Omaha Eppley Airfield - CONSTRUCTION

[nebport5]

I like the new brown/tan seats. Look sharp and high end to me.

They are leather, and about the color of a baseball glove, and they look really nice. The manufacturer came to town and showed them how durable they are. They even worked with the cleaning people on how to clean them. They can remove about anything off of them including permeant marker. Every other seat has a cup holder and every seat as access to power under the arm rest. They described them as the color of a baseball glove.

Wow, real leather!? Ok, that changes my opinion of the color.

[Brad]

I like the new brown/tan seats. Look sharp and high end to me.

They are leather, and about the color of a baseball glove, and they look really nice. The manufacturer came to town and showed them how durable they are. They even worked with the cleaning people on how to clean them. They can remove about anything off of them including permeant marker. Every other seat has a cup holder and every seat as access to power under the arm rest. They described them as the color of a baseball glove.

Wow, real leather!? Ok, that changes my opinion of the color.

I guess I didn't ask if they were real leather, that was just my assumption while looking at them? We were talking about about the durability and functionality and I never thought to ask what the material was.

[windsor]

Just got back from the tour and the Airport is looking fantastic! Jeff Beals will have a full article out on Grow Omaha later this weekend.

David Roth and Steve McCoy both gave the tour. So some answers came from David and others came from Steve.

As far as low versus high ceilings, I personally prefer the high ceilings at DSM and in airports in general as it gives a more monumental and prestigious vibe. However, with DSM's tall ceilings, you can pretty much see the entire gate area from any point, which exposes its relatively small size and detracts from the monumental vibe in some respects. OMA's low ceilings and non-open floor plan, perhaps accidentally, fulfills some urban design best practices where they draw you in to continue exploring the space and see what discoveries can be had around the next bend, past the next node, etc. and don't immediately give away that the airport is not the size of a major hub.

They did talk about this today. They said when they started they project, all the research showed the people of Omaha were not looking for large glass curvy ceilings and bold colors. They wanted straight lines, 90 degree angles and clean finishes and they definitely got that. They central pavilion does have really high ceilings and the photos of the new gates are a little misleading because it does feel very large and wide open. Its hard to tell what the ticket area will feel like because its sill under heavy construction with a ways to go.

From everything we know that will just be The Mill spot. Fernando's should be in the existing South terminal too but I haven't heard anyone report any signs of work there yet. Beyond that the rest of the concessions are in Central terminal and won't open until it does next year.

I believe Fernando's will start after the old restrooms are demolished which should start next week.

Interesting numbering. Are we expecting Delta to stay at these gates permanently or will they still shuffle around a bit as construction progresses?

The numbering is temporary, the Delta gates are their permanent gates.

i think it looks great. Also, per the news story, late(r) in November, the concessions will start to open

The Mill coffee will be the first thing to open next month.

We know Delta is moving to presumably all four of the new gates based on the coverage today. Are they immediately going to start working on the old Delta gates to get them up to the new terminal design?

Delta is moving to all 4 new gales, the numbering of A1A, A1B, etc are temporary. They are actually gates 11, 12, 13, and 14. When you are there in person and you know what you are looking for, you can actually see the permeant numbering behind the temporary numbering.

What is the timeline for converting the existing South gates to said new design? Are they going to play musical chairs for awhile over there while they're updating the gates (I'm still assuming yes here based on the gates opening early and Delta moving)? United and Southwest have to move early next year, where are they going?

There wasn't an exact timeline I remember, but they said that the work would be on-going and they will be playing musical chairs. If I remember right as soon as the new area opens next week, the old restrooms would be the first ting to get closed an demolished, The new area has 2 complete sets of restrooms in it, one of which is the largest set of restrooms in the airport.

2 years is a long ways out in airline terms but have they had any specific conversations with the existing airlines about Cancun or other international destinations once the FIS opens? Do they have an actual target date for opening the Central terminal that they're shooting for (Roth wasn't specific today so it probably doesn't get answered, but it should be asked)? etc. We don't have a chance to ask those type of questions to them.

They gave no details but did say there is a very high interest in the international gates from the airlines. They also re-affirmed the stat they gave us on our last tour but on average 150 or 180 (Hopefully Jeff puts the actual number in the article) per day, board a flight in Omaha bound for Cancun in February, but they must connect through a different city. They said that's a high number during on of the slowest months of the year.

I like the new brown/tan seats. Look sharp and high end to me.

They are leather, and about the color of a baseball glove, and they look really nice. The manufacturer came to town and showed them how durable they are. They even worked with the cleaning people on how to clean them. They can remove about anything off of them including permeant marker. Every other seat has a cup holder and every seat as access to power under the arm rest. They described them as the color of a baseball glove.

Sounds great, I can't wait to check it out in person next year.

[Brad]

One thing I forgot to mention is the new skywalk. There is a lot of very tedious work to do inside the existing parking garage that needs to be done. They are adding an elevator shaft in the garage next to the new skywalk. The existing garage was built with Pre-tensioned concrete beams so they just cant start cutting holes for the elevator shaft. As far as the skywalk itself, it will be partially assembled in sections and trucked in to place.

