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MIA Connections: Fall 2009 - Spring 2010 - Summer 2010 - Fall 2010
SKYTRAIN LAUNCHED
On September 15, Miami International Airport’s Concourse D skytrain began whisking passengers off their feet from one end of the mile-long facility to the other for quick connections to everything from flights and baggage claim to stores, restaurants and passport control. The skytrain people mover system features stations at four main areas of Concourse D. A ride on the skytrain can take you from: station #1 near Gate D-17 at the easternmost end of Concourse D to station #2 for domestic baggage claim; continue to station #3 for connecting flights at gates D-26 to D-39, passport control for international travelers or exits to Central and South Terminal; or carry you all the way to station #4 for gates D-40 to D-60 and American Eagle flights at the new Regional Commuter Facility – all within five minutes. Skytrain’s system of four-car trains has the capacity to transport 9,000 passengers per hour. It is also designed to decrease walking time 70 percent for domestic connecting passengers and 34 percent for international connecting travelers in Concourse D. Nearly 40 percent of all MIA passengers are connecting to other flights, with Concourse D handling more than 20 million passengers annually. Skytrain utilizes Sumitomo-Mitsubishi’s Crystal Mover vehicle technology, which is also in successful operation or deployment at Washington-Dulles International Airport, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Changi International Airport (Singapore), Incheon International Airport (South Korea), Dubai International Airport (UAE) and Hong Kong International Airport. The opening of skytrain is one of the final milestones for the North Terminal Development program. All phases of North Terminal are scheduled for completion in 2011, including: completion of the 50-gate concourse’s six remaining gates; the opening of a new 400,000-square-foot, 72-lane federal inspection area and greeter’s lobby that can serve 3,600 international passengers per hour upon their arrival to the U.S.; and a new baggage handling and delivery system capable of screening and transporting 8,400 bags per hour from the check-in area to all Concourse D gates utilizing a completely automated system of 25 explosive detection machines and nearly 10 miles of conveyor belt. For more information about North Terminal and the rest of MIA, go to www.miami-airport.com.
MIA WINS CONSTRUCTION AWARD
In September, Southeast Construction magazine named Phase I of MIA’s North Terminal its Best Vertical Transportation Project of 2010. Phase I of North Terminal includes 30 new gates, 115 ticket counters and three Concourse D skytrain stations that opened in 2009 and 2010. American Airlines relocated its operations to the Phase I area in November 2009. The annual competition recognizes construction and design excellence in the four-state region that includes Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. This year, 183 entries vied for top honors in 22 different categories based on construction type. An independent jury of industry experts reviewed the entries and met in September to finalize this year’s winners. Eligible projects had to be located within the four-state region and completed between Sept. 1, 2009, and Sept. 1, 2010. Southeast Construction is a monthly magazine providing local, in-depth and comprehensive coverage on heavy engineering, highway, building and industrial construction news. Southeast Construction is part of a family of 10 regional construction magazines known as Regional Construction Publications (RCP), a division of McGraw-Hill Construction that also includes Engineering News-Record, Architectural Record, Dodge and Sweet's. For more information, go to http://southeast.construction.com/PDFs/SEC_BestOf10Winners_release.pdf.
MORE SHOPPING AND DINING
Dining and shopping choices continue to grow at MIA’s North Terminal, with 60 restaurants and retail stores currently open and 26 more to come before final completion in 2011. The most recent addition was Icebox Café, a South Beach favorite, which opened near Gate D-8 on September 25. Also scheduled to open this fall and next year are: Islander Bar and Grill; Duty Free Americas; Beaudevin; Newslink Explorer; Island Chicken Grill; Wendy’s; Mojito Bar/Lorena Garcia; Juan Valdez Café, Bookmark bookstore & Cafe; The Counter; Kuva; Newslink; Giggles; It’s Sugar; Privé Gourmet Market; Ocean Drive News; Essentials; Starbucks/Tropical News; UPS Store; Solstice; Etcetera; Peace-Love-Miami; Shula’s; TGI Friday’s; The Shoppes of Ocean Drive; and shops developed by Duty Free Americas for Mont Blanc, Coach, Thomas Pink and Emporio Armani. Click here for more information.
