Changes will be landing at the Memphis airport $2.45 million modernization project targets updates to B concourse
Memphis International Airport’s leader sees brighter days ahead for the airport’s travelers, even if inclement weather slows its major concourse renovation.
“They’re making great progress, so long as the weather holds,” said Scott Brockman, Memphis-shelby County Airport Authority president and CEO, after a stretch of heavy rain in the region.
The airport is in the midst of a $245 million project that will update the B concourse, its largest passenger facility that first opened in 1963. As construction continues, concourses A and C are the temporary home for the airport’s airline, restaurant and retail operations.
The project that began in 2018 will consolidate activity into one concourse from three, part of the airport’s continued adjustment from a connecting flight hub to an origin and destination airport. Delta Air Lines ended its longtime passenger hub operations in Memphis in 2013.
The new concourse will be more spacious for passengers, add moving walkways, streamline concessions, install new jet bridges and more. A spacious airport introduces clear lines of sight for travelers, which makes it easier to see gate signage from farther away, Brockman said.
“Travelers like to see where the gate is that they’re going to,” he said. “It’s that comfort thing. If they can see the location they’re getting to, then they can relax and do other things, like grab a cup of coffee or a bite to eat.”
The concourse renovation will also expand seating at gates. The average number of seats for departing aircraft was around 56 during the hub era, while nowadays the average number of seats is “closer to 110,” Brockman said. Seating areas at gates need to be larger to accommodate those larger packs of passengers.
Perhaps the most “modern” aspect of the airport’s modernization plan is providing more plugs and USB outlets in seating areas, along with upgraded Wi-fi, for the increasingly connected traveler. More workspaces for business travelers, including a mix of high and low tables, are also planned.
The revamped B concourse is set to open in spring 2021, with consolidation of the other concourses completed in mid-2021. Once complete, all current airline operations will move to the B concourse.
There’s enough room to accommodate an additional nine to 10 more aircraft on the concourse’s west leg, Brockman said, in preparation for future growth.
“You can do a lot more operations in that area,” he said. “We’ll start talking with the airlines as we get ready to open (the concourse) on phasing future development as the need arises.”
Travel plaza, more upgrades planned
Further out, the airport is planning to establish a travel plaza on its entrance road that connects to its cell phone lot, with fuel and food offerings.
A travel plaza would provide convenience store amenities to travelers, like refueling their
cars and filling their stomachs, Brockman said. The airport is looking to build the plaza through a public-private partnership.
“The beauty of that, if we can get an investor to take on the challenge, would keep us from having to spend our limited capital dollars on that project,” he said.
The airport is also mulling future projects like replacing its three-story parking facility and modernizing its terminal core.
Upgrading the terminal core — which includes ticketing, baggage claim and security — and parking facility would get both up to modern-day seismic code, Brockman said.
737 MAX, Fedex slowdown concern growing airport
Memphis International Airport saw 4.64 million passengers in 2019, up about 5.1% from the year before. Flights and seats at the airport increased in response to the demand boost by 10.1% and 9.5%, respectively.
Continued passenger growth would bolster the case for airlines to offer new nonstop flights at the airport. It considers Boston, San Francisco, Raleigh-durham, San Diego and Seattle to be among its top unserved nonstop flight destinations.
Brockman said the airport is getting closer to landing some of those coveted cities, but he added that the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft is having an industry-wide ripple effect, even if the 737 MAX wasn’t a regular in Memphis.
“Three of our largest carriers — American, United, Southwest — all fly 737 MAX aircraft,” Brockman said. “The grounding of that aircraft, and the continued grounding of that aircraft, is tremendously detrimental to those carriers growing.”
Another headwind is the decline in cargo volume at the airport-located Fedex Express World Hub, which Brockman
said is “absolutely” a concern.
Fedex is the airport’s largest tenant and operator, accounting for slightly less than 90% of airfield landed weight. A reduction in Fedex flights would cause a reduction in landing fees, trickling down to the airport’s operating budget, Brockman said.
A global economic slowdown and U.s.-china trade tensions have battered the logistics giant for several quarters. More recently, the coronavirus outbreak has presented trouble for distributors doing business with China, and Fedex has adjusted as a result.
“Clearly, the challenges of distribution, especially international distribution, are going to remain for a while,” he said.
Max Garland covers Fedex, logistics and health care for The Commercial Appeal. Reach him at max.garland@commercialappeal.com or 901-529-2651 and on Twitter @Maxgarlandtypes.