Logan Airport Capital Projects

[HenryAlan]

Logan Airport: Built by well paid people. Designed ad-hoc. Financed on the cheap (TM)

And I will take that over petro-dollar funded, exploited labor constructed palaces every single time.

 

[theSil]

Logan’s Terminal E architect explains the new ‘Boston Red’ building and fourth-generation airports - The Boston Globe

The distinctive Terminal E not only looks futuristic from the outside, its architect describes the interior as the next generation in airport design, as well. Here’s what else he had to say.

www.bostonglobe.com

Wow, somehow this Globe article is the first time the new Terminal E has come onto my radar.

… I’m stunned. I haven’t yet seen what the interior looks like, but from the exterior alone, I think this almost immediately belongs in the conversation when discussing Boston’s best architecture.

 

[mass88]

Wow, somehow this Globe article is the first time the new Terminal E has come onto my radar.

… I’m stunned. I haven’t yet seen what the interior looks like, but from the exterior alone, I think this almost immediately belongs in the conversation when discussing Boston’s best architecture.

Massport does a poor job of providing any sort of construction photos of their projects. They created a nice site to layout all of their projects - B and C roadways, B to C connector, C canopy and the E expansion - but don't add in update photos.

I believe we're 3-4 months out from it being complete, so hopefully they'll do a photo dump of how it turned out.

 

[cubbe8]

Is there only going to be one security checkpoint in the new Terminal E or will they make the part time checkpoint full time? I say this because from gate E12 to E1 is quite a distance to walk.

 

[Equilibria]

Plus, they charge for the luggage carts!!!!! Most European and Asian airports provide them for free.

I can't argue that that's pretty low-cost as improvements go .

Massport does a poor job of providing any sort of construction photos of their projects. They created a nice site to layout all of their projects - B and C roadways, B to C connector, C canopy and the E expansion - but don't add in update photos.

I believe we're 3-4 months out from it being complete, so hopefully they'll do a photo dump of how it turned out.

Yup. They had the President of the United Freaking States use it as the backdrop for the entire infrastructure law and they somehow managed to shank the publicity. The people who run Laguardia, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, etc. not only have dedicated construction websites but make produced videos for Youtube, do drone photography, etc.

Very rarely we will get progress photos and renders in the Board visuals, but those come out on a delay of up to three or four months (they just posted both Jan and Feb), so...

Good news is that thanks to all the connectors anyone flying out of B or C can walk over there and get a look at it.

 

[#bancars]

And even moving past the question of free countries vs. non-free countries, those that can devote all of their national resources to a single hub airport (or a couple of them) will build nicer airports than the US, which has to cover dozens. In addition to which: airports like Doha and Singapore are a huge part of the economy of those countries - they're city-states with national airlines that depend on attracting transiting passengers. Atlanta/Delta, Houston/United, etc. don't think the niceness of the airport is important for Americans deciding where to change planes on domestic trips, and they're sadly probably right. I may avoid Terminal 3 at O'Hare like the plague, but most people don't, and the aesthetics of the connecting hub are probably way down the priority list for people selecting an airline or an itinerary in this country. When it comes to intercontinental travel between Europe and Asia (particularly for business/status travelers) it's a whole other story.

Also, it's worth noting that in Europe and Asia cities often have domestic terminals or even entire domestic airports that basically look like bus stations (and indeed they are bus stations, since they rarely have jet bridges). The experience of flying domestically from Logan - nice seating, power ports, a jet bridge to board the plane, the low likelihood that you're on a bare-bones ULCC - blows the EU and most of Asia out of the water. Singapore and Doha don't have domestic airports because, again, there's no place to fly domestically from either.

Terminal E post-modernization will hold its own in terms of amenities (though maybe not size) with international terminals at SFO and LAX (America's best) and probably also with most European hubs. Even the current Terminal E has received positive comments on the travel Youtube channels I watch (honestly, all of the Logan terminals other than C do).

EDIT: Incidentally, ATL's international terminal is only about 10 years old. It's pretty nice.

ATL International Terminal & Concourse F Open House - FlyerTalk Forums

Delta Air Lines | SkyMiles - ATL International Terminal & Concourse F Open House - Saturday, May 5th, was the City of Atlanta “Open House” for the International Terminal and Concourse F. Here are a few pictures of the terminal (in addition to the other great pictures that have been posted)...

www.flyertalk.com

Excited to see the Terminal E progress at Logan!

