Omaha Eppley Airfield - CONSTRUCTION

[Brad]

They have a model of the central pavilion

[thenewguy]

this is a cross section of the terminal from west to east (drop off zone - left, towards boarding area - right), in case anyone was confused at first glance.

I wish they would do a fly-through of the terminal from south to north with the shops and restaurants, showing what it'd look like from a passenger's perspective walking around the airport

[Mr.Nuke]

Winter update.

[Brad]

Dang! I take back what I said earlier. Tons of progress shown in that video.

[InTheRoom]

And that was filmed a month ago now...

[skinzfan23]

Yes, looking good, glad to see how far they are already.

[Mr.Nuke]

Dang! I take back what I said earlier. Tons of progress shown in that video.

They are obviously relatively quick cuts but they did a really good job of showing various areas versus the renderings. Given the bulk of the work is internal at this point, the Spring and Summer updates should be interesting.

[skinzfan23]

I'm flying in the middle of June for the first time in 2 years, looking forward to seeing how far they are then.

[Brad]

Construction tour photo update!

PHOTO POST 1 of 3

Today Jeff Beals from Grow Omaha and I were able to tour the new construction at Eppley! It was so cool and Eppley is going to be awesome when its done! Omaha will have a modern big city airport!

Photos in order of how we took the tour.

1. This area will be the new ticketing area on the second floor.

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2. In the Central Pavilion looking south before the TSA area. TSA to the right, parking garage to the left, ticking area straight ahead.

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3. In the Central Pavilion looking west before the TSA area. TSA behind me, parking garage straight ahead. There will be a new / third skywalk to the parking garage premium parking area. They said there would be about 70 steps from the premium parking to the TSA area. Business travelers who don't need to check a bag, can come straight across the bridge and through security.

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4. New set of stairs and escalators just inside the entry.

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5. Standing in the TSA area looking NW, parking garage to the left.

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6. In the Central Pavilion looking to the NW, in the TSA area or just past the TSA area. Terrazzo flooring going in.

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7. Past TSA looking back towards the SW and the TSA area.

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8. In the Central Pavilion, past TSA closer to the restaurants, looking SE.

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9. In the Central Pavilion, past TSA closer to the restaurants, looking SE. The area straight ahead with the HVAC duct work will be the Pitch restaurant.

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10. In the Central Pavilion, looking south.

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11. In the Central Pavilion, looking at the Starbucks.

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12. In the Central Pavilion, looking at more concession space.

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[Brad]

PHOTO POST 2 of 3

13. Looking Straight West in the Central Pavilion. An entire football field can fit in here.

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14. The left 1/2 the photo is looking towards the south gates, the right 1/2 is looking at the Central Pavilion.

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15. Opposite of photo 14, The right 1/2 the photo is looking towards the north gates, the left 1/2 is looking at the Central Pavilion.

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16. Looking straight south towards the south gates.

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17. Stairs up to the Escape Lounge.

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18. Escape Lounge.

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19. Escape Lounge.

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20. Escape Lounge.

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21. Concourse south of the Central Pavilion.

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22. Concourse south of the Central Pavilion.

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23. Concourse south of the Central Pavilion.

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[Brad]

PHOTO POST 3 OF 3

24. Concourse south of the Central Pavilion.

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25. Concourse south of the Central Pavilion.

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26. Outside one set of restrooms in the Concourse south of the Central Pavilion.

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27. Half of one women's restrooms.

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28. The other half of one of the women's restrooms.

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29. Outside one set of restrooms in the Concourse south of the Central Pavilion.

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30. Departure Baggage Area - Post Screening.

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31. Departure Baggage Area - Post Screening.

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32. Departure Baggage Area - Post Screening.

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33. TSA behind the scenes baggage screening area.

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34. This is where the baggage tractors will pull in and throw the bags on the conveyor and that conveyor will take them through the hole in the wall to the passengers waiting on the other side.

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.

[almighty_tuna]

Phenomenal! Thanks for the massive look behind the scenes, Brad! This only skyrockets my anticipation for the finished product. It will be fantastic.

[skinzfan23]

Agree can’t wait to see it. Thanks for the updates.

[BRoss]

Awesome update Brad!

[Mr.Nuke]

Thanks Brad. That is obviously the best and most comprehensive look inside so far. Did they say anything on timing?

