JANUARY 2008: BIZ LIFE - BUSINESS TRAVEL
Smoother sailing @ PDX
GOOD NEWS for business travelers: Portland International
Airport is in the midst of several projects that will help it
better serve its more than 14 million yearly passengers.
Travelers probably noticed a handful of improvements during the
holidays, and there are more on the way.
The Port of Portland recently added new parking features at
PDX. General manager of aviation Daren Griffin says the parking
guidance system is one of just two in the U.S. It tells drivers
how many spaces are open and on what floors as they enter the
garage, ensuring every available spot is found. Reader boards
installed on the roads to and from PDX relay the status of
parking and traffic, allowing drivers to make better decisions
on where to go.
Other projects are in the works, including a second parking
garage with 3,000 spaces, which will be half open in spring
2009. January kicks off two years of construction to widen
Airport Way to three lanes; Griffin says the work will be done
in the median to cut down on traffic obstacles. This month also
brings the beginning of a new baggage screening system project
that will move the process out of the ticket lobby and back
to the way it was pre-Sept. 11. Griffin says this is the
most complicated project the airport has ever done, and it will
take three years to complete. To the relief of passengers, all
construction will be below the lobby.
Griffin says 2007 was the most successful year he’s seen
for acquiring new flight services at PDX. The airport added
seven domestic non-stop flights and two international non-stop
destinations, Mexico City and Amsterdam. The port is also
looking to add non-stop flights to the Toronto, Calgary, and
Washington, D.C., metro areas in the coming year.
Night construction in concourses A and D is wrapping up, and
travelers will note several local businesses have been added to
the list of PDX restaurants. Beaverton Bakery, Pizzacato,
Laurelwood Public House, Rogue Public House, and Big Town Hero
are open, and Rose’s Deli will be in place this spring.
The number of Starbucks locations was upped from one to four,
and the five Coffee People locations will remain.
The concourses also feature new fixed seating with more
electrical outlets. The free WiFi throughout the airport is one
of the reasons passengers rate PDX so high; the port reports
there are more than 2,000 WiFi connections at PDX each day. The
airport is also phasing in new flight display monitors. Lines
at the security check are reportedly moving faster after the
Transportation Security Administration took over document
checking in October.
Travelers looking for a heads-up on conditions at the airport
can log into FlightStats.com before their flights. The website
provides up-to-the-minute details on flight delays, traffic
jams and weather concerns for PDX, as well as most airports
around the world, including Oregon’s regional hubs in
Medford and Redmond. The new “Chatter” feature
allows passengers to share tips and observations as they work
their way to the gates. And for information straight from the
source, log in to flypdx.com.
According to Flight Stats, a Portland-based Web company for
flight information, PDX ranked well among the top 40 major
North American airports in 2007. At 79%, it is fourth-best for
flights on time and sixth-best for excessively late flights,
with less than 7% of planes running 45 minutes late or
more.
AMBER NOBE
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