan comes along, in spite of the clear need.
At the busiest times of day, there's an airplane at virtually every gate. In the terminals and parking areas, it's sometimes a zoo. That's the description from the airport's new executive director Roy Williams.
Roy Williams, Executive Directore, SL Int'l Airport: "We're out of gates. We're out of facilities. Bag claim is very crowded."
If you think it's a busy place now, well, it may get worse. At a Deer Valley conference of airline execs, the message from experts was, "good times are here again".
Michael J. Boyd, Aviation Consultant, The Boyd Group: "Airplanes are full, you can't get a seat nowadays."
Consultant Michael Boyd says airlines are pulling out of the 9-11 financial tailspin. They've restructured, streamlined and, painfully for workers, they've cut labor costs.
Michael J. Boyd, Aviation Consultant, The Boyd Group: "The future is sound. Airlines have gotten their costs down, the revenues up. We've got a good economy. We've got strong consumer support for air travel. I think going forward we're in very good shape."
Salt Lake's airport director thinks Delta Airlines would bring in more planes if there were more facilities, and he thinks an investment of a billion dollars or more is needed in the next few years.
Roy Williams: "I think we need more facilities to accommodate aircraft and more facilities to accommodate the local customers. And that's particularly covered parking."
There are risks, of course, if the economy heads south or if Delta Airlines heads somewhere else for its hub operations.
Roy Williams: "What if we have another recession? What if oil goes to $100 a barrel. Every airline would have to reevaluate all their committments, their plans."
Williams thinks Delta is here to stay and the business of flying is on its way up. Williams says an expansion would not require tax increases. It would be paid for by airport revenues, including fees paid by the airlines themselves.
But Salt Lake Airport board chairman Keith Christensen--who has also announced he is running for mayor--says it's too soon to get people excited about redoing the airport.
Keith Christensen/ Airport Board Chairman: "Today, it's too early to negotiate such a deal. We've all seen the plight of the airlines since 9-11."
In fact, a lot has changed since 1998, when a massive airport rennovation project was supposed to create a new Salt Lake International. The idea never left the ground, because the airlines were in trouble even then. September 11th sealed the fate of that airport.
Since then, though, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent to make the best of what we've got: The construction will be done next year. Those improvements are meant to make passengers and the airlines happy for a while longer.
Keith Christensen/ Airport Board Chairman: "We've still got to work very hard to make sure the Delta hub and the Skywest connection succeeds."
In fact, any new airport will have to accomodate more international flights and regional jets, where the real industry growth is happening.