NEW INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS
On October 4, LAN Airlines’ affiliate LAN Ecuador began offering four nonstop flights per week on Monday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday between Miami International Airport and Guayaquil, Ecuador. The new nonstop flight joins existing daily flights from Miami to Quito with connections to Guayaquil, Cuenca and the Galapagos Islands. Transaero Airlines will begin scheduled passenger and cargo service between Moscow and MIA on October 29. The new service will operate twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday using Boeing B777-200 aircraft. Transaero, Russia's second largest carrier, is a privately held airline based at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport and operates a growing fleet of Boeing aircraft. Air Berlin is scheduled to commence new service to Berlin from MIA on November 1 through April 28, 2011. Air Berlin provides connections from Berlin to other destinations in Europe and Tel Aviv, Israel. With the Berlin service, MIA will be serving four points in Germany: Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Munich and Berlin. Lastly, Dutch airline ArkeFly announced that on June 24, 2011, it will begin providing every Monday and Friday non-stop scheduled service from Amsterdam to MIA, using a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. The first stop will be Orlando-Sanford International Airport (SFB), where all passengers will clear federal inspection procedures, continue to MIA and then return non-stop to Amsterdam.
AMERICAN EAGLE EXPANDS
The RCF includes concourse gates D-53 and D-55 and a D-60 waiting area that connects passengers to smaller regional jet aircraft via covered outdoor walkways. Until the outdoor walkways are completed next February, passengers will be transported by shuttle bus to their flights. American Eagle, the regional affiliate of American Airlines, has announced increased nonstop service between MIA and 10 additional cities throughout the American Airlines network beginning November 18. This is in addition to previously announced new service between MIA and Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV) in Gainesville, Fla., which began October 1. American Eagle currently flies from MIA to more than 30 cities in the U.S. and the Caribbean, including Florida cities such as Ft. Myers, Jacksonville, Key West, Pensacola and Tallahassee and locations throughout the Bahamas. The airline served 1.38 million passengers in 2009.
HAITIAN ART EXHIBIT DEBUTS
A relief program to support Haitian artists affected by the country’s devastating earthquake in January has resulted in Hands of Haiti, an exhibit featuring more than 60 major works by artists living in Haiti who have continued their craft despite their challenging circumstances. The exhibit, on display for the first time ever at MIA’s South Terminal Gallery from September 2, 2010 to March 2011, features works of cut metal, woven sequined flags, beaded artwork on leather, sculptures made from discarded urban materials, carnival masks, clay pottery and photography. The Haitian Cultural Arts Alliance (HCAA), a not-for-profit foundation based in Miami’s Little Haiti area, created the Haitian Art Relief Fund (HARF) soon after the January earthquake to help preserve Haitian art treasures salvaged from the devastation and to support the ongoing work of artists living in Haiti. Edouard Duval Carrié, Artist/Director of HCAA, asked local artists to donate artwork that was sold at a special pavilion at the Arteamericas Art Fair in Miami Beach in April. The proceeds from those donations have helped fund the Hands of Haiti exhibit. “We are pleased to present Hands of Haiti in the recently built South Terminal Gallery, where millions of travelers who visit Miami will be greeted by some of the best production Haiti has to offer,” says Carrié. “The collaboration between the HCAA and Miami International Airport serves to honor artists that deserve attention not only for their masterful work but for their rather particular stories of survival and resilience.” Yolanda Sánchez, Fine Arts and Cultural Affairs Director at MIA, adds: “It is our collective hope that Hands of Haiti will promote awareness and interest in the arts of Haiti and will encourage artisans to continue the development of their artistic heritage and traditions. This exhibition is a testament to the Haitian spirit, their optimism and their love of life. ”
AA WINS THIRD CUSTOMER CUP
Measured improvements are a result of changes the station made to better the customer experience while at the airport. Examples include agents working together to encourage each other to provide timely and accurate information at the gate, especially in the case of a delay, with frequent announcements and updates every 20 minutes. Employees also concentrated on raising the focus on customer feedback, creating an e-mail for customers to report good service that resulted in employee recognition. "Meeting and exceeding customer expectations is a challenging task and the employees in Miami International Airport have created just the right balance of teamwork, focus, commitment and attention to detail to ensure the customer experience at our airport is the best it can be," said Marilyn DeVoe, American's Vice President - Miami. "Winning the company's coveted Customer Cup for the third quarter in a row made us the only station in the entire American Airlines system to win the cup three times, an extraordinary tribute to the hard work and dedication of each Miami Hub employee."
ONLINE FLIGHT TRACKER GOES LIVE
Track any flight in real time with the new MIA Flight Tracker, located on the home page of MIA's website. Either select a route between two cities or search a route by carrier and flight number. You can also click on “flight status” for additional details such as the departure or arrival gate, baggage claim carrousel number and real time "in air" aircraft location map. To access Flight Tracker, go to http://tracker.flightview.com/customersetup/miami/tracker/ . MIA Connections: Fall 2009 - Spring 2010 - Summer 2010 - Fall 2010 |