[Mr.Nuke]

Thanks Brad! Looking forward to the photos.

[remline]

Thank you Brad for the detailed and helpful construction updates.

[nativeomahan]

As someone who flies in and out of Eppley about 20 times per year I look forward to the end of the construction maze and a return to one unified airport. I typically use the north terminal for 75% of my flights, so I guess I will have to wait a bit longer to utilize the newly reconstructed areas.
I agree we should reserve judgment of the aesthetics of the new construction until we actually use it. I for one do enjoy vaulted or at least high ceilings in airports as it adds to the openness sensation and dovetails with the whole concept of soaring into the skies. So I guess that is already a disappointment. But I otherwise will reserve judgment. This past year I have flown through a dozen or so airports in a total of 8 countries and each one has its own vibe. Some just feel more welcoming than others. My least favorite by far is ORD in Chicago. MDW and DFW aren’t much better. Hobby in Houston is a favorite, as is Key West now that it has been rebuilt.

[CrankyOldDude]

I wouldn't care if Key West's airport was in an outhouse. You get off the plane and you're in Key West. I hate Ohare.

A while ago it took 2.5 hours after landing to taxi to the gate.

[Brad]

Photo Update:

1. Stairs/Escalators up to Security

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2. New Baggage Claim

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3. Future Skywalk

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4. Central Pavilion. It was quite full and hard to get a big wide open shot on this trip.

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5. Central Pavilion. It was quite full and hard to get a big wide open shot on this trip.

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6. New Concourse Area

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7. Closer look at one of the gates. You can see the light from the permanent gate number shining out from around the temporary gate number.

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8. New Concourse Area

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9. New Concourse Area

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10. Close-up of new seats

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11. Lookin gup the ramp which is kind of dead end for now, but eventually it will the central pavilion.

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12. Lookin down the same ramp in photo 11

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13. Arrival/departure board

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14. First-Aid room

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15. Service Animal Room

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16. Women's Restroom

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17. Mother's Room

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18. Men's Room

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19. Video Board with Omaha/Eppley Advertising

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20. Jeff and I found this interesting. For every airline worker you see when you visit Eppley, there are many more office workers for each airline working behind the scene (I think he said 3:1, as in 3 office workers for every 1 person you see working). So during construction, portable office building were brought in for the airline office workers to keep working on site. This temporary building here belonged to Delta.

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[nebugeater]

Thanks for sharing Brad!

[thenewguy]

that looks fantastic. Looks clean and crisp, to be honest

[TitosBuritoBarn]

Thanks for those, Brad!

Do you happen to know if they still intend to include those workstations/charging counters at some of the gates like the renderings show?

While there are a couple style choices I would have done differently - analog clocks instead of digital for one - it is turning out to be quite nice. I feel like it captures Omaha pretty well; Nebraska chic. Understated and slightly rugged. The bathrooms are especially cool. They give me a totally different vibe, like they'd be the setting for a tense scene in Slow Horses or a James Bond film.

[Brad]

Do you happen to know if they still intend to include those workstations/charging counters at some of the gates like the renderings show?

Yes, they were either already on site or were arriving that day. The will be in place before that new area opens this week.

[Mr.Nuke]

[thenewguy]

now that i see it with passengers in it, it looks even nicer. It also looks bigger, too. I like the finishes, looks like a very comfortable space

[schumatt]

Today's Build OMA Construction Update email shared a good diagram of the current terminal layout and the new gates. Temporarily labeled A1, A1A, A1B, and A2 while the separate concourses are still in play, these will eventually be gates 12, 13, 14, and 15.

[Brad]

Today's Build OMA Construction Update email shared a good diagram of the current terminal layout and the new gates. Temporarily labeled A1, A1A, A1B, and A2 while the separate concourses are still in play, these will eventually be gates 12, 13, 14, and 15.

I mentioned that the other day in my post. If you go look at the signs for the 4 new gates, you can clearly see the permanent numbers behind them.

[Longlurker]

Went to go take a peek after I landed last night. It looks great! Pulled out my phone to take a picture or two and was told no and forced to leave by a grumpy airport cop. Nice way to debut.

[Mr.Nuke]

Jeff's article posted yesterday. Brad great photos and thanks for getting some of our questions answered.
https://growomaha.com/eppley-airfields- ... pen-today/

[nativeomahan]

I wouldn't care if Key West's airport was in an outhouse. You get off the plane and you're in Key West. I hate Ohare.

A while ago it took 2.5 hours after landing to taxi to the gate.

True on the KW comment. We return there in a couple of weeks and yessir, when you get off the plane and smell that fresh ocean air it’s a sensation that is hard to beat.
And as to your ORD comment, last fall we flew for about 1 hour to ORD and I’m not making it up it took over another hour to dock at our gate. Just flipping maddening!