[Brad]

Thanks Brad. That is obviously the best and most comprehensive look inside so far. Did they say anything on timing?

Yes, I believe Jeff is gonna lay that all out in today’s Grow Omaha newsletter. But the biggest Takeaway that I heard was right about a year from now that new central pavilion/security will open and then they will start tearing down the north terminal almost immediately. But it sounded like basically everything will open in lots of different phases. Some of the upstairs ticketing might be one of the first things to open, and then, even when the central pavilion opens, it sounds like the restaurants might phase in and not all open on day one. Jeff was doing most of the talking and taking notes while I was taking pictures so I couldn’t hear everything as it was a pretty loud job site and I don’t hear well to begin with.

[BuildTaller]

This is amazing!! We are joining the 21st century!!

[Mr.Nuke]

Yes, I believe Jeff is gonna lay that all out in today’s Grow Omaha newsletter. But the biggest Takeaway that I heard was right about a year from now that new central pavilion/security will open and then they will start tearing down the north terminal almost immediately. But it sounded like basically everything will open in lots of different phases. Some of the upstairs ticketing might be one of the first things to open, and then, even when the central pavilion opens, it sounds like the restaurants might phase in and not all open on day one.

That will be interesting to read. On the restaurant side, we knew some of that, especially if it the Mill and Fernado's opening later as both of those are going to end up in what is now the South terminal. Rehabbing/modernizing the South Concourse will be the other thing in addition to tearing down to the existing North terminal that happens probably near immediately after the central concourse opens.

[djc311]

This is amazing!! We are joining the 21st century!!

Agreed! Our airport has looked dated for about 25 years.

[Brad]

Yes, I believe Jeff is gonna lay that all out in today’s Grow Omaha newsletter. But the biggest Takeaway that I heard was right about a year from now that new central pavilion/security will open and then they will start tearing down the north terminal almost immediately. But it sounded like basically everything will open in lots of different phases. Some of the upstairs ticketing might be one of the first things to open, and then, even when the central pavilion opens, it sounds like the restaurants might phase in and not all open on day one.

That will be interesting to read. On the restaurant side, we knew some of that, especially if it the Mill and Fernado's opening later as both of those are going to end up in what is now the South terminal. Rehabbing/modernizing the South Concourse will be the other thing in addition to tearing down to the existing North terminal that happens probably near immediately after the central concourse opens.

We ran out of time and did not get to go into the south concourse, but they said that works already started and they’re basically working an eight hour shift overnight when there’s no people in there.

[Mr.Nuke]

Jeff's article is up this evening.
https://growomaha.com/eppleys-new-termi ... r-anxiety/
KMTV Story with a reporter touring
https://www.3newsnow.com/videos/news/lo ... y-airfield
KETV also toured
https://www.ketv.com/article/eppley-air ... n/70797431

[CrankyOldDude]

So the terminal can grow both north and south in the future. Ultimately how many gates could it have? (And don't say 60-90)

[GenX]

So the terminal can grow both north and south in the future. Ultimately how many gates could it have? (And don't say 60-90)

Days.

[Mr.Nuke]

So the terminal can grow both north and south in the future. Ultimately how many gates could it have? (And don't say 60-90)

60-90.

[Brad]

So the terminal can grow both north and south in the future. Ultimately how many gates could it have? (And don't say 60-90)

They told us jokingly "unlimited" but then said they central utility plant has room to not quite double in Heating and AC capacity, so in theory they have the ability to add quite a few more gates.

[Louie]

So the terminal can grow both north and south in the future. Ultimately how many gates could it have? (And don't say 60-90)

They told us jokingly "unlimited" but then said they central utility plant has room to not quite double in Heating and AC capacity, so in theory they have the ability to add quite a few more gates.

Oh wow, I'm impressed they thought that far ahead.

[Mr.Nuke]

So the terminal can grow both north and south in the future. Ultimately how many gates could it have? (And don't say 60-90)

In what context? As it stands, we know the original plan was 28 gates at 7 million annual passengers. The last 10 years, the airport has grown at an average of 1.85% annually. That growth rate would but 7 million passengers 16 years out or 2041 or roughly 40% of the current Central utility plant’s lifecycle (assuming it gets 40 years like the last one). Given the slow pace of growth, I don’t think the lack of space for gates is an issue.