On that ATL point, I flew through last week on the way to Chile and was not super impressed. I think it was the low ceilings--made everything feel cramped.

 

[HelloBostonHi]

 

[mass88]

Nice shot and it shows the diversity in international carriers at Boston and wide body planes. Cathay Pacific A350-900 that came in from Hong Kong. British Airways A380 that came in from London - Heathrow. Emirates B777-300 that came in from Dubai. Qatar Airways A350-900 that came in from Doha. A couple of Delta Airlines wide bodies.

 

[itchy]

Nice shot and it shows the diversity in international carriers at Boston and wide body planes. Cathay Pacific A350-900 that came in from Hong Kong. British Airways A380 that came in from London - Heathrow. Emirates B777-300 that came in from Dubai. Qatar Airways A350-900 that came in from Doha. A couple of Delta Airlines wide bodies.

Lufthansa's lurking in the background too.

 

[stick n move]

And even moving past the question of free countries vs. non-free countries, those that can devote all of their national resources to a single hub airport (or a couple of them) will build nicer airports than the US, which has to cover dozens. In addition to which: airports like Doha and Singapore are a huge part of the economy of those countries - they're city-states with national airlines that depend on attracting transiting passengers. Atlanta/Delta, Houston/United, etc. don't think the niceness of the airport is important for Americans deciding where to change planes on domestic trips, and they're sadly probably right. I may avoid Terminal 3 at O'Hare like the plague, but most people don't, and the aesthetics of the connecting hub are probably way down the priority list for people selecting an airline or an itinerary in this country. When it comes to intercontinental travel between Europe and Asia (particularly for business/status travelers) it's a whole other story.

Also, it's worth noting that in Europe and Asia cities often have domestic terminals or even entire domestic airports that basically look like bus stations (and indeed they are bus stations, since they rarely have jet bridges). The experience of flying domestically from Logan - nice seating, power ports, a jet bridge to board the plane, the low likelihood that you're on a bare-bones ULCC - blows the EU and most of Asia out of the water. Singapore and Doha don't have domestic airports because, again, there's no place to fly domestically from either.

Terminal E post-modernization will hold its own in terms of amenities (though maybe not size) with international terminals at SFO and LAX (America's best) and probably also with most European hubs. Even the current Terminal E has received positive comments on the travel Youtube channels I watch (honestly, all of the Logan terminals other than C do).

EDIT: Incidentally, ATL's international terminal is only about 10 years old. It's pretty nice.

ATL International Terminal & Concourse F Open House - FlyerTalk Forums

Delta Air Lines | SkyMiles - ATL International Terminal & Concourse F Open House - Saturday, May 5th, was the City of Atlanta “Open House” for the International Terminal and Concourse F. Here are a few pictures of the terminal (in addition to the other great pictures that have been posted)...

www.flyertalk.com

I just cant believe that laguardia is now one of the nicer airports in the us. I remember coming home on leave just a few years ago and had a transfer at laguardia. We had to leave the main terminal and go into in a room with plywood walls and everybody on my flight had to go out some random door and walk along the tarmac to some random bus that then drove us to our plane. That place was sooooo bad. I havent been to the new one but from what Ive seen it looks beautiful. If laguardia can enter the 21st century then anything is possible for us airports.

 

[Wiltonion]

Walked down to the new Terminal E entrance while waiting for a flight. Suffolk safety guy at the entrance said they are now targeting an August opening.
One thing I didn’t realize is the expansion will have an additional security checkpoint. Much needed, as Terminal E checkpoint can back up a lot on busier days.

 

[Equilibria]

Walked down to the new Terminal E entrance while waiting for a flight. Suffolk safety guy at the entrance said they are now targeting an August opening.
One thing I didn’t realize is the expansion will have an additional security checkpoint. Much needed, as Terminal E checkpoint can back up a lot on busier days.

IIRC it's a replacement (larger) checkpoint, not an additional one, but that might have changed during construction.

Good info!

 

[mass88]

I just cant believe that laguardia is now one of the nicer airports in the us. I remember coming home on leave just a few years ago and had a transfer at laguardia. We had to leave the main terminal and go into in a room with plywood walls and everybody on my flight had to go out some random door and walk along the tarmac to some random bus that then drove us to our plane. That place was sooooo bad. I havent been to the new one but from what Ive seen it looks beautiful. If laguardia can enter the 21st century then anything is possible for us airports.