Oh wow, I'm impressed they thought that far ahead.

They’re basically building this to anticipate the next 40 years of demand, which means overbuilding some things like the CUP and baggage handling system now to anticipate future growth.

[riceweb]

In what context? As it stands, we know the original plan was 28 gates at 7 million annual passengers. The last 10 years, the airport has grown at an average of 1.85% annually. That growth rate would but 7 million passengers 16 years out or 2041 or roughly 40% of the current Central utility plant’s lifecycle (assuming it gets 40 years like the last one). Given the slow pace of growth, I don’t think the lack of space for gates is an issue.

And as I've mentioned here before gates are not our primary constraint. We don't need 50 gates serving up CRJ-200s to 50 different cities. There's no demand for an Omaha to Duluth flight, for instance. And air traffic control frankly can't handle more smaller flights all operating at peak times from every airport.

The more likely scenario for Omaha as we grow is that we'll see bigger planes. No more ERJ-175s, but rather more MAX 8s. And instead of just a couple connections per day, we'll probably see more early and late connections. Our existing gates are far from capacity today.

[Louie]

In what context? As it stands, we know the original plan was 28 gates at 7 million annual passengers. The last 10 years, the airport has grown at an average of 1.85% annually. That growth rate would but 7 million passengers 16 years out or 2041 or roughly 40% of the current Central utility plant’s lifecycle (assuming it gets 40 years like the last one). Given the slow pace of growth, I don’t think the lack of space for gates is an issue.

And as I've mentioned here before gates are not our primary constraint. We don't need 50 gates serving up CRJ-200s to 50 different cities. There's no demand for an Omaha to Duluth flight, for instance. And air traffic control frankly can't handle more smaller flights all operating at peak times from every airport.

The more likely scenario for Omaha as we grow is that we'll see bigger planes. No more ERJ-175s, but rather more MAX 8s. And instead of just a couple connections per day, we'll probably see more early and late connections. Our existing gates are far from capacity today.

What are the current connections?

[Mr.Nuke]

I don't fly out of the South side all that often so this is the best look I've seen at the state of things there in awhile. Also as the tweet notes, it looks like the new ceiling is partially installed there.

[GrowUpFrances]

So would that be The Mill they are working on?

[Mr.Nuke]

So would that be The Mill they are working on?

Correct and that one as part of the bid proposal for concessions wasn't expected to open until 2028 so if they're already working on the space right now I take that as a good sign too.

[Ben]

So would that be The Mill they are working on?

No, the concession area is still open (at least as of a week or two ago when I last flew this terminal)... The space blocked off is the center of the concourse - with the terrazo / higher ceilings.

[Mr.Nuke]

So would that be The Mill they are working on?

No, the concession area is still open (at least as of a week or two ago when I last flew this terminal)... The space blocked off is the center of the concourse - with the terrazo / higher ceilings.

Which is where the Mill be...

[Mr.Nuke]

[skinzfan23]

I feel like I should know this, but are they going to replace that floor on both levels? I think that is one of the biggest things that make it look dated.

[arch_RP_planner]

I believe the entire airport is getting new Terrazzo Flooring, so it will look similar, but the colors/tones of the new tile will be much more modern/clean feeling.

[skinzfan23]

Ok thanks for confirming, I do think I heard that, I just couldn’t remember.

[Brad]

On our tour they said it would be all Terrazzo except the gate areas. Apparently the get a lot of complaints currently because the carpet makes it hard for some people to pull their roller bags. The gate areas will be carpet for acoustics.

[omaha79]

This is great. I've always appreciated the convenience of the Omaha airport, but I agree, it's been dated since at least the late 90's to early 00's. I still remember being able to just walk down to the gates prior to 9/11. How things changed immediately after that, but we've never really been equipped for a post 9/11 world in terms of concessions in the terminal, etc. You buy a drink at one of the restaurants, you can't take it through security. Only one generic concession in each terminal and most of what's offered has been terrible.

I also agree that I do not see Omaha going with the Minneapolis model of having these tiny flights to Aberdeen or Fargo. I'd like to see a few more hub connections to create more flexibility and options to major cities and that doesn't require 50 gates to accomplish.