I flew through LaGuardia and got to see the rebuilt terminals earlier this year. From what it was before it's a massive upgrade. They're not overly impressive in terms of size, but what a major difference high ceilings and high windows can make for an airport terminal. Hopefully one day Massport will tear down and completely rebuild the C piers in a similar fashion with high ceilings and large windows.

 

[Dr. Rosen Rosen]

From the ICA area…

 

[johhn14]

IIRC it's a replacement (larger) checkpoint, not an additional one, but that might have changed during construction.

Good info!

I believe that’s true but it wouldn’t surprise me if they phase it in. I don’t think any of us have seen any timing or plans on how they are going about it.

 

[MrDee12345]

That' all probably true. I'm waiting for the food options to improve post-security. Currently, it's pretty slim pickings in my humble opinion. Glass jet-bridges like European airports would also be nice. Again, I'm just hoping the custom and luggage hall is greatly improved. It's the FIRST thing you come into contact after deboarding the plane and its most people's FIRST impression of Boston as a place. It should be modern and spacious. Currently, you walk through a bunch of halls that remind me of a high school corridor until you get to the luggage area that is cramped and not very impressive. Plus, they charge for the luggage carts!!!!! Most European and Asian airports provide them for free.

I came here to whinge about the same thing. I think even most other US airports I've been to have provided luggage carts.

I came back to visit last summer, and after 24 hours of transit (from Kuala Lumpur via Doha), trying to fish 6 dollars out of my damn pocket while carrying a 7 month old baby was not something I wanted to do. It's absurd and I can't imagine that Massport is making that much money from their rental. Lucky for me, someone had abandoned one near the luggage belt, so I grabbed it.

I just flew from Kuala Lumpur to Danang, Vietnam, and there were carts everywhere. Why have these airports figured it out and Logan can't?

 

[itchy]

I flew through LaGuardia and got to see the rebuilt terminals earlier this year. From what it was before it's a massive upgrade. They're not overly impressive in terms of size, but what a major difference high ceilings and high windows can make for an airport terminal. Hopefully one day Massport will tear down and completely rebuild the C piers in a similar fashion with high ceilings and large windows.

It is. Newark's Terminal A is a similar paradigm shift for a NY-region airport.

 

[SomervilleRed]

Just a quick rant to say that I flew Aer Lingus last week for the first time since they moved from Terminal E to C and had to laugh at the spin they put on the move: https://www.aerlingus.com/about-us/aer-lingus-news/boston-airport-terminal-change/ The reality is that the gate was completely unsuitable to deal with the full flight. Passengers had taken up the seating for 3 gates and there were still people lying on the floor. The trash was overflowing, the carpet was covered in litter, the bathrooms were a mess. Terminal C check-in area is bright and airy but down by the farthest gates is pretty miserable. Nothing like what Aer Lingus claims. Did they switch to cut costs?

 

[Equilibria]

Just a quick rant to say that I flew Aer Lingus last week for the first time since they moved from Terminal E to C and had to laugh at the spin they put on the move: https://www.aerlingus.com/about-us/aer-lingus-news/boston-airport-terminal-change/ The reality is that the gate was completely unsuitable to deal with the full flight. Passengers had taken up the seating for 3 gates and there were still people lying on the floor. The trash was overflowing, the carpet was covered in litter, the bathrooms were a mess. Terminal C check-in area is bright and airy but down by the farthest gates is pretty miserable. Nothing like what Aer Lingus claims. Did they switch to cut costs?

Maybe, but it may also have been because there's better gate availability at C and Dublin and Shannon are pre-cleared, so there's no need for them to use E. Back in the day they also liked the idea of easy transfers to JetBlue.

Not sure what's new about this move these days (did they move back and forth)? The initial move to C was a decade ago.

Also the suitability of the gate probably varies with the aircraft. EI flies A321s to Logan, and of course those work as well as JetBlue's do in C.

 

[mass88]

Aer Lingus uses the A330-300 on their daily (double daily late March through late October) and the A321 on their daily Shannon service. I've never taken the flight since it moved to C, but have taken a number of JetBlue flights that left around the same time as one of the Dublin flights and it can be very cramped in that area of C. It's pretty surprising that JetBlue hasn't worked with Massport to rebuild their piers. The B to C connector is great. The low gate area of E they redid a couple of years ago looks great. The check in area (as alluded to) is great. The piers where the bulk of their gates are leave a lot to be desired.

Delta has their daily Dublin flights (on a 767-300) depart from A (given the preclearance), but they have a bit more space in the A satellite that JetBlue does so it never feels too cramped.